All Entries in the "In the Arts" Category
Northern Stage delivers a farcical feast in ‘Living Together,’
first in ‘Norman Conquests’ trilogy
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC White River Junction’s Northern Stage finishes off its 2015-16 season with Alan Ayckbourn’s comic Living Together, the first in a trilogy of plays known collectively as “The Norman Conquests” (more about that later). For anyone who delights in the absurdities of Britcoms, Living Together is a feast of […]
‘The Mountaintop’ an interesting trip, with a confusing view
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC White River Junction’s Northern Stage continues its season with Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop, a fictionalized account of Martin Luther King Jr.’s final day, that begins as a realistic drama then veers into the otherworldly. And while the idea is an interesting one, the execution borders on the schizophrenic. […]
Gifts bring Walker Farm theater plan closer to goal;
Norman Conquests: three plays, three theaters, one cast
The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company has announced that it has received major support for its capital campaign from the Hunter Charitable Trust of Boston and the Loewe Foundation of New York. The Campaign for the Weston Theatre, which currently stands at $8.5 million of a $10 million goal, will build a flexible second stage on […]
Comic ‘Baskervilles’ a howling success at Northern Stage
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC White River Junction’s Northern Stage serves up a huge helping of British silliness with The Hound of the Baskervilles, the 2007 comic adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic Sherlock Holmes novel. This featherbrained adaptation by Steven Canny and John Nicholson has a lot going for it, but […]
Northern Stage’s ‘Mad Love’ a crowd-pleaser, but carries heavy baggage
By David Lampe-Wilson © 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC White River Junction’s Northern Stage approaches the dead of winter on an adventurous path with Marisa Smith’s new comedy Mad Love and judging by audience reaction during a recent preview performance, it has the potential of being a real crowd pleaser. Mad Love is a 21st-century rom-com […]
Playhouse offers ‘Weston 101’ ed program in-person and online
In anticipation of its 80th performance season, Weston Playhouse Theatre Company is launching “Weston 101” in February. This groundbreaking educational program will bring the excitement of the summer productions into the off-season with a series of Thursday evening classes held in the Hunter Seminar Room of Burr and Burton Academy, 57 Seminary Ave. in Manchester. […]
‘Mary Poppins’ offers top-drawer performances on a dazzling set
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC White River Junction’s Northern Stage enters the holiday season with the musical Mary Poppins and, as seen in a preview, there is a lot to recommend it — performances, costumes, color — but it is an uphill battle for its talented cast. Someone once described a camel as […]
Claremont Opera House new repertory company announces winter-spring schedule
The Claremont Opera House’s new repertory theater company will present a series of offerings to the area schools this year, including The Lightning Thief, a musical adapted from the book by Rick Riordan at 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 4; and Dinoman at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 29. All of these shows are open […]
‘Our Town’ a stunning inaugural play at new Barrette Center
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC White River Junction’s Northern Stage inaugurates its new home at the Barrette Center for the Arts with a heartfelt production of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town. Viewed during a recent preview performance, Our Town stuns in its quiet simplicity. Our Town chronicles the lives of […]
Northern Stage rolls out winter-spring season, new facility
Northern Stage has announced its 2015-2016 season. The company will produce six main stage productions from October 2015 to May 2016 in its new facility, the Barrette Center for the Arts, 74 Gates St., in White River Junction. The public is invited to a Grand Opening Celebration of the new facility and a kick-off for […]
‘Man of LaMancha,’ ‘Mamma Mia!’ to help mark Weston Playhouse’s 80th
The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company has unveiled plans for its 2016 MainStage season in anticipation of a two-year celebration of it 80th anniversary. Audiences can expect a line-up distinguished by groundbreaking partnerships, collaborations with major stars, and the Vermont premiere of one of Broadway’s longest-running hits. Producing Artistic Director Steve Stettler said, “We’ve pulled out […]
Weston’s ‘Glass Menagerie’ achingly exquisite
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse buttons up its 2015 season with an achingly exquisite production of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. This American classic is a touchstone of 20th century theater, a play that broke down barriers between actor and audience, tinkered with time and place, and turned life into very […]
Broadway Boot Camp taps into local talent
By Cynthia Prairie ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC T he finale for Weston Playhouse’s first ever Broadway Boot Camp nearly brought down the house Friday afternoon as parents, family, friends and members of both the Playhouse’s Young Company and its professional cast gave the 20 student actors a standing ovation. (Click on any photo to launch […]
‘Road to Where’ with energy, wit and intelligence it’s worth the trip
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Other Stage at Weston’s Rod and Gun Club has been transformed into a warm, intimate faux Irish pub, complete with tables and chairs at which audience members can consume a liter or two of ginger beer as they enjoy the Weston Playhouse’s latest production, The Road to […]
‘Guys and Dolls:’ Great possibilities when it finds right pace
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC High-rolling gamblers, low-life gangsters, free-spirited showgirls and sanctimonious soul savers take to the stage in a workman-like version of Guys and Dolls, playing through Aug. 22 at the Weston Playhouse. Filled with wit, heart and hummable songs, Guys and Dolls is based on Damon Runyon’s stories “The Idyll […]
Jamie Townsend artwork featured at NYC gallery
Springfield artist Jamie Townsend’s artwork will be featured at the New York City Agora Gallery in Chelsea from Friday, July 31 to Thursday, Aug. 20. The exhibit, Idiosyncratic Expressions, features the works of eight artists who, according to the gallery, offer “themes from the past, present, and future in an exhibition of nostalgia and re-imagination. […]
Powerful vibrancy to Weston Playhouse’s lean ‘Other Place’
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC While Weston Playhouse’s Main Stage provides a space for lavish music and dance productions, its Other Stage concentrates on honing small gems in bare-bones productions. The emphasis at the Other Stage is on character and intimate playing, and its current production The Other Place offers a host of […]
BIG BUZZ, LITTLE BUZZ: Local carver takes young Tennessee apprentice under his wing
By Shawn Cunningham ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC Summer school never looked — or sounded — quite like this. For the past week, Barre Pinske has been teaching a master class for one in chainsaw carving at his Depot Street studio in Chester. That’s nothing out of the ordinary except Pinske’s student is a 14-year-old who […]
WPTC’s ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ is ‘fast-paced, deliciously daffy’
By David Lampe-Wilson © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC The power of the imagination, once freed, seems limitless and releasing that power is the task set forth by Peter and the Starcatcher, the five-time Tony Award winning play now on stage at the Weston Playhouse. You really have to admire how the cast takes the stage, […]
‘Pump Boys and Dinettes’ serves up non-stop, high-octane fun
By David Lampe-Wilson © 2015-Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse serves up a heapin’ helpin’of piping-hot, southern-fried jubilation with its opening production Pump Boys and Dinettes, an unpretentious evening of song, dance and musical fun. The show, seen during a preview performance, has a slim thread of a plot that runs through it, but that never […]
