Gala World Premiere of Karyl Evans’ Documentary Film Letter from Italy, 1944: A New American Oratorio Narrated by Meryl Streep

L to R: Nan Meneely, Joseph D'Eugenio, Sarah Meneely-Kyder, Meryl Streep, Karyl Evans

Greater Middletown Chorale will celebrate Flag Day with the World Premiere screening of a moving documentary about PTSD and music, entitled “Letter from Italy, 1944: A New American Oratorio.” The film, by Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Karyl Evans and narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Meryl Streep, chronicles the creation of Letter from Italy, 1944 (LFI), which was presented to a standing-room-only audience by GMChorale in April of 2013. The screening of this powerful documentary will begin at 3:30 pm on Sunday, June 14, at the MHS Performing Arts Center, 200 LaRosa Lane, Middletown, CT. There is a suggested donation of $25.

After a recent screening of the documentary for a Yale veterans’ group, Professor Andy Morgan from the University of New Haven commented, “In her film, Karyl Evans achieves something that many filmmakers only aspire to do: She inspires! While letting us share an intimate portrait of the love and the losses created by war in one family, she gives us the opportunity to experience a stunning work of art and to remember that we are not spectators to war and its effects; we are fellow human beings who share the toll exacted by war and who can also find solace and resolution in music and poetry.”

In 2010, Grammy-nominated composer Sarah Meneely-Kyder and her sister, noted poet Nancy Meneely, saw GMChorale’s staged production of Mendelsson’s Elijah, and were so impressed with the performance that they chose GMChorale to bring their music, based on their father’s poetry and war-time love letters to their mother, to the public stage. The oratorio, conceived by the two sisters, is the story of their father, Dr. John Meneely, a medic with the 10th Mountain Division in WWII, who returned home with emotional wounds— what we now term PTSD.

The Chorale commissioned the work, according to Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio, to “create something very new and very innovative,” blurring the lines between several genres—opera, choral music and theater—thereby expanding its appeal to a larger audience. The completion of the oratorio resulted from a collaborative effort between Director D’Eugenio and the sisters to create a story line, with the music being composed around the poems, and to decide which pieces would be choruses, arias, duets and trios. Sheila Garvey, who had staged the Chorale’s performance of Elijah, was brought in to operatically stage LFI.

Early on, Karyl Evans (karylevansproductions.com) was approached about the possibility of documenting the preparation and performance of the oratorio and expanding the message of Dr. Meneely’s story, which is also the story of any soldier who goes to war and returns home to struggle with the effects of that experience. The film includes many interviews, including three with WWII veterans from the 10th Mountain Division (two of whom are from CT) who attended the performance and spoke of their military experiences.

The GMChorale-commissioned documentary expresses the Meneely sisters’ hope that writing this oratorio would honor their father’s life, as well as all who go to war and those who wait for them at home. In the words of tenor Jack Anthony Pott, who sang the role of Dr. Meneely, “If this story touches one person, it has done its work.”

The Premiere Gala, GMChorale’s major fund-raiser, will follow this event at 5:30 pm at Wadsworth Mansion, 421 Wadsworth St., Middletown. Join the GMChorale and film celebrities as they gather to celebrate with food, drink and song! Gala admission is $100 per person, which will include the screening of the film. Visit www.gmchorale.org or call 860-316-4854 for information.

The Last Romance at Ivoryton Playhouse

Joe DiPietro’s bittersweet romantic comedy The Last Romance, centers on widower Ralph who once had ambitions to be an opera singer but got married instead. He lives with his slightly younger sister Rose – a possessive, relentless, bitter nag who is determined not to let him out of her sight. When Ralph spots the attractive, white-haired Carol at the local dog park, Ralph flirts, plays teasing games with Carol, and works hard to establish a relationship. Impressed with his love of opera, she invites him to accompany her on a trip to Italy and the fabled La Scala opera house. Needless to say, Rose is not pleased with this plan.

This heartwarming comedy about the transformative power of love mixes heartbreak with humor and opera with laughter.

The Last Romance opens at the Ivoryton Playhouse on April 22nd and runs through May 10th.Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm. Tickets are $42 for adults, $37 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling the Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting our website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.

