STEP UP!: REAL CAMP
The folks who brought you the interactive “Alice in Wonderland” adventure “Then She Fell” are back with “Roadside Attraction,” a ’70s sitcom-in-a-camper.
For the River to River festival, they’ve created a campground, including a picnic table and an authentic 1970s Coleman pop-up camper that six dancers climb and dive through. It’s a miniature theme park of kitsch, though choreographer and director Jennine Willett sadly admits they had to lose the hibachi grill since it was a fire hazard.
The plot is “National Lampoon’s Vacation” meets “The Partridge Family” meets “Madame Bovary.” The campers include a mother whose personality is so big it needs two dancers to portray the role and a rogue boyfriend modeled on Shaun Cassidy. “Bring a blanket and camp out with us,” invites Willett.
Watch open rehearsals today and tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.; performances begin Sunday at noon, other shows through July 2. Brookfield Place Plaza, 220 Vesey St. Free. Info at thirdrailprojects.com.
— Leigh Witchel
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CHECK IT OUT!: LET THERE BE LIGHT
Artist James Turrell works big. His magnum opus, still in progress, is a 3-mile-wide crater in Arizona that, for more than three decades, he’s been turning into an elaborate, multi-tunneled observatory for the naked eye. In the meantime, he’s had various light-and-space exhibits in major museums all over the world. His latest — and his first New York show since 1980 — is at the Guggenheim. “Aten Reign” is a dramatic, spherical tower of subtly shifting light built into the museum’s rotunda. Its otherworldly hues encourage us to “see light as we know it, but not as we see it very often with the eyes open,” says the nature-loving Turrell, who humbly added at his press conference that “it’s terrific outside, and you all oughta be out there!” The Guggenheim at 1071 Fifth Ave.; 212-423-3500, guggenheim.org.
— Sara Stewart
James Turrell rendering: Andreas Tjeldflaat
3 of 5
CATCH A WAVE!: GOOD FLOATATIONS
This weekend, New Yorkers of all ages can explore the city’s maritime past at the fifth annual North River Historic Ship Festival, which features everything from circus acts onboard a century-old wooden barge to free boat rides and knot-tying lessons.
The vessels on display include the 1885 schooner Pioneer and the 106-year-old tug Pegasus. A mere 80 years old, the decommissioned lighthouse tender Lilac is spry in comparison.
And make sure to visit the John J. Harvey, which was brought out of retirement on 9/11.
“When the Coast Guard put out a call for boats that day, the new owners of the John Harvey answered,” says Mary Habstritt, president of the North River Historic Ship Society.
“They helped rescue people, and as a former fireboat they also could pump water onto the fire — a lot of the hydrants didn’t work so the firefighters couldn’t hook up to them.”
Hudson River Park, Pier 25, at North Moore Street, today through Sunday, starting at noon. Info at nrhss.org.
— Elisabeth Vincentelli
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DON’T MISS!: FINE FOLK
Although cancer sadly claimed the life of folk singer Kate McGarrigle three years ago, her artistic legacy continues to grow, and two events at BAM next week will no doubt further that reputation. On Tuesday, the venue will screen last year’s concert film “Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You.” Wednesday night’s performance, “Kate’s Kids,” will feature her children Martha and Rufus Wainwright reinterpreting McGarrigle’s songs with help from a number of her musical offspring including Norah Jones, Mark Ronson and Emmylou Harris. “I wish these shows weren’t happening because I would rather have my mom,” Rufus Wainwright tells The Post. “But she left an incredible legacy. One of the great things about being a songwriter is that once you die, your life lives on. I think that’s going to happen with my mom’s work … and I hope that happens with me.” “Kate’s Kids,” $45 and up; 7:30 p.m. at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave., Fort Greene; 718-636-4100, bam.org.
— Hardeep Phull
Courtesy of BAM
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WATCH IT!: BIGGER THAN EVER
A flop when it came out in 1956, Nicholas Ray’s “Bigger Than Life” is now regarded as a devastating critique of the dark side of suburban life in the 1950s almost on a par with his “Rebel Without a Cause.” James Mason, who also produced, gives one of his most impressive performances as a dad who becomes a raving megalomanic after getting hooked on the “miracle” drug cortisone. Barbara Rush plays his concerned wife and Walter Matthau the best friend who may be gay. This CinemaScope marvel is screening Sunday at 5 p.m. on the huge screen at the Museum of the Moving Image, 35th Avenue and 36th Street, Astoria. Info: movingimage.us.
— Lou Lumenick
