Nautical and nice

By Kim Lightbody

Don’t miss the boat on this festival.

A tugboat and barge from the early 1900s are docking at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6 this month, bringing with them nautical-themed fun to Brooklyn Heights.

The aptly named “Tug and Barge Week,” running from July 15 to 25, will include activities like kayaking and fishing, as well as theater and live music on dry land.

“We’re trying to bring back the waterfront,” said David Sharps (pictured), captain of the Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge, which will move upriver from its longtime Red Hook home for the festival. “Too many times, we rebuild waterfront parks and we ‘miss the boat,’ so to speak. There’s pedestrian piers and volleyball courts, but where’s the waterfront use?”

Along with Pamela Hepburn, captain of a 1907 tugboat, Sharps has planned 10 days of outdoor fun to change local attitudes about the East River. On July 16, adventurous locals can go kayaking under the Manhattan Bridge, fishing off the Pier, and watch a squid dissection, among other things. And on July 24, families can come see Showboat Shazzam, a circus show aboard the docked barge that includes flying trapezes, acrobats, and features Captain Sharps himself as a vase-balancing trickster.

Plus, each day of the program visitors can explore the Waterfront Museum on the barge, which is housing an art exhibition dedicated to deep-sea creatures.

“There’s a lot of activity,” said Sharps. “We’re trying to highlight the importance and significance of our water highway, for both commerce and enjoyment.”

“Tug and Barge Week” at the Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6 [Atlantic Avenue and Furman Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 624-4719] from July 15 to 25. For info, visit www.brooklynbridgepark.org.

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A new twist on a Shakespearean classic

By Meredith Deliso

In this “Romeo and Juliet,” the young lovers have faith, as well as feuding families, to contend with.

Theater 2020, a new Brooklyn Heights-based company, puts a new twist on Shakespeare’s enduring love story with a Hindu Romeo and Muslim Juliet in its production of “Romeo and Juliet,” running at Saint Charles Borromeo on Sidney Place starting tonight and then later this month at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier One.

The producers were inspired to add this religious element to the play after reading about a Muslim girl in India killed by her family for dating a Hindu boy. When the boy found out, he killed himself.

“It was ‘Romeo and Juliet,’” said Judith Jarosz, who runs the company with her husband, David Fuller.

This isn’t the first time the bard’s classic has been staged with some poetic license; last year, Bensonhurst’s Genesis Repertory did a Brooklynized version of the play, where the star cross’d lovers were a Russian-Jewish Romeo from Sheepshead Bay and a Palestinian Juliet from Bay Ridge. The modernized version had the cast in baseball caps, sneakers and hijabs, and the men wielded swords instead of guns.

Theater 2020’s production doesn’t take as many liberties, though there will be hijabs sported by the Capulets, as well as Middle Eastern dancing and music, and some Jim Henson-style puppets.

“Obviously ‘Romeo and Juliet’ has lasted for hundreds of years, but I was just looking for some contemporary feel,” said Fuller, who directs. “The idea of a girl falling in love with boy whose parents don’t approve of is just timeless. I think everyone in the world can relate to that.”

Theater 2020’s “Romeo and Juliet” at Saint Charles Borromeo [21 Sidney Pl. at Livingston Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 624-3614 ], July 14 to 24, Thursdays at 7 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets $18. Also at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier One (at the foot of Old Fulton Street in DUMBO), July 30 at 6 pm and July 31 at 2 pm. Free. For info, visit www.theater2020.com.

Photo by David Fuller

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Theater review: Say hello to 'Bye Bye Birdie' at the Heights Players

By Louise Crawford

“Bye Bye Birdie,” that musical war-horse by Charles Strouse, Lee Adams and Michael Stewart, performed in high school auditoriums nationwide since its award-winning Broadway run in 1960, stands strong at the Heights Players in Brooklyn Heights.

You’d have to be a curmudgeonly lout not to put on a happy face during a show with a chorus of real teenage bobby-soxers, an Elvis and Ed Sullivan impersonator, a Jewish mother to end all Jewish mothers, once-topical jokes about Henry Luce, Fidel Castro, Peter Lawford, Lamont Cranston and Mussolini, and a score that includes such songwriting gems as “Kids,” “A Lot A Livin’ to Do” and “Telephone Hour.”

