Brooklyn Academy of Music Planning a Season Focused on New York

There will be dances exploring black love and relationships, theater work highlighting technology’s impact on everyday life, and an appearance by filmmaker Spike Lee.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music will focus on New York City artists next season, according to an announcement Friday, as it tries to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is a season to celebrate artists who have given New York City a sense of possibility, a sense of wonder, a sense of bubbling, a glow, a bit of magic,” the Academy’s artistic director, David Binder, said in an interview. He said the academy wants to create a season to mark New York’s recovery from the pandemic that has brought many of the city’s cultural institutions to a standstill for more than 18 months.

The season, which runs from November to March, is the academy’s first season since the pandemic began. The organization will feature a mix of familiar hits and new creations as they seek to draw audiences back to their stage and reclaim the millions of ticket revenues lost during the pandemic.

Dance will be at the forefront and will kick off in November with the world premiere of “The Mood Room,” the Grand Dance Theater production designed, directed and choreographed by Annie-B Parson. Taking place in Los Angeles in 1980, the show mixes dance, theater and spoken opera to explore the influences of Reaganism.

The dance staff also includes: Reggie WilsonNew York premieres of “Power” in January and Kyle Abraham’s “An Untitled Love” in February. Set to neo-soul music, the piece is described as “the glorification of black love and unity.”

Also comes in February Pam Tanowitz’s acclaimed “Four Quartets” A staging of TS Eliot’s poems. When it premiered at Bard College’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in 2018, Alastair Macaulay, writing in The New York Times, described it as “the greatest dance theater creation of this century.”

Mark Morris Dance Group to perform in March Morris’ classic “L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato” (1988) is set to Handel’s oratorio.

There will also be theater and cabaret events. In March, renowned experimental New York theater company SITI Company will stage “The Medium,” a minimalist meditation on the role of technology in society.

Cabaret artists Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Mellman will star as their second personalities, Kiki and Herb, in their new holiday special, “SLEIGH,” which will premiere after Thanksgiving.

In December, Lee will appear with his brother to chat about his new book, “SPIKE,” which offers a visual glimpse into the filmmaker’s career.

It remains to be seen whether audiences will be at pre-pandemic levels with coronavirus cases still high, but Binder said he believes many people are clamoring for live performances. He said the academy’s short fall season, which opened in September, had drawn large sold-out crowds.

“New Yorkers seem really hungry to get back into the theater,” Binder said. “I feel very optimistic and excited.”