11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
NIght Unfurls Its Splendor at a Matinee: 'The Phantom of the Opera' Celebrates 10,000 Performances
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10 Temmuz 2012 Salı
9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi
Tallinn
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It's shortly after 5pm on my last day in Europe, and all I want is a nap. I guess it's fitting that the sun has disappeared behind some rather dark clouds just at the time that I've run out of energy.
I'm currently in Tallinn, which is actually quite a lovely place. Estonia's history is fraught with occupations and revolutions to regain their independence, which may be one of the factors in the very multicultural nature of this city. You can clearly see the influence from all their neighbors, but it's still got its own particular charm, unlike anything I've seen in any other country.
The main thing I've noticed is how quiet the city is. There's a bit of traffic noise, and you hear the occasional music or conversation, but it's mostly just silent. I read that the Estonian philosophy is something like, if you don't have some brilliant, well thought-out thing to say, just keep quiet, and it seems most people here do just that.
I arrived yesterday without much of an agenda, and my stroll out of the hotel led me directly to the mall. I didn't intend to go there, I just followed the Food Store sign, hoping to get some provisions for my stay, and bam! Mall. It was exactly like every other mall I've ever seen, which is to say, horrible and full of teenagers.
Luckily today, after sleeping off a bit too much of the drink from last night, I pointed myself toward Old Town and found a cute -- albeit very touristy -- little section of the city protected by the castle-like city walls. I also wandered through a couple of parks, one of which was hosting the Flower Festival, and made it to a late lunch without passing out from sunstroke.
Did I mention it's been very sunny and hot my whole time here? Well, it has. I love it, but walking miles in it, with little to no shade, isn't doing me any favors.
After a quick air conditioning break, I did some more rambling around town, but mostly came across tall buildings and more shopping centers. I also got shouted at, in what I presume was Estonian, by an old lady on the street for no apparent reason... proving that crazy is universal.
At this point, I'm taking another break for a long drink (cranberry taste) and will see if I can muster any energy later. The dark skies (despite sundown still being hours away) and my need to go to the airport in roughly 12 hours, probably mean that I won't go far. Even if I don't, the long trip has been worth it, and I'll be sad to leave Estonia tomorrow.
I'm currently in Tallinn, which is actually quite a lovely place. Estonia's history is fraught with occupations and revolutions to regain their independence, which may be one of the factors in the very multicultural nature of this city. You can clearly see the influence from all their neighbors, but it's still got its own particular charm, unlike anything I've seen in any other country.
The main thing I've noticed is how quiet the city is. There's a bit of traffic noise, and you hear the occasional music or conversation, but it's mostly just silent. I read that the Estonian philosophy is something like, if you don't have some brilliant, well thought-out thing to say, just keep quiet, and it seems most people here do just that.
I arrived yesterday without much of an agenda, and my stroll out of the hotel led me directly to the mall. I didn't intend to go there, I just followed the Food Store sign, hoping to get some provisions for my stay, and bam! Mall. It was exactly like every other mall I've ever seen, which is to say, horrible and full of teenagers.
Luckily today, after sleeping off a bit too much of the drink from last night, I pointed myself toward Old Town and found a cute -- albeit very touristy -- little section of the city protected by the castle-like city walls. I also wandered through a couple of parks, one of which was hosting the Flower Festival, and made it to a late lunch without passing out from sunstroke.
Did I mention it's been very sunny and hot my whole time here? Well, it has. I love it, but walking miles in it, with little to no shade, isn't doing me any favors.
After a quick air conditioning break, I did some more rambling around town, but mostly came across tall buildings and more shopping centers. I also got shouted at, in what I presume was Estonian, by an old lady on the street for no apparent reason... proving that crazy is universal.
At this point, I'm taking another break for a long drink (cranberry taste) and will see if I can muster any energy later. The dark skies (despite sundown still being hours away) and my need to go to the airport in roughly 12 hours, probably mean that I won't go far. Even if I don't, the long trip has been worth it, and I'll be sad to leave Estonia tomorrow.
“COME FLY AWAY” A WONDERFUL TICKET TO ROMANCE
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The theatrical marriage ofFrank Sinatra’s sultry love songs and Twyla Tharp’s dazzling dance moves is anevening that promotes and celebrates romance. Think of a Valentine’s Day holiday gala hosted by Cupidhimself where a big band, more than a dozen dancers and Ol’ Blue Eyes’memorable music serenade and sooth. Experience “Come Fly Away” coming to Hartford’s Bushnell Center for thePerforming Arts on gossamer wings of love until Sunday, June 3.
Sexy and sophisticated,flirtatious and fancy free, “Come Fly Away” follows four couples Kate and Hank(Ashley Blair Fitzgerald and Anthony Burrell), Marty and Betsy (Christopher Vo and Ramona Kelley),Slim and Chanos (Ioana Alfonso and Matthew Stockwell Dibble) and Babe and Sid(Meredith Miles and Stephen Hanna) as they fall in and out of love, experiencetheir first exhilarating smooch, discover what may not be fated to be andexplore all the intricate parts of the puzzle known as love.
Great Sinatra favorites like“Fly Me to the Moon,” “New York, New York,” “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “Bodyand Soul,” and “I’ve Got a Crush on You” ignite the stage, with Twyla Tharp’s innovative andsizzling dance steps to bring the scenes to dramatic and daring life.
With shimmering long leggedladies and dapper gents, the numbers fly by with fluid moves and sensuousstyling. Whether it’s the bumpycourtship of “Let’s Fall in Love” with Marty and Betsy, the possessive and confrontationalaction between Hank and Kate in “That’s Life,” the spellbinding movements ofSid and Babe in “Witchcraft” or the caveman techniques of Slim and Chanos in “Yes Sir, That’s MyBaby,” these versatile dancers go all out to make their feelings known throughtheir incredible body language on stage.
For tickets ($17-72), callthe Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org. Performances areWednesday and Thursday at 7:30p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and6:30 p.m.
Sip an imaginary martini atthe hot nightspot where the dancing is deliciously sexy and sensual andsensational, the big band brilliantly brassy and the vocals of Frank Sinatradripping with dangerous delight.
The theatrical marriage ofFrank Sinatra’s sultry love songs and Twyla Tharp’s dazzling dance moves is anevening that promotes and celebrates romance. Think of a Valentine’s Day holiday gala hosted by Cupidhimself where a big band, more than a dozen dancers and Ol’ Blue Eyes’memorable music serenade and sooth. Experience “Come Fly Away” coming to Hartford’s Bushnell Center for thePerforming Arts on gossamer wings of love until Sunday, June 3.
Sexy and sophisticated,flirtatious and fancy free, “Come Fly Away” follows four couples Kate and Hank(Ashley Blair Fitzgerald and Anthony Burrell), Marty and Betsy (Christopher Vo and Ramona Kelley),Slim and Chanos (Ioana Alfonso and Matthew Stockwell Dibble) and Babe and Sid(Meredith Miles and Stephen Hanna) as they fall in and out of love, experiencetheir first exhilarating smooch, discover what may not be fated to be andexplore all the intricate parts of the puzzle known as love.
Great Sinatra favorites like“Fly Me to the Moon,” “New York, New York,” “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “Bodyand Soul,” and “I’ve Got a Crush on You” ignite the stage, with Twyla Tharp’s innovative andsizzling dance steps to bring the scenes to dramatic and daring life.
With shimmering long leggedladies and dapper gents, the numbers fly by with fluid moves and sensuousstyling. Whether it’s the bumpycourtship of “Let’s Fall in Love” with Marty and Betsy, the possessive and confrontationalaction between Hank and Kate in “That’s Life,” the spellbinding movements ofSid and Babe in “Witchcraft” or the caveman techniques of Slim and Chanos in “Yes Sir, That’s MyBaby,” these versatile dancers go all out to make their feelings known throughtheir incredible body language on stage.
For tickets ($17-72), callthe Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org. Performances areWednesday and Thursday at 7:30p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and6:30 p.m.
Sip an imaginary martini atthe hot nightspot where the dancing is deliciously sexy and sensual andsensational, the big band brilliantly brassy and the vocals of Frank Sinatradripping with dangerous delight.
"HAIRSPRAY:” YOU CAN’T STOP THE BALTIMORE BEAT
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Edna (Michael Barra) and Tracy (Jill Sullivan)
Tracy Turnblad is a chunky teenager who loves to dance like other sixteen year olds. But in Baltimore, Maryland in 1962, her big-sized hair and bigger-sized heart are on a mission: to integrate The Corny Collins TV Dance Show so whites and blacks can bogey and bop on the same stage.
Ivoryton Playhouse is igniting one super duper special production of “Hairspray The Broadway Musical” with book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meechan, music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman until Sunday, July 29. This sparkly, bright musical will grab your dance card and fill it to the brim with energy and verve, promoting the importance of family, friends and community.
Jill Sullivan’s Tracy is bubbly and effervescent as she tries out for a coveted spot on Corny Collins’ show, taking her best bud Penny (Abby Hart) along for moral support, and the encouragement of her father, a neat Neal Mayer and, a little more reluctantly, her mom Edna, brought to brilliance in the hands and hips of a larger-than-life Michael Barra.
Barra, whose parents live in Middletown, has been having quite a sweep of good luck as he was recently on the red carpet promoting his role in the new movie “The Amazing Spider-Man” where he plays a shop clerk, T-Bone.
While Tracy does not set out to win the title of Miss Hair Spray 1962, a contest sought polished tooth and nail by Amber Von Tussle (Bethany Fitzgerald) with the steamroller help of her mom Velma (Tara Michelle Gesling), she does have her eye on the teenage heart throb Link Larkin, a bodacious Justin Gerhard.
Everyone has a lot at stake when Tracy fights the system to make everyday Negro day on the dance show. In the process, she goes to jail, her dad risks the mortgage on his Har de Har Hut, a magic shop, while her mom confesses she always wanted to design dresses for queen-size ladies rather than take in other people’s laundry.
Tracy’s school chum Seaweed (Gregory Lawrence Gardner) introduces her to his dynamic mom Motormouth Maybelle, fiery in the vocal cords of Karen Anderson, to help the cause of equality. A willing Corny Collins (Sam Schrader), a versatile R. Bruce Connelly as everyone from principal to police guard to hair spray sponsor to clothing line leader and an authoritative and take-charge Melissa McLean as Penny’s mom, the gym teacher and the prison warden.
The show opens with a lively “Good Morning, Baltimore,” goes on to feature a trio of mothers and daughters belting out “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now,” does a sweet ballad of “I Can Hear the Bells” when Tracy meets Link, sashays into a cozy duet by Wilbur and Edna “You’re Timeless to Me” and ends on the bouncy rhythms of “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” with a lot of great tunes packed in between.
Jacqueline Hubbard directs an enthusiastic cast with skill, on a colorful and clever set designed by Cully Long, with a kaleidoscope of costumes by Vivianna Lamb.
For tickets ($40, seniors $35, students $20, children $15), call the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees are Wednesday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Do the fish, the pony or the monkey as you dance your way down the aisle of the Ivoryton Playhouse to cheer Tracy on as she leads a conga line to make all her dreams come true.
Edna (Michael Barra) and Tracy (Jill Sullivan)Tracy Turnblad is a chunky teenager who loves to dance like other sixteen year olds. But in Baltimore, Maryland in 1962, her big-sized hair and bigger-sized heart are on a mission: to integrate The Corny Collins TV Dance Show so whites and blacks can bogey and bop on the same stage.
Ivoryton Playhouse is igniting one super duper special production of “Hairspray The Broadway Musical” with book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meechan, music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman until Sunday, July 29. This sparkly, bright musical will grab your dance card and fill it to the brim with energy and verve, promoting the importance of family, friends and community.
