What did you do in the arts this week?

Last Saturday, my family caught S.R.O. Productions III’s charming production of the Elvis musical All Shook Up. It was a fun show with some really good performances, and it was a delightful example of true community theater, mixing old pros and up-and-comers. As a friend pointed out, it was nice to see younger folks playing younger folks and older folks playing older folks.

What shows have you seen (or been rehearsing for) recently? Have you caught a concert, a reading or an exhibit? Please share with BAMirror.

Andrews’ theatrical career always worth following

By Ralph E. Hall

In the mid-1970s, I had the pleasure of auditioning a very young teenager named Joe Andrews for the role of Sir Tom in Camelot (a Golden-Hall Production at the former Ramada Inn in Binghamton). The musical was produced in a dinner-theater seating. At one performance, a wait-staff member forgot to remove a tray from Joe’s path for a running entrance path. The results were disastrous, but he and King Arthur went on complete the final scene of the show to the roaring approval of the audience. Andrews’ dedication to the craft continues to this day.

Andrews went on to appear in many G-H shows, and, for the past 30-plus years, he has appeared in many local productions in many venues including the Cider Mill Playhouse. Earlier this year, he directed KNOW Theatre’s season-opener, Guys, and received many accolades from the audiences for his interpretation of this 9/11 story. In February KNOW, located at 74 Carroll St., Binghamton, is producing William Inge’s Bus Stop, again with Andrews directing.

The commitment and dedication that Andrews has brought to the stage over the years represents an excellence rarely seen. From his early work to this day, audiences have admired Andrews’ work. He always can be counted on for giving a great performance with outstanding character interpretations. He will be appearing again in KNOW and other productions in addition to his work as a director.

The dates are Feb. 10-12, 17-19 and 24-26, with Friday and Saturday shows starting at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. The cast includes Riley Phillips, Lynette Daniels, Mike Arcesi, Jessica Nogaret, Brendan Curtin, Rich Bocek, Dave Merrell and Zac Chastain. Details: Visit knowtheatre.org.

‘Writing’ a wrong for Dr. King

Words MEAN something. Ask a writer. And the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a genuine artist when it came to words.  It’s ironic then that a quotation carved into his new monument on the National Mall in Washington, D. C.  takes Dr. King’s words out of context and changes the meaning of what he actually said — essentially mis-quoting one of the world’s great orators.  Now, as the nation prepares to commemorate what would have been Dr. King’s 83rd birthday, we get word that a correction is in the works.  Read more.

Silence that phone!

By now, everyone knows about the “I-Phone Marimba” moment that temporarily stopped the New York Philharmonic’s performance of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony.  For the record and as continuing reminder to concert and theater goers everywhere, here’s the whole cringe-inducing story.

Phelps Mansion, the holidays and Robert Rogers Puppets: A great team

EDITOR’S NOTE: A big BAMirror welcome to our newest reviewer, Ralph E. Hall. Hall has been involved with local arts for many years. In the 1970s, he co-founded Golden-Hall Productions, which produced many shows at the former Ramada Inn on Front Street, Binghamton. He served on the board of directors of a Chicago-based theater in the 1980s; then, in the 90s, he served on the Working Theatre Board of Directors in New York City and produced “Songs in the Key of Stevie” at the Village Gate. In 2001 he was the interim executive director of the Broome County Arts Council. From 2006 to 2010, he served as the executive director of the KNOW Theatre in Binghamton. He now is an adjunct faculty member at Broome Community College.

“. . . not a creature was stirring” last month (December 2011) when the Phelps Mansion ballroom in Binghamton was filled with more than 100 children and adults being entertained by puppeteer Robert Rogers and his production of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Rogers did a marvelous job of entrancing and educating this young audience. He was wise in holding the performance to approximately 50 minutes. When using prerecorded voices and music, a production must be carefully thought out and timed. Rogers accomplished both. His sets and lighting supported the show very well.

Local filmmaker mentioned in upbeat ‘NY Times’ review

Local filmmaker Nat Bouman was the lensman for a new indie film that received a great review in today’s (Jan. 6, 2012) New York Times. Nat is mentioned in this Times article about the film “Co-dependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same”. Nat is a member of the ART Mission & Theater and was born and raised in  nearby Brackney, Pa., where he lives with his wife, Katherine Bouman, and their daughter, Harper. Nat entered the film and television industry as a lowly production assistant after college. Since then, he has earned his M.F.A. in Film from Columbia University and worked on a wide variety of projects as both a director and cinematographer. Nat is currently an assistant professor at SUNY College at Oneonta, where he teaches courses in film studies and film production. Katherine Bouman, Nat’s wife, is on the board of directors for the ART Mission & Theater and formerly served as director of education at Roberson Museum & Science Center.

