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Goodspeed Musicals begins its 50th Anniversary Season with the announcement of a major new four-week residency program for musical theater theater writers.
The Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals is the first of its kind in the country as it is dedicated solely to the creation of new musicals. In partnership with the Johnny Mercer Foundation, Goodspeed will offer established and emerging writers the unique opportunity to research, develop, and create new musicals.
“Goodspeed Musicals’ unique focus is musical theatre so it is fitting that we are finally able to realize the long-held dream of establishing a home for the creators of new musicals," said Michael Price, executive director of Goodspeed Musicals. "Thanks in part to our expanded campus and our good fortune in finding such a perfect partner in the Johnny Mercer Foundation to help fund it, this safe haven for artists will launch in 2013.”
The Writers Colony is a unique, long term residency program devoted exclusively to musical theatre writing. It will provide a sanctuary for composers, lyricists, and librettists to embark on new musical theatre work or to devote a substantial amount of time to a work-in-progress in an environment rich with creative energy. For four weeks each year, 14 to 20 writers will be immersed in this stimulating environment with the singular purpose of allowing the writers to write.
At Goodspeed Musicals, writers will find the freedom to work without the distractions of daily life, while receiving the support and encouragement needed to develop their works in progress. Each project will be assigned a creative mentor drawn from the highest levels of musical theatre professionals. The Writers Colony will afford the artists unlimited access to research materials in the Scherer Library of Musical Theatre, one of the most extensive musical theatre libraries in the US; composition time in Goodspeed’s music studios; and collaborative exchange with their peers through a series of informal salons for presenting and sharing their work.
Throughout the residency, members of Goodspeed’s artistic staff and professionals from the Johnny Mercer Foundation will be on site to offer guidance and support for the writers. Each year, writers will be invited by Goodspeed’s panel of industry leaders to participate in this prestigious program. A select group of participants have been invited for the inaugural residency and will be announced at a later date.
31 Aralık 2012 Pazartesi
Theater Review: The SantaLand Diaries -- TheaterWorks
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Laughing With a Disgruntled Elf
By Lauren Yarger
A bunch of “ho, ho, hos” can be heard over at TheaterWorks in Hartford, but there isn’t a Santa in sight. The laughter is coming from the audience listening to a disgruntled elf in The SantaLand Diaries by David Sedaris.
In Joe Mantello’s stage adaptation of Sedaris’ essay, Jeff Kready makes his TheaterWorks debut to recount experiences based on the author’s employment as “Crumpet,” an Elf in SantaLand at Macy’s in New York (the piece provided Sedaris with his big break when he read it on NPR’s “Morning Edition.”)
The out of work writer is desperate, and on a dare from a friend, applies for elfship during the holiday crunch at Macy’s. After a series of interviews, drug testing, psychological evaluation and filling out a ton of paperwork, he’s in, but during the over-the-top training, he soon discovers that he might not have what it takes to be a perky, happy Santa’s helper all the time as detailed in the employees’ handbook, a.k.a. the “elfin guide.”
With tongue firmly planted in cheek, “Crumpet,” as he is known in SantaLand, shares numerous stories about his various elf stations (pointing, photos, cash register . . .) and the people he encounters, some bordering on crass, but all very funny. There are the kids – some more than reluctant to sit on the lap of a fat guy dressed in a red velvet suit – and their parents, consumed with holiday cheer – or chill – to get just that right photo with Santa to send off to relatives and friends.
His coworker elves lend some humor too – one Lothario seems to think that SantaLand is his personal pick up location for women and another, a little too full of Christmas cheer and light on intelligence, enjoys herself so much that she wonders whether she can find year-round employment as an elf...
The Santas also provide humor. They range in personality from totally deranged to one who sounds like Saint Nick himself.
Kready, dressed in full elf garb that incudes candy-cane tights (Margaret Charbonneau, costume design), often reclining in an ornate Santa throne decorated with a background of Christmas trees (Michael Lenaghan, set design), brings personalities to life with recreations of SantaLand moments under the direction of Rob Ruggiero, TheaterWorks’ newly appointed producing artistic director.
Mantello’s adaptation doesn’t erase the sound of written essay from the dialogue, unfortunately, but Kready employs personality and facial expressions to make it personal for a live audience, which otherwise might feel like it was listening to someone read a radio script. In fact, one of the most amusing parts of the one-hour presentation is hearing audience members lose themselves in laughter when a story about a weird Santa or elf, or an out-of-control parent, hits home. (The “spitting Santa” was the one that got me).
It’s very amusing, though some of the accounts are rather crass, border on cruelty and some wouldn’t pass the “politically correct” test. No one under 16 is allowed in the theater. Photo ops with Crumpet are available as a theater fundraiser following the performance.
The limited run of The SantaLand Diaries runs through Dec. 23 at TheaterWorks, City Arts on Pearl - 233 Pearl St., Hartford, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 7:30 pm; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm Weekend Matinees at 2:30 pm. Tickets $17-$53 (860) 527-7838; http://theaterworkshartford.org.
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| Jeff Kready. Photo Lanny Nagler |
By Lauren Yarger
A bunch of “ho, ho, hos” can be heard over at TheaterWorks in Hartford, but there isn’t a Santa in sight. The laughter is coming from the audience listening to a disgruntled elf in The SantaLand Diaries by David Sedaris.
In Joe Mantello’s stage adaptation of Sedaris’ essay, Jeff Kready makes his TheaterWorks debut to recount experiences based on the author’s employment as “Crumpet,” an Elf in SantaLand at Macy’s in New York (the piece provided Sedaris with his big break when he read it on NPR’s “Morning Edition.”)
The out of work writer is desperate, and on a dare from a friend, applies for elfship during the holiday crunch at Macy’s. After a series of interviews, drug testing, psychological evaluation and filling out a ton of paperwork, he’s in, but during the over-the-top training, he soon discovers that he might not have what it takes to be a perky, happy Santa’s helper all the time as detailed in the employees’ handbook, a.k.a. the “elfin guide.”
With tongue firmly planted in cheek, “Crumpet,” as he is known in SantaLand, shares numerous stories about his various elf stations (pointing, photos, cash register . . .) and the people he encounters, some bordering on crass, but all very funny. There are the kids – some more than reluctant to sit on the lap of a fat guy dressed in a red velvet suit – and their parents, consumed with holiday cheer – or chill – to get just that right photo with Santa to send off to relatives and friends.
His coworker elves lend some humor too – one Lothario seems to think that SantaLand is his personal pick up location for women and another, a little too full of Christmas cheer and light on intelligence, enjoys herself so much that she wonders whether she can find year-round employment as an elf...
The Santas also provide humor. They range in personality from totally deranged to one who sounds like Saint Nick himself.
Kready, dressed in full elf garb that incudes candy-cane tights (Margaret Charbonneau, costume design), often reclining in an ornate Santa throne decorated with a background of Christmas trees (Michael Lenaghan, set design), brings personalities to life with recreations of SantaLand moments under the direction of Rob Ruggiero, TheaterWorks’ newly appointed producing artistic director.
Mantello’s adaptation doesn’t erase the sound of written essay from the dialogue, unfortunately, but Kready employs personality and facial expressions to make it personal for a live audience, which otherwise might feel like it was listening to someone read a radio script. In fact, one of the most amusing parts of the one-hour presentation is hearing audience members lose themselves in laughter when a story about a weird Santa or elf, or an out-of-control parent, hits home. (The “spitting Santa” was the one that got me).
It’s very amusing, though some of the accounts are rather crass, border on cruelty and some wouldn’t pass the “politically correct” test. No one under 16 is allowed in the theater. Photo ops with Crumpet are available as a theater fundraiser following the performance.
The limited run of The SantaLand Diaries runs through Dec. 23 at TheaterWorks, City Arts on Pearl - 233 Pearl St., Hartford, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 7:30 pm; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm Weekend Matinees at 2:30 pm. Tickets $17-$53 (860) 527-7838; http://theaterworkshartford.org.
HSO Celebrates 50 Years of America's Musicals at Goodspeed
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Hartford Symphony Orchestra and Goodspeed Musicals will join to celebrate the music and the magic of Goodspeed’s golden anniversary in a spectacular concert event on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 pm. at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford.
For 50 years, Goodspeed has been recognized around the world as the “home of the American musical”. This special collaboration will feature selections from Goodspeed originals that moved to Broadway including Annie and Man of La Mancha, plus audience favorites from dozens of shows like Brigadoon, Finian’s Rainbow and No, No Nanette.
Led by guest conductor Michael O’Flahertywho is now in his 21st year as Resident Music Director for Goodspeed Musicals, the program will feature the talents of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, as well as performances by special guests Sarah Uriarte Berry, Quentin Earl Darrington, and James Snyder, plus aspiring professional performers from The Hartt School Musical Theatre Department’s Class of 2013.
With a set list that comprises musical theatre’s greatest hits, the evening will include songs from 42nd Street; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; A Little Night Music; Annie Get Your Gun; Anything Goes; Babes In Arms; Big River; Carousel; Gentleman Prefer Blondes; Kiss Me, Kate; Lady, Be Good!; Mame; On The Town; On the Twentieth Century; Promises, Promises; Red Hot & Blue; The Fantasticks and more.
Berry starred as Magnolia in Goodspeed’s Show Boat and her Broadway and national tour credits include Beauty and the Beast; Carousel; Cinderella; End of the Rainbow; Les Misérables; Next to Normal; Sunset Boulevard; Taboo; The Boys from Syracuse; The Light in the Piazza; and Tenderloin.
Darrington was Lucas in Goodspeed’s production of Abyssinia and has appeared in Broadway productions and national tours of Memphis; Ragtime; The Color Purple; and The Lion King.
Snyder starred as Billy Bigelow in Goodspeed’s Carousel and led the cast of Crybaby on Broadway. His additional New York and national stage credits include Broadway: Three Generations; Fanny; Happy Days; Mama!; Oedipus the King; Rock of Ages; Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes; and The Fantasticks.
“We are thrilled to kick off Goodspeed’s year-long celebration of our 50thanniversary with this one-of-a-kind concert event,” said Michael Price, executive director of Goodspeed Musicals. “It is a rare occasion when two of Connecticut’s cultural treasures join together but when they do, the result is a magical collaboration that will be remembered for many years to come.”
HSO President and CEO Carrie Hammond says, “It truly is a dream for us to collaborate with Goodspeed's incredible talents. Goodspeed has been a driving force behind the development and excellence of American Musical Theatre. This concert will bring together two of Connecticut's cultural treasures and ambassadors for the arts to this community.”
