The Art Roundup 24/03/28

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

Exhibit opening, part 1: Sullivan Framing and Fine Art Gallery (15 N. Amherst Road in Bedford) will hold an opening reception for the exhibit “Once in a Moment” on Saturday, April 6, from 3 to 5 p.m. The exhibit highlights the work of Peter Noonan, an award-winning illustrator, fine artist and cartoonist whose illustrations and designs have appeared in numerous publications and are held in public and private collections throughout the country, according to the press release. Noonan is from New Hampshire and studied at Colby-Sawyer College as well as the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Paris. Visit sullivanframing.com.

Exhibit opening, part 2: The art gallery Outer Space (35 Pleasant St. in Concord) will open the exhibit “Little Red Riding Hood: Polly Apfelbaum & Alice Mackler” on Friday, April 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibit will run until Saturday, June 1, by appointment. This will be the first exhibit of Alice Mackler’s work since her passing earlier this year at the age 92 and will feature her raw and elegantly painted clay sculptures of women and other beings, alongside her paintings and drawings, according to a press release. Apfelbaum’s exhibit presents a vibrant installation with glazed ceramics based on snowball quilts, hung on red-striped painted walls, according to the press release. A woven rug with an image from the 1963 book The Potential of Woman: a Symposium will be on the floor. Visit outerspacearts.xyz.

Basket class: At Sanborn Mills Farm (7097 Sanborn Road in Loudon) on Saturday, April 13, and Sunday, April 14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Ruth Boland will teach a class on Cherokee-style storage basket weaving, according to a press release. Participants will use twinning, plain weave, down skating, and rim scarfing to weave a finished basket that will be around 10 inches high and 15 inches across, according to the same release. The class is open to all levels of weavers, and all materials and tools will be provided. The workshop fee is $250. A lashing material fee of $60 will be paid directly to the instructor. Participants will have an option of private or shared lodging, as well as meals, if interested. For details and to register visit sanbornmills.org.

Shakespeare-ish Auditions
Cue Zero Theatre Co. will hold open auditions for William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged), a play by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, on Tuesday, April 2, at 6 p.m. at the Arts Academy of New Hampshire (19 Keewaydin Dr. in Salem), with callbacks on Sunday, April 7, at 1 p.m. Performances will take place June 21 through June 23. Interested performers should sign up for a time slot on Cue Zero’s website and prepare two monologues: one dramatic Shakespearean piece and modern comedic piece; the total time of the two pieces should not exceed four minutes, according to a press release. The release mentioned that callbacks may include reading from the script, playing improv games, and an interview. See cztheatre.com/index.php/get-involved.

Mug class: Manchester Craft Market (in the Mall of New Hampshire, 1500 S. Willow St. in Manchester) will host a workshop on hand-building ceramic mugs on Friday, April 5, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. with a second session on Friday, April 19, at the same time, according to their website. The workshop will be taught by Jess from Emerson St Pottery. Participants will learn how to create a mug from clay in the first session, after which Jess will professionally fire the mug, and in the second session participants will be able to decorate and glaze their creations, according to the website. The class is intended for adults only and is limited to six students. The cost is $70; this includes both sessions and material. If you cannot make the second session, Jess will glaze your handmade mug, according to the site, and she will fire final pieces, which will be dropped off at the Manchester Craft Market. Visit manchestercraftmarket.com.

Dance: NSquared Dance will perform on Thursday, April 4, from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Citizen of the Year Award to honor Howard Brodsky, at the DoubleTree by Hilton (700 Elm St., Manchester). The dance was altered specifically to showcase Brodsky’s life’s work as an “innovator in the cooperative model” through his company CCA Global, according to a press release. NSquared Dance’s mission is to energize audiences through movement and to enhance creativity, artistry, passion, and the drive of youth and aspiring dancers while they enlighten the community about the importance of performing arts education and further its integration into people’s everyday lives, according to their website. Visit nhdancecollaborative.org/performances or nsquareddance.org.

From detective to poet: The Stockbridge Theatre (44 N. Main St. in Derry) will host a performance of Robert Frost: This Verse Business on Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m. The poet and former Pinkerton Academy teacher charmed audiences with his celebrated verse and rascally sense of humor, according to a press release. Frost will be played by Emmy-winning actor Gordon Clapp, known for his role on NYPD Blue as Det. Medavoy, among other roles. In Clapp’s performance the poet shares his verse from memory along with his “wild surmises” on art, religion, science, “radicals” and “conservatives,” as the material is gathered from recordings and writings of Robert Frost, according to the same release. A.M. Dolan’s Robert Frost: This Verse Business won Best New Play (the Kaplan Award) at the Eventide Arts Festival in 2010, and Best Production at the United Solo Play Festival in New York City in 2013. Tickets cost $25 to $30 and are available at stockbridgetheatre.showare.com or by calling the box office at 437-5210.

