By Tracy Zwick
Let’s weekend!
June 28 – 30, 2024
Shakespeare: You’ve got three chances to catch The Bard’s work close to home.
First, you can see “Coriolanus” in Riverside Park at the Soldiers & Sailors Monument, at West 89th Street and Riverside Drive. It’s happening on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights at 6:30 p.m. (and every Thursday through Sunday until the end of July). The production is staged by the Hudson Classical Theater Company, which for 20 years has been presenting vibrant outdoor theater not only in Riverside Park, but also in detention centers, schools, and other supportive community venues. Pay what you wish and arrive early for the best seats.
Then, there’s The Public Theater’s “Comedy of Errors” in the second of its two stops at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, on Amsterdam Avenue and West 112th Street, this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. It’s free, and advance tickets aren’t needed, but do arrive early to secure your seat.
Finally, if you feel like staying in, you can still get your summer Shakespeare with The Public Theater’s free at-home screenings on PBS. While The Public Theater’s summer home, the Delacorte Theater, is being renovated, they’ve made a rotating lineup of previous productions available for on-demand screening through June 30th. That ends this weekend, so catch ”Richard III” on TV before it’s gone.
Music: The Dusty Wright Quartet; Saturday June 29th, 7:00 p.m., Riverside Park around 96th Street next to the Red Clay Tennis Courts; Free
Bring a picnic and enjoy live music while admiring a picturesque Hudson River backdrop. This free sunset concert series is put on by the Riverside Park Clay Tennis Association and takes place every Saturday night through July. This week features singer-songwriter Dusty Wright, an UWSer for over 25 years, and his eponymous quartet, which includes guitarist Jon Bendis, bassist Kevin Mackall, and drummer Mark Brotter. Dusty’s been creating, studying, writing and talking about music for more than 40 years. He released his ninth album in 2022.
Disco at Lincoln Center: Silent Disco at Lincoln Center; Friday June 28th, 10:00 p.m.; Lincoln Center Plaza; Free
For a no-cost option, Lincoln Center’s got you covered. Hit the free silent disco at Lincoln Center on Friday at 10 p.m. featuring DJ CherishTheLuv, the first-ever woman to DJ on Broadway. Don’t know what a silent disco is? Check it out here.
Disco in Central Park: Pride Disco featuring DJ Trixie Mattel & Jojo Siwa; Saturday June 29th, 5:30-10:00 p.m., Rumsey Playfield in Central Park (East 69th Street and Fifth Avenue); $79-$85 tickets
If you’re willing to pay and want to finish your Pride Month celebrations with some bumpin’, DJ Trixie Mattel, Jojo Siwa, and Peloton instructor Jess King could be your jam on Saturday. Doors open at 5:00, which gives you five hours to get down with popular drag queen Trixie and her squad. This is a ticketed SummerStage performance, so register in advance.
Eat: Lee Lee’s Baked Goods, 283 West 118th Street, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Friday & Saturday; 12-5 p.m., Sunday
Packing a picnic this weekend? Rugelach makes a great addition to your hamper and if you haven’t tried Lee Lee’s, you’re in for a true treat. Alvin Lee, aka Lee Lee, has been making rugelach, the rolled Austrian-German-Jewish cookies that resemble mini-strudels, since 1964 and selling them in Harlem for 50 years. You may find Mr. Lee behind the counter of his homey shop, as I did last Sunday. What makes Lee Lee’s rugelach (“little twists” in Yiddish) special is that he uses butter whereas most commercial bakeries use vegetable shortening, which has a longer shelf life. So Mr. Lee’s are richer and flakier than you may be used to. Raspberry, apricot and chocolate are the holy trinity, but Mr. Lee told me “sometimes” he makes prune too. If you’re lucky there might be an informal-looking carrot cake, perfect for the entire picnic party, as well as individual “rugelach cookies,” ground up chocolate rugelach on a fudge cookie base. I saw a beautiful large coconut cake and small pies in apple as well as half-raspberry, half-blueberry. Red velvet and chocolate cake combo slices were ready for take-away as were fudge-pecan and peanut butter cookies.
Need I say more?
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What ever happened to all the things that were supposed to be built near the West Harlem Piers Park in the West 120’s and 130’ssuch as the Ferris Wheel, boat rides, marina, marine museum?
Lee Lee’s rugelach are really that good. But since this is an UWS site, I was hoping you were announcing a pop-up somewhere in this neighborhood. That’s how I first discovered it a few years ago, I think it was at the Face Values store on Broadway which used to bring in small business owners once in a while to showcase their products
Henry IV in Central Park (enter at W103 and CPW) at 7 pm on Sat June 29th. check out nyclassical theatre.
This is fire! I’ll check it out!
Mr Lee’s rugalah are delicious. Haven’t been since before Covid and glad to see he is still plugging through. What I really loved about my visit, and he was there, he isn’t trying to compete with your grandma’s pastry. I started out by saying he had a high bar as my grandma made the best but I wanted to his. He nodded and smiled (suspect he has heard this before) and said to please try one on him and let him know what I thought. He puts his own spin on it and makes it his own.. The article says the difference is butter? I have no idea what my grandma used or why her dough was so flaky. Anyway, I brought a tin to a family event and it was a huge hit. A great dessert and agreement by all that it would be even better the next morning with coffee. I also think it could be a great corporate or holiday gift to send to someone special. Thanks for spotlighting him.
Great recommendations!!