Triboro Bridge
Hello and Welcome to GenesisAstoria!
I wanted to take a moment and invite you to our opening in Astoria on
November 18, marking the start of GenesisAstoria — our run here in Queens.
Art is something that feeds the soul and so we want to plant the seed in the
fertile ground of Astoria.
Let me share with you our “backstory:”
For six years, Genesis Repertory has endeavored to make the classics
accessible and desirable. During the first four years of our existence this
was done at our home on the upper east side of Manhattan – the Jan Hus
Playhouse. After that, we endeavored to bring our work to a wider audience
by “touring” the festival circuit. We brought classics and new plays to
audiences at the Fringe, Spotlight-On, Samuel French, the Midtown
International, and many other festivals. Simultaneously, we offered
sponsorship and internship opportunities; lending financial, administrative,
technical, and artistic support to universities and companies that shared
our mission. We lent support to Fordham University in the Bronx; Yeshiva
University in Manhattan; Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn,
BlueBerryPond Theatre in Westchester, and Cypreco of America in Queens.
After much discussion, the board of Genesis decided it was time to open a
branch *out of Manhattan*. The decision to move operations to Astoria,
Queens, was easy. We weighed the pros and saw no cons: this community has
deep artistic roots – once housing seven live theatres and a movie studio
famed for filming the first Marx Brothers movie; it’s community – culturally
speaking – is diverse and energetic; many actors currently working on
Broadway and Off-Broadway live in Astoria because of its beauty and
accessibility (it is between two bridges and three trains thus making a
commute of about 15 minutes from the heart of Manhattan). As members of the
Astoria community ourselves, we felt it was time to stop leaving the
neighborhood to go to the theatre but to bring our theatre to the
neighborhood.
We hope you can join us on November 18 when we present our fundraising gala
at The Advance Island City Mispah Lodge on 30th Avenue and 21st Street. This
lovely historic building has been part of the Astoria landscape for some
time. As a matter of fact, it was one of the first venues that featured the
great Ethel Merman. To that end, our evening will have a finale of great
works of Ms. Merman.
We will be sending updates on all the proceedings – for instance, opera
singer, Courteney Lynn Wilds, will be joining us. Ms. Wilds is a veteran of
CAMI Hall and Regina Opera. We will be holding auditions for actors,
singers, directors, playwrights, technical staff, and administrative
personnel prior to the first of the year. We also will open our internship
programs to high school and college students. If you would like to learn
more about us, please feel free to call or e-mail.
Please feel free to contact us for any purpose. The Genesis office is
646-226-0370 or *genesisastoria@gmail.com. *
I hope you will join us November 18.
J Michaels
Artistic Director
Genesis Repertory and the new GenesisAstoria
Program listing for your perusal.
Grand Theatre on Grand Avenue. Off/Off Broadway’s Genesis Repertory comes to
Astoria in a big way with a gala musical event at the Advance Island City
Mispah Lodge, 21-14 30th Avenue. The company presents a musical celebration
featuring guest artists as well as artists who work and reside in Astoria.
Aside from a bevy of musical and classical works on display that night, the
evening will include a grand finale entitled “Ethel Sang Here” a tribute to
Ethel Merman, one of Astoria’s most famous theatrical citizens — who
actually did sing at the meeting hall in her early days. Saturday night,
November 18 at 8:00 pm in the main hall of the Advance Island City Mispah
Lodge, 21-14 30th Avenue 30th Ave. & 21st St. Refreshments will be served.
$20 646-226-0370/GenesisAstoria@gmail.com