Nature on screen

Wild & Scenic Film Festival returns

It’s hoped that when the final short of this year’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival is finished audience members will have a newfound commitment to conservation and an expanded awareness of the microcosmic world. A few of the selections may lead to a heretofore unknown fondness for timber rattlesnakes, as well as sloths and mussels.

Mostly, the festival’s organizer envisions the nature-centric collection of films as a call to action.

Admission to the Friday, March 29, event at Concord’s Bank of NH Stage includes a free one-year membership in New Hampshire Rivers Council (NHRC), the environmental group sponsoring it.

“It’s where inspiration meets activism,” the Council’s president, Michelle Tremblay, said recently. “What we want to do is inspire people to get more involved.”

Tremblay, who is also principal of Naturesource Communications (pronounced nature-resource), brought the festival to New Hampshire. In past years it was held at Red River Cinemas and routinely sold out, with backed-up waiting lists that couldn’t be satisfied.

The decision to move across the street, made after three years spent online due to the pandemic, means capacity is now doubled.

“We decided to come back big,” Tremblay said. “We have the entire facility … we’re able to offer our members, and new members, places that they can spread out, roam and socialize; and also, very comfortable seating.”

An extension of the weeklong Wild & Scenic Film Festival hosted by SYRCL, the South Yuba River Citizens League in California, the event offers regional groups a “best of” selection from each year’s entries. Tremblay said NHRC decided to focus on short works.

“We don’t have the whole week to show the film festival, so we carefully curate films that normally people wouldn’t be able to see,” she said. “You can go to a theater, you can watch full-length films, but finding good shorts which normally kind of fly under the radar, those are harder to access.”

This means lots of films, covering a wide range of topics, she continued. “We’re also able to offer something for everyone. The shorts range the gamut from water to land to animals, and we have films from all over the globe as well as some that are a little closer to home. So we really do try to curate with that in mind.”

SYRCL, affectionately called “The Mothership” by NHRC, does offer a pre-curated “festival in a box,” Tremblay said. “But we decided to do our own because we really feel like we know what the New Hampshire audiences have liked in the past, and we want to make sure that we’re able to continue to serve that.”

Along with shorts about reptiles, shellfish and sloths are “some wonderful films that give a Native American perspective and make people really think differently about natural resources,” she continued, adding she hopes that two “very abstract films that give kind of a micro view of different aspects of our natural environment … will really get people thinking about not just seeing something from a distance.”

PLACE – People, Lamprey, and Cultural Ecology is a short from Jeremy Monroe and David Herasimtschuk that Tremblay believes will resonate with Northeasterners. The SYRCL website describes the eight-minute film as following a Cayuse Tribe member while revealing “the connections between migratory fish, urban forests, and community stewardship … and the work one group is doing to rebuild the strength of these connections for future generations.”

The New Hampshire economy depends on its natural beauty. Asked how that affects NHRC’s mission, Tremblay replied that rivers are “the last populist water body…. They’ve always been the place where everyone can go to them. But they’ve also been hit hard. They receive our waste, hopefully treated; they get withdrawals for drinking water, for farming and for other purposes. Rivers really do work hard, and we work hard for the rivers.”

14th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival
When: Friday, March 29, 6 p.m.
Location: Bank of New Hampshire Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $25 ($20 members) at eventbrite.com
Video on Demand available, $15

Featured photo: Fresh Water Lamprey. Courtesy photo.

Buy stuff, make stuff

Classes on offer at the Manchester Craft Market

By Zachary Lewis
zlewis@hippopress.com

Jessica Moores has created a bazaar of locally sourced and handcrafted goodies at the Mall of New Hampshire.

“This is our eighth year,” Moores said. “We started just as a craft fair with different tables all throughout the mall or we had an empty store for about nine weeks where 20 people sat at their tables to sell what they’d made.”

It was a good start, but Moores was encouraged to grow.

“Someone said to me, ‘This is great, but I don’t want to sit here all day. I want to put my stuff on a shelf, and you sell it for me.’ So I came back a few months later and I told the mall I want to give people a spot to sell their stuff on a shelf and see how that goes.”

After she spruced up an old pet store she had been allocated by the mall, business continued to grow.

“We decided we needed a bigger store,” Moores said. Manchester Craft Market then moved to the space next door. This was the location where Moores started curbside pickup during the Covid years, which allowed her business to thrive, although it was an austere road at first.

“I did it all without any loans or credit cards in the beginning. I didn’t pay myself for a couple years and kept putting my money into the business, like free displays. This one here I got like seven years ago for free,” Moores said as she pointed to a glass display cabinet right next to the cash register. “I still use it. It makes me a ton of money.”

Manchester Craft Market had its first million-dollar year just a couple of years ago.

“A million dollars of New England-made products only. That was 2021,” she said.

“In 2023, in September, we moved into this space…. We grew from about 170 makers to 250. We also have a classroom space for workshops and classes,” Moores said.

The classes are a big draw for crafters and patrons alike.

