Sting to Perform Benefit Shows for Public Theater This Fall

Sting will perform 10 intimate shows at the Public Theater in early fall to raise money for that institution, playing songs from his forthcoming album “The Last Ship.”

The concerts will take place in the 260-seat Anspracher Theater from Sept. 25 through Oct. 9, a tiny space for the former front man of the Police, who can easily fill arenas. The proceeds of the shows will go to support the nonprofit theater, and a limited number of free seats will be given out the day of each performance through a lottery.

“The Last Ship” is Sting’s first full-length LP of original material since “Sacred Love,” from 2003, and marks the end of a long song-writing slump for him. The songs grew out of the work Sting has done on a musical of the same name, which producers hope to bring to Broadway in the fall of 2014. The musical is set in a shipyard in Wallsend, England, near where Sting spent his youth.

Sting has promised to provide some insights into his creative process for the musical during the concerts at the Public, which begin the same week the album is released.

Oskar Eustis, the artistic director of the Public, said in a statement: “‘The Last Ship’ is shaping up to be a masterpiece, both an elegy for and a celebration of the working class life of the Newcastle shipyards.”

Sting, 61, whose given name is Gordon Sumner, has been working on the musical for nearly three years, collaborating with the writers John Logan (“Red,” “Skyfall”) and Brian Yorkey (“Next to Normal”). It is a homecoming story set against the backdrop of the decline of the shipbuilding industry in Newcastle during the 1980s. The show will be directed by Joe Mantello, the actor and director best known for “Wicked” and “Other Desert Cities.” It had a closed-door workshop and presentation in May for theater producers and other potential investors.

Tickets for the concerts at the Public â€" ranging in price from $250 to $2,500 â€" will go on sale to the general public on Sunday, July 14, at 10 p.m. on the Public’s Web site and two hours later at the box office. But American Express cardholders will get a chance to purchase the tickets starting on July 10 at 6 p.m.

In addition, on one of the nights â€" Oct. 2 â€" an unknown number of tickets will be reserved for members of Sting’s fan club, distributed through an online lottery. Oct. 2 will be Sting’s 62nd birthday.

He Will Have Vengeance (Again): New York Philharmonic to Present ‘Sweeney Todd’

Sharpen your razor, keep your jugular vein protected and prepare to re-attend the tale of Sweeney Todd: the New York Philharmonic will present a new staged production in March of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” Stephen Sondheim’s dark and gory musical about a murderous hair-cutter with a thirst for vengeance, it was announced on Monday.

The Philharmonic said in a news release that the title character in its production of “Sweeney Todd,” which features a score by Mr. Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler, will be played by Bryn Terfel, the bass-baritone who sang the role of Wotan in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2012 production of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle. This “Sweeney Todd” will be conducted by Alan Gilbert, the music director of the Philharmonic, and directed by Lonny Price, who directed its all-star 2011 production of “Company” as well as its 2010 birthday concert for Mr. Sondheim.

No casting was immediately announced for the role of Mrs. Lovett, the meat-pie purveyor who makes makes special use of Sweeney Todd’s ability for producing dead carcasses, or for the other roles in the musical.

“Sweeney Todd” had its Broadway debut in 1979, in a production that starred Len Cariou as Sweeney Todd and Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett. The Philharmonic presented a staged production of “Sweeney Todd” in 2000 directed by Mr. Price and conducted by Andrew Litton, which starred Mr. Hearn and Patti LuPone. Ms. LuPone also portrayed the character of Mrs. Lovett in a 2005 Broadway revival opposite Michael Cerveris as Sweeney Todd. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter played the leads in a 2007 film adaptation directed by Tim Burton.

The Philharmonic’s production of “Sweeney Todd” will run from March 5 through 8.

New York Festival of Song to Honor Ned Rorem

The New York Festival of Song will celebrate the 90th birthday of Ned Rorem, this country’s most celebrated and prolific art song composer, as part of its 2013-14 season, which will also include the addition of a new “After Hours” series, as well as an expansion that will bring its programs to new halls.

