Cold hands, warm heart, great show.
Go over the river and through the woods to Queens County Farm Museum for a free presentation of The Gift of the Magi on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 1 pm.
Kevin R. Free, an actor who’s been an audiobook narrator for 22 years, will lead a one-man reading of O. Henry’s 1905 Christmas story in a three-acre pasture.
Yes, a three-acre pasture. Blankets, coats, fleeces, gloves, hats, lawn chairs, winter boots, and woolies are encouraged!
This is the fourth year in a row that Free does this show. So this time he’ll get some help from Santa Claus, who’s ready to make a cameo and ensure that attendees know about the complimentary hot chocolate and cookies that Queens Farm plans to offer.
St. Nick isn’t the afternoon’s only pleasant surprise. O. Henry, whose real name was William Sydney Porter, wrote The Gift of the Magi in Pete’s Tavern in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park. He was a regular who lived nearby at 55 Irving Pl. Pete’s Tavern will distribute vouchers for one free Pete’s Ale to all attendees over 20 years of age. (The offer is valid for the entire month of January 2024.)
Free, who grew up in Queens, was recently named Resident Artistic Director at Frigid New York. He already serves as Artistic Director at Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken, NJ, and his resume includes gigs with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Murphy Brown, and NPR.
The Gift of the Magi was first published in the New York World newspaper on Dec. 10, 1905. The 2,163-word fable is set in NYC a bit before Christmas. Della Young cuts her beautiful, below-the-knees hair and sells it to buy a chain for her beloved husband, Jim Young, whose only valuable worldly possession is a watch.
Meanwhile, Jim sells his watch so he can buy combs for Della’s exquisite locks. At the exchange, they realize that their material gifts are useless, but their shared love is priceless.
With an entrance at 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy. in Glen Oaks and free onsite parking, the 47-acre Queens Farm includes habitats for livestock, planting fields, and a vineyard.
Images: Queens County Farm Museum