Arts

Arts

Review: "Sylvia" at Berkshire Theatre Fest

When A.R. Gurney's play Sylvia debuted in 1995  at Manhattan Theatre Club with Chalres Kimbrough, Blythe Danner and Sarah Jessica Parker, the New York Times critic wrote:  "Not since Abie's Irish Rose has there been a play as critic-proof as Sylvia, at least

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Arts

Jazz on Three Summer Days, a Chat with Vita Muir

Summer 2011 marks the 16th anniversary of the Litchfield Jazz Festival, of which jazz DJ Dave Hershorin of New Orleans WWOZ radio says, “It’s what other jazz festivals wish they could be.”   Litchfield Magazine recently named LJF founder Vita Muir one of the 50 most influential people in the

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Arts

Lar Lubovitch Lets Loose at Jacob’s Pillow

Dance review by Bess J.M. Hochstein Photo: Todd Rosenberg Lar Lubovitch is a master of shape in space. In his work, form and flow take precedence over narrative or message, and his dances are a joy to watch. In the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company's appearance at Jacob’

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Arts

Zoe | Juniper Jumps to the Doris Duke Theatre

Dance review by Bess J.M. Hochstein Photos: Christopher Duggan Seattle-based zoe | juniper is a young multi-disciplinary visual and performing arts company headed by the husband and wife team of dancer/choreographer Zoe Scofield and photographer/video installation/sculptural performance artist Juniper Shuey. The company made its Jacob’

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Arts

Leon and Richard, Together Again

by Scott Baldinger Bard president and American Symphony orchestra conductor Leon Botstein (above left, in 1975 at the age of 29)  is also the numero uno champion of the 1940 opera Die Liebe der Danae, the gloriously coloristic but neglected work composed in Germany by Richard Strauss (above right, at

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Arts

Cutting Edge Exhibit Down by the Riverside

by Betsy Miller Picture Shirley Bassey singing her hit song This is My Life in one of her dramatic costumes.   Now imagine her singing the same song at different points in her career, all captured on video that has been fragmented by an artist, who further fractures the images with

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Arts

Louise Lecavalier: Daredevil Dancing at Jacob's Pillow

Dance review by Bess J.M. Hochstein Photos: Andre CornellierLouise Lecavalier is petite, more than 50 years old, sinewy and muscled, and a dare devil dancer with a stage presence that grabs your attention and never lets it go – not only when she is moving with complete physical abandon, but

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Arts

From Cuba to Becket: DanzAbierta's U.S. Debut at Jacob's Pillow

Dance review by Bess J.M. Hochstein Photos by Carlos Furman In DanzAbierta’s hour-long  work, MalSon, the dancers wear gray and black and the sole scenic prop is a gray block, about the size of an super-deep mattress. All color comes from video intermittently projected on the

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Arts

Todd Reynolds on the 10th Annual Bang on a Can Festival

The rock band Wilco, which hosted the recent Solid Sound festival, was not the first musical group to commandeer MASS MoCA. In 2002—just three years after the museum was founded – Bang on a Can, a group of musicians and composers dedicated to commissioning, performing, creating, presenting, and recording contemporary

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Arts

Commentary: Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood

by Scott Baldinger In 1966, when asked what he thought of the music of the Beatles, Richard Rodgers churlishly replied, “I find it monotonous…I don’t think there’s anything creative or original about it.  Their music won’t last.”  When told about this, Paul McCartney responded that he

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Arts

Shorts: A Filmmaking Roundtable and A Juried Contest for Young Filmmakers

The Columbia Land Conservancy  and The Chatham Film Club are seeking entries for a juried competition. Filmmakers 16 to 25 are invited to submit original shorts (max. 30 minutes) about land conservation, agriculture, land-use planning, environmental education, or outdoor recreation, all aspect of the Conservancy's work. A

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Arts

Review: "Moonchildren" Shines at BTF

Comedy is so much harder to get right than tragedy: making an audience laugh is more difficult than making them cry. The veteran actress Karen Allen, in her directorial debut at Berkshire Theatre Festival, gave herself a formidable challenge: to resurrect Moonchildren, a 40-year-old comedy about Vietnam era

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