THE SECRET
THEATRE
Long Island City
theater provides
access to thousands
of artists, both
adults and children
40 MARCH 2020 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
Photos courtesy of The Secret Theatre
The Secret Theatre stages musicals such
as Rent as well as dramas, dance, operas
and film festivals.
Theater
BY BILL PARRY
When he immigrated from England in
2004, Richard Mazda arrived in Long
Island City as an accomplished actor,
director, producer, writer and musician,
and noticed something was lacking in Queens.
“Back then Long Island City was so different and I
looked around and noticed there was no real theater,”
Mazda said. “I knew of the Thalia Theatre in Sunnyside
but I didn’t even know there was a Queens Theatre in
Flushing Meadows Corona Park. I thought how could a
borough of more than 2.2 million there wasn’t enough
theater for that amount of people. At the time we had
a little theater company at the Creek and the Cave on
Jackson Avenue, and I had a hunch that the rezoning
for an Olympic Village wouldn’t work and next thing
you know it was a free-for-all of a residential boom.”
Before Long Island City became known as the
fastest growing neighborhood in the country, Mazda
opened the Secret Theatre in 2007 at 44-02 23rd
St., eventually expanding into a larger spot with room
for a 100-seat theater when a coffee company moved
out of the property. The Secret Theatre had its grow-ing
pains along the way with revenue shortfalls, but
/www.qns.com
/www.qns.com
