Get on the bus to NYC and Whitney's Biennial!

At the 2026 Whitney Biennial, guests pondered Gabriela Ruiz's Homo Machina (Human Machine, a.k.a. Gay Machine), 2026, "a life-size digital console that functions as a self-portrait," according to the wall label/Patricia Leslie, photo

Ali Eyal, detail of Look Where I Took You, 2026 at the 2026 Whitney Biennial, painted from artist's memory of his family's last trip to Baghdad's largest amusement park before the family left Iraq at the start of the 2003 war, according to the wall label. My second favorite of the show, for the color, the subject, the movement, the grasp of the horror of war, for the human shapes /Patricia Leslie, photo

It's the show of shows hosted every other year to exhibit what contemporary artists are making now, what they're thinking, what they're doing.

One floor of Whitney's world renowned display will close August 23, but two more floors will remain open until September 7 and October 12.  

Pictured here are the works I found the most fascinating.

Young Joon Kwak, Divine Dance of Soft Revolt, 2024, accompanied by an audio, inviting viewers to find themselves in the mirrored surfaces, at the 2026 Whitney Biennial/Patricia Leslie, photo

Detail of Agosto Machado's Ethyl (Altar),  2024 at the 2026 Whitney Biennial, of materials he collected as caregiver and "unofficial activist" for many of his peers at the height of New York's AIDS crisis.  The components express "his gratitude for the love and generosity of his queer community," according to the wall label/Patricia Leslie, photo

Malcolm Peacock, Five of them were hers and she carved shelters with windows into the backs of their skulls, 2024  is a sculptural interpretation of a coastal redwood tree with texts from autobiographies of Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X, at the 2026 Whitney Biennial/Patricia Leslie, photo

It seems rather tame this year especially when compared to the shock my son, then age 12, and I experienced way back in 1997 when we ventured in the doors to be blown away by the Biennial on several floors of the Whitney's home at the time, the Breuer building, in Manhattan's Upper East Side.

It was a stunner, all right. 

Whatever and whenever, any opportunity to go to the Big Apple when the Biennial is playing is a must.   

At the 2026 Whitney Biennial, Anna Tsouhlarakis's She Must Be A Matriarch, 2023 "offers an irreverent image of a female warrior armed with a mix of the mythical, the mundane, and the humorous," according to the wall label/Patricia Leslie, photo

David L. Johnson's Rules, 2024-ongoing, was my favorite at the 2026 Whitney Biennial.  Signs from privately-owned public spaces (POPS) began popping up in 1961 after a zoning resolution permitted developers to develop taller buildings in NYC  in exchange for creating "nearby park-like" spaces for public use, developers able to install their own rules about land use/Patricia Leslie, photo

More of David L. Johnson's Rules, 2024-ongoing at the 2026 Whitney Biennial/Patricia Leslie, photo

More of David L. Johnson's Rules, 2024-ongoing at the 2026 Whitney Biennial/Patricia Leslie, photo

This year's presentation features the works of 56 artists who paint, sculpt, perform, make films and digital art. Mother and daughter, Carmen de Monteflores, age 92 (the oldest in the bunch), and daughter, conceptual artist Andrea Fraser, 60, are two of the them. 

Although the show usually includes American artists only, this year some foreign artists with a U.S. connection are included. 

Most of the artists are millennials (born 1981-1996)  and most live in (surprise!) New York or California.

Isabelle Frances McGuire's Satan in America and Other Invisible Evils: Experiments in Public Sculpture, 2026 draws on mythical American history scenes from the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts to Abraham Lincoln's birthplace in Kentucky, says the label at the 2026 Whitney Biennial/Patricia Leslie, photo

The other side of Isabelle Frances McGuire's Satan in America and Other Invisible Evils: Experiments in Public Sculpture, 2026, the right side, I think, to represent Salem villagers modeled from the video game, Doom/Patricia Leslie, photo

A view of the Hudson River from a Whitney stairwell,  looking towards New Jersey/Patricia Leslie, photo

The New York Times says the curators, Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer, spent a year traveling and visiting more than 300 studios.  

 A 500-page catalog is available for $50 ($45, members). 

What:  The Whitney Biennial 2026

When:  Now through Aug. 23, 2026 and a partial display through Oct. 10, 2026. 

