MARK AUERBACH
Fall Warm-Ups
It’s a M-U-S-I-C-A-L
The Connecticut Repertory Theatre presents the Tony Award winning musical comedy “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” through December 7 at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre on the UConn campus in Storrs, CT. With a book by Rachel Sheinkin and music and lyrics by William Finn, the musical features six quirky kids bubbling with adolescence, three frazzled school administrators trying to relive their glory days, a live band, and four new audience members selected each night for a spelling bee.
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” originated at Pittsfield’s Barrington Stage Company, and then moved to New York to become the Broadway hit of 2005 winning Drama Desk, Lortel, Theatre World, and Tony Awards. Barrington Stage just sent “On The Town” to Broadway.
Blythe Wilson in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at Connecticut Repertory Theatre.
Connecticut Repertory Theatre has a good track record with musicals. Barret Foa starred in their 2013 production of “The Music Man”, and last summer, Leslie Uggams sizzed at UConn as Mama Rose In “Gypsy”. Paul Mullins directs “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”
“Each night there will be four guest spellers from the audience and community competing against the cast. We’ll have celebrities and public figures like Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill, UConn Men’s Baseball Coach Jim Penders, UConn Women’s Softball Coach Jen McIntyre onstage as part of the fun. Other contestants are selected from the audience – so it is a completely different show every night”, said Mullins.
For tickets: 860-486-2113 or www.crt.uconn.edu.
John Hodgman
Season Premiere: Springfield Symphony Youth Orchestras
The Season Premiere of the Springfield Symphony Youth Orchestras is set for Sunday, November 23, at Belchertown High School in Belchertown The introductory ensemble Springfield Youth Sinfonia’s concert program will include Handel’s Overture and Hornpipe from The Water Music, Elgar’s Nimrod from “Enigma” Variations, Op. 36, and Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite. The advanced Springfield Youth Orchestra’s program will include Wagner‘s Entry of the Gods to Valhalla from Das Rheingold and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67.
Marsha Hassett, conductor of the SYS offers, “SYS encompasses a broad age range of young musicians and as a result, choosing repertoire is a thoughtful task. We manage to reach a happy medium that is diverse and challenging and embraced by the group as well as our audience. The opening program presents music by Elgar, Handel and Grieg, offering a wide variety of form and style.”
Jack DeJohnette
“The Springfield Youth Orchestra will be performing a monumental and pivotal masterpiece of orchestral literature. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is considered by many a masterpiece of the classical music genre. This amazing work has impressed, invigorated, inspired, and influenced generations of audience members and aspiring musicians,” Jonathan Lam, conductor of the SYO said.
Tickets are available at the door. For further information: 413-733-2291 or www.springfieldsymphony.org
Keep In Mind
***John Hodgman, the author, comedian known as the Resident Expert on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, brings his new solo show to the area. “I Stole Your Dad” plays Northampton’s Academy of Music on November 21 and The Bushnell in Hartford on November 22. For tickets in Northampton: 413-584-9032 ex105 or http://www.academyofmusictheatre.com/. For tickets in Hartford: 860-987-5900 or www.bushnell.org.
***The Jack Dejohnette Trio, featuring Ravi Coltrane and Matt Garrison, bring some hot jazz to Bowker Auditorium at UMass/Amherst on November 21. In a career that spans five decades and includes collaborations with some of the most iconic figures in modern jazz, NEA Jazz Master and Grammy winner Jack DeJohnette has established an unchallenged reputation as one of the greatest drummers in the history of the genre. It was twenty years ago when DeJohnette brought saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and bassist Matthew Garrison together for the first time to perform the music of John Coltrane. Representing the prestigious lineage of today’s great jazz families, the trio explores open improvisation, as well as their own compositions. For tickets: 413-545-2511 or 800-999-UMASS or www.fineartscenter.com.
***The Hartford Symphony Orchestra bridges the gulf between classics and rock with “The Music of Led Zeppelin” at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, CT on Saturday, November 29. Randy Jackson provides the vocals. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com. For information on Hartford Symphony: www.hartfordsymphony.org.
***The Longmeadow Cultural Council hosts the first annual “Local Artist Spotlight”, on Thursday, November 20, from 6-8 p.m. at Storrs Library, featuring Longmeadow artist, Jeanne Rye. The evening’s event will include a live musical performance by Peter and Abby Thomsen, along with the announcement of the council’s 2015 grant recipients. The event is free. For information:413-565-4181 or http://storrscalendar.blogspot.com/p/library-calendar.html
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.
