Lincoln Center to emerge from pandemic with outdoor shows

Lincoln Center intends to emerge from the novel coronavirus pandemic by creating 10 outdoor stages for performances and rehearsals in New York City starting April 7.

Venues announced Thursday as part of the Restart Stages initiative include a cabaret-style stage on Lincoln Center’s Hearst Plaza, areas for public school graduations, dedicated space for arts activities for young people and an outdoor reading room created with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Performances will be coordinated with blood drives in partnership with the New York Blood Center, distributions with Food Bank For New York City and a New York City primary election polling place.

Programming will include the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s annual summer evenings concerts, Lincoln Center Theater concerts and cabaret, New York City Ballet dance workshops, Film at Lincoln Center screenings and a Lincoln Center Theater concert and cabaret series.

The center’s indoor halls have been closed to performances since March of last year, causing the Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic to cancel their entire 2020-21 seasons.

The project is being supported by Lincoln Center’s board of directors and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and it will launch with a performance for healthcare workers. Some events will be live streamed on websites of Lincoln Center and its partners.