Jill Sullivan’s Tracy is bubbly and effervescent as she tries out for a coveted spot on Corny Collins’ show, taking her best bud Penny (Abby Hart) along for moral support, and the encouragement of her father, a neat Neal Mayer and, a little more reluctantly, her mom Edna, brought to brilliance in the hands and hips of a larger-than-life Michael Barra.
Barra, whose parents live in Middletown, has been having quite a sweep of good luck as he was recently on the red carpet promoting his role in the new movie “The Amazing Spider-Man” where he plays a shop clerk, T-Bone.
While Tracy does not set out to win the title of Miss Hair Spray 1962, a contest sought polished tooth and nail by Amber Von Tussle (Bethany Fitzgerald) with the steamroller help of her mom Velma (Tara Michelle Gesling), she does have her eye on the teenage heart throb Link Larkin, a bodacious Justin Gerhard.
Everyone has a lot at stake when Tracy fights the system to make everyday Negro day on the dance show. In the process, she goes to jail, her dad risks the mortgage on his Har de Har Hut, a magic shop, while her mom confesses she always wanted to design dresses for queen-size ladies rather than take in other people’s laundry.
Tracy’s school chum Seaweed (Gregory Lawrence Gardner) introduces her to his dynamic mom Motormouth Maybelle, fiery in the vocal cords of Karen Anderson, to help the cause of equality. A willing Corny Collins (Sam Schrader), a versatile R. Bruce Connelly as everyone from principal to police guard to hair spray sponsor to clothing line leader and an authoritative and take-charge Melissa McLean as Penny’s mom, the gym teacher and the prison warden.
The show opens with a lively “Good Morning, Baltimore,” goes on to feature a trio of mothers and daughters belting out “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now,” does a sweet ballad of “I Can Hear the Bells” when Tracy meets Link, sashays into a cozy duet by Wilbur and Edna “You’re Timeless to Me” and ends on the bouncy rhythms of “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” with a lot of great tunes packed in between.
Jacqueline Hubbard directs an enthusiastic cast with skill, on a colorful and clever set designed by Cully Long, with a kaleidoscope of costumes by Vivianna Lamb.
For tickets ($40, seniors $35, students $20, children $15), call the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees are Wednesday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Do the fish, the pony or the monkey as you dance your way down the aisle of the Ivoryton Playhouse to cheer Tracy on as she leads a conga line to make all her dreams come true.
YALE SUMMER CABARET: A COOL AND SCARY PLACE FOR THEATRICAL TREASURES
To contact us Click HERE
The art of storytelling,wrapped in a cloak of myths, mystery and magic, is being woven and wornbeautifully at the Yale Summer Cabaret. Their “50 Nights: A Festival of Stories” features three afternoons andevenings of theater filled with fantasy from all over the world.
Until Sunday, August 19, youare invited on a theatrical adventure in the dark and intimate space of theYale Summer Cabaret, downstairs at 217 Park Street, New Haven where for morethan three decades students of the Yale School of Drama have producedimaginative and involving shows. Come early and enjoy gourmet prepared snacks and meals, desserts anddrinks and stay late for a special story from the Fireside Series, read outsideon select evenings around a fire pit.
“The Kiss of D,” or Kiss ofDeath, is a one woman show, written by Laura Schellhardt and directed by TanyaDean, that stars a gifted Monique Barbee as she captures seventeen charactersin one classic urban legend, a tale about what we fear as well as welcome.
Travel to the small town ofSt. Mary’s, Ohio and immerse yourself in a story of Charlotte McGraw and how ahuman soul is transported into a bird. The playwright herself describes the folklore as a “psychologicalnecessity as well as a creepy memory” since she spent her summers in St.Mary’s, often writing there. Herea sister experiences a visit from her dead brother who comes back to her in theform of a flying creature.
A quite different theatricalexperience can be had with “Of Ogres Retold,” conceived and directed by AdamRigg with puppets, dance, movement, music, sound and light but no voices. The ensemble cast includes JosiahBania, Ethan Heard, Hannah Sorenson, Mickey Theis and Alex Trow who createalmost a dozen strange tales with a Japanese flavor of giants, strangecreatures, magic balls of rice, jealous husbands, vengeful dragons, malevolentsnow spirits, unusual fish with powers and sea monsters.
Enter the dark forest andplumb the depths of the deep ocean at your own risk where all your fears, andsome you never dreamed of, come to life. Don’t worry, the creative actors will be there to hold your hand.
The third offering is “TheSecret in the Wings” by Mary Zimmerman and directed by Margot Bordelon, withthe same fine cast as noted above. Here tales from as far away as Germany, France, Italy and Norway, sevenin all, are explored for their fairy tale truth, wisdom and inner struggle.
A young girl is left againsther will with a strange babysitter, a Mr. Fitzbania, a neighbor with a tail andmany tales. He insists he wants tomarry her and uses a series of unusual stories to woo her to his side. The stories are filled with kings andqueens and balls, childhood games and contests that result in death to thelosers, slaves and princes, many-headed ogres, swans, magic feathers and allmanner of creatures we love to hate.
For tickets ($25-40, student$10 or subscription packages for $70, student $29), call the Yale SummerCabaret at 203-432-1567 or online at www.SummerCabaret.org.Come early for a fig and goat cheese tarte ($7), glass noodles with juliennedvegetables ($8), a cold or hot drink or a dish of ice cream ($3)), to name buta few of the selections.
Check the website for showsWednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and matinees at 2 p.m.Saturday. On Saturdays, July 14and August 11, you can see the complete trio of performances: “The K of D” at 1 p.m., “Of OgresRetold” at 4:30 p.m. and “The Secret in the Wings” at 8 p.m. Doors open at 1 p.m. for lunch and 6:30p.m. for dinner.
Catch a thread of this magictapestry of tales and follow it to the core of imagination at the theatricalcenter.
The art of storytelling,wrapped in a cloak of myths, mystery and magic, is being woven and wornbeautifully at the Yale Summer Cabaret. Their “50 Nights: A Festival of Stories” features three afternoons andevenings of theater filled with fantasy from all over the world.
Until Sunday, August 19, youare invited on a theatrical adventure in the dark and intimate space of theYale Summer Cabaret, downstairs at 217 Park Street, New Haven where for morethan three decades students of the Yale School of Drama have producedimaginative and involving shows. Come early and enjoy gourmet prepared snacks and meals, desserts anddrinks and stay late for a special story from the Fireside Series, read outsideon select evenings around a fire pit.
“The Kiss of D,” or Kiss ofDeath, is a one woman show, written by Laura Schellhardt and directed by TanyaDean, that stars a gifted Monique Barbee as she captures seventeen charactersin one classic urban legend, a tale about what we fear as well as welcome.
Travel to the small town ofSt. Mary’s, Ohio and immerse yourself in a story of Charlotte McGraw and how ahuman soul is transported into a bird. The playwright herself describes the folklore as a “psychologicalnecessity as well as a creepy memory” since she spent her summers in St.Mary’s, often writing there. Herea sister experiences a visit from her dead brother who comes back to her in theform of a flying creature.
A quite different theatricalexperience can be had with “Of Ogres Retold,” conceived and directed by AdamRigg with puppets, dance, movement, music, sound and light but no voices. The ensemble cast includes JosiahBania, Ethan Heard, Hannah Sorenson, Mickey Theis and Alex Trow who createalmost a dozen strange tales with a Japanese flavor of giants, strangecreatures, magic balls of rice, jealous husbands, vengeful dragons, malevolentsnow spirits, unusual fish with powers and sea monsters.
Enter the dark forest andplumb the depths of the deep ocean at your own risk where all your fears, andsome you never dreamed of, come to life. Don’t worry, the creative actors will be there to hold your hand.
The third offering is “TheSecret in the Wings” by Mary Zimmerman and directed by Margot Bordelon, withthe same fine cast as noted above. Here tales from as far away as Germany, France, Italy and Norway, sevenin all, are explored for their fairy tale truth, wisdom and inner struggle.
A young girl is left againsther will with a strange babysitter, a Mr. Fitzbania, a neighbor with a tail andmany tales. He insists he wants tomarry her and uses a series of unusual stories to woo her to his side. The stories are filled with kings andqueens and balls, childhood games and contests that result in death to thelosers, slaves and princes, many-headed ogres, swans, magic feathers and allmanner of creatures we love to hate.
For tickets ($25-40, student$10 or subscription packages for $70, student $29), call the Yale SummerCabaret at 203-432-1567 or online at www.SummerCabaret.org.Come early for a fig and goat cheese tarte ($7), glass noodles with juliennedvegetables ($8), a cold or hot drink or a dish of ice cream ($3)), to name buta few of the selections.
Check the website for showsWednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and matinees at 2 p.m.Saturday. On Saturdays, July 14and August 11, you can see the complete trio of performances: “The K of D” at 1 p.m., “Of OgresRetold” at 4:30 p.m. and “The Secret in the Wings” at 8 p.m. Doors open at 1 p.m. for lunch and 6:30p.m. for dinner.
Catch a thread of this magictapestry of tales and follow it to the core of imagination at the theatricalcenter.
“DESPERATE MEASURES” A FUN ROMP IN THE OLD WEST
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Take a convoluted Shakespeare plot, complete with betrayal, treachery, mistaken identity and masquerade, transplant it to the old Wild West, add clever lyrics and great music and you have a terrific evening of theater.
Thanks to Peter Kellogg who wrote the book and lyrics and David Friedman who composed the music, you need to sashay over to the Spirit of Broadway Theater in Norwich by Sunday, July 29 for “Desperate Measures,” a new and novel musical comedy that is sure to delight.
There’s no need to don cowboy hat, boots and spurs unless you want to get into the spirit of the action. Johnny Blood, a sincere and honorable Michael Sullivan, is in a peck of trouble. In the midst of defending the love of his life, a saloon girl of dubious virtue, one sassy Bella Rose, perfectly dolled up in the ruffles of Shauna Goldgood, he ends up shooting Big Swede (Calvin).
Even though witnesses swear Johnny shot in self- defense, he is incarcerated and scheduled to hang. The Governor of the territory, a pompous Keith Johnson, is not known for leniency and he wants to use Johnny as an example of his strict laws and punishment for crimes.
The sheriff, a dedicated Corrado Alicata, seeks out Johnny’s sister, who has not seen Johnny in years and is close to taking her final vows as a nun. He persuades the good Sister, a sweetly devout Aline O’Connor, to plead for clemency from the Governor who counters with a scheme of his own: if the sweet Sister will sleep with him, he will release her brother.
How the sheriff, the Sister and Bella conspire to spare Johnny’s life and fool the Governor is the ingenious plot that saves the day. Wonderful songs like Bella and Johnny’s duet “Just for You,” Sister and Bella’s wedding gown song “It’s a Beautiful Day for a Lifelong Commitment” and Sister’s plea to the Governor “Look in Your Heart” are just some of the fun and poignant moments in song and verse.
The story is aided by a friar, who is more often drunk than sober (Johnny Marion) and a pair of saloon girls (Jeanette Kearney and Kaila Galinat) who offer pithy philosophy as scene markers. Brett A. Bernardini directs this novel twist on Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” with a firecracker sharp shooting pace.
For tickets ($30, students $25, children $20), call Spirit of Broadway Theater, 24 Chestnut Street, Norwich at 860-886-2378 or online at www.spiritofbroadway.org. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Inquire about their Special Spa Dinner and Theater Package.
Explore a new theater on Connecticut’s map to catch the flavor of the old West and fight for justice and the triumph of love over evil
Take a convoluted Shakespeare plot, complete with betrayal, treachery, mistaken identity and masquerade, transplant it to the old Wild West, add clever lyrics and great music and you have a terrific evening of theater.
Thanks to Peter Kellogg who wrote the book and lyrics and David Friedman who composed the music, you need to sashay over to the Spirit of Broadway Theater in Norwich by Sunday, July 29 for “Desperate Measures,” a new and novel musical comedy that is sure to delight.
