Category: Happenings

‘Next To Normal’ at Mac-Haydn Theatre Aug 4 – 14

The Mac-Haydn theatre presents the regional premiere of Next to Normal. August 4th to August 14th.

The Mac-Haydn theatre presents the regional premiere of Next to Normal. The show opens on Thursday, August 4th and runs through Sunday, August 14th.

Winner of 3 Tony Awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for drama, Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt’s Next to Normal has taken Broadway, and the musical theater world by storm over the past decade. An emotional powerhouse of a musical with a thrilling rock score, the show takes an honest look at the sometimes harsh realities of “normal” life.

A typical American family to the outside world, the Goodmans secretly struggle in their suburban home as they deal with the effects of their mother’s worsening mental health. As they navigate their changing world, they deal with the pressing contemporary issues of trauma, loss, mental health treatment, and what it means to be a family.

Making its debut at the Mac-Haydn, Next to Normal promises to be an artistic highlight of the 2022 season and is unlike anything you have seen on our stage. Trust us when we tell you, this show is not to be missed. Prepare yourself to be overwhelmed by the raw and exhilarating reality of what it means to care for yourself, and for one another.

At the helm of the premiere production is Mac-Haydn Artistic Director John Saunders, who has earned numerous Berkshire Theatre Award nominations for his direction in recent years, as well as a win for Outstanding Production of a Musical for Ragtime (2019).

“Knowing that Next To Normal has not been really seen in the region, it feels like a tremendous honor to be presenting the show,” said Saunders. “While some may not consider it “Summer Stock” fare, I believe the show magically does what theatre is intended to do; it holds up a mirror for the viewer and offers an incredibly truthful look at a real family facing very real issues. Though the material is, at times, heavy, the show is written so beautifully to encompass great moments of levity, humor, and above all else, hope.”

Saunders is joined by Music Director Eric Shorey and Assistant Music Director Emily Croome. The production will feature scenic design by Emma Cummings, who will bring the Goodmans’ home to life on the Mac-Haydn stage, along with lighting design by Andrew Gmoser, costume design by Bethany Marx, sound design by Nick Caburis, wig design by Caitlin Maxwell, hair and makeup design by April Gerbode, and props design by David Tankersley, who will also assist Cummings.

Broadway’s Beth Kirkpatrick (Les Miserables, Hello Dolly) makes her Mac-Haydn debut as Diana. She is joined by Eric Van Tielen (Broadway: Les Miserables, A Tale of Two Cities) as Dan. Rounding out the cast are Mac-Haydn favorites Amber Mawande-Spytek (Pippin) as Natalie, Kylan Ross (Pippin, Urinetown) as Gabe, Andrew Burton Kelley (Little Shop of Horrors, She Loves Me) as Henry, and Gabe Belyeu (Man of La Mancha, A Chorus Line) as Dr. Madden.

“My goal is to really surprise our audience with this extraordinary piece and tell them a story that is even more relatable than some of the good old classic musicals,” said Saunders. “The score is both contemporary and classic at the same time which I know our audiences will enjoy tremendously and I just know the Mac-Haydn audiences will genuinely appreciate their experience with the show.”

Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Music by Tom Kitt

Production information from machaydntheatre.org

DATES/TIMES: Thursday, August 4 – Sunday, August 14, 2022

Aug 4 – 2:00PM Thursday
Aug 4 – 8:00PM Thursday
Aug 5 – 8:00PM Friday
Aug 6 – 4:00PM Saturday
Aug 7 – 2:00PM Sunday
Aug 7 – 7:00PM Sunday
Aug 10 – 2:00PM Wednesday
Aug 11 – 2:00PM Thursday
Aug 11 – 8:00PM Thursday
Aug 12 – 8:00PM Friday
Aug 13 – 4:00PM Saturday
Aug 13 – 8:00PM Saturday
Aug 14 – 2:00PM Sunday
Aug 14 – 7:00PM Sunday

TICKETS: $45
Tickets can be purchased through machaydntheatre.org by clicking here.

