Tony Danza, Rebecca Luker & More Join 9-Hour Sinatra Marathon at Symphony Space

On Saturday, October 17, Symphony Space presents Frank Sinatra at 100, a starry celebration of the iconic singer's centennial. Over the course of three three-hour sets - 2 pm, 5 pm, and 8 pm - no fewer than 100 songs from Sinatra's repertoire will be performed by an impressive roster of interpreters, including Peter Cincotti, Tony Danza, Rebecca Luker, Marilyn Maye, Tierney Sutton, and dozens more. Instrumental renditions by pianist Bill Charlap, the guitar duo of Bucky Pizzarelli & Ed Laub, and saxophonists Harry Allen and Ted Nash will complement the vocal selections. The house band throughout the day will be led by Russ Kassoff on piano, with Dick Sarpola on bass and John Redsecker on drums.

Symphony Space is pleased to present "Frank Sinatra at 100" in partnership with WNYC, and the station's own Jonathan Schwartz will be hosting. The event is produced and curated by Joel Fram and Annette Jolles, and directed by Jolles.

The concert takes place in Symphony Space's Peter Jay Sharp Theatre. Tickets for one segment are $45/$35; Members $36/$28; 30 and under, $25. If two segments are purchased, the third is free. Details can be found at www.symphonyspace.org.

Sinatra was a talented actor as well, and two of his finest performances will be screened during the weekend, on Sunday, October 18. The Man with the Golden Arm, directed by Otto Preminger (1955), will be shown at 5 pm in the Leonard Nimoy Thalia. The Manchurian Candidate (John Frankenheimer, 1962), will be shown at 7:30 pm.

These events are part of Project Fifteen, a new initiative conceived by Artistic Director Andrew Byrne as one of four thematically-based Projects unfolding throughout the 2015-16 season. Project Fifteen marks a century of innovation, taking the year 1915 as a departure point to dive into the cultural world of ten decades ago. That year, Vincent Astor built a stunning indoor market that would later become Symphony Space. Frank Sinatra, Arthur Miller, and Edith Piaf were born; Kafka's The Metamorphosis and Einstein's General Theory of Relativity were published.

Marking Piaf's centennial, the amazing Anne Carrere performs Piaf! The Show on Friday, October 23 (8 pm) in the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre. The audience is taken on a journey through the streets of Montmartre during the time of La Vie en Rose, as Carrere portrays the life and career of the Little Sparrow through her hit songs. Never before-seen photos and images of Piaf will be shared in this audiovisual presentations, along with English translations of the lyrics. During the show, Carrere will be accompanied by a quartet of piano, accordion, bass and drums. Tickets are $60/$50; $55/$50 for Members.

To commemorate Arthur Miller's 100th birthday year, an evening celebrating his masterpiece Death of a Salesman will be presented on October 22 at 7:30 pm. It will include scenes from the 1966 telecast with Lee J. Cobb and Mildred Dunnock, the 1985 television adaptation with Dustin Hoffman and Kate Reid, and the 1999 telecast with Brian Dennehy and Elizabeth Franz. A discussion will be led by Jack Doulin, Casting Director at New York Theatre Workshop, with Laurie Kennedy, whose father, Arthur Kennedy, won a Tony Award for playing Biff in the original Broadway cast.

Along with the music, film, and theater events noted here, Project Fifteen will also include an exhibition at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts titled Symphony Space, A Cultural Town Square (Oct. 14 - Jan. 16). An Uptown Showdown comedy duel pitting Old New York vs. New New York will take the stage on October 20. Pianist Jerome Kuderna plays a program featuring Claude Debussy's Études, composed in 1915, on October 22 at 1 pm.

Selected Shorts marks 100 years of The Best American Short Stories with Jane Kaczmarek and Lorrie Moore, October 21. The Secret Science Club celebrates Einstein's 1915 General Theory of Relativity on October 27. A Thalia Book Club presentation saluting the 100th anniversary of Kafka's The Metamorphosis, hosted by Studio 360's Kurt Andersen, will take place October 28. Complete details on Project Fifteen programming may be found at http://symphonyspace.org/events/series/190/project-fifteen.

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