Casting is always a strong card at the Heights Players and there were many standouts in the well-oiled, multi-age ensemble, well directed by Thomas Tyler. Marlene Berner as Rosie, the part played by Chita Rivera on Broadway, is a performer to watch. Berner can sing, dance and act with subtly, humor and gusto (calling all casting agents, this woman is good). Long-time Heights player Thomas Urciuoli, in the role of Harry MacAfee, gives Paul Lynde a run for his money as the very funny, hyperventilating dad who goes apoplectic at the word puberty. Adam Kemmerer’s punky, gyrating and understated Conrad Birdie (pictured) is winning, as is the uber-comedic Gail Lemelbaum as Albert’s kvetchy mother. Ashley Fedor as Kim is a charmer with an effortless and expressive soprano and real acting and comedy chops. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Sabrina Fernandez as Kim’s little sister, Randi. This cutie is well beyond her 11 years when it comes to credible singing, acting and comedy.

The “How to Kill A Man” dream sequence choreographed by Aurora Dredger was unexpectedly original and highly amusing. Other highpoints in a show of musical high points include the brilliant, “Hymn for a Sunday Evening,” the rollicking, “Lot A’ Livin’ To Do,” the always endearing (and oft-quoted) “Telephone Hour,” and “Baby Talk to Me,” with the very tall and talented Andrew Schoomaker as Albert and the adult ensemble.

The Heights Players always add unexpected touches (and forgivable liberties) and the “no cellphone” speech added to the beginning of the show was a slam-dunk positing Harvey Johnson (Chad Fusco), the show’s iconic nerd, as the inventor of the cellphone.

My guess is that this effusive “Bye Bye Birdie” will get better and better as its talented, big and big-hearted cast performs it through May 29.

“Bye Bye Birdie” at the Heights Players [26 Willow Pl. between State and Joralemon streets in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 237-2752], now through May 29, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 2 pm. Tickets $18. For info, visit www.heightsplayers.org.

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House calls

By Meredith Deliso

Calling all voyeurs.

May kicks off house tour season, when you can get a peek inside your neighbors’ home and their elaborate dining rooms, rare art pieces and innovative renovations.

First up are 10 homes in Clinton Hill, as well as properties in Wallabout, that includes gardens, a mansion, an artist’s studio, and a French revival Gothic church.

Then, on May 7, you can explore Brooklyn Heights and its historic townhouses. Highlights include a nearly 170-year-old Greek Revival brick townhouse owned by an artist; a Federal-style house renovated by famed New York architect William Tubby; and the oldest house on the tour, built in 1826, which features Parisian chandeliers, a dining room table where Winston Churchill once ate, and a garden with a cherry tree.

Both tours are self-guided, so you can take your time. Just please, no photos.

Clinton Hill house tour starts at the Queens of All Saints Church [300 Vanderbilt Ave. between Dekalb and Lafayette avenues in Clinton Hill, (718) 638-7625], May 1, noon-5 pm. Tickets $25. For info, visit sctyclintonhill.tumblr.com; Brooklyn Heights house tour starts at St. Ann’s School [129 Pierrepont St. between Clinton and Henry Streets in Brooklyn Heights, 718-858-9193], May 7, 1-5 pm. Tickets $40. Reservations recommended. For info, visit www.thebha.org.

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A bloody good time for Wills and Kate

By Meredith Deliso

Royal wedding fever has officially crossed the pond.

When Prince William and Catherine Middleton wed in Westminster Abbey on April 29, you can count on Brooklyn Heights’s Chip Shop to throw a bloody good party.

“It’s the biggest royal event since 1981,” said owner Chris Sell (which, for you non-Anglophiles, is when Prince Charles and Diana wed), pictured. “The whole place will be decked out with Union Jacks. We’ll have just a good old party.”

For the past few weeks now, the restaurant has featured a caricature of Wills and Kate in its front window, leading up to the wedding. On the big day, you can celebrate the British couple by dining on traditional “old boys club” type food, including kippers — smoked herring — and kedgeree — a curried rice with smoked haddock and hard-boiled eggs.

“Every time I say it, it sounds awful, but it’s really quite nice,” said Sell. “I’m putting it on the menu because I want to eat it.”

For his part, Sell, a native of Rugby, England, approves of the union.

“It’ll be a shot in the arm of England to get a dynamic royal couple in there,” said Sell. “I hope it’s going to be a whole new chapter in the House of Windsor.”

Chip Shop’s festivities, which also include a royal quiz and champagne toast, kick off at 11 am. That’s a few hours behind the official wedding service, which begins at 11 am UK time, 5 am Brooklyn — a wee bit too early to start drinking here. All you early risers, though, can beat the sun and head to the Archway in DUMBO to watch the wedding live, as the DUMBO Improvement District throws a party there beginning at 5:30 am.

Dress festively — think fancy hats or coming as your favorite royal — to participate in contests and get your photo taken at an on-site photobooth. For the late-risers, the party will continue with a replaying of BBC America’s coverage following the live action.

