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| Thursday 02 |
| Blue
= Democrats/Protesters Red
= Republicans |
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| Time |
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Event |
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| all day |
Freedom of Expression National Monument |
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Creative Time has recommissioned this public artwork—basically
a giant megaphone for New Yorkers to voice their thoughts
and opinions—by architect Laurie Hawkinson, performer
John Malpede, and visual artist Erika Rothenberg. Part
of the Imagine Festival. |
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| noon |
One People’s Project Party |
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The antifascist protest group holds a free postconvention
“party for peace,” with bands performing and
vendors selling food, CDs, books, and T-shirts. Politicians
looking to unwind are invited along with the usual park
roster of East Villagers. Tompkins Square Park. |
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| 7 p.m. |
Dan Bern, John Nichols, Joe Garden, et al. |
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Local musician Bern reads from his debut novel, Quitting
Science, and performs tracks off his new anti-Bush
album, My Country II. He's joined by Nichols, reading
from his book Dick: The Man Who Is President, along
with Garden and Randy Ostrow, reading their satire Citizen
You!: Helping Government Help Itself, written with
Nichols. Housing Works, 126 Crosby Street. |
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| 7 p.m. |
Fog of War |
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Composer Philip Glass introduces
Errol Morris's critically acclaimed documentary of former
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Part of the
Imagine Festival and benefiting Clear Path International,
an organization that rehabilitates Vietnam-era landmine
survivors. Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick Street. |
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| 7 p.m. |
The Right Stuff |
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Sample humor: “Now they’re calling illegal aliens undocumented
workers. Soon they’ll be calling burglars unwelcome houseguests.”
Laugh Factory, 669 Eighth Avenue, $20. |
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| 7 p.m. |
Thalia Follies |
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E. L. Doctorow, Calvin Trillin, Jane Wagner, and friends
try out their own version of the Capitol Steps in the
political shtick of Thalia Follies, running every
night of the convention. Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway,
$15. |
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| 7:45 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. |
The Convention:
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8 p.m.
Mary Lou Retton, Kerri Strug, Lynn Swann, and Dorothy
Hamill
The evening’s theme is “a safer world, a more
hopeful America,” so the GOP trots out a roster
of ... sports heroes? Olympic gold medalists Retton and
Strug are touted as embodiments of “personal courage.”
African-American NFL Hall of Famer Swann has been publicly
urging blacks to take a fresh look at the GOP. And ice-skating
queen Hamill is a popular Republican.
Donnie McClurkin
When GOP planners announced McClurkin would perform on
the convention’s most important evening, a reporter
dug up evidence that the gospel singer once suggested
that gays were child-murderers. Given the patina of inclusivity
that decorates this convention, you might have expected
that when this news surfaced, he would have immediately
been yanked from the program. Instead, he’ll serenade
thousands of delegates on the night of George W. Bush’s
coronation.
9 p.m.
George Pataki
The pro-choice, pro-environment governor of New York delivers
a speech that reveals why he was chosen to introduce Bush:
He’s a dogged (and not overly inspiring) loyalist
who could be counted on not to upstage the president.
10 p.m.
George W. Bush
Striding forth onto a low circular stage surrounded by
worshipful supporters, the star of the four-day extravaganza
makes it clear that—a few obligatory policy nuggets
notwithstanding—the president’s rationale
for another four years boils down to this: I’m a
badder badass than the other guy. |
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| 11 p.m. |
“Next Generation of Leaders” Party |
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Hosts: Emma Bloomberg,
Emily Pataki, and Taylor Whitman.
Guests: The political
children hosting this event have sent out 1,000 invitations
to local young lions. Special guests: the Bush twins.
The Lowdown: Since
no other huge parties were planned for Thursday after
the presidential-nominating speech, the three twentysomething
kids of local Republican royalty staked a claim on the
night. The bash is in honor of the National Mentoring
Partnership; the trio’s aim is to highlight leadership
and responsibility among young Republican professionals.
The food will be Pan-Asian, and gift bags will include
phone cards from sponsor IDT.
Gotham Hall, 1356 Broadway. |
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| All
Week Long |
| Imagine Festival
of Arts, Issues & Ideas: Many of the most provocative convention-week
events are presented under the auspices of the Imagine Festival
of Arts, Issues, and Ideas, a six-day (8/28-9/2) onslaught of
dance, music, theater, film, and art—more than 125 shows
in all. The Freedom of Expression National Monument (a
megaphone in lower Manhattan for New Yorkers to voice their
opinions; 8/17-11/13) and Photographs by Iraqi Civilians,
2004 (8/30-9/2) are among the installations that run throughout
the convention. The festival screens Spike Lee’s We
Was Robbed (8/28), about the 2000 Florida election, and
Robert Altman’s Secret Honor (8/29), a cinematic
riff on the Watergate scandal. American Oligopoly (8/28-8/29),
in Washington Square Park, allows participants to join in an
interactive theatrical “game” played on a gigantic
Monopoly board; acclaimed storytelling collective The Moth (8/30)
hosts a story slam at the Bitter End; and Patriot Acts—Patriots
Gone Wild (9/1) has Taylor Mac, the Dazzle Dancers, and
others lampooning the administration’s obsession with
patriotism. Margaret Cho’s "State of Emergency World
Tour" opens at the Apollo Theater (8/28), and in perhaps
the most ambitious (or at least masochistic) festival happening,
artist Marshall Weber performs NYC Odyssey and The Iliad
(8/31), a marathon reading of Homer’s epics while
riding the Staten Island Ferry, which is expected to take two
days. For complete schedule and venue information, go to imagine04.org.
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| Plus: Our
Guide to the City's Politically Charged Artistic Offerings |
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Published on August 19, 2004.
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