Thompson Hotels

2012 has seen many different celebrations to honor the centennial year of the late composer and artist John Cage. “How To Get Started,” a collaborative experiment that explores improvisation and the origin of ideas that Cage first debuted in 1989, has rarely been performed in New York since its debut. In a special series of performances, pairs of noted writers and musicians will tackle Cage’s complex work that blends sound art, performance, spoken word, and conceptual art. Playwright Wallace Shawn and his composer sibling Allen Shawn on November 15; and poet Robert Pinskywith singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding on December 13. – Jason Diamond, Flavorpill