Category: Art & Theater

Oh, what a night!

Jersey Boys is latest Palace musical

Gritty and dark, Jersey Boys isn’t a typical stage musical. The story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, it’s marked by crime, domestic strife and bad decisions. But the songs are fantastic, and in the hands of the Palace’s Artistic Director Carl Rajotte and Music Director John Tengowski, classics like “Rag Doll,” “Big Man in Town” and “Walk Like a Man” soar.

Early in the show, Four Seasons founder Tommy DeVito explains that people from New Jersey have three options in the world – the Army, the mob or becoming a star. Sadly, his band will blur the lines between the last two. Initially, Tommy and his brother Nick are half of the quartet, until Nick goes to jail for a botched robbery and Bob Gaudio joins.

Gaudio’s songwriting, with help from flamboyant producer Bob Crewe (a rock history figure deserving of his own show), helps launch them into the charts, via their first hit, “Sherry.” Rough sledding is ahead, though, as Tommy’s vices threaten to sink the band.

Those problems are compounded by various heartaches in the lives of the other three. Valli is constantly estranged from his daughter and fighting with his ex-wife. A side deal between two band members and a romantic betrayal cause further divisions, all of which eventually erupt.

During moments when the music stops, however, it’s not all heaviness. When Gaudio loses his virginity and telegraphs the meaning behind a song he’d write over a decade later, “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night),” it’s a hilarious romp, and rich with fine choreography. Comic relief also comes from Nick Massi’s ongoing threats to leave the group and go solo.

That said, much of Jersey Boys is a study in contrasts between bright, buoyant, happy songs and the stark world they came from. Ultimately it wrestles triumph from tragedy, and the Palace does a great job of conveying how much music can lift lives. In its early days, doo-wop groups on the corner, teenagers with songs in their heads, and big breaks that came from chance encounters and dogged persistence, really did change the world.

Similar to last season’s Beautiful, the show deftly uses multimedia to evoke the classic rock era, synching vintage footage of television appearances with onstage performances. There’s real talent from the four lead players, who lock in harmonies and the spirit of many timeless songs. Director Rajotte explained why in a phone interview after opening weekend.

One big difference between this production and others like September’s Oliver! is that the four leads are new to the Palace stage. Critically, each has been in Jersey Boys previously. Zane Zapata is superb as Valli, his third time in that role. Kevin T. Mazur (Bob Gaudio) is also a veteran of past shows, and a week before rehearsals began Matt Michael and Bobby Guenther, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi respectively, were both in a Pennsylvania production.

“I knew that I wanted to cast four guys who have done the show before, so they at least came in knowing their harmonies,” he said. “I found this wonderful quartet [who] came in knowing it probably better than me. They knew exactly where the lines were supposed to be for the underscoring.”

Rajotte decided to do the show after watching the movie with his father, who poignantly took out a photo of his wife from his wallet and sang quietly to it during a few favorite songs. There is, he continued, a moment in the show where Guardio talks about the fans of a group, whose big moment came just before pop music’s British Invasion.

“We weren’t a social movement like The Beatles, our people didn’t put flowers in their hair and try to change the political climate,” Rajotte quoted. “They were the guys who shipped overseas, and their sweethearts, and the factory workers, and the truck drivers, the kids pumping gas.”

In that moment, Rajotte knew why the Palace should do Jersey Boys, darkness be damned. “I looked at my father thinking, that that was kind of his life, and this music was important to him,” he said. “It changed my whole view on the show itself. Music can really help … move a generation.”

Jersey Boys
When: Thursday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m., Fridays, 7:30 p.m., Saturdays, 2 & 7:30 p.m. and Sundays, 2 p.m. through Nov. 10
Where: Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester
Tickets: $45 and up at palacetheatre.org

Featured image: Jersey Boys. Photo by AnnMarie Lidman Photography.

The Art Roundup 24/10/24

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

• Dracula comes alive: PUSH Physical Theatre, described as displaying “intense athleticism, gravity-defying acrobatics, and soulful artistry,” will bring its adaptation of Dracula to Stockbridge Theatre (5 Pinkerton St., Derry, pinkertonacademy.org/stockbridge-theatre) on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15 to $35. “PUSH Physical Theatre’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 horror novel Dracula is like nothing audiences have ever seen. By combining PUSH’s speechless artistry with traditional dialogue-driven theater, the collaborators have created a ground-breaking, thrilling, and unforgettable ride into the warped world of one of literature’s most famous villains,” according to a press release. Get a look at the show at pushtheatre.org.

