BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP BUZZ DECEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7, 2017 33 BROOKLYN
CULTURE BRIEFS
COMPILED BY JAIME DEJESUS
CHRISTMAS TREE
LIGHTINGS
Get in the holiday spirit right in the
neighborhood.
State Senator Marty Golden is hosting several
Christmas tree lighting ceremonies. that will
bring seasonal cheer and excitement, with Christmas
carols, a special visit from Santa Claus and
hot chocolate for all.
Among them, on Friday, December 1, a tree will
be lit at Lady Moody Square, Van Sicklen Street
and Avenue U, at 6:30 p.m.
Then on Thursday, December 7, the tree lighting
at McKinley Park, Bay Ridge Parkway and
Fort Hamilton Parkway, will take place at 6:30
p.m., co-sponsored by the Dyker Heights Civic
Association.
Both events are free.
CHRISTMAS IN EL BARRIO
Head over to the Brooklyn Center for the Performing
Arts at Brooklyn College as it presents
“Los Pleneros de la 21: Christmas in el Barrio.”
Drawing from Afro-Puerto Rican traditions
in music and dance, including the percussion
driven bomba and plena, “Christmas in El Barrio”
celebrates community, family and cultural
identity.
Founded in 1983 by National Heritage Fellow
Juan Gutiérrez, Los Pleneros de la 21 is an East
Harlem traditional performing music group
and nonprofit organization created to foster
awareness and appreciation of the Puerto Rican
cultural expressions.
The show will take place on Sunday, December
10, 2017 at 3 and 6 p.m. at Kumble Theater at
LIU-Brooklyn, 1 University Plaza. Tickets are $25,
adults and $12.50, children 12 and under.
To purchase tickets, visit www.brooklyncenter.
org, or call 718-951-4500.
SALSA PARTY
Dancing lovers should get to the Brooklyn
Museum for its Salsa Party.
Kick off the museum’s season of salsa with the
first of its monthly Salsa Parties hosted by Balmir
Latin Dance Company. Learn the moves with a
class led by professional dancers, followed by live
music and performances by Brooklyn’s best Latin
dance teams.
The free event will be held on Thursday, December
14 from 6 p.m.-9:30 p.m. at the Martha
A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion in the Brooklyn
Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway.
For more information, www.brooklynmuseum.
org.
Narrows Community
Theater brings "A Wonderful
Life" to Bay Ridge
BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Narrows Community
Theater is bringing back
a classic.
Starting Friday, December 1,
the Bay Ridge theater company
is bringing "A Wonderful Life:
The Musical" to locals.
With Frank Capra's classic film
as inspiration, the production is
based on the musical created by
Seldon Harnick and Joe Raposo.
Longtime director Leah Zepel
will be in charge of telling the
story of dreams, disillusionment
and the power of love on a
smaller scale and is excited to be
doing so.
"I'm really excited and
thrilled," Zepel said, who has
worked on Broadway shows. "It's
a story of family and tradition
and finding value in things that
aren’t always monetary so it’s a
good story to tell during the holidays.
It’s all about what makes life
worthwhile. Sometimes we need
to be reminded of it and that is the
story of George Bailey."
The timeless tale is expected
to stay true to its original source
material, according to the
director.
"I love the movie and I don't
like to mess with things that
are so beloved," she said. "The
script isn’t written in a traditional
format. It's almost a movie
script. I directed it so that things
sort of seamlessly transition so
towards the middle to end of
one scene, people come on stage
and change on set to the new
scene right in front of your face.
You're watching it evolve as the
story progresses as opposed to a
traditional play where there’s a
scene and there’s a blackout."
Zepel added that audiences
can look forward to the talent,
especially the show's lead.
"The actor that plays George
Photo courtesy of Narrows Community Theater
The Narrows Community Theater rendition of
“A Wonderful Life: The Musical” debuts on December 1.
Bailey, Dalles Willie, is one of
the most talented people I’ve
ever worked with. He is such a
gift," she said. "He brings so much
heart to this show. I can't wait for
audiences to be taken in during
his more emotional moments."
Zepel has also been impressed
with the way the cast has come
together.
"Our cast has blended together
so beautifully and we have
some performers that are more
seasoned and some that are less
seasoned, but what happens is
the less seasoned actors rise to
the top when they’ve seen everyone
else," Zepel explained. "We
have a couple of teenagers that
are killing it in their acting bits.
I think the overall show is going
to be great."
The production is also expected
to be top notch.
"It's professional scale," Zepel
said. "We have a set designer
who is award-winning and he’s
done a beautiful job. It's an intimate
story and we wanted to
keep it that way so we don't have
full-blown sets but the smaller
sets are beautiful. The costumer
has done an amazing job and we
have a professional lighting designer
and sound designer. It's
going to be a full production top
to bottom. The heart and soul of
American theater is community
theater. It's all done for the love.
This is why I fell in love with
theater."
"A Wonderful Life: The Musical"
premieres on Friday, December
1 at 8 p.m. at the theater on the
Fort Hamilton Army Base, 101st
Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway.
Additional shows will take
place on Saturday, December 2
at 8 p.m., Sunday, December 3
at 2 p.m., Saturday, December 9
at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m and Sunday,
December 10 at 2 p.m. Tickets
are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors
and students under 21 and
$15 for children under 12. ID is
required. For more information
or to purchase tickets, visit www.
narrowscommunitytheater.com.