There’s no need to don cowboy hat, boots and spurs unless you want to get into the spirit of the action. Johnny Blood, a sincere and honorable Michael Sullivan, is in a peck of trouble. In the midst of defending the love of his life, a saloon girl of dubious virtue, one sassy Bella Rose, perfectly dolled up in the ruffles of Shauna Goldgood, he ends up shooting Big Swede (Calvin).
Even though witnesses swear Johnny shot in self- defense, he is incarcerated and scheduled to hang. The Governor of the territory, a pompous Keith Johnson, is not known for leniency and he wants to use Johnny as an example of his strict laws and punishment for crimes.
The sheriff, a dedicated Corrado Alicata, seeks out Johnny’s sister, who has not seen Johnny in years and is close to taking her final vows as a nun. He persuades the good Sister, a sweetly devout Aline O’Connor, to plead for clemency from the Governor who counters with a scheme of his own: if the sweet Sister will sleep with him, he will release her brother.
How the sheriff, the Sister and Bella conspire to spare Johnny’s life and fool the Governor is the ingenious plot that saves the day. Wonderful songs like Bella and Johnny’s duet “Just for You,” Sister and Bella’s wedding gown song “It’s a Beautiful Day for a Lifelong Commitment” and Sister’s plea to the Governor “Look in Your Heart” are just some of the fun and poignant moments in song and verse.
The story is aided by a friar, who is more often drunk than sober (Johnny Marion) and a pair of saloon girls (Jeanette Kearney and Kaila Galinat) who offer pithy philosophy as scene markers. Brett A. Bernardini directs this novel twist on Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” with a firecracker sharp shooting pace.
For tickets ($30, students $25, children $20), call Spirit of Broadway Theater, 24 Chestnut Street, Norwich at 860-886-2378 or online at www.spiritofbroadway.org. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Inquire about their Special Spa Dinner and Theater Package.
Explore a new theater on Connecticut’s map to catch the flavor of the old West and fight for justice and the triumph of love over evil
8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
THIS AMERICAN LIFE-LIVE!
To contact us Click HERE
Fairfield University’s QuickCenter presents an encore screening in High Definition of This American Life-Live! hosted by Ira Glass at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 7, 2012. The originalbroadcast and performance took place on May 10, 2012, at the Skirball Center atNew York University in New York City. It is being presented by WBEZ Chicago andBY Experience in collaboration with Public Radio International. Ira Glass isthe well-known host of WBEZ Chicago’s critically acclaimed radio show ThisAmerican Life, a weekly hour-long radio program that debuted in 1995 on WBEZChicago, and broadcast to 500 radio stations reaching 1.7 million weeklylisteners.
This American Life- Live! features stories by writer DavidRakoff, comedian Tig Notaro and Snap Judgment host Glynn Washington. Togetherthey perform a live stage version of the radio show, centered on the theme “TheInvisible Made Visible.” The performance also features a new short film by MikeBirbiglia, live music by the rock band and YouTube sensations OK Go, a danceperformance by Monica Bill Barnes & Company, original animation andillustration, and special surprise guests.
"I saw this amazing dance performance by Monica BillBarnes' company, and I thought - that is totally in the style of our radioshow," said host Ira Glass. "But obviously you can't have dance onthe radio. Then I realized, we have to do another cinema event! We've builtthis lineup of stories mixed with super visual things, including the dancers Isaw that night, so it's going to feel like the radio show but also totallyunlike anything we've done before.”
Tickets ($20, $15 for students and seniors) are availablethrough the Quick Center: (203) 254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396. (1-877-278-7396).
Come see and hear a radioshow come to life, with Ira Glass at the helm.
Fairfield University’s QuickCenter presents an encore screening in High Definition of This American Life-Live! hosted by Ira Glass at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 7, 2012. The originalbroadcast and performance took place on May 10, 2012, at the Skirball Center atNew York University in New York City. It is being presented by WBEZ Chicago andBY Experience in collaboration with Public Radio International. Ira Glass isthe well-known host of WBEZ Chicago’s critically acclaimed radio show ThisAmerican Life, a weekly hour-long radio program that debuted in 1995 on WBEZChicago, and broadcast to 500 radio stations reaching 1.7 million weeklylisteners. This American Life- Live! features stories by writer DavidRakoff, comedian Tig Notaro and Snap Judgment host Glynn Washington. Togetherthey perform a live stage version of the radio show, centered on the theme “TheInvisible Made Visible.” The performance also features a new short film by MikeBirbiglia, live music by the rock band and YouTube sensations OK Go, a danceperformance by Monica Bill Barnes & Company, original animation andillustration, and special surprise guests.
"I saw this amazing dance performance by Monica BillBarnes' company, and I thought - that is totally in the style of our radioshow," said host Ira Glass. "But obviously you can't have dance onthe radio. Then I realized, we have to do another cinema event! We've builtthis lineup of stories mixed with super visual things, including the dancers Isaw that night, so it's going to feel like the radio show but also totallyunlike anything we've done before.”
Tickets ($20, $15 for students and seniors) are availablethrough the Quick Center: (203) 254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396. (1-877-278-7396).
Come see and hear a radioshow come to life, with Ira Glass at the helm.
THE HISTORY OF WOMEN IN ART
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The significant role womenhave played over time is explored in the new exhibition The History of Woman,on view from May 30, 2012, through June 23, 2012, at Fairfield University’sThomas J. Walsh Art Gallery, located in the Quick Center. The exhibition ispresented by Montage Initiative, a program dedicated to providing impoverishedand disadvantaged women and families around the globe with expandedopportunities to earn a sustainable living.
The History of Woman featuresworks by local artists, students, and faculty in celebration of culturalacceptance and individual expression. development. The History of Woman is thecapstone event of the Quick Center’s involvement in Fairfield University’sGlobal Citizenship initiative. During this period, from June 11-15, 2012,Fairfield University is hosting the 3rd Biennial JUHAN (Jesuit UniversitiesHumanitarian Action Network) Student Leadership Conference: Global Perspectiveson Humanitarian Action. An estimated 200 students, faculty and staff will beattending the conference from Jesuit Universities globally and nationally tovisit the exhibition. Montage Initiative’s attention is currently focused onthe plight of the widows in the Indian providence of Vrindavan, although itendeavors to alleviate the reality of extreme poverty worldwide by rallyingsupport and awareness and promoting peace building.
The Thomas J. Walsh ArtGallery is free and open to the public. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays from noon to 4 p.m., and approximately one hour priorto curtain and during intermission at all Quick Center events. The Regina A.Quick Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Fairfield University at1073 North Benson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut.. Fairfield University islocated off exit 22 of Interstate-95. For further information and directions,call (203) 254-4010 or 1-877-278-7396, or visit www.fairfield.edu/quick.
The significant role womenhave played over time is explored in the new exhibition The History of Woman,on view from May 30, 2012, through June 23, 2012, at Fairfield University’sThomas J. Walsh Art Gallery, located in the Quick Center. The exhibition ispresented by Montage Initiative, a program dedicated to providing impoverishedand disadvantaged women and families around the globe with expandedopportunities to earn a sustainable living.
The History of Woman featuresworks by local artists, students, and faculty in celebration of culturalacceptance and individual expression. development. The History of Woman is thecapstone event of the Quick Center’s involvement in Fairfield University’sGlobal Citizenship initiative. During this period, from June 11-15, 2012,Fairfield University is hosting the 3rd Biennial JUHAN (Jesuit UniversitiesHumanitarian Action Network) Student Leadership Conference: Global Perspectiveson Humanitarian Action. An estimated 200 students, faculty and staff will beattending the conference from Jesuit Universities globally and nationally tovisit the exhibition. Montage Initiative’s attention is currently focused onthe plight of the widows in the Indian providence of Vrindavan, although itendeavors to alleviate the reality of extreme poverty worldwide by rallyingsupport and awareness and promoting peace building.
The Thomas J. Walsh ArtGallery is free and open to the public. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays from noon to 4 p.m., and approximately one hour priorto curtain and during intermission at all Quick Center events. The Regina A.Quick Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Fairfield University at1073 North Benson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut.. Fairfield University islocated off exit 22 of Interstate-95. For further information and directions,call (203) 254-4010 or 1-877-278-7396, or visit www.fairfield.edu/quick.
SUMMER THEATER OF NEW CANAAN OFFERS A WIZARD FULL OF LOVE
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When you think of special events, what happened Thursday, June 28 in a tent in New Canaan certainly qualifies. Summer Theater of New Canaan offered the special needs children of STAR, Inc. an opportunity to shine! And shine they did!
All the joy and love in the story of the wonderful Wizard of Oz came to life when these terrific youngsters took to the stage and performed with enthusiasm and spunk. Catherine Harris and Kelly Ritz were both wonderful as they shared the title role of Dorothy who gets caught up in a tornado and spun from her farmhouse in Kansas into the magical world of the Munchkins, somewhere over the rainbow. Jacob Braunhut was adorable as the Scarecrow who desperately wants a brain, Taylor Quinn was outstanding as the Tinman who so wants a heart and Chris Lopes was delightful as the Lion who needs a big infusion of courage. As Glinda the Good Witch, Maddie Hess was outstandingly kind and wise and Jack Piscitelli was properly frightening and scary as the Wicked Witch who does want to give up his Broomstick.
As Mayor of Munchkin City, Alex Eveland was most dignified and proper while William Pepin served diplomatically as the Winke General. Of course, the grand master of the moment, Cos DeFelice was definitely dramatic as the Wizard of Oz in charge. Even Toto was adorable for his walk on part. All the performers in this DramaRama cast were terrific in their roles and deserve to be so proud of all they accomplished in only ten rehearsals.
A special round of applause to all the mentors who “shadowed” their counterparts to help them shine: Ryan Bloomquist, Olivia Canning, Bobby Godas, Kathy Hardin, Kenny Hess, Adam Hill, Elysia Jordan, Brooke Manning-Hinds, Katelyn Miles, Katie Oxman, Emilie Roberts, Dru Serkes, Ben Simpson, Betsy Simpson, Ali Tesluk and Caitlin White. Kudos to Melody Libonati for directing this special production, made possible with a grant from the Rotary Club of New Canaan and individual donations.
DVDs of the show are available for $10 by calling the office at 203-966-4634 or emailing brooke@stonc.org. The performance was preceded by a lively hootenanny by the Rubberband.
Summer Theater of New Canaan will be offering a “loverly “ production of “My Fair Lady” until Saturday, July 7 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m.) as well as “The Wizard of Oz” from now until August 4 and “Pinkilicious, the Musical” from July 4 to August 5, all perfect for families, as well as the musical treat of “Joseph and the Amazing Dreamcoat” from July 14 to August 5, (Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m.). Also don’t miss Disney’s High School Musical 2 for its single performance on July 27 at 3:30 p.m. with a special middle school cast.
Call STONC at 203-966-4634 or online at www.info@stonc.org. or boxoffice@stonc.org for tickets and scheduling information. All performances are outdoors in a tent at Waveny Park, New Canaan. Take exit 37 off the Merritt, to Farm Road and the New Canaan High School parking lot.
STAR, Inc. is a non-profit organization for individuals of all ages with developmental disabilities and their families. It is located at 182 Wolfpit Avenue, Norwalk and can be reached at 203-846-9581 or online at www.starinc-lightingtheway.org.
How wonderful to enjoy the summertime at these delightful musical treats courtesy of Summer Theater of New Canaan.Just follow the Yellow Brick Road.
When you think of special events, what happened Thursday, June 28 in a tent in New Canaan certainly qualifies. Summer Theater of New Canaan offered the special needs children of STAR, Inc. an opportunity to shine! And shine they did!