• All about the kids: Disney’s Descendants is presented by Epping Community Theater (38 Ladds Lane, Epping, eppingtheater.org) on Friday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 26, at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. “Based on the popular Disney Channel Original Movies, Disney’s Descendants: The Musical is a new musical jam-packed with comedy, adventure, Disney characters, and hit songs from the films!” according to the website. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $17 for seniors and $15 for ages 12 and under.

• 10 years of theater: [title of show], presented by Cue Zero Theatre on Friday, Oct. 25, through Sunday, Oct. 27, at Arts Academy of New Hampshire in Salem, is a metamusical about artists creating musical theater, and its production marks a celebration of 10 years of Cue Zero, according to a press release. The play is “a love letter to the musical theater — a uniquely American art form — and to the joy of collaboration,” according to cztheatre.com. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets cost $15 (plus fees) and are available at cztheatre.com or at the door.

—Zachary Lewis

Farewell?

Symphony NH conductor’s final season begins

Roger Kalia’s last performance as Music Director of Symphony NH will happen next May when he conducts a program with Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Copland’s Symphony No. 3, which is often called the American Symphony. After that, he’ll leave to take a similar position with the Terre Haute Symphony, his second such role in Indiana.

Along the way, there’s a stellar season ahead, with many of the Maestro’s favorites. To begin, Symphony NH will offer a heavenly program on Oct. 27, with Mahler’s Fourth Symphony and Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915. Both are meditations on the hereafter, and each will feature a solo from soprano Carley DeFranco.

“It’s always a special event when you can do a Mahler symphony,” Kalia said by phone recently, adding that it is unique in that it will be performed by a smaller chamber orchestra. “Not the typical bombastic, big, super-romantic Mahler … this is more classical, more light, if you will, in character. So it works nicely for a chamber.”

They’ll use a special arrangement composed by Ian Farrington. “Everyone’s a soloist,” Kalia said. “It’s essentially one player on a part in the woodwinds and brass [and] a smaller string section than normally you would have in the original Mahler symphonies; I think it’s about 25 musicians or so … I’m excited to feature the orchestra in that way.”

The rest of the season is equally adventurous. On Nov. 9 a performance of Beethoven’s influential Third Symphony will be a learn-and-listen affair. The evening will begin with snippets from the piece, known as Eroica (“Heroic”), followed by an exploration of its importance as a symphonic masterpiece.

“I’ll dive into it and share insights into what made it so revolutionary and groundbreaking,” Kalia said. “we’re also going to play short pieces from other symphonies of Beethoven, some Mozart … works that inspired the Eroica. I’m very excited; we’ve never done that sort of thing before here in New Hampshire.”

Another unique concert happens next March at Nashua Community College: Serenade of the Winds, which will showcase Symphony NH’s woodwind and brass musicians for the first time.

“Typically, you always have a full orchestra, or you just have the strings,” Kalia explained. “This gives an opportunity to highlight the winds in really fantastic works — the Mozart Gran partita, the Dvorak serenade for winds. We’re also doing the Mendelssohn Overture for Winds, which is rarely performed, and we have a special encore surprise.”

One thing that will be absent this season is the Keefe Auditorium. While Kalia allowed that Symphony NH will miss the Nashua venue’s expansive stage, he’s happy there are other venues that can accommodate big orchestra works, like the Capitol Center’s Chubb Auditorium. He’s also happy to be in newer spaces like the Rex in Manchester, Concord’s BankNH Stage and Nashua Center for the Arts, where they open the season.

“We’re fortunate that this gives us the opportunity to play throughout the state,” he said. “I think that’s wonderful because we are Symphony New Hampshire. However, at the same time, we had a dedicated audience at the Keefe. That is a little bit challenging in the sense that we’re going to miss that audience.”

Finally, Maestro Kalia will bid farewell with a performance that includes one of his all-time favorite works, Rhapsody in Blue, with accompaniment from Chinese pianist Fei-Fei. “I’ve done it with her a few times, this piece,” he said. “She has such an energetic and musical interpretation. I think our audiences are going to love her.”

Kalia is keen to end “in epic fashion … it should be a nice way to close the season and my tenure as Music Director.” He hinted, however, that fans could see him again. “I don’t want to say this is goodbye … I do hope to return again in future seasons and work with the orchestra on a guest conducting basis.”