The festival’s main series, now called “Mainstage,” at Merkin Concert Hall, opens with “Ned Is Ninety,” the tribute to Mr. Rorem, on Nov. 5. The program, which will be sung by the mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey and the baritone Andrew Garland, will include Mr. Rorem’s music as well as songs by his contemporaries, among them Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Paul Bowles, Aaron Copland, Francis Poulenc and Virgil Thomson.

The series also includes a look at Cuban music, “Cubans in Paris, Cubans at Home,” in which Corinne Winters, the soprano, Jeffrey Picón, the tenor, and Ricardo Herrera, the baritone, will sing excerpts from “Toi C’est Moi,” a 1934 opera by Moises Simóns, on Dec. 5, and “Warsaw Serenade,” an overview of 20th-century Polish works, performed by Dina Kuznetsova, the soprano, and Joseph Kaiser, the tenor. Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, the festival’s directors, will be the pianists at all three concerts.

The festival’s “Next” series, in which hourlong concerts are programmed and hosted by living composers, is moving to the Opera America’s National Opera Center. The three installments include evenings overseen by Mark Adamo (Jan. 28), John Musto (March 4) and Harold Meltzer (April 1).

The new “After Hours” series at Henry’s Restaurant, Broadway at 105th Street, will include three 10 p.m. cabaret programs: “Autumn in New York” (Sept. 23), “A Goyische Christmas to You!” (Dec. 16) and “The Land Where the Good Songs Go” (May 5).

A version of “The Land Where the Good Songs Go,” a celebration of P. G. Wodehouse’s collaborations with Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Ivor Novello, will also be performed at the Juilliard School on Jan. 15, as part of the festival’s “Emerging Artists” series, which puts a spotlight on the work of young singers. Other concerts in the series are at Poquatuck Hall in Orient, N.Y. (Aug. 25); the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, in Katonah, N.Y. (March 16) and at the National Opera Center (March 18 and 19).

MTV Awards Will Feature a New Moonman, Made Just for Brooklyn

Bryan Thomas for The New York Times The Brooklyn-based artist KAWS, born Brian Donnelly, with his new design for the MTV Moonman statuette.

For this year, Moonman has lost its Buzz.

Since the MTV Video Music Awards began in 1984, winners have collected the Moonman, a statuette based on the image of a helmeted Buzz Aldrin planting a flag on the moon.

For this year only, the astronaut will be supplanted by a figure that looks cartoonishly extra-terrestrial: Companion, the big-eared, X-eyed creature designed by the Brooklyn artist KAWS.

The KAWS Moonman is the first time MTV has redesigned its top prize since the VMA show began. Executives thought it was an appropriate way to mark the Aug. 25 ceremony, which will take place in a new venue, the Barclays Center, also the first time a live, nationally-televised award show will be beamed from Brooklyn.

“The connection to Brooklyn, it felt like it was the perfect time to reinvent an iconic image,” said Stephen Friedman, the president of MTV. “Consistent with our DNA of creative reinvention and constant reinvention, this felt like a perfect marriage.”

The chrome MTV trophy is 13-inches tall, and like its predecessor, presents Companion in a spacesuit, holding a flag with the MTV logo. The original Moonman and the network’s logo were created in the 1980s by the same downtown firm, Manhattan Design, led by Fred Seibert. (Mr. Aldrin gave his permission for his likeness to be used.)

But don’t expect a repeat appearance by Companion. “We were crystal-clear that this is not going to be the new Moonman every year,” said Mr. Friedman. “This was for this one moment in time, and we decided, let’s roll the dice.”

The idea to work with KAWS, born Brian Donnelly, came from Jesse Ignjatovic, an executive producer of the VMAs. Mr. Donnelly has a long history of transforming fixtures of popular culture, like Darth Vader, into his own cartoonlike characters.

