#WeeklyColumn | It’s In Queens! (Feb. 6 to Feb. 12)
BY QEDC It's In Queens
It’s a full and varied week of activities, but they all make the same nod to reality: They’re inside. (What a surprise for February.) Shakespeare, Alice in Wonderland, the New York Philharmonic, Jane Austen, Archie Bunker, and Flash Gordon are among the big names in Queens this week. Discover the talents of Stephen R. Barney Jr., Tommy José Stathes, Jay Jaxson, Phillipe the Penguin, and Phoebe Ballard.
Feb. 6, The Barney’s of Flushing Meadows, 7:30 pm. Stephen R. Barney Jr. signs, sells, and discusses his book, which traces his family’s Queens roots back to the late 1700s. Bayside Historical Society, 208 Totten Ave.
Feb. 7, Urban Campfire, 7 pm. Guitar Mash and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment present Urban Campfire, an immersive, participatory concert during which renowned guitarists and singer-songwriters share songs and stories. Audience members bring guitars and other acoustic string instruments. Don’t play? Sing along or just hang out. The warm up is at 7 pm. Concert starts at 8 pm. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Feb. 7, Winter Weekend Arts Festival, Feb. 9. Beat the cold weather blues with a three-day art fix. Hip to Hip Theatre presents the Shakespeare comedy “Troilus and Cressida” on Feb. 7 at 7 pm. A workshop to create collages with red for Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day is on Feb. 8 at 1:30 pm. Then watch vintage 16 mm cartoons with film historian Tom Stathes on Feb. 9 at 2 pm. Voelker Orth Museum, 149-19 38th Ave., Flushing.
Feb. 7, Jump, Feb. 23. The Astoria Performing Arts Center shines a light on how humans process traumatic experiences with this play about two sisters and a father who grapple with loss while an unexpected friendship blooms. Showtimes: Feb. 7, 8 pm; Feb. 8, 3 pm and 8 pm; Feb. 9, 3 pm; Feb. 14, 8 pm; Feb. 15, 3 pm and 8 pm; Feb. 16, 3 pm; Feb. 21, 8 pm; Feb. 22, 3 pm and 8 pm; and Feb. 23, 3 pm. 28-21 Steinway St., Astoria.
Feb. 7, See It Big! Outer Space, April 19. This program screens films about outer space on a big screen, coinciding with the new exhibition “Envisioning 2001: Stanley Kubrick’s Space Odyssey.” The selectees run from documentaries to sci-fi spectaculars to camp satires and include “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” “Flash Gordon,” “Alien,” “Dark Star,” “Gravity,” “Wall-E,” “The Right Stuff,” and “Apollo 11.” Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Feb. 7, Three Nights of Dance, Dec. 9. PROJECT 44 presents an all male “Boléro” and the premier of the dance film “#boyswearpink,” while Annalee Traylor offers “the sheen,” “romp,” “copp(her),” and “the blvd” on Dec. 7-8 at 8 pm. The next day at 7 pm, the Fertile Ground program showcases works-in-progress by MHR Dance Collective, LBDance, Maya Simone, Paul Giarratano, Phoebe Ballard + Natalie Stehly, and Arsenal Movement. Green Space, 37-24 24th St., LIC.
Feb. 7, Queens World Film Festival Pot-Luck Kick-Off Party, 6:30 pm. Pick up a local special, order a pizza or whip up something homemade. Then, meet filmmakers, actors, and other industry people and learn about this year’s festival. The Living Artist Gallery Space, 38-02 61st St., Woodside.
Feb. 8, Visions of Resistance: Recent Films by Brazilian Women Directors, Feb. 9. Watch 10 recent movies, including features, shorts, documentaries, and hybrids. Many focus on the lives of black Brazilians. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Feb. 8, Jay Jaxon: 40 Years of Fashion Design Brilliance, December. This Queens Historical Society exhibition celebrates native son Jay Jaxon, a fashion, Haute Couture, and costume designer. Check out objects from his personal design archives as well as primary sources from the research of fashion scholar and guest curator Rachel Fenderson. Kingsland Homestead, 143-35 37th Ave., Flushing.
