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Midsummer Night's What? - Free Outdoor Shakespeare in Queens

8/18/09 - By Leni
One request I hear frequently is for more stuff about things to do with kids in Queens. Every time I hear it I think, "Yeah, I want that too!" Luckily, I discovered Leni and her great blog, Queens Mamas. Leni has agreed to keep us up to date on all things Queens starting today with some free Shakespeare performances in Queens parks. Thanks, Leni!

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I took the brood to see some free Shakespeare in Forest Park this evening. It was the first performance of the Hip to Hip Theatre Company  at the Forest Hills Bandstand. We got front and center seats in the nearly empty bandstand theater which was great for my tween since she wanted to see it all. It was then that I realized my poor child knew very little about who Shakespeare was or what we were about to see, oops, too late for a lesson now. 
 
The performance of Midsummer Nights Dream began punctually at 5pm and ran exactly 90 minutes, a very reasonable time for a play of this complexity. On a sparse stage in the middle of a bustling area of the park, the actors were able to put on a very entertaining version of the play and kept my tween completely entertained, not an easy task especially in prose. Afterward, I was finally able to explain what Shakespeare's plays were all about and why he was an important guy to know, my tween agreed. All in all we had a nice evening and I was pleasantly impressed that I myself was also able to follow the play since the last time I read Shakespeare was in 10th grade. We look forward to seeing more from Hip to Hip and William Shakespeare at future Queens venues all over Queens.
 
Things To Know:
 
- All performances in Forest Park take place at the Band-shell which is located at Myrtle Ave. and Woodhaven Blvd.
 
- There is bench seating so save the blankets and picnic gear.
 
- Bathrooms are located at the Band-shell for your toilet training pleasure.
 
- Go early to get great seats but don't worry, this is one of Queens' best kept secrets and is never packed.
 
- The performances in Forest Park and other Queens' park venues are a great oppurtunity to expose your little ones to the arts without spending big bucks on Broadway or the Met.
 
-There are performances of A Midsummer's Night Dream and Romeo and Juliet now through August 23, 2009 in parks all over Queens. Check here for the complete schedule.
 
-I enjoyed this with my tween, but there were some littler ones there who were attentive. It's up to you to guage what your child will sit through, but it's outside and free so not too big a deal if it doesn't work out.

 

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