Delaware Chamber Music Festival Closes 32nd Season with More Brahms & Jazz

By Christine Facciolo

The Delaware Chamber Music Festival continued its celebration of the music of Johannes Brahms June 23 through 25 with complementary works by Beethoven, Stravinsky, Mozart and Turina.

The Festival Quartet includes: Barbara Govatos, violin & DCMF Artistic Director; Hirono Oka, violin; Che-Hung Chen, viola and Clancy Newman, cello.  Guest artists this season were: Kristen Johnson, viola; Marcantonio Barone, Julie Nishimura & Natalie Zhu, pianists; Douglas Mapp, bass; Tina Betz, voice and Jonathan Whitney, arranger and director of Boysie Lowery Living Jazz Residency. 

Friday, June 23’s concert opened with a performance of Beethoven’s String Quartet in F major, Op.18, no. 1. The instrumental Brahms owes much to Beethoven, who brought many innovations to his musical genres, not the least of which was the systematic use of interlocking thematic devices to achieve intra- and inter-movement unity in long compositions.

The six quartets that make up the Op. 18 set were Beethoven’s way of announcing to the world that he was to be taken seriously as a composer. It was evident that the musicians viewed the work not as the apogee of 18th Century Viennese Classicism, but rather as a transitional work that looked forward to the composer’s middle period.

That approach was made plain in the slow movement, which was presented as a deeply felt lament. Here Beethoven goes far beyond Haydn, writing in an emotional intensity — the movement is his musical depiction of the tomb scene of “Romeo and Juliet” — that must have shocked his contemporaries. The finale was energetic and incisive, elegant and charming.

Guest artists Hirono Oka (violin) and Marcantonio Barone (piano) collaborated in a tour de force rendering of Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne, a 1930s work arranged from the ballet Pulcinella. Stravinsky based Pulcinella on music that had been attributed (probably erroneously) to the 18th Century Italian composer Giovanni Pergolesi. The result is not an antiquarian piece but a seamless fusion of the old and the new. Stravinsky maintained the courtly character of the Baroque melodies but spiced up the music with pungent harmonies and updated rhythms.

Oka and Barone respected the 18th Century influences in a refined performance full of spongy Baroque rhythms. But they also played with ample color and expression, making the music sound decidedly contemporary. Oka’s tone was both sweet and luminous and decisive.

The lighthearted character of the Suite Italienne gave way to the symphonic grandeur of Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34. Brahms published the work when he was 32 years old, but by then it had gone through several transformations: it began as a string quintet in 1862 and was rescored as a work for two pianos until Brahms gave it its final form.

This is a work of surging passion, tempered only momentarily by the softer-edged Andante. Govatos, Oka, Chen, Newman and Barone conveyed the full-bodied Romanticism of the two outer movements and the driven Scherzo and a plaintive, soulful rendering of the slow movement. Yet as heated as the music got, the ensemble kept the texture remarkably transparent. Viola and cello lines were never buried yet the group produced a solid, powerful sound.

On Saturday, June 24, concertgoers headed to the Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew in downtown Wilmington for a free concert, marking the first collaboration between the DCMF and the residents of the Boysie Lowery Living Jazz Residency. Six residents were given a week to compose a work that incorporated a classical string quartet — a first for these talented young artists.

Each composition was noteworthy but Sasquatch by vibraphonist Grady Tesch brought down the house. Tesch also excelled as a featured player in Mike Talento’s Half and Half and as lyricist and vocalist in Ike Spivak’s Plot Twist, which recounted the musical journeys of jazz luminaries.

Jazz vocalist Isabel Crespo gave a plaintive rendering of her composition Hide and Seek, while trombonist Kristin Monroe ably combined elements of jazz and classical in Coasting Equilibrium, her contribution in the tradition of Astor Piazzolla’s nuevo tango. Libby Larsen kept the musicians moving — especially pianist Julie Nishimura — with the kinetic energy of Four on the Floor.

Tina Betz, also executive director of the Light Up the Queen Foundation, applied her dramatic contralto to a powerful rendering of Strange Fruit, a song about lynching made famous by the late Billie Holiday. Douglas Mapp, associate principal bass with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, joined the string quartet to accompany. The song was arranged for this performance by Boysie Lowery director, Jonathan Whitney.

