LOEW’S WONDER THEATRES: SATURDAY AFTERNOON in NEW YORK CITY

(If you’re visiting here after you saw this post on Facebook, click here for the short video.)  
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Being a kid in New York City was great fun. There was always so much to do…but Saturday afternoon….that was time for the movies… and many of us frequented a Loew’s Wonder Theatre. There were five in NYC. I spent more than a few hours in one….the Loew’s Valencia in Jamaica, Queens.
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A few years ago, during a performance of “Crossing Boroughs” at the Museum of the City of New York, this three minute video, which I created and narrated, was presented. I pay homage to those Saturday afternoons at Loews. Looking for three feel good minutes…click here for this short video.
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FYI: Crossing Borough’s cast included Charles R. Hale/creator and narrator, Niamh Hyland/music director and vocals, Jack O’Connell/theatrical, Shu Nakamura/guitar, David J Raleigh/vocals, Laura Neese/dancer, Jonathan Matthews/dancer, Shirazette Tinnin/drums, Mary Ann McSweeney/bass and Steve Okonski/keyboard.

JACKIE ROBINSON, MY FATHER AND THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

I keep track of upcoming events at New York City’s museums and it was with great excitement that I noticed that the Museum of the City of New York has an upcoming exhibit titled “In the Dugout with Jackie Robinson.

I spent a great deal of time in my youth studying the history of baseball…way more than my parents would have wished for me. I particularly enjoyed the history of New York City’s teams and players. Jackie Robinson was one of those players:  

I was a little boy when my father took me to Ebbets Field…the Brooklyn Dodgers versus the Cincinnati Reds.  I loved it all: The sights…Duke, Campy, Pee Wee and Jackie in their royal blue caps with the letter B on the front….the smells….cigars, beer, popcorn…and the sounds…”cold beer, getcha cold beer”…the crack of a bat.

“Gee, the Dodgers can’t get this new kid out, Charles, what’s his name?” my father said. As if he didn’t know.   

“Frank Robinson, Dad,” I said, pounding Dad’s old glove that he let me wear to the game. “Yeah, he’s great.” 

But it was another Robinson we came to see…Jackie. But as good as Jackie was, on that day Jackie didn’t win the game for the Dodgers. In fact, he didn’t even finish the game. In the eighth inning, Jackie hit a ground ball down the third base line that was ruled a fair ball—Jackie thought it was foul and hadn’t run to first—he argued the call and the umpire tossed him from the game. An inning later the game ended. The Dodgers lost two to one. 

Dad put his arm around my shoulder and we walked out of the ballpark onto McKeever Place and began the drive through Brooklyn to our Queens home. I was sitting in the front seat of Dad’s Chevy, pounding his glove, thinking about the game as we pulled up to a light on Eastern Parkway.  And then, “Hurry…Son…look who’s next to us.”

Is that Jackie Robinson? Are you kidding me? 

“Say something, Charles.”

What does a seven-year old say to a legend? ”Hi, Jackie.”

Jackie smiled and responded with something like, “Hello, young man.”

But my father, seeing the bedazzled look on my face, flashed a smile at Jackie and came to my rescue with some brilliant repartee. “Hey, Jackie, the umpire’s call was horseshit.”

My father always had a way with words.

We all laughed, the light turned green and we drove on. 

There was something about baseball and my father…no matter how contentious our relationship might become, baseball always provided a middle ground. Dad and I could lose ourselves in the joys of the game, its nuances and intricacies, and subsequently, the pleasure of each other’s company.   

I think of my father on warm summer evenings…walking by a ballfield…hearing the crack of a bat…the memories coaxed by twilight’s lengthening shadows.

I’m looking forward to the Jackie Robinson exhibit, which opens January 31, 2019. 

NEW SHOW! “CROSSING BOROUGHS” JANUARY 28, 2018

 
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“New York’s boroughs…where it was fancy on Delancey, stickball reigned supreme and nylon stockings were a hit. Where kids danced to doo-wop, spent Saturday afternoons at Loews…where there used to be a ballpark.
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“Right this way ladies and gentlemen…hurry, hurry, hurry into the pubs and clubs of yesteryear. Hold onto your hat…crossing bridges, boroughs and waterways will be the ride of a lifetime. Step right up.”
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“Crossing Boroughs,” an Artists Without Walls’ production, and part of Origin Theatre Company’s First Irish Festival, will be performed on January 28, 3pm at The Museum of the City of New York.

“Crossing Boroughs” was written by Charles R. Hale and stars Niamh Hyland along with Jack O’Connell, Laura Neese, Jonathan Matthews, David J Raleigh, Shirazette Tinnin, Maya Kornfeld, Mary Ann McSweeney and Shu Nakamura.

Charles R. Hale/Narrator.
Niamh Hyland/Music Director.
Mitch Traphagen/Graphics and Images

For tix and info CLICK HERE

http://charlesrhaleproductions.com/event/new-show-crossing-boroughs-january-28-2018/2018-01-28/