“We’ve done a couple ceramic classes with fairy houses or polymer clay. People are hand-building their own mugs. Cookie decorating classes. It’s kind of its own separate little thing back there,” Moores said.

A calendar of classes and workshops can be found on their website but one does not need to be a seller here to be allowed to teach.

Another fun edition is the window display.

“I work really hard on my window display, which seems to really attract people. With our winter display people would stand out there and take pictures like it was Macy’s in New York, so that was really fun.” Moores said

How did Moores get started with this whole enterprise?

“I was a stay-at-home mom trying to pay off some student loans and I started making my own stuff,” Moores said. “I said, ‘I really need a place to sell this. Where do I sell it?’ I was walking through the mall one day and there were a bunch of empty stores at that point. I said, ‘I should do a craft fair in the mall.’ So I went to a local, like, Facebook moms group and said, ‘What do you guys think about this? Would you go?’ and they were all like, ‘Yeah, we would totally go.’ And now some of them are our regular customers….”

The support from the community allows Moores to celebrate the handmade wares of local makers, which she describes as “anything altered, designed, or with additional components. Generally, that gives our makers leeway to design an image and have it printed elsewhere to be a sticker or print. It allows them to buy different jewelry findings and assemble them to make something different. I am not asking them to silversmith, although some do.”

Moores reiterated that without the enthusiasm of these craft makers her business would not be possible.

“Every little spot in every corner in here is a different maker. It is 250 individual businesses that we are supporting. Some of them pay for their chemo meds with it, some of them pay their mortgage with it, some of them just make it for fun and make a couple bucks off of it. It is all local New England. We just have fun with it.”

Manchester Craft Market
1500 S. Willow St. in Manchester (inside the Mall of New Hampshire).
Hours: Monday through Saturday from 10am to 9pm, Sundays from 11am to 6pm.
Contact: 606-1351, manchestercraftmarket.com

Featured photo: Workshop space at Manchester Craft Market. Courtesy photo.

The Art Roundup 24/03/21

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

Artist receptions: The Chapel Art Center at Saint Anselm College (100 Saint Anselm Drive in Manchester) opened its spring season with “The Intimacy of Seeing, Elsa Voelcker – A Retrospective.” On Friday, March 22, from 4 to 6 p.m. the Chapel Art Center will host an opening reception, with the artist in attendance. Voelcker is a veteran member of the college’s Fine Arts faculty, whose teaching and mentoring in the realm of film and digital photography has benefitted generations of students at Saint Anselm College, according to a press release. The exhibition includes more than 60 works and spans her entire career; it includes a selection of black & white and color prints, as well as some of her handmade photography books. The gallery is free and open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday evenings from 4 to 7 p.m.

An artist’s reception will be held on Saturday, March 23, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the New Hampshire Audubon McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road in Concord) for Jackie Hanson’s show titled “Human/ Nature,” which runs until Friday, May 17. The show features a unique view of landscapes through pastels by Hanson, who is a recent graduate of New England College and a New Hampshire artist. See nhaudubon.org.

Printmaking workshop: The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester) is hosting a one-day workshop titled “Creative Exploration: Printmaking & Collage Inspired by Raphaël Barontini with Rachael and John O’Shaughnessy” on Saturday, March 23, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Currier website describes this workshop as a unique opportunity for adults to learn more about the artist and his ideas while they work with dyed papers, collage and intaglio printmaking techniques to create their own works of art; prior classes and experience are not required, and materials will be provided. Registration is $175 for non-members and $157.50 for members. Visit currier.org or call 518-4922.

Online art chat: You can virtually meet with the Currier Museum’s education team for “Art Conversations from Home.” These are informal facilitated conversations over Zoom about the Currier’s collection and exhibitions, with a different focus each week, according to their website. Each session is free and lasts 30 minutes. They take place every Wednesday at 1 p.m. until April 24. The conversation on Wednesday, March 20, will be on Andrew Wyeth’s “Day Dream,” 1980, which is from a private collection. Attendance is limited and registration is required, accepted through noon on the day of the event. Visit currier.org.

Pottery sale: Studio 550 Art Center (550 Elm St. in Manchester) is holding a Spring Cleaning Pottery Sale from Monday, March 25, to Saturday, March 30, noon to 8 p.m. each day, selling pottery, glass and other handmade goods to benefit the International Institute of New England, the Clay for Kids Fund and local artisans, according to a press release. Visit 550arts.com.

Kids perform Elvis: The Bedford Youth Performing Company (BYPC) will be performing All Shook Up! an homage to Elvis Presley, at the Derryfield School Theater (2108 River Road in Manchester) on Friday, March 22, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 23, at 1 and 7 p.m. According to a press release, the performers will take you on a ride into a world of rock ’n’ roll and hijinks in this action-packed musical. Tickets are $17.50 for adults, $15 for students and seniors. Visit bypc.org or call 472-3894.