Companion, who sometimes sits with his hands on his face, reminiscent of Rodin’s “The Thinker,” has appeared as a
sculpture in New York and Hong Kong, among other places, as well as part
of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“Companion winds up in things I never imagined,” Mr. Donnelly said, in an interview in his Williamsburg studio last week. “I kind of made it on a whim, and he just keeps coming back.”

Mr. Donnelly, 38, a Jersey City native who studied illustration at the School of Visual Arts and still considers himself a painter, will also design the stage set for the VMAs. It will include a 60-foot inflatable KAWS Moonman. That’s the tallest Companion ever, though he’s outweighed by a 14-ton wooden sculpture Mr. Donnelly has on display at the More Gallery in Giswil, Switzerland this summer.

The work of Mr. Donnelly, a street artist-turned toy designer-turned gallery favorite, is highly marketable. He counts Pharrell Williams as a collector and created the cover art for Kanye West’s 2008 album “808s & Heartbreak.” But he said he considers himself “an old person” and was characteristically unassuming about his stature amongst the MTV crowd.

“I’m sure there will be plenty of musicians that have no idea about me,” he said. “This will somehow infiltrate their homes and the hope is that they’ll find out more.”

As for his music industry friends, “They’ll be like, ‘What are you doing in our territory?’ ”

He is rooting for someone like Pharrell to take home a KAWS statue.

“It would just bug him out,” Mr. Donnelly said happily.

A ‘Cycling Madman’ Pedals His Way Across the World

Niko J. Kallianiotis for The New York Times Lai Likun, a native of China, is bicycling around the world. Last month, he made a stop in Flushing, Queens.

Lai Likun, 41, of China, is visiting New York City, but he does not plan on renting a CitiBike.

Short-term rentals are not useful to Mr. Lai. He has already been through six sturdy bikes over the past three years, having pedaled 31,000 miles through four continents and nearly 25 countries as part of a five-year solo bicycle tour around the world.

Mr. Lai, a farmer and factory worker, says his next destination is South America. He is flying to Beijing on Tuesday to straighten out his visa. Then he will head to the Pacific islands.

“It’s been my dream to bicycle around the world ever since I was 6 years old,” said Mr. Lai, who arrived in New York City in mid-June after completing the North American leg of his tour, a nearly seven-month journey that took him into Mexico and Cuba.

Mr. Lai came to the United States last December, arriving in New York City, before making his way to Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta, then to Texas and into Mexico. After a side trip to Cuba, he resumed traveling through Mexico to California, Nevada and Utah, before turning east and heading to Chicago, Detroit, Boston and then returning to New York.

Mr. Lai said he left his hometown of Shunde, in Guangdong Province, in November 2009 with the equivalent of roughly $20 in his pocket. He visited more than 40 Chinese cities and then crossed into Russia for a long westerly journey to northern Europe. After being turned away at the Finland border, he flew back to China and basically started over, this time through the far western region of Xinjiang and then south along the Silk Road route to Yunan Province and onto Vietnam.

Mr. Lai said he had relied on donations of food, shelter and money from strangers along the way, and on his outdoors-survivor skills - often living off the land and sleeping in a tent.

He travels with a portable karaoke machine, so that he can stop and belt out 1980s Chinese pop songs for donations.

Although he usually has the appropriate travel documents, border crossings have often been smoothed by showing officials the ever-growing pile of paperwork documenting his journey, including many awards from Chinese associations along the way, and many clippings from Chinese-language newspapers, in which he is repeatedly referred to in headlines as the “Shunde Ironman” or the “Cycling Madman.”

Even while he was being interviewed in a children’s playground in Flushing the other day, police officers arrived and shooed him away, but became friendly after learning his story. One of them, Kevin O’Donnell, from the 109th Precinct’s community affairs division, pulled out a $5 bill and gave it to Mr. Lai.

In every city or town he has visited, Mr. Lai has tried to find Chinese populations, whether it be a lone Chinese takeout place in a small town or bustling Chinatowns in major cities, where he has been invariably feted by various Chinese associations and followed by the local Chinese-language press.