Sunday, June 25’s program opened with Mozart’s Divertimento in D major, K. 136, the first of a group of works known collectively as the “Salzburg” symphonies. The work was performed at the request of DCMF Board President Carolyn Luttrell. Govatos, Oka, Chen and Newman played with a nimbleness and precision that underscored the decorous elegance of a work that can only be described as a masterpiece on the smallest possible scale.

Pianist Natalie Zhu joined Govatos, Chen and Newman in a seductive and sensitive performance of Joaquin Turina’s Piano Quarter in A minor, Op. 67. Composed in 1931, this gently melancholic work resonates with the vivid harmonies and impetuous rhythms of Spanish folk music yet at the same time bears the imprint of impressionists’ influence in its spacious, colorful textures.

The program — and season — concluded with a performance of Brahms’ breathtaking Quintet in G major, Op. 111. Orchestra in conception, this piece creates the effect of far more than five players. This was a passionate performance. Cellist Newman was more than equal to the full opening of the first movement. The Adagio was rapt intensity; the Allegretto wistful and the finale, robust.

See www.dcmf.org. 

A Mini-Celebration of Brahms Opens the 32nd Delaware Chamber Music Festival

By Christine Facciolo

The Delaware Chamber Music Festival (DCMF) opened its 2017 season on Friday, June 16 with a celebration of the music of a composer many find difficult to love: Johannes Brahms.

Indeed, the “Brahms problem” never seems to go away. Over and over, we hear complaints that his music is “too romantic,” albeit not excitingly romantic like Chopin or his mentor Schumann. At the same time, he’s charged with being too intellectual and not sensuous enough.

One thing, however, is certain: Brahms’ oeuvre occupies a unique position in the history of Western music. Looking Janus-like both to the music of the past and towards the innovations of future generations, Brahms’ music has shaped our understanding of composers from the Renaissance and Baroque periods to the present-day.

Violinist and DCMF Artistic Director Barbara Govatos has curated a series that acknowledges the tensions between modernism and tradition. Each of the four concerts offers a master work by Brahms as well as works by Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven, Stravinsky and others.

The level of playing was extremely high. The Festival Quartet — Govatos, Che-Hung Chen, viola, Hirono Oka, violin — includes musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Guest artists for the first weekend of concerts included pianists Marcantonio Barone, Julie Nishimura and Natalie Zhu.

Friday evening’s program opened with a performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Piano Trio, a nod to the Festival’s theme “Strings and Keys.” Like Scriabin, color and visual imagery figure prominently in her compositional process. This two-movement work attempts an aural depiction of the colors “Pale Yellow” and “Fiery Red.”

Govatos, pianist Natalie Zhu and cellist Clancy Newman delivered a performance that truly highlighted character of the movement titles: subtle and relaxed for the first, energetic and rhythmically decisive for the second. Perception is personal but if audience response was any indication, both musicians and composer succeeded in achieving the two vastly contrasting moods.

Violist Che-Hung Chen then joined Govatos and Newman in a performance of the Serenade in C major for String Trio by Hungarian composer Erno Dohnanyi. Dohnanyi became a devotee of Brahms while studying at the National Hungarian Academy of Music. Brahms would later promote the fledgling composer’s first published composition, the Piano Quintet in C minor.

Govatos and company offered an impressive performance of the Serenade characterized by a warm tone, a relaxed demeanor and the ability to search out the subtler aspects of the score.

Zhu rejoined the ensemble following intermission for a performance of Brahms’ Piano Quartet in G minor. The work premiered in Hamburg in 1861 with Clara Schumann at the piano. It was orchestrated in 1937 by Arnold Schoenberg who would call Brahms “the reluctant revolutionary” for the way he developed his thematic material, techniques for which Schoenberg himself would become famous.

The ensemble gave a reading that conveyed both the sweetness and simmer of the first movement; the introspective character of the second and the dreamy grandness of the third. The Hungarian, Rondo finale was pure fire, the rhythmic and metric complexities so meticulously executed that the audience rose to its feet with gasps of delight and thunderous applause.

