Arts & Entertainment

ART
Challenge issues of identity through Lorna Simpson’s photographic and film work at the artist’s first mid-career survey. At the Whitney Museum of American Art, March 1 through May 6. whitney.org.

By Heather Corcoran

Composer, conductor and musician Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris has reinvented the way jazz is performed. His style, which he calls Conduction—a combination of conduction and improvisation—uses symbolic gestures to guide musicians, with Morris playing the role of both “soloist and member of the ensemble.” Last week the innovator was feted with a concert at the Bowery Ballroom to celebrate his 60th birthday.

MUSIC
New Pornographers chanteuse Neko Case plays the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Allen Room as part of the American Songbook Series on Feb. 23.

THEATER
The new play from Sam Mark, “Nelson,” follows the quirky adventures of a talent agency assistant with a secret after-work life. Through March 3 at the Lion Theater.

By Anusha Alikhan

With the favorites for this year’s Oscars already picked-out, movie buffs can look forward to a whole new year of films to watch. It may be too early to tell which contenders will make it onto the Oscar roster in 2008, but with a little help from the experts, we can give you a preview of some upcoming bests.

Photo credit Emily Rawlings

New York City-based musician Kelli Rae Powell is gaining a small but loyal fan base with her repertoire of songs that show the influence of both Billie Holiday and Johnny Cash.

By Julia Corcoran

It’s clear where we are from the very first view of the stage - faded storefront awnings, a Virgin Mary figurine on a windowsill, the 181st Street A train subway stop and the George Washington Bridge, looming like a beacon in the background. The new musical “In the Heights,” is not set in just any New York neighborhood; it is unmistakably rooted in Washington Heights, a predominately Latino community near the northern tip of Manhattan.

Richard Foreman’s latest play, “Wake up Mr. Sleepy! Your Unconscious Mind is Dead!” begins with the wire-haired director personally addressing the crowd: “Relax! Don’t work overly hard trying to understand.” Foreman’s mind-bending experimental theater has been challenging conventions since its founding in 1968. Now, he’s traveling the world, lecturing and filming video to use in his live performances. Foreman turns 70 this year, and as he tells the Resident he’s just getting started.