Symphony NH performs Mahler 4 – Visions of Heaven featuring soprano Carley DeFranco
When: Sunday, Oct. 27, 4 p.m.
Where: Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St., Nashua
Tickets: $32 and up at symphonynh.org

Featured image: Roger Kalia. Photo by Dana Ross.

Arctic alarm

Gibson’s Bookstore hosts climate crisis discussion

When Jon Waterman was growing up in the suburbs of 1970s Boston, he’d skip school and head for the White Mountains to hike and explore the world “above tree line.” It was a seminal experience that shaped his life. Eventually he worked for the Appalachian Mountain Club as a blanket packer and hut boy and finally became a caretaker for the organization.

“That was my first introduction to the Arctic,” he said of life in the Granite State’s high elevations during a recent phone interview. “Because that is an Arctic environment, not in terms of latitude but in terms of elevation. They have the same sorts of flora and fauna [that] I’ve seen in the far-off Alaska and Canadian Arctic.”

Along with studying authors like Edward Abbey and Rachel Carson, this led him to become a writer and photographer. He’s published several books; his latest is Into the Thaw: Witnessing Wonder Amid the Artic Climate Crisis. He’ll discuss it with fellow writer Richard Adams Carey on Oct. 21 at Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord.

The new book is due for official release in mid-November, but copies will be available for purchase at the event.

For Waterman, writing helped convey the feeling of being in the wild, and more. “It was not only the love of these places that drew me, but also an intense need to protect it, share its fragility,” he said. “I was very lucky … because I knew I was passionate about something at a young age, and I’ve stuck with it all my life.”

Into the Thaw chronicles a series of trips in the Far North taken over four decades, beginning with a seven-day journey in 1983 down the Noatak River. He went with Dave Buchanan, a ranger he’d known in New Hampshire. The book also has a brief and useful natural history of the region. Critically, he lists the alarming changes there over time and why they matter.

Some of the things accelerating the climate crisis are melting polar ice caps and thawing permafrost that’s causing ruptures called thermokarsts, along with the so-called “Greening of the Arctic.” Melting ice flowing into the Atlantic helps explain longer hurricane seasons, more severe wildfires and other natural catastrophes.

Thus, changes in the Arctic ripple across the rest of the planet, Waterman continued.

“They’re the world’s air conditioners,” he said. “I think it’s a nuance that’s hard for a lot of people to grasp because it has to do with ocean currents and air currents, but these polar vortexes we’ve been getting increasingly, these subzero air masses that are moving as far south as Georgia, they’re all about the air conditioner being broken.”

Of heightened concern to Waterman are the indigenous populations directly affected by climate change. “It’s the more than 60,000 people that live in the Alaskan Arctic that are going to be paying the most,” he said. “That’s true around the world, of course, not just the Inuit and the Inupiat, but people in the Philippines and low-lying islands. They’re suffering devastating floods in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Then there’s issues of food and agriculture.”

“It’s the indigenous people of the world that are really suffering the most,” Waterman said, adding, “What better way to bring it all home than a book that tells the plight of the Arctic people and what it means to them?”

In the final chapter of Into the Thaw, Waterman offers steps to make a difference. “The best way to be upbeat about it and hopeful, which I am, is to figure out ways that you can take action,” he said. “Thinking about where our food comes from, eating locally, rethinking things that cause emissions … not just to ease their conscience but to try to minimize impacts.”

He’s looking forward to discussing this with Carey, who’s written about indigenous life in Alaska and various threats to the world’s fishing industry. “Rick and I have never met, but we’re enjoying very fluid correspondence,” Waterman said. “I’m just honored to be able to be in a conversation with someone like him that actually has a grasp of these issues and what this culture is that I’m writing about.”

Into the Thaw: Witnessing Wonder Amid the Arctic Climate Crisis, with Jon Waterman
When: Monday, Oct. 21, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Gibson’s Bookstore, 45 Main St., Concord
More: gibsonsbookstore.com

Featured image: Thermokarst (caused by thawing permafrost) – from Into the Thaw Photo Credit: Chris Korbulic.

The Art Roundup 24/10/17

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

• Terrific & radiant: The Children’s Theatre Project at the Community Players of Concord will present Charlotte’s Web on Friday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 19, at 2 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St. in Concord;theaudi.org). Actors ages 6 to 16 will tell the story of the pig Wilbur, his dear friend Charlotte the spider and other animals at the farm, according to a press release. See communityplayersofconcord.org for tickets and details on the play.

