DON’T MISS!: WILD WEST SIDE
One of the most exciting films ever shot on location in New York, the musical “West Side Story’’ moved its action from the Broadway stage to a portion of the West 60s that would soon disappear to make way for Lincoln Center. Natalie Wood (right) and Richard Beymer play a star-crossed Romeo and Juliet caught up in ethnic gang wars in this 1961 classic that won 10 Oscars, including Best Picture and the first shared Best Director award that went to Jerome Robbins (who was fired for going over budget) and Robert Wise. A digital restoration is showing tomorrow at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Museum of the Moving Image. Cast members Bert Michaels, Harvey Evans, Eddie Verso and David Bean will be at the Sunday screening and will sign copies of their book “Our Story: Jets and Sharks Then and Now.’’ 35th Avenue and 36th Street, Astoria; 718-777-6888, movingimage.us.
— Lou Lumenick
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CHECK IT OUT!: MAKE THE SCENE
Step aside, A-listers. The stars showing off on this set are you and your family.
At the Tribeca Film Festival’s annual Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair, visitors can get into a scene from movies like “The Matrix” or “Indiana Jones” — thanks to a green screen.
‘‘It’s a movie-hacking experience,” says Peter Downing, the festival’s creative director and producer. “You can step in and blend in what you’re doing with the live action of the scene.” The results are displayed both on a screen visible to the “actor” and to any adoring fans watching.
Then, hit the red carpet for photo-ops with Thor and Iron Man (OK, cardboard cutouts).
Other features of the festival include movie screenings, makeover demos, stunt demos, live performances, food vendors, arts and more.
Tomorrow, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Greenwich Street from Chambers to Hubert streets. Free admission; tribecafilm.com/festival.
— Gregory E. Miller
Getty Images
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WATCH IT!: ROCKAWAY TO GO
Director Sam Fleischner was in the middle of shooting “Stand Clear of the Closing Doors,” set mostly in the Rockaways, where he lives, when Sandy hit. He wound up rewriting the end of the film — about an autistic teen who runs away into the subway after getting caught cutting class — to reflect the storm. “It was about documenting it at the time,” Fleischner says of his filming the storm surge. “But the next day, I saw how drastically different the landscape was, and I didn’t have too much of a choice whether or not to incorporate it into the film.’’
Following a world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Fleischner has a free screening tomorrow in his devastated neighborhood, at MoMA PS1 Rockaways VW Dome 2. “I’m really excited to share it with the community,” says the director, who used local kids as extras.
7 p.m. at Rockaway Beach between Beach 94th and Beach 95th streets at Shore Front Parkway; 718-784-2084, momaps1.org/calendar/vwdome2.
— Billy Heller
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DIG THIS!: NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND
Sure, heaven’s got great music, but the cover charge is quite steep.
The next best thing might be “Encore!AJazz Revival” at Woodlawn Cemetery on Sunday (1 to 4 p.m.). A trolley will tour the cemetery’s famed Jazz Corner, where legends such as DukeEllington, Miles Davis and Illinois Jacquet are buried. Don’t expect some droning tour guide; you’ll get firsth and accounts from people who knew them personally.
“It’s reallyaday of remembrance,” says Susan Olsen, Woodlawn’s director of historical services. “It’s a storytelling exchange.” Storytellers include Carol Scherick, Jacquet’s manager, and RayCarmen, president of the DukeEllington Society. And, naturally, there’s a jazz concert after.
“None of these people areNew Yorkers, but they all chose to be buried [here],” Olsen says. “That tells youwho your family is in the long run.”
Free at Woodlawn Cemetery, Webster Avenue and East 233rd Street, The Bronx; friendsofwoodlawn.org.
—Tim Donnelly
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LISTEN UP!: BILLY’S BAG
The American folk tradition of writing topical and political songs is alive and well in this current climate, but it’s actually Englishman Billy Bragg who is helping to move the tradition into the 21st century. “Because of the Internet, I’ve made my more topical songs available via free downloads so they stay current,” Bragg says. “So when it came to making the new album, I had more personal and emotional material in my bag of songs.” The resulting “Tooth and Nail” (produced by Americana luminary Joe Henry) captures Bragg in a beautifully contemplative mood, and it’s something he’ll recreate tomorrow night when he plays at Town Hall. “My mum died recently and my son’s off to college,” he adds. “I’ve become the oldest person in my family, so a more reflective album is not out of place right now.” 8 p.m. at 123 W. 43rd St.; 212-997-1003, the-townhall-nyc.org. Tickets, $45 and up.
— Hardeep Phull