Tickets range in price from $20-$67.50. Student tickets are $10 and $25 tickets are available for patrons age 40 and under. To purchase tickets or for more information, please contact HSO ticket services at (860) 244-2999 or visit www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Hartford Symphony Orchestra and Goodspeed Musicals will join to celebrate the music and the magic of Goodspeed’s golden anniversary in a spectacular concert event on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 pm. at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford. For 50 years, Goodspeed has been recognized around the world as the “home of the American musical”. This special collaboration will feature selections from Goodspeed originals that moved to Broadway including Annie and Man of La Mancha, plus audience favorites from dozens of shows like Brigadoon, Finian’s Rainbow and No, No Nanette.
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| James Snyder |
With a set list that comprises musical theatre’s greatest hits, the evening will include songs from 42nd Street; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; A Little Night Music; Annie Get Your Gun; Anything Goes; Babes In Arms; Big River; Carousel; Gentleman Prefer Blondes; Kiss Me, Kate; Lady, Be Good!; Mame; On The Town; On the Twentieth Century; Promises, Promises; Red Hot & Blue; The Fantasticks and more.
Berry starred as Magnolia in Goodspeed’s Show Boat and her Broadway and national tour credits include Beauty and the Beast; Carousel; Cinderella; End of the Rainbow; Les Misérables; Next to Normal; Sunset Boulevard; Taboo; The Boys from Syracuse; The Light in the Piazza; and Tenderloin.Darrington was Lucas in Goodspeed’s production of Abyssinia and has appeared in Broadway productions and national tours of Memphis; Ragtime; The Color Purple; and The Lion King.
Snyder starred as Billy Bigelow in Goodspeed’s Carousel and led the cast of Crybaby on Broadway. His additional New York and national stage credits include Broadway: Three Generations; Fanny; Happy Days; Mama!; Oedipus the King; Rock of Ages; Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes; and The Fantasticks.
“We are thrilled to kick off Goodspeed’s year-long celebration of our 50thanniversary with this one-of-a-kind concert event,” said Michael Price, executive director of Goodspeed Musicals. “It is a rare occasion when two of Connecticut’s cultural treasures join together but when they do, the result is a magical collaboration that will be remembered for many years to come.”
HSO President and CEO Carrie Hammond says, “It truly is a dream for us to collaborate with Goodspeed's incredible talents. Goodspeed has been a driving force behind the development and excellence of American Musical Theatre. This concert will bring together two of Connecticut's cultural treasures and ambassadors for the arts to this community.”
Tickets range in price from $20-$67.50. Student tickets are $10 and $25 tickets are available for patrons age 40 and under. To purchase tickets or for more information, please contact HSO ticket services at (860) 244-2999 or visit www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Don't Miss These Connecticut Arts Connections
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Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary has appointed Palace Theater Marketing and Public Relations Officer Sheree Marcucci, right, as the city's representative on the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Board of Directors. During her three-year term, Marcucci will use her decades of professional experience to assist in crafting the Bureau’s marketing efforts, in addition to representing and promoting Waterbury’s tourism interests.
“I am happy to accept this appointment to the Board of the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau and be a part of developing new tourism marketing initiatives that will drive economic development in our community,” Marcucci said.
The Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau represents 63 town throughout Connecticut and is dedicated to promoting leisure and travel to the region in keeping with the values of the individual communities it serves. For more information, visit www.northwestct.com.
Hartford Stage is collecting donations for the Sandy Hook United Way Fund to support the victims of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday. Donations for the Sandy Hook United Way Fund can be made in the lobby during all remaining performances of A Christmas Carol.
Over at the Westport Country Playhouse, Adam Clemens of Westport and Carole Hochman of Manhattan have been elected members of the board of trustees at Westport Country Playhouse.
Clemens is a managing director of Portfolio Advisors and serves as a voting member of the firm’s investment committee. He joined Portfolio Advisors in 2010 and is primarily engaged in sourcing, evaluating, and recommending investment opportunities in private equity co-investments. Previously, he was co-founder and president of New York Life Capital Partners (NYLCAP), the captive manager of alternative assets for New York Life Insurance Company and third-party investors, the head of private equity and leveraged finance with New York Life’s Private Finance Group,and a vice president with Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company in the private placement department. Clemens has a BS degree from Georgetown University, an MBA degree from Columbia University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Hochman is chairman and chief creative officer of The Carole Hochman Design Group, headquartered in New York City. A designer and industry pioneer, Hochman has been designing intimate apparel for more than 30 years. She began her lingerie career by accident. While studying fashion design at Drexel University, she landed a job at Bergdorf Goodman in a department she’d given very little thought to before---lingerie. She learned the business and began working for a small New York-based intimate apparel design firm, now named Carole Hochman Designs. Hochman Design Group also owns OnGossamer and the licenses to several lingerie and sleepwear collections, including Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Jockey, Betsey Johnson, Donna Karan, and Nicole Miller.
Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary has appointed Palace Theater Marketing and Public Relations Officer Sheree Marcucci, right, as the city's representative on the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Board of Directors. During her three-year term, Marcucci will use her decades of professional experience to assist in crafting the Bureau’s marketing efforts, in addition to representing and promoting Waterbury’s tourism interests. “I am happy to accept this appointment to the Board of the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau and be a part of developing new tourism marketing initiatives that will drive economic development in our community,” Marcucci said.
The Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau represents 63 town throughout Connecticut and is dedicated to promoting leisure and travel to the region in keeping with the values of the individual communities it serves. For more information, visit www.northwestct.com.
Hartford Stage is collecting donations for the Sandy Hook United Way Fund to support the victims of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday. Donations for the Sandy Hook United Way Fund can be made in the lobby during all remaining performances of A Christmas Carol.
Over at the Westport Country Playhouse, Adam Clemens of Westport and Carole Hochman of Manhattan have been elected members of the board of trustees at Westport Country Playhouse.
Clemens is a managing director of Portfolio Advisors and serves as a voting member of the firm’s investment committee. He joined Portfolio Advisors in 2010 and is primarily engaged in sourcing, evaluating, and recommending investment opportunities in private equity co-investments. Previously, he was co-founder and president of New York Life Capital Partners (NYLCAP), the captive manager of alternative assets for New York Life Insurance Company and third-party investors, the head of private equity and leveraged finance with New York Life’s Private Finance Group,and a vice president with Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company in the private placement department. Clemens has a BS degree from Georgetown University, an MBA degree from Columbia University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Hochman is chairman and chief creative officer of The Carole Hochman Design Group, headquartered in New York City. A designer and industry pioneer, Hochman has been designing intimate apparel for more than 30 years. She began her lingerie career by accident. While studying fashion design at Drexel University, she landed a job at Bergdorf Goodman in a department she’d given very little thought to before---lingerie. She learned the business and began working for a small New York-based intimate apparel design firm, now named Carole Hochman Designs. Hochman Design Group also owns OnGossamer and the licenses to several lingerie and sleepwear collections, including Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Jockey, Betsey Johnson, Donna Karan, and Nicole Miller.
Casting Complete for Yale Rep's Stones in His Pockets
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Fred Arsenault, last seen at Yale Rep earlier this season in Marie Antoinette, and Tony Award nominee Euan Morton complete the cast of Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones at Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel St., New Haven, Jan. 25-Feb.16. Opening Night is Thursday, Jan. 31.
In Stones in His Pockets, a rural Irish village is turned upside down by the arrival of an American film crew. When Charlie and Jake are cast as extras in the movie, they discover that Hollywood’s romanticized Ireland stands in stark contrast to the reality of their daily lives.
The production features scenic and projection design by Edward T. Morris, costumes by Nikki Delhomme, lighting by Solomon Weisbard, sound by Matt Otto, dramaturgy by Sarah Krasnow, vocal coaching by Stephen Gabis, and stage management by Nicole Marconi.
Winner of London’s Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Stones in His Pockets will be staged by OBIE Award-winning resident director Evan Yionoulis. Arsenault and Morton playing more than a dozen eccentric characters—from the film’s spoiled American starlet to the star-struck locals.
Tickets range from $20-$96: www.yalerep.org; 203-432-1234; Rep Box Office , 1120 Chapel St. Student, senior and group rates are also available.
In Stones in His Pockets, a rural Irish village is turned upside down by the arrival of an American film crew. When Charlie and Jake are cast as extras in the movie, they discover that Hollywood’s romanticized Ireland stands in stark contrast to the reality of their daily lives.
The production features scenic and projection design by Edward T. Morris, costumes by Nikki Delhomme, lighting by Solomon Weisbard, sound by Matt Otto, dramaturgy by Sarah Krasnow, vocal coaching by Stephen Gabis, and stage management by Nicole Marconi.
Winner of London’s Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Stones in His Pockets will be staged by OBIE Award-winning resident director Evan Yionoulis. Arsenault and Morton playing more than a dozen eccentric characters—from the film’s spoiled American starlet to the star-struck locals.
Tickets range from $20-$96: www.yalerep.org; 203-432-1234; Rep Box Office , 1120 Chapel St. Student, senior and group rates are also available.
27 Aralık 2012 Perşembe
Join the Coversation Between Authors Adriana Trigiani, Giulia Melucci
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New York Times bestselling author Adriana Trigiani's novels are alternately touching and hilarious. Filled with her gregarious spirit and love of life, Trigiani's books have millions of fans. Popular titles include "The Shoemaker's Wife," "Brava Valentine," "Big Stone Gap," "Rococo" and "Don't Sing at the Table: Life Lessons from My Grandmother."
She will be joined in conversation by another Italian-American author who has explored the mysterious ways of the heart (and the stomach): Giulia Melucci, author of "I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti."
"A Conversation Between Adriana Trigiani & Giulia Melucci" is guaranteed to be a fun and food-filled festa, and will take place 7:30 pm Friday, Jan. 11 at The Mark Twain Museum Center, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford.
Tickets are $30 ($25 for museum members). A special $65 package includes a pre-lecture Italian reception with the authors. Call 860-280-3130.
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| Antoinette LaVecchia in TheaterWorks' presentaion of Giulia Melucci's I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, adapted by playwright Jacques Lamarre, who manages special events at the Mark Twain House. Photo: Lanny Nagler |
"A Conversation Between Adriana Trigiani & Giulia Melucci" is guaranteed to be a fun and food-filled festa, and will take place 7:30 pm Friday, Jan. 11 at The Mark Twain Museum Center, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford.
Tickets are $30 ($25 for museum members). A special $65 package includes a pre-lecture Italian reception with the authors. Call 860-280-3130.
Wesleyan Center for the Arts List January Happenings
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Music Class for Children
Title of Event: Youth Gamelan Ensemble
Location: World Music Hall, 40 Wyllys Ave, Middletown, CT
Date: Classes start on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 10am
Fee: Only $30 for a semester of classes
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
The Youth Gamelan Ensemble was founded as a Center for the Arts program in 2002 by Wesleyan Artist in Residence I.M. Harjito, who guides the group along with Professor Sumarsam and Director Joseph Getter. The ensemble is open to all children ages 7 through 17. No prior experience necessary. Rehearsals take place on Saturday mornings from 10am to 11am. Classes start on Saturday, January 26, 2013 and conclude with a performance on Thursday, May 9, 2013. The Wesleyan Youth Gamelan Ensemble has received support from the Middletown Commission on the Arts. To register, call the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 or email boxoffice@wesleyan.edu.