All the joy and love in the story of the wonderful Wizard of Oz came to life when these terrific youngsters took to the stage and performed with enthusiasm and spunk. Catherine Harris and Kelly Ritz were both wonderful as they shared the title role of Dorothy who gets caught up in a tornado and spun from her farmhouse in Kansas into the magical world of the Munchkins, somewhere over the rainbow. Jacob Braunhut was adorable as the Scarecrow who desperately wants a brain, Taylor Quinn was outstanding as the Tinman who so wants a heart and Chris Lopes was delightful as the Lion who needs a big infusion of courage. As Glinda the Good Witch, Maddie Hess was outstandingly kind and wise and Jack Piscitelli was properly frightening and scary as the Wicked Witch who does want to give up his Broomstick.
As Mayor of Munchkin City, Alex Eveland was most dignified and proper while William Pepin served diplomatically as the Winke General. Of course, the grand master of the moment, Cos DeFelice was definitely dramatic as the Wizard of Oz in charge. Even Toto was adorable for his walk on part. All the performers in this DramaRama cast were terrific in their roles and deserve to be so proud of all they accomplished in only ten rehearsals.
A special round of applause to all the mentors who “shadowed” their counterparts to help them shine: Ryan Bloomquist, Olivia Canning, Bobby Godas, Kathy Hardin, Kenny Hess, Adam Hill, Elysia Jordan, Brooke Manning-Hinds, Katelyn Miles, Katie Oxman, Emilie Roberts, Dru Serkes, Ben Simpson, Betsy Simpson, Ali Tesluk and Caitlin White. Kudos to Melody Libonati for directing this special production, made possible with a grant from the Rotary Club of New Canaan and individual donations.
DVDs of the show are available for $10 by calling the office at 203-966-4634 or emailing brooke@stonc.org. The performance was preceded by a lively hootenanny by the Rubberband.
Summer Theater of New Canaan will be offering a “loverly “ production of “My Fair Lady” until Saturday, July 7 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m.) as well as “The Wizard of Oz” from now until August 4 and “Pinkilicious, the Musical” from July 4 to August 5, all perfect for families, as well as the musical treat of “Joseph and the Amazing Dreamcoat” from July 14 to August 5, (Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m.). Also don’t miss Disney’s High School Musical 2 for its single performance on July 27 at 3:30 p.m. with a special middle school cast.
Call STONC at 203-966-4634 or online at www.info@stonc.org. or boxoffice@stonc.org for tickets and scheduling information. All performances are outdoors in a tent at Waveny Park, New Canaan. Take exit 37 off the Merritt, to Farm Road and the New Canaan High School parking lot.
STAR, Inc. is a non-profit organization for individuals of all ages with developmental disabilities and their families. It is located at 182 Wolfpit Avenue, Norwalk and can be reached at 203-846-9581 or online at www.starinc-lightingtheway.org.
How wonderful to enjoy the summertime at these delightful musical treats courtesy of Summer Theater of New Canaan.Just follow the Yellow Brick Road.
“BAREFOOT IN THE PARK:” A FUN LESSON IN LOVE
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Since Corie Bratter has onlybeen married for six days, it is completely understandable that she is floatingon a cloud of love. The fact thather new husband’s feet are planted firmly on the ground could be a problem,especially since the apartment she rented for them, without his consent, is onthe fifth floor, six if you count the front stoop, and elevators arenon-existent.
Paul Bratter, a realistic andresponsible lawyer in the capable hands of Chris Brooks, is ready to try hisfirst case in court and he does not have time to put on rose-coloredglasses. Unfortunately when helooks at their new home, he sees all the flaws immediately. There’s no furniture which makesworking or sleeping difficult. There’s no heat, which might not be a problem in July but it’sFebruary. He hates showers andthere’s no bath tub. The closethas a leak and the skylight has a hole…think floods and snowstorms.
For an intimate glimpse ofthe newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Paul Bratter, let Neil Simon be your guide in thecomedy “Barefoot in the Park” being entertained weekends until Saturday, July14 courtesy of Connecticut Cabaret Theatre in Berlin.
Megan Bomar’s Corie isadorably oblivious to any drawbacks their new home might have. She is too busy being in love. When her mother, a good natured and spunky Anne Cassady or ElizabethDougan, comes to visit, huffing and puffing up the endless flights of stairs,she doesn’t complain nearly as much as the telephone installer (Joe Pangia) orthe delivery man (James J. Moran) who barely manage to survive their Himalayantrek.
When matchmaker Corie decidesto introduce her prim and proper mother to the exotically different upstairsneighbor Victor Velasco, a wildly adventurous George Lombardo, anything islikely to happen and does. KrisMcMurray directs this merry romp with a sure hand.
For tickets ($30), call theCT Cabaret Theatre, 31-33 Webster Square Road, Berlin at 860-829-1248 or onlineat www.ctcabaret.com. Performances are evenings at 8 p.m.,with doors opening at 7:15 p.m. Remember to pack goodies to eat at your tableor buy them at the concession stand on site.
Learn about how importantcommunication and compromise, and a sense of humor, are when laying thefoundation for a happy and loving marriage.
Since Corie Bratter has onlybeen married for six days, it is completely understandable that she is floatingon a cloud of love. The fact thather new husband’s feet are planted firmly on the ground could be a problem,especially since the apartment she rented for them, without his consent, is onthe fifth floor, six if you count the front stoop, and elevators arenon-existent.
Paul Bratter, a realistic andresponsible lawyer in the capable hands of Chris Brooks, is ready to try hisfirst case in court and he does not have time to put on rose-coloredglasses. Unfortunately when helooks at their new home, he sees all the flaws immediately. There’s no furniture which makesworking or sleeping difficult. There’s no heat, which might not be a problem in July but it’sFebruary. He hates showers andthere’s no bath tub. The closethas a leak and the skylight has a hole…think floods and snowstorms.
For an intimate glimpse ofthe newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Paul Bratter, let Neil Simon be your guide in thecomedy “Barefoot in the Park” being entertained weekends until Saturday, July14 courtesy of Connecticut Cabaret Theatre in Berlin.
Megan Bomar’s Corie isadorably oblivious to any drawbacks their new home might have. She is too busy being in love. When her mother, a good natured and spunky Anne Cassady or ElizabethDougan, comes to visit, huffing and puffing up the endless flights of stairs,she doesn’t complain nearly as much as the telephone installer (Joe Pangia) orthe delivery man (James J. Moran) who barely manage to survive their Himalayantrek.
When matchmaker Corie decidesto introduce her prim and proper mother to the exotically different upstairsneighbor Victor Velasco, a wildly adventurous George Lombardo, anything islikely to happen and does. KrisMcMurray directs this merry romp with a sure hand.
For tickets ($30), call theCT Cabaret Theatre, 31-33 Webster Square Road, Berlin at 860-829-1248 or onlineat www.ctcabaret.com. Performances are evenings at 8 p.m.,with doors opening at 7:15 p.m. Remember to pack goodies to eat at your tableor buy them at the concession stand on site.
Learn about how importantcommunication and compromise, and a sense of humor, are when laying thefoundation for a happy and loving marriage.
“THE RETURN OF COUNT FANGULA” COMES TO CONSIGLIO’S GARDEN PATIO
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In 1969, more than fourdecades ago, the great happening was on a 600-acre dairy farm owned by MaxYasgur in the Catskill Mountains, near Bethel, New York when 500,000 flowerchildren celebrated Woodstock. Today, the festivities are much closer to home, on Wooster Street in NewHaven, and the locale is much smaller and more intimate, the garden patio ofConsiglio’s Restaurant, but the goal is the same: a festival of peace, music and fun: GarlicStock!
This summer you are onceagain invited to dine outdoors on Saturday evenings at 6 p.m., with a fewselect Sundays, until the weekend after Labor Day to welcome “The Return ofCount Fangula.” Penned by playwrightElizabeth Fuller, called the Queen of Spaghetti Musicals, the musical eveningis stuffed like manicotti with cheesy silliness.
Leave your inhibitions athome and sit back and simply enjoy the fun as Gary Cavello alternates personasas the devilishly sinister vampire Count Fangula, clad in black satin cape andtop hat, battles with his alter ego the purely heavenly Johnny Angel, completewith fluffy white wings.
The Aglio family, led byMama, is fighting the dastardly and dreaded garlic weevils that are threateningtheir crop of premiere garlic bulbs, their livelihood. Daughter Diana, thelovely Laura Papallo, is engaged to be married but is not certain Giovanni isthe right mate for her. When heradopted brother Tony Bob, a sincerely conflicted Michael Sayers, is knockedunconscious, he dreams he has forsaken his career as a hairdresser to pursuehis fantasy of being impresario of a three day Music Festivale calledGarlicStock.Don’t be worried if you’rehaving trouble following the plot as you’ll probably find yourself on stage aspart of the action, as a singing Frank Sinatra, a dancing weevil, a contestantin the beauty contest or Cupid with his hearts and arrows. The actors are so busy singing andhaving a hoot that you will too. Afew glasses of vino don’t hurt.
PJ Letersky provides all thegreat songs like “Diana,” “Stupid Cupid,” and “Volare” that you are invited tosing. Even the pizza makers atFrank Pepe’s next door get into the action. Gary Cavello directs this fun fest with fervor.
This is dinner theater andthe performance is preceded by a delicious feast of hot crusty garlic bread,Caesar salad, penne a la vodka, and chicken Francese on a bed of freshspinach. At intermission, the mealis completed with a sweet rum flavored tiramisu. All so good!
For reservations ($65), callConsiglio’s, 165 Wooster Street, New Haven at 203-865-4489 or online at www.consiglios.com.
Let Count Fangula and hisfriends welcome you to GarlicStock in Calabria, Italy where you can eat, sing,dance and laugh your way to a happily ever after ending. Mangia!
In 1969, more than fourdecades ago, the great happening was on a 600-acre dairy farm owned by MaxYasgur in the Catskill Mountains, near Bethel, New York when 500,000 flowerchildren celebrated Woodstock. Today, the festivities are much closer to home, on Wooster Street in NewHaven, and the locale is much smaller and more intimate, the garden patio ofConsiglio’s Restaurant, but the goal is the same: a festival of peace, music and fun: GarlicStock!
This summer you are onceagain invited to dine outdoors on Saturday evenings at 6 p.m., with a fewselect Sundays, until the weekend after Labor Day to welcome “The Return ofCount Fangula.” Penned by playwrightElizabeth Fuller, called the Queen of Spaghetti Musicals, the musical eveningis stuffed like manicotti with cheesy silliness.
Leave your inhibitions athome and sit back and simply enjoy the fun as Gary Cavello alternates personasas the devilishly sinister vampire Count Fangula, clad in black satin cape andtop hat, battles with his alter ego the purely heavenly Johnny Angel, completewith fluffy white wings.
The Aglio family, led byMama, is fighting the dastardly and dreaded garlic weevils that are threateningtheir crop of premiere garlic bulbs, their livelihood. Daughter Diana, thelovely Laura Papallo, is engaged to be married but is not certain Giovanni isthe right mate for her. When heradopted brother Tony Bob, a sincerely conflicted Michael Sayers, is knockedunconscious, he dreams he has forsaken his career as a hairdresser to pursuehis fantasy of being impresario of a three day Music Festivale calledGarlicStock.Don’t be worried if you’rehaving trouble following the plot as you’ll probably find yourself on stage aspart of the action, as a singing Frank Sinatra, a dancing weevil, a contestantin the beauty contest or Cupid with his hearts and arrows. The actors are so busy singing andhaving a hoot that you will too. Afew glasses of vino don’t hurt.
PJ Letersky provides all thegreat songs like “Diana,” “Stupid Cupid,” and “Volare” that you are invited tosing. Even the pizza makers atFrank Pepe’s next door get into the action. Gary Cavello directs this fun fest with fervor.