The Phil performs Bolero, Hagen performs Double Bass: The New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra at the Seifert Performing Arts Center (44 Geremonty Dr. in Salem) will be performing Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero” and more on Saturday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 7, at 2 p.m. Renowned double bass soloist Susan Hagen, who has been an extra player for the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 18 seasons and who became the first female principle double bassist of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, will be performing Simón García’s Double Bass Concerto, according to a press release. Mark Latham, Music Director of the NH Philharmonic Orchestra, said in a statement that “her talent and passion for the double bass are truly exceptional, and we are honored to have her join us for what promises to be an unforgettable evening of music.” The concert will feature Rimsky-Korsakov’s virtuosic Capriccio Espagnol and music of de Falla and Mozart will be performed as well, according to the same release. Livestreaming will be available for the Sunday performance. Tickets range from $5 to $35. Visit nhphil.org.

Celtic Woman in Concord: The Capitol Center of the Arts’ Chubb Theatre (44 S. Main St in Concord) will host the 20th anniversary tour of Celtic Woman on Friday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. Celtic Woman brings a blend of traditional and contemporary Irish music with dancers, bagpipers and traditional Irish instruments like the bodhrán, tin whistle and uilleann pipes, according to a press release. Tickets range from $54.25 to $86.25. Visit ccanh.org

Anastasia
The Derry Opera House (29 W. Broadway in Derry) will be hosting The Majestic Academy of Dramatic Arts as they present Anastasia The Musical: Youth Edition Friday, March 22, through Sunday, March 24. Majestic’s production will star the children and teens of The Majestic Academy of Dramatic Arts under the direction of Collette Foley with musical assistance by A. Robert Dionne, according to a press release. The show transports its audience from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past, the release said. Show times are Friday, March 22, at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 23, at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 24, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for seniors 65 and above, and $12 for youth 17 and under. Tickets can be purchased by visiting or calling the box office at 669-7469, online at www.majestictheatre.net or at the door prior to the performance.

Classical video games

Symphony NH performs Game Over(ture)

By Michael Witthaus
mwitthaus@hippopress.com

For many years, video game companies operated like old-school movie studios. Everything was done in-house, including the music. That began to change in the late 1990s, a shift that would impact the life of Austin Wintory, a young composer studying at USC. A lifelong gamer, Wintory had always been intrigued by the scores of Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda, but he had no interest in working 9 to 5 at a tech company.

“The whole appeal of being a composer is you make your own hours,” he said in a recent phone interview. “You pursue your own opportunities … perpetually take swings and gambles, and bet on yourself. It’s an entrepreneur-type path, like running a small business.”

One day, a fellow student invited him to work on a game he was developing. Wintory recalls it as “very humble, tiny little project” that itself went nowhere, “but it led to him introducing me to some of his classmates … in particular was this guy named Jenova Chen, who was working on his master’s thesis video game project.”

Flow, the game Chen was developing and recruited Wintory for, became an online hit in 2006. Its success led Sony to hire them to code a version for the PlayStation, which had more music composed by Wintory. It became a hit on that platform, as did a sequel (that he didn’t work on).

In 2009, the team reunited to make Journey, a game that “exploded beyond anyone’s wildest imagination,” Wintory said. “It essentially made me a so-called video game composer, even though I’ve never seen myself that way… I was always passionate about games, and always wanting to be a composer. In hindsight … they were always on a collision course.”

Journey became the first video game to be nominated for a Grammy, shoehorned into the “Score Soundtrack for Visual Media” category. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for Girl With the Dragon Tattoo took the prize, but Wintory set a precedent that led to the creation of a video game category 10 years later. He’s been nominated both years it’s existed.

He responds with humility at the notion that he’s some kind of trailblazer.

“I honestly find it baffling; I don’t claim to be the one who should have been the first,” he said. “Many iconic scores came before me that simply weren’t nominated.”

Over the years, Wintory has become friendly with Symphony NH Music Director Roger Kalia, and on March 23 and March 24 he’ll guest conduct music from Journey, along with the Final Fantasy Seven’s climactic finale “One Winged Angel,” a piece he sheepishly requested Kalia let him lead at the concert.

“It’s always fun to conduct more than just my own music, but I am the guest, it’s Roger’s show; I’m not trying to pull focus or steal undue podium time,” he said, adding that his selection recalls operatic works like Verdi’s Requiem. “Carlos Orff’s ‘O Fortuna’ from Carmina Burana. It’s a piece in that kind of a vein, an absolute massive grand symphonic statement. It’s a real popular one because that game was just such a landmark.”

Kalia, he continued, has conducted Journey himself several times — on the West Coast where Wintory lives, and with the Evansville Symphony Orchestra. Wintory considers the Game Over(ture) concert, which will also include music from Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Brothers and Prince of Persia,an ideal way to help expand the reach of classical music.