• Harmonious history: Jersey Boys, a musical about the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, opens Friday, Oct. 18, at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org). The show runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. as well as Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. through Sunday, Nov. 10. Tickets cost $45 through $59.

• Organ concert: The Young Organist Collaborative will host a Fall Faculty Concert on Friday, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at Christ Church, 43 Pine St. in Exeter, featuring a range of works for the pipe organ, according to a press release. “The Young Organist Collaborative encourages and supports young people ages 11-18 in learning to play the pipe organ by awarding scholarships that cover the cost for 16 organ lessons with a qualified local organist in the tri-state area of northern Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine. The fall concert features five of the faculty currently working with YOC students,” the release said. The concert is open to the public and has an at-the-door suggested donation of $10 per person. See youngorganistcollaborative.org.

Celebrating 5 years
The Two Villages Art Society (846 Main St. in Contoocook; twovillagesart.org) will celebrate its fifth birthday and open its 47th exhibit with an event on Saturday, Oct. 19, from noon to 3 p.m. according to a press release. The event will feature live music, light refreshments and a raffle as well as the opening of “My Artistic Legacy”, a group show featuring works artists would like to be remembered by, according to the website. The exhibit will be on display through Saturday, Nov. 16, and the gallery is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
“We have a high caliber of artists proposing shows of their work,” says Larry Morgan, TVAS board president. “We offer as much variety as possible in our calendar, and continue to present two member shows each year. These shows support local artists and they help us meet expenses to run our nonprofit gallery.”

• Weekend outing: Deerfield Arts Tour takes place Saturday, Oct. 19, and Sunday, Oct. 20, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More than 20 artists are slated to participate, according to deerfieldarts.com, where you can find a map of the studios. Find our coverage of several area arts tours in the Oct. 10 issue of the Hippo; go to hippopress.com to find our digital library. The story is on page 10.

• Staged reading: The Community Players of Concord will present an enhanced stage reading of the play It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis on Thursday, Oct. 24, and Friday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. at the West Street Ward House, 41 West St. in Concord. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and admission is free. “In 1935, as fascism was taking hold in Europe, Sinclair Lewis wrote It Can’t Happen Here, a dark satire that imagines the rise of a demagogue who becomes president of the United States. Presented first by the Federal Theatre Project, and adapted in 2016 by the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, this enhanced staged reading features theatrical lighting, audio effects, and projections of photographs that help set the stage for a compelling, and frightening, tale of the fall of American democracy,” according to a Community Players release. See communityplayersofconcord.org.

• Seasonal painting: Creature your own picture of the Sanderson Sisters at Hocus Pocus Paint Night on Friday, Oct. 25, at 8 p.m. at Chunky’s (707 Huse Road in Manchester; chunkys.com). The cost is $45.

—Zachary Lewis

Celebrating music and arts

Concord holds its first Sound and Color Festival

By Zachary Lewis
[email protected]

Sal Perzio, Executive Director of Capitol Center for the Arts, is excited for the first Concord Sound and Color Festival, set to take place Saturday, Oct. 19, and Sunday, Oct. 20.

“We came up with this idea a little over a year ago,” Perzio said. “We got some seed funding from the City of Concord to make it a reality. And really the overview of the entire thing is that we want to continue to establish Concord as a destination for arts.”

“We have some headliners for the music side of it, but we also have some fantastic sculpture artists, performing arts, interactive activities, food trucks — but it’s all, with the exception of the food trucks, it’s all free,” he said.

There will be music in the Chubb Theatre and at Bank of New Hampshire Stage.

“And then we have the outdoor stage,” Perzio said. “And then in addition to that, we have music going on at Feathered Friends stage. It’s five stages, because we have … activities and music going on at the Concord Community Music School too.”

A free trolley will take visitors between venues.

“There’s going to be arts activities for families and stuff like that at the Community School as well as in the Arts Hub,” Perzio said. “We have some sculpture artists, and then we have one of those digital mapping artists that’s going to be doing projection arts on the Smile building as well.”

Artists and musicians in training can have a great experience. “All day Saturday at the Concord Community Music School they’re going to have instrument petting zoos … so that kids can get more exposed to holding an instrument … and a ton of activities going on there too. So between the music school and the arts hub there’s going to be a lot for kids as well,” Perzio said.