But Mr. Lai â€" who speaks both Mandarin and Cantonese dialects, but no other languages â€" has also gone weeks at a time without meeting any Chinese speakers.

To communicate, he has asked people along the journey to help him write basic requests in various languages on Post-its, which he then staples together into phrase books:

“Please help me get to Chinatown. Thank you!”
“Can I find Chinese people nearby?”
“Would you please fill my bottle with hot water?”
“Would you please shelter me for the night?”

In a Flushing coffee shop, his bicycle leaned against a counter, with a collection of miniature flags fastened at the handlebars. It was loaded with gear, including a plastic “survival bucket,” which he said was used for bathing and fishing and to carry provisions. He also uses it to collect donations.

A bachelor, he stays in touch with friends and family back home by cellphone. Though he has a smartphone, he still relies on paper maps and atlases.

There has been romance - proposals from women in Malaysia and Cambodia, and a fling in Russia - and desperate culinary tactics that involved roasting small game - snakes in Cuba, field mice in Texas and frogs in Thailand â€" on a skewer over an open fire.

There has been danger, including getting lost in the Sahara without food, only to be saved by a passer-by who drove him to the nearest town.

Mr. Lai practices kung fu, which he said had helped him during several scrapes on his journey, including a confrontation in Siberia with a group of motorcyclists armed with handguns.

Through a combination of dancing, singing and kung fu moves, Mr. Lai said he was able to defuse the situation. Soon he was showing the bikers photos of his trek.

If nothing else, he said his journey proved that “as long as you stay determined, there is nothing a that person cannot do.’’

Obama to Present Arts and Humanities Medals on Wednesday

It may not lead to the creation of a science-fiction saga with a great jazz and R&B score, or an operatic aria about the life of America’s 16th president, but George Lucas, Herb Alpert, Allen Toussaint, Renée Fleming and Tony Kushner will be among the artistic dignitaries invited to gather on Wednesday at the White House to receive the National Medal of Arts, it was announced on Monday. The award, which is managed by the National Endowment for the Arts, is regarded as the nation’s highest honor for artistic excellence, and its winners are selected annually “based on their contributions to the creation, growth, and support of the arts in the United States,” the organization said in a news release.

In addition to Mr. Lucas, the filmmaker and “Star Wars” director; Mr. Alpert and Mr. Toussaint, the musicians and producers; Ms. Fleming, the soprano, and Mr. Kushner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and “Lincoln” screenwriter, other honorees who will receive the National Medal of Arts from President Obama include the artist Ellsworth Kelly; the author Ernest Gaines and the writer, director and comedian Elaine May.

The arts honors will be presented in conjunction with the National Humanities Medals, which are managed by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and whose recipients include the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson, the former United States poet laureate Kay Ryan, the actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith and Joan Didion, the essayist, novelist and screenwriter.

The ceremony will take place Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and will be streamed online at wh.gov/live.

Obama to Present Arts and Humanities Medals on Wednesday

It may not lead to the creation of a science-fiction saga with a great jazz and R&B score, or an operatic aria about the life of America’s 16th president, but George Lucas, Herb Alpert, Allen Toussaint, Renée Fleming and Tony Kushner will be among the artistic dignitaries invited to gather on Wednesday at the White House to receive the National Medal of Arts, it was announced on Monday. The award, which is managed by the National Endowment for the Arts, is regarded as the nation’s highest honor for artistic excellence, and its winners are selected annually “based on their contributions to the creation, growth, and support of the arts in the United States,” the organization said in a news release.

In addition to Mr. Lucas, the filmmaker and “Star Wars” director; Mr. Alpert and Mr. Toussaint, the musicians and producers; Ms. Fleming, the soprano, and Mr. Kushner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and “Lincoln” screenwriter, other honorees who will receive the National Medal of Arts from President Obama include the artist Ellsworth Kelly; the author Ernest Gaines and the writer, director and comedian Elaine May.