“What I love about these kinds of shows is they’re a real celebration of … cultural touchstones that people are likely to be imminently familiar with,” he said. “I’m a believer in the preservation of the classical repertoire, and the solemn duty orchestras consign themselves to. Making sure that this massive, particularly orchestral canon is well looked after, taken seriously, performed and continuously exposed to new audiences.”

Beyond that, though, is a need for “showcasing the music audience members are likely to have some kind of contact with or familiarity with on a day-to-day basis; not just appeal to so-called classical music lovers. Roger has a very similar mind and is a great advocate of that sort of programming. I’m incredibly lucky and grateful to be a periodic beneficiary of it.”

Game Over(ture)
When: Saturday, March 23rd, 8pm
Location: Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $20.75 and up at symphonynh.org

Also Sunday, March 23rd, 3pm, Keefe Center for the Arts, 117 Elm St., Nashua ($10 and up)

Featured photo: Avatar of Austin Wintory created by Angela Bermúdez. Courtesy photo.

The Art Roundup 24/03/14

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

Where’s my art? Mosaic Art Collective (66 Hanover St., Suite 201, Manchester) is placing a call for art for their new exhibit, “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” which will run from Monday, April 8, through Tuesday, April 30, with an artist’s reception to be held on Saturday, April 13, from 4 to 8 p.m. The exhibit serves as a metaphorical playground for artists to engage with diverse materials and techniques, according to a press release. The same release invites artists to explore themes related to environmental consciousness, sustainability, biodiversity, and the delicate balance between human existence and nature. For more information about how to submit a piece for the show, see the website or call 512-6209 or email info@mosaicartcollective.com.

Where’s my movie? Red River Theaters (11 S. Main St. in Concord) will host a short film festival put on by Creative Guts, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that is devoted to promoting artists in the Granite State and received the 2023 New Hampshire Governor’s Arts Award for Creative Communities. Creative Guts is inviting independent filmmakers from New Hampshire and beyond to submit their short films to a new film festival, which will be hosted at Red River on June 11, according to a press release. The submission deadline is Tuesday, April 30. Films in any genre that are 15 minutes or under are welcome and there is no submission fee, although donations are accepted, according to the same release. Visit CreativeGuts.org.

Where’s my play? The Derry Opera House (29 West Broadway in Derry) will be hosting The Majestic Academy of Dramatic Arts as they present Anastasia The Musical: Youth Edition Saturday, March 22, through Sunday, March 24. Majestic’s production will star the children and teens of The Majestic Academy of Dramatic Arts under the direction of Collette Foley with musical assistance by A. Robert Dionne, according to a press release. The show transports its audience from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past, the release said. Show times are Friday, March 22, at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 23, at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 24, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for seniors 65 and above, and $12 for youth 17 and under. Tickets can be purchased by visiting or calling the box office at 669-7469, online at majestictheatre.net or at the door prior to the performance.

Where’s my muse? The Bank of New Hampshire Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord) will be graced by three powerhouse singers to honor the divas of rock on Thursday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m., according to a press release. Muse: Divas of Rock is headlined by Jacyn Tremblay, Lauren Rhoades and Karen Carr. Tremblay said in a statement, “This show brings together local and regional female musicians to celebrate the rock voices of past and present … honoring artists like Pat Benatar, Heart, Evanescence, Fleetwood Mac, Paramore, Alanis Morissette, and more!” Tickets are $39.75 online and will cost an additional $5 at the door. Visit ccanh.com.

Where’s my Irish band? Stockbridge Theatre (44 N. Main St. in Derry) will host the Irish bluegrass band JigJam on Thursday, March 14, at 7 p.m. JigJam made its Grand Ole Opry debut in Nashville in March 2023 to critical acclaim and received a standing ovation from a sold-out crowd as they were joined by Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and others, according to a press release. Tickets cost $25 to $30 and are available at stockbridgetheatre.showare.com or by calling the box office at 437-5210.

Where’s my other Irish band? The Bank of New Hampshire Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord) presents Waking Finnegan on Saturday, March 16. The New Hampshire-based band offers a fresh take on Celtic rock that combines the edge and drive of electric guitar with the soul and depth of the upright bass, topped with haunting accordion, fiery fiddle and powerful vocals, all tied together with rockin’ drums, according to a press release. Concert-goers should expect to hear some old favorites in a new way, according to the same release. Tickets online at ccanh.com are $18.75 for general admission, $35.75 for reserved balcony seating; both are $5 more at the door.

Behind the scenes

Bedford Off Broadway presents Blame It On Beckett

In the theater, a dramaturg is a person tasked with combing through stacks of plays in search of any that might be worth doing. Bedford Off Broadway’s Blame It On Beckett, running through March 17, explores what happens when an aspirant to that role collides with the cynical incumbent dramaturg of a nonprofit theater company.

