On the big stage: UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center offers music, dance, theater and more in new season
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Like so many other arts venues, the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts had to resort to online productions during the worst of the pandemic. As FAC Director Jamilla Deria told the Gazette at the time, planning for the...
How Northampton helped the women’s suffrage movement cross the finish line
The success of the women’s suffrage campaign, which had begun 72 years before in 1848, was thought unlikely in 1916. It was unprecedented when it occurred in 1920 in the face of the post-war depression, rising anti-immigrant sentiment and labor unrest, and the third wave of the pandemic.
Stagestruck: We’re All Improvisers Now
Last March, when the theaters shut down, we thought we might be back onstage by now. But as fall and winter seasons were postponed or abandoned, some companies have devised mother-of-invention ways to keep the flame alight.
Welcome back to The Valley Advocate
A heartfelt welcome back, dear reader. It’s been awhile since The Valley Advocate’s last edition on April 30.
Key voting dates ahead of the 2020 Presidential Election
With the Nov. 3 General Election less and a month away, here are some key voting dates compiled by the League of Women Voters of Northampton: Voting timeline Sept. 14: Vote by mail applications are mailed to all voters for the election. Oct. 17-30: Early in-person...
Marty Nathan: ‘Clean energy doesn’t come out of smokestack’
Polluted air means worse asthma for any community. Though Springfield’s air has been cleaned up significantly over the decades, Hampden County still gained an F rating for levels of the respiratory toxin ozone this year.
Happenings in the Valley
Our online calendar has listings from organizations across the country hosting virtual events, but we’ve chosen to highlight some from local venues and groups.
Stagestruck: What I Did on My Summer Staycation
In the usual summer theater season, I’ll see dozens of plays and put hundreds of miles on the odometer. But in this most unusual summer, the car stayed mostly in the driveway and I stayed mostly in the house. I did get to over two dozen shows – or rather, they were...
Stagestruck: The Hills Are Live – UPDATE
Just as this piece was about to be filed last week, Barrington Stage and Berkshire Theatre Group, the first-in-the-country theaters to reopen with live performances, received another blow to their well-laid plans.
Stagestruck: Live Theater Returns, Drive-In Style
In a former life I was a musician – a singer-songwriter in the ’70s mold. One of my most memorable gigs was a drive-in concert. I flashed right back to that summer night when I heard Eggtooth Productions was planning to take a peck at the Covid shell with a drive-in performance, live and socially distanced, not in a field but on a rooftop.
Stagestruck: Curtain Up on Stage 3
While most theaters in our area remain closed, others are looking past Zoom for ways to offer in-person performances. Last week, as I was thinking about this tipping point between lockdown and relaunch, I got an unexpected invitation.
Sessions
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Basemental: DIY Dystopia — A tech start-up sees house shows as ‘the next big thing’
A new way for investors to pocket the majority of the money from music shows.
The V-Spot: Are Tasty Lubes Giving Me Tonsillitis?
Hi Yana,I have been using flavored lube for mostly oral, but recently this has been causing tonsillitis for me. I forgot to read the fine print, "Use within 3 months," so now I must chuck out a full bottle (I hate wastage!).What brands of flavored lube would you...
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Stagestruck: Infinite Chances for Love
Nick Payne’s time- and mind-bending play Constellations receives its local premiere this month at Gateway City Arts, a production of Ghost Light Theater, the Valley’s five-year-old purveyor of contemporary plays that speak to universal themes. The piece has made its...











