Supporting the Arts in Western Massachusetts and Beyond

May 31, 2018

Preview: Paradise City Arts Festival

Paradise City Arts Festival, Northampton, MA
May 26, 27, 28, 2018

Oil painting by Enfield artist Zhiyi Li
Twenty-three years ago, two artists had a vision – to create a world-class arts festival at the historic, but admittedly rustic, fairgrounds in Northampton. “When we first walked the Northampton Fairgrounds in 1994, puzzling over the pieces that would come to be known as the Paradise City Arts Festival, we took a giant leap of faith,” say Founding Directors Linda and Geoffrey Post. “We pictured the Arena, a cavernous horse barn, transformed into a venue to showcase museum quality master craft and fine art. We fretted over whether we could draw serious art and craft lovers from across the country to the small New England town of Northampton.”

More than twenty years later, Paradise City Northampton fills three newly erected buildings, an outdoor Sculpture Promenade and a 12,000 square-foot Festival Dining Tent. Visitors have traveled from all fifty states and five continents to immerse themselves in an exhilarating environment that features an unparalleled collection of the nation’s finest craft makers and independent artists. In 1998, the Posts took their show on the road. They now hold a Paradise City Arts Festival in Boston’s western suburbs twice a year. Upon awarding their events the #1 spot in 2008 in the annual “Top Ten Art Fairs and Festivals in America”, AmericanStyle Magazine declared Paradise City Arts Festivals “truly innovative… fresh and vibrant, with extraordinary quality.”

Wood sculpture by Warren Vienneau
Pittsfield, MA
Paradise City was founded in 1995 by Geoffrey and Linda Post, both practicing artists who spent twenty years on the show circuit themselves. “Making a living as a practicing artist is no easy thing,” Geoff explains, “being creative in your studio, coming up with a body of work that excites you, hoping that customers will respond, then packing it all up and bringing it to a show. But you’re still not done. You need to put on your marketing hat and connect with your customers and display your work in a way that people will respond to.” Their lives as artists lay the foundation for the guiding principles of Paradise City: respect artists in all ways possible, make shows easy, fun and profitable, and help artists reach an ever growing audience both at shows and beyond.

To this end, Paradise City has cultivated a loyal customer base of nearly a quarter of a million people.  For further information check the website at paradisecityarts.com

May 29, 2018

REVIEW: Barrington Stage Company, Typhoid Mary


Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, MA
through June 16, 2018
by Shera Cohen

Photo by Carolyn Brown
At some point, writer Mark St. Germain may become tired of creating plays with the central focus on an historic figure. As an audience member of seven of these works, I doubt if I will ever become weary. The powers that be at Barrington Stage Company (BSC) have recognized St. Germain’s excellent talents that its second theatre is titled the St. Germain Stage. It is not surprising that BSC kicks off its 2018 summer season with, not only a play by St. Germain, but a World Premiere.

“Typhoid Mary” depicts slices of life of Mary Mallon. While most people assumed at the time (and still assume) that the derogatory name cliché, an actual Mary lived during turn of the century New York, just off the boat to America from Ireland. The fate of this young woman would have easily become that of millions of immigrants, of little importance except to family and certainly of no significance in history books. However, Mary became synonymous with fear and death. Unbeknownst to the character, at least at first, Mary was a carrier of the dreaded Typhus. The word “killer” is often spoken, but was Mary a killer in the normal definition of the word?

St. Germain’s dialogue is concise and taut, Matthew Penn’s direction is purposeful with every minutia of movement. Settings and times are juxtaposed or layered. The talents of both men make for an intelligent team. Even though the play is relatively short (with an unnecessary 10-minute intermission), there are numerous and important philosophies which, to some degree, overshadow the depth that the actors are permitted to explore the characters. Themes of morality, justice, religion, ethics, science, and self-will fill the language eloquently, at a realistic pace. Yet, maybe there was too much to consolidate?

