by Mark G. Auerbach
Billy Harrigan Tighe and John Davidson in Finding Neverland Photo by: Jeremy Daniel
“Finding Neverland” Next At The Bushnell
John Davidson, star of Hollywood Squares and That’s Incredible, headlines the cast of the touring musical Finding Neverland, which plays The Bushnell in Hartford on August 1-6 . Davidson was last seen on tour in Wicked as the Wizard. He has also been seen on Broadway in State Fair, Foxy and Oklahoma and Off-Broadway in High Infidelity and The Fantasticks.
Finding Neverland is based on the Academy Award-winning motion picture by David Magee, and the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee. Finding Neverland follows the relationship between playwright J.M. Barrie and the family that inspired Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up – one of the most beloved stories of all time. Directed by Tony-winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Hair), with book by James Graham, music and lyrics by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy, originated at The A.R.T. in Cambridge, MA.
Billy Harrigan Tighe from Broadway’s Pippin,and Christine Dwyer from Wicked head the cast, and Karen Murphy, who played Hollywood superagent Sue Mengers in TheaterWorks’ I’ll Eat You Last, is featured.
Lizz Wright brings jazz to Springfield.
For details: 860-987-5900 or www.bushnell.org
All That Jazz and Roots
The Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival turns downtown Springfield into a celebration of music and art on Saturday, August 12 in Court Square. Talent lineup includes The Jeremy Turgeon Quintet; Community Grooves, (the faculty band of the Community Music School); the Latin beats of Zaccai Curtis & Insight with vocalist Natalie Fernandez; Springfield native Sarah Elizabeth Charles and her band SCOPE, with special guest trumpeter Christian Scott. Innovative bassist Miles Mosley graces the stage, and is followed by the beautiful sounds of vocalist Lizz Wright. And last but not least, dance the night away to the sounds of Rebirth Brass Band. For details: www.springfieldjazzfest.com
The night before, August 12, there will be a special fundraiser concert at Springfield’s CityStage. Jazz and Justice,will feature Christian Scott, a Grammy-nominated trumpeter hailed as one of the most dynamic composers and performers on the scene today. As a prelude to the music, Scott will be joined by fellow musicians, Charles Neville and Sarah Elizabeth Charles in an intergenerational conversation exploring art as a means for addressing and overcoming forms of social injustice. For details: www. citystage.symphonyhall.com.
Keep in Mind…
Graham Rowat
Arsenic and Old Lace, Joseph Kesselring’s laugh-filled comedy classic, takes center stage at Berkshire Theatre Group’s Fitxpatrick Main Stage in Stockbridge, MA through August 19. Graham Rowat, star of BTG’s A Little Night Music, Bells Are Ringing, and Constellations, plays a good-hearted theatre critic who pays a visit to his spinster aunts, played by Mia Dillon and Harriet Harris, who happen to be offing old gentlemen in the basement. Gregg Edelman from Broadway’s City of Angels, 1776, and Into The Woods directs. For details: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org
Pierre Laurent Aimard.
Tanglewood Takes Flight: A Celebration of Birds and Music, a collaboration of Tanglewood and Mass Audubon creaties a new multi-faceted and immersive program for concert-goers that explores the intimate relationship between birdsong and music. The series, July 27-30, pairs guided bird walks with performances of birdsong, highlighted by performances by pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, lectures and bird walks by Mass Audubon Ornithologist Wayne Peterson, and performances by Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center.For details: http://www.tanglewood.org
Tanglewood On Parade, August 1, features day-long events, classics, pops, and fireworks. The Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra perform along with conductors Keith Lockhart, John Williams, and more. The program includes Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. For details: 888-266-1200 or www.tanglewood.org.
Taking Steps, Alan Ayckbourn’s riotously funny comedy, plays Barrington Stage in Pittsfield through August 5. Sam Buntrock directs the zany story of Elizabeth, a former dancer, will do anything to escape the overbearing clutches of her rich husband, Roland, who is poised to buy a haunted house (a former brothel): For details: 413-236-8888 or www.barringtonstageco.org.
Speech and Debate, from Tony Award winner Stephen Karam (Broadway’s The Humans), plays Barrington Stage’s St. Germain Stage in Pittsfield, MA through July 29. Three teenage misfits in Salem, Oregon discover they are linked by a sex scandal that’s rocked their town. When one of them sets out to expose the truth, secrets become currency, the stakes get higher, and the trio’s connection grows deeper in this searching, fiercely funny dark comedy with music. Jessica Holt directs. For details: 413-236-8888 or www.barringtonstageco.org .
The Greenwood Chamber Players perform at Sevenars in Worthington, MA on July 30. The program includes: Beethoven’s incomparable Serenade, Op. 25 for flute and strings. Also included are works by Lutaslawski, Sibelius, Cimarosa, and Andrew Norman. For details;www.sevenars.org.
Circus Smirkus visits Northampton.
Circus Smirkus, Vermont’s award-winning international youth circus, visits the Three County Fairgrounds in Northampton, MA on August 1-2 as part of its Big Top tour. Since 1987, Circus Smirkus has promoted the skills, culture and traditions of the traveling circus, inspiring youth to engage in life-changing adventures in the circus artsFour performances only. For details: http://www.smirkus.org/
WAM Theatre’s Fresh Takes Series presents a reading of Lydia R. Diamond’s Smart People on August 1 at The Clark Institute in Williamstown, MA with the support of the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Kristen Van Ginhoven directs. it is the eve of Obama’s first election in 2008. Four of Harvard University’s brightest – a surgeon, an actress, a psychologist, and a neuro-psychiatrist – are all interested in different aspects of the brain, particularly how it responds to race. For details: www.wamtheatre.org.
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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. Mark produces and hosts ArtsBeat Radio on 89.5fm/WSKB Radio.
