“The show must go on,” said the entertainment business, and for the most part it did: Most of the Great White Way was open for business yesterday, while other major institutions simply rescheduled big events.
On Tuesday night, the peripatetic Alec Baldwin was supposed to be at Carnegie Hall, emceeing a fund-raising concert for the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, with violinist Joshua Bell, jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, half a dozen child prodigies from around the world and piano phenom Lang Lang himself. The concert has been rescheduled to June 3.
The rest of Carnegie’s schedule still up in the air — much like the crane across the street. Tonight’s performance by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s has been reset for June 1, as has the concert by pianist Wael Farouk, booked at the smaller Weill Recital Hall. Ticketholders have been asked to check carnegiehall.org for updates.
But things are much iffier for the smaller companies that make up the gritty heart and soul of the New York performing-arts scene. Many are located below 34th Street and have endured power outages, flooding or both. And those little guys have less financial elbow room.
Classic Stage Company on East 13th Street was forced to cancel previews of its “Ivanov,” which stars Ethan Hawke and was due open on Sunday. “As it is unknown when power might be restored,” cautioned a spokesman, “please note that it’s possible the opening itself may have to be rescheduled.”
The Public Theater and Joe’s Pub, housed in the same building on Lafayette Street, canceled all their performances until further notice. A tweet said, “We are still without power. Building is closed, including box office & admin offices. Online tix, email & phone systems are down.”
The experimental mecca the Kitchen, meanwhile, on 19th Street and 11th Avenue, had “a good deal of damage and will be closing for the rest of the week,” said publicist Blake Zidell. As a result, the last weekend of Richard Maxwell’s show “Neutral Hero” is canceled.
As for actress Jennifer Mudge, her run in MCC’s “Don’t Go Gentle” at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on Christopher Street may have ended earlier than expected.
“I went by the Lortel [Tuesday] morning, and the sign hanging outside had been blown down,” she said. The show, which was scheduled to close on Sunday, isn’t likely to resume.
Even Ovation, which handles tickets for several downtown and off-Broadway venues was affected. The Web site was working, but a system-wide outage of the corporate phone provider had employees handling calls from home.
But there are also happy news from at-risk places.
St. Ann’s Warehouse recently moved to a new location in DUMBO, just a few yards away from the East River.
“We dodged a bullet,” said executive director Andrew D. Hamingson. “The actual theater floor is three feet above the Jay Street entrance. We didn’t lose power, either. The scary part is, we have lights and sound packages waiting in Jersey City, which has taken a hit. Props for our new show, ‘Mies Julie,’ were sent from South Africa and are sitting with customs, also in Jersey City.”
Soho Rep, on Walker Street in TriBeCa, also counts its blessings. “Our board chair was able to drive down [on Tuesday] and look around with a flashlight,” said producer Caleb Hammons. “There’s only some water in the basement, so the biggest problem is that there’s no power. We were supposed to begin technical rehearsal for our new show, ‘We Are Proud to Present . . . ,’ but we’re just taking it one day at a time.”
As for the Vineyard Theatre on East 15th St., artistic director Douglas Aibel called to say they were “totally in the dark. Our front gate is electric, so we had to break in through a service elevator to check if there were any damages. Our theater is in a sub-basement, but we were lucky not to have any flooding.” The Vineyard’s current show, “Checkers,” postponed its opening date until further notice. “And the family of [star] Anthony LaPaglia had just flown in from Los Angeles,” Aibel continues. “They were all staying in the East Village, but we found them new accommodations.”
Hurricane Sandy also kept a lot of dancers on their toes. For Satellite Ballet, an independent group that includes several dancers from New York City Ballet, members Taylor Stanley, Lauren King and David Prottas were in Detroit when the storm KO’d their return flight to New York. The company chartered a bus and spent two days getting back to the city so the three could rehearse in choreographer Troy Schumacher’s living room. And yes, the show will go on: Friday at 8 p.m. at the Lynch Theater at John Jay College.
Probably no one was more disappointed at Tuesday’s cancellation of “Turandot” than soprano Janai Brugger: It was supposed to be her debut at the Met.
But the Lincoln Center campus, like much of the city, was dark that night, and the 29-year-old singer will have to wait until tomorrow for the big event.
Fortunately, she’s used to high-pressure situations. She accepted this Met gig on short notice when another singer called in sick, and soon after her final Met date (Nov. 9), Brugger will go on maternity leave for her first child, due early in February.
When Brugger finally steps out on the stage, she says she’ll remember advice from her teacher, the late Met diva Shirley Verrett: “Go out there and own it. And take your time!”
Additional reporting by Leigh Witchel, James Jorden and Barbara Hoffman