Tasha Lawrence portrays Mary as conflicted, at the same time vehemently upset by her circumstances. Her character doesn’t have a lot of dialog, but she is the emotional center of every scene. Lawrence is a physically beautiful woman who is intentionally pictured as beige. As a carrier, she is plain and innocuous. Kevin O’Rourke (Mary’s doctor) is recognizable to BSC audiences. Here he portrays shrewd and bombastic with balance in equal measures.

Every St. Germain work sets the brain cells on overdrive. Audience members will take “Typhoid Mary,” just as they have other plays, home to be thought about, questioned, and even judged.

REVIEW: Hartford Stage, A Lesson from Aloes


Hartford Stage, Hartford, CT
through June 10, 2018
by Jarice Hanson

Photo: T. Charles Erikson
Athol Fugard, recognized internationally as a playwright who observed the horrors of the post-WWII Apartheid system in South Africa, brilliantly recognized how definitions of race, segregation, and White political manipulation of power could destroy individual civil rights within the country and globally. In this powerful play, we see what the playbill accurately notes: “The Past Informs the Present.”

The story is set in Port Elizabeth, a provincial city in 1963 at a time in which the government’s violence against resistors of the segregationist legal system was at its apex.  Piet, a White Afrikaaner sympathizes with the resistance. His wife Gladys identifies with her British family roots and has recently been hospitalized because of a trauma resulting from the government’s raid of their home and the confiscation of her personal diaries.  Piet’s best friend, Steve, is Coloured (biracial) family man who decides to leave the country for England, where he hopes his children will have a better life. The tension of living in political turmoil is heightened by the violation each character feels and their reactions to the political situation and their sense of fear (or denial) of what the future may bring. The three characters’ lives are all on the brink of disaster when it becomes known that Piet is accused of being a political informer.

Fugard’s words are potent and director Darko Tresnjak presents us with the similarities of the Apartheid system to today’s world in which political divisions have become entrenched and political ideology destroys civility and civil rights. Matters of immigration, indigenous rights, civil rights, and unfair policies destroy nations, people, families, and friends.

In this deeply intellectual and effective production actors Piet (Randall Newsome), Gladys, (Andrus Nichols), and Steve (Ariyon Bakare) are brilliant in exposing the devastation each feels in their environment. Set (Tim Mackabee), sound design (Jane Shaw), and lighting (Matthew Richards) work seamlessly to give the illusion of both open space and claustrophobia. Once again, Hartford Stage’s total concept of the production allows the playwright’s words and the directorial and actors’ interpretations to meld into an effective production that gives the audience much to think about. “A Lesson from Aloes” is not always an easy show to watch, but it is an important play to think about and it deserves praise for the truths it uncovers and presents.  

A note on the title. The aloe plant is indigenous to South Africa, and though the plant is ugly and full of thorns, it continues to propagate. The rich symbolism is typical of Fugard’s work and his reputation as a social/political observer. The play won a Tony for Best Play in 1981.


PREVIEW: Clark Art Institute: Trailblazing Women Artists


Clark Art Institute , Williamstown, MA
June 9 – September 3, 2018

ECHO, by Ellen Thesleff (1891)
Oil On Canvas, Photo by Kjell Soderlund
Courtesy American Federation of Arts
The Clark Art Institute’s summer 2018 exhibition, Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900, celebrates an international group of artists who overcame gender-based restrictions to make extraordinary creative strides, taking important steps in the fight for a more egalitarian art world. Featuring nearly 70 paintings drawn from prominent collections across the United States and abroad, the exhibition includes works by renowned artists including Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, and Rosa Bonheur as numerous equally remarkable peers. Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900 was organized by the American Federation of Arts and curated by Laurence Madeline.

Paris was a cultural mecca, luring artists from around the world to its academies, museums, salons, and galleries. Despite the city’s cosmopolitan character, gender norms remained strikingly conservative and women painters faced obstacles. Women painters in the 19th century engaged in portraiture, shaping an image of themselves as serious artists. Social restrictions hindered women’s full participation in artistic circles.

