Arts
Stagestruck: Dancing down Hubbard Street— 40 years young
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is a frequent and popular visitor to the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. This year, celebrating its 40th season, the company presents a quartet of works showcasing its history and its current 16-member troupe, one of the most technically...
Pick of the Day 8/3: Blondie!
Deborah Harry (and her boys) aka Blondie are rockin’ the Berkshires tonight. Yeah, boy! Call me nostalgic, I don’t care. She and her bandmates are at Mass Moca playing the greats and making the world a new wave paradise once again. And the Kids open up...
Local Calendar: Thursday 8/2 – Sunday 8/5
THURSDAY 8/2 MUSIC Amherst Downtown Beats – Flathead Rodeo & Colorway: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Free. The Amherst BID’s Downtown Beats Summer Concert series continues with a performance by Flathead Rodeo and Colorway.Kendrick Park, East Pleasant St., Amherst....
Pick of the Day 8/2: The Amendments
Thanks to the Northampton Arts Council, The Cardboard Sea Theater presents The Amendments. It’s a play about the sorrows of death and embattled family relationships. Judith and and her estranged brother Gabe’s father die; Judith just wants one thing from...
Stagestruck: Three in the Hills
A trio of two-character plays now running in the Hilltowns and Berkshires offer a summer-season variety of subjects, styles, and even venues – a black-box theater, a converted town hall, a church sanctuary. Pauline Productions is dedicated to “producing and creating...
Staff Picks Week of 8/2 – 8/8
Valley Show Girl Presents at the 13th Floor Music Lounge // SATURDAY, AUGUST 4 The Valley Advocate’s own Valley Show Girl columnist Jennifer Levesque is curating a lineup of local acts at the 13th Floor Music Lounge in Florence, which includes guitar and synth driven...
Pick of the Day 8/1: Joe Purdy at the Iron Horse
Firstly: Welcome to August! We have now entered the eighth month of 2018 and it’s kind of hard to believe! Anyway, folk rocker Joe Purdy is in Northampton tonight. Purdy is prolific; he’s released fourteen albums over the last fifteen years. His music...
Local Calendar: Tuesday 7/31 & 8/1
TUESDAY 7/31 MUSIC Alceste: 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. 12 Senior/$14 General. Opera based on heartbreaking story narrated by Euripides: King Admetus is dying and his wife, Alceste offers Apollo her own life in exchange for that of her beloved. $South Hadley’s Tower...
Pick of the Day 7/30: Sorry to Bother You
Okay, I have a funny feeling and a sneaking suspicion that there are going be some serious laugh out loud moments in Sorry to Bother You, a new movie about race, money, politics, and morals. This is what the Amherst Cinema site says: “In an alternate reality...
Stagestruck Abroad: Shakespeare’s Haunts, Part 2 — Stratford
Nowadays, Stratford-upon-Avon feels not so much like a town as a gift shop. The once-sleepy hamlet where William Shakespeare was born some 450 years ago, which he abandoned for a life on the London stage, has become a mercantile monument to Stratford’s most famous son...
Stagestruck Abroad: Shakespeare’s Haunts, part 1 — The Globe
When I was in England earlier this month, I saw four plays at the two venues most closely associated with William Shakespeare – his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon and the Globe playhouse on London’s South Bank. At the Globe, there was a gender-switching Hamlet and a...
Pick of the Day 7/27: Elliot Street Block Party in Brattleboro
If you’re in Brattleboro, Elliot Street is the place to be on Friday. Celebrate food, the arts, and the shops with your green mountain neighbors. Get your grub on at the international food crawl, take your little ones to a concert for kids, and do your grown up thing...
Local Calendar: Thursday 7/26 to Sunday 7/29
THURSDAY 7/26 MUSIC A Little Night Music: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church will present “A Little Night Music” every Thursday during the month of July at 6:00pm. Free, donations accepted for all food items. Trinity United Methodist Church, 361...
Pick of the Day 7/26: Corazon de Granada
Ready to heat things up? Check out Corazon de Granada tonight as they bring their impeccable Flamenco music and dance to New City Brewery in Easthampton. You can expect “a passionate evening … steeped in tradition,” the event hosts promise. Corazon...
Stagestruck Abroad: Two plays in London show theater’s unique power
When I was recently in London, I saw two plays with connections to my favorite (make that favourite) British venue, the National Theatre. One was an African-American riff on a 19th-century melodrama, the other a dramatic immersion in a migrant camp on the English...
