Liberty Theatre gears up for awaited performance season
Fichot to perform on
Saturday as season opener
BY PETER KORCHNAK
Astoria’s Liberty Theatre is gearing
up for a new season of performances that
will feature a diverse, inclusive lineup of
artists.
“We wanted to make sure that what you
see at the theater is representing the com-
munity around us,” Jennifer Crockett, exec-
utive director of the Liberty Theatre, said.
This year’s performers will be “sharing
their experiences and their heritage,” she
added.
Liberty Theatre
1203 Commercial St., Astoria
www.libertyastoria.org
The season’s opening act, Los Ange-
les-based chanteuse and songwriter Jessica
Fichot, draws from her French, Chinese and
American upbringing to take listeners on
a journey through French chanson, 1940s
Shanghai jazz, swing and international folk
genres.
Fichot’s performance on Saturday will
be her first in the region since 2009. “I just
love the area and I’m excited about playing
in the Liberty Theatre because it just looks
really beautiful,” Fichot said. The singer
performs in multiple languages during her
set. “There’s a little bit of a throwback vibe
to both the venue and my music, so hope-
fully people will think it fits,” she added.
Other highlights of the theater’s upcom-
ing season, its first in two years at full
capacity, include the ensemble act Circus
Nonsense, Inuit soul music group Pamyua,
and Mexican groups Mexico Lindo and Jar-
abe Mexicano. World music fusion per-
formers like Caro Pierotto, Quartetto
Nuevo and Finnegan Blue will round out
the lineup. Pink Martini will also headline
during two nights in the late summer.
Liberty’s office manager, Nancy
Schwickrath, got to pick one of the shows.
A dog walker for Clatsop Animal Assis-
tance with experience in Broadway produc-
tions, Schwickrath chose Stunt Dog Expe-
rience, whose master trainers perform air
stunts, athletic feats and comedy routines
on stage. “It is our best-selling show so far,”
Crockett said. “It’s going to be hysterical.”
See Page 15
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Peter Korchnak
The Liberty Theatre in Astoria is preparing for its upcoming season.
Peter Korchnak
ABOVE: Posters at the venue highlight music, dance and theater
performances. LEFT: Singer-songwriter Jessica Fichot will
perform at the Liberty Theatre on Saturday.