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New York is getting a new drive-in movie theater this week with a special emphasis on the theater part. Located at Halletts Point Play, a 50,000-square-foot stretch of the waterfront in Astoria, Radial Park will be the site of an innovative hybrid approach to entertainment called Broadway at the Drive-In, which combines the outdoor screening of movie musicals with live mini-concerts by Broadway performers.
Broadway at the Drive-In begins on Saturday, September 26, with an 8pm showing of The Phantom of the Opera's 25th-anniversary concert production in 2011 at London's grand Royal Albert Hall, starring Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess. Before the movie begins, two veterans of Phantom's American stage production—Derrick Davis, who has played the title role in the National Tour, and Ali Ewolt, who has played soprano and stalking victim Christine Daaé on Broadway—will sing highlights from Andrew Lloyd Webber's score, accompanied by a live 11-piece orchestra.
Phantom and its live curtain raiser can also be seen on Sunday, September 27, and then every Wednesday through Sunday from October 1 through October 11.
RECOMMENDED: A cool new drive-in movie theater has opened on the Greenpoint waterfront
Spectators have the choice of watching the shows from their vehicles or from reserved picnic tables, outfitted with boom boxes for audio, that seat up to four people. Cinema-style beverages and snacks will be sold on site, and safety protocols will be enforced. (These include temperature checks upon arrival, wristbands for social distancing and monitors on hand to ensure that everyone plays by the rules.)
Radial Park is located right next to the Astoria stop of the NYC ferry, and is a roughly 20-minute walk from the 30th Ave station of the N and R subway lines. Tickets for the September "preview" editions of Broadway at the Drive-In cost $75–$100 per vehicle or picnic table. The price rises to $100-$150 on October 1. Click here for tickets and a full schedule.
Broadway at the Drive-In | Photograph: Courtesy of the artist
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