MARK AUERBACH
Parsons Dance Returns
The popular contemporary dance troupe, Parsons Dance, whose sold out performances have delighted audiences at Jacob’s Pillow and other venues around the area, return to Amherst for a performance at the UMass Fine Arts Center on November 23.
David Parsons and Broadway lighting designer Howell Binkley founded the company in 1985 and together have built a dance ensemble with classical ballet and modern dance training, flashy choreography, and exquisite lighting. Bushnell theatre-goers may recall Binkley’s lighting for the “Flashdance” tour, which was the highlight of the musical.
Parsons Dance repertoire for the Amherst performance is a mixed-bill of works by Parsons and Binkley. It will showcase David Parsons’ choreography set to compositions by classical composer Rossini, jazz great Miles Davis, and experimental English guitarist Robert Fripp, among others. Also on the evening’s program is an audience favorite, Parsons’ ground-breaking 1982 piece “Caught” featuring a solo dancer performing more than 100 incredibly difficult leaps in succession, with a strobe light effect that gives the appearance of flight. The program concludes with a commissioned piece created in collaboration with renowned Brazilian singer-songwriter Milton Nascimento.
Parsons Dance at UMass Fine Arts Center.
For tickets: 413-545-2511 or 800-999-UMAS, or fineartscenter.com.
All For One. One For All
Swashbucklers and swordsplay highlight the Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s production of “The Three Musketeers”, playing through December 8 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. Loaded with dazzling swordplay, intrigue and swash-buckling comedy, this adaptation of Alexander Dumas’ brilliant novel is directed by Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Tony Simotes and features Obie-Award winning actor Rocco Sisto as the Cardinal Richelieu. Rocco Sisto was recently seen as Richard in “Richard II” for Shakespeare & Company as Samuel in Richard Foreman’s “Old Fashioned Prostitutes” at the Public Theatre in New York. He’ll be familiar to TV viewers from roles in “The Sopranos”, “Law & Order”, and “CSI”. Sisto is a founding member of Shakespeare & Company. He is also a recipient of an Obie award for sustained excellence.
For tickets and information, call 860-486-2113 and visit www.crt.uconn.edu.
The Three Musketers at UConn.
Brush Up Your Shakespeare
Teens from ten high schools in western Massachusetts and Columbia County, NY, band together to strut their Shakespearen stuff at the Shakespeare and Company 25th Annual Fall Festival on November 21-24 in Lenox.
The Fall Festival is the culmination of the program that places Shakespeare & Company Education Artists in ten local and regional schools, where they lead students in a nine-week exploration of how Shakespeare’s plays relate to their own lives and “hold a mirror up to nature.” Built on the transformative power of Shakespeare’s words, the Fall Festival seeks to engage students in vibrant, playful and poignant theatrical experiences. Students from all ten schools will gather in a spirit of celebration to perform their plays for the public in a four-day, non-competitive festival at the Tina Packer Playhouse.
The ten participating schools this year include: Lee High School, Lenox Memorial High School, Taconic High School, Mount Greylock Regional High School, North Andover High School, Mount Everett Regional High School, Chatham High School (New York), Taconic Hills High School (New York), Springfield Central High School and Monument Mountain Regional High School.
For tickets please call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353 or visit www.Shakespeare.org.
Elaina Newport, co-founder of The Capitol Steps.
Fiscal Shades of Gray
The Capitol Steps have found a lot of new material in the headlines, since they spent the summer at Cranwell in The Berkshires. They make their annual Thanksgiving weekend appearance in Cambridge with two shows on Saturday, November 30, at Sanders Theatre on the Harvard campus.
Obamacare, the government shutdown, Chris Christie and Anthony Weiner make their way onstage in “Fiscal Shades of Gray”, the Capitol Steps’ newest evening of political satire and song. New material includes the Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid duet “My Gay”; “Putin on a Blitz”, and the Tea Party’s “De-Fund”. If you’ve wanted to see Barack Obama sing a showtune, Nancy Pelosi sing a rock song, or Gov. Chris Christie perform classical ballet, The Capitol Steps “Fiscal Shades of Gray” tour fulfills that wish.
For tickets, call 617-496-2222 or http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/boxoffice/
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.