Rochelle Slovin now takes on the role of Carol Reynolds in The Last Romance at the Ivoryton Playhouse. A native New Yorker, Rochelle Slovin was educated at Cornell University and the Columbia Business School. She began her career in the 1960s as a performer in New York’s avant-garde theater, appearing often at La Mama and other off-off-Broadway venues. Following the birth of her two sons, and leaving the theatrical world, she became an organizer of Women’s Strike for Peace and then played a major role in Bella Abzug’s 1970 Congressional campaign. She entered New York City government in 1971, first working for the New York City Planning Commission and later for the Bronx Borough President. From 1976 to 1980, she was the director of the New York City CETA Artists Project, the largest publicly funded employment program for creative artists since the WPA.

In 1981 Ms. Slovin was named Founding Director of the Astoria Motion Picture and Television Foundation (a not-for-profit organization that had been established in 1977 with the goal of restoring to productive use the historic Astoria Studio complex). Upon her appointment, she proposed creating an American Museum of the Moving Image in one of the buildings on the property. She went on to develop the plans for the Museum’s mission, collection, exhibitions, programs and architecture; raised the funds necessary for its construction and operation; and assembled a distinguished staff and Board of Trustees.

With Ms. Slovin at its helm, the Museum came to prominence as the only museum in the United States, and the first museum in the world, devoted exclusively to film, television and digital media. She has expanded the Museum’s reach through off-site programs, traveling exhibitions and a content-rich website.

Museum of the Moving Image is the only institution in the U.S. that explores the art, industry and innovation of screen culture in all its forms. Embracing topics that range from 19th century optical toys to the latest Internet developments, the Museum provides insight into every phase of the production, promotion and exhibition of moving images. Engaging an international audience of all ages, Museum of the Moving Image offers a distinctive, highly interactive core exhibition; contemporary and retrospective programs of films from around the world; public discussions with leading figures in film and television; a unique collection; inspiring education programs; stimulating changing exhibitions; and groundbreaking online projects.

The Museum was granted accreditation from the American Association of Museums in 2006. On February 27, 2008, the inauguration of the Museum’s $67 million expansion and renovation was held and construction began. The museum opened its redesigned and expanded building, designed by Leeser Architecture, on January 15, 2011. “Rochelle Slovin is one of the very few individuals who have created a major New York City museum from scratch and then guided it to maturity,” Herbert Schlosser, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Museum of the Moving Image stated. “Every aspect of Museum of the Moving Image bears her stamp, from its intellectual framework to its approach to serving its many constituencies to its remarkable new physical form.”

In 1992, Ms. Slovin received the City of New York Mayor’s Award of Honor for Arts and Culture for “her leadership of an internationally recognized institution” and, in 1993, the Metropolitan Historic Structures Association honored her for “her inspired leadership in the founding of the American Museum of the Moving Image, a site of national and international cultural significance.” In 2002, Ms. Slovin and the Museum were honored by Governor George Pataki with the State of New York Governor’s Arts Award.

Ms. Slovin has lectured throughout the world on museum planning, exhibition philosophy, and the use of audiovisual media in museums. She is a former chair of the Cultural Institutions Group (comprising the 32 major City-funded cultural institutions) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Wooster Group and currently serves on the President’s Council of Cornell Women. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, the philosopher Edmund Leites.

Tony Award winner Joe DiPietro's The Last Romance, a bittersweet romantic comedy with a little Puccini and a smidgen of dog treats, opens in Ivoryton on April 22nd. Directed by Maggie McGlone Jennings, the cast includes Chet Carlin as Ralph, whose Broadway credits include Fiddler on the Roof with Theodore Bikel and the National Tour of Sir Peter Hall’s As You Like It; Kate Konigisor, the Artistic Director of Shakespeare with Benefits, as Rose and Stephen Mir as the Young Man. The set design is by William Stark, lighting design by Tate Burmeister and costumes by Vickie Blake.

Enroll Now! Rising Star ~ Summer Theatre Program Offering Two Sessions

Rising Star students become part of the cast of King Lear (Summer 2014)