Opening Reception for Gallery Exhibition
Title of Event: Opening Reception for Lucy+Jorge Orta—“Food-Water-Life”
Location: Main Gallery, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, 283 Washington Terrace, Middletown, CT
Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 from 4:30pm to 6:30pm; Gallery Talk at 5pm by Guest
Curator Judith Hoos Fox of c2, curatorsquared
Fee: FREE!
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/zilkha
The work of Lucy+Jorge Orta explores the major concerns that define the 21st century: biodiversity, environmental conditions, climate change, and exchange among peoples. At the same time, this work embodies the philosophy that steers their pioneering art practice, “the ethics of aesthetics.” As heirs to the practice of social sculpture, formulated by Joseph Beuys in the 1960s, the Ortas’ works are, in a sense, reflections of their own function--beguiling assemblages that are the platform for the preparation of food, mechanisms that actually purify water, and elements that they created for their 2007 expedition to Antarctica and that are part of an effort to amend Article XIII of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The works in the “Food-Water-Life” exhibition are metaphors-in-action, constructions that perform the tasks of which they are emblematic. It is in their ability to actually function, albeit awkwardly and haltingly, that these objects gain power as works of art created to move us to awareness and action. Lucy+Jorge Orta: “Food-Water-Life” is curated by guest curators Ginger Gregg Duggan and Judith Hoos Fox of c2 curatorsquared, and is co-sponsored by the College of the Environment with additional support from the Department of Art and Art History.
Opening Reception for Video Installation
Title of Event: Opening Reception for “Remodeling Zilkha” (2012) by Janne Höltermann
Location: North Gallery, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, 283 Washington Terrace, Middletown, CT
Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 from 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Fee: FREE!
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/zilkha
“Remodeling Zilkha” (2012) is a site-specific, two-channel video installation (8:16 min.) by Janne Höltermann, the Luther Gregg Sullivan Visiting Artist in Wesleyan's Art and Art History Department, that shows the filmed gallery space within the same gallery space. The two videos of the installation extend, compress and mirror the room using the inherent architectural characteristics of the gallery (repetition, segmenting, mirroring) to reconfigure space.
Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts, 283 Washington Terrace, Middletown; boxoffice@wesleyan.edu; 860-685-3355.
Music Class for Children
Title of Event: Youth Gamelan Ensemble
Location: World Music Hall, 40 Wyllys Ave, Middletown, CT
Date: Classes start on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 10am
Fee: Only $30 for a semester of classes
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
The Youth Gamelan Ensemble was founded as a Center for the Arts program in 2002 by Wesleyan Artist in Residence I.M. Harjito, who guides the group along with Professor Sumarsam and Director Joseph Getter. The ensemble is open to all children ages 7 through 17. No prior experience necessary. Rehearsals take place on Saturday mornings from 10am to 11am. Classes start on Saturday, January 26, 2013 and conclude with a performance on Thursday, May 9, 2013. The Wesleyan Youth Gamelan Ensemble has received support from the Middletown Commission on the Arts. To register, call the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 or email boxoffice@wesleyan.edu.
Opening Reception for Gallery Exhibition
Title of Event: Opening Reception for Lucy+Jorge Orta—“Food-Water-Life”
Location: Main Gallery, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, 283 Washington Terrace, Middletown, CT
Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 from 4:30pm to 6:30pm; Gallery Talk at 5pm by Guest
Curator Judith Hoos Fox of c2, curatorsquared
Fee: FREE!
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/zilkha
The work of Lucy+Jorge Orta explores the major concerns that define the 21st century: biodiversity, environmental conditions, climate change, and exchange among peoples. At the same time, this work embodies the philosophy that steers their pioneering art practice, “the ethics of aesthetics.” As heirs to the practice of social sculpture, formulated by Joseph Beuys in the 1960s, the Ortas’ works are, in a sense, reflections of their own function--beguiling assemblages that are the platform for the preparation of food, mechanisms that actually purify water, and elements that they created for their 2007 expedition to Antarctica and that are part of an effort to amend Article XIII of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The works in the “Food-Water-Life” exhibition are metaphors-in-action, constructions that perform the tasks of which they are emblematic. It is in their ability to actually function, albeit awkwardly and haltingly, that these objects gain power as works of art created to move us to awareness and action. Lucy+Jorge Orta: “Food-Water-Life” is curated by guest curators Ginger Gregg Duggan and Judith Hoos Fox of c2 curatorsquared, and is co-sponsored by the College of the Environment with additional support from the Department of Art and Art History.
Opening Reception for Video Installation
Title of Event: Opening Reception for “Remodeling Zilkha” (2012) by Janne Höltermann
Location: North Gallery, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, 283 Washington Terrace, Middletown, CT
Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 from 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Fee: FREE!
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/zilkha
“Remodeling Zilkha” (2012) is a site-specific, two-channel video installation (8:16 min.) by Janne Höltermann, the Luther Gregg Sullivan Visiting Artist in Wesleyan's Art and Art History Department, that shows the filmed gallery space within the same gallery space. The two videos of the installation extend, compress and mirror the room using the inherent architectural characteristics of the gallery (repetition, segmenting, mirroring) to reconfigure space.
Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts, 283 Washington Terrace, Middletown; boxoffice@wesleyan.edu; 860-685-3355.
HSO Celebrates 50 Years of America's Musicals at Goodspeed
To contact us Click HERE
Hartford Symphony Orchestra and Goodspeed Musicals will join to celebrate the music and the magic of Goodspeed’s golden anniversary in a spectacular concert event on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 pm. at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford.
For 50 years, Goodspeed has been recognized around the world as the “home of the American musical”. This special collaboration will feature selections from Goodspeed originals that moved to Broadway including Annie and Man of La Mancha, plus audience favorites from dozens of shows like Brigadoon, Finian’s Rainbow and No, No Nanette.
Led by guest conductor Michael O’Flahertywho is now in his 21st year as Resident Music Director for Goodspeed Musicals, the program will feature the talents of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, as well as performances by special guests Sarah Uriarte Berry, Quentin Earl Darrington, and James Snyder, plus aspiring professional performers from The Hartt School Musical Theatre Department’s Class of 2013.
With a set list that comprises musical theatre’s greatest hits, the evening will include songs from 42nd Street; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; A Little Night Music; Annie Get Your Gun; Anything Goes; Babes In Arms; Big River; Carousel; Gentleman Prefer Blondes; Kiss Me, Kate; Lady, Be Good!; Mame; On The Town; On the Twentieth Century; Promises, Promises; Red Hot & Blue; The Fantasticks and more.Berry starred as Magnolia in Goodspeed’s Show Boat and her Broadway and national tour credits include Beauty and the Beast; Carousel; Cinderella; End of the Rainbow; Les Misérables; Next to Normal; Sunset Boulevard; Taboo; The Boys from Syracuse; The Light in the Piazza; and Tenderloin.
Darrington was Lucas in Goodspeed’s production of Abyssinia and has appeared in Broadway productions and national tours of Memphis; Ragtime; The Color Purple; and The Lion King.
Snyder starred as Billy Bigelow in Goodspeed’s Carousel and led the cast of Crybaby on Broadway. His additional New York and national stage credits include Broadway: Three Generations; Fanny; Happy Days; Mama!; Oedipus the King; Rock of Ages; Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes; and The Fantasticks.
“We are thrilled to kick off Goodspeed’s year-long celebration of our 50thanniversary with this one-of-a-kind concert event,” said Michael Price, executive director of Goodspeed Musicals. “It is a rare occasion when two of Connecticut’s cultural treasures join together but when they do, the result is a magical collaboration that will be remembered for many years to come.”
HSO President and CEO Carrie Hammond says, “It truly is a dream for us to collaborate with Goodspeed's incredible talents. Goodspeed has been a driving force behind the development and excellence of American Musical Theatre. This concert will bring together two of Connecticut's cultural treasures and ambassadors for the arts to this community.”
Tickets range in price from $20-$67.50. Student tickets are $10 and $25 tickets are available for patrons age 40 and under. To purchase tickets or for more information, please contact HSO ticket services at (860) 244-2999 or visit www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Hartford Symphony Orchestra and Goodspeed Musicals will join to celebrate the music and the magic of Goodspeed’s golden anniversary in a spectacular concert event on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 pm. at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford. For 50 years, Goodspeed has been recognized around the world as the “home of the American musical”. This special collaboration will feature selections from Goodspeed originals that moved to Broadway including Annie and Man of La Mancha, plus audience favorites from dozens of shows like Brigadoon, Finian’s Rainbow and No, No Nanette.
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| James Snyder |
With a set list that comprises musical theatre’s greatest hits, the evening will include songs from 42nd Street; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; A Little Night Music; Annie Get Your Gun; Anything Goes; Babes In Arms; Big River; Carousel; Gentleman Prefer Blondes; Kiss Me, Kate; Lady, Be Good!; Mame; On The Town; On the Twentieth Century; Promises, Promises; Red Hot & Blue; The Fantasticks and more.
Berry starred as Magnolia in Goodspeed’s Show Boat and her Broadway and national tour credits include Beauty and the Beast; Carousel; Cinderella; End of the Rainbow; Les Misérables; Next to Normal; Sunset Boulevard; Taboo; The Boys from Syracuse; The Light in the Piazza; and Tenderloin.Darrington was Lucas in Goodspeed’s production of Abyssinia and has appeared in Broadway productions and national tours of Memphis; Ragtime; The Color Purple; and The Lion King.
Snyder starred as Billy Bigelow in Goodspeed’s Carousel and led the cast of Crybaby on Broadway. His additional New York and national stage credits include Broadway: Three Generations; Fanny; Happy Days; Mama!; Oedipus the King; Rock of Ages; Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes; and The Fantasticks.
“We are thrilled to kick off Goodspeed’s year-long celebration of our 50thanniversary with this one-of-a-kind concert event,” said Michael Price, executive director of Goodspeed Musicals. “It is a rare occasion when two of Connecticut’s cultural treasures join together but when they do, the result is a magical collaboration that will be remembered for many years to come.”
HSO President and CEO Carrie Hammond says, “It truly is a dream for us to collaborate with Goodspeed's incredible talents. Goodspeed has been a driving force behind the development and excellence of American Musical Theatre. This concert will bring together two of Connecticut's cultural treasures and ambassadors for the arts to this community.”
Tickets range in price from $20-$67.50. Student tickets are $10 and $25 tickets are available for patrons age 40 and under. To purchase tickets or for more information, please contact HSO ticket services at (860) 244-2999 or visit www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Don't Miss These Connecticut Arts Connections
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Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary has appointed Palace Theater Marketing and Public Relations Officer Sheree Marcucci, right, as the city's representative on the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Board of Directors. During her three-year term, Marcucci will use her decades of professional experience to assist in crafting the Bureau’s marketing efforts, in addition to representing and promoting Waterbury’s tourism interests.
