Issue 152 September 2018

A NEWSLETTER OF THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY GETTY IMAGES

Theatre Tips sion of the men in her life, unfolded on stage. Broadway show inexpensively, but of course, Not every theatre experience is as emotion- you shouldn’t rely on winning to have plans M e l i s s a Ja r m e l ally charged as that one, but they all offer a to see theatre that night. Some shows like One of the best ways that I know how chance to see life from a different perspective Mean Girls, Book of Mormon, and Once On to take myself out of lab life is to see live the- and with a unique group of people. In future This Island offer in person lotteries every atre, and I’m lucky that New York City offers posts, I hope to highlight shows I’ve watched day that are usually drawn two hours before an overwhelming number of options to do on and off Broadway, but this time I want to the performance. In the last couple of years, this affordably (though Hamilton ticket pric- give you tips for seeing theatre on a budget. many shows have begun to offer digital lot- es may have you fooled about this). If you are a full time student, teacher, tery options. Broadway Direct (https://lot- One of the aspects I love most about or faculty member (or other qualifying cat- tery.broadwaydirect.com/) offers digital lot- going to the theatre is the acute feeling that egory), the Theatre Development Fund is teries for Lion King, Aladdin, Spongebob, and I am part of a connected community. As an your friend — https://www.tdf.org/nyc/24/ Summer. The TodayTix app (https://www. audience member at a live theatre perfor- Eligibility-Requirements. For just $35 a year, todaytix.com/) currently offers the digital lot- mance, you’re part of the experience in a you will have access to dozens of theatre ex- tery for the Harry Potter play on Broadway. way that is different than watching a movie periences in the city, many of them on Broad- Also, shows such as Hamilton (https://ham- or reading a book (pastimes I also enjoy and way. You can purchase tickets in advance for iltonmusical.com/lottery/), Dear Evan Han- support!) because your attention and energy multiple people, and prices range from $9-49, sen (https://dearevanhansenlottery.com/), mix with those around you. This atmosphere with only a $4 processing fee. Hamilton and and Book of Mormon (https://www.luckyseat. affects the performers and the audience’s Wicked won’t show up through this service, com/book-of-mormon/) offer their own dig- experience, for better or worse. One of my but popular shows like Carousel and Hello ital lotteries on dedicated websites. more memorable theatre-going experiences Dolly have. You don’t find out where your If you have patience, rush tickets are was seeing the final performance ofThe Color seats are until you arrive at the theatre, but also a wonderful budget-friendly option. Purple revival in 2017. The Clintons arrived. I’ve often lucked out with orchestra seats! Some shows restrict their rush policies by The house shook with applause that never Seeing Broadway on a budget is rarely going age or student status, but many are open quite died down as each song about the fe- to get better than this. male protagonist, rising above the oppres- Lotteries also offer a way to see a CONTINUED TO P. 2 - 1 CONTINUED FROM P. 1 - atlantictheater.org/) for starters. There are also four TKTS booths for the general public. Rush tickets are sold around the city (https://www.tdf.org/nyc/7/ Editorial Board when the box office opens (typically 10am TKTS-ticket-booths) that offer same day Jim Keller Tuesday-Saturday and noon on Sundays), Broadway and Off-Broadway tickets at a dis- Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor but you’ll want to get in line at least a couple count. The seats are usually in the orchestra hours before to better your odds. Each show section, so you might still be paying more Chew-Li Soh has discretion for how many rush tickets they than $50 for a ticket, but your view will be Stephanie Marcus will sell on a given day, but you can usually great and it’s still cheaper than buying from Associate Editors count on around twenty tickets sold at the the box office. The TodayTix app sometimes Sarah Baker rush price. If you’re one of the first ten people offers tickets for a discount compared to the Editorial Assistant, Webmaster, Distribution on line, your chances are pretty good. Some box office, but not all the time so be sure to Megan Elizabeth Kelley shows have also started offering a digital rush double-check! Copy Editor, Communication in the TodayTix app as well, including shows This isn’t an exhaustive list of budget- at The Public Theater (https://www.public- friendly ways to see theatre in the city, but it Nicole Infarinato theater.org/). should be plenty to get you started! Always Copy Editor, Distribution Speaking of which, don’t overlook see- get in touch with the show’s box office for the Melissa Jarmel ing shows Off-Broadway! The houses are most accurate information on rush or lottery Copy Editor, Website Traffic smaller so the shows are more intimate and policies. And here’s a website that keeps up the tickets are often more affordable. Stu- with the rush and lottery options for Broad- Johannes Buheitel dent discounts or age-related discounts are way shows (http://www.broadwayforbroke- Emma Garst also usually available if you ask the box of- people.com/). Copy Editors fice. I’d recommend checking out The Pub- Remember to be kind to the audience Guadalupe Astorga lic (https://www.publictheater.org/), 2nd members around you by turning off your Nan Pang Stage (https://2st.com/), New World Stages phones, unwrapping your candies, and keep- Designers (https://newworldstages.com/), Classic Stage ing fidgeting and talking to a minimum dur- Company (https://www.classicstage.org/), ing the performance. And of course, enjoy selections.rockefeller.edu [email protected] and the Atlantic Theatre Company (https:// the show!