Daily: 10:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. except on Fridays, 'til 10 p.m.

Where:  The Whitney Museum of American Art, 

99 Gansevoort St., NY, NY 10014

How much:  Free Friday night admission from 5 - 10 pm and second Sundays, as are every day admission for all those 25 and under, but advance tickets are required. Limited admissions.

Military members and veterans are admitted at no charge and tickets for the disabled are $18 and seniors, $24.  All others, $30.

For more information: See the website or call 212-570-3614.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Highly recommended, the book and audio: 'Tanqueray'

 

This is a great audio to listen to (read by the author) and the book has fascinating photos to see, both editions, available at libraries. 

 

 

In 2019 a blogger, Brandon Stanton whose series, Humans of New York was followed by millions, was attracted to an unusually dressed woman in fancy gear

along the streets of Chelsea in New York City. 

Mr. Stanton stopped for a chat which led to a friendship which led to a column in his series, which led to the book Tanqueray, the expose of Stephanie Johnson’s life and one of her last life's chapters before a stroke felled her last October at age 81. 

Her obituary led me to the audio and book.

 

Ms. Johnson was a famous burlesque dancer in the Big Apple in the 1960s and 70s, and she lays it all out straight, everything, rather like a rip-roaring escapade of edgy New York life, kinda gangster style, a strip club and more (a life most of us only hear or read about and maybe, wish we’d experienced a trifle of it?).

 

She was a self-made woman whose mother threw her out when Ms. Johnson was 17 and pregnant.  On her own, she made her way from Albany, N.Y.  to New York where she built her reputation.

 

Her name “Tanqueray” came from a bottle of gin sitting near a conversation. 

Mr. Stanton helped her write her bio in which she speaks in highly entertaining fashion (of which she was an excellent seamstress, attending classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology, making sparkly costumes for herself and many others).  

She had lots of boyfriends, was married twice and prided herself on not sleeping around or drinking.  She had two sons and gave up her daughter for adoption. The book Mr. Stanton wrote of their many conversations drew millions of readers and helped restore her relationship with an estranged son.

She was lonely, very, very lonely.

 

When serious illness struck, Mr. Stanton spearheaded a GoFundMe campaign for Ms. Johnson which produced about $2.6 million for her medical needs and solved her money worries. Leftover money went to the Association to Benefit Children.  

 

Ms. Johnson and Mr. Stanton speak in the postscript, not to miss!

 

It’s a short 192 pages, hard to put down; a (very) fast read and wow!  I want to see this movie.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Highly recommended: 'Your Table Is Ready'

Drugs, sex, rock ‘n’ roll… And would you like some food with that? 

That pretty well sums up the first half of Your Table Is Ready by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina.

If you can get past the initial soft porn (if that turns you off or on), this is one fascinating, fun book to read, especially if you are a New Yorker and you eat. 

Even if you're not a New Yorker, it's still a good read.

It's behind-the-scenes descriptions of what goes on at New York's fanciest restaurants, many managed and run by the author who had first-hand experience how they serve 'em up and save the best seats for the most money and cave to the reviewers.  

Everyone knows what the reviewers look like, right?  You'd better.  Stand guard, everyone, and turn on your earbuds for the first alert..err, warning:  They are here!

Who knew there was so much sex in restaurants? Only in New York City? I kept plugging away and gave it a few more pages before my appetite was whet. 

Surprise! Advance money makes a difference! Slip the maître d' an easy $100 bill (in the 80s and 90s; better up the ante now) and sit at whatever grand table they seat you. 

Who cares about reservations when it comes to money?  

The most famous arrived, like the hucksters Cecchi-Azzolina knew: Ivanka Trump, Trump, the mob, the FBI and more.

Many times I laughed out loud at this fast-paced, detailed description of what's happening behind the bar. 

Cecchi-Azzolina writes that 98 percent of the guests are fine, but it's the other two percent that "we in the business hate."  

Where do you stand?

