qboro: Arts, Culture & Living

It’s about people — where they live and what they stand for, or what they could stand for or appear to stand for.

“Strength of Character,” a group photography show, is one of the many exhibitions open for viewing from May 15 through 19 as part of the LIC Arts Open, a week in which most of Long Island City’s art studios, stores, galleries and performance spaces open their doors to show off — not in a braggy way but in a “you might have not known our neighborhood had such a high concentration of artsy talent” way.

Set in the court of the legendary King Arthur, the now-classic musical "Camelot" began its original Broadway run late in 1960, becoming forever linked to the presidency of John Kennedy, whose tenure is often referred to as the Camelot era.

The show is being presented in concert form by Beari Productions in Bayside through May 5.

Queensborough Community College has soul.

The Spinners, who started their reign on the Top 40 charts in the ’50s, will perform hits like “Cupid,” “I'll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love?” and “Games People Play” at a May 5 show at Queensborough Performing Arts Center.

Replace the sound of blaring car horns and the clackity-clack of passing trains with the calls of the woodcock and whistling of a springtime breeze through shorefront trees. Above, twinkling stars provide a more natural glow than the fluorescent illuminations in office building windows. Rising in the east — a big ball of light.

That isn’t a lamppost, a traffic light, or even the spotlight from an NYPD helicopter. Nope, that’s the moon.

The Music Man is coming to Queens.

Grammy-nominated singer and pianist Michael Feinstein will be performing at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College on May 4. Feinstein serves as the artistic director for The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Ind., but more notably is known for being an archivist and performer of the Great American Songbook, a compilation of the iconic songs of the 20th century, from “Over the Rainbow” to “Singin’ in the Rain.” One of his five Grammy nominations comes from his covers of Frank Sinatra’s works.

The once-quiet residential neighborhood of Ridgewood is rapidly becoming home to a dynamic art scene. Over the last two years large influxes of artists and gallery owners have migrated to Ridgewood from such places as Manhattan’s Chelsea district and Brooklyn’s Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

At the end of 2012 there were roughly a dozen art galleries operating in Ridgewood compared to three years prior.

Considering Jackie Robinson’s prominent position in American history, it’s frankly surprising that the film industry had not done a biopic on him until the just released “42,” which stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager who signed him to a contract in 1946 that would finally integrate Major League Baseball a year later.

Screenwriter and director Brian Helgeland wisely limits this fast-moving film to the 1946 and ’47 seasons, and there is certainly enough material for him.

Even before Hurricane Sandy, the Rockaways were a new frontier for the city’s arts community. The storm, which devastated the peninsula, has not stopped that. If anything, it may have only piqued the interest of that community.

In the days, weeks and even months after the storm, the city’s arts community reached out and helped in the recovery process, including bringing water, food and supplies to the peninsula and helping gut homes and businesses destroyed by the surge.

In 2010, 13 students were selected to leave their homes in New York City and spend two weeks at the base of the Himalayas in India. They lived in Dharamsala, a largely Tibeten-populated village in India with host families, abandoning the comforts that come with living in a developed neighborhood. “Across All Borders,” directed by Kier Moreano and Erika Houle, documents their journey.

The film opens with quick shots of graffiti, the Brooklyn Bridge and the subway. Deep, saturated colors pop off the screen showing off the city palette and are interwoven with traditional Indian folk music playing in the background, no doubt preparing the audience for a tale of clashing cultures and global awareness.