Natural Expressions Ascensus Volume VII Launch Event Ascensus: The WCM Journal of Humanities will be hosting a launch party and exhibition for volume VII of their publication this month. Ascensus is a student-led organization that promotes the humanities by collecting and publishing works from members of the Tri- Institutional community. The launch event will feature select pieces from the upcoming publication and short performances.

Date: September 11, 2018 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Weill Greenberg Center, 1305 York Avenue, 2nd floor (rooms A/B) Admission: Free

Email Megan E. Kelley at [email protected] to submit your art, music, performance, sporting, or other event for next month’s Natural Expressions bulletin.

2 Culture Corner Visiting Michelangelo’s Sculptures in Florence B e r n i e L a ng s

One of my personal goals during a late features of Brutus compelled my extended May 2018 visit to Florence, Italy was to view as meditation. Based on photos I’ve viewed many sculptures by Michelangelo as possible. in art history books, I had concerns about Here is a rundown of my thoughts on some of seeing Bacchus face-to-face, in the God of the works that I saw. Wine’s all-too-very naked flesh. I found the inebriated young man easier to view in person than in printed reproductions. At the Bargello, I was also delighted to en- counter the gracefully sculpted Madonna (known as “Tondo Pitti”). It is one of the Master’s emergent marble bas-reliefs and a study in nuance, poise, and gentle reli- gious rendering. The sculpture is breath- taking in its simplicity and the stone’s ethereal color. Photos by Bernie Langs Bernie by Photos The Deposition at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo and Palestrina Pietà at Galleria dell’Accademia

These two sorrowful scupltures are very much akin. The Depostion was created by Mi- chelangelo originally for his own tomb and Langs Bernie by Photos it is generally agreed that the hooded figure Museo nazionale del Bargello: Brutus, of Nicodemus carrying the body of the dead Bacchus, and Madonna (“Tondo Pitti”): Christ is a self-portrait of the artist. It is a Langs Bernie by Photos moving, emotionally strong work of art re- Brutus is a fantastic marble bust de- Galleria dell’Accademia: David and The flecting the deep-rooted inner pain suffered picting Julius Caesar’s infamous assassin. Bearded Slave by Michelangelo. The sculpture seemingly Although Dante placed the ancient Ro- begs to be read as a statement of profound re- man far down in the depths of Hell, Mi- The big enchilada of Michelangelo’s ligious ideals, but it can also be read as a harsh chelangelo’s work leans towards Brutus’ achievements and one of the most refer- metaphor for mankind’s turmoiled existence. heroic nature, mirroring the Florentine enced works in all of art history, David, The Palestrina Pietà is another study in grief, movement of Republicanism against the does not disappoint when encountered in also depicting Christ in the moments after his notion of tyranny, a perspective current a museum setting. The Master’s creation death, this time supported by two figures, the to the artist’s sphere. While many sculpt- is enormous in size and impossibly carved one to his side most likely his mother, Mary. ed busts from the Renaissance, ancient with a polished gleam. The youthful fig- This sculpture is now attributed to Michel- Greece, and Imperial Rome illicit only an ure liberated by the artist from a block of angelo, though may be a work he started that appreciative glance when I visit museums, was later completed by another hand. the rough texture, turned head, and other CONTINUED TO P. 4 - 3 CONTINUED FROM P. 3 -