LOCATION: Mac-Haydn Theatre
1925 NY-203
Chatham, NY 12037

MORE:
machaydntheatre.org
facebook.com/MacHaydnTheatre/
instagram.com/machaydntheatre
Box Office Phone: 518-392-9292

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“Afternoon on a Hill”: Musical Celebration to Benefit Steepletop, Aug 13

On Saturday, August 13, Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Steepletop, will be open for the first time in three years for a special musical event to benefit the restoration and maintenance of the historic site.

On Saturday, August 13, the grounds at Edna St. Vincent Millay’s historic home, Steepletop, will be open for the first time in three years for a special musical event to benefit the restoration and maintenance of the historic site. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to wander through Millay’s gardens and fields and explore the Poetry Trail that leads to the Millay family gravesites. Millay’s house will also be open for tours for a limited number of ticket holders.

The centerpiece of the day will be a 2:00 pm concert under a tent on the hill by Millay’s home, featuring celebrated musical interpreters of Millay’s poetry: Scottish harper, composer and producer Maeve Gilchrist, and The Edna Project, made up of Liz Queler, Seth Farber and their son, Joey Farber.

Maeve Gilchrist, who will perform the title cut from her latest CD, “The Harpweaver,” inspired by one of Millay’s iconic poems, has been described by one critic as “a phenomenal harp player who can make her instrument ring with unparalleled purity.” Maeve‘s innovative approach to her instrument stretches its harmonic limits and improvisational possibilities. Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, currently based in Brooklyn, New York, she is as at home as a soloist with an internationally renowned orchestra as she is playing with a traditional Irish folk group or working with electronic sounds in a more contemporary setting. Maeve has released five albums to date, including “The Harpweaver,” which the Irish Times gave a five-star review, calling it “buoyant, sprightly and utterly beguiling…a snapshot of a musician at the top of her game.” 

The Edna Project, who will perform a selection of Millay’s poetry set to music, has been hailed as “an eclectic sublimely musical melding of folk, bluegrass, rock and jazz with humor and great harmonies” and “an amazing bunch of top-notch musicians and first-rate lyrics taken from the poetry of Millay.” Each member is a remarkable musician: singer/songwriter/composer Liz is a three-time Grammy nominee who has performed extensively as a singer and as an instrumentalist.

Composer/musician Seth was music director for the late folk/blues legend Odetta and has also been nominated for several Grammys; he has numerous Broadway credits and his music has been used extensively for film and television. Joey, a recent graduate of the Berklee School of Music, is fast amassing his own impressive credits, including several national jingles, an off-Broadway show (“Soul Doctor”) and appearances on SNL and other late-night television shows.

A wine reception will follow the concert.

DATE/TIME: Saturday, August 13, 2022 / 10am – 5:30pm

LOCATION: Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Steepletop
440 East Hill Road
Austerlitz, NY

TICKETS: $95, $125
$95 per person for concert & reception
$125 for concert, reception, and 45-minute house tour (a limited number of house tours are available).
Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.millay.org, or at the door.

MORE:
www.millay.org
facebook.com/MillaySociety
instagram.com/MillaySociety
info@millay.org
518-392-3362

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PS21 Presents “Dance with the Mark Morris Dance Group” at Hudson’s Riverfront Park, Aug 3 

PS21 presents “Dance with the Mark Morris Dance Group” at Hudson’s Riverfront Park on August 3rd.

PS21: Performance Spaces for the 21st Century, presents “Dance with the Mark Morris Dance Group” at Hudson’s Riverfront Park on August 3rd.

PS21 is teaming up with the Mark Morris Dance Group to present Dance with MMDG as part of Waterfront Wednesdays. Share in the genius of Mark Morris in this fun and participatory evening of movement that introduces our community to choreography from the most recent work in the Dance Group’s repertoire, Water, at Hudson’s Riverfront Park. Fun for the whole family, Dance with MMDG is taught by MMDG dancers and accompanied by live music.

PS21 Presents Dance with MMDG

Selections from Water 

Choreography: Mark Morris

Music: George Frideric Handel – Suite in F Major, HWV 348 — “Water Music” — Adagio e staccato, Air, Bourrée, Hornpipe

Waterfront Wednesdays provide free family friendly programming at the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park in Hudson, NY from 5:30 PM to sunset. Beginning July 7 and running through September 1st, Waterfront Wednesdays feature musical performances, dance concerts, drum circles, boat excursions, educational programming, vendors, and more.  