Heidi Bishop, played by Abby Lefebvre, is the wide-eyed newly minted MFA disrupting the scattered coffee cup office world of Jim Foley, a role inhabited by Larry Watson. Jim brushes off Abby’s entry as “a meeting with Mary Poppins,” but when smitten company president Mike Braschi (Jeff Robinson) hires her as an intern, Jim’s life begins to change.

The play’s title is reference to the author of Waiting for Godot, and a dig at innocents like Abby who view theater as life’s highest calling while mistaking him as an exemplar.

“You’re too young to like Beckett,” Jim tells her early on, adding that she only thinks she does because a college professor filled her head with silly ideas.

Further, Jim has decided, via years of reading mediocre works, that there are no worthy new playwrights. Anything worth doing will come from a recognized name or someone with connections. “This office is where great theater goes to die,” he believes, and the dramaturg’s only job is to reject submissions as quickly as possible.

This is advice that Abby decidedly doesn’t heed. From there, the play rollicks forward.

The final character in the play’s quartet of actors is Tina Fike, played by Karyn Russell Merriman. Tina is the company’s star, a veteran playwright whose presence leaves Heidi tongue-tied. Tina and Jim’s connection is seemingly the reason he enjoys his job, as the two thrust and parry while completing her latest work — its success will be critical to all concerned.

Written by John Morogiello and directed by Joe Pelonzi and Declan Lynch, Blame It On Beckett is filled with funny lines. Many are Jim’s; Watson stands out as the play’s star. Nonprofit theater only exists, he complains at one point, to make do-gooders feel better about wasting their money, adding he’d like to see a play written by the NRA.

Jim’s back-and-forth with Abby is hilarious. Asked if her degree intimidates him, he replies, “The only thing that threatens me is that sweater.” However, Abby’s blend of guilelessness and ambition will complicate things for Jim and cause some serious moments in Act Two.

As it’s a play about an obscure job in a niche part of the theater world, some of Blame it On Beckett’s best touches are meta and self-referential. For example, one of the rejected scripts mentioned in the play was written by Morogiello. Another funny moment has Jim telling Abby that no one would ever consider turning their office discussion into a play (like the one they are currently acting in).

Another wonderful element is the many subtle references to Godot, like the company’s “big-name bait” Literary Manager who never comes to the office, the many cigarettes Jim futilely tries to light, the director of Tina’s play, and the employee who’s on maternity leave whom Abby hopes to replace. Like the invisible character in Beckett’s play, none arrive (or ignite). Of course, there’s also the mountain of scripts on Jim’s desk with no hope of seeing a spotlight.

It all adds up to a sophisticated romp that’s snarky, sharp and at times touching. However, the show is aimed at mature audiences, something Director Pelonzi stressed in a recent phone interview.

“There are definitely adult themes,” he said. “To be honest, though, we did clean up some of the language, because there are certain things that we can’t say on stage here. But it’s still pretty edgy. It’s definitely a lot edgier than the normal shows we do in Bedford.”

Blame It On Beckett
When: Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16, 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 17, 2 p.m.
Location: Bedford Old Town Hall, 3 Meeting House Road, Bedford
Tickets: $15 ($12 seniors/students) at brownpapertickets.com
Note: Not appropriate for children

Featured photo: Larry Watson and Abby Lefebvre in Blame It On Beckett. Courtesy photo.

The Art Roundup 24/03/07

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

Spring into love: “To Manchester With Love,” the new exhibition from theMosaic Art Collective ( 66 Hanover St., Suite 201, in Manchester; mosaicartcollective.com, 512-6209) is on display now through Friday, March 29. According to a press release, the show is dedicated to celebrating Youth Art Month and the artistic talents of high school students from Manchester. The opening reception will take place on Saturday, March 9, from 4 to 8 p.m.

Spring on top of a piano: The city’s oldest music series, the Concord Community Concert Association opens its 93rd spring season Saturday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m. at Concord City Auditorium with Mia Vassilev. The internationally acclaimed piano virtuoso Mia Vassilev and Company’s ensemble adds percussion and dance to her dynamic performance style, according to a press release. The same press release stated that every CCCA concert becomes a party for the local music community with special refreshments served before the show and at the artists’ meet-and-greet. There will be a specially themed silent auction to support the artists’ fees. The CCCA season finale concert on Saturday, April 13, with headliner William Florian. The all-volunteer CCCA offers five concerts for a $60 season ticket, and students are admitted free. Tickets for this performance are $20 (free for youth to 18) and are available at the door 90 minutes before the show time or by calling 344-4747. See ccca-audi.org.

See Simone: The Bookery (848 Elm St. in Manchester) will host TikTok artist Simone on her Open Book tour on Sunday, March 10, as she performs unreleased songs from her forthcoming EP at independent bookstores. According to the Bookery’s newsletter, a meet & greet will follow the performance. RSVP for the performance at laylo.com/simone/m/Crr66, and you can follow Simone at @simonemusic

Spring into the color: On Sunday, March 10, from 2 to 4 p.m., the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester, 669-6144, currier.org) welcomes Theatre Kapow back to present a staged reading of Red, John Logan’s 2009 play unpacking the artistic approach of artist Mark Rothko, according to a press release. The performance will be followed by a facilitated conversation and a gallery visit to view Rothko’s painting “Untitled (Red over Brown),” which is featured in “Toward the New: A Journey into Abstraction,” an exhibition on view at the museum now through March 31. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for ages 13-17 and 65+, $10 for members, and free for children under 13.