Shoreline Arts Alliance is excited to be bringing back the newest component to its renowned Shakespeare on the Shoreline program. For the two weeks prior to the main stage production of The Comedy of Errors, Shoreline Arts Alliance will offer a theater performing arts program, Rising Star, to children in the community. Session 1, Stories from Folklore: Focus on Twins is July 20 - 24 and Session 2, The Comedy of Errors is July 27 – 31, from 9am-3pm on the Guilford Town Green. Students may register for one or both sessions as each week offers new experiences. Tents and rain location will be provided. Rising Star is an outreach program for ages 7 – 17. Tuition is $250.00 per week. Some need based scholarships may be available. These one-week energy-filled, fun, entertaining theater experiences will encourage creativity, reading and interpretation, and engagement in an artistic endeavor. Rising Star embraces the theater arts and will speak to the child’s desire and need to be recognized, to have their own voice and yet be nurtured as a successful individual as well as a contributing member of a team. The theater workshops will illustrate and educate participants on the issues and values that shed light on the human condition and are relevant to today’s world. Alongside the goals of promoting creativity, critical thinking, cooperation, literacy enrichment, and self-confidence, this week-long program is designed to offer an educational experience for participants. All participants will receive training from professional instructors in script analysis, interpretation and performance, and will briefly touch on set design, sound and lighting, costume design, and stage management. Older participants will also benefit from training in work/life skills (i.e. proper dress, inter-personal development, work ethic, public speaking, communication, etc.) to develop and strengthen crucial skills aiding in admission to college or entrance into the work force. Shoreline Arts Alliance is again working with Shakesperience Productions, Inc. for the operation of Rising Star Summer Theater Experience.

A nonprofit, professional, educational theater founded in 1996 and headquartered in Waterbury, Shakesperience Productions, Inc. serves Connecticut school systems and those of neighboring states, reaching over seventy communities per year. A recipient of “Arts Organization of the Year” by Waterbury Neighborhood Council, Shakesperience’s programming has proven successful among client schools, with 93% of these schools rescheduling events with the company year after year. Currently, few theatre programs for this age level are offered where there is direct involvement with the team of a major production. These students will be mentored and nurtured by cast and crew of The Comedy of Errors.

Rising Star Session 1 will explore Twins Fairy Tale. The idea of twins has captivated story tellers for centuries and The Brothers Grimm are no exception. Students will be exploring an adaptation of The Brothers Grimm fairy tales, which is simply entitled The Two Brothers. This story goes through the life of two twin’s boys, who have their own story of rags to riches, growing up through adversity, and attempting to survive in a world that confuses each brother with the other. With Shakesperience’s own professional actors, students will develop their collaboration, story telling skills, and stage presence through the magic of this classic tale. Session 2 will explore The Comedy of Errors. This is an exciting story about two sets of twins that were separated at birth due to an accident out at sea. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, which ends up being the home of their twin brothers, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of Ephesus. When Antipholus of Syracuse and Dromio of Syracuse come in contact with the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild events take place. With mistaken identity mixed with the classic farce theme, students will explore an abridged version of Shakespeare’s timeless comedy. Exploring the text through vocal and physical work with Shakesperience’s own professional actors, students will unlock the complex world of The Comedy of Errors. Participants will take the stage to present their own productions on Friday, July 24 and Friday, July 31. All participants are expected to be a part of the final production team at levels appropriate for their age. Some of the group may also be invited to join the cast the following week for the main stage production of The Comedy of Errors.

Because of the location of the Shakespeare on the Shoreline program and the Rising Star theater program on the historic Guilford Town Green, participants will also learn about the significance of one of the oldest town greens in the country, its role as the heart of the community, its evolution through history from a grazing spot for cattle and horses, a market place, a burial ground, to its current recreational and leisure uses. Surrounding the Green are historic homes and buildings that will also be part of the educational component of the camp. The use of the Town Green for this summer’s theater intensive, as well as the summer production of The Comedy of Errors will be discussed as it relates to the venues that Shakespeare chose for his public performances.

As one parent summed up her daughter’s experience last summer, “She started off Monday feeling intimidated and overwhelmed at the thought of learning lines that didn't even make sense to her and left today exhausted but with a smile beaming from ear to ear that she accomplished her goal. What a confidence builder. I'm sure she will remember this summer camp for many years to come. Thank you to all of your staff for their hard work and nurturing support.”

Community Engagement and Arts Programming

Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts has established a new center for community engagement and arts programming to enrich the quality of life throughout the region by developing a robust and dynamic experience in the arts. The new programming offers an extensive array of studio classes and other courses as well as a robust series of lectures, exhibitions, readings, film series and more for high school students and adults with previous or no previous art experience. Area residents and others who are interested in pursuing serious artistic study without being officially enrolled in a degree-seeking program are welcome to take part in these year-round programs in studio instruction and art appreciation.