“Brooklyn is home to thousands of Brits, and we want to help them celebrate in style,” said Alexandria Sica, executive director of the DUMBO Improvement District. “We look forward to seeing all of our local princes and princesses, young and old, dressed up or just stopping by to check out the spectacle.”

Royal wedding party at Chip Shop [129 Atlantic Ave. between Henry and Clinton streets in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 855-7775], April 29 starting at 11 am. For info, visit chipshopnyc.com; Royal wedding viewing at the DUMBO Archway [Pearl Street at the Manhattan Bridge, (718) 237-8700], April 29 beginning at 5:30 am. Free. For info, visit www.facebook.com/dumbo.bid.


Photo by Tom Callan

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Theater review: One golden Heights Players production

By Thomas Tracy

The Heights Players is finally feeling its age with its production of Noel Coward’s light-hearted comedy “Waiting in the Wings” — but the plucky Willow Place troupe has never been more charming.

With the exception of a few miscues and a botched line or two, the community theater group masterfully breathes new life to Coward’s team of tarnished golden girls bravely facing the sundown of their lives in a charity home for retired actresses with a sly smile on their lips and a song in their hearts.

“Waiting in the Wings,” Coward’s 50th play, was a critical flop and considered too old fashioned for contemporary audiences when it premiered in Ireland back in 1960.

Yet today, as baby boomers begin retiring, the doddering old ladies are again relevant as they reminisce about past conquests and gossip about the latest addition to their ever-so humble home.

As the play opens, Lotta Bainbridge (Susan Faye Groberg, above left) is the newest old kid on the block. Once the toast of Tinseltown, she’s now too old to act, too poor to live on her own and fears her impending final death scene at the Wings.

As it turns out, moving into a charity home for septuagenarian starlets can be pretty off-putting. Everyone — and I mean everyone — can drop a Shakespearian soliloquy or a Vaudeville song and dance number at the drop of a hat.

Yet things get far worse when Lotta finds out that May Davenport (Valerie O’Hara, above right) is also a resident — and still hates her for stealing her boyfriend some 30 years earlier.

Much like a classic sports car, “Waiting in the Wings” needs a little time to warm up before it gets going.

But once it does, the laughs don’t stop — thanks mostly to actress Margaret Sullivan, who brings out all of Coward’s funniest one-liners with a biting Irish brogue in her role as Deidre O’Malley. Other standout performances include Bill Wood’s Osgood Meeker, a lovesick movie fan who makes a daily pilgrimage to the Wings to visit one of its bedridden residents, and Elizabeth Bove’s Miss Archie, the former drill sergeant who runs the whole place with military precision.

Each cast member brings a sliver of sweet sentimentality to “Waiting in the Wings,” even though it quickly becomes clear that some are stronger actors and more comfortable on stage.

Whatever minor weaknesses it has, the cast operates very well as a family unit, making the lighter moments around the piano — the centerpiece of the stage — a joy to watch.

“Waiting in the Wings” was a perfect choice for the Heights Players as it reaches the end of its 55th season. The theater group, much like the play’s characters, is old, but far from done.

“Waiting in the Wings” at the Heights Players [26 Willow Pl. between State and Joralemon streets in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 237-2752], through April 17; Fridays–Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets $15. For info, visit www.heightsplayers.org. 

Photo by Harry Marc Hermann

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Theater review: Heights does 'Hamlet' right

By Louise Crawford

Half the fun of a Heights Players’ production is a look at the program. Such a talented group of New York actors manage to find their way to the company’s auditions. Indeed, it’s the cast that makes this new production of “Hamlet” worth a trip to Willow Street.

Brian Richards as the not-so-great Dane brings the melancholy intelligence, energy, humor and pitch blackness of the title character to life. Richards remained psychologically true to the character as he grappled with grief, betrayal, revenge, incest, anger and love (you know the story), enacting Shakespeare’s poetry and punditry with great energy and dynamic lyricism.

Energy, expressivity and narrative clarity were obviously director Robert Weinstein’s M.O. for this production. His modern-dress “Hamlet” opens with a tone poem of sorts as the actors recite the words “to be or not to be” in a roundelay, a fitting start to a production that strives to make this brilliant drama accessible — and memorable — to all.

The cast is uniformly excellent. Raven Pease is very good as a delicate and enchanting Ophelia, and Emily Taplin Boyd is a very stylish Gertrude. 

The set, designed by Gerry Newman, manages to evoke a dark winter night and the interior of the castle with simplicity and versatility.