This is dinner theater andthe performance is preceded by a delicious feast of hot crusty garlic bread,Caesar salad, penne a la vodka, and chicken Francese on a bed of freshspinach. At intermission, the mealis completed with a sweet rum flavored tiramisu. All so good!
For reservations ($65), callConsiglio’s, 165 Wooster Street, New Haven at 203-865-4489 or online at www.consiglios.com.
Let Count Fangula and hisfriends welcome you to GarlicStock in Calabria, Italy where you can eat, sing,dance and laugh your way to a happily ever after ending. Mangia!
7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi
Free Concert Tonight at Wesleyan
To contact us Click HERE
Alma Moyo
Location: CFA Courtyard, 283 Washington Terrace, Middletown, Connecticut
Rain Location: Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown, Connecticut
Date: Thursday, July 5, 2012 at 7pm
Fee: FREE!
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Description: Founded 10 years ago in the South Bronx by lead singer and percussionistAlex LaSalle, the intergenerational band Alma Moyo performs Afro-Puerto Rican bomba folk music featuring dynamic drumming, dancing, and rich vocals.
Alma MoyoLocation: CFA Courtyard, 283 Washington Terrace, Middletown, Connecticut
Rain Location: Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown, Connecticut
Date: Thursday, July 5, 2012 at 7pm
Fee: FREE!
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Description: Founded 10 years ago in the South Bronx by lead singer and percussionistAlex LaSalle, the intergenerational band Alma Moyo performs Afro-Puerto Rican bomba folk music featuring dynamic drumming, dancing, and rich vocals.
Star-Crossed Lovers Under the Stars
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William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet will be performed under the stars this summer at three unique venues in Bridgeport and Stratford: The Peacock Pavilion at CT’s Beardsley Zoo, historic McLevy Green in Bridgeport’s flourishing downtown area; and on the grounds of The American Shakespeare Festival Theater in Stratford as part of Festival! Stratford. The performances are produced by Connecticut Free Shakespeare (CFS), now in its thirteenth season. As the name implies, admission is free.
As crafted by Producing Artistic Director, Ellen Lieberman, modern day audiences can easily relate to the play’s timeless themes of first love, rebellion, hate, and loyalty to family. Ms. Lieberman’s productions are true to Shakespeare’s language and intentions and are held in high esteem by die-hard Shakespeare lovers, as well as by people who never thought they’d like Shakespearean plays. Performances take place from 8-10:30 pm; July 13-15 and July 18-22 at the zoo; July 25-29 at McLevy Green; and August 1, 2, 4 and 5 at Festival! Stratford. There is a 10 pm performance on August 3 at Festival! Stratford. Audiences should bring chairs or blankets for seating and are encouraged to come early to picnic. The zoo reopens at 6:30 pm for picnickers. Cancelled, if rainy.
Romeo is played by Mark Friedlander, and Erin Scanlon is cast as Juliet. Eric Nyquist plays Mercutio; Tom Evans is Paris and the Apothecary; Stephen Humes plays Tybalt; Ian Eaton is Benvolio; Liliane Klein is The Nurse; Jamil Mangan is Friar Laurence; Alejandro Lopez is Friar John; Jerrial Young is Lord Montague; Lila Smith is Lady Montague; Jonathan Holtzman is Lord Capulet; Virginia Bartholomew is Lady Capulet; Tomike Ogugua is The Prince; and Gabriel Aprea is Balthazar. The ensemble cast are Maximillian Baron, Siena D’Addario, Austin DiBari, Julia Estrada, Adam Schneemann, Hannah Dubner and nine year old, Christopher McGoldrick.
There are other talents behind the scenes that make this production of Romeo and Juliet extraordinary. Sword play is coached by fight choreographer, Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum. Grigolia-Rosenbaum fenced at Yale while studying theater, then trained in swordplay. He is fight director for Peter and the Starcatcher on Broadway. Eric Nyquist, a local talent from Trumbull, not only acts, but is Director of Music and Choreography. Fred Santore of Hamden directs Sound. Sebastian Paczynski of New Jersey is Lighting Designer. Christine Mallardi and Solveig Pflueger are the company’s Costumers.
Info line (203) 393-3213 www.ctfreeshakespeare.org, www.facebook.com/ctfreeshakespeare, https://twitter.com/#!/CFShakespeare.
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| Erin Scanlon as Juliet in 2003 production. Photo by Sebastian Paczynski |
As crafted by Producing Artistic Director, Ellen Lieberman, modern day audiences can easily relate to the play’s timeless themes of first love, rebellion, hate, and loyalty to family. Ms. Lieberman’s productions are true to Shakespeare’s language and intentions and are held in high esteem by die-hard Shakespeare lovers, as well as by people who never thought they’d like Shakespearean plays. Performances take place from 8-10:30 pm; July 13-15 and July 18-22 at the zoo; July 25-29 at McLevy Green; and August 1, 2, 4 and 5 at Festival! Stratford. There is a 10 pm performance on August 3 at Festival! Stratford. Audiences should bring chairs or blankets for seating and are encouraged to come early to picnic. The zoo reopens at 6:30 pm for picnickers. Cancelled, if rainy.
Romeo is played by Mark Friedlander, and Erin Scanlon is cast as Juliet. Eric Nyquist plays Mercutio; Tom Evans is Paris and the Apothecary; Stephen Humes plays Tybalt; Ian Eaton is Benvolio; Liliane Klein is The Nurse; Jamil Mangan is Friar Laurence; Alejandro Lopez is Friar John; Jerrial Young is Lord Montague; Lila Smith is Lady Montague; Jonathan Holtzman is Lord Capulet; Virginia Bartholomew is Lady Capulet; Tomike Ogugua is The Prince; and Gabriel Aprea is Balthazar. The ensemble cast are Maximillian Baron, Siena D’Addario, Austin DiBari, Julia Estrada, Adam Schneemann, Hannah Dubner and nine year old, Christopher McGoldrick.
There are other talents behind the scenes that make this production of Romeo and Juliet extraordinary. Sword play is coached by fight choreographer, Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum. Grigolia-Rosenbaum fenced at Yale while studying theater, then trained in swordplay. He is fight director for Peter and the Starcatcher on Broadway. Eric Nyquist, a local talent from Trumbull, not only acts, but is Director of Music and Choreography. Fred Santore of Hamden directs Sound. Sebastian Paczynski of New Jersey is Lighting Designer. Christine Mallardi and Solveig Pflueger are the company’s Costumers.
Info line (203) 393-3213 www.ctfreeshakespeare.org, www.facebook.com/ctfreeshakespeare, https://twitter.com/#!/CFShakespeare.
Connecticut Arts Connection News Briefs
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| John Meilleur and John Regan in a performance of The Music of Elton John. |
- The Hartford Symphony Orchestra will pay tribute to this living legend at Rocket Man: The Music of Elton John at the Talcott Mountain Music Festival on Friday, July 13, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center at Simsbury Meadows. Led by guest conductor Bradley Thachuk, this concert will feature Sir Elton’s greatest hits, including Your Song, I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues, Rocket Man, Daniel, Tiny Dancer, and Circle of Life, as performed by vocalist John Meilleur, pianist and vocalist John Regan, bassist Mitch Tyler, drummer Jeff Christmas, and, of course, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Ticket Information: Subscriptions to the 2012 Talcott Mountain Music Festival range in price from $100-$1420; single tickets range in price from $20-$45; and lawn tickets for kids 12 and under are $5. Discounts are available for tickets purchased in advance. For more ticketing information, please contact HSO ticket services at (860)244-2999 or visit www.hartfordsymphony.org.
- YALE SCHOOL OF DRAMA (James Bundy, Dean;Victoria Nolan, Deputy Dean) has appointed Michael Yeargan as Co-Chair of the Design Department, alongside current Co-ChairStephen Strawbridge, effective July 1. He will succeed Donald M. Oenslager ProfessorMing Cho Lee who will continue to teach full-time in the Design Department at Yale School of Drama, where he has taught since 1969 and has chaired or co-chaired the Department since 1993.
- Premier Concerts and Manic Productions proudly present MORRISSEY live in concert in his onlyConnecticut appearance, Saturday, October 6, at 8p.m. at the Palace Theater inWaterbury. Tickets are $62, $52, and $42, plus service charges, and can be purchased by phone at 203-346-2000, online at www.palacetheaterct.org, and in person at the box office,100 East Main Street in Waterbury.
- Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts presents two performances by the New York-based dance company Brian Brooks Moving Company, featuring the New England premiere of the work "Big City" (2012), onThursday, July 12 and Friday, July 13, 2012 at 8pm in the CFA Theater, located at 271 Washington Terrace on the Wesleyan campus in Middletown.
Click here to watch a video about the creation of Brian Brooks Moving Company's "Big City" in Santa Barbara on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ICHEGOafo&feature=player_embedded. Admission for the performance by Brian Brooks Moving Company is $22 for the general public; $19 for senior citizens and Wesleyan faculty/staff; and $10 for students. Tickets are available online at http://www.wesleyan.edu/cfa, by phone at (860) 685-3355, or in person at the Wesleyan University Box Office, located in the Usdan University Center, 45 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. Tickets may also be purchased at the door beginning one hour prior to the performance, subject to availability. The Center for the Arts accepts cash, checks written to “Wesleyan University”, and all major credit cards. Groups of ten or more may receive a discount – please call (860) 685-3355 for details. No refunds, cancellations, or exchanges. All programs, artists and dates are subject to change. All Center for the Arts facilities are air-conditioned.
- On the anniversary -- Friday, July 6, at 5:30 pm -- author Michael Downs will speak on the Hartford Circus Fire, describe his literary take on it, and read from the book at The Mark Twain House & Museum. A reception at 5 pm will precede the talk, and a booksigning will follow. The event is free.
- The Hartford has awarded a $75,000 gift to The Mark Twain House & Museum to help with important museum initiatives, including writing and literacy programs, public programs and events.
- The Connecticut Film Festival (www.ctfilmfest.com) continues its occasional series of important films at The Mark Twain House & Museum on Friday, July 27, at 7:30 p.m.with Black Tulip, a 2010 film set in Afghanistan directed by Sonia Nassery Cole.
- The Mark Twain House & Museum's Sunday Jazz Brunches, presented by Japanalia Music, continue on Sunday, July 22, with "Romance Tropical" -- an appearance by Hartford's acclaimed guitarist, bassist and band leader Carlos Hernández Chávez. Carlos Hernández Chávez appears Sunday, July 22, at 11:30 a.m. and 1:15 a.m., at the Murasaki Cafe at The Mark Twain House & Museum. The $35 admission includes the performance, full brunch, soft drinks and hot beverages. Alcoholic beverages are available at an additional charge. Call 860-280-3130 for reservations.
- Harold: The Boy Who Became Mark Twain is the July selection for Nook Farm Book Talk, The Mark Twain House & Museum's book club-style collaboration with the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center next door. Participants in the free event will read and discuss Holbrook's affecting memoir of growing up behind disguises, and his lifelong search for himself. The discussion will be held at The Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, Conn., on Thursday, June 12. A 5:00 p.m. reception will be followed by the 5:30 pm discussion. The event is free, but registration is encouraged at 860-522-9258, Ext. 317.
- In a parody inspired by the great original game, a full-fledged murder mystery will be laid out for visitors to solve during The Mark Twain House & Museum's "Get a Clue" Tour, Friday, July 13, and Saturday, July 14. The one-hour experience provoked fun, intrigue and hilarity among visitors fortunate enough to take part in the tours when they debuted last winter. Moving from room to room in the mysterious gloom of evening, probing dark corners of the house (magnifying glasses optional), visitors will get clues to help them in their detection and make their guesses. Finally, in a stunning reveal, all will become clear and the perpetrator unmasked. Members of Hartford's Sea Tea Improv comedy troupe portray the suspects, who are based on famous literary characters Twain created in the very house where the mystery unfolds. The "Get a Clue" tours will be held Friday, July 13, and Saturday, July 14, from 7 to 10 pm. Tickets are $20 ($16 for members); $13 for children 16 and under. The hour-long tours step off every 15 minutes. Reservartions are required! Call 860-280-3130.
