Here are the highlighted Lower East Side events from our events calendar, out in the latest edition of The Lo-Down’s print magazine this week:
Sat., July 4 – Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks: Now that Macy’s fireworks have returned to the East River, there are plenty of places nearby to catch the show. The annual extravaganza will include live performances, along with fireworks set off from the Brooklyn Bridge and barges along the river.
Seven-time Grammy Award-winning artist Gloria Estefan will debut her original song, “America,” featuring VH1 Save the Music’s Park Place Community Middle School Choir from Brooklyn. Tune in to hear new recordings by CMA Award winner Rodney Atkins, Grammy Award winner CeCe Winans and the U.S. Air Force Band.
Go early if you are heading down to the East River Park; crowds start arriving by 5 p.m.; the show starts at 9 p.m. Free.
Mon., July 6 – Awake and Sing! at The Public: The National Asian American Theatre Company kicks off its 25th season with a residency at The Public with this classic Clifford Odets drama. The story of the Bergers, a lower-middle-class, three-generation Jewish family living in a Bronx apartment during the Depression, it recalls that this country was founded as a land of opportunity for immigrants.
Stephen Brown-Fried directs an all-Asian-American cast that includes Mia Katigbak re-creating her Obie Award-winning role as the family matriarch, Bessie.
Through Aug. 1, 425 Lafayette St., $45, 7 p.m.
Thurs., July 9 – Shakespeare in the Parking Lot’s As You Like It : Since the municipal parking lot on Broome Street is being turned into condos, the Drilling Company has found a new home/parking lot, behind the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center.
In keeping with the play’s magical spirit, director Hamilton Clancy is adapting this As You Like It for the classical Victorian era. Then, everything becomes steampunk when the scene shifts to “the Forest of Arden.” A limited number of chairs are provided, but you are welcome to bring your own.
Thurs.–Sat. through July 26, 114 Norfolk St. (between Delancey and Rivington streets) 8 p.m., free.
Thurs., July 9 – Urban Drive-In at Abrons Arts Center: Abrons brings a second year of outdoor movies back for the month of July. Kicking off the series is His People (aka Proud Heart), a 1925 silent film about a young Jewish boxer growing up on the Lower East Side. Local saxophonist and jazz composer Paul Shapiro will accompany the film with his original score, played by a six-piece ensemble.
Other screenings include The Naked City, Hester Street, and Crossing Delancey. Thursdays through July 30.
466 Grand St. in the amphitheatre at 8:30 p.m. (sunset). Bring a chair or a blanket. Free.
Fri., July 10 – POUND at Dixon Place: GLAAD Award-winning writer/performer Marga Gomez returns with a sex-fueled, comedic tour de force as the centerpiece for the 24th annual HOT! Festival. Facing unwanted celibacy, Gomez scours dating sites and “fortuitously opens a portal to a cloud-based Lesbian Bermuda Triangle where famous fictional lesbian and pseudo lesbian characters become real.” Fri. and Sat. through July 25, 161A Chrystie St., $16.