“I am happy to accept this appointment to the Board of the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau and be a part of developing new tourism marketing initiatives that will drive economic development in our community,” Marcucci said.
The Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau represents 63 town throughout Connecticut and is dedicated to promoting leisure and travel to the region in keeping with the values of the individual communities it serves. For more information, visit www.northwestct.com.
Hartford Stage is collecting donations for the Sandy Hook United Way Fund to support the victims of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday. Donations for the Sandy Hook United Way Fund can be made in the lobby during all remaining performances of A Christmas Carol.
Over at the Westport Country Playhouse, Adam Clemens of Westport and Carole Hochman of Manhattan have been elected members of the board of trustees at Westport Country Playhouse.
Clemens is a managing director of Portfolio Advisors and serves as a voting member of the firm’s investment committee. He joined Portfolio Advisors in 2010 and is primarily engaged in sourcing, evaluating, and recommending investment opportunities in private equity co-investments. Previously, he was co-founder and president of New York Life Capital Partners (NYLCAP), the captive manager of alternative assets for New York Life Insurance Company and third-party investors, the head of private equity and leveraged finance with New York Life’s Private Finance Group,and a vice president with Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company in the private placement department. Clemens has a BS degree from Georgetown University, an MBA degree from Columbia University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Hochman is chairman and chief creative officer of The Carole Hochman Design Group, headquartered in New York City. A designer and industry pioneer, Hochman has been designing intimate apparel for more than 30 years. She began her lingerie career by accident. While studying fashion design at Drexel University, she landed a job at Bergdorf Goodman in a department she’d given very little thought to before---lingerie. She learned the business and began working for a small New York-based intimate apparel design firm, now named Carole Hochman Designs. Hochman Design Group also owns OnGossamer and the licenses to several lingerie and sleepwear collections, including Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Jockey, Betsey Johnson, Donna Karan, and Nicole Miller.
Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary has appointed Palace Theater Marketing and Public Relations Officer Sheree Marcucci, right, as the city's representative on the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Board of Directors. During her three-year term, Marcucci will use her decades of professional experience to assist in crafting the Bureau’s marketing efforts, in addition to representing and promoting Waterbury’s tourism interests. “I am happy to accept this appointment to the Board of the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau and be a part of developing new tourism marketing initiatives that will drive economic development in our community,” Marcucci said.
The Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau represents 63 town throughout Connecticut and is dedicated to promoting leisure and travel to the region in keeping with the values of the individual communities it serves. For more information, visit www.northwestct.com.
Hartford Stage is collecting donations for the Sandy Hook United Way Fund to support the victims of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday. Donations for the Sandy Hook United Way Fund can be made in the lobby during all remaining performances of A Christmas Carol.
Over at the Westport Country Playhouse, Adam Clemens of Westport and Carole Hochman of Manhattan have been elected members of the board of trustees at Westport Country Playhouse.
Clemens is a managing director of Portfolio Advisors and serves as a voting member of the firm’s investment committee. He joined Portfolio Advisors in 2010 and is primarily engaged in sourcing, evaluating, and recommending investment opportunities in private equity co-investments. Previously, he was co-founder and president of New York Life Capital Partners (NYLCAP), the captive manager of alternative assets for New York Life Insurance Company and third-party investors, the head of private equity and leveraged finance with New York Life’s Private Finance Group,and a vice president with Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company in the private placement department. Clemens has a BS degree from Georgetown University, an MBA degree from Columbia University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Hochman is chairman and chief creative officer of The Carole Hochman Design Group, headquartered in New York City. A designer and industry pioneer, Hochman has been designing intimate apparel for more than 30 years. She began her lingerie career by accident. While studying fashion design at Drexel University, she landed a job at Bergdorf Goodman in a department she’d given very little thought to before---lingerie. She learned the business and began working for a small New York-based intimate apparel design firm, now named Carole Hochman Designs. Hochman Design Group also owns OnGossamer and the licenses to several lingerie and sleepwear collections, including Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Jockey, Betsey Johnson, Donna Karan, and Nicole Miller.
Casting Complete for Yale Rep's Stones in His Pockets
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Fred Arsenault, last seen at Yale Rep earlier this season in Marie Antoinette, and Tony Award nominee Euan Morton complete the cast of Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones at Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel St., New Haven, Jan. 25-Feb.16. Opening Night is Thursday, Jan. 31.
In Stones in His Pockets, a rural Irish village is turned upside down by the arrival of an American film crew. When Charlie and Jake are cast as extras in the movie, they discover that Hollywood’s romanticized Ireland stands in stark contrast to the reality of their daily lives.
The production features scenic and projection design by Edward T. Morris, costumes by Nikki Delhomme, lighting by Solomon Weisbard, sound by Matt Otto, dramaturgy by Sarah Krasnow, vocal coaching by Stephen Gabis, and stage management by Nicole Marconi.
Winner of London’s Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Stones in His Pockets will be staged by OBIE Award-winning resident director Evan Yionoulis. Arsenault and Morton playing more than a dozen eccentric characters—from the film’s spoiled American starlet to the star-struck locals.
Tickets range from $20-$96: www.yalerep.org; 203-432-1234; Rep Box Office , 1120 Chapel St. Student, senior and group rates are also available.
In Stones in His Pockets, a rural Irish village is turned upside down by the arrival of an American film crew. When Charlie and Jake are cast as extras in the movie, they discover that Hollywood’s romanticized Ireland stands in stark contrast to the reality of their daily lives.
The production features scenic and projection design by Edward T. Morris, costumes by Nikki Delhomme, lighting by Solomon Weisbard, sound by Matt Otto, dramaturgy by Sarah Krasnow, vocal coaching by Stephen Gabis, and stage management by Nicole Marconi.
Winner of London’s Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Stones in His Pockets will be staged by OBIE Award-winning resident director Evan Yionoulis. Arsenault and Morton playing more than a dozen eccentric characters—from the film’s spoiled American starlet to the star-struck locals.
Tickets range from $20-$96: www.yalerep.org; 203-432-1234; Rep Box Office , 1120 Chapel St. Student, senior and group rates are also available.
20 Aralık 2012 Perşembe
“THE SANTALAND DIARIES:” A TALE OF A RELUCTANT ELF
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If you’re an unemployedactor, you might be willing to take any job to pay your rent. David Sedaris found himself in just such a state after landing in NewYork to make his fame and fortune on the stage. He has memorialized the experience in a one-man show “TheSantaland Diaries” playing with jolly holly fun at TheaterWorks of Hartforduntil Sunday, December 23.
While the out –of- work actorhad some standards, (he would not be a French fry or hot dog or taco standingon the street corner handing out leaflets), he found himself willing toconsider an ad for a Christmas elf at Macy’s Department Store, especially afterhis roommate dared him to apply. At thirty-three years of age, his biggest fearwas that he wouldn’t be hired.
Enter Jeff Kready as Crumpetthe reluctant elf who endured the indignities of the application process andthen found himself clad in red, white and green from his sparkling cap to hiscurled velvet toes, complete with candy cane leggings. As an elf with an attitude, he had manycareer opportunities, from entrance to exit elf, bridge elf, runner elf, magicwindow or magic tree elf, photo or island elf. Wherever he landed, he had to deal with grumpy parents andcrying children and impossible to please bosses, not to mention fellow elvesnamed Snowball, Gingerbread, Jingle and even Dreidel.
Kready is alternatelyphilosophical and sarcastic about his seasonal stint with Santa, and the taskof being “relentlessly cheerful” and permanently merry only gives him a headache. His goal of being elected to the Elfin Hall of Fame isprobably a lost cause. Yet late on Christmas Eve, the skepticalCrumpet finds himself in the presence of a Kris Kingle who gives him pause andactually a new perspective on the true meaning of the holiday. Rob Ruggiero directs this Christmastale that is definitely different in its spirit of looking behind the candycanes for what is lurking in the red and green shadows.
For tickets ($30 subscribers,$35 senior matinees, student rush $17, general admission $40-53), callTheaterWorks, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford at 860-527-7838 or online at www.theaterworkshartford.org. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday,Thursday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matineesSaturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Lace your eggnog with asplash of rum and let one silly and sarcastic elf bring you some unbridledChristmas cheer.
Photos:http://www.theaterworkshartford.org/Press/Santa/
If you’re an unemployedactor, you might be willing to take any job to pay your rent. David Sedaris found himself in just such a state after landing in NewYork to make his fame and fortune on the stage. He has memorialized the experience in a one-man show “TheSantaland Diaries” playing with jolly holly fun at TheaterWorks of Hartforduntil Sunday, December 23.
While the out –of- work actorhad some standards, (he would not be a French fry or hot dog or taco standingon the street corner handing out leaflets), he found himself willing toconsider an ad for a Christmas elf at Macy’s Department Store, especially afterhis roommate dared him to apply. At thirty-three years of age, his biggest fearwas that he wouldn’t be hired.
Enter Jeff Kready as Crumpetthe reluctant elf who endured the indignities of the application process andthen found himself clad in red, white and green from his sparkling cap to hiscurled velvet toes, complete with candy cane leggings. As an elf with an attitude, he had manycareer opportunities, from entrance to exit elf, bridge elf, runner elf, magicwindow or magic tree elf, photo or island elf. Wherever he landed, he had to deal with grumpy parents andcrying children and impossible to please bosses, not to mention fellow elvesnamed Snowball, Gingerbread, Jingle and even Dreidel.
Kready is alternatelyphilosophical and sarcastic about his seasonal stint with Santa, and the taskof being “relentlessly cheerful” and permanently merry only gives him a headache. His goal of being elected to the Elfin Hall of Fame isprobably a lost cause. Yet late on Christmas Eve, the skepticalCrumpet finds himself in the presence of a Kris Kingle who gives him pause andactually a new perspective on the true meaning of the holiday. Rob Ruggiero directs this Christmastale that is definitely different in its spirit of looking behind the candycanes for what is lurking in the red and green shadows.
For tickets ($30 subscribers,$35 senior matinees, student rush $17, general admission $40-53), callTheaterWorks, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford at 860-527-7838 or online at www.theaterworkshartford.org. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday,Thursday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matineesSaturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Lace your eggnog with asplash of rum and let one silly and sarcastic elf bring you some unbridledChristmas cheer.
Photos:http://www.theaterworkshartford.org/Press/Santa/
"A CHRISTMAS CAROL" SAILS INTO HARTFORD STAGE ON GHOST WINGS
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The Grinch is a green meanie who hates Christmas, much in the tradition of a present day Scrooge. Each of them in their own way have hearts that are too hard and too small to allow any joy to enter and thrive. But lessons can be learned and changes can be transforming. Even Ebenezer Scrooge, the original curmudgeon, can become lovable.
