Ozone Park native Cindi Lauper’s return to Queens is certainly a highlight, but upcoming events include various harvest festivals, creative dance performances, a drum circle and some novel theater productions. Here’s the rundown.
(Queens, NY) PIRIRA, times vary (runs until Nov. 10). An intense, 70-minute play staged in the round in an intimate, 60-seat space that combines the story of American aid workers seeking shelter during the 2011 Malawi riots and another day in Manhattan for Malawian student Gilbert and his gay co-worker. $16 to $18. The Chain Theatre, 21-28 45th Rd., LIC, www.theatre167.org.
Oct. 18, Full Moon Drum Circle, 7 pm. Celebrate the Harvest Moon with a drum circle under a full moon in a beautiful garden with master drummers from the Colombian and Korean traditions. $25. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., www.flushingtownhall.org.
Oct. 18, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, times vary, runs through Nov. 3. Nine NYC classical actors play 16 roles in Shakespeare’s infectious comedy of sly sprites, rude mechanicals and confused lovers — except no one knows his/her track until their names are drawn at random at the start of every show. $15. The Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St., LIC, www.secrettheatre.com.
Oct. 18, Queens Literary Town Hall, 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Part performance, part soapbox and part networking event, this evening kicks off a monthly series for borough artists. $5. Queens Council on the Arts, 37-11 35th Ave., Astoria, www.queenscouncilarts.org.
Oct. 19, Halloween Walking Tour, noon. The Greater Astoria Historical Society celebrates Halloween with a walking tour of murder and mystery along LIC’s waterfront. Hear about the eerie goings-on in the area, from the history of Hell Gate, the sinking of the HMS Hussar and the General Slocum, and events in and around the East River and Old Astoria Village. Meet under the Hell Gate Bridge. $20, www.astorialic.org.
Oct. 19, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company 8pm. This local troupe returns to Queens Theatre with a fresh and exciting program dedicated to the rich traditions of Mexico captured in movement and music. $25-$35. QT, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, www.queenstheatre.org.
Oct. 19, Flushing’s Koreatown, 11am. Learn about surprising shops, supermarkets and houses of worship on a guided walking tour with official Queens historian Jack Eichenbaum. Koreans’ center of gravity has migrated away from Central Flushing and is now sprawling east. Register at www.mas.org.
Oct. 19, James Darren (music) and Sal Richards (comedy), 8 pm. Darren has enjoyed a successful, multi-faceted career spanning five decades in motion picture, television, recording and live concert performances. Richards was voted the Entertainment Industry’s Hot Comic by the New York Friars Club. $40. Queensborough Performing Arts Center, 222-05 56th Ave., Bayside, www.visitqpac.org.
Oct. 19, Hands-on History: Harvest at the Manor, noon. Did you know 19th century Jamaica was the countryside? Learn about harvest on the King farm and make a fall-themed craft. Free. King Manor Museum, King Park, Jamaica, www.kingmanor.org.
Oct. 19, Halloween Harvest Festival, 11am to 3pm. This annual event has the following schedule: 11am to 2pm, artist-led costume-making workshops; 11am to 3 pm, harvest foods for sale from LIC’s Breadbox Café, Rockaway’s Shore Fruit and The Queens Kickshaw; 11:30am to 2:30pm, face-painting by Agostino Arts!; and 2pm to 3pm, Annual Canine Costume Contest with LIC’s Pooches Sport & Spa. Free. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd, LIC, www.socratessculpturepark.org.
Oct. 19, The Dawn Patrol, 2 pm; Air Force, 4:30 pm. The Museum of the Moving Image is hosting a 39-feature retrospective on quintessential Hollywood director Howard Hawks. His first talkie, The Dawn Patrol is a bracing, unsentimental drama about a group of doomed British World War I aviators. In Air Force, a bomber crew arrives in Pearl Harbor after the Japanese attack and is sent to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines. MMI, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
Oct. 19, Woodside Clean Up and Beautification Day, 11 am to 5 pm. Renovate the historical Moore Jackson Cemetery (gloves and equipment provided.) Meet up at 51st Street entrance near 31st Avenue, Woodside, www.woodsideonthemove.org.
Oct. 19, Gina Graham/Esse Aficionado, 8 pm. Esse Aficionado is a modern dance company that encourages professional artists to collaborate their technical and aesthetic ideas for the purpose of creating works of thought-provoking art. $15. Green Space, 37-24 24th St., LIC, www.greenspacestudio.org.
Oct. 20, Cyndi Lauper: She’s So Unusual 30th Anniversary Tour, 7 pm. The multi-talented Lauper will celebrate her groundbreaking debut album by performing its entirety while sharing intimate, never-before-heard stories acquired during the record-setting album’s recording. Kupferberg Center for the Arts, Colden Auditorium, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, www.kupferbergcenter.org.
Oct. 20, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company 4pm. This local troupe returns to Queens Theatre with a fresh and exciting program dedicated to the rich dance traditions of Mexico. $25-$35. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, www.queenstheatre.org.
Oct. 20, Sing For Your Supper, 5 pm. Soprano Allyson Herman, Catherine Webber and Alyssa Marshall will “sing for their suppers” in a fun and entertaining evening of music. Arias, ensembles, art songs, American standards and the greatest Broadway musicals of all time. St. Joseph Church, 43-19 30th Ave., Astoria, www.AstoriaMusic.org.
Oct. 20, The New York Birthday Show, 10am to 4 pm. Attendees get unprecedented insider access to some of the best entertainment, hands on activities, dessert samples and DIY products currently available. New York Hall of Science, 47-01 111th St., Corona, www.nysci.org.
Oct. 20, Harvest Fest & Pumpkin Patch, 11 am to 6 pm. This third-annual, family-friendly event celebrates the fall season with great food, live entertainment, craft vendors, children’s activities, a bird & nature walk, pony rides, a beer tent and more. Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing, www.queensbotanical.org.
Oct. 20, Land of the Pharaohs, 1:30pm; Hatari!, 4pm. The Museum of the Moving Image is hosting a 39-feature retrospective on quintessential Hollywood director Howard Hawks. In Land of the Pharaohs, a captured architect designs an ingenious plan to insure the impregnability of the tomb of a megalomaniacal Pharaoh. In Hatari!, Western expatriates led by Sean Mercer (John Wayne) cavort over the African landscape, filling orders from zoos for wild animals. MMI, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
Oct. 20, Fertile Ground, 7 pm. A monthly showcase for emerging and established artists featuring Kristen Majoros Dance, Michelle DuVall, Natalie Canizares, SUNPROJECT, Dale O’Reilly and Alexandra Bell. $10. Green Space. 37-24 24th St., LIC, www.greenspacestudio.org.
Oct. 21, Author Discusses Book on Hospital During Hurricane, 1:30 pm. Investigative journalist Sherri Fink describes the life-and-death decisions made in a New Orleans hospital during Hurricane Katrina. Fink’s landmark investigation is based on the trial of a doctor accused of second-degree murder. $7 donation suggested. Central Queens Y, 67-09 108th St., Forest Hills, www.cqy.org.
The “It’s In Queens” column is produced by the Queens Tourism Council with the hope that readers will enjoy the borough’s wonderful attractions.