Seven Angels Announces Mainstage Lineup
To contact us Click HERE
Seven Angels Theatre, Waterbury has announced its 22nd Mainstage Series. For information and tickets, visit http://sevenangelstheatre.org.
THE LAST ROMANCE by Joe DiPietro October 18-November 11
Joe DiPietro (Playwright – Over the River and Through The Woods, and Book – Memphis, All Shook Up and I Love You Your Perfect, Now Change) comes his romantic comedy THE LAST ROMANCE. A crush can make anyone feel young again—even a widower named Ralph. On an ordinary day in a routine life, Ralph decides to take a different path on his daily walk—one that leads him to an unexpected second chance at love. Relying on a renewed boyish charm, Ralph attempts to woo the elegant, but distant, Carol. Defying Carol’s reticence—and his lonely sister’s jealousy—Ralph embarks on the trip of a lifetime and regains a happiness that seemed all but lost. A heart-warming comedy about the transformative power of love. You’re sure to fall in love with this tale that mixes heartbreak with humor and opera with laughter.
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET November 29-December 23
Music, Book and Lyrics by Meridith Wilson
From Meridith Wilson, the composer of The Music Man, comes the delightful musical adaptation of the classic holiday movie MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET
Kris Kringle takes on the cynics among us in this holiday favorite spreading a wave of love throughout New York City, fostering camaraderie between Macy’s and Gimbel’s Department Stores, and convincing a divorced, cynical single mother, her somber daughter and the entire state of New York that Santa Claus is no myth. Filled with humor and such beloved songs as “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” this joyous, heart-warming musical is pure family entertainment and the perfect holiday theatrical treat!
SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE by Rupert Holmes February 14-March 10
This Tony Award nominated play is based on the relationship between George Burns and Gracie Allen. George Burns, whose career spanned over 90 years of American entertainment history, laughingly lived and loved each day for all it had to offer. A solo tour de force and a tender, funny, life-affirming love story.
Tony Award nomination Best Play 2003 and 2003-04 National Broadway
Theatre Award Best Play.
THE IMMIGRANT March 21-April 21
Book by Mark Harelik. Lyrics by Sarah Knapp. Music by Steven M. Alper
The Immigrant is the biographical story of the author’s grandfather, a young Jew who fled the pogroms of Czarist Russia in 1909 and pushed his banana cart into the tiny Baptist community of Hamilton, Texas. A true story of parents and children, newcomers and natives, Christians and Jews, and the realization of the American Dream. The Immigrant received two Drama Desk nominations: Outstanding Book of a Musical and Outstanding Orchestrations. “
NEXT TO NORMAL May 9-June 9
Music by Tom Kitt Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
The acclaimed, groundbreaking musical that took Broadway by storm. Winner of 3 Tony Awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. With a thrilling contemporary score, NEXT TO NORMAL is an emotional powerhouse about a family trying to take care of themselves and each other.
THE LAST ROMANCE by Joe DiPietro October 18-November 11
Joe DiPietro (Playwright – Over the River and Through The Woods, and Book – Memphis, All Shook Up and I Love You Your Perfect, Now Change) comes his romantic comedy THE LAST ROMANCE. A crush can make anyone feel young again—even a widower named Ralph. On an ordinary day in a routine life, Ralph decides to take a different path on his daily walk—one that leads him to an unexpected second chance at love. Relying on a renewed boyish charm, Ralph attempts to woo the elegant, but distant, Carol. Defying Carol’s reticence—and his lonely sister’s jealousy—Ralph embarks on the trip of a lifetime and regains a happiness that seemed all but lost. A heart-warming comedy about the transformative power of love. You’re sure to fall in love with this tale that mixes heartbreak with humor and opera with laughter.
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET November 29-December 23
Music, Book and Lyrics by Meridith Wilson
From Meridith Wilson, the composer of The Music Man, comes the delightful musical adaptation of the classic holiday movie MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET
Kris Kringle takes on the cynics among us in this holiday favorite spreading a wave of love throughout New York City, fostering camaraderie between Macy’s and Gimbel’s Department Stores, and convincing a divorced, cynical single mother, her somber daughter and the entire state of New York that Santa Claus is no myth. Filled with humor and such beloved songs as “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” this joyous, heart-warming musical is pure family entertainment and the perfect holiday theatrical treat!
SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE by Rupert Holmes February 14-March 10
This Tony Award nominated play is based on the relationship between George Burns and Gracie Allen. George Burns, whose career spanned over 90 years of American entertainment history, laughingly lived and loved each day for all it had to offer. A solo tour de force and a tender, funny, life-affirming love story.
Tony Award nomination Best Play 2003 and 2003-04 National Broadway
Theatre Award Best Play.
THE IMMIGRANT March 21-April 21
Book by Mark Harelik. Lyrics by Sarah Knapp. Music by Steven M. Alper
The Immigrant is the biographical story of the author’s grandfather, a young Jew who fled the pogroms of Czarist Russia in 1909 and pushed his banana cart into the tiny Baptist community of Hamilton, Texas. A true story of parents and children, newcomers and natives, Christians and Jews, and the realization of the American Dream. The Immigrant received two Drama Desk nominations: Outstanding Book of a Musical and Outstanding Orchestrations. “
NEXT TO NORMAL May 9-June 9
Music by Tom Kitt Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
The acclaimed, groundbreaking musical that took Broadway by storm. Winner of 3 Tony Awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. With a thrilling contemporary score, NEXT TO NORMAL is an emotional powerhouse about a family trying to take care of themselves and each other.
Theater Review: Harispray -- Ivoryton
To contact us Click HERE
1962 Baltimore Comes to Life at Ivoryton
By Lauren Yarger
Jill Sullivan turns on the charm as hair-teasing, new-dance-craze-loving, lovesick Tracy Turnblad in Ivoryton Playhouse's production of Hairspray, running through July 29.
It's 1962 Baltimore, where racial tension and segregation provide a backdrop for teen angst and lots of catchy tunes by Marc Shaiman (lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman) performed to stage-defying choreography by JR Bruno who manages to get some 15 ensemble members bopping around at times without crashing into each other on the small stage. Vivianna Lamb designs era-evoking costumes that also help set the stage with the help of some fun wigs designed by Joel Silvestro.
Tracy gets the chance of a lifetime -- to dance on the popular Corny Collins (Sam Schrader) TV show (think American Bandstand) -- and to meet her heartthrob, dancer Link Larkin (Justin Gerard). Amber Von Tussle (Bethany Fitzgerald), whose mother, Velma (Tara Michelle Gesling), just happens to be the show's producer, isn't happy about the sudden competition Tracy represents, both for Amber's dance partner, Link, or for the title Miss Hairspray being touted by the show's sponsor, Mr. Spritzer (R. Bruce Connelly, who plays a few different roles).
Tracy's mom, Edna (Michael Barra), isn't thrilled either, afraid that her daughter will be mocked because of her larger size. Tracy is encouraged, however, by her dad, Wilbur (a very engaging Neal Mayer), her best friend, Penny Pingleton (Abby Hart) and her new friend from detention/special ed and dance inspiration, Seaweed J. Stubbs (a delightfully smooth-voiced Gregory Lawrence Gardner). When Tracy decides that her black friends should be allowed to dance with her and the white dancers on the TV show, race tension, jail time and interracial romance all ensue.
Director Jacqueline Hubbard does a nice job casting and staging this production (assisted by Bruno), though it lacks a cohesiveness. Individual performers, especially Sullivan with her really good singing voice, are impressive, but we don't feel group energy.
Cully Long creates a set that looks like it might have decorated a high school gym for prom and incorporates video screen for enhancement of the musical numbers and a "working" TV that brings the Corny Collins show into the Turnblads' living room. John Sebastian DeNicola ably music directs the familiar tunes including "Good Morning, Baltimore," "I Can Hear the Bells," and "You Can't Stop the Beat" (the show won eight Tony awards including best musical and score) and conducts the eight-member band.
Standing out among the really talented ensemble are "The Dynamites," (Kimberly Morgan, Shereen Macklin and Alana Cauthen) and Karen Anderson as Motormouth Maybelle. Her rendition of "I Know Where I've Been" with a video/still shot montage of images from the Civil Rights movement is very moving. In fact, the use of '60's era images throughout the show is exceptional. Keep an eye on them, as its easy to get caught up in the fun taking place on the stage and miss them.
While the show might have snagged a bunch of Tonys, there are some puzzles about that. First, the book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan is pretty shallow, relying on stereotype and easy laughs while not allowing for a whole lot of character development in a story that really begs some when difficult issues such as obesity, racial segregation and parental abuse are in play.
Harvey Fierstein won the Tony for his performance as Edna, and the role is always played by a man. Why? I don't know. There's no reason a woman couldn't play the fun role -- and might actually bring more depth to it. Lines like, "No, I'm not her father," when Edna answers the phone might be funnier if someone seriously couldn't mistake the deep male voice answering for Tracy's dad. Here, Barra doesn't attempt to be a female Edna. He just performs the role, which is what it is -- an overweight person who does other people's laundry, regretting the loss of the dream of one day designing a line of clothing. Edna is protective of her daughter and in love with her husband, who loves her unconditionally. (Hear anything in that description that says, "must be played by a man?")
There were some technical issues, but I saw a preview, so let's hope the kinks were worked out by the opening. (One note to Link -- heart throbs don't wear feminine looking hair clips -- to hold the microphone cord).
Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm. Tickets are $40 for adults, $35 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling 860-767-7318 or by visiting www.ivorytonplayhouse.org (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.
 |
| Michael Barra and Jill Sullivan. Photo courtesy of The Ivoryton Playhouse |
By Lauren Yarger
Jill Sullivan turns on the charm as hair-teasing, new-dance-craze-loving, lovesick Tracy Turnblad in Ivoryton Playhouse's production of Hairspray, running through July 29.
It's 1962 Baltimore, where racial tension and segregation provide a backdrop for teen angst and lots of catchy tunes by Marc Shaiman (lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman) performed to stage-defying choreography by JR Bruno who manages to get some 15 ensemble members bopping around at times without crashing into each other on the small stage. Vivianna Lamb designs era-evoking costumes that also help set the stage with the help of some fun wigs designed by Joel Silvestro.
Tracy gets the chance of a lifetime -- to dance on the popular Corny Collins (Sam Schrader) TV show (think American Bandstand) -- and to meet her heartthrob, dancer Link Larkin (Justin Gerard). Amber Von Tussle (Bethany Fitzgerald), whose mother, Velma (Tara Michelle Gesling), just happens to be the show's producer, isn't happy about the sudden competition Tracy represents, both for Amber's dance partner, Link, or for the title Miss Hairspray being touted by the show's sponsor, Mr. Spritzer (R. Bruce Connelly, who plays a few different roles).
Tracy's mom, Edna (Michael Barra), isn't thrilled either, afraid that her daughter will be mocked because of her larger size. Tracy is encouraged, however, by her dad, Wilbur (a very engaging Neal Mayer), her best friend, Penny Pingleton (Abby Hart) and her new friend from detention/special ed and dance inspiration, Seaweed J. Stubbs (a delightfully smooth-voiced Gregory Lawrence Gardner). When Tracy decides that her black friends should be allowed to dance with her and the white dancers on the TV show, race tension, jail time and interracial romance all ensue.
Director Jacqueline Hubbard does a nice job casting and staging this production (assisted by Bruno), though it lacks a cohesiveness. Individual performers, especially Sullivan with her really good singing voice, are impressive, but we don't feel group energy.
