This November will mark the 22nd anniversary of the opening of Landmark on Main Street, the elementary school turned theater that has attracted a number of notable musicians, comedians and performers to Port Washington.
“We’ve been around since 1995 and we’ve built a reputation as a high-quality performing arts venue,” Laura Mogul, Landmark’s executive director, said.
Mogul has only been a part of the theater for the last two and a half years, and gives her predecessors a lot of the credit for building up the venue’s status among performers.
“Musicians love playing here, the sound and the audience and the way they play here,” Mogul said. “Everyone gives the place very high marks, and what goes around in the performers community comes around.”
This autumn will bring a number of performers to the Landmark, particularly of the roots rock and folk variety. That is because Steve Lurie, who books acts for the Landmark, is especially connected in those areas of music. He attracts many of the acts that pass through Port Washington to his annual Clearwater Music Festival in Croton-on-Hudson, for which he serves as director.
The Landmark scored a major coup when it had Cry, Cry, Cry, a “singer-songwriter supergroup” perform a sold-out show last month. Mogul said it would not have happened without Lurie’s efforts and the group’s love for the venue.
“We’ve had each of the band members separately, they knew the venue and they loved us,” she said. “So they said, ‘We’ll make [the Landmark] our Long Island stop.”
The venue has won rave reviews from performers for its acoustics and sound system. But it has also proved popular with audiences. Mogul said the schoolhouse-feel of the Landmark – it was once an elementary school auditorium – puts people at ease. And the cozy confines make it an intimate place to view a performance.
“No matter where you sit, even in the balcony, you’re never more than 40 or 50 feet from the stage,” Mogul said. “You feel like the artists are singing or speaking to you.”
Among the events offered in the coming months is Afternoon T.E.A., a series of shows on weekday afternoons where tea and the performance are free. Mogul said the series started due to a request from senior citizens who live in the building.
“When the building was converted from an elementary school, the classrooms were turned into senior citizen apartments,” Mogul said. “They requested a program that would appeal to them. So we started screening classic movies and serving free cookies, and then it expanded to musical performances.”
When asked to pick which shows she was most excited for this fall, Mogul said it was impossible to decide.
“I have to give the mom answer and say I love all my children equally,” she said. “But I like the ones that are a little unexpected.”
One such performance will be Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton, who will perform a mix of progressive rock, psychedelic soul and African, Caribbean and Middle Eastern rhythms on Oct. 15. Mogul is also excited for the appearance of the Chapin Family band on Saturday, which she said was a “major coup.”
