QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, November 16, 2023 Page 4 For the latest news EDITION visit qchron.com 45TH ANNIVERSARY • 2023
45th Anniversary Edition
The many lives of Queens Theatre Even with leaks, the show went on by Mark Lord
Two more theatrical seasons folFrom 1972 until 1985, the theater lowed, and then, in 1985, the theater had “a full roster of performing arts ceased operations, remaining closed activity,” the program reminds us. During this period, Playwrights for the next four years. We took our places onstage at According to Rosenstock, thenHorizons, a nonprofit producing Queens Theatre in the Park for our organization that had been founded Borough President Claire Shulman final dress rehearsal of “Bubba Mein“felt it was important to reopen the in 1971 under artistic director Robert sers,” an original musical tribute to Moss, produced full seasons of plays theater.” So, Shulman and the city’s Jewish grandmothers. We could hear the heavy rain out- at the theater and built an audience Department of Cultural Affairs “put side pounding on the roof. And then base of 6,000 subscribers. Its offer- out a call for proposals to operate” the theater, Rosenstock said. we began to feel it. Yes, at center ings ranged from Shakespeare to “Everybody was interested,” he musicals such as “Anything Goes.” stage, we found ourselves brushing In 1981, in keeping with its role as recalled. “Claire chose Queens Counaway the droplets dripping on our heads. Before long, small puddles a cultural and educational outlet in cil on the Arts.” Rosenstock, along with another the borough, the theater, now known began to form all around us. young man, Peter Cromarty, The year was 1991, and the the- as Theater in the Park, hosted the approached the Council about taking ater was obviously in need of a com- first annual Queens High School over the reins. The duo got hired for plete overhaul, having had a long Theater Festival. the job as co-directors. A program note indicates that “our and varied history dating back nearBut it wasn’t easy sailing. “We purpose has been to broaden high ly three decades. But its greatest school students’ understanding of couldn’t use the main theater,” years were yet to come. theater by exposing them to profes- Rosenstock said. “We were afraid the Originally known as “Theaterama,” it was designed by world- sional approaches to some of theater’s roof would cave in.” So, he and his intrepid crew took various elements.” renowned architect Philip Johnson The program’s credits included matters into their own hands, conand built as part of the New York State Pavilion for the 1964 World’s executive director Arthur Conescu verting office space in the belly of the building into a small black Fair. Its attraction was a 360-degree and, as his assistant, a box theater. It was here, motion picture tribute to the fair’s young man named Jeffrey during the 1990-91 seaRosenstock, who would host state. CENTER son, that the first producAs the years went by, the theater eventually become the STAGE tion of Rosenstock’s tenwould undergo many changes, not theater’s guiding light, ure would open, a musical shaping its role in the the least of which was its name. entitled, “A Wing and a community for decades to According to an old program, in Prayer.” Scheduled for 1972, the theater, now called come. two weekends, its run was Between Conescu and Queens Playhouse, “was converted extended to three and a into a 482-seat auditorium by a Rosenstock, serving as the group of dedicated residents and theater’s artistic director, came Sue half months, according to Willy MosLawless, who would go on to a career quera, one of the staff members who theater professionals.” Overseeing the venue was its as a director both on and off Broad- helped in the reconstruction. Mosquera recently recalled that he founder, Joseph Kutrzeba; the open- way. Rosenstock recalled in a recent ing attraction was a production of telephone interview that Lawless’ met Rosenstock when both were employed at Caramba, a Mexican resShaw’s “Pygmalion.” Kutrzeba’s stay first production at the theater was would be short-lived, only until 1974, “Nurse Jane Goes to Hawaii,” a farce taurant in Manhattan. When Rosenstock left to run the theater, he invitwhen he left to produce the Broad- that starred Georgia Engel, best way musical “The Lieutenant,” which remembered from “The Mary Tyler ed Mosquera to join him. Mosquera began as a stagehand and eventually Moore Show.” started out at the Playhouse. became house manager, seemingly always at the theater entrance welcoming patrons, and easily recognized by his extraordinary head of hair. Mosquera remains at the theater to this day, 33 years after he arrived. Upstairs, a new roof was put on, the seats and curtain were restored, and a new façade, featuring two nowiconic columns, was created. Shulman’s office provided much-needed support, financial and otherwise. “No Claire, no Queens Theatre,” Rosenstock has often said. In fact, at a gala event on April 24, 2002, the mainstage was officially named The Claire Shulman Playhouse in her honor. Through the years, Rosenstock saw the need for the theater “to The 2003 Queens Legislative Revue, with Claire Shulman, Peter Vallone Sr. embrace a borough with a diverse PHOTO BY DOMINIC TOTINO and many more borough dignitaries. Chronicle Contributor
Queens Theater in the Park Co-directors Peter Cromarty, left, and Jeffrey Rosenstock outside the venue in a photo likely from 1989, when they initially got the green light to run it under the auspices of the Queens Council on PHOTO COURTESY JEFFREY ROSENSTOCK the Arts. population.” He saw it as “a place of public assembly that would build community, where all types of people should feel welcome.” To that end, Rosenstock would personally appear onstage before most shows to give a brief curtain speech, making audiences feel at home. It was a tradition he picked up from Moss. By the time the renovations were completed and the theater reopened as a 476-seat house on Oct. 16, 1993, it was known as Queens Theatre in the Park, adding the borough to its official name and changing the “er” in Theater to “re.” The 1996-97 season saw no fewer than 90,000 patrons attending more than 300 performances, according to Wikipedia. They included the first annual Latino Cultural Festival, which would be a popular attraction for 17 years, celebrating contributions of Latin American artists to the cultural life of New York City. By the 2005-06 season, over 400 performances were offered, reaching 120,000 people. Another popular event was the annual Legislative Revue, which found the borough’s elected officials strutting their stuff onstage. Among the name performers who have appeared at the theater are Rita Moreno, Carol Lawrence, Barbara Cook, Jackie Mason, Red Buttons, Donna McKechnie, Kevin Bacon, Leslie Uggams, Art Garfunkel, Lesley Gore, Andre De Shields, Joy Behar and Adam Pascal. Dozens of new plays have received staged readings and productions at the theater, leading for some to Broadway engagements, including “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo”
and, most recently, “Chicken and Biscuits.” A restoration project, completed in 2010, included the addition of a circular pavilion that welcomes visitors as they arrive, as well as a new 75-seat performance/cabaret space. Following Rosenstock’s departure in 2011 to oversee the professional arts organizations at Queens College, Ray Cullom took over as executive director for the next two years, presenting such productions as “Chix 6,” a superhero musical, and a new dance/theater piece called “The Jack Cole Project.” And the theater had one final name change, at least for now, to simply Queens Theatre. Since 2013, the theater has been run by Taryn Sacramone, who said she has made “no huge departures” from the theater’s storied history, opting to build on what was already in place. The Latino Cultural Festival led to additional related programming and the downstairs studio welcomed Titan Theatre Co. as theater company in residence. Sacramone has also been promoting the theater’s “radically grown portfolio of education programs.” Since 2017, the theater has made an intentional effort to work with more artists of the disability community and to offer more accessibility services for audience members. Recently, the theater has opened its doors to live podcasting, including “Race Chaser Live,” which, according to Sacramone, “sold very well.” As to the future, Sacramone hopes to continue to turn young audiences into lifelong lovers of the arts and to “serve the full diversity of the community,” saying, “We want to make Q sure people see themselves.”
