Queens Theatre, formerly Queens Theatre in the Park and before that Queens Playhouse, is an American professional

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park,

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York. Artistic and Executive Directors have included Joseph S. Kutrzeba, founder and producer; Robert Moss, Sue Lawless, Jeffrey Rosenstock and Ray Cullom, formerly Managing Director of

Long Wharf Theatre Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared. Fou ...

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, CT, and currently, Taryn Sacramone, former Executive Director of Astoria Performing Arts Center.

History

Adapted from the former Theaterama at the 1964 New York World's Fair, the theater was part of

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the po ...

's then $6 million construction project that also included observation towers and an open-air pavilion called the "Tent of Tomorrow." The theater was originally decorated with the artwork of

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

and Robert Indiana. The site had also hosted the 1939 New York World's Fair. The theater is next to the

Unisphere The Unisphere is a spherical stainless steel representation of the Earth in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens. The globe was designed by Gilmore D. Clarke as part of his plan for the 1964 New York World's ...

at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, an area that also includes

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...

, the

Queens Museum of Art The Queens Museum, formerly the Queens Museum of Art, is an art museum and educational center located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the borough (New York City), borough of Queens in New York City, United States. The museum was founded in 1 ...

, and the

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is a stadium complex within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. It has been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, played every year in August ...

.Ruiz, Albor (July 21, 1997)
"Swing Thru Latin America Via Fest"
'' Daily News''. Retrieved August 16, 2012. Johnson and Richard Foster designed the original theater. The audience stood and viewed a

travelog The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern perio ...

of New York State projected on screens lining the inside of the circular room. The showing of a cycloramic (360 degrees) film about New York State was a tribute to the world fair's host city. The surround cinema was converted into a multipurpose "legitimate" theater in the 1970s, requiring the addition of a stage, public restrooms, lobby, dressing rooms, and stage house.

1972–1975

The Queens Playhouse, as it was called upon opening in 1972, was founded by Joseph S. Kutrzeba. In 1965, it was originally in a lumberyard in

Bayside, Queens Bayside is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fresh Meado ...

, and was the first nonprofit professional resident theater in Queens. In 1972, the theatre became live entertainment from previously being a movie theatre. Their first production in the new theater was

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's '' Pygmalion''. The theatre suffered financial setbacks in 1974, Kutrzeba blaming a lack of support by the

New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell (1905–1996 ...

and the Queens Cultural Association. In November 1974, Kutrzeba left Queens Theatre to pursue a career as a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

producer with

The Lieutenant ''The Lieutenant'' is an American television series, the first created by Gene Roddenberry. It aired on NBC on Saturday evenings in the 1963–1964 television schedule. It was produced by Arena Productions, one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's most ...

, a musical based on the trials resulting from the

Mỹ Lai Massacre The Mỹ Lai massacre (; vi, Thảm sát Mỹ Lai ) was the mass murder of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians by United States troops in Sơn Tịnh District, South Vietnam, on 16 March 1968 during the Vietnam War. Between 347 and 504 unarme ...

. The production had started at the Queens Playhouse before it moved to

where it was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Musical but closed after a short run.

1985–93 conversion

The circular theater closed in 1985. A $4 million project converted it into a 476-seat community theater, designed by architect Alfredo De Vido, opened in 1993. The conversion was a "wonderful success" according to Queens Borough President Claire Shulman, who said she was an attendee at the 1939 World's Fair (held at the same site) as a little girl.Dunlap, David (August 26, 2001).
"A Queens Park's Past Shapes Its Future"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Retrieved August 16, 2012. It became known as the Queens Theatre in the Park. The theater is now used for cabaret, concerts, Broadway revivals, new productions, and film festivals. The playhouse hosts various drama, dance, music, performance art, troupe, and comedy performances as well as children’s events. The theater has been a venue for the

Independent Film Showcase Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and is intended to meet the various interests of the diverse population of Queens. The work completed in 1993 improved acoustics and added a public elevator, additional lighting and rigging, "front-of-house catwalks", and reworked the facades. The original dome was strengthened and a second roof added, abating noise from nearby

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia ...

. A 100-seat "flexible studio theater" was also added in the downstairs "for more experimental fare". In 1993 the famed Kitty Carlisle Hart was hostess at a Queens Theatre in the Park gala held at Terrace on the Park. The operators of the theater became an independent nonprofit in 1997. A member of the

Cultural Institutions Group The Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) is a coalition of institutions providing cultural and educational resources to the public in New York City that are subsidized by the city. The group originated in the last quarter of the 19th century with pla ...

, it is funded in part from the

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) is the department of the government of New York City dedicated to supporting New York City's cultural life. Among its primary missions is ensuring adequate public funding for non-profit cultur ...

and hosts approximately 300 events a year. During the 1996–97 season it had attendance of 90,000 people at more than 300 performances of theater, music, dance, children's shows and workshops, films and festivals. In an effort to reach Latinos, a Latin American festival was hosted. The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair New York State Pavilion was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2009.

2008–10 addition

A 2008–10 addition, designed by

Caples Jefferson Architects Caples Jefferson Architects is an American design and architecture firm founded in 1987 in New York City by principal architects Sara Caples and Everardo Jefferson. The firm focuses on architecture in a public, cultural & community context, and ...

with Lee/Timchula Architects, added a reception hall. A transparent circular pavilion, it is said to be "especially dramatic at twilight, when the sunset-colored, invert dome appears to hover and flow in the dark." A 600-person " nebula" reception space was part of a restoration project completed in 2010. Architects involved included

. This renovation was awarded the 2011 Architectural Lighting Light & Architecture Design Award. In 2009, the theater was added to the

as one of the three qualifying structures that make up the New York State Pavilion from the 1964 New York World's Fair.

"1964 New York World's Fair New York State Pavilion"

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

In popular culture

The exterior of the pavilion was used in the musical film ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'' (1978), directed by Sidney Lumet; and the final scene of the

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

action comedy film Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...

Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are purported men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi- government agents, who harass, threaten, or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesse ...

'' (1997), directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.

References

External links

*
Queens Theatre
at Architzer {{Flushing Meadows-Corona Park 1964 establishments in New York City 1964 New York World's Fair Theatres completed in 1964 Flushing Meadows–Corona Park Philip Johnson buildings Theatres in Queens, New York Regional theatre in the United States Theatres in New York (state)