MARK AUERBACH
Celebrating Sinatra’s Centennial
Ol Blue Eyes would have turned 100 years old on December 12, and two area events celebrate the music of Sinatra on his birthday, December 12.
At Hadley Farms Meeting House (Route 9, Hampton Village Barn Shops, Hadley), New England Public Radio celebrates Sinatra and the incomparable Billie Holiday (also a centennial birthday jazz great) Ol’ Blue Eyes And Lady Day – A Sinatra Holiday Party features a dance party in a 1940s-inspired nightclub with music by The Jeff Holmes Big Band with Dawning Holmes singing Billie Holiday and Rob Zappulla covering Frank Sinatra. There will be signature cocktails, exquisite hors d’oeuvres and decadent desserts throughout the evening, which is hosted by NEPR Jazz A La Mode host Tom Reney. For details: 413-545-2511, 800-999-UMASS, or www.nepr.net.
Patrick Tobin (Photo by Walt Steinmetz)
At Springfield’s CityStage, Patrick Tobin, one of the best Sinatra cover artists out there, perfiorms his Sinatra Centennial. For details: http://www.symphonyhall.com/shows/a-sinatra-centennial-celebration/
The Springfield Symphony Orchestra celebrates Sinatra in big band style on February 13 at Springfield Symphony Hall. Steve Lippia covers Sinatra then, and this could be the Valentine’s Day event of 2016. For details: 413-733-2291 or www.springfieldsymphony.org.
Use a Bushnell Gift Certificate to see Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal in Love Letters. (Photo by Austin Hargrave)
Give The Arts This Holiday Season
Theatre and concert tickets make great holiday gifts, but many ticket purchases are non-refundable or non-exchangeable. So, consider gift certificates and gift cards. Most area theatres offer them in person at their box-offices. Here are the details:
Barrington Stage Company offers gift certificates in any denomination in person at their box-office, by phone, and online. They don’t expire. They have not announced their 2016 season. For details: www.barringtonstageco.org.
Berkshire Theatre Group offes them in any denomination for any production at The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield and the Fitzpatrick and Unicorn Theatres in Stockbridge. Order them by phone: 413-997-4444. They’ve not announced their 2015 summer season.
The Bushnell offers gift certificates in any denomination by phone (86-987-5900) and in amounts from $10-$200 online at www.bushnell.org. The upcoming Broadway series includes Cinderella, Motown, and Matilda, plus Ryan O’Neal and Ali McGraw in Love Letters. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.bushnell.org.
The Fine Arts Center at UMass/Amherst sells gift certificates for any show. There’s no expiration date. For details, call 413-545-2511 or 800-999-UMASS.
Goodspeed Musicals offers gift certificates in fixed amounts or the customer’s dollar amount of choice.There’s no expiration date. They’re available by phone 860-873-8668, and online at www.goodspeed.org. The upcoming season includes Anything Goes, Bye Bye Birdie, a new musical about Judy Garland and more.
Hartford Stage has gift certificates in any amout from $25.00 to $1,000. The current season includes Romeo and Juliet, and the world premiere of the musical Anastasia. Gift certificates are available by phone at 860-527-6161 or in person, and they expire on 6/30/16.
Matthew Worth performs with The Hartford Chorale.
Hartford Symphony Orchestra has gift certificates in the buyer’s choice of denomination, and they don’t expire, so you could use them for the Talcott Mountain Music Festival next summer. Theyre available at 860-987-5900, or www;hartfordsymphony.org
Springfield Symphony Hall and CityStage online casino sell gift cards at $25, $50, $75 and $100 via their website. For details: http://www.symphonyhall.com/gift-cards/
Springfield Symphony Orchestra offers gift certificates for any concert or special event at its box-office and via phone. 413-733-2291. They’re good for seven years. My pick for an upcoming concert is a classical one(February 27) featuring Maestro Kevin Rhodes, narrator Avery Brooks, and a program featuring selections from Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess”, Ellington’s ballet score “The River”, and Copland’s “Fanfare for The Common Man”. For program details: www.springfieldsymphony.org.
Give to The Arts This Holiday Season
Giving Tuesday (December 1) is a national initiative to encourage people to support their favorite non-profits with an online during the holiday.season. The details are online at www.givingtuesday.org, so go online at your favorite arts group’s website, and make a gift. It will be appreciated.
Keep in Mind…
Joyful Voices showcases The Hartford Chorale on December 3-6 at The Bushnell. Joining the Chorale’s director Richard Coffey is Hartford Symphony Maestra Carolyn Kuan, baritone Matthew Worth and soprano Melody Moore. On the program is Jennifer Higdon’s Blue Cathedral. Audiences at these concerts will have a chance to participate in the concert as well! The HSO is asking guests to download the Salvation Army’s free “Bell ringer” app on their smartphones – and they will have a chance to “chime in” with our musicians during Jennifer Higdon’s piece. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Richard Ruiz, Madison Coppola and Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte lead the cast of Connecticut Repertory Theatre”s Twelfth Night. (Photo by Gerry Goodstein)
Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s comedy, is the Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s holiday offering, December 3-13 at the Nafe Katter Theatre at UConn in Storrs, CT. Victor Maog directs. Maog is the artistic director of Second Generation Productions, as well as the vice-president of the board of directors of the Consortium of Asian American Theatres and Artists. He was recognized in October by American Theatre magazine as one of 20 Theatre Professionals to Watch. For details: 860-486-2113 or www.crt.uconn.edu
The Yiddish Book Center in Amherst hosts a free family Hanukkah Celebration on December 6. Visitors can learn Yiddish holiday songs at a sing-along workshop led by Asya Vaisman Schulman, director of the Center’s Yiddish Language Institute, accompanied by musician Brian Bender. Also on tap are readings of holiday-themed books and work on holiday crafts in our kinder vinkl (children’s corner). For details: www.yiddishbookcenter.org/events.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
