If you're visiting Bayside Library in Queens, New York, at 2:30 p.m. [EDT, of course] on April 5, you can watch for free the HD video of Kristin Chenoweth's delightful The Dames of Broadway... All of 'em show in Lincoln Center.
Good for them, but why should you care here, 3,000 miles away?
This new Lincoln Center Local HD pilot program, running April through June in branch libraries in Brooklyn and Queens, is a specific implementation of the Center's expanded mission to bring resources to new and underserved audiences and communities. It should serve as an example to San Francisco and every other city.
At each free screening, there are activities to further engage the audience, such as a live performance by a professional artist, as well as complimentary refreshments and discussion following the event.
Some of the content is accessible online, as it comes from past Live From Lincoln Center programs. However, these events are more than just showings of the digital content, as it involves a local artist introducing and discussing the music or performance the audience is about to see, as well as hosting a discussion afterward. "It's an interactive activity which we can present to these local communities in New York, but off our main campus," say the organizers.
Besides Chenoweth's show, programs include "Patina Miller in Concert," "Celebration! Stephanie Blythe Meets Kate Smith," "Harlem Renaissance Orchestra," "Audra McDonald in Concert."
Another HD program from a Lincoln Center resident (and very accessible in the Bay Area and everywhere in the world) is the April 5 landmark live telecast of La bohème from the Metropolitan Opera, reaching the 15-million viewer mark for the Met's Live in HD series.