“Hamlet” at the Heights Players [26 Willow Pl. between State and Joralemon streets in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 237-2752], now through March 20. Tickets $15, $13 for seniors and children. For info, visit www.heightsplayers.org.

Photo of Hamlet (Brian Richards) by Tom Callan

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One Sharp benefit

By Meredith Deliso

Arts heavyweights are coming out to tackle one important Issue.

On March 4, Steve Buscemi and his wife, Jo Andres, host a benefit for the avant-garde Issue Project Room at its future Downtown home on Livingston Street.

The evening will feature the concert premiere of “Trilogy” by Elliott Sharp, one of the most-prolific jazz guitarists in the city and a long-time Issue Project Room supporter. The performance features film work by Andres and text and narrative by Buscemi. Additional performers during the evening will include Jack Quartet, Sirius Quartet, Jack Womack, and Tracie Morris.

Founded in Manhattan in 2003 before moving to Gowanus two years later, Issue Project Room is in the midst of a $2.5-million campaign to move into its future location Downtown at the redeveloped Department of Education building, where David Walentas offered the group free rent for 20 years — if Issue Project Room could raise the money to build out the space.

Of course, Sharp hasn’t forgotten about Issue Project Room’s current Gowanus spot; the next night, you can you can catch him performing his new composition, “Flexagons.” Did we mention he’s prolific?

Elliott Sharp and Friends at the American Can Factory [232 Third St. at Third Avenue in Gowanus, (718) 330-0313], March 5 at 5 pm. Tickets $35; Elliott Sharp at Issue Project Room [110 Livingston St. at Boerum Place in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 330-0313], March 4 at 8 pm. Tickets $50 ($250 for a pre-concert cocktail reception). For info, visit www.issueprojectroom.org.

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Sweet openings

Almost every day it seems a new restaurant has opened in Brooklyn. Here's a look at three of the tastiest:

• Van Leeuwan expanded to its second shop after opening in Greenpoint last year with a ice cream parlor in Boerum Hill, which opened to crowds this past weekend, despite it being February.
• Park Slope has a new espresso bar in the two-week-old Crespella (pictured), which, as the name implies, also specializes in crepes.
• Colonie, the little artisanal restaurant that could, opened in Brooklyn Heights last week, serving all your biodynamic needs.

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Seeing red

By Meredith Deliso

Get ready to see red. Red velvet cake, that is.

A contest of delicious proportions is coming to the Brooklyn Historical Society this month, as professionals and amateurs vie to see who has the best red velvet cake in Brooklyn.

Held tomorrow as a kick-off to NYCreates’ weekend crafts festival at the society, the competition will feature such pros as Betty Bakery, Sweet Melissa Patisserie, Ladybird and Monica Byrne of Home/Made in Red Hook, which won best looking cake the past two competitions and took best all-around cake last year.

“Mine’s not too sweet,” said Byrne. “A mistake that so many people make is making it cloyingly sweet. Your teeth won’t fall out when you’re done eating mine.”

Deciding whether Byrne repeats this year will be Eric Wolitzky of Baked, Sam Jacobs, editor-in-chief of Eating Everywhere, and, the king of Brooklyn eating, Borough President Markowitz. Though the real winner will be you, dear reader, as once the judging’s over, you can sample all the creations — for free!

Red Velvet Cake contest at the Brooklyn Historical Society [128 Pierrepont St. at Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 222-4111], Feb. 11 at noon. Free. For info, visit www.nycreates.org. Interested participants can e-mail jeloisehooper@aol.com.

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Heights Players take on ‘Frost/Nixon’

By Alex Rush

The director of The Heights Players’ upcoming rendition of “Frost/Nixon” jumped at the chance to direct the play because he’s constantly reminded how lame modern interviews are compared to the 1977 face-off between the disgraced former president and the enterprising British talk-show host.

“There’s nothing like that now,” said director Steve Velardi, whose production of the Broadway hit premiers on Feb. 4 at The Heights Players. “Matt Lauer’s interview with George Bush could have been the new Frost/Nixon, but the most that came out of that interview was that Bush was offended Kanye called him a racist.”

Indeed, Richard Nixon’s televised confession to David Frost about his involvement in the Watergate schedule was a major milestone. And the play, which started on Broadway in 2007 and became an Oscar-nominated film, mixes the historical account of the interview, with fictional scenes. One of the most famous made-up sequences is when Nixon drunk-dials Frost on the night before their final interview.

“It’s a fascinating snapshot of history combined with scenes that didn’t really happen, but they feel real and work well in the narrative,” said Velardi.

One of the reasons that The Heights Players narrative works so well is Jason Hewitt, the actor playing Nixon. Like Frank Langella in the Broadway and film version of “Frost/Nixon,” Hewitt doesn’t attempt a dead-on impression of the paranoid prez, but still manages to channel his brash personality.

