Spring Arts Guide

After an elongated, arduous winter, a full calendar of spring arts events makes it easy to get out and enjoy the neighborhood as the weather warms. Here’s our preview of upcoming arts and cultural events in the neighborhood. No hats or gloves required.

MUSEUMS

Life at the Limits: Stories of Amazing Species

This new special exhibit explores how some species survive in the most improbable conditions, whether at the darkest depths of the ocean, in extremely hot or cold temperatures, or years without food and water. With a life-size replica of an elephant seal, which can hold its breath for two hours while it hunts thanks to its excess of hemoglobin, live sea creatures, including mantis shrimp, which deliver powerful blows that can shatter the shells of their prey (and even aquarium glass) the exhibit examines how life endures and adapts to bizarre circumstances.

Life at the Limits: Stories of Amazing Species

Through January 3, 2016

American Museum of Natural History

Central Park West at 79th Street

Museum hours: 10 a.m.-5:45 p.m. daily

Admission $27 (includes admission to the museum and one special exhibit)

For more information, call 212-769-5100 or visit amnh.org

America is Hard to See

The Whitney Museum of American Art’s first exhibition in its new home seems by nature celebratory of both American art and the museum’s holdings, and with good reason. The new, Renzo Piano-designed building on Gansevoort Street—four years in the making—opens May 1, with a massive exhibition surveying 115 years of American art. Comprised entirely of work from the museum’s permanent collection, with some 600 pieces by 400 artists organized into 23 different “chapters,” the exhibit thematically links the work, but strings the sections together chronologically. Starting in a first floor gallery, with a section titled “Eight West Eighth,” the exhibit starts with works from the Whitney’s modest origins as an exhibition space in Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s gallery 100 years ago. Additional sections devoted to the idea of America as a place, with works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper and Bill Traylor, Pop art (with Jasper Johns’ “Three Flags” as well as work by Andy Warhol and Garry Winogrand), and Minimalism follow, concluding with “Course of Empire” in the fifth floor wing, a section that examines the present day.

America is Hard to See

May 1-Sept. 27

Whitney Museum of American Art

99 Gansevoort St., between Washington and West Streets

Museum hours: Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m., and Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

Admission $22

For more information, visit whitney.org or call 212-570-3600

THEATER

“The Other Thing”

In promising playwright Emily Schwend’s supernatural new show, an unassuming journalist on assignment in rural Virginia sets out for an evening of research with a family of ghost hunters.

“The Other Thing”

May 12-June 7

McGinn/Cazale Theatre

2162 Broadway, at 76th Street

Assorted show times

Tickets $29-$50

To purchase tickets, visit 2st.com or call 212-246-4422

“Henry IV Part I”

Outdoor theater company Hudson Warehouse kicks off its season with a production of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV Part I.” Staged at the stately Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Riverside Park, the performances are always free, professionally-acted and produced, but delightfully free of the arduous lines for admission, a common occurrence for the Public Theater’s Shakespeare productions in Central Park.

“Henry IV Part I”

June 4-28

Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, north patio

W. 89th Street and Riverside Drive

Thursday-Sunday

6:30 p.m.

FREE

FILM

“Dior and I”

Filmmaker Frédéric Tcheng is no stranger to the world of fashion: his first film explored the legacy of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. His latest documentary follows Raf Simons, who took over as head designer for French fashion house Christian Dior after the ousting of former creative director John Galliano, as he prepares his first collection for the brand.

“Dior and I”

April 10-16

Film Society of Lincoln Center

70 Lincoln Center Plaza (W. 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue)

Assorted show times

Tickets $14

To purchase tickets, visit filmlinc.com or call 212-875-5601

MUSIC

St. Urban Salon Series

Pianist Lenore Davis hosts a regular chamber music series in her exquisite apartment on Central Park West, with each series centering on a theme. This season, the programs focus on the connection between music and written texts, which continues with a performance of Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin by baritone Michael Kelly and guitarist David Leisner, along with songs by Brahms. Following the intimate performance guests are invited to mingle with the performers over wine and snacks.

St. Urban Salon Series

Wednesday, April 15

Address available upon ticket purchase

7:30 p.m.

Tickets $35

To purchase tickets, visit st-urban.com, or email info@st-urban.com for more information

“The Death of Ajax” and “The Death of Oedipus”

Composer and librettist Martin Halpern’s two chamber operas, based on plays by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, reveal how death can deliver redemption. Pianist Earl Buys, Halpern’s frequent collaborator, accompanies four singers, including soprano Alisa Peterson and baritone Jim Trainor, music director of the church where the performance takes place.

The Death of Ajax and the Death of Oedipus

April 16-18

Church of St. Gregory the Great

144 W. 90th St., between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues

8 p.m.

Tickets $22

To purchase tickets, email marhalp2@gmail.com or purchase at the door

KIDS

Origami at the Rubin Museum

Starting May 3 and continuing every Sunday in May (except May 24), families can take part in origami crafting, an activity that has been linked to improved hand-eye coordination and mental relaxation. Appropriate for ages 3 and up, with accompanying adults.

Origami at the Rubin Museum

May 3, 10, 17 and 31

Rubin Museum

150 W. 17th St., near Seventh Avenue

1-4 p.m.

Admission $5 for children, $15 for adults (includes access to the museum’s exhibitions)

For more information, visit rubinmuseum.org or call 212-620-5000

DANCE

Dzul Dance’s “Pixom”

Raised in a Mayan tribal community in Mexico, Javier Dzul learned ritual dances as a way to commune with nature and Mayan gods. After professional dancing brought him to New York, he founded a company that combines dance, aerial movements and contortions, incorporating Dzul’s heritage with contemporary form. His new work “Pixom,” which means spirit, is based on Mayan children’s fables.

Dzul Dance’s “Pixom”

Saturday, April 18

Gerald W. Lynch Theater, 524 W. 59th St., between Tenth and West End Avenues

8 p.m.

Tickets $35

To purchase tickets, visit www.dzuldance.eventbrite.com

POETRY

Poetry Walk on the High Line

Poets positioned throughout a 10-block stretch of the High Line perform their work for visitors of the park, from traditional readings to spoken word from regulars at the Nuyorican Poets Café on E. 3rd Street to performances by poets whose language is American Sign Language.

Poetry Walk on the High Line

Saturday, April 25

The High Line

Starts at West 14th Street (entrance near Tenth Avenue)

6:30-9 p.m.

FREE