Staff Picks: Greenfield Psych Fest, Elliot Street Block Party, and The Machine Shop
Greenfield Psych Fest at Hawks & Reed // SUNDAY, July 29 It’s going to be two floors of psychedelic rock music from noon until 9 p.m. at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield on Sunday, July 29. On the lineup are surf meets Latin-influenced psych...
Pick of the Day 7/25: We the People
In this time of political chaos and division, it makes sense to go back to the beginning to determine exactly what the Great Experiment was all about. But We the People can’t be put in a box; not only because it’s outside on the farm in Ashfield Double...
Pick of the Day 7/24: After the Rain at the Whately Library
Sometimes you just want to mellow out, right? So why not scoot up (or down) I-91 and check out an outdoor concert by After the Rain at the Whately Library. After The Rain performs acoustic and a cappella arrangements of everything from traditional Appalachian to...
Podcast: Local author Kathy Harrison discusses being prepared for your own personal apocalypse
Kathy Harrison doesn’t believe the zombies are coming to get us. But she does believe in being prepared for the worst. Harrison, of Cummington, just wrote her fifth book, called Prepping 101: 40 steps you can take to be prepared. Stocking up on necessities might...
Pick of the Day 7/23: Leave No Trace
Amherst Cinema is just a gold mine. No, really, their film curation is the bee’s knees. And my pick, once again, can only be found in the dark. Leave No Trace is the story of a father and his daughter who have lived off the grid for some time. They make their...
Local Calendar: Monday 7/23 – Wednesday 7/25
MONDAY 7/23 MUSIC Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival 2018: MASS MoCa, 1040 MASS MoCA WAY, North Adams. Kitchen Jam – Local Music Rocks! Concert: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. 2nd performance of our Local Music Rocks! Concert Series. Happening rain or...
Pick of the Day 7/22: The Southern Vermont Dance Festival
The Southern Vermont Dance Festival 2018 is all day today! From 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Take your pick of over “113 dance classes, two Galas at the Latchis, an outdoor Promenade Performance and picnic, two Informal Showings, and lots of free community...
Pick of the Day 7/21: Lempicka at the Williamstown Theatre
Williamstown is definitely one of the places to be this summer if you love the stage! And one of my favorite artists is the inspiration for Lempicka, a world premiere musical. Tamara de Lempicka was a war time painter who created beautiful (and frosty) portraits of...
Local Calendar: Thursday 7/19 to Sunday 7/22
THURSDAY 7/19 MUSIC A Little Night Music: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church will present “A Little Night Music” every Thursday during the month of July at 6:00pm. Free. Free, donations accepted for all food items. Trinity United Methodist Church,...
Pick of the Day 7/19: The Beggar’s Opera Cabaret
Tonight at Eastworks in Easthampton is Gina Kaufmann’s intimate adaptation of a comedy from 1728. The production is a retelling of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, which satirizes operatic conventions, gender, and class with a three-woman cast. The...
Pick of the Day 7/18: Shakespeare Under the Stars: Othello
Shakespeare’s Othello is a remarkable play that hinges upon (gulp) racist stereotypes. Othello is, after all black, and his wife Desdemona is white. Her father is none too happy and it doesn’t help that Othello’s standard bearer, Iago, is a master...
Evolution of a Star: Dwight Pogue’s retrospective at Smith College Museum of Art
Printmaker and Smith College art professor Dwight Pogue is retiring and he’s having quite a send off. His opus, if you will, is called Flowering Stars and is on view at The Smith College Museum of Art. Pogue’s collection is a retrospective of his lithographs and...
Pick of the Day 7/17: Through the Looking Glass…and What Alice Found There at The Majestic
Probably the best thing about summer is there are no school buses to ruin my commute to work. With that said, that means all the little minions are pulling at somebody’s pants legs lamenting the lack of activity on a steamy July day. I’m here to solve...
Pick of the Day 7/16: Leaning Into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy
Just in case you missed the memo: It’s going to be hot and humid. Surprise. The best way to beat the heat (besides a water park) is the movies. So let’s go indoors for our pick and immerse ourselves in some culture. Andy Goldsworthy is a British sculptor...
