Unless otherwise noted, canoeing events depart from 19th St. off of 3rd Ave. Walking tours start from different locations and bicycle tours depart from Brooklyn Borough Hall. Other events occur inside or outside our boathouse, at 165 2nd St. / off Bond St.
[ Rain 30 min. Prior to start time may cancel event and dates +30 days in the future are subject to change ]
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The Fish Queen of the Gowanus Canal: An On-Water Musical
August 30 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Fish Queen of the Gowanus Canal
by Wes Braver, additional book by Rebecca Slaman
Produced by Wes Braver, Joseph Alexiou & Brad Vogel in partnership with the Gowanus Dredgers
Join the Gowanus Dredgers for this one-of-a-kind theater experience! We have two tiers of tickets, from the shore or via canoe, where you’ll get to paddle around our performers on floating stages. This is a show not to be missed.
🎟️ GET YOUR TICKETS NOW 🎟️
In nature, ecologists can assess the health of an ecosystem by studying its waterways. This show explores the toxic culture of America by focusing on one of its most toxic waterways: the Gowanus Canal.
Rumors have been spreading of a superorganism lurking beneath the murky water…a monster made out of toxic industrial runoff and human sewage, that holds all the memories of everyone whose waste has ever gone into the water…
The Fish Queen tells the story of a place polluted by violence, from the first Dutch settlers who displaced the native Lenape tribes who fished in the Gowanus creek, to the Battle of Brooklyn fought on its shores, to the police who cleared out poor Irish tenements, to the mafia bosses who used the canal as a body-dumping ground. The Fish Queen, like the canal she lives in, is full of contradictions: the multi-headed being, played by eight actors, will sing funny songs, sad songs, angry songs, weighty songs and petty songs.
As many of us who live, work, and maybe even paddle on the Gowanus know, beauty still can thrive here between the cracks. This show celebrates that while wrestling with questions of how to love and gather ourselves against the forces that keep the toxic cycles going.
Come see this once in a lifetime world premiere production in the most fitting place imaginable: In the f*cking Gowanus Canal. (This is a PG-13 show for dirty language, which only feels appropriate for the subject matter)
If raining or threatening weather (high winds, lightning) by 5:30pm we may cancel. Attendees will be notified via the email used to purchase tickets. No Refunds, see FAQ on the ticket page for more info.
