The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce’s downtown Visitors Center is an oasis for art lovers. New Hampshire Furniture Masters and the New Hampshire Art Association both display works there. Currently, sculpture and otherworldly tables and chairs built by Jon Brooks are streetside, while 11 paintings from Yildiz Grodowski adorn the back wall.
Grodowski was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and studied there before moving to New England; she’s lived in the Boston area for most of her life. Speaking by phone recently, she described herself as “a semi-abstract artist, because there are always recognizable elements in my paintings.”
These include scraps of text: handwritten or from newspapers, magazines or sources, like the Viking cruise ship brochure found in the lively “One Step at a Time.” The latter work is part of a series called “Into The Woods,” which occupies the first half of her exhibit, “Where Will I Take You.” Its four pieces — there are more, she said — are evocative, playful and joyous.
The first, “Ménage a Quatre,” has a bird with bits of sky in its wings rising toward three Dali-esque windows capped by a staircase to the stars. Below this raucous activity is a street scene that looks cribbed from a mid-20th-century European fashion magazine. The next two, “Her Hands Were Watching Me” and “One Step at a Time,” are colorful and animated.
The final painting of the group, “Take Me to Where the Wild Things Grow,” is subdued. It’s also beautifully textured, another characteristic of her work. It’s an important reason why looking at photos of her art online can’t do them justice.
Her overall selection of works for the exhibit, which ends in early November, was done in hopes of holding onto summer as it fades away.
“I like warm weather, I don’t like winter, I don’t like cold,” she said. “That’s the reason I wanted to bring some color, something happy, something joyful, something optimistic.”
That said, Grodowski stressed that her art isn’t born from crunching around in the autumn leaves, even if it arrives in a bucolic place eventually.
“I love nature. I respect it so much, but it’s not my inspiration for some reason,” she said, explaining that the series’ title is “about discovery of a space, of a person, of oneself.”
For Grodowski, the creative process is as kinetic as her works suggest. The first stage, which she calls “the play,” always includes music played at full blast, and a lot of movement. “I don’t even think about creating movement,” she said. “It’s so intuitive, it comes from within, you know? I’m a dancer, so I guess my brush dances on the substrate as I’m painting.”
She often layers on an already prepared surface.
“I start with either collage or my own writings on the substrate,” she said. “Collage pieces can be almost anything. A lot of them have also numbers and writings … or I write myself. If I’m listening to a song, maybe I’m just writing the lyrics, or whatever happened the day before, or what I’m feeling.”
The middle stage is the longest, one she calls The Ugly. “Which is the struggle,” she wrote for artsyshark.com, leading to “refinement — the home stretch. With the exception of the last stage, during which I need absolute quiet, I blast the music, singing and dancing … and of course, painting.”
At that point, after the pasting, the painting and occasionally the sanding of surfaces, Grodowski can bond with the piece and sign her name to it.
“Connection is everything; that’s the foundation of my art, really,” she said. “Connection means … there’s nothing more I can add; it’s all I could give to that piece. Although many artists and many masters say, and it’s true, that no art piece, no painting, is finished … there comes a moment that you know — this is it.”
Hopefully, the viewer will be similarly lifted.
“I want to create something so they can find their own place and connection,” she said, noting that the exhibit title is a question, not an answer. “Rather than giving it to them, saying ‘Here it is, take it,’ I want to ask them what they see.”
‘Where Will I Take You’ – Yildiz Grodowski When: Through Nov. 10, artist reception Saturday, Nov. 2, 6 p.m. Where: Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, 49 S. Main St., Concord More: nhartassociation.org
Featured image: Works by Yildiz Grodowski. Courtesy photo.
The weeklong Manchester Citywide Arts Festival is back, with free art exhibits, free dance lessons for kids, chances to meet artists, an open mic night, demos, tours, and, to cap it all off, a screening of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The festival runs Monday, Sept. 16, through Saturday, Sept. 21, at various locations, with two closing events on Sunday, Sept. 22.
Katie Lovell, Director of Operations at the Palace Theatre, talked about the festival that celebrates the community and its artists.