Festival participants are many and varied.

“We have art therapy people who are going to be there. Queerlective is going to be there. The Concord Arts Market is going to be there too. We wanted a taste of every medium as much as possible as part of the arts festival. So the goal is, if you’re coming at night to see one of those great bands and things like that, come during the day, experience all these great arts activities, projects. Sample some stuff that you might not have thought about experiencing before, and then in the evening time go to one of the great live music performances that we have in any one of the number of venues,” Perzio said.

Visitors can partake of the Festival’s outdoor beer garden, and there will be “a couple of food vendors,” Perzio said, noting that visitors “can grab food from our tried and true restaurants and things like that downtown too.”

The festival is as much a celebration of the community as it is of the arts. “The goal is, again, to continue to kind of have people understand that Concord is on its way up in that regard,” Perzio said. “So it’s a destination for people. Obviously last week we had the book festival, and we’re trying the coffee festivals here now too, so we kind of want to keep hammering home [that] this is a destination for people to come and relax and enjoy themselves.”

Perzio himself will be in the crowd. “I’m really excited about seeing Saturday night, Couch and Rubblebucket play. Those two are like personal favorites of mine,” he said.

Ultimately, “I just want to see downtown packed with people having a good time, that’s really the goal,” he said.

Sound and Color Festival Activity Tent Schedule
Downtown Concord (Outdoor Arts Market on South Main Street)
Friday, Oct. 18
All day glass mosaic building with Lizz Van Saun
Noon to 3 p.m. videography with Concord Community TV
3 to 4:30 p.m. instruments with the Concord Community Music School
4:30 to 6 p.m. costumes with the Children’s Theatre
5 to 7 p.m. botanical paintings with Kimball Jenkins
Saturday, Oct. 19
All day glass mosaic building with Lizz Van Saun
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. costumes with the Children’s Theatre
12:30 to 1:30 p.m. children’s storytime with author Matt Forrest Esenwine
1:30 to 2:30 p.m. collaborative drawing with Kimball Jenkins
2:30 to 3:30 p.m. fall mosaics with Kimball Jenkins

Sound and Color Festival Performance Schedule

Performances at the CCA Main Stage and BNH Discovery Stage will require free tickets.

Friday, Oct. 18
CCA Main Stage (44 S. Main St.)
Tyler Hilton, 6 p.m.
Adam Ezra Group, 7 p.m.
Yonder Mountain String Band, 8:30 p.m.
BNH Discovery Stage (16 S. Main St.)
Billy Wylder, 6 p.m.
GoldenOak, 7 p.m.
Oliver Hazard, 8:30 p.m.
Feathered Friend (231 S. Main St.)
Willy Chase, 6 p.m.
April Cushman, 8:30 p.m.
Outdoor Stage (South Main Street From Hills Ave. to Concord Street)
A Squared, 1 p.m.
Way of the Headband, 2 p.m.
Lee and Dr. G, 3 p.m.
Kimayo, 4:30 p.m.
Vulture Sister Song, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 19
CCA Main Stage
Air Traffic Controller, 7 p.m.
Colony House, 8:30 p.m.
BNH Discovery Stage
Couch, 7:30 p.m.
Rubblebucket, 9 p.m.
Feathered Friend
Rebecca Turmel, 5 p.m.
Taylor Hughes, 7 p.m.
Billy Gillman, 8:30 p.m.
Concord Community Music Stage
drum circle, 11 a.m.
Puppetry demo & crafts, noon
folk jam, 1 p.m.
ukulele class, 2 p.m.
music & movement class, 3 p.m
Northern Lights mini concert & singalong, 4 p.m.
Eliot Fisk, 7:30 p.m.
Outdoor Stage
Mr. Aaron Halloween party, 11 a.m.
Queen City Improv, 12:30 p.m.
Andrea Paquin, 1:30 p.m.
Kotoko Brass, 3 p.m.
Lil Rennie, 4:30 p.m.
Jon Hope, 6 p.m.

Parking
Parking garages (free, all-day parking on weekends):
Capitol Commons Parking Garage, 75 Storrs St.
School Street Public Parking Garage, 17 School St.
State Street Public Parking Garage, 19 N. State St.
On-street parking in downtown Concord is metered, and parking on Main Street is limited to three hours.

Featured image: Couch will perform on the BNH Stage on Saturday.

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