Arts and Entertainment Boroughwide

What they’re saying about: live arts in Brooklyn this week, February 20

A roundup of Brooklyn’s cultural offerings this week, from comedy to theater to music to art, and what critics are saying about them.

February 20, 2024 Evan Rosen
The Theatre for a New Audience in Fort Greene.
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Black Future Festival
Multimedia, Theatre, Dance, Storytelling
Brooklyn Children’s Museum, 145 Brooklyn Ave, Crown Heights
Feb. 18 – 25

The Brooklyn Children’s Museum is hosting a busy week of workshops, dance performances, storytelling events and more for the Black Future Festival. Everyday the Museum is hosting events to reflect and celebrate the African Diaspora and Black History Month.

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“The ‘Black Future Festival’ is more than just a celebration; it’s an educational odyssey designed to kindle the imaginations of young minds. Through a series of live performances and art explorations, participants will delve deep into the resilience, triumphs, and invaluable contributions of Black individuals throughout history.” – María Alejandra Trujillo, BNN Breaking.

“In partnership with Bedford-Stuyvesant based non-profit organization STooPS and guest curator, dancer and community organizer Kendra J. Bostock, museum visitors will be able to participate in a series of programming from Feb. 18 through Feb. 25 — including live performances, art exploration, storytelling, dance workshops and more.” – Brooklyn Paper

“The Gatekeeper Live!” and “Babes” @ Brooklyn Comedy Collective (BCC)
Comedy
Eris, 167 Graham Ave, East Williamsburg
Feb. 20 and 23

The Gatekeeper Live! is the brainchild of David Colton and Mo Macsai-Goren, two of the funniest young comedians in residence at the BCC, as they bring their satirical newspaper “The Gatekeeper” to life on the stage.

This week’s installment on February 20, part of their ongoing season covering “the final American election year,” features a star-studded lineup with Vannessa Jackson (SNL), Liz Hynes (Last Week Tonight), Business Casual (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), and Maggie Crane (Side By Side).

 

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Babes is an improv show featuring students and grads of the BCC, every Friday night.

“Babes is a weekly comedy show at BCC’s Pig Pen that features BCC students (old and new)! It has a very fun low key community vibe – people should come for laughs and to meet fellow improvisers!” – Babes cast member Emily Bice

Written in Brooklyn Storytelling Series
Storytelling, Comedy
Arlo Williamsburg, 96 Wythe Ave, Williamsburg,
Wednesday, Feb. 21 – Two-drink minimum encouraged

Written in Brooklyn is hosting a storytelling event with the theme “This One’s for the Girls.” This month’s storytellers: Marissa Ginsberg, Molly Stewart, Rachel Newman, Aileen Clark, Elizabeth Weisel and hosted by Carly Ann Filbin.

“The fanciest show in the entire world is back on 2/21/24! Join us for some wildly true tales from extraordinary storytellers. Grab your best girl and meet us in Williamsburg.” – Written in Brooklyn

“Written in Brooklyn is for anyone who’s got a personal story to tell. So…everyone. No writing experience is necessary, only life experience. Whether you crave creativity, community, or accountability, you want to write a memoir, an Instagram caption, or screenplay, or if you just want to drink an oat milk latte with a fancy leather journal in your hand, you’ll find a home at Written in Brooklyn.” – Official Webpage of Written in Brooklyn

The Tiny Cupboard Comedy Club
Comedy
10 Cooper Street, Bushwick
Shows every night

The trending Bushwick comedy club is hosting events every night, including a pro showcase show Tuesday night.

“The Tiny Cupboard is the most affordable and intimate comedy club in NYC! Located in Bushwick, with multiple stand up comedy shows every single day and no drink minimums.” – Eventbrite

“Tiny Cupboard, a DIY rooftop comedy club, emerged in 2019 when Amy Wong and Matt Rosenblum started producing music, comedy and experiential performances there. But when the pandemic hit, it turned into a rooftop comedy club when it was needed the most. Since then, it’s become a huge comedy hotspot with its new pink comedy church and The Mushroom, which is said to be the smallest comedy room in NYC. Like many venues in Bushwick right now, it’s becoming a big and influential part of its scene.” – Time Out NY

Drive-Away Dolls Brunch Q&A @ Alamo Drafthouse
Film
City Point, 445 Albee Square W 4th floor, Downtown Brooklyn
Saturday, Feb. 24 @ 10:45 am, other showtimes

The Alamo Drafthouse is showing the new film “Drive Away Dolls” on Saturday accompanied by a live Q&A with the filmmakers and stars.

“Order from our tasty brunch menu – Breakfast Club, Blueberry Donut French Toast Bake, or Breakfast Tacos – and pair with a brunch cocktail classic like Desert Spring Water or the Coming Up Rosé Fizz. Each is available to order along with our full menu at this special brunch screening.” – Alamo Drafthouse

“Jamie (Margaret Qualley) is an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.” – Metacritic

 

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Public Obscenities
Theatre
Theatre for a New Audience, 262 Ashland Pl, Fort Greene
Shows through Feb. 25
Discount tickets available for $20 through New Deal “Under 30” program

Shayok Misha Chowdhury’s vibrant meditation on family, queer culture and the remembrance of lost loved ones, is a slow burn that ultimately reaches a level of humanity and understanding rarely seen in the American theatre today.

After being twice extended and receiving a New York Times Critic’s Pick at Soho Rep, the show has been extended again, through Feb. 25 for its limited engagement at TFANA.

“Chowdhury, a librettist, poet, director, and experimental theatre-maker from the fringe, has turned to fine-grained realism for his first major play, and his ease with destabilization has, paradoxically, given this multilingual production an extraordinary steadiness.” – Helen Shaw, The New Yorker

Good People Comedy
Comedy
Somethin’ Else, Dekalb Market, 445 Albee Square W, Downtown Brooklyn
Next show: Wednesday, Feb. 21 @ 8pm

Some of New York’s best young comedians are flocking to this new comedy show, which takes over Dekalb Market’s hidden back-area bar every other Wednesday.

The room is an up-scale lounge space, with couches instead of front-row seats: new-age aesthetics and positive vibes that are reshaping the city’s comedy scene in Brooklyn’s image.

“After spending much of my adult life around stand ups, I finally realized there’s a real negativity that hangs around the scene. I decided to make this show to have a space for comedy where we’re not complaining about everything being horrible.” – Sam Poznak, Founder of GPC.

The Sleeping Beauty @ Puppetworks
Puppetry
Puppetworks Inc., 338 6th Ave (at 4th Street), Park Slope
Feb. 19-23 and Saturdays and Sundays at 12:30 / 2:30

Puppetworks is hosting “The Sleeping Beauty, Perrault’s Fairy Tale,” in Park Slope. The event is for families and school classes.

“The Sleeping Beauty is adapted by Nicolas Coppola from Charles Perrault’s 1697 French fairy tale about the Princess cursed to sleep 100 years and then to be awakened by a Prince’s kiss. Puppetworks’ production features traditional, hand-carved wooden marionettes, in settings and costumes of the French medieval period, accompanied by music from Tchaikovsky’s ballet score of 1890.” – TheaterMania

“Great Artists . . . they are amazing with the children!” – PS 10, Brooklyn

 

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