“His facial features and expression even resemble Nixon’s,” Verlardi said.

Actors’ facial expressions are especially noteworthy during the interview scenes between Frost and Nixon, and the Broadway production featured 36 TV screens so that the audience could see every grimace and grin close-up. The Heights Players’ Willow Street theater isn’t that high tech, but who needs TVs? At 120 seats, the space is intimate enough that you won’t miss a single crook, er, we mean look.

“Frost/Nixon” at the Heights Players [26 Willow Pl. between State and Joralemon streets in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 237-2752], Feb. 4-20. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets $15. For info, visit www.heightsplayers.org.

Photo: In the hot seat: Jason Hewitt (left) plays President Nixon, and Jere Williams portrays journalist David Frost in the Heights Players’ production of “Froxt/Nixon,” which opens on Feb. 4. This photo was from a dress rehearsal. Photo by Noah Devereaux

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Brew ha-ha

By Michelle Manetti

Urban tour guides David Naczycz and Cindy VandenBosch want to share a beer, and some history, with you.

Their Jan. 20 lecture, “Brewed in Brooklyn: A History of Fermenting Barley in New York’s Favorite Borough,” will fill the Brooklyn Historical Society with sudsy tales of our borough’s primary role in American brewing — though from 48 breweries in the early 19th century, we’re now down to three (sorry, homebrewers, you don’t count).

The good news is that those three — Brooklyn Brewery, Sixpoint Craft Ales and Greenpoint Beerworks, which makes Kelso of Brooklyn — will have their product on hand to make history go down easier than a Rheingold (brewed in Bushwick in the 1950s, by the way).

“Brewed in Brooklyn: A History of Fermenting Barley in New York’s Favorite Borough” at the Brooklyn Historical Society [128 Pierrepont St. at Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 222-4111], Jan. 20 at 6:30 pm. $20 for non-members, $15 for members. For info, visit  www.urbanoyster.com/events.html.

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Eat right this Christmas Eve

This Christmas, leave the cooking up to the pros. Henry's End owner Mark Lahm shows off the Brooklyn Heights restaurant's stuffed quail with sour cherry reduction. Photo by Stefano Giovannini

By Michelle Manetti

Sure, Christmas Eve is one of the big “family nights” on the Gregorian calendar, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take the family out to a great meal at one of the few borough restaurants that are open. Here’s our guide to the best Christmas Eve dining options (minus Chinese restaurants, which never seem to close):

Fish

In Bay Ridge, the seafood-renowned Pearl Room will be serving up a Christmas Eve menu that will live up to its reputation.

Guests can enjoy appetizers like crab cakes, baked clams and a seafood salad and entrees including lobster ravioli, penne a la vodka with a choice of chicken or shrimp and hummus-crusted Atlantic salmon, in an atmosphere as good as the food.

“All ages come here to celebrate,” said waitress Donna Somma. “We have a lot of couples and big families but it’s great because it’s a very safe environment, not rowdy at all. It’s classy.”

In Coney Island, Gargiulo’s is also planning on a big fish feast. Along with the number of pastas being offered for $10-$15, there will also be entrees like fried calamari, broiled lobster tails and shrimp racanati, ranging from $17-$35.

The Pearl Room [8201 Third Ave. at 82nd Street in Bay Ridge, (718) 833-666]; $52 plus tax. Seatings begin at 4 pm on Dec. 24. Also open Dec. 25. Reservations required. Gargiulo’s [2911 W. 15th St. between Mermaid and Surf avenues in Coney Island, (718) 266-4891]. Reservations required, last seating at 8:30 pm. Closed Dec. 25.

Meat

If you’re more of the meat and potatoes kind of family, Henry’s End in Brooklyn Heights has just what you’re looking for. And it’s not just the hearty winter fare that creates the holiday mood.

“We have very festive decorations in the restaurant,” said owner Mark Lahm. “Families come here to enjoy themselves in a calm and comfortable place.”

For a pre-fixed price of $60, diners choose from appetizers including a shaved Brussels sprout salad or stuffed quail in a Pinot Noir reduction, and entrees such as duck with spicy orange glaze and Buffalo hanger steak. A glass of sparkling wine and dessert is included.

In Marine Park, Salvi Restaurant will also be big on the land, serving chicken, veal and lamb dishes at a variety of prices, and Buckley’s Restaurant iwill be serving Christmas Eve dinner with a choice of 12 entrees, including its famous roast prime rib for $29.95.