Opera world facing more ups and downs

Check out these two good news/bad news reports from the world of opera. First, an article from The Dedham Transcript (Needham, Mass.) on the demise of Opera Boston. Then, a New York Times look at how small opera companies are trying to fill the void left by the drastic reduction and displacement of New York City Opera.

Dance Theater of Harlem to start auditions for revived troupe

BAM Note: There’s good news from the dance world in the following piece from the New York Times ArtsBeat blog.  Share and comment!

By DANIEL J. WAKIN

Dance companies are supposed to be shrinking, not starting up in these recessionary times. Not so at the Dance Theater of Harlem, which closed its company in 2004. Theater officials on Wednesday announced the start of auditions to create a new stripped down troupe of 18 dancers, which will begin rehearsing in August and touring in October and aims to return to a New York stage by April 2013.  Read more.

Binghamton University Kafka expert links teaching and research

From our “Food for Thought” file comes the following article by Rachel Coker published Dec. 5 in the blog Discover-e, Insights & Innovations from  Binghamton University.

Kafka scholar Neil Christian Pages does more than encourage his undergraduate students to engage in research. He gives them the tools they need to demystify the literary academy.

A tiny figurine made out of thread — a former student’s representation of the character Odradek from Franz Kafka’s “The Cares of the Father of the Family” — hangs from one of Pages’ bookshelves. It’s material proof of the way Pages’ students engage with Kafka in his classroom and beyond it.   Read more.

Give the arts for the holidays

By Barb Van Atta

Still stumped in your Santa duties? Hustling for one more Hanukkah gift? Look no more. Your best gift idea — one that truly keeps on giving — is something artistic. Visit a local gallery for everything from pottery to photos to note cards. (Not sure of someone’s taste? Give a gift certificate.) Buy tickets to plays or concerts. Make a donation to an arts organization in the name of your hard-to-shop-for friend. Why not celebrate the holidays by supporting the arts?

What music is part of your holiday? ‘Messiah’ is part of mine

By Barb Van Atta

Have you attended a concert or pageant to get into the holiday spirit? Or, like me, have you been too busy rehearsing to be in an audience? Either way, BAMirror welcomes your comments and reflections on seasonal music.

As I said, I’ve been in rehearsal, as has my son, for the Downtown Singers’ presentation of Handel’s Messiah on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 16 and 17) at The Forum in Binghamton. Here is a link to a Good Times story that features chorus members who have been around since Alan Crabb and the Rev. Hugh Miller of the former Centenary United Methodist Church in downtown Binghamton came up with the idea of the Downtown Singers: http://tinyurl.com/ccv3qfd.  (One adjustment to the article: Bruce Reed thought he sang with the group in 1993; it actually was 1992.)

 

Why support non-profit arts and the United Cultural Fund

Broome County Arts Council’s United Cultural Fund opened its 2012 Campaign on November 3rd with “An Artful Evening with NPR’s Susan Stamberg, a fundraising event at the Binghamton Riverwalk Hotel, featuring National Public Radio’s premier arts correspondent. UCF 2012 is the only combined campaign for the arts in the region and seeks to raise $308,325 for competitive grants to non-profit arts and cultural organizations, community non-profits and individual artists in Broome County. In a speech to Binghamton Rotary #64 yesterday (December 13th), BCAC’s Executive Director Sharon Ball explained how the UCF helps sustain arts non-profits for the benefit of the entire community.

Thank you very much. I’m grateful for the invitation to speak to you this afternoon. I know the good work that Rotary does all over the world and I commend you for the good work that Rotary does here in this community.

What a year it’s been for our community! First the economy, then the economy, then the economy, and then the second 100 year flood in 5 years. Another hit, another blow to the body of this already challenged region and the people who are determined to stay here, to do business here, care for their families and friends here, and maintain their neighborhoods – right here in the once renowned “valley of opportunity”.

Met’s new ‘Faust’ is a mixed bag

Reviewed by Tony Villecco

I attended my first live-from-the-Metropolitan Opera, HD, big-screen production last Saturday (Dect. 10). One has to applaud the Met’s foresight to bring opera to the masses this way, up-close and personal and far more reasonably priced than an orchestra seat. Gounod’s Faust opened the Metropolitan back in 1883. This latest production was, overall, a fine one with some excellent singing–  despite the director Des McAnuff’s decision to transplant the opera to the 20th Century, between the world wars.

New Museum of Innovation getting funding

“More than $500,000 from the Regional Economic Development plan will fund the construction of a world-class museum.

It is hoped to serve as a major tourist attraction for those driving through Binghamton.”

Read and see more from WBNG Action News

Levine withdraws from conducting at the Met, until at least 2013

“James Levine, the Metropolitan Opera’s ailing music director, has withdrawn from conducting at the house this season and the next, the Met and Mr. Levine said on Friday (Dec. 9). Levine cancelled the last remaining dates on his schedule — two cycles of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen in April and May — and withdrew from all productions he had planned to lead next season.”

Read more about this at Arts Beat, The New York Times Arts section.