Local Calendar: Monday 7/16 – Wednesday 7/18
MONDAY 7/16 MUSIC AMHERST JAZZ ORCHESTRA: July 16, 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. With vocalist Ethel Lee. Great food. Union Station Grand Ballroom, 125A Pleasant St., Northampton. 413-253- 1607. info@amherstjazzorchestra.com. Bang on a Can Summer Festival 2018: July 16,...
Pick of the Day 7/15: Three Identical Strangers at Amherst Cinema
Oh boy, I’ve been waiting for this one! This doc is so scathing and mind boggling, you’ll be thinking about it for some time. And Tim Wardle’s documentary Three Identical Strangers is described “as the most amazing, incredible, remarkable true...
Pick of the Day 7/14: Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival
The Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA is a week of innovative music making dedicated entirely to “adventurous” contemporary music. For three weeks composers will have their new works performed, and musicians will perform in ensembles sitting...
Pick of the Day 7/12: Artney Jackson at Williamstown Theater Festival
Obie Award winning actor Ray Anthony Thomas brings life to the world premiere of Artney Jackson at the Williamstown Theater Festival through July 22. Artney Jackson is about an African American man who is a respected employee at the local cable company. After 25...
Local Calendar: Thursday 7/12 – Sunday 7/15
THURSDAY 7/12 MUSIC Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival 2018: MASS MoCa, 1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams. David Krakauer’s Acoustic Klezmer Quartet: 8 p.m. Yiddish Book Center Members: $45, General Admission: $50. Delight in a performance emphasizing the beauty of...
Pick of the Day 7/11: The Closet at Williamstown Theater Festival
Matthew Broderick was, of course, Ferris Bueller, but he’s done a lot more than that. He’s a Tony winner and he’s got nominations for Golden Globes and Emmys. He has some cred. So seeing him in The world premiere of The Closet is a HUGE...
Stagestruck: Exciting new ideas from well-worn material
A new thriller, a boundary-breaking dance form, a classic tragedy, and a dramatic sequel, all on area stages this month, illustrate the creative urge to mold existing materials into new forms. In the Valley, Silverthorne Theater Company presents White, Black and Blue,...
Pick of the Day 7/10: Whisper and Shout at Amherst Cinema
Okay, I know this the second movie in a row for picks, but this is special! Amherst Cinema is showing a free screening of Whisper and Shout, a 1988 documentary that explores the East German rock music scene in the late 1980s — on 35 mm! Well-established bands, like...
Podcast: Beverly Ketch and Hannah Brookman talk about Greenfield art space Looky Here
Recently opened nonprofit artist space Looky Here in Greenfield is a place for workshops, art making, thrift shopping, and most things you can (or can’t) think of. Leaders Beverly Ketch and Hannah Brookman talk about how they got started, what to expect, and...
Pick of the Day 7/9: Mountain at Amherst Cinema
If you love symphonic music and breathtaking visuals, you’ll love Mountain. Director Jennifer Peedom has combined the two; from Tibet to Australia, Peedom provides an astonishing look at mountaineers, ice climbers, free soloists, heliskiers, snowboarders,...
Local Calendar: Monday 7/9 – Thursday 7/12
MONDAY 7/9 MUSIC Monday Night Music – Robert Speth and Jay Letourneau: 7 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. Tilton Library, 75 N Main St., South Deerfield. STAGE/FILM/DANCE The Closet: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown. ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance. 1000 Main...
Stagestruck: Compromises and Contradictions in Chester
A poster hanging in the lobby at Chester Theater Company points out common roots and themes connecting Islam, Judaism and Christianity – for example, the Archangel Gabriel figures in all three religions’ core legends. It serves as prelude to the current production,...
Stagestruck: Masters of Melody, Onstage at BTG
What happens when your music goes out of style? – when the teenagers are swooning over Elvis Presley instead of Frank Sinatra? If you’re Irving Berlin, and it’s Christmas Eve 1956, and the song at the top of the Hit Parade isn’t “White Christmas” but “Hound Dog,” you...
Pick of the Day 7/8: Asleep at the Wheel
Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel is swinging through Northampton tonight! The Iron Horse is playing host to the Austin based band that’s been in existence in some form or another since 1970. In that time, they’ve won 9 Grammys. Check them out and...
Pick of the Day 7/7: Valley Show Girl
You know her, you love her, and you want to support her! Jen Levesque, aka the Valley Show Girl aka the Valley Advocate graphics guru, hosts The Valley Show Girl premiere tonight at 13th Floor Music Lounge. Everybody who’s anybody will be there; she’s...