Henry’s End [44 Henry Street between Cranberry and Middagh Streets in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 834-1776]; $60 plus tax. Reservations required. Closed Dec. 25; Salvi Restaurant [4420 Quentin Road between Flatbush Avenue and Hendrickson Street in Marine Park, (718) 252-3030]. Seatings at 6 pm and 8:30 pm on Dec. 24. Reservations required. Closed Dec. 25; Buckley’s Restaurant [2926 Avenue S at Nostrand Avenue in Marine Park, (718) 998-4222]; Reservations required. Open Dec. 24 from 5-9 pm. Closed Dec. 25.

Vegetarian

If you’re looking to keep off the pounds this holiday season, the excellent Sun in Bloom in Park Slope wants to help.

“Raw living food and gluten free items are perfect for people who want to keep pounds off and feel light after their holiday meals,” said owner Aimee Follette. “Friends and family will be delighted by the pleasure of our dishes and feel lighter, energized, and healthy.”

This vegan restaurant is serving delicious treats like pumpkin-yam soup, three bean chili with gluten free corn bread, rosemary thyme stuffing and raw apple pie at a variety of prices. You won’t miss meat.

Sun in Bloom [460 Bergen St. between Fifth and Flatbush avenues in Park Slope, (718) 622-4303]. Open Dec. 24 from 8 am-3 pm. Reservations required. Take-out option is available. Closed Dec. 25.

All of the above

Can’t decide on what you want just yet? Two Williamsburg restaurants will be serving up a range of French and German holiday dishes for you to feast on.

Le Comptoir will be open on both Christmas Eve and Christmas, with specials including baked oysters with champagne sabayon, lobster salad, Beef Wellington, and even a foie gras tasting menu on both nights, as well as a lobster-heavy brunch on Christmas.

For more of a German spin, Loreley Williamsburg will be serving a special dinner on both Christmas Eve and Christmas. For $38, enjoy a three-course meal with a choice of grilled filet mignon or Eisbein (grilled pork shank) or Kartoffelgratin (vegetarian casserole), with a housemade apple strudel or traditional stollen cake for dessert. Drink it all down with a choice of beer or glass of mulled Glühwein. It’ll be the start of a new tradition.

Meanwhile, on Court Street in Carroll Gardens, Marco Polo is doing what it does best. Sticking with traditional Italian fish dishes, guests can enjoy appetizers like fried calamari for $13.95 and entrees such as “baccala alla livornese” which is dry codfish sautéed with potatoes, onions, capers and olives for $24.95.

Le Comptoir [251 Grand St. near Roebling Street in Williamsburg, (718) 486-3300], open Dec. 24 from 5-11 pm and Dec. 25 from noon-8 pm. Reservations recommended; Loreley Williamsburg [64 Frost St. near Meeker Avenue in Williamsburg, (718) 599-0025]. Open from 5 pm-midnight for dinner. Reservations recommended; Marco Polo [345 Court St. at Union Street in Carroll Gardens, (718) 852-5015]. Reservations required. 

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Brooklyn Youth Chorus is thrice as nice this weekend

By Meredith Deliso

Brooklyn’s best chorus is three times as nice this holiday season.

This weekend, you’ll have several chances to catch the Grammy award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus as it performs a program of holiday choral works at the Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Brooklyn Heights.

More than 300 kids will take to the stage over the course of three concerts as they perform holiday selections from classical and contemporary composers, including Leonard Bernstein, J.S. Bach, Jozsef Karai, Joan Szymko, Andrew Lippa and Bob Chilcott, on Dec. 17 and 18.

The performers at each concert range from the standard concert chorus to the young men’s ensemble, but no matter which you attend, you’re sure to be charmed — these talented, and much sought-after, kids have performed with Elton John, Judy Collins and even Lou Reed. 

The audience is encouraged to sing holiday classics at the end of each concert, so be sure to bring your own pipes.

Brooklyn Youth Chorus at Our Lady of Lebanon Church [113 Remsen St. between Henry and Clinton streets in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 624-7228], Dec. 17 at 7:30 pm; Dec. 18 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets $10-$35. For info, visit www.brooklynyouthchorus.com.

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Your weekend shopping guide

By Meredith Deliso

There’s lots to keep you shoppers busy this weekend, as we’ve got news on a new children’s store, an art toy show and holiday markets. Yes, the season is fast upon us.

Livie and Boo

Prospect Heights parents have a new place to shop, thanks to Livie and Boo. A Beacon’s Closet for kids, the story sells nearly new children’s clothing and shoes for kids up to age 6. But a Salvation Army this is not. “It was really important for me that the store feels like a high-end boutique,” said owner Chantal Scott. There’s even an arts area and toys to keep little ones occupied while grown-ups shop. For those looking to unload, the store buys clothes in excellent used condition and offers 25 percent cash or 40 percent store credit for what it might retail for.

