Culture Watch: QC Library Recommends (Nov. 2020)

by Michael Deering

Do you fight with family for the best parts of the turkey or is it all about the sides? Even if you cannot be with the whole family this year, we wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! If you’re anything like me, you run from holiday music that starts too early. So here are a bunch of events that you won’t avoid!

Theatre

  • Ongoing through December 4: William Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing recorded in 2019 at Shakespeare in the Park. Available as part of PBS Great Performances. 
  • Ongoing through December 4: Alfred Molina with Alfred Enoch star in Red, John Logan’s award winning play about painter Mark Rothko. Also from PBS, this was filmed in 2018 at the Wyndham’s Theatre in London. 

Music

  • Tuesday, November 17 at 4 PM: Alex Conde performs, as part of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts’ Music Makers series. Drawing on the rich traditions of jazz and flamenco, he creates a contemporary fusion of both genres. 
  • Saturday, November 21 at 3 PM: The Kupferberg Center for the Arts presents “The Jazz Queens of Queens,” a program for youth and families about female jazz legends who’ve called Queens home. Vocalist and curator Claudia Zanes explores the lives and music of Eva Taylor, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Lena Horne.  
  • Ongoing: Fridays at 8:00PM through November: The Beacon Jams, streamed live from the historic NYC venue, features a variety of performances and audience interaction. Hosted by guitarist Trey Anastasio.

Art

Dance

  • Sunday, November 22 at 7:30PM: Lincoln Center presents New York is Burning performed by Les Ballet Afrik. This is an homage celebrating the 30th anniversary of the documentary Paris is Burning. It reflects the aspirations, desires and yearnings of a diverse group of dancers for which the dance company serves as a surrogate family during yet another period where health, race, and financial crises continue to brew.

Thanksgiving

  • Thursday, November 26 at 9 AM: The 93rd annual Macy’s Day Parade will be airing on TV and at NBC.com with a rebroadcast later at 2 PM. While it won’t follow it’s usual route through NYC, I will still be watching my favorite balloons, floats, and live performers in my pajamas.
  • Thursday, November 26 at 7 PM: Give thanks to nurses across the globe with Oprah Winfrey as she hosts Nurse Heroes Live! Performances from Black Eyed Peas, Andrea Bocelli, and Gloria Estefan just to name a few! 

E-Resources News

New Databases Available for a Limited Time

The library has trial access to two new resources you may find of interest; Theatre and Drama Premium and Naxos Spoken Word Library. They are both available in our complete list of databases.

Our trial access to Theater and Drama Premium runs through November 22. It includes:

The National Theatre Collection
Broadway HD
The Royal Shakespeare Company Collection
Asian American Drama
Black Drama
…and much more.

We have access to Naxos Spoken Word Library through October 31. This is a collection of audio readings of works of all kinds, including fiction, poetry, history, business, and religion. There are significant holdings in French and German, too!

Keep Current With Electronic Resources

We also have a new Electronic Resources Dashboard. Visit for the latest information on new resources, database trials, and any outages or other technical issues affecting database access.

The main Library FAQ page has a link to the Dashboard, as well as to the Electronic Resources Access Form. Use the form to report any problems you experience with database access.