“This is our third year and it’s basically a week-long celebration of the arts in New Hampshire…. It’s a good variety, different things. All the arts are covered,” Lovell said. “We are trying to do community events to bring a lot of people downtown to show everyone all the amazing things that Manchester has to offer and bring in more families and family-friendly events as well.”
Classes and demonstrations throughout the week lead up to a big party on Saturday.
“The main event is the Street Fair,” Lovell said. “On that day we shut down Hanover Street in front of the Palace Theatre and we have over 50 art vendors that will be set up so people can walk around, view their art, make purchases … everything from knitted blankets to handmade stickers.” There will also be food trucks and a stage with live performances, she said.
Lovell said the street fair usually brings 8,000 to 10,000 people.
Before that, during the week, there will be plenty of events at dance studios and art galleries, some free, some not. Not all require signup in advance, but some do.
For visitors on Monday, it’s time to boogie and see some sculpting, with a free drop-in pottery demonstration in the afternoon at Studio 550 on Elm Street and two free dance lessons at Forever Emma Studios.
Tuesday, muralists get a spotlight. “In Manchester we have tons of beautiful murals that have gone up in the last few years,” Lovell said, “so we’re going to have some of the muralists come to the Bookery and Cat Alley and people will be able to meet with them.”
Dimensions in Dance will host a youth ballet class on Wednesday.
Then for Thursday evening, the libations begin to pour. “Dew Collective, which is a beautiful flower shop right on Hanover Street, they just opened up a few months ago, they’re going to host a meet-the-artist cocktail reception. They’ll have a bunch of local artists in the flower shop and then you’ll be able to make floral arrangements in there as well, have a drink and meet with colleagues and network.” That same evening, the Currier Museum of Art will have a free “Art After Work” session. “You can go to the Currier and walk around the museum and then everyone is going to meet after in the museum, have a cocktail, and chat with each other,” Lovell said.
A competition unfolds on Thursday as well: an open mic night at the Rex that Lovell described as “like a ‘Manchester’s Got Talent.’ Anyone can submit any talent and we’ll review the submissions. And it’s also a free event.”
For Friday, the day before the Street Fair, “the Manchester Arts Commision is going to host an opening cocktail party with the Palace Theatre in our Spotlight room,” Lovell said. “We’re going to invite all of our sponsors, the artists, and it’s going to be open to the community as well. The Pop-up Gallery will be open that night also…. You can kind of get a little preview of what you’ll see on Saturday, what you can purchase, and you can meet with them as well.”
Saturday night visitors should be on the lookout for the Foot Clan. “We’re hosting the 1990 version of the Ninja Turtles movie at the Rex Theatre on Saturday night with Granite State Comic Con and we’re going to have the original Ninja Turtles from that movie there for a Q and A as well. We’re all trying to support each other,” she said.
The Manchester Citywide Arts Festival is a great coming together of business and art.
“All the downtown businesses, we’re all trying to work together just getting more people downtown,” Lovell said. She called it “a very positive event and experience.”
Lovell is excited for the Festival and hopes to see everyone on the street. “I love Manchester. I’ve worked at the Palace now for almost 13 years and I just love to see it so busy and the city bustling and so much positivity around it.”
Manchester Citywide Arts Festival
When: Monday, Sept. 16 to Saturday, Sept. 21 More info: palacetheatre.org/manchester-citywide-arts-festival (Some of the Studio 550 Arts and Dimensions in Dance events may require sign-up)
Arts and Crafts Fair When: Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Where; the Opera Block of Hanover Street
Arts Festival Schedule Monday, Sept. 16 2 to 4 p.m. FREE Pottery Demonstration Studio 550 Arts Center (550 Elm St.) See how we make our Paint-your-own-pottery items for this live drop-in demonstration. 4 p.m. FREE Intro to Dance (Ages 3-5) at Forever Emma Studios (516 Pine St.) 5 p.m. FREE Dance Technique (Level 1) at Forever Emma Studios (516 Pine St.)
Tuesday, Sept. 17 10 to 10:45 a.m. FREE Ballet and Storytime (Ages 2-4) at Dimension in Dance (84 Myrtle St.) 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. FREE Art Ramp Painting Studio 550 Art Center (550 Elm St.) 5 to 6 p.m. FREE Meet the Muralists at The Bookery (844 Elm St.)