If seeing is believing, then head over to the Hartford Stage for the fifteenth anniversary production of Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol-A Ghost Story of Christmas" directed by Maxwell Williams until Saturday, December 29.
Once again the inimitable Bill Raymond will portray the miserly man who hates everything festive and merry that makes Christmas so wonderful. On this particular Christmas Eve, the steely-minded Scrooge has an unlikely visitor: the ghost of his dead business partner Jacob Marley (Noble Shropshire) who has been gone lo these seven years.
The two men ran an accounting house and worshipped money more than men, the almighty dollar mattering more than humanity. Marley warns Scrooge that he can yet avert his own terrible fate, but only if he repents, changes, mends his skinflint ways. To that end, he will be visited by three spirits tonight, ghosts who dramatically resemble a trio of creditors who owe him money in life: Bettye Pidgeon, a doll vendor (Johanna Morrison), Bert, a fruit and cider vendor (Alan Rust) and Mr. Marvel, a watchworks seller (Michael Preston). The Spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future remind Scrooge of who he was, is and is destined to become and urge him to seek redemption. They appear Christmas Eve when the clock strikes one o'clock, two and three. When Scrooge awakes and realizes it is truly Christmas Day, he is now benevolent and filled with gratitude.
The ones who clearly benefit from his largesse are his housekeeper Mrs. Dilber (Noble Shropshire), his humble employee Bob Crachit (Robert Hannon Davis) and his son Tiny Tim ( Ethan Pancoast and Fred Thornley IV) and his nephew Fred (Curtis Billings). Because of the preponderance of ghosts this story is not appropriate for very young children, under the age of nine.
For tickets ($26.50-93.50), call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or online at www.hartfordstage.org. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m, with matinees at 2 p.m. Sunday and selected weekdays and Saturdays. Call for special events for the whole family.
Let two hundred pounds of artificial snow bring sparkle to your holiday celebrations as the magic of Scrooge's transformation from naughty to nice captures your heart.
The Grinch is a green meanie who hates Christmas, much in the tradition of a present day Scrooge. Each of them in their own way have hearts that are too hard and too small to allow any joy to enter and thrive. But lessons can be learned and changes can be transforming. Even Ebenezer Scrooge, the original curmudgeon, can become lovable.
If seeing is believing, then head over to the Hartford Stage for the fifteenth anniversary production of Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol-A Ghost Story of Christmas" directed by Maxwell Williams until Saturday, December 29.
Once again the inimitable Bill Raymond will portray the miserly man who hates everything festive and merry that makes Christmas so wonderful. On this particular Christmas Eve, the steely-minded Scrooge has an unlikely visitor: the ghost of his dead business partner Jacob Marley (Noble Shropshire) who has been gone lo these seven years.
The two men ran an accounting house and worshipped money more than men, the almighty dollar mattering more than humanity. Marley warns Scrooge that he can yet avert his own terrible fate, but only if he repents, changes, mends his skinflint ways. To that end, he will be visited by three spirits tonight, ghosts who dramatically resemble a trio of creditors who owe him money in life: Bettye Pidgeon, a doll vendor (Johanna Morrison), Bert, a fruit and cider vendor (Alan Rust) and Mr. Marvel, a watchworks seller (Michael Preston). The Spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future remind Scrooge of who he was, is and is destined to become and urge him to seek redemption. They appear Christmas Eve when the clock strikes one o'clock, two and three. When Scrooge awakes and realizes it is truly Christmas Day, he is now benevolent and filled with gratitude.
The ones who clearly benefit from his largesse are his housekeeper Mrs. Dilber (Noble Shropshire), his humble employee Bob Crachit (Robert Hannon Davis) and his son Tiny Tim ( Ethan Pancoast and Fred Thornley IV) and his nephew Fred (Curtis Billings). Because of the preponderance of ghosts this story is not appropriate for very young children, under the age of nine.
For tickets ($26.50-93.50), call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or online at www.hartfordstage.org. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m, with matinees at 2 p.m. Sunday and selected weekdays and Saturdays. Call for special events for the whole family.
Let two hundred pounds of artificial snow bring sparkle to your holiday celebrations as the magic of Scrooge's transformation from naughty to nice captures your heart.
"MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET" A PERFECT FAMILY FAVORITE
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The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a New York City tradition since 1924, celebrates a day of recording your blessings as well as signaling the start of the countdown to Christmas. What better way to mark the festive occasion than to attend the Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury's magical community production of "Miracle on 34th Street" by Meredith Willson, being offered for the whole family until Sunday, December 30. It even begins with a gala parade!
When Doris Walker, a Macy's employee, played by a dedicated and capable Cassie Taylor, discovers her parade's and store's Santa Claus has been imbibing more than hot mulled cider and is unfit for his jolly red suit, she taps a conveniently nearby stranger, Kris Kringle, for the job. With his full white beard and merry disposition, Kris, portrayed by a convincingly jovial and wise Tim Cleary, seems perfect.
With Kris's philosophy of spreading love, that people should be kind and helpful, he assumes his role as Santa with gusto and enthusiasm. If Macy's doesn't have a toy a child wants, he has no problem sending mom and dad to the rival store Gimbel's to buy it.
Doris, a single mom with a precocious daughter Susan, has grown up believing in realism, not trusting anything she can't touch, see, taste or smell and she has raised Susan to follow her no-nonsense path. The adorable Susan, a role shared by twins Kaitlyn and Kirstianna Mueller, who are celebrating their tenth birthdays, is introduced to Kris by a friendly neighbor she calls Uncle Fred, played by an accommodating Billy Hannon. The twins are delightfully convincing as the young girl who want to believe in fantasy and fairy tales, even if her mother doesn't.
When the store's pseudo-psychologist Mr. Sawyer (Chuck Stango) judges Kris to be unstable, resulting in his being fired, Kris's defenders, including Uncle Fred an attorney, rally to his side. Kris is put on trial and he is prosecuted by District Attorney Thomas Mara (Tom Chute and Joe Stofko) and Judge Harper (Chuck DellaRocco) has to make a final ruling: is he really Santa Claus? Semina DeLaurentis directs this energetic cast of two dozen, ranging in age from 7 to 65, who deliver a stirring holiday musical the whole family will enjoy.
For tickets ($31-43, special rates for seniors, students and children), call Seven Angels Theatre, Plank Road, Hamilton Park Pavilion, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at www.SevenAngelsTheatre.org. Performances are
Thursday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Learn a lesson of good will, that fairy tales can come true and that faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to do so. The cast sings, "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas," to get you in the proper mood.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a New York City tradition since 1924, celebrates a day of recording your blessings as well as signaling the start of the countdown to Christmas. What better way to mark the festive occasion than to attend the Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury's magical community production of "Miracle on 34th Street" by Meredith Willson, being offered for the whole family until Sunday, December 30. It even begins with a gala parade!
When Doris Walker, a Macy's employee, played by a dedicated and capable Cassie Taylor, discovers her parade's and store's Santa Claus has been imbibing more than hot mulled cider and is unfit for his jolly red suit, she taps a conveniently nearby stranger, Kris Kringle, for the job. With his full white beard and merry disposition, Kris, portrayed by a convincingly jovial and wise Tim Cleary, seems perfect.
With Kris's philosophy of spreading love, that people should be kind and helpful, he assumes his role as Santa with gusto and enthusiasm. If Macy's doesn't have a toy a child wants, he has no problem sending mom and dad to the rival store Gimbel's to buy it.
Doris, a single mom with a precocious daughter Susan, has grown up believing in realism, not trusting anything she can't touch, see, taste or smell and she has raised Susan to follow her no-nonsense path. The adorable Susan, a role shared by twins Kaitlyn and Kirstianna Mueller, who are celebrating their tenth birthdays, is introduced to Kris by a friendly neighbor she calls Uncle Fred, played by an accommodating Billy Hannon. The twins are delightfully convincing as the young girl who want to believe in fantasy and fairy tales, even if her mother doesn't.
When the store's pseudo-psychologist Mr. Sawyer (Chuck Stango) judges Kris to be unstable, resulting in his being fired, Kris's defenders, including Uncle Fred an attorney, rally to his side. Kris is put on trial and he is prosecuted by District Attorney Thomas Mara (Tom Chute and Joe Stofko) and Judge Harper (Chuck DellaRocco) has to make a final ruling: is he really Santa Claus? Semina DeLaurentis directs this energetic cast of two dozen, ranging in age from 7 to 65, who deliver a stirring holiday musical the whole family will enjoy.
For tickets ($31-43, special rates for seniors, students and children), call Seven Angels Theatre, Plank Road, Hamilton Park Pavilion, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at www.SevenAngelsTheatre.org. Performances are
Thursday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Learn a lesson of good will, that fairy tales can come true and that faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to do so. The cast sings, "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas," to get you in the proper mood.
Spring Awakening (Eugene O'Neill Theater, January 10th, 2007)
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I’ve never been a huge fan of musicals. After performing in two of them back in high school — Grease and Brigadoon — it was clear that the form itself is often narratively flimsy, and sometimes even narratively non-existent. Almost exactly five years ago now, however, I saw the best Broadway musical that I’ve ever seen in my life, Spring Awakening. More of a pop/rock opera (based on Frank Wedekind’s 1891 German stage-play of the same title), this musical took the genre to places I’d never seen it go before, with lyricist Steven Sater and composer Duncan Sheik at the helm, alongside an ensemble of exceptionally talented young people in the original cast.
Adding to my excitement was that just a couple of hours before the show, I had the chance to meet Sater and Sheik at the now-defunct Virgin Megastore in Times Square, where they signed copies of the album with the entire cast, who performed two songs from the show as well (“Touch Me” and “Totally Fucked”), much to the surprise and delight of shoppers and onlookers. To own an autographed copy of the original cast recording is even more special, of course, because several of the show’s stars — including Jonathan Groff (as Melchior), John Gallagher, Jr. (as Moritz), and Glee’s Lea Michele (as Wendla) — have since gone on to other high-profile roles on stage and screen.
By the time we’d had dinner at Thalia and arrived at our seats in the packed and bustling theater, I was anticipating the show more than I’d anticipated one in a very long time. (The experience was made a bit more surreal because sitting directly in front of me and my friend was none other than Jerry Seinfeld!) I’d read some reviews of the show, yet I still wasn’t quite sure what to expect from it, though I’d admired Duncan Sheik’s music for a whole decade already.
The musical itself actually began very quietly, barely even noticeably. Lea Michele walked onto the stage while the house lights were still up and stood on a chair (as I recall) to sing the show’s plaintive opening number, “Mama Who Bore Me.” Throughout much of the performance, members of the cast were seated in chairs at the sides of the stage, which was designed like an old-school classroom, with the backstage ropes and pulleys and bare brick walls exposed all the way at the rear of the space. Some audience members had been seated at the edges of the stage beforehand, too, discreetly shuffled in with the ensemble.