Lyme Pre-College Academy
High school students with beginning to advanced level art training are welcome to enroll in a series of courses to further explore and expand their technical skills and abilities. All Pre-College courses and workshops aim to foster creativity, build artistic skill, and mentor personal vision in young artists. Lyme Pre-College Academy runs an intensive series of weeklong, daytime classes during summer months, as well as Saturday and evening classes and workshops that are flexibly scheduled to complement work and school schedules throughout the academic year. Lyme Pre-College Academy also offers free Portfolio Preparation workshops for high school seniors during the fall semester. Click here to learn more about the Lyme Pre-College Academy and upcoming classes.

Adult Studio Classes, Open to the Community
Adult learners have an opportunity to work in a studio setting with skilled artists at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts who can provide expert instruction at all levels. Some of the many reasons that our adult students return each year are to work with established artists in the regional community, to build portfolios for entrance into credit-carrying courses at the College, and to advance their skills in various mediums and techniques. All adult art classes are designed to augment the strengths of the core degree programs at the College of Fine Arts with special interest topics and professional development. Click here to learn more about Adult Studio Classes.

Lecture Courses, Open to the Community
Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts also allows adult students with previous art experience to audit studio and lecture courses within our BFA programs and to study with our renowned faculty, working side-by-side in the classroom with our degree-seeking students. Enrollment in the auditing program is limited, based on specific course enrollment levels. Audit enrollment availability and options are made before the start of each semester on a course-by-course basis. Adults interested in learning about auditing opportunities should check the website or add their contact information to the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts community engagement list. To inquire about auditing a lecture course, please contact Marguerite d’Aprile Quigley.

Information taken from LACFA web site.

Backstage Players Present The Producers

L to R: Mark Gilchrist, Chelsea Kelle, Jim Kane

Backstage Players is proud to be bringing the hilarious Mel Brook’s Comedy, The Producers to stage this March. Shows are scheduled for Thursday, March 26 at 7:00, Friday, March 27 at 7:00, Saturday, March 28 at 7:00 and Sunday, March 29 at 2:00 at Andrews Memorial Theater at Clinton Town Hall. Tickets are $22/adult, $18/Seniors and students. Purchase tickets.

The Producers follows the adventures of Max Bialystock, a less than reputable, down-on-his-luck Broadway Producer and his withdrawn, milquetoast accountant, Leo Bloom. Their scheme is to put on the worst Broadway Musical ever, close it in one night, and run off with all of the project’s investment money. They need to find the worst musical ever written and the worst director on Broadway, not to mention some equally ridiculous characters that they meet along the way. The title page of the play selected reads, “Springtime for Hitler, A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden.” Mr. Brooks takes this premise of a musical glorifying Hitler and proceeds to destroy the Nazis and their Third Reich with unparalleled sarcastic humor.

Along the way, audiences will be treated to some of the most beautiful music ever written for the stage, “The King of Broadway”, “I Want to be a Producer”, “Keep it Gay”, “When You’ve Got It, Flaunt It”, “That Face”, “Springtime For Hitler” and many others.

The Producers features many Backstage regulars, including Mark Gilchrist and Jim Kane, who play the two leading men, Max and Leo, respectively. Kane will also double as director for the production.

“I’m incredibly excited to be working on The Producers in as many aspects as I am, said Kane. “It’s been my favorite show since it hit Broadway years ago and I’m honored to be given the chance to bring Mel Brooks’ genius alive on stage.”

We are proud to introduce two Backstage Players newcomers, Chelsea Kelle from Manchester, who plays Ulla, Max and Leo’s love interest and David Kaminski, a great stand-up comedian in his own right, as Franz, the totally insane Neo-Nazi playwright.

The Producers is a marked departure from Backstage Players’ usual fare.  It is a quintessential Mel Brooks comedy.  It features an all adult cast, save some mature teenagers, and is rated PG-13 by Music Theatre International, still appropriate for most young people, but not all.

“We are taking somewhat of a leap of faith with this production.  It has an edge to it, which is a good thing.  Good theater is not meant to be comfortable”, said Ed Hobson, BPC president.  “Its Brooks being an “equal opportunity offender”.  Its really, really funny, chocked full of silliness from beginning to end.  Its Brooks fighting the Nazis the only way he can, through humor.  Our audience has come to expect excellence from us and this will be the biggest and best we’ve done, so far.”

Backstage Players Company (BPC), originally called Backstage Theater, is a non-profit theater company that was started in 2004 by a small group of parents and volunteers. BPC’s mission is to develop and produce social, recreational and educational theater arts experiences for the shoreline community.
Previous productions include 101 Dalmatians Kids, The Sound of Music, Scrooge’s Christmas Carol, Fame, the Musical, Annie, Oklahoma!, Oliver!, Bye Bye Birdie, The Coney Island of Dr. Moreau, Wagon Wheels West, Rock around the Block, The Lady Pirates of Captain Bree and Hansel and Gretel.