Spring into a Shakespeare audition: The Cue Zero Theatre Co. will hold open auditions at the Arts Academy of New Hampshire (19 Keewaydin Drive in Salem) for William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged), a play by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, on Tuesday, April 2, at 6 p.m., with callbacks on Sunday, April 7, at 1 p.m. Performances will take place June 21 through June 23. Interested performers should sign up for a time slot on Cue Zero’s website, where you can find more information about preparing for the audition. See cztheatre.com/index.php/get-involved.

Spring into the mothership: The Players’ Ring (105 Marcy St. in Portsmouth) is beaming up the play Aliens, written by Annie Baker, March 8 through March 24, produced in collaboration with Bardo Theatre Co. The play is described as a painfully beautiful drama as well as afunny, heartening play with music about art, friendship, and love, according to a press release. Showtimes will be Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. as well as matinee performances on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. General admission is $28, or $25 for students and 65+. Get tickets and more information atplayersring.org/shows/aliens.

Spring acting classes: The Palace Youth Theatre’s Palace Academy has a slate of spring classes including Improv and Acting Games I (for grades 1-5; Thursdays at 5 p.m., starting March 14), Improv and Acting Games II (for grades 6 to 9; Thursdays at 6 p.m., starting March 14); Mini Camp (for grades 2 to 6; Fridays at 5 p.m., starting March 8); Scene to Song (for grades 5 to 9; Mondays at 4 p.m., staring March 11); Stagecraft: Props (grades 4 to 12; Fridays at 4 p.m. starting March 8); Scene Study (grades 6 to 12; Fridays at 5 p.m. starting March 8); Intro to Directing (grades 6 to 12; Fridays 6:30 p.m, starting March 8), and Intro to Sketch Writing (grades 6 to 12; Monday at 5 p.m., starting March 11). The cost is $100 for each class series; see palacetheatre.org/pyt/palace-academy to register.

Zachary Lewis

Art in Nature

NH Audubon in Concord showcases artist Jackie Hanson

Starting Tuesday, March 12, the artwork of New Hampshire native Jackie Hanson will be on display at the Susan N. McLane Audubon Center at 84 Silk Road.

“It is a really nice space,” Hanson said, describing the venue. “Great natural light, plenty of wall space — I feel like I need to make a few more pieces before I hang the show.”

Hanson, a 2022 Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate from New England College (after the New Hampshire Art Institute merged with the school) was thrilled to be asked by the New Hampshire Audubon to exhibit her collection titled “Human/Nature.”

“I do a lot of landscapes and other nature-based things,” Hanson said. This will be her third showing since September.

“I had my art hang at two different public libraries last year,” she said. “The first one was Nashua Public Library. That was in September and October. Then my work went to Amherst Town Library in December.”

The NH Audubon describes this collection on their website as “immersive landscapes that feature both well-known and overlooked vantages.”

Hanson likes to pick and choose how to express an image.

“This show will all be in soft pastel,” Hanson said, “which is kind of like a chalk. That’s what that series of work is, but apart from that I also like to use watercolors, acrylic, wash … I like to jump around in different mediums. I find that if I do switch now and then, then I am better at all of them when I switch again.”

The collection for this show is solid. “I believe I have around 15 or 20 pieces. The biggest one that I have is called ‘Annie C Maguire Shipwrecked Here 1886.’” The painting measures 30 by 62 inches installed.“It is a four-panel, I guess quadriptych, of a panoramic view at Portland headlight in Maine. I named it that because there is a rock that you can see that they have to repaint it every few months because of the tide, but it says the name of a shipwreck that happened there.”

Hanson, as the NH Audubon points out, enjoys the vantage points less traveled.

“I have done a few pieces in this way, where I went to an iconic landscape in New England and I kind of turned away from the classic view, which in this case would be the lighthouse,” Hanson said. “I had it behind me and I was taking a view of the little cove next to it instead. And you can actually see the place that most people stand to take their photo of the lighthouse in my painting.”

Hanson grew up in an artistic family; her mother is an artist and has “always been doing artwork,” she said. “My family and my mom have shaped my idea of what’s beautiful in the world. So I like to promote that with other people, to look for beauty in everyday moments. ”

“I have a full-time job and it can be tricky,” she said; Hanson makes the most of her time, though, “painting at night and on the weekends. As we get into the warmer months, I do a lot of art and craft fairs on the weekends. You can find me all around the state and sometimes into Maine or Massachusetts, bringing my art and prints and cards and stickers of my art to different places. I like to do pop-ups, making it accessible to everyday people to have artwork in their homes. That’s a lot of how I get my art income. I do have my work at a store in Contoocook called Maple Street Mercantile as well.” The majority of her pieces will be for sale at the McLane Center.

