Pencil This In

SIGNING: Just a few days ago LL Cool J was out signing his book (which, is actually a workout book). Tonight 50 Cent will be at Borders Bookstore with two of his writers for the launch of, wait for it...G Unit books! Some titles: Death Before Dishonor, Baby Brother and The Ski Mask Way. Get there early!

6pm // Borders Bookstore [10 Columbus Circle] // Free

THEATER: RiddleLikeLove (with a side of ketchup) is based on the life-altering childhood friendship that singer-actor-writer Julie Fitzpatrick shared with her hearing-impaired confidant Elizabeth, who has long since passed away. Fitzpatrick uses story and song to tell the true story of how a random letter opened on the New York subway let her know that "a best friend is more than a friend for life”. Every performance will include an American Sign Language interpreter. - John Del Signore

8pm // Ensemble Studio Theatre [549 W. 52nd St.] // Tickets cost $30

MUSIC: When we first saw that a former NKOTB-er would be playing BB Kings, we got all nostalgic and wondered if it would be Jordan, or Donnie or...well, it's Danny Wood. Sure, at the time he was our least favorite of the New Kids on the Block crew, but that was lifetimes ago. What's he up to now? According to the music streaming on his website, he's making music that sounds like what every other boy band alums music sounds like. He's also in a band formed out of other boy band alums called Upper Street. According to their bio they've sold 85 Million records together. But you know, together, they've probably sold about 85.

8pm // BB King's // $25, $50 (VIP Includes first entry, signed posters and meet and greet)

In another part of town: Japanther, Lidia Stone and Animandible play. If you haven't seen Japanther yet you have probably never been to a Todd P show. You should change this, and head over to Greenpoint tonight.

8pm // Europa [104 Meserole Ave, Greenpoint] // $8

COMEDY: Paul F. Tompkins, one of our favorite parts of Best Week Ever, headlines Comix for a few nights this week, starting tonight. He was also a writer for Mr. Show, and according to him, he looks better than you in a suit.

Thursday through Saturday // 8pm // Comix [353 W 14th St] // $15, $20

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Arts and Events on January 4, 2007 12:38 PM

Comments [rss]

Moxie

Hey John,

Point well taken. I think I surrendered to a bit of hasty-comment-fury disease with my above post :-) I neglected to realize that you recommend 7 plays per week (duh - I should have known that!). Obviously you can't see nearly all of them, and I wouldn't wish 7 nights of theater each week on my worst enemy!

I do think that sometimes Gothamist, in general, tends to err on the side of the waaay underground/downtown hip. Personally, I read gothamist every day as one of my top resources for what's happening in the city. It feels weird for the only theatrical coverage to be these much smaller shows, when most other cultural goings-on seem to take in a wider spectrum. For example, the music coverage includes bands like The Strokes, The Arcade Fire, and the biggest events of CMG, but the theatrical equivalent in terms of popularity (off-broadway?) rarely gets mentioned. I'm sure 50 Cent is getting plenty of coverage for his signing, but it's a fun thing that readers might want to check out, so it's worth posting.

I'm all for celebrating the great work happening off-off-broadway, and wish more publications would give it it's due. However, not covering some of the best things happening out there just because they already have plenty of ink seems to deny the gothamist readership what might be valuable information. On the other hand, maybe the gothamist readers are so savvy that they already know about those shows, I don't know.

When it comes down to it, I should be thankful that something from the theater world gets a mention every day. It's a very cool thing. Keep it up.

Moxie (the maven)

P.S. Who the heck am I to criticize someone who has so graciously linked to me? Thanks, and I added you on mine. :-)

John Del Signore

Moxie (the Maven?):

Maybe this is a good opportunity to explain a little bit how this works. Like most wretched souls who churn out listings for other publications, the press release, word of mouth and my own personal taste are pretty much the only tools at my disposal when recommending 7 plays per week. Often I am posting info about a show that is about to open; today's choice begins previews tonight. As such, I think 'caveat emptor' goes without saying. I would prefer to see everything I recommend, but since this is logistically impossible I go with my knowledge about the company that's producing the show and/or the appeal of the material.
When writing the blurbs for "Pencil This In", sometimes the press release is the sole source of information for a production that sounds interesting. In this case, I use quotation marks to indicate when I am directly lifting the text from the promotional materials.

For today's choice, I searched for a website to shed more light on this show but there does not seem to be anything of substance. (The EST website is currently light on info.) I selected the show primarily because I sometimes appreciate "personal" theater pieces, thought it had the ingedients for a moving story, and like that the production is geared toward the hearing impaired.

I also enjoy drawing attention to productions that might otherwise go unnoticed and are off the beaten path. I'd heard nothing about this show, so that made it attractive. No choices are based on an attempt to be trendy or "downtown", but you probably won't find many Broadway shows listed under my name, as they seem to get enough ink.

Moxie

Does John Del Signore actually see the shows he reccomends? This write-up is taken pretty much verbatim from the PR about the show, as evidenced by the theatermania site linked to for tickets.

Some of the recommended shows are great, but a lot are half-baked hogwash, seemingly posted by Gothamist because of their downtown hipness rather than their viability as contributions to the theater and culture of NYC.