The perception of childhood evolved as an important stage in the formation of healthy adults, and children were celebrated as the future of a family’s line. This new attention lavished on children coincided with the burgeoning aspirations of women artists. These painters produced images that poignantly celebrate the wonder of childhood and the profound nature of motherhood. Mary Cassatt specialized in maternal scenes and portraits of children.

In a lecture on June 10 at 3:00 pm, curator Esther Bell will speak about the achievements of the artists represented in the exhibition. A conversation with Laurence Madeline, Chief Curator for French National Heritage, and curator of Women Artists in Paris, follows.

The Clark Art Institute is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. For more information on these programs and more, visit www.clarkart.edu or call 413-458-2303.

May 22, 2018

REVIEW: Springfield Symphony Orchestra, All Rachmaninoff


Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Springfield, MA
May 19, 2018
by Michael J. Moran

For the final concert of the SSO’s 74th season and his own 17th as their music director, Kevin Rhodes notes in the program book, he celebrated “one of my favorite composers” with five pieces by Rachmaninoff. But Rhodes’ selections were unusual in that they all date from late in the composer’s career, only one of them is a repertory staple, and three of them are almost totally unfamiliar to the average concertgoer.

Those would be the 1929 orchestral arrangements by Italian composer Respighi of three “Etudes-Tableaux” (pictorial studies), originally written between 1911 and 1917 for solo piano, which opened this imaginative program. The composer suggested their titles to Respighi (“The Fair,” “Little Red Ridinghood and the Wolf,” and “March”), whose three years of study in Russia with Rimsky-Korsakov are reflected in the dark Slavic color of these orchestrations. Rhodes and the SSO performed them with conviction and flair.

Misha Dichter
Next came the only piece on the program that many audience members would recognize, the composer’s last work for piano and orchestra, dating from 1934, his “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.” The featured soloist was, in Rhodes’ words, “one of the grand gentlemen of the piano,” Misha Dichter. Now 72, the American pianist has lost none of the technical facility and interpretive depth which launched his international career over 50 years ago. His nimble fingers captured all the thunder of variations 13 and 22 and romantic lyricism of variation 18. Orchestra and conductor offered equally agile support.

Intermission was followed by a vibrant account of Rachmaninoff’s last work, and, according to Rhodes, “[his] masterpiece,” the 1940 Symphonic Dances, written three years before the composer’s death. While its three movements recall and even quote several of his earlier works, they also introduce new instrumental harmonies which make this the most modern-sounding of all Rachmaninoff’s works. Its mix of nostalgia and defiance was expertly rendered by all the musicians, including a first movement saxophone solo, meltingly played by principal Lynn Klock (Rachmaninoff’s only use of that instrument).

Season 75 will be hard put to match this insightful new slant on a beloved composer.

PREVIEW: Shakespeare for the 21st Century Audience


Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, MA
by Joan Mento

Shakespeare & Company's 2018 season features “Love's Labor's Lost,” “As You Like It,” and “Macbeth.” How will these plays be presented? Often scripts are cut or altered to "two hours traffic" upon the stage. Since most modern productions of Shakespeare will be cut, the question now becomes not whether to cut, but where, how, and why to cut. Cutting, altering and transposing scenes must be done judiciously so that the audience can follow the story line and make sense of the dialogue.

As You Like It, 2004
Photo by Kevin Sprague
The Company's track record has proven its ability in making the dialogue clear while achieving dynamic, entertaining performances. Cutting may keep a performance successful by not just cutting actors' roles but by having the same actor play multiple roles, or minimizing props, or altering historical periods through costumes. Such cuts serve to underscore thematic significance or to symbolize meaning. For instance the 2004 production of “As You Like It” presented a multiple of motifs, two being nurture vs. nature and good vs. evil. The Duke brothers, Frederick and Senior, played by one actor, symbolized the dual nature of man in his ability to encompass his darker nature and his better self. Costuming promoted this concept. When at court, men's costumes were black whereas in Arden they became white. Touchstone, the fool, wore a black and white Harlequin pattern jumpsuit, suggesting that he, unlike the men of the court, had the ability to balance the light and dark side of his humanity.

