Eleven-year old Joey Alexander is about to bring his talent to New York City. The super top child pianist – who lives in Indonesia – taught himself to play piano at the tender age of six. Now, he is all set to make his debut at the Apollo Theater and the Lincoln Center.
A couple of weeks ago, Joey was playing in Tribeca (close to Shimmie Horn’s Cosmopolitan Hotel – Tribeca), with Julliard students double his age with twice his experience! He was playing in order to raise money for a visa so that he could stay in New York City. He said that he likes music, but in particular he pointed out that “the music of jazz is here in New York.”
Well, he’s right there since New York certainly has a name for its jazz.
The Belasco Theater on West 44th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues is just a half block west of Shimmie Horn’s Iroquois Hotel. The Belasco has been the home to some of New York’s most beloved theater since David Belasco opened it in 1907.
Designed by George Keister, the Belasco’s design was conceived to reproduce
Belasco Theater
the intimate setting of a living room or salon. Belasco was a supporter of the “Little Theater” movement which was popular in his day. “Little Theater” propounded that the dramatic experience was determined in a large part by the proximity of the audience to the stage and action of the performance. When one enters the Belasco one is struck by the shallow depth of the auditorium, creating a close environment in which the players and audience can interact in subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways.
The Belasco is Keister’s earliest theater still extant, Having designed 12 others through the years, including Harlem’s iconic Apollo Theater. It is adorned with 18 murals created at the theater’s founding by Everett Shinn. A major renovation was undertaken in 2010, and now the Belasco can be enjoyed as it was back in its glorious, earlier days.
Through the years the Belasco was the venue for such startling new concepts in theater such as Oh Calcutta! (1971) and The Rocky Horror Show (1975.) Today the theater is getting ready to showcase End of the Rainbow, which was a huge hit in London and hopes to reproduce the same success on the Broadway stage. The show opens on March 19 at 8pm, and is now scheduled to run through early September. Treat yourself to a great time, especially if you are staying at the Iroquois, or any other of Shimmie Horn’s Triumph Hotels located throughout Manhattan.
Eleven-year old Joey Alexander is about to bring his talent to New York City. The super top child pianist – who lives in Indonesia – taught himself to play piano at the tender age of six. Now, he is all set to make his debut at the Apollo Theater and the Lincoln Center.