DATE/TIME: Wednesday, August 3, 2022 / 7pm

TICKETS: Free

LOCATION: Henry Hudson Riverfront Park
Water Street (behind Amtrak Station) 
Hudson, NY 12534

MORE:
ps21chatham.org
facebook.com/PS21Chatham
instagram.com/ps21chatham

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Two New Architectural Installations Arrive at Art Omi

Art Omi welcomes two new architectural installations in August.

Rendering of Ensemble by Hana Kassem and Spencer Topel.

Art Omi welcomes two new architectural installations in August. Ensemble by Hana Kassem and Spencer Topel is an immersive art experience that explores the spatial and acoustic resonance of our environment. As visitors engage with and move around a field of hollow reeds, their movement activates sound elements. Ever-changing, both acoustically and visually, Ensemble is never experienced in the same manner twice.

Drawing Fields courtesy of Outpost Office

On August 13, join Omi for the installation of a temporary work, Drawing Fields No. 6 by Outpost Office. The event features the use of GPS-controlled painting robots to mark site-specific, building-size drawings at 1:1 scale on the grounds of Art Omi. Visitors may observe the installation process, interact with the robots and the architectural spaces as they are being formed, or visit the completed piece throughout the remainder of the month before it is erased through natural processes. Learn more about the installation event HERE

DATE/TIME: August, 2022 / Daily from dawn until dusk

LOCATION: Omi International Arts Center – Sculpture & Architecture Park
1405 County Route 22
Ghent, NY 12075

REGISTRATION: Visitors to Sculpture & Architecture Park encouraged to register in advance
Register Here

DONATIONS: $10
Suggested donation of $10 per person is encouraged for non-members, but all visitors are welcome regardless of donation

MORE:
ArtOmi.org
FaceBook/Art-Omi
instagram.com/art_omi

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Austerlitz History Center Salutes “Pop” Sweet w/ New Exhibit

The Austerlitz History Center in Spencertown has a new exhibit on the life and career of George R. “Pop” Sweet, the Famed Fiddler of Fog Hill.

The Austerlitz History Center in Spencertown has a new exhibit on the life and career of George R. “Pop” Sweet, the Famed Fiddler of Fog Hill. The Sweet exhibit will remain on view for the remainder of 2022.

In 1930, from the remote Fog Hill section of Austerlitz, Pop Sweet launched a career as an old-time fiddler and square dance caller that brought him wide renown in Columbia, Dutchess and Berkshire counties. There was hardly a hamlet where Pop Sweet and his Huckleberry Pickers did not play during the 1930s into the 1950s. Granges, fraternal lodges, dance halls, restaurants, taverns, campgrounds and even barns all resonated with the joyful sounds of Pop’s fiddling and calling.

Sweet’s fame extended beyond the local region. He was called by the founder of the National Folk Festival “the best caller in the United States,” a title he earned at the Philadelphia Festival in 1943 when he was selected as the best square dance caller out of a nationwide field of more than 130.

The Austerlitz History Center’s exhibit traces Sweet’s musical career and features a soundtrack that includes recordings of Pop’s fiddling and calling from 1947 that are now housed in the Library of Congress. Explored as well is Sweet’s colorful persona as a genuine backwoods character: a hunter and trapper, pursuer of the “Black Beast of the Berkshires,” and long-time Groundhog Day forecaster.

Accompanying the exhibit is a richly researched book on Sweet’s life written by Tom Moreland, Austerlitz Town Historian. It includes a detailed chronological review of Pop’s square dances, listing more than 300 appearances in more than 150 venues scattered among some 70 localities.

The Austerlitz History Center, 812 Route 203 in Spencertown, will be open on Saturdays from 9-11 am, or at other times as arranged with the Town Historian (tmoreland@austerlitzny.com). The Center’s permanent exhibits cover the history of the Austerlitz area from its settlement in the 1750s to the 21st century.

DATES/TIMES: Saturdays / 9 – 11am for the remainder of 2022

LOCATION: The Austerlitz History Center
812 Route 203
Spencertown, NY 12165

MORE:
https://austerlitzny.com

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