Wednesday, Sept. 18 10 to 10:45 a.m. FREE Ballet Class (Ages 3-5) Dimensions in Dance (84 Myrtle St.) 10 to 10:45 a.m. FREE Specialty Class AR Workshop (23 W. Merrimack St.)
Thursday, Sept. 19 10 to 11:15 a.m. FREE –Adult Ballet Dimensions in Dance (84 Myrtle St.) 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. Family Sculpting (All Ages) Studio 550 Art Center (550 Elm St.) 5 to 7 p.m. FREE Art After Work Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St.) 6 to 8 p.m. Meet the Artist Cocktail Reception at the Dew Collective (34 Hanover St.) Featuring Peter Noonan, Laura Braciale, Ron Lohse, Verne Orlosk, and Lauren Boisvert 7 p.m. FREE Open Mic Night The Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St.)
Friday, Sept. 20 3 to 5 p.m. Dew Collective School’s Out Playful Art at Dew Collective (34 Hanover St.) 4:15 to 5:15p.m. Family Pottery (Ages 9+) Studio 550 Art Center (550 Elm St.) 6 to 9 p.m. MAC Cocktail Party at the Spotlight Room at the Palace Theatre (90 Hanover St.)
Saturday, Sept. 21 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. FREE – Street Fair Opera Block of Hanover Street 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. FREE – Spotlight Room Pop-Up Gallery at the Palace Theatre (90 Hanover St.) 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. FREE – Positive Street Art Satellite Gallery at theManchester Chamber of Commerce (54 Hanover St.) 10 a.m.to 5 p.m. FREE – Tours of 83 Hanover Street Red Oak Apartments (84 Hanover St.) 1 to 2 p.m. FREE Glass Pulling Demonstration at Studio Verne (412 Chestnut St.) 7 p.m. Screening of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) as part of the Granite State Comicon, screening is at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St.)
Sunday, Sept. 22 10 a.m.to 5 p.m. FREE – Spotlight Room Pop-Up Gallery at the Palace Theatre (90 Hanover St.) 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. FREE Closing Breakfast with MAC at the Spotlight Room at the Palace Theatre (90 Hanover St.)
The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
• Series wrap-up: Twiggs Gallery (254 King St. in Boscawen; 975-0015, twiggsgallery.org) will host “Building Creative Communities,” the final discussion in a series with Concord Makerspace, on Thursday, Sept. 19, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The event is free and will “highlight leaders and volunteers from Concord Makerspace and Twiggs Gallery, focusing on their efforts to build creative communities and the valuable lessons they’ve learned along the way,” according to a press release from Twiggs.
• Color in the garden: The Manchester Garden Club will meet at St. Hedwig Church Hall in Manchester on Thursday, Sept. 19, at noon. Willa Coroka, a UNH Master Gardener known as “The Magpie’s Apprentice,” will speak about “Container Gardening for Color and Cuisine” and will share her joy of knowledge of herbs, ecology, gardening and sustainable practices, according to an email from the club.
• Start the season with Paris: The Majestic Theatre kicks off its season on Friday Sept. 20, and Saturday, Sept. 21, at 6:30 p.m. with “Paris! City of Lights,” its fundraiser featuring music and theatrical performances at the Majestic Theatre (880 Page St. in Manchester). The event will also feature raffles, refreshments and silent auctions, according to majestictheatre.net. Tickets for the performances cost $20. The Majestic is selling season tickets for its 2024-2025 season, which will include mainstage performances of Murder’s in the Heir(Nov. 22 through Nov. 24), SH-BOOM:A Christmas Miracle (Dec. 6 through Dec. 8), Last of the Red Hot Lovers(Feb. 14 through Feb. 16), Jack of Diamonds (April 25 through April 27), George Washington Slept Here (June 20 through June 22), Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat(July 11 through July 13 at the Derry Opera House) and Living Together (Aug. 8 through Aug. 10). Season ticket holders also can pick from a selection of other performances and two planned 2025 movie matinees, according to the website.
