Queens: Northern Boulevard Boys
Frank Bauer (Playwright). A native of NYC. Bauer attended New York University on the GI Bill. Majoring in Liberal Arts, he also drew from his neighborhood background in North Queens, NY to provide for the backdrop of his debut/first play “The Northern Boulevard Boys”. The characters he writes about in the play are based on real relationships formed during his teenage years in Queens NY, in the 1950s. Bauer spent years in the business world, and along with his artist wife, Diane raised two children. Memories of his North Queens days were never far behind him. Always interested of telling the story---upon retirement, thinking of writing a screenplay about those years, he enrolled in a course at Bard College, in Italian Film and Literature and later a course on Dante’s Devine Comedy. That led to him a playwright’s workshop at the Cocoon Theatre in Rhinebeck, NY. still considering doing a screenplay being motivated by how at times over the years people have loved hearing the stories---he embarked and finished Act One of the play The Northern Boys. In the summer months vacationing in Upstate New York he participated in a “Writers Workshop sponsored by the Cape Vincent’s Art Council where he finished Acts Two and Three of his play. Returning to downstate he became a member of NY’s Art Society of Kingston. (ASK), Playwrights Workshop. There he continued to work on and refine the play, presenting an actor’s concert reading to a audience for the first time on June 2nd 2009. On November 1st of the same year his play was read in NYC by the Red Harlem Readers. Three other readings were done—one in Cape Vincent (June 2009), an encore at ASK in Kingston on May 2010 and an abbreviated reading (Act one/only) at an Artist’s Residency in Colon, Costa Rica.
The play reveals a coming of age saga in a neighborhood in Queens NY, the story is related to the advent of Rhythm and Blues in the 1950s. He says of the play, The Northern Boulevard Boys, has taken on a life of its own---he hopes it will continue.
The play will be performed in 2012 on May 4th and May 5th at 8 pm and a Sunday matinee May 6th at 2 pm at The Producers Club Grand Theatre 358 West 44th Street NYC.