“Love's Labor's Lost” presents a challenge. This comedy is a feast of language with witty puns of topical references and archaic words. Shakespeare & Company's 1999 production also became a feast for the eyes and ears, employing devices to portray character and especially interpret and enliven lines. Wordplay was often translated through "sight" play: ropes as swings, masks to signify deceit, shadow puppets, and swordplay. Miming, dancing, singing, and swinging often accompanied dialogue. These devices added to the audience's understanding of archaic words, allusions, and complex puns, plus made long speeches entertaining.

Their 1994 Macbeth cut to the core actors, sets, and props. Eight actors played 24 parts. Two props reinforced the play's lines and images. One was a
galvanized tub used for Duncan's bath, the witches' cauldron, the washing vessel for Lady Macbeth's hands, and the weapon to murder Lady Macduff. A hospital gurney served as the banquet table, a morgue slab for Banquo's body, and a bed where nightly dreams shake Macbeth.

Macbeth, 2002
Shakespeare & Company
When Shakespeare & Company cut, how do they make certain not to sacrifice all Shakespeare's powerful poetry? First, the words need to make sense and come alive to the actor. Consequently, directors and actors work closely with meaning, meter, and word emphasis. The 2002 production of Macbeth was situated in a post September 11 world. The audience was plunged into a hectic era of modern warfare: soldiers in army fatigue and red berets, secret service men in sunglasses, reporters in trench coats with tape recorders. Yet, eight actors played 42 roles. The tyrant in the modem world evidently has more need of technology than magic. Act IV presented the witches as scientists in white coats in their experimental lab clutching clipboards and referring to notes as they chanted "Double, Double..."

Further effects of this techno-world are blared with media reports from radio and TV. Sounds and floodlights bombard the audience as Macbeth gave his inauguration speech. Despite all the special effects, the production still made the language clear. The visual and aural effects did not replace the text as much as reinforce a contemporary interpretation.

Shakespeare & Company's cutting and alterations have been successful in keeping the language understandable for a contemporary audience while retaining Shakespeare's powerful poetry. We are looking forward to what this season brings for entertaining and lively productions.

May 20, 2018

PREVIEW: Jacob’s Pillow, Inside/Out Series


Jacob’s Pillow, Becket, MA

The Henry J. Leir Stage and Marcia & Seymour Simon Performance Space, comprise the this outdoor amphitheater with a panoramic view of the Berkshires Hills for its Inside/Out Series. An essential part of the Pillow’s mission and a beloved tradition is to offer free programs to the public. Audiences of all ages and walks of life travel from around the world and right down the road to meet new people and enjoy the art of dance as a community.

Performances are scheduled every Wednesday through Saturday at 6:15pm during the Pillow’s Festival season, June 20-August 26, 2018

Every year Inside/Out performances feature a variety of styles. Past performances have included classical ballet, tap, jazz/musical theatre dance, hip-hop, flamenco, traditional Korean dance, India’s bharata natyam, and many other genres. Performances are family-friendly and are followed by a brief question and answer session with the audience.

Patrons are welcome to arrive early to claim a seat or to bring chairs from home. Food and drink are welcome in the performance space.

May 19, 2018

PREVIEW: Jacob’s Pillow, Free Stuff


Jacob’s Pillow, Becket, MA
June 20-August 26 2018

GOTTA DANCE, TOO!
Blake’s Barn
Open daily, noon through final curtain
This select group of original movie posters follows up on the hugely popular 2014 exhibit with a different set of rarities from the collection of Mike Kaplan. More than 50 vintage posters feature Fred Astaire, Josephine Baker, Gene Kelly and more screen legends, excitingly illustrated in vibrant color.