• On display now: You have about another month to catch “Lou Breininger & Erin M. Riley: Understory” on display now through Saturday, Oct. 19, at Outer Space Art Gallery (35 Pleasant St. in Concord; outerspacearts.xyz). “Riley’s intimate tapestries depicting specific childhood memories are intertwined with Breininger’s abstracted stained glass works, complemented by her floral works on paper and carpet throughout this exhibition,” according to a description of the exhibit on the gallery’s website. The gallery is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• On display now in Dover: The Art Center (1 Washington St., Suite 1177, in Dover; theartcenteronlinegallery.com) will display “Beneath the Colonial Sky,” a new art series by Rebecca Klementovich, featuring “evocative depictions of historical landmarks in southern Maine and the seacoast of New Hampshire” through Thursday, Oct. 31, at Center, according to a press release. An artist reception will be held Saturday, Oct. 5, from 6 to 9 p.m. “Drawing from natural subjects such as flowers, mountains, and seascapes, Klementovich infuses her work with a sharp, contemporary edge that transcends time. Her unique approach creates a dynamic tension between abstraction and semi-realism, evoking nostalgia while pushing the boundaries of traditional landscape painting,” the release said.
Also on display now at The Art Center is the exhibition “Across America,” its first photography exhibition, according to a release about the exhibit, which will run through October. “This visually captivating show features the work of 28 photographers from Maine to California, offering a unique collection that captures the diverse beauty and stories of America,” the release said. The reception on Oct. 5 will also showcase this exhibit, which is sponsored by Photosmith — the Complete Imaging Center, Dover, and guests can meet the photographers, the release said.
From “Beneath the Colonial Sky” at the Art Center.
• September exhibit: The Lakes Region Art Gallery (Suite 300, 120 Laconia Road in Tilton; 998-0029, lakesregionartgallery.org) will present “Fur & Feather Fine Art Exhibit,” a show featuring “an array of artworks that celebrate the beauty and intricacy of wildlife,” according to a press release. The show is on display through Sunday, Sept. 29; on Saturday, Sept. 21, the gallery will hold an artists reception from 2 to 4 p.m. with local chainsaw artist Jim Luckern, light refreshments and more, the release said. The gallery opens Thursday through Sunday at 10 a.m., according to the website.
• Button art: Artist Patty Frasier will present a class called “Intro to Dorset Buttons” at the League of NH Craftsmen Meredith Fine Craft Gallery (279 DW Highway in Meredith; 279-7920, meredith.nhcrafts.org/classes) on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dorset buttons were introduced in the 1600s and were “used to add decor to clothing and to cover small damages and imperfections in clothing,” according to a press release. “Weaving around a small ring with multiple fibers you create buttons that are used for clothing accents, upholstery accents, jewelry, hair accessories, magnets, Christmas ornaments and even framed art,” the release said. Tuition for the class costs $40 plus a $15 materials fee paid to the instructor. Pre-registration is required; call to sign up.
• Notes to the homefront: The Wright Museum of World War II (77 Center St. in Wolfeboro; wrightmuseum.org) will host a lecture and book signing by David Chrisinger about his book The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of WWII on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. Admission costs $10; reserve spots online at wrightmuseum.org/lecture-series or by calling 569-1212.
• Observations from fair Verona: Nurse!, described as “a closer look into Romeo and Juliet’s love story,” will come to The Players’ Ring (105 Marcy St. in Portsmouth; playersring.org) Friday, Sept. 27, through Sunday, Sept. 29, according to a press release. Shows on Friday and Saturday start at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by an informal meet and greet; the show on Sunday is at 2:30 p.m. and will be followed by a talk-back with the artist, the release said. “Written and performed by Ayun Halliday and directed by Spencer Kayden, Nurse!is delivered in a bawdy mix of modern English and Fauxlizabethan. It is a mostly comic meditation on love, death, aging and teenagers,” the release said. Tickets cost $18.
