New York City's Little Island will host nine newly-commissioned works at this years Summer Series. Running for four months, beginning in June, the small man-made island will host a roster of original work, all commissioned by and developed at Little Island.
Bookended by the premiere of legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp’s newest full-length piece, How Long Blues, and a 90-minute one-person remix of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro by opera diva Anthony Roth Costanzo, numerous genres will be explored, including music, dance, theatre, opera, comedy, jazz, pop, and funk. All performances will be free to the public.
How Long Blues will star a number of familiar theatrical faces, including Tony winner Michael Cerveris, Piper Dye, Jourdan Epstein, Oliver Greene-Cramer, Kyle Halford, Colin Heininger, Daisy Jacobson, Claude CJ Johnson, Pomme Koch, Skye Mattox, Nicole Ashley Morris, Hugo Pizano Orozco, Ryan Redmond, Victoria Sames, Frances Lorraine Samson, John Selya, Reed Tankersley, Andromeda Turre, John Bailey, Justin Goldner, Wayne Goodman, Dan Lipton, Mark Lopeman, Jay Rattman, George Rush, and Paul Wells.
In addition to Tharp and Costanzo, the season will feature a new musical, Robeson, based on the life of Paul Robeson, and written and performed by bass baritone Davóne Tines, who has co-created the piece with director Zack Winokur; a new theatre piece Open Throat by Henry Hoke; a new dance piece Day For Night by choreographer Pam Tanowitz; and a new musical offering Mama by funk liberation band Britton & The Sting, with direction and choreography by Ebony Williams.
The summer will also see The Oyster Radio Hour, a live three-act radio show; The Summer Legacy Ball, which will be led by the stage and film costume designer and activist Qween Jean; and Chris Thile's The Manhattan Variations, a musical memoir centered on the legendary Lower East Side cocktail bar Milk and Honey that will be performed by the virtuoso mandolinist.
In July and August, The Island will be home to a completely free-to-the-public performance series, in which a committee of New York cultural vanguards will each program one week of to-be-announced public events.
The curators will include Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, Grammy winning musician Cécile McLorin Salvant, cabaret stalwart Justin Vivian Bond, comedian Morgan Jay, New Amsterdam Market founder Robert LaValva, experimental musician, singer, and songwriter Gio Escobar and Standing on the Corner, and linguist Ross Perlin and the Endangered Language Alliance.
Said Barry Diller, founder of Little Island, in a statement “For the past three years, it’s been extraordinarily gratifying to see New Yorkers embrace Little Island – whether for a few moments, a few hours, an entire afternoon, or late into the evening. Now, with this inaugural slate of entirely original programming, we fulfill the initial intention and vision for the park. Little Island was incepted with the goal of becoming a permanent hub of cultural activity, excitement, and entertainment, constantly building and creating new work for the City to enjoy. There is going to be something great to see—all throughout the park—every night, all summer long.”
For more information, including the run dates of each program, visit LittleIsland.org.