The set was dimly lit for most of the performance, appropriate to the age of the story, one that contains a significant share of heavy, shrouded topics. The original play was considered scandalous in its own time for addressing various taboo subjects — sexual desire, masturbation, abuse, suicide, abortion — all in relation to the lives of teenagers. Even in today’s more liberal world, teens are still often treated like non-sexual beings by the culture-at-large; as a result, those kinds of issues tend to get downplayed, silenced, or ignored by the adults in their lives. Sater describes the musical’s genesis in the liner notes of the CD, mentioning that he first gave a copy of the play to Sheik in the wake of the shootings that occurred at Columbine High School in 1999:
“Soon after, I called Duncan with an idea: what if the songs in our show functioned as interior monologues? Characters would not serenade one another in the middle of scenes — instead, the songs would voice only the thoughts and feelings of each character’s private landscape. (This seemed, after all, the point: when we keep the kids out of the conversation, we can’t hear what’s going on inside them.)”
That Sheik’s score sounds so contemporary, both in style and delivery, is the musical’s greatest strength. These repressed German students from so long ago are given an opportunity to express their frustrations and hopes wholly in modern terms; the gift of time itself, and the social changes that history gradually allows, are affectionately granted to them. And to balance out that vibrant expressionism, the narrative threads of the original play are presented, for the most part, impressionistically, lightly binding the songs together here and there for cumulative effect.
I remember that on the train ride back to Boston from New York, I listened to the songs of Spring Awakening for the entire four hours. They hadn’t lost any of their power in the privacy of my headphones, and the pop elements that Sheik had planted in them sounded even more vivid on the recording than they did in live performance. The upbeat harmonies of “My Junk” appealed to me instantly during the show. A quartet of girls sings it to the character Hanschen, played by Tom Deckman, as he admires (ahem) a postcard of a beautiful woman. So many of the musical’s themes travel through the song’s verses: “It’s like I’m your lover, or more like your ghost / I spend the day wonderin’ what you do, where you go… / We’ve all got our junk, and my junk is you.” Later, Sater and Sheik tease out the title metaphor further, flirting with the notion of pop music as dreamy spiritual nirvana: “I go up to my room, turn the stereo on / Shoot up some you in the You of some song.”
The boys of the ensemble get their spotlight early in the musical, too, through the rollicking schoolhouse rock of “All That’s Known” and “The Bitch of Living,” capitalizing on how conflicted they feel in their adolescent stretches of agony and ecstasy (amply captured by Bill T. Jones’s jubilant, acrobatic choreography). During the appearance at Virgin Megastore, Sheik remarked that “Touch Me” is his favorite song from the musical, and it isn’t hard to see why. With its alternating pulses of longing that are quietly restrained and then suddenly overflowing, the song soulfully approximates the desire for physical intimacy felt by younger people, who are commonly, though understandably, kept at a distance from one another until they’ve reached a certain age. In this way, the bodies of the songs themselves replicate the bodies of the young characters and performers throughout the musical, permitting them access to realms of release and satisfaction that they might not find otherwise.
I can clearly recall and visualize how stunning the staging was for the numbers in the middle of the show, “The Mirror-Blue Night” and “I Believe,” strategically placed at the end of Act One, just before the intermission. The star-like, descending round lights of “The Mirror-Blue Night” perfectly matched the tone and spectral imagery of the song, whereas the simple device of a wooden plank suspended from ropes made an ideal, subtle platform for the prayer-like “I Believe.” Melchior and Wendla consummate their relationship upon the plank, while the other actors sit cross-legged on the stage surrounding them, gently swaying the platform from side to side. (The boys who like guys share a similar moment with “The Word of Your Body” when it’s reprised in the show’s latter half.)
Although the second act opens with Moritz’s song “Don’t Do Sadness,” the musical does proceed in that direction. His character’s increasingly frenetic disposition — which snagged Gallagher one of the show’s eight Tony Awards — spirals downward to a terrible breaking point, and most of the remaining songs refer back to that heart-stopping moment. Sheik’s poignant, guitar-centered score (with orchestrations by Simon Hale) is most affecting in that mode; I never thought any musical would move me to tears, but that happened three times. It’s rare for a piece of musical theater to construct itself around darkness and “the sorrow at the heart of everything” and actually pull it off, at least with an audience that’s willing to be taken there.
“Left Behind” and “Those You’ve Known” are for me the musical’s most powerful songs. Melchior mourns the loss of his friend Moritz with a piercing clarity that only the young are capable of, carried by Jonathan Groff’s pure-as-water vocals: “The talks you never had, the Saturdays you never spent / All the grown-up places you never went… / All things he ever lived are left behind / All the fears that ever flickered through his mind / All the sadness that he’d come to own.” The memories of those who’ve been lost culminate in a scene that's set in a moonlit graveyard, where the ghosts of Moritz and Wendla join Melchior to sing “Those You’ve Known” (borrowing the melody of “All That’s Known” from earlier in the show). At their emotional apex, the song’s poetic lyrics remind me of the countless brilliant people who died during the AIDS epidemic, as well as those who've survived them:
“Now they’ll walk on my arm through the distant night,
And I won’t let them stray from my heart.
Through the wind, through the dark, through the winter light,
I will read all their dreams to the stars.
I’ll walk now with them, I’ll call on their names.
I’ll see their thoughts are known.
Not gone — not gone.”
The show's contemplative yet rousing finale, “The Song of Purple Summer,” reunites the ensemble at the front of the stage, in a line-up that’s reminiscent of “Seasons of Love,” the heartfelt hit from Rent, that other popular mainstay of the contemporary American musical-theater idiom, which Spring Awakening resembles on several levels. But Spring Awakening also holds the distinction of being thoroughly authentic and unique.
Eileen Myles, Inferno: A Poet's Novel (O/R Books, 2010) and Snowflake / different streets (Wave Books, 2012)
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Especiallyif you’re a poet, Eileen Myles’ Inferno:A Poet’s Novel is an addicting read, almost like a drug, or at least it wasfor me. I kept reading and readingto see whose name would be mentioned next. Eileen has forged her path and made her own name on the NewYork art scene from the mid-1970s up to the present day, so the roster of peoplewho appear in the pages of this literary tell-all is deep and vast. At a cursory glance and just forstarters (let’s try this out alphabetically rather than chronologically): John Ashbery, Amiri Baraka, TedBerrigan, Jim Carroll, Gregory Corso, Hart Crane, Tim Dlugos, Allen Ginsberg, June Jordan,Bill Knott, Michael Lally, Joan Larkin, Robert Lowell, Carson McCullers, AliceNotley, Frank O’Hara, Ron Padgett, Marge Piercy, Rene Ricard, Adrienne Rich,Aram Saroyan, James Schuyler, Patti Smith, Anne Waldman.
Backin November of 2001, I invited Eileen to give a talk in conjunction with acourse on queer identity that I teach at Emerson College in Boston. I recall that she brilliantly describedhow exactly the New York art scene operates: it's a grid of intersecting friendships that overlays the griddedmap of the city’s intersecting streets and avenues. The above list of writers whom Myles encountered in her everyday life makes it clear just how precise her metaphor is. And most of the poets on this list areones whom Eileen met when they were in the early stages of their careers. As she wisely remarks, “There’s nomystery why poetry is so elaborately practiced by the young. The material of the poems is energyitself, not even language. Wordscome later.”
Myles’ Inferno is “a poet’s novel” inseveral senses: it’s written forpoets, largely about poets, and most importantly, it explores the life andartistic evolution of the author herself, focusing mainly on her developmentas a poet. It’s Eileen’s infernobecause (in addition to spending some time beside an erupting Hawaiian volcano) she’s our Virgil throughout the book, which is just like Eileen’s generosity — asher readers, we get to be Dante, even though she’s the one who’s writing. Also just like Eileen: her poet's autobiography is a long and twistedroad through the descending circles of hell that ends in a subtitled sectioncalled “Heaven.”
Commentingon the narrative mode of the book late in the novel, Myles says, “It’s easy towrite an autobiography if the absence in the story is me. I remember applying to art school in1967, staying up late, and I saw my reflection in the black glass of thenight. When a window becomes amirror. Who do I think I amsitting here now, deeper in that life.” There’s a wonderfully prescient echo of that passage very early in thebook, too, when Eileen remembers her late nights of studying at her desk as astudent at UMass Boston: “Sometimes in utter hopelessness I put my cheek on the table like it wassomeone. I wanted to wake my brainup and be loved.”
Thefirst section of the novel interweaves several narrative strands: Eileen’s youth and education in Boston,her early years as a poet after her move to New York, and a more specificstory about a night that she and another woman spent as hired escorts for apair of visiting Italian businessmen. (Just read the book yourself to see how that one turns out.) The self-consciously postmodern move ofthe book’s second section: toincorporate the actual manuscript of a grant proposal that will fund thewriting of the novel itself, complete with lots of underlined, presumablytypewritten words instead of italicized ones. It feels like a smart move, as opposed to feeling like aploy. After all, Eileen’s Inferno is about how a writer makes herway in the world, and part of that is about money, grant applications beingperhaps the best source of it.
Infact, Eileen’s many commentaries on class and survival provide the book withits most distinctive and valuable insights, highlighting the link betweenstarving artists and their unofficial patrons. Like few other writers can, Eileen manages to pack an entirelifetime of experience into a single paragraph, along with some really sageadvice:
“Often,the person in the loft and the little apartment or room know each other. This is the traditional definition ofcool. Because rich people needpoor friends (but not too poor!) to maintain their connection to the strugglethat spawned them even if they never struggled. Poor people tend to know what’s going on plus they are oftengood-looking, at least when they are young and even later they are coolinteresting people the rich person once slept with, so the poor person alwaysfeathers the nests of the rich. Ifsomething bad happens to the poor person, the rich person would help. Everyone knows that. An artist’s responsibility for a verylong time is to get collected, socially.”
Forinstance, Myles was fortunate to live for two years, on and off, at thecountry estate of a wealthy New York couple, somewhere way out in the woods ofPennsylvania. She describes hertime there, and the solitary, dedicated work of writing her poems, as a kind ofspiritual journey, one that liberated her from all of the trappings of societyand its litany of invasive constructs: “I took my shirt off and I simply became no one, no name, no sex, justmoving alive across the land with a dog. Art brought me this.” She evenbegins to say a quiet little prayer each morning, appropriately, before shestarts to write. And who else butEileen could get totally, convincingly philosophical about watching her dogRosie take a shit?
I’vealways loved how Eileen Myles’ thoughts and language swim on the page, dartingaround here and there, impulsive and spontaneous, but also patient andfluid. That kind of movement is gorgeouslyexamined in the title poem of her 1997 book Schoolof Fish. At one point in Inferno, she even devotes a wholechapter to wondering what the fish inside an aquarium might be thinking and sayingto each other behind the glass.
