Gypsy Reel kicks off Chester Music Series; ‘Next to Normal’ premieres at Weston; gun show set for September

Chester’s Summer Music Series kicks off its 2013 season with Gypsy Reel, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 11. The 90-minute concert will take place on the lawn of the Academy Building across from the Green.

Gypsy Reel of Belmont, VT./Photo provided

Gypsy Reel is an acoustic band rooted in Celtic tradition. Its music is a synthesis of world rhythms and influences from three continents. The band consists of banjoist Claudine Langille, formerly of Touchstone, fiddler Graham Parker, guitarist Jon Scaife and vocalist Camille Parker.
The concert is free and open to the public. Bring blankets and lawn chairs.

Next week’s concert, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 18, will be the Starline Rhythm Boys.

In case of rain, concerts will be held at the Stone Hearth Inn, Route 11 West in Chester. For more information call Lynne Reed at Misty Valley Books at 875-3400.

Local underwriters for the series include Newsbank, Dakin & Benelli, P.C., Chester Family Medicine/Springfield Medical Care Systems and TDBank. Sponsors are Lisai’s Chester Market, Black River Produce, Motel in the Meadow, the Fullerton Inn, Vail Law Offices, Springfield Auto Mart, the Vermont Country Store and the Rotary Club of Chester. Co-Sponsors are Vermont Hardwoods, Lawrence and Wheeler, MacLaomainn’s Scottish Pub, Peoples United Bank, Chester Hardware, The Chester Telegraph and Willow Farm Pet Services; and friends that include Andrew Ladd Builders, Ulbrich Law Offices, Barrett and Valley Associates and Misty Valley Books, SSmith Graphics and the Chester Historical Society.

Vermont premiere of Pulitzer, Tony winner ‘Next to Normal’

Director Michael Berresse, left, reviews scenic designer Tim Mackabee’s set model with the cast of ‘Next to Normal’ during recent rehearsals. The cast includes, from left, Dan DeLuca, Heidi Blickenstaff, Margo Seibert, Aaron Ramey, David Ayers (obscured), and Etai BenShlomo. /Photo by Stuart Duke.

The Weston Playhouse is staging the Vermont premiere of the rock musical Next to Normal with Tony-nominated director Michael Berresse.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the 2009 Tony Award for Best Musical Score, Next to Normal premieres on the Weston Playhouse’s MainStage 7:30 p.m., Thursday, July 11 with a five-piece orchestra under the direction of 2009 Young Composer of the Year Ryan Fielding Garrett.

Written almost entirely in song, Next to Normal is the story of Diana, a wife and mother who struggles with bi-polar disorder, and the hardships her condition poses on her family. The strength of each character, the sense of familial obligation and an overriding love for one another makes for an ultimately tender and uplifting story.

Performances run through July 27. Curtain time is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; with matinees at 2 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets start at just $25 and are available at the playhouse box office, by telephone at 802-824-5288, or online. For a complete schedule of upcoming shows and events visit http://www.westonplayhouse.org.

 Chester Gun Show set for end of September

The Chester Gun Show will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29 in the American Legion Post 67, 637 Route 103 S in Chester.

The event is hosted by the Green Mountain Gun Show Trail of Vermont. All federal, state and local firearm ordinances and laws must be obeyed.
There will be dealers with rifles, shotguns, pistols and knives along with antiques and collectibles from the WWI, WWII and the Civil War. Free gun appraisals will be conducted.

Admission is $7; children 10 and under are admitted free. For more information email bill@greenmtgunshowtrail.com or call 802-875-4540.

–Compiled by Susan Lampe-Wilson