BLACK SPECTRUM THEATRE COMPANY
The Black Spectrum Theatre Company produces and presents
works relating to the African Diaspora with an emphasis on the
African-American and Caribbean-American experiences. Roughly
20,000 people attend events at the 325-seat theater every year.
Founded in 1970, the company strives to involve local residents
in its projects. It has a youth company that has produced such
stars as Lisa Nicole Carson from the TV show Ally McBeal and
Desiree Coleman from Mama I Want to Sing.
Inside scoop: The venue is within Roy Wilkins Park, a 54-acre
spread of playgrounds, baseball fields, basketball courts, handball
courts, tennis courts, picnic areas, and a jogging track.
Address: 177th Street and Baisley Boulevard, Jamaica, and www.
blackspectrum.com.
FLUSHING TOWN HALL
Flushing Town Hall is a dynamic cultural venue presenting highquality,
award-winning performing and visual arts programs,
including theater, jazz, classical and world music, dance,
puppetry, exhibitions, and family programs. Visitors can catch
a show in the stunning 308-seat concert hall/theater, peruse an
art gallery, gift shop, and classrooms, and/or explore a tranquil
garden that hosts everything from free concerts to yoga classes to
drumming circles.
It’s also a beautiful Romanesque Revival building that has been
on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972. Built in
1862, Civil War conscripts were sworn into the Union Army in
the upstairs assembly hall. In the late 19th century, an extension
was added and the venue started hosting opera and traveling
theater. For a time, the legendary P.T. Barnum was its impresario
and Tom Thumb was its star performer. From 1902 until the early
1960s, Flushing Town Hall functioned primarily as a courthouse
and a jail. For many of these years a bank operated in the lobby.
Inside scoop: The Monthly Jazz Jam happens on the first
Wednesday of the month. It’s simple, musicians gather and play
under the direction of saxophone legend Carol Sudhalter. Don’t
play? Come and listen.
Address: 137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing,
and www.flushingtownhall.org.
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