The arts honors will be presented in conjunction with the National Humanities Medals, which are managed by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and whose recipients include the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson, the former United States poet laureate Kay Ryan, the actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith and Joan Didion, the essayist, novelist and screenwriter.

The ceremony will take place Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and will be streamed online at wh.gov/live.

What Inspired You to Work in TV?

If you work in the television industry, we want to know what show or TV moment inspired your career in the business. Please share your story in the comments below.

This week we will begin publishing essays by New York Times critics about their cultural first crushes â€" the moments or works that prompted them to write about the arts. We will post a new essay each week exploring a variety of disciplines, from classical and pop music to dance and video games.

The critics will also choose some of their favorite stories from readers who work or have worked in their area of interest, and run them with their essay.

The series begins on Wednesday with Alessandra Stanley, chief television critic for The Times. Actors, network executives, writers, location scouts, reality show recruiters and any other TV professionals are invited to share whatever sparked their interest in the medium.

Please submit a comment describing what you do and how a TV viewing experience led you to your career; keep submissions under 250 words.

Ms. Stanley will select a handful of her favorite stories and present them on Wednesday with her own essay. We look forward to reading about your TV inspirations.

July 8: Where the Candidates Are Today

Planned events for the mayoral candidates, according to the campaigns and organizations they are affiliated with. Times are listed as scheduled but frequently change.

Joseph Burgess and Nicholas Wells contributed reporting.

Event information is listed as provided at the time of publication. Details for many of Ms. Quinn events are not released for publication.

Events by candidate

De Blasio

Lhota

Liu

Quinn

Salgado

Thompson

Weiner

Bill de Blasio
Democrat

12:30 p.m.
Endorses Mendy Mirocznik, a Democrat, for the City Council seat from the 50th District in Brooklyn currently occupied by James Oddo, a Republican who cannot run again because of term limits, near City Hall.

5:15 p.m.
Greets voters in Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, on the corner of 16th Street and First Avenue.

John C. Liu
Democrat

7 a.m.
Greets morning commuters in Bronxdale.

12 p.m.
Serves lunch at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, as part of a “Day of Service” that the city comptroller office runs for its summer associates, in Chelsea.

2 p.m.
Accepts an endorsement, outside City Hall.

5 p.m.
Greets voters in Sunset Park, in Brooklyn.

Joseph J. Lhota
Republican

7:30 a.m.
Greets morning commuters, at the Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan.

Christine C. Quinn
Democrat

10 a.m.
Holds a news conference with other Council members and restaurateurs to propose ways of reforming the city’s restaurant inspection process to improve fairness and reduce the number of frivolous fines, at Jerry’s Cafe on Chambers Street.

Some of Ms. Quinn’s events may not be shown because the campaign declines to release her advance schedule for publication.

William C. Thompson Jr.
Democrat

7:30 a.m.
Greets morning commuters at the subway station at 96th Street and Broadway.

Anthony D. Weiner
Democrat

11 a.m.
Continues his “Keys to the City” tour with a stop at a bike shop to propose tax incentives for employers that encourage commuting by bicycle, at Zen Bikes.

Erick J. Salgado
Democrat

4 p.m.
Receives the endorsement of Dr. Ismael Reyes, president of the Partido Demócrata Institucional political party in the Dominican Republic, at Marisco Centro restaurant in Manhattan.

Spitzer Believes Voters Might Give Him Second Chance

Even by the forgiving standards of New York City politics, it sounds improbable: a governor felled by a prostitution scandal entering a race for citywide office with just four days left until qualifying petitions are due.

What exactly is Eliot Spitzer thinking?

We asked him. Below, edited excerpts from our interview on Sunday night:

On whether the public is ready for his return to politics:

The best I can answer is that I hope so. I will continue to ask the public’s forgiveness and simultaneously ask for another opportunity to serve. I think the five years have been important to me. I have done many and different things. I think they have been useful. I have tried to do things in the public interest.

