Fire Island Water Taxi cut through the Great South Bay as the afternoon sun started to turn everything golden. Jeff and I had decided to make a proper night of it: Low Tea at the Blue Whale, the Barn on Fire presentation at Whyte Hall, dinner at Pines Bistro, and dancing at the Pavilion.
We arrived at the Blue Whale just as Low Tea was hitting its stride. The place was packed, laughter spilling out onto the deck. Feeling overdressed, we found a spot to people-watch. But that’s the Pines. You can show up dressed or in a swimsuit, and somehow both feel right.
We made our way to Whyte Hall, where the Fire Island Pines Arts Project was hosting the fifth annual Barn on Fire showcase. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming. We enjoyed complimentary wine on the roof and ran into friends, including Fire Island News contributor Robert Levine, known to many as the legendary Rose Levine, as well as other familiar faces.
Barn on Fire is a 10-day residency program that gives emerging musical theater writers time and support to develop original work. This summer marked the fifth year of the partnership between FIPAP and New York Theatre Barn. According to FIPAP board president Steven Alan Black, the program has supported 15 original musicals whose alumni have gone on to Broadway, NAMT festivals, and commercial productions.
Saturday’s presentation featured excerpts from two musicals in development: Trick! The Musical and Café con Leche. Both are love stories centered on queer experience, and both demonstrate what can happen when artists are given the space to create. The actors had arrived just two days earlier, bringing the work to life after only 48 hours of rehearsal.
Trick! The Musical, with book and lyrics by Jason Schafer and music by Arthur Lafrentz Bacon, based on the beloved 1999 rom-com, follows Gabriel and Mark through one chaotic New York night as they try to find a place to hook up. Danny Kornfeld brought sweetness to Gabriel. The standout was “Lemme Walk You to the Train,” a duet capturing the tentative intimacy of two people realizing they might want more than just tonight.
Café con Leche, written by Maiga Vidal with arrangements by Felipe Segovia Sanhueza, tells the story of Alejandra, a closeted Chilean-American woman working at her parents’ struggling Los Angeles donut shop. When a corporate coffee chain threatens eviction, she secretly opens an after-hours café with help from Megan, a social media manager who complicates everything. The musical explores immigration, identity, and family expectations.
Mayelah Barrera was radiant as Alejandra, her voice soaring through “Defendré,” the show’s anthem of self-acceptance.
Jeff leaned over during intermission and said, “This is so enjoyable!” He was right. Both shows had the kind of authenticity that comes from writers telling their own stories. As Joe Barros, artistic director of New York Theatre Barn, put it: “There is no formula for musical theater development, except authenticity.”
After the show, we walked to Pines Bistro, still buzzing from what we’d seen. The Bistro has earned a reputation for fantastic food and impeccable service. Jeff ordered the hanger steak with black peppercorn sauce, cooked to a perfect medium-rare. I went with the lobster ravioli in vodka sauce, rich and indulgent. We finished with espresso, the kind of finish that feels like punctuation at the end of a perfect meal.
The atmosphere is exactly what you want after a show: intimate, timelessly chic, open-air, with just the right amount of energy. We sat there watching the Pines come alive, feeling grateful for a night that had delivered on every level.
By the time we made it to the Pavilion, the dance floor was packed. The pulsating beats pulled us in, bodies moving in that liberation that only happens when the music is loud enough to drown out everything else. We lost ourselves in the music and the moment.
When we finally caught the water taxi home, the bay was calm, and the stars were out. Earlier that evening, we had watched two new musicals take shape before our eyes. A few hours later, we were dancing beneath the stars. It struck me that both experiences came from the same thing: a community willing to make space for creativity, connection, and joy.
That is what Barn on Fire celebrates, and what Fire Island does so well. Not just providing an escape, but creating a place where artists can take risks, audiences can discover something new, and a simple Saturday night can turn into something truly memorable.
For more information about the Fire Island Pines Arts Project, visit fipap.org
