By Merle Exit
If you cannot make it to Lincoln Center this summer, you are in luck as Manhattan’s premier performing arts facility is heading to Queens — sort of.
Beginning Aug. 4, and continuing each Tuesday through the month, Lincoln Center Local Screenings will stream videos of previous performances on a giant outdoor screen at Queens Theatre in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
“At present, there are just over 30 options of past performance arts events that we offer in the Lincoln Center Local: Free Screenings series,” Eric Gewirtz, associate director of public relations at Lincoln Center, said. “They range from classical, to world music, to theater, to jazz, and more. Queens Theatre is the only outdoor venue in New York City to present these events.”
Showings include “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” with Bryn Terfel, Emma Thompson and the New York Philharmonic Aug. 4; violin trio the Villalobos Brothers Aug. 11; a 2013 concert featuring Yo-Yo Ma with the philharmonic Aug.18; and the 2012 Richard Tucker Opera Gala featuring some of opera’s leading voices Aug. 25.
Queens Theatre Marketing Manager Thibault Courtois approached Lincoln Center Education about bringing the program to Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
“With several showings to choose from I selected these particular movies to portray the diversity of the borough,” Courtois said.
The Villalobos Brothers, for instance, have been acclaimed as one of today’s leading contemporary Mexican ensembles. Their original compositions and arrangements blend and celebrate the richness of Mexican folk music with the intricate harmonies of jazz and classical music, Courtois said.
The free screenings begin at 8 pm, and audiences are encouraged to bring chairs, blankets and picnic baskets.
And if the weather does not cooperate, the screenings will be moved inside the theater, Courtois said.
If you Go
Lincoln Center Local Screenings
When: Tuesdays Aug. 4 to Aug. 25, at 8 pm
Where: Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. South, Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Cost: Free
Contact: (718) 760-0064
Website: queen
