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Facelift for Jones Beach Theater
More seats, better food, luxury boxes
By Letta Tayler
Staff Writer
PALM TREES, upscale vegetarian cuisine, luxury skyboxes and
lots more seats are among the new amenities designed to draw
customers to the Jones Beach Marine Theater in Wantagh when
its summer concert series begins June 9.
Promoters revealed details of the $16-million facelift yesterday
while announcing the series' first six performances, which will
include newcomer Beck and the perennial James Taylor.
"This is the biggest and best that Jones Beach has ever been,"
promised Ron Delsener, whose Delsener/Slater Enterprises runs
the concert series at the state-run theater.
Workers are expanding the oceanfront amphitheater's capacity to
14,354 seats, up from 11,114, with most of the new seats at the
rear of the theater. Other additions include upstairs bathrooms,
new food vendors and an elevator for the physically disabled,
Delsener said. The rehaul is the first at Jones Beach in six years.
For the well-heeled, the new Jones Beach will offer 22 four-seat
VIP orchestra boxes with waiter service, and 15 10-seat luxury
skyboxes. The skyboxes will include indoor suites with living
rooms, bathrooms, wet bars, video screens and sliding doors
opening to outdoor seats.
Palm trees will dot the facility (they'll winter in Florida). Two
giant video screens will flank the stage and 30 monitors
throughout the site will allow viewers to watch live performances
as they wait on lines at the upgraded food court, which will offer
spare ribs to haute vegetarian cuisine.
For the first time since 1986, Jones Beach will offer a limited
number of $15 tickets to every show to attract families and
patrons on a budget, Delsener said.
If the digs look different, the schedule will continue to mix new
artists and classic rock. The season kicks off with James Taylor
June 9. Then comes blues-funk-rap prince Beck, who headlines a
bill June 11 with Ben Folds Five, Elliot Smith and Quasi. The
Moody Blues perform with the Long Island Philharmonic June
13. Stevie Nicks and Boz Scaggs play June 14, The B-52s with
The Pretenders take the stage June 19 and former Creedence
Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty comes to town June
25.
KROCK will warm up the oceanfront amphitheater May 30 with
a nine-hour Revenge of the Dysfunctional Family Picnic festival.
The two-stage event includes former Stone Temple Pilot Scott
Weiland, Green Day, Ben Folds Five, Third Eye Blind, Offspring,
Fuel, Soul Asylum and the Stuttering John Band.
The second annual Lilith Fair, including founding chanteuse Sarah
McLachlan plus Natalie Merchant, the Indigo Girls and Missy
(Misdemeanor) Elliott, arrives July 15-16. And the HORDE
festival will return Aug. 5 with Alana Davis, Barenaked Ladies,
Paula Cole, Ben Harper and Blues Traveler, among others.
Tickets for the first six concerts go on sale Friday at the Jones
Beach box office or through Ticketmaster, with wristbands being
distributed at the box office at 5 p.m. Thursday. Tickets for the
KROCK show go on sale at the same locations Friday. Tickets
for Lilith go on sale May 16 and for HORDE in mid-May. |
