Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Gardens teams with Harbor Lights Theater Company and Celebrate at Snug Harbor to present the ultimate date night or brunch event

By JENNIFER VIKSE

Dinner and a show has new meaning on Staten Island. Beginning with November’s West Side Story, presented by the Harbor Lights Theater Company, a night out with spectacular fare and quality entertainment is suddenly affordable…and close by.

“Dinner and a Show” packages are available for the first time on the 83-acre campus of Snug Harbor Cultural Center for $99, including Premier Show seating at the second oldest music hall in New York City, a three-course gourmet meal from Celebrate at Snug Harbor, a glass of wine, reserved parking, all taxes, fees, tips, and VIP service.

The idea came from Snug Harbor’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mark Lauria, who approached the caterer Celebrate at Snug Harbor and asked them to consider it. The result is that a memorable Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night can be had right here in the borough for less than $200 per couple, and “…people on Staten Island are already doing this,” noted Jaclyn M. Alderete, Director of External Affairs & Business Development for Snug. “This way, they can enjoy a gourmet dinner right on campus with our exclusive caterer.”

The gourmet fare is served in the lower Great Hall on campus, a short walk from the 686-seat Greek Revival style Music Hall. Each meal begins with a glass of wine, choice of salad, entrée choice (Stuffed Filet Oreganata, Roasted Chicken, or a vegetarian dish), dessert, and coffee. The brunch option, offered on Sundays at $79 per person, consists of a wide-ranging display of baked goods, yogurt parfait, breakfast entrees, salads, pastas, brownies, fruit, and coffee and tea.

West Side Story ran from November 7 through November 23. Featuring Jerome Robbins’s landmark choreography and with a cast of Broadway professionals led by award-winning director Stephen Nachamie, the show was among the most daring and complex in the theater’s history. After the successful run, Snug will bring back “Dinner and a Show” in the Spring with performances from In The Wings Theatre Company and a children’s theatre group.

Harbor Lights is Staten Island’s only professional Equity Theater Company, lead by Founders and Artistic Directors Tamara Jenkins and Jay Montgomery and Associate Producer Beth Gittleman.

Snug was founded in 1801 as a home for aged sailors and was known as Sailor’s Snug Harbor. The complex, complete with church, theater, dormitories, and dining hall, was vibrant for many years but closed in the mid 20th century. It was saved by the Landmarks Commission in the 1960s and Snug Harbor was incorporated in 1975. Today, it is home to 40 nonprofit organizations, including the Noble Maritime Collection, the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, the Staten
Island Children’s Museum, the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden, the Tuscan Garden, the Staten Island Museum, Art Lab, Staten Island Arts, and others.

In addition, the campus boasts Heritage Farm, which grows vegetables on site that are eventually sold at its own farm stand in season and used by local restaurants in Staten Island and Brooklyn. The farm, which focuses on education and welcomes nearly 3,000 school children each year, is a throwback to the time of sailing ship mariners, and when the campus was a self-sustaining working farm.

Snug Harbor Cultural Center
& Botanical Gardens
1000 Richmond Terrace / snug-harbor.org