Eileen’slatest collection of poetry, released just this year, is actually two collections, a tête-bêche bookcalled Snowflake / different streets. During a reading at Boston’s BrooklineBooksmith earlier this month, Myles commented that the idea was for the twobooks to be shoved together “like they’re fucking.” She also mentioned that the poems are the product of livingin two dramatically different locations; half of the poems (Snowflake) were written during her fiveyears of teaching at UC San Diego, while the other half (different streets) were written after her return to living in NewYork. When I asked her after thereading how the places affected her poems, she responded that the effect wasquite literal, in the same way that singers from different countries in ancienttimes cultivated different styles of singing because their voices rolled andechoed differently as they yodeled and shouted across the shapes of theirrespective landscapes.
Thepoems in Snowflake actually seem tobe influenced a little more by light than by shape. In the poem titled “Day,” Eileen re-shades her surroundingsas a child’s watercolor:
“Sheperceives
Thesepoems are populated equally by clusters of separately shining cars in LosAngeles and raccoons spotted on the tails of airplanes. Myles even conducts a cute conversationwith her cat in the poem “Eileen” (“Why can / you have a / giant plate / of pasta/ and I can / no longer have / my crunchy / treats Why / am I served / up a cold / fish plate. / you’re not /so thin / Eileen”). Snowflake is about both attention itselfand attention to change, particularly, as in the opening poem, “Transitions”:
“what’snot technology
Asequence of poems transcribed from digital recordings in Snowflake is balanced out by a sequence of poems written with astolen, oversized pencil in differentstreets. In “#6 in and out,”Eileen’s a “cute 50 something top” who submits a playful personal ad that alsoriffs on the aging process for queers: “Anyone / can be beautiful / at 19 or 30. This / is life. Take a deep / breath.” Thehilarious poem “the nervous entertainment” finds her living in the home ofcelebrated artist Catherine Opie, while other pieces trace the history andstreets of Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod; “all the places are connected /thus the endless / beauty.” A poemabout the name of Eileen’s girlfriend contains a mighty vortex of an aestheticnotion:
“towrite
EileenMyles is still crafting one of the most indelible bodies of literature in our owntime. Through gently navigatedwaves of tension, restraint, and release, the vital part of Eileen’s writing isalways — even more than its rambunctious voice — its heart. Not a paper cut-out heart, but the real heart, bloody andraw and throbbing. And it knowswhat its job is: to keep the bodyof the poem alive.
Especiallyif you’re a poet, Eileen Myles’ Inferno:A Poet’s Novel is an addicting read, almost like a drug, or at least it wasfor me. I kept reading and readingto see whose name would be mentioned next. Eileen has forged her path and made her own name on the NewYork art scene from the mid-1970s up to the present day, so the roster of peoplewho appear in the pages of this literary tell-all is deep and vast. At a cursory glance and just forstarters (let’s try this out alphabetically rather than chronologically): John Ashbery, Amiri Baraka, TedBerrigan, Jim Carroll, Gregory Corso, Hart Crane, Tim Dlugos, Allen Ginsberg, June Jordan,Bill Knott, Michael Lally, Joan Larkin, Robert Lowell, Carson McCullers, AliceNotley, Frank O’Hara, Ron Padgett, Marge Piercy, Rene Ricard, Adrienne Rich,Aram Saroyan, James Schuyler, Patti Smith, Anne Waldman.Backin November of 2001, I invited Eileen to give a talk in conjunction with acourse on queer identity that I teach at Emerson College in Boston. I recall that she brilliantly describedhow exactly the New York art scene operates: it's a grid of intersecting friendships that overlays the griddedmap of the city’s intersecting streets and avenues. The above list of writers whom Myles encountered in her everyday life makes it clear just how precise her metaphor is. And most of the poets on this list areones whom Eileen met when they were in the early stages of their careers. As she wisely remarks, “There’s nomystery why poetry is so elaborately practiced by the young. The material of the poems is energyitself, not even language. Wordscome later.”
Myles’ Inferno is “a poet’s novel” inseveral senses: it’s written forpoets, largely about poets, and most importantly, it explores the life andartistic evolution of the author herself, focusing mainly on her developmentas a poet. It’s Eileen’s infernobecause (in addition to spending some time beside an erupting Hawaiian volcano) she’s our Virgil throughout the book, which is just like Eileen’s generosity — asher readers, we get to be Dante, even though she’s the one who’s writing. Also just like Eileen: her poet's autobiography is a long and twistedroad through the descending circles of hell that ends in a subtitled sectioncalled “Heaven.”
Commentingon the narrative mode of the book late in the novel, Myles says, “It’s easy towrite an autobiography if the absence in the story is me. I remember applying to art school in1967, staying up late, and I saw my reflection in the black glass of thenight. When a window becomes amirror. Who do I think I amsitting here now, deeper in that life.” There’s a wonderfully prescient echo of that passage very early in thebook, too, when Eileen remembers her late nights of studying at her desk as astudent at UMass Boston: “Sometimes in utter hopelessness I put my cheek on the table like it wassomeone. I wanted to wake my brainup and be loved.”
Thefirst section of the novel interweaves several narrative strands: Eileen’s youth and education in Boston,her early years as a poet after her move to New York, and a more specificstory about a night that she and another woman spent as hired escorts for apair of visiting Italian businessmen. (Just read the book yourself to see how that one turns out.) The self-consciously postmodern move ofthe book’s second section: toincorporate the actual manuscript of a grant proposal that will fund thewriting of the novel itself, complete with lots of underlined, presumablytypewritten words instead of italicized ones. It feels like a smart move, as opposed to feeling like aploy. After all, Eileen’s Inferno is about how a writer makes herway in the world, and part of that is about money, grant applications beingperhaps the best source of it.Infact, Eileen’s many commentaries on class and survival provide the book withits most distinctive and valuable insights, highlighting the link betweenstarving artists and their unofficial patrons. Like few other writers can, Eileen manages to pack an entirelifetime of experience into a single paragraph, along with some really sageadvice:
“Often,the person in the loft and the little apartment or room know each other. This is the traditional definition ofcool. Because rich people needpoor friends (but not too poor!) to maintain their connection to the strugglethat spawned them even if they never struggled. Poor people tend to know what’s going on plus they are oftengood-looking, at least when they are young and even later they are coolinteresting people the rich person once slept with, so the poor person alwaysfeathers the nests of the rich. Ifsomething bad happens to the poor person, the rich person would help. Everyone knows that. An artist’s responsibility for a verylong time is to get collected, socially.”
Forinstance, Myles was fortunate to live for two years, on and off, at thecountry estate of a wealthy New York couple, somewhere way out in the woods ofPennsylvania. She describes hertime there, and the solitary, dedicated work of writing her poems, as a kind ofspiritual journey, one that liberated her from all of the trappings of societyand its litany of invasive constructs: “I took my shirt off and I simply became no one, no name, no sex, justmoving alive across the land with a dog. Art brought me this.” She evenbegins to say a quiet little prayer each morning, appropriately, before shestarts to write. And who else butEileen could get totally, convincingly philosophical about watching her dogRosie take a shit?
I’vealways loved how Eileen Myles’ thoughts and language swim on the page, dartingaround here and there, impulsive and spontaneous, but also patient andfluid. That kind of movement is gorgeouslyexamined in the title poem of her 1997 book Schoolof Fish. At one point in Inferno, she even devotes a wholechapter to wondering what the fish inside an aquarium might be thinking and sayingto each other behind the glass.
Eileen’slatest collection of poetry, released just this year, is actually two collections, a tête-bêche bookcalled Snowflake / different streets. During a reading at Boston’s BrooklineBooksmith earlier this month, Myles commented that the idea was for the twobooks to be shoved together “like they’re fucking.” She also mentioned that the poems are the product of livingin two dramatically different locations; half of the poems (Snowflake) were written during her fiveyears of teaching at UC San Diego, while the other half (different streets) were written after her return to living in NewYork. When I asked her after thereading how the places affected her poems, she responded that the effect wasquite literal, in the same way that singers from different countries in ancienttimes cultivated different styles of singing because their voices rolled andechoed differently as they yodeled and shouted across the shapes of theirrespective landscapes.Thepoems in Snowflake actually seem tobe influenced a little more by light than by shape. In the poem titled “Day,” Eileen re-shades her surroundingsas a child’s watercolor:
“Sheperceives
Thesepoems are populated equally by clusters of separately shining cars in LosAngeles and raccoons spotted on the tails of airplanes. Myles even conducts a cute conversationwith her cat in the poem “Eileen” (“Why can / you have a / giant plate / of pasta/ and I can / no longer have / my crunchy / treats Why / am I served / up a cold / fish plate. / you’re not /so thin / Eileen”). Snowflake is about both attention itselfand attention to change, particularly, as in the opening poem, “Transitions”:
“what’snot technology
Asequence of poems transcribed from digital recordings in Snowflake is balanced out by a sequence of poems written with astolen, oversized pencil in differentstreets. In “#6 in and out,”Eileen’s a “cute 50 something top” who submits a playful personal ad that alsoriffs on the aging process for queers: “Anyone / can be beautiful / at 19 or 30. This / is life. Take a deep / breath.” Thehilarious poem “the nervous entertainment” finds her living in the home ofcelebrated artist Catherine Opie, while other pieces trace the history andstreets of Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod; “all the places are connected /thus the endless / beauty.” A poemabout the name of Eileen’s girlfriend contains a mighty vortex of an aestheticnotion:“towrite
EileenMyles is still crafting one of the most indelible bodies of literature in our owntime. Through gently navigatedwaves of tension, restraint, and release, the vital part of Eileen’s writing isalways — even more than its rambunctious voice — its heart. Not a paper cut-out heart, but the real heart, bloody andraw and throbbing. And it knowswhat its job is: to keep the bodyof the poem alive.16 Aralık 2012 Pazar
TRUMAN CAPOTE'S "A CHRISTMAS MEMORY" IS A HOLIDAY READING
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THE THOMAS DARLING HOUSE
Take an historic and charming Colonial homestead, add a traditional sentimental tale of the holidays, top if off with tasty sweets and you have a triple-decker family treat. Thanks to the creativity of actress and director Joanna Keylock, you have the delightful opportunity to start the happy month of December off with sparkle and spirit.
On Saturday, December 1 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, December 2 at 5:30 p.m., you're invited to attend the staged reading of Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory," at the Thomas Darling House, 1907 Litchfield Turnpike, Woodbridge. The house, built in 1772, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, includes a beautifully restored building, barns, carriage shed, chicken coop, pig house and privy, and is an ideal location for this country tale. Written more than five decades ago, this short story, which is largely autobiographical, tells of a seven-year old boy named Buddy and his relationship with an elderly woman, Sook, his best friend and a distant cousin, and the joy they share giving gifts during the holiday season.
