#WeeklyColumn | It’s In Queens! | April 26 to May 2
BY QEDC It's In Queens
It’s hot. It’s cold. It’s sunny. It’s rainy. The weather is so random these days. Luckily, Queens fun is predictably awesome with Latin dance, improvisational jazz, comedy, sculpture, some one-person plays, bird-watching, and sculpture.
April 26, Renee Rosnes Quartet, 8 pm. Jazz pianist Rosnes showcases her instrumental, compositional, and improvisational skills. The quartet — Peter Washington (bass), Steve Nelson (vibraphone) and Lewis Nash (drums) — does jazz classics and original material, sharing music that expresses who they are, where they have been, and where they are headed. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
April 26, Queens of the Night: Reinas de la Noche, May 19. This LGBTQ musical is back by popular demand with the special collaboration of transgender artist Pamela Sue Martin directly from Colombia. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 4 pm. Thalía Spanish Theatre, 41-01 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside.
April 26, Kids Birding, 1 pm. Join Urban Park Rangers for a free guided immersion in the natural world, appropriate for ages 12 and younger. Willow Lake entrance, Park Drive East and 73rd Terrace, Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
April 27, Latin Dance Fiesta, 8 pm. Four renowned Latin troupes showcase traditional dances from Chile, Guatemala, Haiti, and Uruguay. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
April 27, The New World of the Number 7 Train, 10 am. Jack Eichenbaum, the official Queens historian as per Borough President Melinda Katz, leads this multi-stop tour from Hudson Yards to Flushing.
April 27, Knock Down the House, 7 pm. The Museum of the Moving Image and Rooftop Films present a free preview of a Netflix documentary on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and three other female activists. A Q&A with director Rachel Lears follows. Lawrence Virgilio Playground, Windmuller Park, vicinity of 52nd Street and 39th Road, Woodside.
April 27, Native American Story Time and Crafts, noon. Donna Gentle Spirit Barron, a Matinecock historian and genealogist, celebrates Earth Day by telling stories and teaching how to make Mother Earth storytelling necklaces with beads. Bayside Historical Society, 208 Totten Ave., Fort Totten.
April 28, Rita Rudner with Special Guest Sal Richards, 3 pm. Known for her observational and non-obscene style, Rudner holds the title for the “Longest Running Solo Comedy Show in Las Vegas history.” Richards was voted the “Entertainment Industry’s Hottest Comic” by the New York Friars Club. John’s University, Marillac Hall, Enter via Gate 4 on Union Turnpike just west of Utopia Parkway, Jamaica.
April 28, Anne of Green Gables, 1 pm and 3 pm. ArtsPower’s heart-warming musical, based on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novels, follows a vivacious orphan who finds family and home on a farm on Prince Edward Island. An ASL Interpretation/Sensory Relaxed Performance is at 3 pm. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
April 28, Reception for Two New Exhibitions, 5 pm. Jean-Luc Moulène’s “More or Less Bone” is a monumental new work in fiberglass and epoxy paint. Fiona Connor’s “Closed for installation” is her first solo exhibition in a New York institution. SculptureCulture, 44-19 Purves St., LIC.
April 28, Backstage at the 1939 World’s Fair, 3 pm. One of the biggest attractions at the 1939 World’s Fair was Billy Rose’s Aquacade, where talent from Hollywood’s Golden Age entertained thousands in an open-air atrium. Actor and writer Tray S. D. presents a show based on his treasure trove of research. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
April 28, Corónate, 11 am to 4 pm. Celebrate Earth Day with live music, dance, art-making workshops, a panel discussion on climate, and an opportunity to learn about nonprofit causes. Queens Museum, 14 United Nations Ave., S., Flushing Corona Park.
April 30, International Jazz Day, noon. Jazz is piped throughout the casino with video montages for the first three hours. Then, the Masahiro Sakuma Trio plays the sweet sounds of Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and others at Bar 360. The special drink, Bee’s Knees, is on offer during Jazz Happy Hour from 3 pm to 6 pm. Resorts World Casino New York City, 110-00 Rockaway Blvd., South Jamaica.
April 30, Queens College Evening Readings, 7 pm. A 60-minute, one-person adaptation of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” by Harriet Jacobs, who was born a slave in North Carolina in 1813. The audience discusses the story with guidance by a teaching artist. Queens College’s Aaron Copland School of Music, Choral Room 264, vicinity of Kissena Boulevard at Horace Harding Expressway, Flushing.
May 1, Monthly Jazz Jam, 7 pm. Musicians gather and play under the direction of saxophone legend Carol Sudhalter. Don’t play? Come and listen. The theme is Louis Armstrong. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
May 1, Changing and Unchanging Things: Noguchi and Hasegawa in Postwar Japan, July 14. This traveling exhibition is on the brief-yet-consequential friendship between Isamu Noguchi and Saburo Hasegawa, the first in a long line of brilliant friends, teachers, and collaborators who helped Noguchi access and assimilate his Japanese heritage after World War II. Almost 90 works trace the time these mid-career artists spent together, examining the impact they had on each other’s work. The Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Rd., LIC.
May 1, Alley Creek and Little Neck Bay Clean Water Update, 6:30 pm. Representatives from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, NYC Parks Department’s Natural Resources Division, and the coalition Storm Water Infrastructure Matters review local issues and solutions for rainwater and sewage management. Alley Pond Environmental Center, 228-06 Northern Blvd., Douglaston.
Continued from the previous week
See It Big!, until July 7. This program screens 32 action films, many of them in 35mm prints. They include “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and all six “Mission: Impossible” movies. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Painted Alice, until April 28. A musical adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland” in an immersive style with the audience among works of art. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 8 pm. The Plaxall Gallery, 5-25 46th Ave., LIC.
And Then There Were None, until April 28. Watch Agatha Christie’s classic whodunit unfold and unravel. Remaining shows are at 7:30 pm on April 24-27 and at 3 pm on April 28. The Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St., LIC.
Spring Recess Family Activities, until April 28. Drop in for green-themed activities from 11 am to 4 pm. They include a green-screen stage where kids can “sing in the rain” against a background of their choice and create claymation movies and characters based on the Wallace & Gromit film “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” which screens daily at noon. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Sustainable Spring Break, until April 26. Five days of installations, prototypes, workshops, and experiences related to sustainable life. Enjoy the new exhibit, “Solar Cat,” created by Designer-in-Residence Krystal Persaud with her Explainer partners. The Gazillion Bubble Show makes a special appearance on April 25. New York Hall of Science, 47-01 111th St., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Mariana Valencia: Bouquet, until April 27. This performance piece contemplates authorship within the premise of transmission, relation, alliance, and ensemble. Valencia uses her body as the main archive as she quotes dances by legends. Thursday through Saturday at 8 pm. The Chocolate Factory Theater, 5-49 49th Ave., LIC.
Images: Queens Museum (top); Reiko Yanagi (bottom)