BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — The show was supposed to begin at 7:30, but by that time, people were still lined up on Montague Street, shivering in the brisk Spring night, waiting for entry into the warm candle-lit recesses of St. Ann & Holy Trinity Church.
On Wednesday, house staff could not get people into the centuries-old church fast enough, as swarms of story-hungry Brooklynites turned out for The Moth’s Mainstage event in Brooklyn Heights.
In they piled to get into the nave of the church, where eager ears filled every pew and balcony.
Five storytellers sat in the front row, waiting for a chance to tell their spin on the evening’s theme of “finding beauty in life’s unexpected transitions.”
The Moth, an acclaimed storytelling non-profit, which has grown its popular Radio Hour series into a national staple, hosted the live event in celebration of its new publication: “A Point of Beauty: True Stories of Holding On and Letting Go!”
Books Are Magic, the popular, local independent bookstore, was onsite selling hardcopies of “A Point of Beauty,” which host Amber Wallin promoted to the audience throughout the event.
Brooklyn Eagle photo by John McCarten
But in addition to the bookselling, which benefited The Moth, there was the unmistakable air of something profound about to happen, a phenomenon known by most who attend live Moth events. The familiar feeling was something between serious theater and stand-up comedy, a form of storytelling that was holy and ancient, older than the historic church itself hosting the event.
Donald Harrison, a Philadelphia-based writer and pianist, was the first to take the mic. He wove an epic tale of his humble beginnings at Tavern on Camac, the city’s oldest gay bar, where he plays piano and sings every Friday night — often in competition with the bar’s boisterous patrons.
Brooklyn Eagle photo by John McCarten
One particularly loud man named…
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