Feb. 8, New York Philharmonic Very Young People’s Concert, 2 pm. Philippe the Penguin and musicians from the New York Philharmonic explore different families of instruments that live within an orchestra through games, storytelling, and hands-on music-making. Jamaica Performing Arts Center, 153-10 Jamaica Ave.
Feb. 8, Crafting with Jane Austen, noon. A crafting circle during which participants read 15-minute segments of Jane Austen’s 1817 novel “Persuasion.” King Manor Museum, 153-03 Jamaica Ave.
Feb. 8, Opening Reception, 5 pm. The unveiling of “Race and Revolution: Home/Land,” which looks at the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850’s influence on Lewis Latimer’s family, focusing on tactics used to detain, deport, and re-enslave with current practices used by Immigration Customs Enforcement to control the influx of immigrants. It runs through June 14. Lewis Latimer House Museum, 34-41 137th St., Flushing.
Feb. 8, Immigration Stories, 7:30 pm. Mari Meade Dance Collective with special guests from B3W Performance Group perform a series of dances based on true experiences about relocating to the United States. The stories are dance conversations about the different paths people take. Jamaica Performing Arts Center, 153-10 Jamaica Ave.
Feb. 9, Alice in Wonderland, 1 pm & 4 pm. In this adaptation by Tout a Trac, Alice would rather play and daydream than do her homework, so she hides in her father’s study. One day, she follows a curious-looking rabbit into a wonderland, where she encounters the Queen of Hearts, Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and Chesire Cat. The second show is sensory friendly and has ASL Interpretation. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Feb. 9, The Mark of Zorro, 5 pm. The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra performs the original 1920 score of the silent film “The Mark of Zorro,” a masterpiece with swordplay, romance, and a bit of comedy. The Community House, 15 Borage Pl., Forest Hills.
Feb. 9, Tiger & Magpie: Good Luck Painting from Korea, 2 pm. Stephanie Lee offers a workshop on Korean Folk Art (Minhwa). Participants paint 19th century Korean tigers and magpies to take home for luck. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Feb. 9, Poem of the Earth: From Ego to Eco, 4 pm. Curator Nadine Braquetti and artists Furen Dai and Lena Miskulin walk through and discuss this new exhibition. Dorsky Gallery, 11-03 45th Ave., LIC.
Feb. 10, Archie Bunker, 7 pm. Jim Cullen discusses, sells, and signs his book “Those Were the Days: Why All in the Family Still Matters.” The book is about the popular TV sitcom that first aired from 1971 to 1979 and was set in a middle class Queens neighborhood. It dared to address such topics as abortion, homosexuality, menopause, racial prejudice, and rape. Rocco Moretto VFW Hall, 31-35 41st St, Astoria.
Feb. 10, Live Drawing with Models, 6 pm. Adults draw from a live nude model in a relaxing, non-judgmental environment. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Feb. 11, We, the Whole People, 7 pm. The composer-performer collective Random Access Music honors the centenary of the 19th Amendment, which extended women’s suffrage throughout the United States. The music is inspired from Susan B. Anthony’s speech following her arrest for voting in the 1872 presidential election: “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.” Plaxall Gallery, 5-25 46th Ave., LIC.
Last Chance
Feb. 5, Clemency, Feb. 6. This recent release follows prison warden Bernadine Williams as she confronts the psychological and emotional demons her job creates. The drama won the Jury Prize for Best U.S. Dramatic Feature at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Screenings at 3 pm on both days. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Arrangement for a Silent Orchestra, until Feb. 7. Julie Comnick’s New York debut exhibition is a painting-and-video project that explores the gradual dissolution of culture in contemporary society through the symbolic ruin of a personal and cultural icon, the violin. Gallery One at The Factory LIC, 30-30 47th Ave., LIC.
The African Company Presents: Richard III, until Feb. 9. Forty years before the Civil War, the African Grove Theatre Troupe is ready to stage a production of Richard III in NYC. Then an all-white company scores a big star for its own version. The reaction involves tremendous emotion and poetry. Titan Theatre Company presents the remaining shows as follows: Feb. 6, Feb. 7, and Feb. 8 at 7:30 pm and Feb. 9 at 4 pm. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Images: Guitar Mash (top); Titan Theatre Company (below)