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) will host Grammy Award nominated and internationally beloved jazz musician and composer Chris Brubeck as its 2015 Artist-in-Residence beginning in late February through May 2015.

Grammy-nominated composer Chris Brubeck continues to distinguish himself as an innovative performer and composer. Brubeck has created an impressive body of symphonic work while maintaining a demanding touring and recording schedule with the Brubeck Brothers Quartet and his trio Triple Play. Chris has worked with many diverse artists, including Frederica von Stade, Ben Luxon, Dawn Upshaw, Bill Crofut, Meryl Streep, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Gerry Mulligan, Bela Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, Stephane Grappelli, Bobby Womack, Tower of Power, and Patti Labelle. His compositions have been performed by orchestras all around the world, including the prominent U.S. orchestras of Boston, Houston, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Washington as well as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.



The New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s Artist Residency will place Chris Brubeck in the schools, civic centers, and concert halls of the Greater New Haven community, lending his unique artistic voice and educational perspective to enrich the scope and effectiveness of music learning in New Haven and beyond. He will serve in roles as varied as: Young People’s Concert presenter to more than 8,000 students; in-school resident artist and community concert leader; mentor to the NHSO’s Junior Board; lecturer and activist for music education in Greater New Haven.


On Thursday, March 12, the NHSO will feature Brubeck in “Ansel Adams, Bernstein & Brubeck” at the Shubert Theater in New Haven. Central to the residency, this multimedia concert will include a world premiere performance of Chris’ newest composition, Time Changes for Jazz Combo and Orchestra, which he will perform side-by-side with the Jazz Band students from Guilford High School and the NHSO. The performance also will feature the Connecticut premiere of Chris and Dave Brubeck’s Grammy nominated Ansel Adams: America, a work accompanying 100 of Ansel Adams’ majestic images projected above the orchestra. The piece was nominated for a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition in 2013 and was the last piece on which Chris and his father collaborated. For tickets click here.



Chris Brubeck says, “I am honored to work with the NHSO and music director William Boughton; I have the highest regard for their commitment to music education. The marriage of jazz and classical music kicks down doors for young listeners and musicians, especially when high school musicians are featured alongside the orchestra. This is the inspiration for my newest work and the residency as a whole. It is my hope that students will see themselves in the musicians onstage and imagine a future full of music.”


NHSO Music Director William Boughton says, “We are delighted to follow our 2013 artist-in-residence, hip hop violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain, with jazz trombonist and composer Chris Brubeck. A personal highlight of the residency will be featuring Chris, the NHSO, and high school musicians in a world premiere performance at the Shubert Theater. This work will expand the orchestral genre into the world of jazz and provide inspiration to young performers and audience members for years to come.”
 

A Unique Art Studio-Retail Opportunity

Chroma Gallery, an art studio/gallery, is for sale by owner. It is located just off the Guilford Green at 20 Church Street sharing the building with Perk on Church and Off the Green businesses.

Barbara Shulman-Kirwin, (BSK) created Chroma with the desire to have a place where she could create and exhibit in the same space. This is an unusual opportunity for any artist who wants to take their talents to the next level and have a retail space that is open to the public 6-7 days/week. Located on the historic downtown Green of Guilford, CT., Chroma is an architecturally designed, open, colorful gallery with studio space in the back area and a beautifully lit, open gallery space for exhibition. The back studio area is where BSK designs and constructs her glass design pieces. Customers have the opportunity to watch the creative process as well as participate in creating and designing commissioned work. This unique space has a loyal customer base, built over the past 12 years, with lots of foot traffic, and a lively coffee shop next door. Chroma has two additional designated spaces for artist/retailers to share, enabling the business to split staffing hours and utilities. Each studio space (partner) staffs the gallery only 2 days a week in order for the gallery to be open daily.  Sharing the utility bills helps in keeping the expenses down. This is a beautiful space in the vibrant center of Guilford, CT. You can view the gallery at www.bskdesign.net. For more information, contact Barbara Shulman-Kirwin at 203.314.3250 or email at bsk@bskdesign.net. Read more

BSK is offering to teach glass fusion to the person interested in purchasing her studio/gallery. If you are an artist of any other medium, and are interested in learning about glass fusion, the mentoring is part of the sale.