Cully Long creates a set that looks like it might have decorated a high school gym for prom and incorporates video screen for enhancement of the musical numbers and a "working" TV that brings the Corny Collins show into the Turnblads' living room. John Sebastian DeNicola ably music directs the familiar tunes including "Good Morning, Baltimore," "I Can Hear the Bells," and "You Can't Stop the Beat" (the show won eight Tony awards including best musical and score) and conducts the eight-member band.
Standing out among the really talented ensemble are "The Dynamites," (Kimberly Morgan, Shereen Macklin and Alana Cauthen) and Karen Anderson as Motormouth Maybelle. Her rendition of "I Know Where I've Been" with a video/still shot montage of images from the Civil Rights movement is very moving. In fact, the use of '60's era images throughout the show is exceptional. Keep an eye on them, as its easy to get caught up in the fun taking place on the stage and miss them.
While the show might have snagged a bunch of Tonys, there are some puzzles about that. First, the book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan is pretty shallow, relying on stereotype and easy laughs while not allowing for a whole lot of character development in a story that really begs some when difficult issues such as obesity, racial segregation and parental abuse are in play.
Harvey Fierstein won the Tony for his performance as Edna, and the role is always played by a man. Why? I don't know. There's no reason a woman couldn't play the fun role -- and might actually bring more depth to it. Lines like, "No, I'm not her father," when Edna answers the phone might be funnier if someone seriously couldn't mistake the deep male voice answering for Tracy's dad. Here, Barra doesn't attempt to be a female Edna. He just performs the role, which is what it is -- an overweight person who does other people's laundry, regretting the loss of the dream of one day designing a line of clothing. Edna is protective of her daughter and in love with her husband, who loves her unconditionally. (Hear anything in that description that says, "must be played by a man?")
There were some technical issues, but I saw a preview, so let's hope the kinks were worked out by the opening. (One note to Link -- heart throbs don't wear feminine looking hair clips -- to hold the microphone cord).
Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm. Tickets are $40 for adults, $35 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling 860-767-7318 or by visiting www.ivorytonplayhouse.org (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.
5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe
Music InteReview: Glen Hansard is my new John Lennon
To contact us Click HERE
How It's New York: Glen Hansard was living in New York last year, and this album reflects his time here.How It's Irish: Glen is Irish and got his start on the streets of Dublin. He wrote the music for and starred in Once.
Every Song Full of Emotion and Heart
He said,
While some of the records he loves are more of a challenge, he said,
If you're unfamiliar with his sound, he crafts simple melodies that build to a passionate release, a little like Van Morrison, a little like Dylan.
Each song on Rhythm and Repose is full of emotion and heart.
The orchestration creates a different musical world for each of the 11 songs.
There's White Album-like focus on detail. Yep, I'm back to John Lennon again.
Produced by Thomas Bartlett (Doveman), Rhythm and Repose is Glen's first solo album.
It reflects his time in New York, which he said is
He raved about playing with people who've played with Mingus, Levon Helm, Springsteen.
Still scruffy-looking at age 42, with a ginger beard and red cap, Glen began his career busking in Dublin at the age of 13.
He played with the band Kila, then formed The Frames, acted in the film The Commitments (1991) starred in the Indie film Once (2007) and unexpectedly won an Academy Award for the song "Falling Slowly."He played and toured with costar and love Marketa Irglová as The Swell Season.
The Broadway musical Once recently won a bunch of Tony Awards. Glen also contributed two songs to the 2012 film The Hunger Games.
When I brought up John Lennon, I was thinking of the intro to "Maybe not tonight," which sounds a lot like "Mind Games," but then there's Glen's voice.
He growls, or whispers, or shouts, always on key, and always reaching right inside to the heart of the song.
"Bird of Hope," for example, begins with words of comfort so clipped they sound as if they were hard to express:
Glen said,
"And we talked of a gold ring," followed by,
"and you brought me one step closer to the heart..."You think that's the end of the line.
But then Glen adds, almost speaking, "...of things." It's so open, it's wrenching.Marketa Irglová sings harmonies on that one. She's married to someone else now, but the pair still collaborate.
It would be easy to read much of the CD as rueful love songs to her, but that's only one possibility.
Glen explained,
"Love don't leave me waiting" is one of the few breezy, relax-in-the-sun kind of songs (and the video, out now on youtube, shows Glen chilling by the water in Jamaica, with people dancing and a very calm looking black lab).
The chilling "What Are We Gonna Do" (the liner notes say the song is "after Paddy Casey's 'Sweet Suburban Sky,' and it follows the melody of that song) is as powerful a song about the fear of the end of love that has ever been recorded.
Its silvery strings in the background add to song's sense of hollow yearning. The shock of Marketa's voice coming in to take a verse is like a sucker punch. And yet, despite the sorrow that drives it, the song doesn't belong on your "music to be miserable to" playlist. I asked myself why, and I asked Glen too.
"People always say to me, 'your songs are really sad,' and I'm like, really?" His voice went up about an octave on "really," and I had to laugh. He certainly sounded happy when we spoke, conducting the telephone interview with me as he walked down the street.
"I would say reflective sure, but not sad," he continued.
I asked him if he he thought he could ever write a happy love song?
There was a pause, and then he said, sounding bewildered, "They are happy love songs." Again I had to laugh.
"High Hope" is a happy love song, he said. Well - it is in a way, because the singer does say "I'm going to see you there," but it is preceded by lines such as:
It is not exactly "Suzanne" (by Leonard Cohen) but no, it's not a complaint.Glen continued,
But, he added that it also says says,
There's no self-pity, and this is not whingeing. Which maybe helps explain how he can split himself open, and spill himself out to the listener.Glen said,
So then, it should be OK that in "Races," most probably conceived as a love song, the repetition of piano keys over extended chords, the lower range of Glen's baritone, the lines about throwing away "old glories" and letting "you go gently among your kind" makes me think of the sidhe, and their hurling matches, their mischief and their melancholy.
And that for some reason "Song of Good Hope," the most tender, loving song on the CD, encouraging someone to,
is the one song that brings a lump to my throat.
The songs are open, yes. And truly great.
Glen described New York as a city that says
We're lucky in New York to have him,
even for a while.
 |
| (@Conor Masterson) |
Every Song Full of Emotion and Heart
We interviewed the directors of the film The Swell Season; you can hear that podcast here. And stay tuned for the podcast interview with Glen (we saved some of it just for that!)
A version of this article was first published in Irish Examiner USA.
Glen Hansard's Rhythm and Repose came out on Anti- records on June 19. He will be at (Le) Poisson Rouge on June 28, and at The Beacon Theatre on June 29.
When I told Glen Hansard there's a John Lennon thing going on in "Maybe Not Tonight," one of the most unforgettable songs on an unforgettable album, he said "I was trying to write a song... that you could play in a car."
He said,
"There's all this great music that you just put it on, and you travel through the landscape, and some music works really well when you're driving in a car."He compared a great album to a hot bath. "You put it on and somehow it's comforting."
While some of the records he loves are more of a challenge, he said,
"I'd like to think that there's at least a couple of moments where you settle in and there's a comforting aspect. All the music that I love is both comforting and challenging."Rhythm and Repose, which comes out on Anti- Records on June 19th, is that. And more. It is a hot bath you'll stay in until your fingers wrinkle. It's the CD that you'll want to play in the car as you drive across the country, looking out at the sky as the trees roll by, reflecting on where you've been, where you're going.
If you're unfamiliar with his sound, he crafts simple melodies that build to a passionate release, a little like Van Morrison, a little like Dylan.
Each song on Rhythm and Repose is full of emotion and heart.
The orchestration creates a different musical world for each of the 11 songs.
There's White Album-like focus on detail. Yep, I'm back to John Lennon again.
Produced by Thomas Bartlett (Doveman), Rhythm and Repose is Glen's first solo album.
It reflects his time in New York, which he said is
"a city of excellence. There's a lot to be said for surrounding yourself with people who are better than you. And getting in a room and seeing what happens."
He raved about playing with people who've played with Mingus, Levon Helm, Springsteen.
Still scruffy-looking at age 42, with a ginger beard and red cap, Glen began his career busking in Dublin at the age of 13.
He played with the band Kila, then formed The Frames, acted in the film The Commitments (1991) starred in the Indie film Once (2007) and unexpectedly won an Academy Award for the song "Falling Slowly."He played and toured with costar and love Marketa Irglová as The Swell Season.
The Broadway musical Once recently won a bunch of Tony Awards. Glen also contributed two songs to the 2012 film The Hunger Games.
 |
| (@Conor Masterson) |
He growls, or whispers, or shouts, always on key, and always reaching right inside to the heart of the song.
"Bird of Hope," for example, begins with words of comfort so clipped they sound as if they were hard to express:
"Even if a day feels too long, if you feel like you can't wait another oneand you're slowly giving up on everything, love is gonna find you again."But by the end of the song he's screaming, "I'm not leaving!" before it all quiets again.
Glen said,
"I'm getting older so my voice is maybe getting a little raggier here or maybe it's getting a bit more expressive there, but I'm sort of happy with it right now. I do believe, for better or worse, you earn your voice. Your voice is something that comes to you over time."The passion and sincerity in his songs almost hurts.Take the first song, "You Will Become," written, perhaps, to a lover who is growing beyond him. There's a line,
"And we talked of a gold ring," followed by,
"and you brought me one step closer to the heart..."You think that's the end of the line.
But then Glen adds, almost speaking, "...of things." It's so open, it's wrenching.Marketa Irglová sings harmonies on that one. She's married to someone else now, but the pair still collaborate.
It would be easy to read much of the CD as rueful love songs to her, but that's only one possibility.
Glen explained,
"There isn't a central sentiment you're trying to get across. Songs are a bit like diary entries. Of course they're personal, but I don't get particular joy out of putting my personal life in front of people. I sing songs. They're about the deepening of my own soul."And just as Chekhov's heroines really want to get to Moscow in The Three Sisters, even the sad songs come from the point of view of someone trying to make sense of things, and find some peace.
"Love don't leave me waiting" is one of the few breezy, relax-in-the-sun kind of songs (and the video, out now on youtube, shows Glen chilling by the water in Jamaica, with people dancing and a very calm looking black lab).
The chilling "What Are We Gonna Do" (the liner notes say the song is "after Paddy Casey's 'Sweet Suburban Sky,' and it follows the melody of that song) is as powerful a song about the fear of the end of love that has ever been recorded.
Its silvery strings in the background add to song's sense of hollow yearning. The shock of Marketa's voice coming in to take a verse is like a sucker punch. And yet, despite the sorrow that drives it, the song doesn't belong on your "music to be miserable to" playlist. I asked myself why, and I asked Glen too.
"People always say to me, 'your songs are really sad,' and I'm like, really?" His voice went up about an octave on "really," and I had to laugh. He certainly sounded happy when we spoke, conducting the telephone interview with me as he walked down the street.
"I would say reflective sure, but not sad," he continued.
"I'm not a defeated person. I've never felt like that, and yet, I think all art is born of sorrow. I think sorrow is a place in us all and if you deal with it correctly you might make something artistic out of it.
The thing I can't stand is when people whinge. If I thought for a second that my music was whingeing I would be very upset. I think it's OK to speak about the darker places, it's OK to speak about sorrow."He grew up listening to Leonard Cohen, he said, who he never found depressing. "It just always put me in an interesting spot. It was beautiful warm music."
I asked him if he he thought he could ever write a happy love song?
There was a pause, and then he said, sounding bewildered, "They are happy love songs." Again I had to laugh.
"High Hope" is a happy love song, he said. Well - it is in a way, because the singer does say "I'm going to see you there," but it is preceded by lines such as:
"Maybe when we're both old and wise, maybe when our hearts have had some time."
