Free Summer Theater Series Has Begun

Roosevelt Island is getting a series of free theater performances this summer, courtesy of resident Lila Gilbert, a 90-year-old veteran of the performance world. Gilbert is expanding a series she has run in previous summers and adding state-of-the-art sound for the events in the Eastwood Amphitheater.

The performances are scheduled Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:00, and Saturdays at 5:00.

Today (Saturday, June 4), Gilbert's own one-act play, Luv Is Luv, will be performed at 5:00. An eclectic schedule will follow, with performances of Shakespeare, magic acts, music (a classical singalong), and readings from the papers of the Founding Fathers for the weekend preceding Monday, the Fourth of July.

Performances (listed on page 3 in ComingUp) will include an "Instant Shakespeare" production of The Tempest, an appearance by Ross, the Mentalist, Chekhov's The Proposal, a show of magic acts presented by the Society of American Magicians, and a Greek revival from the summer's Hellenic celebration.

"Theater originated in the great amphitheaters of the ancient world," Gilbert says, feeling the use of the Eastwood Amphitheater brings things full circle. She's the winner of six international playwriting competitions. Additional information about the series is posted, according to her press release, at freetheater.blogspot.com.