All year long they save their pennies, selling blackberries and flowers and doing odd chores, so they can bake thirty fruitcakes, laced with whiskey and stuffed with pecans, for everyone they know and like and even for some they don't personally know but still like, such as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Since Buddy lives in a home where he is unloved, he searches out affection from Cousin Sook and the two develop a special and close relationship that lasts until her death. Their Christmases together mark the best time of the year.
For tickets ($15 adults, $10 children), email jojokeylock@yahoo.com or call 203-298-0730. The reading will be followed by holiday treats, hot chocolate and spiced cider. A portion of ticket sales will benefit the Woodbridge Historical Society and Sunday's performance will benefit the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
Usher in the holidays with Truman Capote's memories of Christmases in the 1930's and the woman who brought him so much joy and love, especially when she announced "It's fruitcake weather."
THE THOMAS DARLING HOUSETake an historic and charming Colonial homestead, add a traditional sentimental tale of the holidays, top if off with tasty sweets and you have a triple-decker family treat. Thanks to the creativity of actress and director Joanna Keylock, you have the delightful opportunity to start the happy month of December off with sparkle and spirit.
On Saturday, December 1 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, December 2 at 5:30 p.m., you're invited to attend the staged reading of Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory," at the Thomas Darling House, 1907 Litchfield Turnpike, Woodbridge. The house, built in 1772, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, includes a beautifully restored building, barns, carriage shed, chicken coop, pig house and privy, and is an ideal location for this country tale. Written more than five decades ago, this short story, which is largely autobiographical, tells of a seven-year old boy named Buddy and his relationship with an elderly woman, Sook, his best friend and a distant cousin, and the joy they share giving gifts during the holiday season.
All year long they save their pennies, selling blackberries and flowers and doing odd chores, so they can bake thirty fruitcakes, laced with whiskey and stuffed with pecans, for everyone they know and like and even for some they don't personally know but still like, such as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Since Buddy lives in a home where he is unloved, he searches out affection from Cousin Sook and the two develop a special and close relationship that lasts until her death. Their Christmases together mark the best time of the year.
For tickets ($15 adults, $10 children), email jojokeylock@yahoo.com or call 203-298-0730. The reading will be followed by holiday treats, hot chocolate and spiced cider. A portion of ticket sales will benefit the Woodbridge Historical Society and Sunday's performance will benefit the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
Usher in the holidays with Truman Capote's memories of Christmases in the 1930's and the woman who brought him so much joy and love, especially when she announced "It's fruitcake weather."
LONG WHARF THEATRE UNVEILS MAJOR RENOVATIONS
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New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre has long been touted for its outstanding regional theater productions, but if you've enjoyed the pleasure of the work you probably haven't enjoyed the total experience. A definite lack of knee and leg room interfered with your comfort.
Fear no more. Long Wharf Theatre has just completed a major renovation to its Main Stage, which will now be known as the Claire Tow Stage in the C. Newton Schenck III Mainstage Theatre. The Tow Foundation, endowed by Len, Claire and daughter Emily, created a challenge grant of $1,250,000 to start the almost $4,000,000 project. According to Charles Kingsley, chairman of the board, "the physical discomfort of the audience has been cured once and for all." He has been attending excellent theater at Long Wharf since he saw Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" back in 1965.
Gorden Edelstein, who has been the Artistic Director for a decade, boasted that the renovations were a team effort, coming in "on time and on budget and looking good." As soon as you walk in the large glass doors, you will be greeted by an expanded lobby area with a bar, a larger green room and dressing rooms for the actors, a new lighting grid, advanced heating and air conditioning systems and a larger woman's restroom. Mr. Edelstein remarked at the press opening that "It takes a village...all the people involved created a supportive community. The donations from $10 to multiple thousands were incredibly moving to me."
To Len Tow, the donor who set the project in motion. "Long Wharf is the pinnacle of regional theater." His attachment goes back thirty years and he is very proud to be intimately involved in the theater He joked that he wants to play a leading role in the upcoming version of "Hamlet." Tow called Long Wharf "an island of creativity next to a meat market of chops and steaks...the realization of a dream."
That theme, of its unlikely location, was continued by Mary Pepe, the chair of the facilities committee since 2003. "Long Wharf has left a lasting impression on me since the first day I walked in as a high school student in 1965." She reflected on its "quirky charm" and incredible history.
If you would like to make a donation to the renovation, please call 203-787-4282, or Eileen Wiseman, Director of Development at 203-772-8237, or visit online at www.longwharf.org. You can name a seat, a comfortable grey suede one, for $1500, $2500 or $5000 but donations of any amount are most welcome.
A formal celebration will take place at the opening of "The Killing of Sister George," a play directed by and starring Kathleen Turner on Wednesday, December 5. This classic farce, which plays until December 23, will showcase Ms. Turner as a British radio star who is as different as day from night once she is off the air. She is a nun tending the poor and sick on the radio by day and a hard living, cigar chewing, gin swilling tart by night.
Come see the new improved Long Wharf Theatre for yourself, soon and often.
New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre has long been touted for its outstanding regional theater productions, but if you've enjoyed the pleasure of the work you probably haven't enjoyed the total experience. A definite lack of knee and leg room interfered with your comfort.
Fear no more. Long Wharf Theatre has just completed a major renovation to its Main Stage, which will now be known as the Claire Tow Stage in the C. Newton Schenck III Mainstage Theatre. The Tow Foundation, endowed by Len, Claire and daughter Emily, created a challenge grant of $1,250,000 to start the almost $4,000,000 project. According to Charles Kingsley, chairman of the board, "the physical discomfort of the audience has been cured once and for all." He has been attending excellent theater at Long Wharf since he saw Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" back in 1965.
Gorden Edelstein, who has been the Artistic Director for a decade, boasted that the renovations were a team effort, coming in "on time and on budget and looking good." As soon as you walk in the large glass doors, you will be greeted by an expanded lobby area with a bar, a larger green room and dressing rooms for the actors, a new lighting grid, advanced heating and air conditioning systems and a larger woman's restroom. Mr. Edelstein remarked at the press opening that "It takes a village...all the people involved created a supportive community. The donations from $10 to multiple thousands were incredibly moving to me."
To Len Tow, the donor who set the project in motion. "Long Wharf is the pinnacle of regional theater." His attachment goes back thirty years and he is very proud to be intimately involved in the theater He joked that he wants to play a leading role in the upcoming version of "Hamlet." Tow called Long Wharf "an island of creativity next to a meat market of chops and steaks...the realization of a dream."
That theme, of its unlikely location, was continued by Mary Pepe, the chair of the facilities committee since 2003. "Long Wharf has left a lasting impression on me since the first day I walked in as a high school student in 1965." She reflected on its "quirky charm" and incredible history.
If you would like to make a donation to the renovation, please call 203-787-4282, or Eileen Wiseman, Director of Development at 203-772-8237, or visit online at www.longwharf.org. You can name a seat, a comfortable grey suede one, for $1500, $2500 or $5000 but donations of any amount are most welcome.
A formal celebration will take place at the opening of "The Killing of Sister George," a play directed by and starring Kathleen Turner on Wednesday, December 5. This classic farce, which plays until December 23, will showcase Ms. Turner as a British radio star who is as different as day from night once she is off the air. She is a nun tending the poor and sick on the radio by day and a hard living, cigar chewing, gin swilling tart by night.
Come see the new improved Long Wharf Theatre for yourself, soon and often.
PAUL ANKA INVITES YOU TO CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS
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If you're a fan of the television series "The Gilmore Girls," set in Hartford and Star's Hollow, Connecticut, then you might remember that the star of the show Lorelai Gilmore named her sheepdog pet Paul Anka. Lorelai has fond feelings for this singing sensation and teen idol who enjoyed top billing in the 1950's and 1960's.
Born in Canada and now a naturalized citizen of the United States, Paul Anka has sung with and composed for some of the top names in the music industry, from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, Johnny Mathis to Peter Cetera. To hear a marvelous medley of Anka tunes like "Diana," "Lonely Boy" and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder," plan to head to Waterbury's Palace Theater on Saturday, December 8 at 8 p.m. for a concert "Christmas with the Legendary Paul Anka."
Admit it. You'd like to put your head on his shoulder and let him croon any of the songs he has written and popularized over the last five decades. Who wouldn't want to hear his rendition of "She's a Lady," a song he wrote for Tom Jones or "My Way" a little ditty he penned for Ole Blue Eyes.
Swoon like you're a teenager again as this prolific songwriter of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries shares his greatest hits as well as a cavalcade of Christmas classics like "Winter Wonderland" and "The Christmas Song." This personality-plus performer will give 110% as he royally entertains the Palace Theater audience.
Before the performance, attend a 6 p.m. dinner in the Palace's Poli Club by Emily's Catering Group, $40 per member or $50 per non-member, including tax service fees, coffee and tea. A cash bar will be available. Call the box office for reservations.
For tickets ($55-100), call 203-346-2000 or go online at www.palacetheaterct.org. The Palace Theater is located at 100 East Main Street, Waterbury.
Start celebrating this festive season a little early as Paul Anka and his legendary voice and style usher in Christmas My Way, His Way and Your Way.
If you're a fan of the television series "The Gilmore Girls," set in Hartford and Star's Hollow, Connecticut, then you might remember that the star of the show Lorelai Gilmore named her sheepdog pet Paul Anka. Lorelai has fond feelings for this singing sensation and teen idol who enjoyed top billing in the 1950's and 1960's.
Born in Canada and now a naturalized citizen of the United States, Paul Anka has sung with and composed for some of the top names in the music industry, from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, Johnny Mathis to Peter Cetera. To hear a marvelous medley of Anka tunes like "Diana," "Lonely Boy" and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder," plan to head to Waterbury's Palace Theater on Saturday, December 8 at 8 p.m. for a concert "Christmas with the Legendary Paul Anka."
Admit it. You'd like to put your head on his shoulder and let him croon any of the songs he has written and popularized over the last five decades. Who wouldn't want to hear his rendition of "She's a Lady," a song he wrote for Tom Jones or "My Way" a little ditty he penned for Ole Blue Eyes.
Swoon like you're a teenager again as this prolific songwriter of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries shares his greatest hits as well as a cavalcade of Christmas classics like "Winter Wonderland" and "The Christmas Song." This personality-plus performer will give 110% as he royally entertains the Palace Theater audience.
Before the performance, attend a 6 p.m. dinner in the Palace's Poli Club by Emily's Catering Group, $40 per member or $50 per non-member, including tax service fees, coffee and tea. A cash bar will be available. Call the box office for reservations.
For tickets ($55-100), call 203-346-2000 or go online at www.palacetheaterct.org. The Palace Theater is located at 100 East Main Street, Waterbury.
Start celebrating this festive season a little early as Paul Anka and his legendary voice and style usher in Christmas My Way, His Way and Your Way.
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