Little Island in NYC is set to host a four-month summer arts festival featuring premieres in music, dance, theater, and more.
This ambitious project promises new artistic vitality backed by Barry Diller and shaped by Scott Rudin.
Key Takeaways
- Little Island's summer festival will feature nine world premieres from June to September.
- Barry Diller and Scott Rudin are financing and shaping the festival's programming.
- Tickets for main stage performances will cost $25, with many free events in the smaller Glade area.
Barry Diller’s Vision Brings New Arts Festival to Little Island
Little Island, the $260 million park on the Hudson River that opened in 2021, will host a major four-month performing arts festival this summer.
Billionaire Barry Diller, who financed the park, announced that he and his family foundation are committing over $100 million for programming over the next two decades.
With guidance from Broadway producer Scott Rudin, the festival aims to fulfill the park’s original vision of being a haven for innovative performing arts.
Exciting Lineup of Performances and Premieres
This summer’s lineup includes nine world premieres running from June through September.
The festival will feature over 100 performances, primarily showcasing New York-based artists.
Nine world premieres are planned, including a full-length work by choreographer Twyla Tharp and an innovative adaptation of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo performing all the leading roles.
Zack Winokur, Rudin’s recommended producing artistic director, emphasized the festival’s focus on new works. “I hope this is of incredible utility and service to artists who live here, making bold new work at a time when it’s difficult,” he said.
Highlights of the Little Island Arts Festival
- Twyla Tharp’s “How Long Blues”: Opening the season in June, this piece features new music by T Bone Burnett and David Mansfield.
- Anthony Roth Costanzo’s “The Marriage of Figaro”: In a unique 90-minute adaptation, Costanzo will sing all the leading roles.
- The Oyster Radio Hour: A live three-act radio show about oysters in the Hudson River, created by composer Angélica Negrón and Yo-Yo Ma’s Our Common Nature initiative.
- Paul Robeson Project: Presented by bass-baritone Davóne Tines and Winokur, focusing on the life of the pioneering singer, actor, and activist.
- Open Throat: An adaptation of Henry Hoke’s novel about a queer mountain lion in Los Angeles.
Little Island’s Free and Low-Cost Performances
Tickets for performances at Little Island’s 687-seat amphitheater will cost $25, while shows at the Glade, the park’s 200-seat space, will be free.
Each week, the Glade’s performances will be curated by different artists, including jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant and playwright Suzan-Lori Parks.
Winokur highlighted the festival’s accessibility: “It’s a privilege to be committing to all new work with a very low access level, to get as many people experiencing nature and art in this place that really is not like any other.”
Revitalizing New York’s Artistic Scene
Diller hopes the festival will help restore New York’s artistic vitality, which has dramatically suffered since the pandemic.
“This great city, which used to be so filled with so much creation, really suffered coming out of Covid,” he said.
“We don’t want to bring stuff from someplace else. We don’t want to be a retread of anybody else’s work.”
With a commitment to financing Little Island’s operations and programming for the next 20 years, Diller believes in the power of public art to bring joy.
“We’re not curing a disease here,” he said. “But when you see people walking across the city to Little Island, they begin to smile. And when they leave, they’re smiling. How could you not love that?”
Little Island’s summer festival promises to be a landmark event, blending nature and cutting-edge art to create a unique cultural experience in New York City.
Be sure to catch the festival during its June-to-September run.
