Our guide to cultural events in New York City for children and teenagers happening this weekend and in the week ahead.
‘A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS LIVE’ at ShapeShifter Lab (Dec. 7-8, noon and 2 and 5 p.m.; through Dec. 15). The animated ABC television special “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is more than 50 years old, yet somehow, just like the “Peanuts” character immortalized in its title, it manages to seem forever young. One of the organizations that keep the 1965 show’s holiday cheer evergreen is the Pig Brooch Theater Company, which each year presents not only Charles M. Schulz’s entire script, word for word, but also the accompanying Vince Guaraldi music, which a live jazz trio plays. The production’s message has enduring appeal as well: When Charlie grows depressed (when doesn’t he?) by the commercialism of the season, he learns, with Linus’s help, that Christmas is about far more than tinsel and toys.
charliebrownchristmasinbrooklyn.com
FIRST SATURDAYS FOR FAMILIES: WIND-POWERED SCULPTURES at the New Museum (Dec. 7, 10 a.m.-noon). You may not consider air an artistic medium, but it will play an important role in what children invent in this free interactive workshop, which is presented in conjunction with “Hans Haacke: All Connected,” a retrospective of that German-born provocateur’s career. Including several of his kinetic sculptures, the show examines many forces besides wind that can help shape a creative project, and this related program will encourage visitors ages 4 to 12 to think of art as a fluid entity. Experimenting with materials of different weights, like balloons, fabric and trim, participating families (the event is first come first served) will make sculptural elements for a collaborative installation. Oscillating fans will then breathe life into the work, setting all its parts in dizzying motion.
212-219-1222, newmuseum.org
‘MUSIC FROM THE SOLE’ at the Clark Studio Theater (Dec. 7-8, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.). You can be sure that this will also be music from the soul. Part of LC Kids, Lincoln Center’s series for young people, this show combines original compositions and choreography in a program that is simultaneously a big-band concert, a tap-dance presentation and a cross-cultural celebration. The presiding geniuses are the dancer and musician Leonardo Sandoval, who will draw on his Brazilian heritage, and the bassist and composer Gregory Richardson, who combines jazz, funk and Afro-Cuban traditions. (Both men work with the acclaimed tap company Dorrance Dance.) Although the 2 p.m. performances are currently sold out (more tickets may be released later), seats remain for the 11 a.m. shows.
212-721-6500, lincolncenter.org/kids
‘THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT’ at the Martha Graham Studio Theater (Dec. 7, 3 and 7 p.m.). In Edward Lear’s comic 1871 poem of the same title, the Owl and the Pussycat “danced by the light of the moon.” They will dance joyously here, too, but the illumination will be theatrical, as Graham 2, the preprofessional company made up of advanced students from the Martha Graham School, revives this choreographed version of the couple’s interspecies romance. One of the rare humorous pieces that Martha Graham created, the 1978 work, which is set to music by Carlos Surinach, follows the Owl and the Pussycat as they sail away, buy a ring from a pig and are married by a turkey. Graham added a dolphin and mermaids to the celebration, which in this production features Oliver Tobin as narrator and appearances by some of the young participants in the Teens@Graham program. The matinee performance will offer children party favors as well as opportunities to learn some of the dance’s moves and pose for photographs with the cast.
212-229-9200, marthagraham.org
[Read about the events that our other critics have chosen for the week ahead.]
PRINT, POETRY, AND PLAY! at the Irish Arts Center (Dec. 7, noon-2 p.m.). You could also add “perform” to this alliterative title. The center is inviting children — the recommended ages are 5 to 10 — to explore all aspects of printmaking in a three-part workshop that will involve more than just art materials. Ben Weber, the founder of Smash Type, a project that its website describes as “a living typewriter,” will help young people create a collaborative manuscript or message, using paint and templates of letters that are attached to oversize mallets. Darrah Carr Dance, a company that specializes in fusing modern movement with Irish tradition, will teach participants how to write “human poems” by sculpting their bodies into alphabet shapes. Children can also put their own stamp on the holidays as they work with the Irish artist Fiona Kelly to make printed greeting cards, wrapping paper and tote bags.
866-811-4111, irishartscenter.org
‘SNOW WHITE AND THE S-E-V-E-N DWARFS’ at the 92nd Street Y (Dec. 7-8, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.). In the traditional version of this fairy tale, the evil Queen envies Snow White for her beauty. Here, the competition is based on brains. And that’s not the only difference: Set at Forest Wood Elementary School, this new musical presents Snow White as a student who has just enrolled, and her rival, Georgia, as a classic mean girl whose dominion is the spelling bee. When it appears that Snow White might be even better at this contest, the whole situation spells trouble. Adapted by Megan Doyle and Jeffrey Sanzel, with a book by Sanzel and a score by Kevin F. Story, this Theater for Young Audiences half-hour production moves closer to the original story when Snow White falls asleep in the school library and dreams of seven dwarfs, bumbling characters who mine words. Children attending can expect to learn about self-confidence and fair play — and a little spelling, too.
212-415-5500, 92y.org
‘KENAN THOMPSON’S ULTIMATE COMEDY EXPERIENCE NATIONWIDE COMEDY SHOWCASE: BROOKLYN KIDS’ at the Knitting Factory (Dec. 8, 1:30 p.m.). Children and teenagers are always competing — in school admissions, athletic events, play and band auditions, student elections. Here, however, they’re in a contest to prove what is often a more rare talent: the ability to make people laugh. Founded by the comic and “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson and his producing partner Cherie Chiles-Buchanan, the Ultimate Comedy Experience holds showcases across the country in which young people deliver original — and completely family-friendly — stand-up routines. In Brooklyn on Sunday (a Saturday showcase is already sold out), about 15 young comedians from the New York area will compete before industry professionals for places at the national finale in April. (In that concluding event, several of the comics will be selected to get a backstage tour of “S.N.L.,” and one national winner will receive promotional opportunities and a headlining slot in a 2020 showcase.) Last year’s national winner, the New York middle-school student Carolyn White, will appear at Sunday’s show, where everyone is invited to cheer — and chuckle.
simplyc360.com
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