On his vision for the often-overlooked comptroller’s office, the city’s chief financial watchdog:

One is to be the primary voice of urban policy â€" what works and what doesn’t work. It’s understanding that the audit power of the office is not just to figure out how many paper clips where bought and delivered, but to be the smartest most thoughtful voice on a policy level.

On whether the public embrace of candidates like Anthony D. Weiner and Mark Sanford have encouraged his candidacy:

I have seen those, but I don’t ever draw conclusions from other races. Everyone is different.

On his daughters, and their role in his decision-making:

They are now older than they had been when I ran initially. When I first ran, one had just been born. They are 19, 20 and 23. They are in a completely different stage of life. They are mature, they are grown up. They have lived through a lot.

On his wife, Silda, and whether they are separated, as reports suggest:

Our private lives are our private lives. We do not comment on that. Yes, we are married, absolutely.

On his reputation, as attorney general of New York:

We took on battles that people thought were impossible to win. We won a lot of them. I was able to re-envision the attorney general’s office and hope to do the same for the comptroller’s office.

On his likely opponent, Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer:

Most of the time I agree with Scott. I hope Scott and I, who are friends now, are friends when this is over

On why he would challenge a friend for office:

I believe in competitive races. I think I am qualified to be comptroller.

On public polling of city voters, which has shown little appetite for his return to office:

I have not done one stitch of polling. I have none other than the experience and data of walking down the street. I used to say to the folks that did polling for me, ‘I live in a focus group.’

After 5 years, the public might be willing to give me a second chance.

New York Today: Auto Exit

Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times Pedestrians and cyclists enjoyed the absence of cars on a roadway in Central Park on Sunday. A new weekday ban on cars on many park roads takes effect Monday.

Something is missing from much of Central Park this morning: cars.

The city has banned them on weekdays north of 72nd Street on the two roadways that run north and south through the park. The ban, which begins Monday, lasts through Labor Day.

While you can now walk, run or bike more freely in the park, you do run the risk today, in the park and all across the city, of being asked to sign a petition to put former Gov. Eliot Spitzer on the ballot for city comptroller.

Mr. Spitzer, who announced his candidacy Sunday, plans to flood the streets with workers today ahead of a Thursday deadline.

Here’s what else you need to know to start your Monday.

WEATHER

Not quite as hot, but still pretty darn hot, and humid, too, with a high near 90 and a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. Bring an umbrella.The city’s cooling centers remain open.

TRANSIT & TRAFFIC

- Roads: [5:51] O.K. so far, 1010 WINS reports. Alternate-side parking rules are in effect.

- Mass Transit: [5:51] The N and R are running over the Q track from DeKalb Avenue to Prince Street because of track work. Click for the latest status.

COMING UP TODAY

- On the campaign trail, Anthony D. Weiner will announce tax incentives for bike commuters. Christine C. Quinn will call for reducing fines at restaurant inspections.

- Eliot Spitzer will speak live on the Bill Press show at 6:45 a.m. and on Brian Lehrer on WNYC at 10:25 a.m. and greet voters at Union Square at noon. NY1 will broadcast an interview with him at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.

- Mayor Bloomberg will announce a program to connect young probation clients to Hurricane Sandy recovery projects.

- “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” screens at sunset in Bryant Park.

- There is free kayaking, organized by the Downtown Boathouse, at Pier 96 in Hudson River Park this evening and every weekday evening through August from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

- Will pretzel bacon become the new Cronut? You may find out when Nick Lachey, the ex boy-band frontman and Simpson spouse, rolls out Wendy’s newest product at a Wendy’s on West 34th Street.

- It’s opening night of the New York Musical Theater Festival.

- Illustrator James Gulliver Hancock will talk about his project to draw every building in New York City (he’s up to about 500, out of 900,000) and read from his book “All the Buildings in New York: That I’ve Drawn So Far” in Brooklyn Bridge Park at 7 p.m.

- For more events, see The New York Times’s Arts & Entertainment guide.

Sarah Maslin Nir contributed reporting.

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