Where else but in New York’s Central Park can you attend a comedy show with Trevor Noah, a concert by Nigerian-born world musician King Sunny Ade, and a 20th-anniversary party for the hit Broadway musical, Chicago, all free?
All are part of this year’s SummerStage programming, which will run through September 23 and include over 800 free performances, featuring over 200 artists, not only in Central Park but also in 15 neighborhood parks throughout the city’s five boroughs. SummerStage is New York’s largest free performing arts festival.
Established in 1985 and operated by the City Parks Foundation, an independent, non-profit organization, SummerStage this year is honoring a distinctly New York musical form, jazz, showcasing artists from around the globe and celebrating the centennials of the birth of jazz musicians like Billie Holiday and Billy Strayhorn. These artists will include Terence Blanchard, who, in Staten Island’s Clove Lakes Park, will perform a work, Breathless, based on the final words of borough native Eric Garner. Soul jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves will perform in Queensborough Park while the annual, three-day Charlie Parker Jazz Festival will feature performances by Randy Weston African Rhythms Sextet, DeJohnette-Moran-Holland, and others. Folk rock duo Indigo Girls and former Haitian president and musician Sweet Micky also will perform in Central Park.
Not all programming is musical: Comedy Central tonight will present stand-up comedians from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, including Noah, while a screening of A Ballerina’s Tale, the documentary about American Ballet Theater principal ballerina Misty Copeland, will be accompanied by a performance by the ballet collaborative, “The Black Iris Project.” And Roger Guenveur Smith will perform his one-man show, Rodney King, which explores the issue of police brutality.
Erika Elliott, executive artistic director of SummerStage, said its programs attract not only New Yorkers but also tourists, all seeking top, free entertainment. She also said the programming encourages New Yorkers to visit boroughs they might not ordinarily frequent. Everyone, she suggested, ‘finds it hugely interesting to hear jazz in Harlem and a hip-hop show in Brooklyn.”
Events are held in Central Park come rain or shine; the only time they are canceled is if there is a lightning threat. Programs in other venues are held weather permitting. Events are canceled at showtime, no sooner, with SummerStage’s website and social media platforms providing updates.