marble into the absolutely stunning, strik- ing image of the Biblical hero makes for an awe-inspiring personal encounter. While I found many other sculptures by Michel- angelo more engaging on emotional and philosophical levels, David’s undeniable beauty is quite enough for any viewer to experience joy in its presence. The Acca- demia lines the approach to David with several unfinished pieces that are grouped together under the heading of non-fini- to. The works garner less attention from many tourists than the colossal David at the end of the passageway. These odd, yet beautiful “slaves” or “prisoners” in varying

twisted or turned poses offer great insight Langs Bernie by Photo into Michelangelo’s working process and Museo delle Cappelle Medicee:

showcase the tragic aspect in the forefront Langs Bernie by Photo Tomb of Giuliano di Lorenzo de’ Medici of many of his late works. Palazzo Vecchio: Genius of Victory with Night and Day and Tomb of Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici with Dusk and Dawn I chanced upon Michelangelo’s Ge- nius of Victory while roaming through On my final day in Florence, after the huge chamber of the Palazzo Vech- seeing hundreds of paintings, sculptures, hio’s Salone dei Cinquecento. One walks and architectural wonders of the bejew- in the majestic space gaping at enormous eled city on the river Arno, my very last military and battle frescos. It was beneath stop was at the Medici Chapel, where I one of these paintings that this sculpture stood with a handful of visitors to take in by Michelangelo drew my attention. This the sight of two tombs designed and ex- great work of art is made even greater ecuted in marble by Michelangelo. One because of where it is situated. Nestled set of sculptures depicts Giuliano, Duke along a wall below the massive, colorful of Nemours (and a brother of Pope Leo frescoes, it is strategically placed in the X) flanked by reclining statues of Day, in company of several other monumental the guise of a strapping man, and Night, statues, including Vincenzo de’ Rossi’s La- depicted as a sleeping woman. The other bors of Hercules. The Palazzo Vecchio was is the tomb of the Duke of Urbino, Leo’s also the site where Michelangelo planned nephew. The Duke’s pose is thoughtful and to paint and Leonardo da Vinci toiled un- pensive as he sits with Dawn on his right successfully with “dueling” frescos that are and Dusk on his left. All of the figures in now lost to history. David was also origi- the room led me to a state of bewildered, nally displayed in the outside courtyard of confused meditation. The gestures and the Palazzo. bodily postures of both deceased men, as well as their distant facial expressions, led me into serious thought and an odd, quiet sadness. They came across as holding an internal, desperate gravitas, tinged with the mournful aspect one finds in ancient Greek and Roman funerary steles and sculptures. The four reclining mythologi- cal figures appeared in my mind’s eye as a mirror of the deepest religious, spiritual, and philosophical state that embodied the soul and genius of Michelangelo. These figures are beyond allegory. I stood in the Chapel for a very long time, dumbfound- ed and amazed that an artist’s inner being

Photos by Bernie Langs Bernie by Photos could reach so profoundly and harshly Casa Buonarroti: Madonna of the Steps into such deep and dark territories un-

and Battle of the Centaurs (detail) Langs Bernie by Photo known in his time – and to this very day. 4 Life on a Roll So many Venices in the World! nals and the large Neva River. Lose The Venice of the North Before booking my trip to Russia, yourself in the Hermitage Museum I had no clue that Peter the Great and its famous green Winter Palace. E l o d i e Pau w e l s wanted the city he founded, Saint Pe- And catch up on the Romanov dy- tersburg, to look like Venice, Italy. nasty while visiting Saints Peter and Visit Elodie’s photoblog: During the never-ending sum- Paul Cathedral in the middle of the https://elodiepphoto.wordpress.com/ mer days, discover this colorful city fortress, the very place the city was with dozens of palaces along ca- founded in 1703!

Natural Selections is not an official publication of The Rockefeller University. University administration does not produce this newsletter. The views expressed by the contributors to this publication may not necessarily reflect views or policies of the University. 5