It is not exactly "Suzanne" (by Leonard Cohen) but no, it's not a complaint.Glen continued,
"I'm really not interested in complaining about love. I think melancholy and sorrow are not things to shy away from, but they're absolutely beautiful and real things and they're in our every day. It's a bit like shame, the more you push it down the more you have."He acknowledged that "What are we gonna do" is a sad and reflective song, with
"What are we gonna do if we lose that fire."
But, he added that it also says says,
"I don't want to lose youto some bullsh**t hurt that could have been helped I want to tell you something.A good good heart is your greatest wealth."
There's no self-pity, and this is not whingeing. Which maybe helps explain how he can split himself open, and spill himself out to the listener.Glen said,
"You're never thinking about am I being too personal or not personal enough, you're just singing your song.Beauty, he said, is "in the ear of the behearer. I hear open-ended songs."
"It's not about me. It's the song that's king. The song is the thing that wants to be sung. A song needs to be loved. It works best when it serves. And really once you write a song, you spend the rest of your time serving the song. The song's not serving you.
You're part of the birth of something, and from there on you serve it. It is a wonderful thing when someone says you know what, that gave me a lot."
So then, it should be OK that in "Races," most probably conceived as a love song, the repetition of piano keys over extended chords, the lower range of Glen's baritone, the lines about throwing away "old glories" and letting "you go gently among your kind" makes me think of the sidhe, and their hurling matches, their mischief and their melancholy.
And that for some reason "Song of Good Hope," the most tender, loving song on the CD, encouraging someone to,
"lift up your arms
and reach for it
and reach for it"
is the one song that brings a lump to my throat.
The songs are open, yes. And truly great.
Glen described New York as a city that says
"you know, are you good enough? You know, are you sure you're good enough? You know, you better be on your game because this is, you know, this is it."So is he.
We're lucky in New York to have him,
even for a while.
Catskills Irish Arts Week Needs You
To contact us Click HERE
How It's New York: Catskills Irish Arts Week attracts all the great trad players in the tri-state. Asking for help, including financial help, is something New Yorkers understand. And several terrific players and teachers have been sending out the appeal to help this week continue.How It's Irish: The week includes Irish music and teachers from Ireland, and dance, and drink, and terrific, terrific craic.
This message was on the Mid-Atlantic CCE site, and many others are floating around. Even a small donation will help keep this week alive! Go to Kickstarter and help! It's halfway to its $10,000 goal, amazing as it's only been going on a couple of days; add your support by July 15. There are rewards for different levels of pledge, but the real reward is knowing you helped keep this amazing week going.
It’s just a few weeks away before the craic in the Catskills begins once again at the 18th Annual Catskills Irish Arts Week in East Durham, New York. The largest gathering of traditional musicians to be found anywhere in North America comes together at the internationally known and respected summer school. Along with over 100 classes daily with master musicians from Ireland and North America, there are daily topical lectures, nightly open air concerts and ceilithe in timber floored roadhouses and resorts. Plus music sessions for all levels and abilities and you could be sitting next to world famous musician like Mary Bergin, Joanie Madden, Catherine McEvoy or Jackie Daly.
Artistic Director Paul Keating has assembled another amazing faculty for the 2012 summer school including Billy McComiskey, Cathal McConnell, Fintan Vallely, Felix Dolan, Willie Kelly, Brid Harper, Dermot Byrne, Gabriel McKeon, Michael Black, Cherish the Ladies, Dympna O’Sullivan, Jimmy Crowley, Mairtin de Cogain, Don Meade, Pauline Conneely, Rose Conway Flanagan, Patrick Ourceau, Caitlin and Bernadette nic Gabhann, Matt and Shannon Heaton and many more.
The week concludes with the day long Andy McGann Festival of Traditional Music in honor of the great New York Irish Fiddle Player. Come for a day, a few days or a week for the Best Craic in America.
For more information on the CIAW 2012 visit catskillsirishartsweek.org or call 518-634-2286. Accommodatons are still available in the area.
Click here to learn more about CIAW’s Kickstarter!
Music: Dan Neely on Minimalist ‘method’ in "As It Happened"
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How It's New York: Micheál Ó Raghallaigh and Danny O’Mahony’s stripped-down appeal is popular with young musicians here as well, including Dan Gurney and Dylan Foley. Dan's onto something: this sound is catching on with the newest wave of trad musicians!
How It's Irish: The two play traditional Irish music.
A version of this article was griginally published in the Irish Echo, June 20, 2012.
Dan Neely points out a brilliant, live-feeling and "minimalist" sound in Micheál Ó Raghallaigh and Danny O’Mahony’s As It Happened, which, says Dan, is brilliant! Listen to sample tracks here, or download the CD.
For many, the epitome of a great recording of traditional Irish music is one with a genuinely “live” feel. Noel Hill and Tony MacMahon’s I gCnoc Na Graí (1985) and Matt Molloy’s first solo album (1976), for example, are two that achieve this. Another current example, I feel, is the Irish Arts Center’s 2011 Christmas Album. However, the most recent example is Micheál Ó Raghallaigh and Danny O’Mahony’s As It Happened, a superb recording that showcases two powerful, young musicians in an intriguingly personal context – Micheál Ó Raghallaigh’s kitchen.
Recorded live, with minimal gear and pretense, most will argue that what O’Mahony (who hosts a trad show on Radio Kerry) and Ó Raghallaigh have done isn’t exactly new. After all, recording live, in the moment was always the expedient way of doing things. But as technology developed, so did studio savvy and in the last 20 years we’ve seen musicians become extremely knowledgeable in how they use studio resources to explore and control their sound. So what makes this album remarkable, then, is not that it was recorded live per se, but that O’Mahony and Ó Raghallaigh – two musicians who essentially grew up in studios – are part of a new generation of players that is pushing back and embracing a sophisticated but minimalist approach to recording Irish music in a way they feel suits their music.
Readers may already be familiar with a few from O’Mahony’s and Ó Raghallaigh’s minimalist cohort. Micheál’s brother MacDara Ó Raghallaigh’s for example, came out with his album Ego Trip last year, a live, solo project recorded in front of an audience over the course of two evenings. Then, there is Micheál’s work with Catherine McEvoy and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh on Comb Your Hair and Curl It (2010), an album reviewed here in the Echo last year with appropriate fanfare by Earle Hitchner.
On As It Happened, O’Mahony calls the approach “free-range recording,” a way of doing things that emphasizes the music itself, “as it happened,” with no editing or effects in post-production. (Incidentally, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh – who seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to interesting, well conceived projects – was the recording engineer here and deserves high praise for the album’s balanced, clear sound.)
Putting the focus on tune, performance and musician interaction makes their approach to recording somewhat akin in spirit to Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg’s avant-garde “Dogme” method of filmmaking. Outlined in their “Dogme 95 Manifesto” and codified in a set of rules called the “Vow of Chastity,” the Dogme method emphasized story, acting and theme over special effect and post-production modification.
Although O’Mahony and Ó Raghallaigh allude to a philosophical element in their liner notes, they’re neither didactic nor dogmatic about their “method.” The magic really lies in the idea that there are two smart, relaxed musicians playing tunes together that have a healthy breath and swing. New York-based uilleann piper Ivan Goff, a longtime musical comrade of O’Mahony and Ó Raghallaigh’s who has insight into this minimalist approach, is correct to point out that
Ultimately, this is a brilliant recording. O’Mahony explained that he and Ó Raghallaigh never approached playing together as a note for note thing, rather that they always search for something new in their music. “The album,” he explained, “is about my musical friendship with Micheál. We’ve played together on and off over a long time. He’s open to fun – in the music or out, and I was drawn to that. The music follows that line as well – we very much play off one another and have the craic off one another.”
As It Happened will be launched at Willie Clancy Week. However, it can be purchased or downloaded right now through Danny O’Mahony’s website at www.dannyomahony.com.
How It's New York: Micheál Ó Raghallaigh and Danny O’Mahony’s stripped-down appeal is popular with young musicians here as well, including Dan Gurney and Dylan Foley. Dan's onto something: this sound is catching on with the newest wave of trad musicians!
How It's Irish: The two play traditional Irish music.
A version of this article was griginally published in the Irish Echo, June 20, 2012.
Dan Neely points out a brilliant, live-feeling and "minimalist" sound in Micheál Ó Raghallaigh and Danny O’Mahony’s As It Happened, which, says Dan, is brilliant! Listen to sample tracks here, or download the CD.
For many, the epitome of a great recording of traditional Irish music is one with a genuinely “live” feel. Noel Hill and Tony MacMahon’s I gCnoc Na Graí (1985) and Matt Molloy’s first solo album (1976), for example, are two that achieve this. Another current example, I feel, is the Irish Arts Center’s 2011 Christmas Album. However, the most recent example is Micheál Ó Raghallaigh and Danny O’Mahony’s As It Happened, a superb recording that showcases two powerful, young musicians in an intriguingly personal context – Micheál Ó Raghallaigh’s kitchen.
Recorded live, with minimal gear and pretense, most will argue that what O’Mahony (who hosts a trad show on Radio Kerry) and Ó Raghallaigh have done isn’t exactly new. After all, recording live, in the moment was always the expedient way of doing things. But as technology developed, so did studio savvy and in the last 20 years we’ve seen musicians become extremely knowledgeable in how they use studio resources to explore and control their sound. So what makes this album remarkable, then, is not that it was recorded live per se, but that O’Mahony and Ó Raghallaigh – two musicians who essentially grew up in studios – are part of a new generation of players that is pushing back and embracing a sophisticated but minimalist approach to recording Irish music in a way they feel suits their music.
Readers may already be familiar with a few from O’Mahony’s and Ó Raghallaigh’s minimalist cohort. Micheál’s brother MacDara Ó Raghallaigh’s for example, came out with his album Ego Trip last year, a live, solo project recorded in front of an audience over the course of two evenings. Then, there is Micheál’s work with Catherine McEvoy and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh on Comb Your Hair and Curl It (2010), an album reviewed here in the Echo last year with appropriate fanfare by Earle Hitchner.
On As It Happened, O’Mahony calls the approach “free-range recording,” a way of doing things that emphasizes the music itself, “as it happened,” with no editing or effects in post-production. (Incidentally, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh – who seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to interesting, well conceived projects – was the recording engineer here and deserves high praise for the album’s balanced, clear sound.)
Putting the focus on tune, performance and musician interaction makes their approach to recording somewhat akin in spirit to Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg’s avant-garde “Dogme” method of filmmaking. Outlined in their “Dogme 95 Manifesto” and codified in a set of rules called the “Vow of Chastity,” the Dogme method emphasized story, acting and theme over special effect and post-production modification.
Although O’Mahony and Ó Raghallaigh allude to a philosophical element in their liner notes, they’re neither didactic nor dogmatic about their “method.” The magic really lies in the idea that there are two smart, relaxed musicians playing tunes together that have a healthy breath and swing. New York-based uilleann piper Ivan Goff, a longtime musical comrade of O’Mahony and Ó Raghallaigh’s who has insight into this minimalist approach, is correct to point out that
“when you have two players of the caliber of Micheál and Danny and the resources to record in a relaxed and familiar environment, not only is a live and spontaneous feel more possible but the listener can sense the personal connection between two players.”
Ultimately, this is a brilliant recording. O’Mahony explained that he and Ó Raghallaigh never approached playing together as a note for note thing, rather that they always search for something new in their music. “The album,” he explained, “is about my musical friendship with Micheál. We’ve played together on and off over a long time. He’s open to fun – in the music or out, and I was drawn to that. The music follows that line as well – we very much play off one another and have the craic off one another.”
As It Happened will be launched at Willie Clancy Week. However, it can be purchased or downloaded right now through Danny O’Mahony’s website at www.dannyomahony.com.
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