Be on the lookout for future shows from Hanson.

“I just finished up an unrelated series that’s in mostly acrylic but some mixed media that’s botanicals, mostly house plants. I wanted to make sure that they had a distinctly feminine aesthetic.” As she sees it, “a lot of the high art world and some of the academic art world doesn’t think that things considered feminine are necessarily worthy…. So, a lot of pink, a lot of vibrant colors. I was thinking: art by a woman for women.”

Human/Nature
Where: McLane Audubon Center, 84 Silk Farm Road, Concord
When: March 12 through May 17; the gallery is open Tuesdays through Fridays 11 a.m to 5 p.m.
An artist reception will be held Saturday, March 23, from 2 to 4 p.m.

More info: “Looking Back: Owl’s Head” by Jackie Hansonart. Courtesy Photo.

Flight into flyover country

Palace performs The Prom

A quartet of Broadway actors in need of a reputation reboot and a gay high school student looking to disrupt the status quo in her small town are at the center of The Prom, a musical that’s at turns heartwarming and hilarious. The latest production from the Palace Theatre, it will run Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through March 24.

Creative Director Carl Rajotte decided to do the show after watching a Netflix adaptation of it with Palace staff during the pandemic.

“We just all loved it,” he said in a recent phone interview. “People cried, we all laughed; we thought this should be something that we put in our season once we reopened.”

The story begins as diva actors Dee Dee Allen and Barry Glickman are finishing opening night of Eleanor: The Eleanor Roosevelt Story. The musical is immediately panned by the critics for missing the point. Both actors are slammed for being narcissistic and out of touch. Dee Dee is played by Michelle Rajotte, seen most recently in Dancing Queens. Jay Falzone plays Barry; it’s the ninth production for the Palace veteran.

Crestfallen, the two decide to combine altruism and public relations and look for a cause. With help from Trent Oliver, an underemployed Juilliard graduate (Richard Gomez), and Angie Dickinson, an actress who wants to move beyond 20 years in the Chicago chorus line (Katie Harvey), they learn about Emma (played by Palace newcomer Juliana Chimenti), whose attempt to take her girlfriend to the prom caused the whole thing to be canceled.

To the soundtrack of the un-self-aware anthem “Changing Lives,” the four hatch a plan to love-bomb the prom back into existence. Hopping on the bus with Trent, who’s in a non-union touring company of Godspell, they head to Indiana and an incredulous reception. The object of their crusade (mixing in Godspell is a lovely touch) is among the most bewildered.

Of course, the well-meaning bunch is undeterred. Like four bedazzled bulls in a China shop, they push their Big Apple agenda, as it were (“I’m a liberal from New York who’s come to save you!” Trent shouts at one point), on a cornfield community. Gratefully, life lessons outnumber caricatures, and The Prom’s heart shines through in the end.

The Prom’s greatest strength is taking a serious topic and leavening it with outsized humor, while weaving in compelling subplots to move the action along. The Broadway-loving (and Emma ally) high school principal who has a lifelong crush on Dee Dee, and Barry vicariously living his dashed high school prom hopes through Emma, are among the entanglements that carry things forward — along with great songs.

Ultimately, it succeeds because of what’s stumbled upon in an errant pursuit of redemption.

“It’s a comedy but it has so much heart too, it’s so charming,” Rajotte said. “Elites from the big city come thinking that they’ll bowl over the small town and they begin to learn where the soul of this place is, and they learn about themselves as well in the process.”

In preparing for the show, Rajotte was surprised to learn that playwright Jack Viertel got the idea for The Prom from a real event. “In Mississippi in 2010, a girl went to her school and asked to bring her girlfriend, and she wanted to wear a tux and they ended up canceling the whole prom,” he said. “That kind of hit me hard; that’s why this show is just so important.”

A few years back, Rajotte helped with a prom for teenagers in the Palace’s Youth Theatre program; it opened his eyes. “I thought … we’ll put some music up, dance a little bit,” he said. “But then I talked to the kids; one came to me, and this hit me like a brick wall. He said, ‘thank you so much for doing this…. I love it here more than school because I’m able to dance and be myself, and no one will make fun of me.’”

The moment reminded him why the show’s message matters. “Being inclusive and taking a moment to step in someone else’s shoes for a second before you judge … see it from another point of view and see how much someone can be hurt because of that,” he said. With The Prom, “we’re trying to get that message across, of course, with a ton of humor.”

The Prom
When: Fridays, March 8, March 15 and March 22, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, March 9, March 16 and March 23, at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays, March 10, March 17 and March 24, at 2 p.m.
Where: Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester
Tickets: $28 and up at palactheatre.org

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

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