Cold, Cold Art
Ice sculptor Shintaro Okamoto hopes Saturday’s weather is, well, cold as ice. From noon to 3 p.m., he and other artists from his Astoria studio will re-create Central Park’s “Angel of the Waters” sculpture during the Central Park Conservancy Ice Festival at Bethesda Terrace.
“I hope it’ll be colder so the ice will be a little easier. A warm or rainy day would definitely be a challenge,” Okamoto says. “If it’s nice and cold, we just have to bundle ourselves up, and the ice will be very happy.” Okamoto and his fellow sculptors will use chain saws, chisels and die grinders on close to a dozen 250-pound blocks of ice to create a 6-foot-tall “Angel” replica. They will also sculpt smaller versions of other architectural pieces on the terrace.
Bethesda Terrace is located midpark at 72nd Street. Info: centralparknyc.org.
— Eric Hegedüs
They Love L.A.
Roman Polanski once described Los Angeles as “the most beautiful city in the world, as long as seen at night and from a distance.’’ He’s quoted in “Los Angeles Plays Itself,’’ Thom Andersen’s witty three-hour documentary about the film industry’s love-hate relationship with its hometown. There are clips from more than 50 movies, with a special emphasis on film noir — from “Double Indemnity’’ (which established LA as “the adultery and murder capitol of the world’’) to “LA Confidential.’’ What I called a must-see for movie buffs when it opened back in 2004 is playing an open-ended revival at the IFC Center, Sixth Avenue at Third Street. Info: ifccenter.com.
— Lou Lumenick
Strikes a Chord
German luthier Christian Frederick Martin first set up shop on Hudson Street in 1833, when he began synthesizing his Viennese training with the Spanish-style guitars popular in America at the time. And as he did, says Jayson Dobney, curator of the Met’s justopened exhibit
“Early American Guitars: The Instruments of C.F. Martin,” “he laid the groundwork for every guitar that came after.” From nearly 200-year-old guitars built by Martin himself, to the 1939 Martin-brand acoustic used by Eric Clapton on MTV’s “Unplugged,” each instrument is a work of art in itself. But especially the weird ones — including a six-string, fretted cello called the arpeggione (which we hope is due for a comeback) and an extravagant ax featuring an ivory fingerboard, ivory headstock and ivory bridge, commissioned by, Dobney believes, “a rich person who wanted a little bling.”
Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street; 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org.
— Charlie Heller
Blonde & Blond
Broadway’s original Lorelei Lee (“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”) and Dolly Levi (“Hello, Dolly!”), the iconic Carol Channing has nothing left to prove.
Yet she’s still game for adventure, as evidenced by her latest collaboration. She’s teamed up with subversive downtown transgender performer Justin Vivian Bond for a show they’re calling “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: An Intimate Evening With Carol Channing and Justin Vivian Bond.” The two first met when they were booked at a joint Fire Island gig last summer.
“We hit it off right away,” Channing says. “Justin’s even been to my home in Palm Springs since Fire Island.”
Channing’s slated to share anecdotes from her career, and there’s plenty to choose from.
“I’ll be 93 in a couple of weeks, and I’ve been entertaining people — I hope — for more than 70 years,” she says. “It’s a lot to remember.”
8 p.m. Monday at Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St.; 212-997-1003, thetownhall.org . Tickets, $72 and up.
— Elisabeth Vincentelli
The Dream Lives
Back in 1960, singer Jimmy Hayes was being arrested for his part in several civil rights demonstrations in Atlanta, where one of his fellow protestors was Martin Luther King Jr. On Monday — Martin Luther King Jr. Day — he will continue his work in the movement by performing with his a cappella group the Persuasions at Village club SubCulture. “The struggle is still going on,” he says. “We made a lot of progress back then, but sometimes, it feels like we’re going backwards. That’s why it’s important to play a day like this.” Musically, the chance to see the Persuasions in action is a rare delight. The quintet’s soulful tones were honed in Brooklyn, where they used to sing on the Lafayette Avenue subway platform. “We don’t sing there anymore, but we just sing wherever we are,” adds Hayes. “Some people get together and talk; we get together and sing!”
7:30 p.m. at 45 Bleecker St.; 212-533-5470, subculturenewyork.com. Tickets start at $25.
— Hardeep Phull