• Save the date for artisans and crafters: Henniker Handmade & Homegrown will take place Saturday, Sept. 28, and Sunday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Henniker. The event will feature 88 local artisans, crafters, farms and food makers as well as food trucks (including Colombian street food from Cali Arepa, Somali-inspired food from Batulo’s Kitchen, Taco Beyondo, DeadProof Pizza and a Chicago-style hot dog cart) and live music, according to a press release. The musical line-up will include Peabody’s Coal Trail, the Danny Savage Band, Free Range Musicians, Walker Smith and Collin Nevins, the release said. The event will take place at the Henniker Community Center and Park at 57 Main St. and will feature vendors indoors and outdoors with parking at the Henniker Community School and a shuttle bus, the release said.
• Master public speaking: New Hampshire Theatre Project will present a “Public Speaking Master Class with Artist Laureate Genevieve Aichele” on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 959 Islington St. in Portsmouth. The class is “for all those interested in polishing their public speaking and communication skills, overcoming anxiety and nerves, presenting their best self with confidence, practicing public speaking in an encouraging environment, and engaging their audiences,” according to a press release. “Participants must be prepared to present a memorized three-minute speech or story on the topic of their choice,” the release said. The cost is $60; register at nhtheatreproject.org.
• Art of flowers: The Atkinson Garden Club will feature floral designer Maureen Christmas at the club meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. at the Atkinson Community Center, 4 Main St. in Atkinson. Admission costs $10 and the event will feature light refreshments.
• Spooky season begins:A Haunting in Venice(PG-13, 2023), arguably the best of the Kenneth Branagh Hercule Poirot movies, will screen at the Derry Public Library (64 E. Broadway in Derry; derrypl.org) on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m. Register online.
• Write your song: Center for the Arts (centerfortheartsnh.org) will hold a songwriting workshop with Tom Pirozzoli on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 6, from 1 to 5 p.m. at 428 Main St. in New London. Tuition costs $95 for both days, according to a Center For the Arts newsletter. Go online to register.
• Wicked celebration: Tickets are on sale now for the 2024 annual celebration of the New Hampshire Humanities, which has its 50th anniversary this year. The celebration will be Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. at the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St. in Derry) and feature keynote speaker Gregory Maguire, author of the novel Wicked. Tickets start at $35.
• 100 Years of “Rhapsody in Blue”: Tickets are on sale for the kickoff to the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2024-2025 season. The first show will feature the New Hampshire premiere of “Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue,” a new composition by Peter Boyer, on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. (when livestreaming is available) at the Seifert Performing Arts Center (44 Geremonty Drive in Salem), according to a press release. Steinway artist Jeffrey Biegel will be the guest soloist, the release said. Tickets cost $35 for adults, $30 for seniors, $10 for students and $5 for Salem students, the release said. See nhphil.org.
Jeffrey Biegel.
• Get loud in 2025: Recycled Percussion will return to the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org) for 15 shows between Tuesday, Dec. 31, and Sunday, Jan. 12. Tickets cost $39 to $49 and are on sale now.
Visual artist and critic Franklin Einspruch will appear at an upcoming Bookery Manchester event to discuss Aphorisms for Artists: 100 Ways Toward Better Art. Edited by Einspruch and written by the modernist painter Walter Darby Bannard, the book is a guide to seeing as much as a source for creating, and Einspruch’s talk will also appeal to non-artists.
Anyone who’s ever stared blankly at a wall of paintings in a gallery, or puzzled over an article packed with critical terms, will be relieved by the book’s simplicity. “Good art is good art. Period.,” it begins, followed by an explanatory page; this format continues for the rest of its 240 pages.
“Way down deep we are all the same,” Bannard writes. “Taste, if we have it, is what takes us down to where art lives.”
In a recent Zoom interview, Einspruch explained that his discussion at Bookery is a way in for anyone who’s had an unpleasant experience looking at art.
“This is for folks who’ve gone into a museum and just felt bewildered,” he said. “The refreshing message is you’re allowed to have your own experience. You must learn to trust that … because it’s yours.”
The inspiration to collect Bannard’s Aphorisms for Artists was born in the early 2000s, when Einspruch was a writer for Artblog.net, one of the first blogs about visual art. His old professor frequently responded to his articles, using an alias.