Local Calendar: Thursday 7/5- Sunday 7/8
THURSDAY 7/5 MUSIC Drop-in Traditional Music Sessions: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. $5. Friendly traditional music sessions. Moderate swingy pace. Adults and teens of all skill levels welcome – and not just fiddles. Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz St., Northampton....
Pick of the Day 7/6:
Hopefully the heat won’t keep you from enjoying some of the cool things happening this weekend. The Berkshire Arts Festival begins today and goes until Sunday. The festival brings together 175 jury selected artists from across the country and you’re...
Stagestruck: Weekend Update
For your consideration – four shows playing in the region this weekend, two that hark back to the ’60s/’70s and forward to tomorrow, plus a Shakespearean comedy and a jungle adventure. The Ko Festival of Performance opens its five-weekend season with The...
Wedding Belles – Gay marriage is a hot topic in this bake shop
These days, fiction can hardly keep up with real life. Take The Cake, playing at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield through July 15. It opened last month, just days after the Supreme Court upheld a Colorado baker’s refusal, on religious grounds, to make a wedding...
Pick of the Day 7/3: The Naked Man on the Sports Field
Cool off with a little “Culture in the Cold War.” Amherst Cinema (yes, the movies are a great way to escape this hellish heat) is showing a FREE screening of The Naked Man on the Sports Field. It’s too hot to get bogged down in words, so I’ll...
Stagestruck: WTF is going on
Two world premieres kick off the season at Williamstown Theatre Festival, one a raucous comedy, the other a brief, intimate tragedy. The Closet holds forth on WTF’s Main Stage through July 14th, while The Sound Inside plays through the 8th on the smaller Nikos...
Local Calendar: Monday 7/2 – Thursday 7/5
MONDAY 7/2 STAGE/FILM/DANCE The Closet: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown. The Sound Inside: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown. TUESDAY 7/3 STAGE/FILM/DANCE The Closet: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown. Make It Funny Open Mic Comedy: 8...
Pick of the Day 7/2: Hearts Beat Loud
Who doesn’t love Nick Offerman? The perennial curmudgeon, however, turns nice guy in the new film Hearts Beat Loud. Offerman plays Frank a single dad whose only child, a daughter named Sam (Kiersey Clemons), is going off to college. As if that wasn’t...
Stagestruck: Hip-Hop Hybrid — Ephrat Asherie Dance at Jacob’s Pillow
The dance companies that opened this year’s season at Jacob’s Pillow epitomize the festival’s enduring mission. This week the mainstage hosts Pilobolus, one of the pillars of modern dance and still innovating after 45 years. And in the Pillow’s intimate Doris Duke...
Pick of the Day 6/30: Cajun Dance Night at the Root Cellar
The Root Cellar is hosting a cajun dance night this month featuring two local bands. The first is Les Taiusts from Western Mass and southern Vermont, an old school electric Cajun dance hall band, followed by fiddle due drive group Terrible Mountain String Band. The...
Pick of the Day 6/29: Tuck and Patti at the Iron Horse
I saw Tuck and Patti at the Iron Horse in what seems like one hundred years ago. And one hundred years later, they’re in Northampton again. This dynamic duo is comprised of married couple guitarist William Charles “Tuck” Andress and singer Patricia...
Pick of the Day 6/28: The Road to Mecca
Silverthorne Theater opens its production The Road to Mecca this evening. Helen is a South African widow and has been working on a sculpture garden, which is a dream trip to “Mecca.” Her pastor is urging her to move into a senior retirement home, but a...
Local Calendar: Thursday 6/28 – Sunday 7/1
THURSDAY 6/28 MUSIC Children of the Falls: 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. Join us the patio for an evening of classic rock hits performed by Children of the Falls. 6 to 10 pm. All Ages. No Cover. Free. Luxe Burger Bar, 1200 West Columbus...
Pick of the Day 6/27: The Naked + Famous
The New Zealand indie electronic band Naked and Famous just played a sold out show in DC and they’re bringing their Stripped tour to town tonight at the Iron Horse. The band has been around since 2007 and has produced three albums. Tonight they’ll strip...
Pick of the Day 6/26: Won’t you be my neighbor?
When I was at the University of Pittsburgh, I worked part-time at WQED Pittsburgh Public Television. During fund drives, they would move Mr. Rogers props into the first floor hallway so telephone operations could be set up. Even up close there was no demystifying the...E-Edition
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