Like
a ship in a bottle, where’s the last place you would look for a lighthouse? Why
under the Brooklyn Archway of the Manhattan Bridge, at Water Street between
Anchorage Place and Adams Street. Superfine, the Mediterranean-style, natural
foods restaurant at nearby 126 Front Street, has constructed a beer and wine
kiosk there in the form of a 14’ red lighthouse topped with a mermaid weather
vane.
Much as Walt Whitman in “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” compared intimacy with the commuters of his day to the ebb and flow of the tide, so the good folks of Superfine intend to make evenings in the Archway a rite of passage DUMBO’s residents will welcome once the workday is done.
From
now through October, Wednesday’s through Sunday’s, noon to 10 pm, the
Lighthouse will be open for business. And every Thursday, thanks to Superfine,
the DUMBO BID and NYC DOT, the cathedral-like, 7,000-square-foot space, paved
with Belgian blocks, will reverberate with a multi-media extravaganza. First
Thursday’s, from 5 to 8 pm, during the DUMBO BID’s Art Walk, will include a DJ
and video art projections.
Superfine’s
owners, Tanya Rynd and Cara Lee Sparry, declared, “Now in our 17th year
of business together, we’ve stood the test of time with our creativity and
vision, staying true to the food and art movements of New York! To celebrate we’ve
not only obtained a permit to serve beer and wine in the Archway for the next
two years, but we’re also programming public art, bands, light projections,
dance, DJs, and all manner of interactive performance work.”
Although their main audience is after-hours worker-bees, Rynd and Sparry are committed to entertainment for all ages. Thus, for
the opening of the season, this First Thursday, May 7, the Midnight Radio Show
will present at dusk (7:30 pm) original fairy tales using "exquisitely hand-crafted two-dimensional [shadow] puppets" in between DJ Miko Wanderlust's two sets.
Founded
in 2013, the Brooklyn-based Midnight Radio Show creates family-friendly bedtime
stories which will transform the Archway into a portal populated by magical
creatures. Accompanied by Ezra Lowrey’s vocals and guitar improvisations,
Charlottte Lily Gaspard (aka Miss C.), founder of the theater company, will narrate the
following stories, with “a few jazz standards and folk songs in between:”
Miss C. stated, “The
Farmer and the Sea Captain is a classic love story about a Sea Captain
who is washed ashore during a storm. He falls in love with a local Farmer but
once the storm passes, how can these two hearts find happiness when one belongs
on the waves and the other belongs to the land? A story about true love,
identity, definitions of home and where we belong.
The Origin of Puccini follows the adventures of one of our favorite recurring
characters. Puccini is a very extraordinary cat, whose passion is the study of
dreams. Despite his epic fall from grace, his determination can overcome any
obstacle... We hope.
And The Mountain is
a playful tale about the balance between noise and quiet, between play time and
times of rest. Meet a very grumpy Giant and a very exuberant fairy, enjoy the
silly trouble that ensues for these unlikely neighbors.”
Another Brooklynite,
longtime DJ Miko Wanderlust too will fill the Arch with sounds which please the
imagination. As he expounded, “Spanning all genres and styles, I will weave a
set of colorful vibrations that excites and inspires. I play to the crowd…on
rooftops and boats, in fields and night clubs... and under bridges! For this
set I will inject some groovy soul in the afternoon sunshine that works its way
into b-boy breaks and fun-filled funk as the energy builds [for the Midnight
Radio Theater]. Afterwards, there will be smiles all around and a good time to
be had by all!”
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