“He left all these jewels of wisdom in the comments section; I said, ‘We ought to assemble this into readable form.’” Over the years, “we went back and forth developing the aphorisms. It was all his creation, but I would give feedback on some of them and advice … once he was done, I wrote a foreword.” Sadly, Bannard, “Darby” to his friends, passed away in 2016 and wasn’t able to witness the first edition of his book sell out in 2022.
Bannard, whose works are in New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian and the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art, was integral to Einspruch’s growth as a painter. He came to the University of Miami in the early ’90s with a newfound interest in abstract painting, sparked by seeing a Willem de Kooning work in a New Orleans museum.
“I tried to figure out what was going on by making abstract paintings in this very de Kooning mode,” he said. “Darby, who with Frank Stella was thrown out of de Kooning’s studio as a young painter, knew this material very, very well. I’d make a bunch of paintings, and he’d say, ‘OK, well, that’s your best one, and that one’s OK, the one next to that is no good, and
the fourth one will be fine if you rotate it 90 degrees.’”
He was right every time, Einspruch added. “The manner in which Darby could troubleshoot paintings was unbelievable.”
Those who don’t spend their days with a brush in hand shouldn’t be intimidated by the depth of this knowledge, however.
“Art is,” he declares early on, and it’s for everyone. One of the book’s key aphorisms is, “An ivory tower is a fine place as long as the door is open.” By that, Bannard meant that, like all specialties, art is elitist. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” he wrote. “Art may be for the privileged few, but they have earned the privilege and deny it to no one.”
A passion for helping others find their “eye” — a conduit to beauty — drove him as a teacher and creator. “There is no way to specify what good art is or how to create it,” he wrote in the book’s introduction. There was a caveat, however. “Certain principles, like gold in a pan, eventually wash clear enough to express in a few words.”
The many nuggets sprinkled on the pages of Aphorisms for Artists are a treasure for anyone hoping to connect with art.
“This is a book written by someone who knew very well how to make art, and he knew it so well that he could help other people,” Einspruch said. “That turns out to be a very rare skill, partly because his talent was of such extraordinary degree, but also he was able to articulate what he was doing.”
Franklin Einspruch discusses Aphorisms for Artists When: Friday, Sept. 20, 5 p.m. Where: Bookery Manchester, 844 Elm St., Manchester Tickets: Free; register at eventbrite.com
Featured image: Franklin Einspruch. Photo from Zoom call by Michael Witthaus.
Musical theater season opened at the Palace Theatre on Sept. 6 with a timeless Tony winner, Oliver! With an ensemble cast significantly drawn from the Palace’s youth program, it was also a continuation of a summer effort that included “Jr.” productions of Willy Wonka, Little Mermaid and Moana at the downtown venue.
The Palace’s annual slate of musicals — this year’s include Jersey Boys, Piano Men, Escape to Margaritaville, Jesus Christ Superstar and A Chorus Line — is a shining example of quality professional theater, and the city of Manchester deserves to be proud. The first production continues their winning streak.
The story of an orphan’s travails in Victorian London was given a makeover by director Carl Rajotte, a steampunk motif with shiny colorful costumes designed by Jessica Moryl. Some of the inspired touches included a coat worn by villain Bill Sikes (Jacob Medich) festooned with cogs and gears, along with a top hat wrapped in goggles.
Avery Allaire is brilliant in the title role, quite a feat for the young actress, who was present in nearly every scene. Her heart-rending performance of “Where Is Love” was a show highlight, setting the tone for the rest of the evening. Another young actor delivering a star turn was Chris Montesanto, most recently seen in The Prom, as The Artful Dodger.
Oliver! has some difficult moments, touching topics like human trafficking and domestic violence, but its book is packed with enough joyous songs like “Consider Yourself” and “It’s a Fine Life” to rise above it. There are enough moments of peril for its various characters for the audience to know the source material comes from Dickens.
The undeniable star of the show is Palace veteran Jay Falzone in the role of Fagin, the irascible ringmaster of the young pickpocket gang that Oliver is recruited into after being discharged from an orphanage and sold to an undertaker he later escapes from. Falzone balances Fagin’s avarice with his love for the kids in his sway, delivering plenty of laughs along the way.
