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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now part three of our daily 11:00 AM to noon fundraising party here on The Brian Lehrer Show during the membership drive, things to do around here this summer, festivals, concerts, movies on rooftops, all kinds of things seemingly around every corner and on every rooftop or even parking lot, and so with help from the WNYC and Gothamist culture and art desk, we're wrapping up our shows during this membership drive with a little guide to things to look forward to around here this summer.
Today, we are joined once again by culture and art editor, Steve Smith, to talk about some of the many chances to brush up on your Shakespeare plus dancing. Why do those things go together? The kind you watch and the kind you participate in. Hi, again, Steve.
Steve Smith: I'm good, Brian. How are you?
Brian Lehrer: Good. Let's start with Shakespeare. I think some credit to Joseph Papp and his Shakespeare in the Park from the Public Theater for starting this trend of performing these plays outdoors in warm weather, but other companies and countries have taken it up. What's on order from the public though?
Steve Smith: Well, right you are, and we have only one Shakespeare in the Park offering on offer this summer. It's going to be Hamlet, so it's a big one. That is a reduction from the usual two-show schedule, and it's prompted by plans to renovate the Delacorte Theater later in the summer. Hamlet will be running for nine weeks from June 8th to August 6th, but it is a big one. It's a new modern dress production directed by the Tony Award winner Kenny Leon, and the moody prince of the title is portrayed by Ato Blankson-Wood. He also is a Tony nominee for his work in Slave Play.
If you are a Shakespeare in the Park regular, then you have already seen him in Twelfth Night and As You Like It. In the meantime though, if you need a quick Shakespeare fix, there are a few options. The Public Theater's mobile unit has just finished touring all five boroughs. They did a new English-Spanish bilingual musical adaptation of The Comedy of Errors, so there is your opportunity to brush up on your Shakespeare and dance at the same time.
It was created by director-choreographer Rebecca Martinez and composer Julián Mesri. As I said, the tour ended, but now it is coming to the Public Theater for a couple of weeks of free performances, starting on Thursday and ending on June 11th, and there is one more. I think you mentioned a parking lot, Brian. Indeed, The Drilling Company, the intrepid purveyor of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot is coming to Bryant Park's upper terrace.
They are doing something called a celebration, looking back on 10 years of free Bryant Park Shakespeare. That is pretty self-explanatory. True to its title, it's going to be songs, scenes, and monologues from previous Drilling Company events. That's this Thursday, seven o'clock, and it is free.
Brian Lehrer: Cool. It's supposed to be a nice night for it.
Steve Smith: That's right.
Brian Lehrer: Now, I see Riverside Park is getting into the action with some outdoor plays at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the Upper West Side this summer, huh?
Steve Smith: Yes. We can't have Shakespeare absolutely everywhere, so we are going to go Wilde. It's Oscar Wilde's, The Importance of Being Earnest. That's being staged every Thursday through Sunday at 6:30 at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Riverside Park. It's going June 1st through 25th, and then there are two more productions in the queue for this year. The School for Scandal runs June 29th to July 23rd, and then Margaret: Shakespeare's Warrior Queen is coming up on July 27th and running into August.
Brian Lehrer: I think the ones we've talked about so far are free. Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is paid, but they do a mix of Shakespeare and other more contemporary plays in an open-air tent/theater. What's up this year at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and tell people where in the Hudson Valley it is.
Steve Smith: They are kicking off their season with a production of Henry V. It's directed by Davis McCallum, and it stars Emily Ota as the title character. That opens in previews on May 31st. It's followed by what is described as a rock-and-roll-infused version of Love's Labor's Lost, adapted by Amanda Dehnert and Andre Pleuss. That is opening in previews July 12th. Then, as you said, they do contemporary works. There is a brand new musical, Penelope, based on the Odyssey. It's by Alex Bechtel, and it is arriving in September.
Brian Lehrer: Awesome. Dance, we've got the Hudson River Dance Festival and the Battery Dance Festival. What treats are in store there, both obviously Manhattan locations?
Steve Smith: Manhattan locations, and both with spectacular views. You look at the photos from both of these events and you see dancers on little minimal platforms but with gorgeous river views and the Statue of Liberty behind them. Really, it's something special. The Hudson River Park Festival is a joint collaboration with The Joyce Theater for two evenings in June. They host free performances by dance companies from throughout the city. Confirmed participants this year include The Missing Element and the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
That's coming up on June 8th and 9th at Hudson River Park Pier 63. It's right ahead. Then the Battery Dance Festival is built as New York City's longest-running free public dance festival. It invites in companies from throughout the city and all over the world, presentations by local troops, but also city and world premieres. We have first-time appearances this year from companies from India and Norway. That is happening at Rockefeller Park August 12th through 18th, and it streams live on the internet for those who cannot attend for whatever reason.
Brian Lehrer: By the way, I think I neglected to say, which I promised to do, the location of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, they've moved this year, as I understand it. They're in Garrison, so not that far north of the city, up on Route 9 along the Hudson River.
Steve Smith: Oh, good.
Brian Lehrer: Other dance performances happening as part of the big arts festivals, SummerStage, Times Square Live, Bryan Park, all those things?
Steve Smith: Yes, Lincoln Center, all of the above. One particularly nice one to keep an eye on is happening on Wednesday, June 7th. The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company is wrapping up its 40th-anniversary celebration by making its very first-ever free outdoor Times Square appearance. They're performing a piece called Times: Study III, which is going to feature guest musicians, and again, 6:00 PM on Wednesday, June 7th, so you catch that on your way to whatever Broadway show you happen to be going to.
Brian Lehrer: I see dance classes in Times Square with the Ailey Company.
Steve Smith: The Ailey Extension Company is leading dance lessons every Friday afternoon at 5:00 PM in Times Square. Well, just about every Friday. Check the schedule for TSQ Live. I think they may skip around some holidays, but it's pretty close to every Friday. Then you can also head down to Hudson River Park and take Bollywood and Bhangra dance lessons. The lessons are all over the place this year.
Brian Lehrer: Those are free in each of those cases?
Steve Smith: They are, yes.
Brian Lehrer: That is great. One more in that category, I believe a big dance floor with a disco ball outdoors in Lincoln Center.
Steve Smith: Yes, indeed. There will be performances on the Lincoln Center Plaza underneath that disco ball, but it's definitely meant to encourage audience participation as well. It's become a very inviting festival there summer for the city with things all over their public plazas and definitely audience participation is calculated to be part of the mix.
Brian Lehrer: Thank you, Steve Smith, Gothamist culture and art editor. Talk to you tomorrow for more things to do around here this summer.
Steve Smith: Thanks, Brian.
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