Monte Belmonte Wines: Shelburne Falls is western Mass wine country
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate The Bridge of Flowers may be closed to tourists this year but I can think of another great reason to visit Shelburne Falls — bowling! But this is a wine column. So, I’ll start again. The Bridge of Flowers may be closed to...
The V-Spot: Help a New Top Hit Their Kinky Stride
Dear Yana, I’m a former power bottom now freshly-turned Dom in a new dynamic. I’ve been finding that when my sub and I are apart, I’ve got a lot of great ideas of new things to do with her. Though I always vow to myself to try out those things when I’m with her next,...
Taking it to the streets: UMass exhibit celebrates the work of documentary photographer Jill Freedman
When documentary photographer Jill Freedman died in 2019, she left behind a huge body of work focused on people living on the margins in urban American, on protestors against poverty and war, and on cops and firefighters doing their intense work day after day. “I...
Passing the Torch
Two women leaders of Valley theaters – – Priscilla Kane Hellweg of Enchanted Circle Theater and Lucinda Kidder of Silverthorne Theater Company – have retired from the troupes they’ve nurtured from seedlings into models of socially engaged theater. Recently I chatted with them about the highs and lows, triumphs and tribulations of their respective tenures, from first inklings through Covid.
Stagestruck: High Wireless Act
“We hope that this is the most enjoyable piece of bad news audience members have ever experienced.” So says Jonathan Mirin of Piti Theatre Company, whose latest show, “Canary in a Gold Mine,” looks into the opposing forces of corporate profit vs. public safety.
Monte Belmonte Wines: The end of sparkling isolation?
I’m pretty sure it was the author/physician/scientist Vikram Paralkar who said it first, but it became a popular meme in the early days of the pandemic: “It’s only Quarantine if it’s in the Quarantine province of France. Otherwise, it’s sparkling isolation.” In March...
FIVE YEARS LEGAL: Marijuana has gone corporate, so why does the black market game continue to flourish?
Before the cellphone contagion, what games did families play during long trips in the car? Spotting license plates from other states or guessing the names of passing motorists kept our cherubs amused,: “Oh, that’s a Fester for sure!” These days, you could keep the...
Stagestruck: Coming Back to Live – Theaters took to the stage again this year, cautiously and creatively
After the spring, summer, fall and winter of our discontent — not to mention fear, frustration and isolation — this year area theaters tentatively, and often inventively, stepped onstage again. The sense of determination by performers and audiences alike to get back to live-in-person was unmistakable, along with the sheer joy of being back together.
Stagestruck: From Silver Screen to Holiday Stage
Two shows based on classic holiday movies are brightening area stages this season. In Pittsfield, Berkshire Theatre Group offers the stage adaptation of the 1954 blockbuster “White Christmas,” and Hartford Stage Company has moved “It’s a Wonderful Life” into an old-time radio studio.
Stagestruck: Deck Us All
Tidings of comfort and joy, along with seasonal satires, are filling the area’s theaters. This month, I count at least three “Christmas Carols” and a “Nutcracker,” along with original takes on evergreen Hollywood movies and more family-friendly events.
Stagestruck: Bright Half Life
Tanya Barfield’s brief two-character play “Bright Half Life,” at Silverthorne Theater, looks at the span of a relationship through a kaleidoscopic lens – not as an arc but in an ever-changing firmament of fleeting moments.
Sessions
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Basemental Farewell: Was I a Music Critic?
“Thank you for reading my column even if you didn’t like it.”
The V-Spot: When Did I Get on the Relationship Escalator?
The Relationship Escalator is like this: “A default set of societal expectations for intimate relationships. Partners follow a progressive set of steps, each with visible markers, toward a clear goal. The goal at the top of the escalator is to achieve a permanently monogamous, cohabitating marriage. In many cases, buying a house and having kids is part of the goal.”
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Cinemadope: The gift of gifts
See “Gift” at Amherst Cinema or the Academy of Music this week.
