August 2021 Programming Announced At The South Street Seaport Museum

South Street Seaport Museum has announced its August schedule, including free tours of the historic tall ship Wavertree and the 1908 lightship Ambrose, free demonstrations by Bowne & Co. letterpress printers, an outdoor exhibition on Pier 16, cruises aboard the 1930 tugboat W.O. Decker, and the world premiere of What Lies Beneath by On Site Opera, as well as a virtual discussion of the opera. For more information, visit www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org.

What Lies Beneath by On Site Opera

On Site Opera brings opera aboard the deck of the historic tall ship Wavertree with What Lies Beneath, August 28-September 2, 2021. This immersive musical experience invites small groups to travel around the ship's main deck to hear and see vignettes intended to connect audiences to the complex and tragic stories surrounding American maritime history, both through the enslavement of African people and through novelist Herman Melville's tragic heroes.

What Lies Beneath will offer six live and in-person performances, August 28 - September 2, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. The running time is 75-minutes. Tickets are available at https://osopera.org/productions/what-lies-beneath/. To make this production as accessible as possible, On Site Opera is requesting a Suggested Donation of $40 per person in lieu of admission price.

What Lies Beneath uses opera and music to explore themes of social justice, racial inequality and history's continuing impact on the lens through which the world is experiencing today. Combining song, story, history, and movement as the company returns to live performance, What Lies Beneath is a site-specific and immersive experience aboard Wavertree. Wavertree is designated on the National Register of Historic Places and represents the thousands of ships that docked along New York's waterfront over the centuries. Built of riveted wrought iron in 1885, Wavertree is an archetype of the sailing ships of the latter half of the 19th century that, during the "age of sail," lined South Street by the dozens, creating a forest of masts from the Battery to the Brooklyn Bridge.

From the enticements used to lure Africans into enslavement to Captain Ahab's final moments of moral reckoning aboard the whaling ship Pequod in Moby Dick, What Lies Beneath is a series of six unique vignettes featuring works from Amistad, by Anthony Davis & Thulani Davis, Ahab, a monodrama by Juliana Hall & Caitlin Vincent, 1619, a choral song cycle by Damien Geter, Billy Budd, by Benjamin Britten, E.M. Forester, & Eric Crozier, Sea Fever, by John Ireland & John Masefield and Riders to the Sea, by Ralph Vaughn Williams and John Millington Sygne.

Opera In Depth: Exploring What Lies Beneath

Join artists and members of the creative team of in advance of On Site Opera's upcoming production of What Lies Beneath specifically designed for the 1885 tall ship Wavertree on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at 7:30pm. How do composers choose which stories they tell? What is it like to produce live performances in today's climate? Reserve free tickets at seaportmuseum.org/osopera.

Ambrose Tours

The 1908 lightship Ambrose will be open for FREE tours every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from August 6, 2021 through October 10, 2021. The ship will run four tours each day, departing at 11:30am, 2:30pm, 3:30pm and 4:00pm from Pier 16. To book a free tour and for more information, visit seaportmuseum.org/ambrose.

Ambrose is the first vessel to join the Seaport Museum's fleet and the very first lightship to guard the only shipping channel in and out of the ports of New York and New Jersey-the Ambrose Channel. As part of the Seaport Museum's general admission, visitors can tour the multiple decks of this National Historic Landmark and see the living and working spaces once inhabited by sailors stationed on Ambrose. The launch of the tours coincides with the anniversary of Ambrose's August 5, 1968 arrival at the Museum. Guided tours last approximately 30 minutes. Advance reservations are recommended. Guests must check in 15 minutes before the tour. Access to Ambrose requires walking up an angled gangway. Stairs lead to the lower decks. Mask wearing is required for visitors aboard Ambrose based on current guidance from the World Health Organization.

Wavertree Tours

The 1885 tall ship Wavertree is now open through October 10, 2021 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays with timed entry, from 11am-5pm at Pier 16 (Fulton and South Streets). Entry is FREE and includes access to the ship's outdoor areas, including the main deck and raised rear deck, and the cargo hold. To learn more and reserve tickets, visit seaportmuseum.org/visitwavertree.

Bowne & Co. Demonstrations

Bowne & Co. is hosting FREE outdoor letterpress printing demonstrations through October 10, 2021 on Fridays and Saturdays. The printers will set up a selection of historic presses outdoors on the steps of 209-211 Water Street. Demonstrations will take place every hour on the hour between 11am-5pm and each will run from five to seven minutes long, illustrating the 19th century printing process with a variety of presses and equipment from the Museum's Printing History Collection. Items printed throughout the day will be given away as tangible reminders of the experience. Bowne & Co. public programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Alongside demonstrations, new products are now available for purchase from Bowne & Co., Stationers in the online shop at bowne.co, including new lines of letterpress-made postcards, broadsides, and boxed notecard sets. Grab a broadside to support your favorite New York City borough or to celebrate the woodtype characters the Bowne & Co. team used previously as part of the #36DaysofType project. Items purchased online can be shipped anywhere in the country or scheduled for in-person pick up at 209-211 Water Street on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Visit bowne.co to browse and purchase.

Pier 16 Outdoor Exhibition

The Seaport Museum is also offering a FREE outdoor exhibition on Pier 16, which will provide the opportunity to discover this chapter of New York City's history. This series of panels and window graphics will celebrate the people of all backgrounds who lived and worked in the South Street Seaport Historic District, and the many businesses that created the foundations for New York to thrive and become the business and culture mecca it is today. Using historic photographs, prints, lithographs, and paintings, the exhibition highlights some of the Seaport Museum's collection of more than 28,000 artifacts and works of art, and over 55,000 historic records.

W.O. Decker Cruises

The 1930 tugboat W.O. Decker will be open for public cruises every Saturday from July 31, 2021 through August 28, 2021. The ship will run three tours each Saturday, departing at 1:15pm, 2:45pm, and 4:15pm. Tickets to ride are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors/students, and $15 for kids and are available for purchase at seaportmuseum.org/decker.

Take an exciting 75-minute ride on the last surviving New York-built wooden tugboat W.O. Deck-er, recently named "Tugboat of the Year" by the Steamship Historical Society of America. Cruises will explore the New York Harbor, and views may include the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Battery, and Governors Island, as you set out on an adventure unlike any you've had before!

Advance reservations are recommended, and guests must check in 15 minutes before the scheduled tour. In accordance with current Federal and New York State COVID-19 guidance for public transportation, masks are required onboard W.O. Decker at all times. Access to W.O. Decker requires climbing angled gangways and a step over her side from a floating deck. Participants must be age 10 or older.

Seaport Museum Members receive discounted price points on Museum activities such as W.O. Decker rides. Memberships start at $50 and help support Museum's exhibitions, preserve the ships and the collections, grow public programs, and serve over 12,000 students through education initiatives. To join the Museum as a Member, visit seaportmuseum.org/membership.

The South Street Seaport Museum's indoor spaces are currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.