Queens Theatre in the Park (QTP) announces its 2009/2010 season of dance, theatre, classical music, film, and family programming - more than 40 events, including the world premiere of Against the Rising Sea, featuring Tony Award-winning actress Elizabeth Franz; the development of a new musical, Opa! The Musical; and the return of international superstar Eva Ayllón.
This season, QTP and the Museum of the Moving Image have partnered to present Moving Image Masterpieces, a series of six of the greatest films of all time at QTP's home, a 464-seat auditorium at the former New York State Pavilion in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which also has a 99-seat performing arts space. The new series is programmed by David Schwartz, Chief Curator of the Museum of Museum of the Moving Image, who will introduce each screening: Citizen Kane, Metropolis, Rules of the Game, Toyko Story, 8 ½, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
For more information on tickets, schedule and location, visit www.queenstheatre.org. or call 718-760-0064, Tue-Sat, 12-6pm.
Queens Theatre in the Park's 2009-2010 season includes:
TEA IN THE AFTERNOON, by Vanessa Shealy - Saturday, 9/19/09 at 8pm
A young woman who has tended to her aging grandmother discovers that grandma left the entire estate to her heretofore unknown sister. The young woman pays this elderly eccentric sister a visit, and struggles to unearth family secrets. In the process, she changes from a stranger to caregiver, as both women learn they must let go of the past to change their futures.
CALPULLI MEXICAN DANCE COMPANY - Saturday, 9/19/09 at 8pm & Sunday, 9/20/09 at 3pm
New York City's own Calpulli Mexican Dance Company returns to Queens Theatre after a sold out run in 2008. With the flowing feathers of the Aztecs, signature rhythms of the Mariachi, and elegant dresses from the Gulf Coast, Calpulli brings vibrancy to these rich traditions in Queens. For only two performances, the company will showcase its live music with dance repertoire and new pieces developed for its recent spring tour.
THE NEWS IN REVIEW- Saturdays, 9/26 - 12/26, 2009 at 8pm
The News in Revue is a five-time Emmy Award-winning political satire troupe.
CITIZEN KANE - Film - Thursday, 10/1/09 at 7:30pm
Wunderkind director Orson Welles used Hollywood as his playground to make his astonishing film, "Citizen Kane," an endlessly inventive portrait of an ambitious and lonely newspaper tycoon. Using multiple perspectives, the film questions the nature of identity; it also reinvents the way that stories can be told cinematically. The film regularly and rightfully winds up as the top-ranked film of all time on critics' polls; every decade since 1962, it has been the top film in Sight and Sound magazine's prestigious poll, and it is the number one film on the American Film Institute's top-100 list.
TENNIS IN NABLUS, by Ismail Khalidi - Saturday, 10/3/09 at 8pm
A Palestinian rebel is forced to become a "ball boy" for the tennis matches played by the British general in 1939 British-ruled Palestine. Through this humiliation, he learns about racism firsthand in this powerful and electrifying political drama.
METROPOLIS - Thursday, 10/8/09 at 7:30pm
With live music by Donald Sosin, Directed by Fritz Lang, With Alfred Abel, Brigitte Helm
Reportedly inspired by a trip to New York City, Fritz Lang's stunning vision of a dystopian future in which an exploited working class lives underground, serving the wealthy ruling class, was the most lavish and influential of all silent films. With its spectacular sets, its thematic ambition, and its power-mad scientists, its alluring cyber-heroine, and its rebellious underlings, Metropolis set the template for many science fiction films to come. For years, the film was shown in highly edited prints in the United States; this recently restored version is the definitive edition of Lang's silent masterpiece.
OPA! THE MUSICAL - October 8-25, 2009
Book by Mari Carras & Laurel Ollstein, Music by Nicholas Carras & Donald Eugster, Lyrics by Mari Carras & Donald Eugster, Greek Choreography by Anthoula Katsimatides, Directed by Sam Viverito
A new musical about life and love on a forgotten Greek isle. When a cruise ship is spotted, the islanders band together to make themselves known to the rest of civilization, as well as to each other, in an inspirational and joyous blend of singing and dancing. Produced by Carras/Papageorgiou Productions, Inc. An Equity Showcase Production.
EVA AYLLON - Friday, 10/9/09 at 7:30 & 10pm
Eva Ayllón pays tribute to the most influential singer and composer in her life, Chabuca Granda. The vocal nuances and powerful metaphors of Chabuca influenced a young Eva transforming her into the powerful singer we enjoy today. Chabuca Granda lived a short yet prolific career in Latin America and Spain. All her contemporary superstar friends sang her songs and made her a close friend, among them Violeta Parra from Chile, Armando Manzanero from Mexico and Mercedes Sosa from Argentina. In an intimate, acoustic setting, Eva delivers the best of Chabuca's repertoire in a special evening of homage to a legend.
Against the Rising Sea - October 15-25, 2009 - World Premiere
Written by Kelly Masterson, Directed by Joe Cacaci, Starring Elizabeth Franz
The On Golden Pond of ourtimes, starring Tony Award-winner Elizabeth Franz (Death of a Salesman). A new relationship is rocky, an old one is challenged and a beautiful house in Provincetown becomes The catalyst in this story about the importance of honor, honesty and the enduring power of love itself.
RULES OF THE GAME - Thursday, 10/29/09 at 7:30pm
Directed by Jean Renoir, With Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor
Filmed by Jean Renoir as the storm clouds of war were hovering over Europe, this romantic rondelay set during a weekend hunting party is unparalleled in its emotionally and cinematically rich portrayal of romance and intrigue among a fading aristocracy. Filled with comedy and tragedy, the film is masterfully choreographed, yet it spills over with the vitality of life. Jean Renoir, the greatest of French directors, was the son of impressionist painter Auguste Renoir.
A NIGHT OF ITALIAN CULTURE AND HERITAGE - Friday, 10/30/09 at 8pm
Comedic sensation, Floyd Vivino, brings back the Italian American comedy you grew up with and world renowned Giada Valenti will serenade all. Known as "Italy's Voice of Love" Giada sets the stage for a trip to Italy through Italian & American songs that combine old and new world Italian culture.
ROSA PARKS - November 5-7, 2009
Music by Scott Ethier, Book & Lyrics by Jeff Hughes, Directed by Daniella Topol
This staged reading of the musical about one of the Civil Rights Movement's most respected heroines is brought to life through rich and beautiful songs. Rosa Parks depicts how an ordinary woman became renowned for an extraordinary, history-changing act of bravery.
Winner of a Richard Rodgers Award for staged readings, administered by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Rosa Parks is being presented as part of The Public Theater's Music Theater Initiative.
TOKYO STORY - Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 7:30pm
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, With Chishu Ryu, Setsuko Hara, Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu explored universal themes, including the generational tensions of family life, and the ongoing clash between modernity and tradition. His films were simple in plot; Tokyo Story follows an aging couple on a journey from their rural village to visit their married children in bustling postwar Tokyo. Ozu's signature is his meditative visual style; at the heart of the film are the exquisite performances by his favorite actors, Chishu Ryu as the aging father and Setsuko Hara as the daughter.
