by Mark G. Auerbach
Steve Perry performs with Longmeadow Chamber Music Society
Longmeadow Chamber Music Society
The Longmeadow Chamber Music Society, now in partnership with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, presents a concert featuring musicians of the SSO, on May 13 the First Church of Christ on the Green in Longmeadow. Maestro Kevin Rhodes will introduce the program, which will showcase staples of the brass quintet repertoire as well as transcriptions of music by Debussy, Brahms, Bach, and more. The musicians are: trumpeters Thomas Bergeron and Gerald Serfass; trombonist Brian Diehl, horn player Robert Hoyle, and Steve Perry on tuba. Tickets will be available at the door. For details: 413-733-2291 or www.springfieldsymphony.org.
Broadway Awards Season
Save The Dates The nominees for the 72nd annual Tony Awards, honoring the best of Broadway, were announced this week. The awards ceremony is Sunday, June 10, and it’s televised live on CBS. Sara Barellies and Josh Groban co-host. The 63rd Annual Drama Desk Awards will be held on Sunday, June 3 at Town Hall, and the Outer Critics Circle Awards will be announced on May 24. The rama League announces its winner on May 18. For a complete list of the Tony nominees and their shows: http://www.tonyawards.com/index.html
Joshua Jackson and Lauren Ridloff in Berkshire Theatre Group’s production of Children of a Lesser God. Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Drama League Nominations. Children of a Lesser God, which premiered at Berkshire Theatre Group, has been nominated for an outstanding revival of a play; its stars, Joshua Jackson and Lauren Ridloff have been honored for their acting. Lauren Ambrose, Berkshires resident, picked up a nomination for her performance in My Fair Lady, as did Harriet Harris, who starred in BTG’s Arsenic and Old Lace. And, David Lutken, who stars in Goodspeed’s The Will Rogers Follies, has been nominated for his musical, Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie, which he wrote with Nick Corley and Darcie Deaville, Helen Jean Russell and Andy Teirstein. For details: http://www.dramaleague.org/
Of Note
Shakespeare and Company has announced some casting for its upcoming season. Corinna May, who starred with husband David Adkins in WAM Theatre’s prouction of The Bakelite Masterpiece, stars in the New England premiere of Morning After Grace, May 24-July 16. Kristin Wold, a StageWest alum and a member of Connecticut Repertory Theatre, headlines the cast of Strindberg’s Creditors, July 19-August 12. Rylan Morsbach, from Berkshire Theatre Group’s The Homecoming and The Music Man, plays the King of Navarre in the Bard’s Love’s Labour’s Lost, July 10-August 18; and Elizabeth Aspenleider headlines the cast of HIR, September 13-October 7. For season details: 413-637-3353 or www.shakespeare.org.
The Stone Witch, Shem Bitterman’s play which premiered at Berkshire Theatre Group in 2016, moved Off-Broadway last month, with Dan Lauria replacing Judd Hirsch in the role of a children’s book author. The show closed after 15 previews and 41 performances.
Dan Macke, a Hartt School senior, who has appeared in Hartford Stage’s A Christmas Carol, has joined the cast of Broadway’s hit musical, Dear Evan Hansen.
Keep in Mind
SSO Spring Fun-Raiser offers an evening of wine, food and music on May 10 at The Carriage House at The Barney Estates in Forest Park in Springfield.The Federal will prepare scrumptious hors d’oeuvres to be paired with unique wines throughout the evening (four, tastings included with ticket purchase). Maestro Kevin Rhodes and musicians from The Springfield Symphony Orchestra will perform music especially paired with the food and wine. Games an contests abound, along with a silent auction, proceeds of which will benefit the continuation and growth of the SSO’s Youth and Educational programming. For event details, and to purchase tickets: 413.733.0636, Ext. 118 or www.springfieldsymphony.org. This event is for 21+.
Madelyn Gardner
Catch the Fever: An Evening with Fabrizio and the Fever, will raise funds for Berkshire Theatre Group’s BTG PLAYS! Summer Camp through the Richie duPont Scholarship Fund, at The Colonial Theatre on May 18. Fabrizio and the Fever (FnF) is an alternative-rock entity formed in 2013 by MA born singer/songwriter Michael Fabrizio. The band, dubbed, “genre-gypsies” pull from a plethora of inspirations including classical, country, rock, Americana, folk-rock as well as pop and hip-hop music. Special guest performances by Berkshire County’s Got Talent Winner, Madelyn Gardner (with Pinedrop) and Carl Wockner. For details: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org.
Kelly Galvin
The Virgin Trial, Kate Hennig’s sequel to The Last Wife, and part of her Tudor Queens Trilogy, will have a staged reading by WAM Theatre’s Freh Takes series on May 3 at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, MA. The Last Wife was previoously staged by WAM Theatre, and director Kelly Galvin and the cast, MaConnia Chesser, Kristen Anne Ferraro, Thom Garvey, David Joseph, Alicia Piemme Nelson, Lia Russell Self, and Ryan Winkles, return for this production. A talk-back ffollows the reading. For details: http://www.wamtheatre.com/the-virgin-trial/
Connecticut Ballet, a dance troupe based in Stamford, brings a program of Russian classics to The Bushnell on May 11, including Fokine’s Petrouchka and Petipa’s Raymonda Variations. The latter, with its Glazunov score, is a staple in the European opera houses, where it’s frequently conducted by Springfield Symphony Maestro Kevin Rhodes. Also on the program is Darrell Grand-Moultrie’s ballet, PULSE, which was commissioned by Connecticut Ballet. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.bushnell.org or http://www.connecticutballet.org/.
Joey Alexander. Photo by Carol Friedman.
The Joey Alexander Trio will perform at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on May 6. At the Mahaiwe, the pianist’s rhythm section will be composed of bassist Kris Funn and drummer Kendrick Scott. For details: 413-528-0100 or www.mahaiwe.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 for 89.5fm/WSKB.