Sex drugs and maybe some food, too, at New York's finest are what it's all about. Read it and eat!

patricialesli@gmail.com

In Memoriam: Tina Turner, 1939-2023

 

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, April 2, 2022/By Patricia Leslie

Kayla Davion was Tina Turner in The Tina Turner Musical at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City, April 2, 2022/By Patricia Leslie

Kayla Davion was Tina Turner in The Tina Turner Musical at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City, April 2, 2022/By Patricia Leslie

Kayla Davion was Tina Turner in The Tina Turner Musical at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City, April 2, 2022/By Patricia Leslie

Kayla Davion was Tina Turner in The Tina Turner Musical at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City, April 2, 2022/By Patricia Leslie

patricialesli@gmail.com

'Michael Jackson' is alive and onstage in New York City!

From the  MJ  playbill, 2022

Dynamite!  

Myles Frost must win the Tony!

Electric! 

On fire! 

I swear Michael Jackson had "returned" from the dead for a concert with all his hits!

The audience's screaming and yelling were louder than any theatre performance I've ever attended, but there was no problem hearing the show.

MJ The Musical at the Neil Simon Theatre, New York City, April 1, 2022/Photo by Patricia Leslie

It was the best theatre performance I've seen and with a few decades of experience, I've seen one or two.

Attention, Michael Jackson fans: Yes, it's worth a trip to New York City from Washington, D.C., and I may go again. You will not be disappointed.

From MJ The Musical at the Neil Simon Theatre, New York City, April 1, 2022/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Times Square, New York City, April 1, 2022/Photo by Patricia Leslie 

The music is fantastic!

The dancing is fantastic!

The lighting is fantastic!

Did I leave anything out?

The costumes! They're fantastic, too!

Some have pooh-poohed: "But he was a pervert." 

I was not going to the show to condone what he did. I was going to the show for the music!  Music!  Music! And it may take me there again. 

Had I not had a ticket for Tina the next night (which was almost as good, but hurry!  Closing August 14), I would have paid $175 to see MJ  The Musical again. (Besides, Tina is coming to the National in October for almost three weeks. Must see!)

Kayla Davion was Tina at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City, April 2, 2022/Photo by Patricia Leslie

MJ will last for years (if Mr. Frost can hold out), and the actress from The Prom  road show, who sat beside me, said he came out of nowhere to get the role.

He taught himself how to sing;

he taught himself how to dance;

and he taught himself how to be Michael.

You may think Michael Jackson is dead. I tell you he's back and on stage every night at Neil Simon.

Write if I am wrong.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Get on the bus for 'Hello, Dolly!'

                                        Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly!/New York Lifestyles Magazine

Dear Theatre Fans,

Get on the bus*, even for a day, to New York City to see Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly! before she leaves the show in January.

The Divine Miss M is 71 which just goes to show you how young 70 is. (Speak for yourself.)

Hello, Dolly! is Ms. Midler's first leading role in a Broadway musical which earned her this year's Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. The show won three more Tonys (Best Revival of a Musical, Costume Design, and Gavin Creel won for Best Featured Actor in a Musical). It was nominated for six more.

Fans, it happened one night in New York (and maybe, more), that some audience members stood up in their seats, cheered, and applauded the performance in the middle of the show.  More than once.  Several times.  That was a first for me. 

I've read Bette Midler's replacement, Donna Murphy, is fabulous, and congrats to Ms. Murphy, but, right now (save Tuesdays and some other dates) it's the Divine Miss M whose spell over the audience is unmistakable. She transmits her magic across the stage and envelopes the spellbound in her rapture. 
  
She loves the role. And so do her fellow actors. The electrical connection between performers and guests is undeniable. Everyone has a good time and joins the celebration, but I don't want to go overboard.

When the orchestra started up, I knew the music must be a recording since the sounds were too perfect for live.  Wrong.  Conductor Andy Einhorn elicits magnificent production by all. But, lest I exaggerate.

Speaking of costumes: Hold your breath for colors and design au spectaculaire.  (Costume designer Santo Loquasto won the Tony.) Folks, it's the 1890s with colors and luxurious costumes to admire. Hats, yellow suits, orange suits, green, you name it.  So many to see!  So many dancers, perfectly in sync (by Warren Carlyle). 

Here's how the Guide to Musical Theatre describes the outfits (which includes orange and yellow suits worn by men!)  