The love/hate relationship between Mr. Bumble (Cody Taylor) and Mrs. Corney (Jill Pennington), who run the orphanage, provides ongoing hilarity. Longtime Palace alum Michelle Rajotte also shines as Nancy, navigating her brutal relationship with Sykes and delivering one of the show’s best vocal performances, “As Long As He Needs Me.”
Most impressive are the young actors in the cast, who handled challenging choreography assignments flawlessly and performed as a chorus with the skill of professionals. Also remarkable are on-stage musicians who augment the orchestra with violins and horns played with both precision and attitude.
Director Rajotte said after the opening night performance that a new group of kids will be on stage each weekend, through the show’s closing Sept. 29, noting that all of the PYT actors began rehearsing in mid-August. “On Wednesday, we do their costume fittings and get them up on stage to rehearse again,” he said.
Rajotte chose the steampunk costume and staging direction after re-reading Dickens’ Oliver Twist.
“Everyone should read a Dickens novel,” he said. “I found myself wondering what an 11-year-old would think reading this. That pushed me to sci-fi, and that’s what steampunk is about in the Victorian age. I thought that a child’s imagination would go that way if they were reading it chapter by chapter. That’s when we went full throttle.”
Oliver! is special, Rajotte continued. Like Phil Collins, the Monkees’ Davy Jones and Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits, each of whom played the Artful Dodger in their teens, he experienced it as a springboard. “It was my first professional show as a kid as a performer,” he said. “I was the understudy for Oliver and Dodger, and I was a pickpocket. I just love it so much. This is my fifth time; I’ve directed it three times.”
Oliver! When: Through Sept. 29. Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 & 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Where: Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester Tickets: $45 and up at palacetheatre.org
The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
•New sculpture for the park: The International Sculpture Symposium at the Andres Institute of Art (106 Route 13, Brookline, andresinstitute.org, 673-7441) kicks off Saturday, Sept. 14, with an opening ceremony at 1 p.m. Sculptors Morton Burke of Alberta, Canada; Jim Larson of Portland, Maine, and Adrian Wall of Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, are this year’s artists. There will be a reception with an opportunity to meet the artists on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 5 p.m. The closing ceremony will be Sunday, Oct. 6, at 1 p.m. See andresinstitute.org for a look at the artists’ past works as well as a trail map.
•Last regular market: Concord Arts Market, an outdoor artisan and fine art market, has its final Saturday market of the season on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Rollins Park (33 Bow St., Concord). The Market will also be at Intown Concord’s First Friday on Nov. 1 in Bicentennial Square from 4 to 8 p.m. Visit concordartsmarket.net.
•Artisan market: Canterbury Shaker Village (288 Shaker Road, Canterbury, shakers.org, 783-9511) will hold its annual Artisan Market on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free to this event featuring handcrafted arts, music and family activities.
•Happy birthday: “Full Circle: The Speed of Light” at Mosaic Art Collective (66 Hanover St., Manchester, mosaicartcollective.com) will run through Tuesday, Oct. 1, with an opening reception and birthday celebration to celebrate the collective’s second anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 4 to 8 p.m.
•Weekend in Wonderland: The Powerhouse Theatre Collaboration (powerhousenh.org) will be putting on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on Sunday, Sept. 15; Saturday, Sept. 21, and Sunday, Sept. 22, with performances beginning every 20 minutes from 1 to 4 p.m. Join Alice on an interactive theater adventure as she journeys through Wonderland, aka the beautiful grounds of Prescott Farm. Tickets cost $10.
•Meet Da Vinci: Inside The Mind Of A Genius: Leonardo Da Vinci Film Premiere and Conversation with Ken Burns will take place on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the Dana Center at Saint Anselm College (100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester, tickets.anselm.edu, 641-7700). Tickets cost $100, or $250 for a pre-show reception with Ken Burns.
•New exhibit: “Constructs” is described as a “group exhibition exploring distinct visual languages through geometric abstraction and sculptural works” and featuring the work of Damion Silver, Eric Katzman, Don Williams, Jenny McGee Doughery and Trevor Toney. It’s on display at the Pillar Gallery (205 N. State St., Concord, pillargalleryprojects. com) through Sept. 15. The gallery is open Sunday, Tuesday and Friday, 3 to 7 p.m.