DANCE OF THE AGES

Photo: Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Archives
Ted Shawn Theatre Lobby
Open daily, noon through final curtain
Commemorating the 80th anniversary of Dance of the Ages, a culminating achievement by Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers, this exhibit also highlights a full reconstruction of the work to be performed by Adam Weinert in September. Included here are images, memorabilia, and costumes from the original 1938 production, many on view for the first time.

PARAMODERNITIES/REVELATIONS
Doris Duke Theatre Lobby
Open daily, noon through final curtain
Netta Yerushalmy has created a new performance work entitled Paramodernities, deconstructing classic dances by pioneering choreographers. Historic Pillow images from one of these, Alvin Ailey’s iconic Revelations, are displayed here.

May 14, 2018

INTERVIEW: One-on-One with Capitol Steps’ co-founder Elaina Newport


by Shera Cohen

If you’ve seen Capitol Steps, you need to see it again, and again. Just as the news constantly changes, so must the skits in this extremely popular, political lampooning of who’s who, all set to music. The performances are satire with a capital “S”. The phrase, “ripped from today’s headlines” describes Capitol Steps’ ever-changing and hilarious material.

Elaina Newport, back row, middle
Who is behind the shenanigans in creating Capitol Steps? Mark Eaton and Elaina Newport. Elaina credits her brother and his stash of “Mad Magazine” as her impetus to become co-founder of Capitol Steps. In a recent interview with Elaina, her sense of humor is both effusive and contagious.

The year was 1981, Republicans held the reigns and Reagan was president. It was a different time, but not a different place – Capitol Hill, Washington, DC. Elaina and a small group of friends were asked to write a few scripts and songs for a Christmas party. The event was fun, and a one-shot gig. The audience was bipartisan, and for the most part, got along.

“We kept getting invited to parties,” said Elaina, realizing that lampooning politicians and other front-page personalities could quickly get her and her troupe into a lot of trouble. “The more we were hired, the more [our show] spread the risk around.” In other words, the group was democratic in lambasting just about everyone, yet always with wit and a smile. No one was sacred.

Sooner than she ever anticipated, Elaina gave up her day job to become a full-time writer, producer, singer, comedian, lyricist, and manager of what became titled Capitol Steps. Along with partner, Mark Eaton (whose job description mirrors Elaina’s), the seriously ridiculous Capitol Steps has spread its political humor across the U.S. for over 35 years.

Elaina’s favorite roles include Nancy Pelosi, Elizabeth Warren, Angelina Merkle, and Hilary Clinton. In any given show, the cast of five plus pianist perform approximately 30 songs and become 60 characters, all in 90-minutes. A crew of one helps the quintet quickly change costumes for this fast-paced entertainment.  “Our wig person is the star of the show; there are at least three Trump wigs,” said Elaina. Oftentimes, costumes and headwear are ill fitting or crooked, which unintentionally adds to the fun.

When asked about the audition process, Elaina immediately reacted, laughing. “That’s one of the fun parts [of this job]. They sing a song beautifully, then we ask them to sing the same song as if he/she was Kim Jong-un.”

“Our audiences are fully prepared for this humor,” she said. They come expecting to hear parodies and see caricatures, and that’s exactly what they get. With politics at the top of every news report and above the fold on newspapers, the humor of Capitol Steps is more apropos than ever.

What role would Elaina like to play? President! Not anyone whose name we know, but the first female president. After a few decades backstage and onstage for Capitol Steps, she still loves the fun. “But, if the [current] Congress got quickly competent, then we would be out of a job, but we’ll be okay.”

Capitol Steps will be performed at Cranwell Resort, Lenox, MA from June 30 – September 1, 2018, nightly except Tuesdays. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND RESERVATIONS

May 11, 2018

PREVIEW: Norman Rockwell Museum, Pittsfield, MA


Keepers of the Flame: Parrish, Wyeth, Rockwell and the Narrative Tradition
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA

This summer, Norman Rockwell Museum presents the first comprehensive exhibition to look at the work of master illustrators Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth, and Norman Rockwell in relation to the history of Western art. With more than 60 works by 25 American and European painters, along with more than 300 digital representations of some 50 other artists, Keepers of the Flame: Parrish, Wyeth, Rockwell and the Narrative Tradition will reveal the lineage connecting American illustration to some 500 years of European painting through the long line of teachers who have passed along their wisdom, knowledge, and techniques to generations of creators.

