MARK AUERBACH
Stomp’s Got The Beat in Amherst
The international percussion sensation Stomp performs at the UMass Fine Arts Center in Amherst on April 12-13, bringing its explosive provocative and utterly unique stage show experience, appealing to audiences of all ages, to town. The eight-member troupe uses everything but conventional percussion instruments – matchboxes, wooden poles, brooms, garbage cans, Zippo lighters, hubcaps – to fill the stage with magnificent rhythms.
Since 1991, Stomp has electrified audiences around the world and on national television, garnering an armful of awards and rave reviews. This revival of the percussive hit show brings some new surprises, with updated sections and the addition of two new full-scale routines, utilizing props like tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans.
This unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy was created in Brighton, UK. It was the result of a ten-year collaboration between its creators, Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas. Stomp first premiered in Edinburgh, where it became The Guardian’s “Critics’ Choice” and won The Daily Express “Best of the Fringe Award.” Between 1991 and 1994, the original cast played to capacity audiences around the world, from Hong Kong to Barcelona, and Dublin to Sydney. The tour culminated in a sell-out season at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre in January 1994, where STOMP received an Olivier nomination for Best Entertainment and won Best Choreography in a West End Show. Stomp first premiered in New York in 1994.
For details: 413-545-2511, 800-999-UMAS, or www.fineartscenter.com.
Dolly Parton
Think Summer
Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, Broadway stars and husband/wife duo, will bring their Broadway and Beyond: Reprise Edition to Pittsfield’s Barrington Stage on August 8. Mazzie is about to star in Lincoln Center’s award-winning revival of The King And I. Also, Will Swenson is The Pirate King in the theatre’s production of The Pirates of Penzance. For details: 413-236-8888 or www.barringtonstageco.org
Dolly Parton is playing Tanglewood on June 17. Tickets are on sale at 888-266-1200 or www.tanglewood.org.
Keep in Mind…
Company, the acclaimed musical by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth about marriage and commitment in modern times, plays Manchester CT’s Cheney Hall, under the production of the Little Theatre of Manchester, through April 24. Michael Forgetta directs. The cast includes: Randy Boyd of Enfield, CT. For details: 860-647-9824 or www.littletheatreofmanchester.org
Suzanne Bona, host of public radio’s Sunday Baroque performs in a benefit for New England Public Radio.
Breaking Up is Hard To Do, a musical featuring songs by Neil Sedaka, with book by Erik Jackson and Ben H. Winters, plays The Majestic in West Springfield April 14-May 22. The musical, directed by Westfield’s Danny Eaton, showcases 18 Neil Sedaka classics, including “Where the Boys Are”, “Sweet Sixteen”, “Calendar Girl”, “Love Will Keep Us Together”, and the chart-topping title song. Mitch Chakour is music director. An April 13 performance is a benefit for Fakin Humane Society. For details: 413-747-7797 or www.dakinhumane.org.
Springtime Serenade, chamber music with flutist Suzanne Bona (host of public radio’s Sunday Baroque, heard on New England Public Radio, and pianist Brenda Moore Miller will be held on April 10 at Deerfield Academy’s Hess Center for the Performing Arts. The program includes works by Bach, Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia, Copland, Barber, and selections from Peter Schickele’s Spring Serenade. The concert is free and is produced by New England Public Radio. For details: http://nepr.net/events/2016/03/10/springtime-serenade/
Brenda Moore Miller performs in a benefit for New England Public Radio.
The Last Wife, Kate Hennig’s contemporary retelling of the relationship between Henry VIII and Katherine Parr, opens the WAM Fresh Takes Play Reading Series on April 17 at No. Six Depot Roastery and Café in West Stockbridge, MA, Molly Clancy directs. For details: http://www.wamtheatre.com/fresh-takes-2016/
Larry Kramer, Author and AIDS Activist, firebrand author of The Normal Heart, will discuss his latest work, The American People: Volume 1 – Search for My Heart, A Novel on April 16th at the Mark Twain House and Museum. For details: 860-247-0998 or www.marktwainhouse.org
Astrid Schween, who has been Professor of Cello in the UMass Department of Music & Dance since 2004, leaves WMass to jointhe Juilliard String Quartet She will replace the current Juilliard cellist, Joel Krosnick, who has been with the Quartet for 42 years and, interestingly, was the Professor of Cello at the UMass Amherst Department of Music and Dance in the 1960s. She gives a farewell recital on April 19 at UMass/Amherst’s Bexanson Recital Hall. For details: 413-545-2511, 800-999-UMAS, or www.fineartscenter.com.
Superstition, an evening of music and dance, will be performed by West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park’s resident dance company through April 10. Superstition is conceived and directed by Darlene Zoller, with musical direction bySean Pallatroni. Zoller is the co-founder of Playhouse on Park. For details: 860-523-5900 x10 or www.playhouseonpark.org
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.
