By Merle Exit
With Pride Month winding down, Flushing Town Hall has decided to celebrate the borough’s diversity with a special concert honoring Queens’ LGBTQ and immigrant communities.
The show, “LGBTQ Immigrant Voices,” includes performances by singers, actors, dancers and musicians, who call Queens home and who have ties to both the city’s gay and lesbian scene and its immigrant population.
“Our hope is that highlighting the works of several LGBTQ immigrant performers will help to overcome the challenges that many face and break barriers through a collective cultural experience,” Ellen Kodaek, executive and artistic director of Flushing Town Hall, said.
Mahina Movement, a trio of musicians based in New York, but originally from Peru, Ireland and Tonga, will headline Saturday’s show with a concert.
The trio, Gabriella Callender, Lorena Ambrosio and Vaimoana Litia Makakaufaki Niumeitolu, describe their music as a fusion of rhythm and blues, soul and folk. Mahina Movement, which comes from the Tongan world for moon and the Spanish word for imagine, formed in 2000.
“Actually, Vaimoana was the one who brought the group together looking to bring voices of women of color together,” Callender said.
Although Callender serves as the group’s musical director and writes most of the songs, Ambrosio and Niumeitolu also contribute to the play lists.
The second part of the evening’s bill features five performers, all from Queens, who were selected as part of an open call this past spring.
Jackson Heights resident Brad Bradley is an accomplished Broadway actor who has appeared in “Spamalot,” “Steel Pier” and “Billy Elliott” among other New York and touring shows. He will perform a set from his gay-themed one-man show “B Squared.”
Nadia Bourne, a singer, songwriter, musician and activist, attends college at St. John’s University. Her parents settled in Queens after emigrating from South America and the West Indies.
She plans on performing her original material about love, life and revolution at Saturday’s show.
“It’s difficult to classify my music as I have so many genres and try to infuse them into a more folk style of music,” Bourne said. “I write about my experiences, which focus on being a lesbian.”
Singer Londel Collier, who performs as KenJi, was born in South Jamaica and raised in South Carolina. A few years ago, he returned to Queens and settled in Flushing. He describes his songs as being about finding then losing love, and in the process of losing love finding oneself.
Astoria resident Timothy Mathis is an award-winning playwright and composer, who wrote the musical “Sylvia So Far,” about the life of Stonewall veteran and transgender pioneer Sylvia Rivera. He is currently working on a new show titled, “Wake Up Call,” and he may give the Flushing Town Hall audience a preview.
Finally, Marissa Soo, a 20-year-old Flushing resident, will sing some of her original music, influenced from her family’s immigrant background from China, Japan, Russia and Poland.
The concert, sponsored by Flushing Town Hall and Terraza 7 Café, received a grant from City Councilman Daniel Dromm.
“I am proud to be able to fund such a unique and important event that shines light on the LGBT community, immigrants and on our home borough of Queens,” Dromm said. “Well done, Flushing Town Hall, Terraza 7 Café and the many talented performers featured in this showcase.”
Flushing Town Hall returns the complement to the councilman.
“He, too, recognizes the importance of showcasing the works of LGBTQ performers and, in particular, those who have emigrated to a borough that celebrates its diversity,” Kodadek said.
If you Go
LGBTQ Immigrant Voices
When: Saturday, June 21, at 7 pm
Where: Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Cost: $15/adults, $10/members and students
Contact:(718) 463-7700
Website; www.flushingtownhall.org