Livie and Boo [613 Vanderbilt Ave. between St. Marks Place and Bergen Street in Prospect Heights, (718) 857-0099]. Open Tuesday-Sunday from 11 am-6 pm. Closed Mondays.

MF Toys Show 

This is for the person who has everything — and also has a somewhat twisted sense of humor. Starting Nov. 20, MF Gallery in Gowanus hosts its annual toy show, featuring unique, handmade toy art items, some for as little as $10, that are sometimes creepy, sometimes cute. Take Moses Jaen’s growling zombie heads, Jacqui Gallants’ deranged Mary and her little rabid lambs (above), or the gallery’s own Frankenstein’s monster-esque pieces. The toys and dolls are meant for display purposes mostly — hence the “toy art” term — and make for neat additions to an art collection, or, for the smaller, hanging pieces, even ornaments for the tree. “Everything we do, we try to open it up to a broader audience, that’s not your typical art collecting people,” said gallery co-owner Martina Russo. 

MF Toys Show at MF Gallery [213 Bond St. between Butler and Baltic streets in Gowanus, (917) 446-8681], Nov. 20-Dec. 23 by appointment only. For info, visit www.mfgallery.net.

Holiday Gift Market

Get a jump start on your holiday shopping at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue this Sunday, as it hosts a Holiday Gift Market. Usually a smaller affair with a limited selection of crafts and books, this year’s market boasts items from local and international merchants, including jewelry from Juicy Beads and Lisa Grant, Judaica crafts from Studio Gruss, ceramics from Clayworks on Columbia, and paperie from Papel. There will also be artisanal food products for sale, on-site eats from Cobblestone Foods, and a wine tasting with Brooklyn Wine Exchange. 

Holiday Gift Market at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue [131 Remsen St. between Henry and Clinton streets in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 522-2070], Nov. 21 from 11 am-5 pm.

Brooklyn Flea on the move

And just a quick note — the Brooklyn Flea moves completely indoors next weekend, with Saturday’s location moving on Nov. 27 from the outdoor track at Bishop Loughlin HS in Fort Greene to Skylight One Hanson inside the Williamsburgh Savings Bank building, which is also Sunday’s location for the popular market.

Brooklyn Flea at Skylight One Hanson [1 Hanson Pl. at Ashland Place in Fort Greene, (718) 230-0400], Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am-5 pm.

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Where to shop this weekend

Lots of exciting market news this week, so let’s get right to it.

Jodi Arnold

High-end boutique Jodi Arnold just loves sharing great, local finds with it shoppers. That’s why the Boerum Hill store has curated artisanal products on sale in its store this month, featuring high-quality, handmade goods for a celebration of craft. 

Participants include a variety of handmade goods, including Krystal Bennett Designs’s vibrant, statement making necklaces created using beads and strips of magazine pages (pictured); Little Soap Shop’s body butters and bath salts, including body bars for dogs; Soapwalla’s all-natural body products; and Ugly Duckling Presse’s poetry books from emerging writers. 

Warm up with a freshly brewed cup from the Williamsburg-based Brooklyn Roasting Company, which hand-roasts its coffees daily.

Jodi Arnold [347 Atlantic Ave. at Hoyt Street in Boerum Hill, (718) 858-5580]. For info, visit jodiarnoldnyc.com/features/category/artisanal.

Brooklyn Designers Showcase

You won’t find the Brooklyn Designers Showcase in a hip venue or gallery; rather, local talent shows off its wares at a Brooklyn Heights church. On Nov. 6 at St. Ann’s Church, find one-of-a-kind items such as handmade recycled shopping totes by Old Bag Ladies, as well as stained-glass art and homemade lotions and soaps. So you can wash away your sins?

Brooklyn Designers Showcase at St. Ann’s Church [157 Montague St. near Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 875-6960], Nov. 6 and 27 and Dec. 11 and 18, noon-6 pm. For info, visit www.saintannandtheholytrinity.org.

Module R

There’s a new pop-up in town. In the wake of ModulA.R.T., a temporary design store in DUMBO this past spring, comes Module R, a sister brand featuring modular products and furnishings for the home and office, including wine racks, shelving units, room dividers and housewares that are all customizable. Get yours starting Nov. 5, when Module R pops up.

Module R [400 Atlantic Ave. between Bond and Hoyt streets in Boerum Hill, no phone], Nov. 5-Jan. 9, open Wednesday-Sunday, 11 am-7 pm. For info, visit www.art-rethought.com. 