The exhibit occupies four galleries, with each artist’s work displayed in one gallery.  The final gallery of Keepers of the Flame sums up some of the exhibition’s major themes, featuring works of these three artists among others.

Keepers of the Flame traces the student-to-teacher lineage of the above-mentioned artists to their artistic forbears reaching back to the Italian Renaissance. In so doing, it shows how these illustrators, all of whom painted with the same principals and techniques as their artistic ancestors created what would prove to be iconic imagery and unforgettable narratives that defined them as keepers of the flame of traditional Western painting.

The opening will be held Saturday, July 14 at 5:30pm with commentary by exhibition curator Dennis Nolan at 6pm.The event is free for members, $20 for not-yet members.

The Norman Rockwell Museum is located on 36 park-like acres in Stockbridge, which was Rockwell’s hometown for the last 25 years of his life. For information about the exhibit and Museum check www.nrm.org

May 8, 2018

Review: Opera House Players, Parade


Opera House Players, Broad Brook, CT
through May 20, 2018
by Shera Cohen

“Parade” is going to be a tough show for Opera House Players to sell. First, the title is a misnomer. Second, virtually no one has ever heard of it. Third, the story is very difficult to watch. Rape, murder, feigned-justice, and bigotry do not make for a fun evening at the theatre. However, in the Opera House’s 15 years of performances, “Parade” can be singled out as its finest, skillfully-executed production.

Based on the true drama of Leo Frank, a New York Jew living in Georgia at the turn of the last century, the story is gritty, dramatic, and oftentimes embarrassing to watch. Set 50 years after the Civil War, the characters are bitter and cruel. For them, the Confederate flag, which is situated squarely in the center of the stage, is paramount in their minds, their hearts, and their words. Enter, newcomer Frank, married to a Southern Jewess, into this hostile world. The outcast Franks become victims of their times. Unfortunately, this is no surprise to the audience.

Sharon FitzHenry directs her large cast on a minimalistic stage with moveable platforms that create multiple indoor and outdoor settings. Credit to set designer Francisco Aguas who constructs slight but important visuals with dual purposes; shadows on the flag become jail cell walls.

Arguably, “Parade” boasts the most talented community theatre voices in the Valley. Both Michael King (news reporter) and Tim Reilly (district attorney) are given a good deal of stage time. Both are excellent in their roles. Kings’ “Real Big News” offers some of the few light moments in the play. Reilly’s solos are exquisite, at the same time portraying evil personified. Carl Cannella (Leo Frank) is an unsympathetic protagonist. Basically, he’s not a nice guy, and an awful husband. Cannella effectively gives Frank an air of entitlement and selfishness. The audience wants to like Leo. He is not a mensch.

The full ensemble, with some voices singled out on occasion, prove that Director FitzHenry and Producer Moonyean Field selected their cast carefully. Bill Martin, one of the most employed Music Directors within a 60- mile radius, is as talented as ever.

The star of “Parade” is Lindsay Botticello (Lucille Frank). Oftentimes, musicals are populated with singer who can act, or the reverse, actors who can sing. Botticello gets an A+ at both. She portrays a woman whose love for her husband is minimal, yet her efforts to save him are unrelenting. Where did Opera House find this gem? Hopefully, she will return.

“Parade” is the final production of the Opera House Players before locating to Enfield in the fall.


REVIEW: Hartford Symphony, Shostakovich 5


Hartford Symphony, Hartford, CT
May 4-6, 2018
by Michael J. Moran

For the eighth “Masterworks series” program of the HSO’s 74th season, Music Director Carolyn Kuan presented an all-Shostakovich concert. That might have sounded like a forbidding prospect to listeners who only know Shostakovich as, in the words of the program notes, “the man who composed some of the 20th century’s most profound musical statements.”

