Although Tribeca’s performance venues can be counted on the fingers of one hand, its live-entertainment scene is surprisingly diverse. Credit goes to the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center (PAC). [http://tribecapac.org/] Located within the Borough of Manhattan Community College at 199 Chambers Street (at West Street), Tribeca PAC consists of two theaters that host not only music concerts of just about every genre but also children’s theater, stand-up comedy, dance performances, and film screenings.
The Borough of Manhattan Community College is home to Tribeca’s premier performing-arts venue. Image: Eden, Janine and Jim/Flickr
The not-for-profit organization has been presenting live performances since 1983, making it Tribeca’s longest-operating performance center. You do not have to comb through its archives for proof of its eclecticism, however; looking at its schedule for the upcoming months will do the trick. After kicking off October with “Scenes Through the Cinema Lens,” a tribute to Leonard Bernstein featuring highlights from “West Side Story,” “On the Town,” and the “Omnibus” TV series, Tribeca PAC hosts an adaptation of the classic children’s book “Charlotte’s Web,” produced by TheaterWorksUSA. Other upcoming productions for kids are “City That Drinks the Mountain Dry,” which uses music, poetry, and puppets to show the journey of fresh water from the Catskills to Manhattan (October 18), “A Cinderella Tale… Happily Ever After” (November 2 and 3), the musical “Fang and Nugget,” about an unlikely friendship between a minnow and a shark (December 2), and two more TheaterWorksUSA productions, “Pete the Cat” (November 24 and 25) and “Dragons Love Tacos” (December 15).
Fans of singer/songwriters will want to catch “Singing Our Songs” on October 12, featuring Joshua Garcia, Mario Giacalone, Bev Grant, and Lindsey Wilson. As part of the Jazz in Progress: The Next Faces of Jazz series, a partnership with the DC Jazz Festival, trio the Cornerstore play on October 20; family-friendly Latin music performer Sonia De Los Santos takes the stage with the Cumbia River Band on November 2; and Estas Tonne, a classical guitarist who describes himself as a “modern-day troubadour,” brings his Breath of Sound tour to BMCC Tribeca PAC on December 16. Tango Legends, a Buenos Aires troupe of eight dancers, three musicians, and a vocalist, performs November 17 and 18.
“Modern-day troubadour” Estas Tonne will play at BMCC Tribeca PAC in December. Image: McBesse/Wikimedia
Also on tap is comedian Chris Fleming, best known as the title character of the web series “Gayle” (October 13) and Randy Cohen interviewing Todd Haimes, the artistic director and CEO of Roundabout Theatre Company, for an upcoming episode of the public radio series “Person Place Thing” (October 15). Two events from the New York Comedy Festival will take place at BMCC Tribeca PAC on November 9: “Harmontown,” with Dan Harmon of “Community” and “Rick and Morty” fame, followed by “Throwing Shade Live 2018,” with comedians (and cohosts of the titular podcast) Bryan Safi and Erin Gibson.
To say that a venue has something for everyone is trite—but in the case of BMCC Tribeca PAC, it is also true!