Flushing Town Hall Rocks the Newly Revamped House with Eight Events Over Four Weeks

James Brown, who was known as “the hardest working man in show business,” would feel right at home at Flushing Town Hall. This multi-faceted arts venue, located in a historic landmark at 137-35 Northern Boulevard, completed a $1.2 million renovation in March and immediately started churning out visual art exhibits, live music and children’s shows. Now it’s picking up the pace with eight events — including jazz, tango, drama, and poetry — between May 23rd and June 21st. The details follow.

• Helen Sung Trio: The (Re)conception Project, Friday, May 23rd, 8 pm, $15: A graduate of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance and winner of the Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Jazz Piano Competition, Sung creates music that swings with a funky intellect while integrating her jazz & classical worlds. The pianist performs with Harish Raghavan on bass and Rodney Green on drums.
• Tanglolando and Festejation, Saturday, May 24th, 7 pm, $15: Two performances with an open dance floor. Tangolando mixes tango with Afro-Peruvian music, while Festejation melds traditional Afro-Peruvian music with jazz, funk, and other Latin styles.
• A Dream of Red Pavilions Staged Reading, Sunday, June 1st, 4 pm, $10: The Pan Asian Repertory Theatre presents a staged reading of a classic Chinese novel. Set in 18th century China, two beings from the heavenly kingdom — a stone and a flower — are reborn on earth as cousins. They fall in love, but their union is forbidden by their elders. Meanwhile, the noble Jia family heads for social disgrace and financial disaster as the Chinese aristocracy finds itself unable to maintain the facade of noble infallibility and comes into conflict with ancient Buddhist and Confucian values.
• Monthly Jazz Clinic with Special Guest Kenny Brawner, Wednesday,  June 4th, 5 pm, $10/free for players: Ray Charles look- and sound-alike Kenny Brawner participates in this periodic jam session, which is open to professional jazz musicians, graduate students studying the genre, and music educators. Some come to listen. Others come to network, hone skills and have fun. House band and jam session led by Queens Jazz OverGround.  
• IAM Open Mic, Thursday, June 5th, 7 pm, $10: Join the advocacy group Immigrant Advancement Matters for an event that brings together some of NYC’s most talented performers/poets to share their work for a unifying cause: Immigration. Proceeds will support IAM’s Educational Programs.
• Queens & Brooklyn Jazz Party, Friday, June 13th, 8 pm, $15/$10 students: The Queens Jazz Overground has some fun with its Brooklyn brethren. Each group plays a set, then they join forces for an inter-borough collaboration.
• Kenny Brawner is Ray Charles, Friday, June 20th, 7 pm, $20/$10 students: This hybrid concert/theater work brings the music and story of the great Ray Charles to life. Kenny Brawner leads his 12-piece orchestra and three sultry vocalists (a la Raelettes) performing Ray’s top hits and recounting the legend’s life. Brawner offers a lecture at 7 pm.
• LGBTQ Immigrant Voices, Saturday, June 21st, 7 pm, $15/$10 students: An LGBTQ-themed talent show co-presented with Terraza 7 Cafe in celebration of Gay Pride Month.

Photos: Flushing Town Hall