But leave it to Kuan’s canny instinct to lead off with a perfect example of his extensive lighter side: “Tahiti Trot,” a renamed 1928 arrangement of “Tea for Two,” from the Broadway musical “No, No, Nanette,” by Vincent Youmans, then popular in liberal pre-Stalinist Russia. This music was second nature to Shostakovich, who wrote many film scores, where he often dabbled in jazz. On a dare from conductor Nikolai Malko to orchestrate the piece within an hour, Shostakovich produced his glittering and often hilarious instrumentation in 45 minutes. The HSO and Kuan made quick and delightful work of it.

Jay Campbell
The first half continued with a vigorous and deeply felt account of Shostakovich’s first cello concerto, written in the re-liberalizing post-Stalinist Russia of 1959 for the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich and here featuring in his HSO debut rising 28-year-old American cellist Jay Campbell. His small boyish frame belied the power and virtuosity of his playing, which ranged from skittering in the opening “Allegretto” to dark and intense in the haunting “Moderato,” daring and athletic in the demanding “Cadenza,” and exultant in the playful finale. Kuan and the ensemble gave him nimble and transparent backing.

The concert concluded after intermission with a brilliant performance of the fifth and most familiar of Shostakovich’s fifteen symphonies, written in 1937 as “a Soviet composer’s reply to just criticism” after “Pravda” condemned his opera “Lady Macbeth of Mtzensk” the year before as “muddle instead of music.” The symphony’s solemn and brooding first movement, cheekily sardonic “Allegretto,” luminous “Largo,” and ironically joyful finale stirringly evoke the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.

The contrast among these three works gave the Hartford audience a rare opportunity to appreciate the full range of Shostakovich’s fraught but fruitful life and varied musical career.

May 7, 2018

REVIEW: The Bushnell, The Illusionists-Live from Broadway


The Bushnell, Hartford, CT
through May 8, 2018
by R.E. Smith

Despite the “Broadway” in the title, there’s no singing or dancing in “The Illusionists” but that doesn’t mean there is a lack of showbiz spectacle on display. This shiny take on classic magic, with a dash of side-show derring-do, manages to entertain and delight adults and children alike. 3 magicians, 1 daredevil and 1 “deductionist,”, neatly encompass the idea that illusions can take many forms and that card tricks or a bed of nails can be equally entertaining.
Colin Cloud

“The Illusionists” have been to the Bushnell before, but the cast varies with every tour. The major addition, and worth the price of admission alone, is Colin Cloud. Cloud made it to the finals of “America’s Got Talent” and his act is one of a kind. He makes a point to say that he is not psychic, but rather a master of deduction. His ability to pick someone out of the audience and deduce not only their pet’s name but their birthday is something even Sherlock Holmes would proclaim as “magical”. Dressed like Dr. Who and moving with the speed of street busker, his revelations come at a rapid fire pace. Yes, jaws drop.

Seasoned Las Vegas performer Jeff Hobson, “The Trickster,” offers close-up tricks with comedic flair and a “fabulous” spin. You can feel the audience light up every time he returns to the stage. An Ha Lim is a card “manipulator” often named “Magician of the Year” by his peers, whose sleight-of-hand ability never ceased to elicit “how does he DO that?!” reactions. Kevin James. “The Inventor,” takes some old guard tricks, like sawing someone in half, and keeps them simple enough for the kids to appreciate but dresses them up with some “weird science” pizzaz for the adults.

Certainly, people have seen many of these types of acts on television but they are truly acts best appreciated live. The audience interaction with Jonathan Goodwin, “The Daredevil” as he demonstrates “pain tolerance,” or escapes from a water torture chamber while in mortal danger, gives an intimacy that amplifies the thrills.

“The Illusionists” makes for a unique evening of entertainment that the audience will talk about for a long while afterwards.