Yankee Fair  

This one’s fun for the whole family. The Yankee Fair returns to Plymouth Church on Nov. 6, with handcrafted items, antiques, collectibles, and vintage and designer clothing to peruse, as well as children’s rides and games, from pony rides to face painting to a magician providing entertainment. Try your hand at the 50-50 raffle, and you might wind up with even more dough to spend.

Yankee Fair at Plymouth Church [75 Hicks St. near Orange Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 624-4743], Nov. 6, 10 am-4 pm. Free admission for adults. Admission to children’s activities $16 for one child, $30 for two, and $40 max per family. For info, visit www.plymouthchurch.org.

Flea markets and sales

These ones are pretty self-explanatory:

• It’s called “$5 on Fifth,” and it’s on Nov. 5 on Fifth Avenue. There’ll be lots of special $5 deals and discounts at participating shops, restaurants and bars. For a merchant list, visit www.parkslopefifthavenuebid.com.

• Flea Market at St. Finbar Center [Bath Avenue and Bay 20th Street in Bensonhurst, (718) 236-3312], Nov. 7, 9 am-3 pm. Free to enter.

• Flea Market Bazaar at the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church [Flatbush Avenue at the corner of Church Avenue in Flatbush, (718) 451-4764], Nov. 6 and 13, 9 am-3 pm.

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Theater review: In the end, this 'Mikado' rules

Jennie Mescon in “The Mikado,” a
Gilbert and Sullivan classic

By Meredith Deliso

“The Mikado” is a big production — full orchestra, large ensemble, elaborate costuming — which makes it an ambitious choice for a community theater.

The Heights Players rise to the challenge, staging the Gilbert and Sullivan classic at its Brooklyn Heights space — though not without a few groans.

The comic operetta is set in the made-up Japanese town of Titipu, where the emperor — the Mikado — has just instituted a ban on flirting, with punishment by beheading. A wandering minstrel named Nanki-Poo has arrived, looking for his love, Yum-Yum, who, to his dismay, is to marry the Lord High Executioner, Ko-Ko, that day. To Ko-Ko’s dismay, he learns that the Mikado wants the executioner to do some executing, and he must come up with a head, fast, or be beheaded himself.

It’s all serious stuff — though really just a satire of British cultural mores of Gilbert and Sullivan’s times.

David Schaefer does a fine job at the piano, but a full orchestra is missed during subtle moments, like when Nanki-Poo whips out his mandolin-like companion and strums a few chords. Instead of the anticipated accompaniment of plucking, it’s, yep, still the piano. It’s a small moment, but it makes you too aware of the company’s limitations in staging this show. (In one charming moment, though, in the absence of a curtain, Japanese lanterns rise to mark the start of the show).

Whatever orchestral limitations, it is more than made up by the sheer size of the Heights Players’ cast. There’s so many actors, in fact, that they often spill out into the aisles, mainly because they all can’t fit on the stage. When they’re not having fun with the crowd, the actors remain static, in the kabuki style, though it’s lifeless to have so many people on stage at one time with nothing happening.

But those gripes are minor considering the triumph of the music and lyrics. And, more important, the performances are enjoyable. Stephen O’Brien is a great Ko-Ko, well adept at the physical humor (after one back-bending feat, it’s evident this man does yoga), and he has his timing down. Akira Fukui as Nanki-Poo gives a charismatic, heartfelt performance, and he sings with a pretty tenor. His rapport with Yum-Yum (Renee Heitmann) is also fun to watch, and she strikes the right level of airheadedness.

Other good turns come from Jennie Mescon as the spunky Pitti-Sing, one of the “three little maids from school,” and the Mikado himself, Michel Schneider. He strikes a commanding figure on stage, and, arriving for only the second act, you wish he were there longer.

The best moment comes when the Lord High Executioner rattles off people who are on “his list” — those who we should, to put it delicately, get rid of — in the song “As Some Day it May Happen.” It’s customary at this point to replace Gilbert’s own dated list with more contemporary references (this was written in the mid-1880s, after all), and those who make the Heights Players’ “list” include drivers of ozone depleting SUVs, Facebook posters, twitters, and texters, Sudoku doers, Tea Partiers and a certain rouge politician “who can see Russia from her house.” The crowd went wild for it — the Heights Players certainly knows its audience.

Though marred at times by its own limitations, this “Mikado” wins you over in the end, just in time for the rousing finale. 

“The Mikado” at the Heights Players [26 Willow Pl. between State and Joralemon streets in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 237-2752], now through Oct. 24. Tickets $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and children under 12. For info, visit www.heightsplayers.org.

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