Turn of the century: New York City and Yonkers. Bright, cartoon costumes of the dress and styles of the period. (Ruffled dresses, large hats, parasols, striped pants, vests, spats, waistcoats), shopkeeper smocks, horse costume, green waiter suits with white aprons, floor-length evening dresses, lodge uniform, tights, high-button shoes, parade costumes (police, sports club, dance-hall girls, opera Association etc.), male formal suit and evening cape, "Hello, Dolly" evening dress, sailor dress, traveling clothes

On her website Bette Midler says: “I just want to say that revival is an interesting word. It means that something is near death and it’s been brought back to life. Hello, Dolly! never really went away. It has been here all along. It’s in our DNA. It’s optimism, it’s democracy, it’s color, it’s love of life. It’s hilarity. This is a classic. Come and see it. It’s not just me! This has the ability to life your spirits in these terrible, terrible times.”

More applause is due Ms. Midler for her sponsorship of charities and adoption of highways on the east and west coasts for the Adopt-A-Highway project.


Thank you, Bette Midler and Director Jerry Zaks!

(*My fav bus line is the Vamoose Gold.)

Tickets are here and other places. (Check the Web.)  Better hurry.  Several dates are sold out.

When:  Matinees at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Tuesday and Thursday night shows begin at 7 p.m.  Other nights, 8 p.m.  No shows on Mondays and most Sunday eves.  Remember, Ms. Midler does not perform on Tuesday and some other nights. 

Where:  Sam S. Shubert Theatre, 225 W. 44th St., New York City, 10036


Duration:  2 hours and 35 minutes, one intermission 

patricialesli@gmail.com

Fifth Avenue's 2016 Easter Parade

You think it's easy to wear this thing?  You should try making it.  On Fifth Avenue, Easter morning, March 27, 2016.  

The New York Easter Parade is the greatest fun.  Everyone is happy, smiling, glad to be there in the hum of the crowd where rare glimpses of politicians are allowed. (No wonder everyone is happy!) 

I checked, and the parade is not listed in the New York section of 1000 Places to See Before You Die. It should be.  It lasts about six hours (you don't have to stay for the whole thing), and the participants slowly move south to north on the route, clogged with non-participants/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

  New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

  New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

  New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

  New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

  On the steps of St. Patrick's on Fifth Avenue/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Okay, all right, one politico (in addition to "Bunnies Against Corporate Greed" which I could not photograph before the wearer disappeared in the crowd).  This woman's "hat" carried the only candidate we saw portrayed all day, New York's favorite son, The Donald.  Said some of the wording: "This is My Wall.  It's Huge.  No One Can Get Through."  "Peak A Boo, Mr. Trump.  It's Me, El Chapo" (Huh? I think the potato head.) "Presenting Donald Trump and His Band Playing Their Hit Song 'Hair.'" In the 2016 Fifth Avenue Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 You think this is a balloon salesman, right?  You are wrong,  That's a hat of many balloons in New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

How about a beard of daffodils?  Yes!  At least, I think that's what they were in New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 All ready for the 1940s in New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade.  His camera case was vintage, too/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Black Easter? In New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

  New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This is "Coco" getting ready for New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade.  There were almost as many dressed dogs in the parade as humans.  Really./Photo by Patricia Leslie

And this is Coco's owner in New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 "I got an itch." Honey, I think you got more than that for New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade. Maybe the weight of her hat caused her to lose balance /Photo by Patricia Leslie

Her dress was so tight it was declared off limits on the steps of St. Patrick's for New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

  New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 He carried a little dog dressed like he was, in pink, in New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade.  There was a contest over who/what was better dressed:  the people or their dogs.  Yes, everything is going to the .../Photo by Patricia Leslie

  New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

  New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Egads, Donald built hats for New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

  New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 A gator hatched a few eggs on top of her haid for New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade.  The connection?  Maybe she's a Florida fan.  Or, an environmentalist. The gator stayed atop her head and except for  swishing its tail, didn't move much so no one worried about getting bitten.  It was pinned down/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Yee-haw!  Hopalong Cassidy waited for her hoss at New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Thank you, Rockefeller Center, for your purty Easter flowers and decorations for New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A smiling and dancing rabbit at Rockefeller Center for New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 The end.  New York's Fifth Avenue 2016 Easter Parade/Photo by Patricia Leslie