Sunday’s program opened with the Fantasie in F minor for piano, four hands by Franz Schubert. Not a bad choice, since Schubert was one of Brahms’ favorite composers, so much so that he cast the aforementioned piano quartet in the Schubertean mold.

Schubert was after the Mozart the major composer of original four-hand piano music. The Fantasie comes from the last year of the composer’s life. It consists of four movements of unequal proportions. Guest pianists Julie Nishimura and Marcantonio Barone played as one entity, making very clear the architecture of the piece yet never obscuring the wonderful niceties like Schubert’s amazing sense of harmony and canonic writing.

Govatos and Barone did justice to the passion and pathos of Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, a work dedicated to the memory of Spanish poet, playwright and theatre director Frederico Garcia Lorca, who was murdered by Nationalist forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. Although Poulenc railed against a “prima donna” violin above an arpeggio piano accompaniment, he followed Brahms’ example in this work by giving each instrument a challenging yet balanced part.

Govatos, Barone and cellist Clancy Newman concluded the concert with a rendering of Brahms’ Piano Trio, No. 2 in C major. The three musicians gave the work the disciplined and coordinated interaction its complex lines demand and judging by audience reaction, achieved the desired result.

The Delaware Chamber Music Festival continues Friday, June 23, 7:30pm and Sunday, June 25, 3:00pm at Wilmington Friends Lower School. A Saturday, June 24, 4:00pm FREE Jazz Concert will also be performed at the Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew, in collaboration with the Boysie Lowery Living Jazz Residency Program (Jonathan Whitney, Director. For full details, visit www.dcmf.org.

Spending a Midsummer Night in Arden

By Guest Blogger, Mike Logothetis
Mike Logothetis grew up in North Wilmington, performing in school and local theater productions. He lives in Newark, but you can find him wherever the arts are good.

This June, the Arden Shakespeare Gild continues its 100-year tradition of homegrown performance with one of the most popular and enduring of The Bard’s comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While the production was slated to play outside in “The Field,” rain unfortunately moved the show inside Gild Hall on the night of my review. While no essence or execution was compromised, I wish I could have witnessed the sprite-ly fairies dancing in actual grass among the magical woods of Arden. I couldn’t imagine a better setting for this play…honestly!

But inside the cozy confines of Gild Hall, the audience was introduced to the entire cast as the actors entered the theater singing Over The Hills, which is the marching song of the Arden Players. An accompaniment of lute/mandolin and flute offered a musical arm to the production and added depth to certain scenes.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream invites the audience into three distinct spheres: An enchanted forest, a noble court in Athens where two sets of lovers prove that “the course of true love never did run smooth,” and the workaday world of a semi-professional acting troupe. In proper Shakespearean style, these three worlds eventually collide with hilarity, wit, and romance.

The play consists of several interconnecting plotlines – linked to a celebration of the wedding of ruling nobleman Theseus (Lee Jordan) to Hippolyta (Jessica Jordan) – and run simultaneously through the outlying forest.

The play opens with Hermia (Emma Orr) being in love with Lysander (Colin Gregory Antes) and resistant to her father Egeus' (Christopher Wright) arrangement to marry her off to Demetrius (Henry Moncure IV). Enraged, Egeus invokes an ancient Athenian law before Theseus, whereby a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by her father or face death. Theseus offers her another choice: lifelong chastity outside of matrimony. Strong-willed Hermia dislikes both options.

In a parallel plot line, Oberon (Lee Jordan), king of the fairies, and Titania (Jessica Jordan), his estranged queen, have come to the forest outside Athens. The mischievous Oberon calls upon “shrewd and knavish sprite” Puck (Kirsten Valania) to help him formulate a magical essence derived from a rare flower. When the concoction is applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, that person falls in love with the first living thing he perceives upon waking. Oberon hopes that he might make Titania fall in love with a beast of the forest and thereby shame her back under his influence. It should be noted that the in-life married couple of Lee and Jessica Jordan have wonderful on-stage presence and chemistry.

Meanwhile, Lysander convinces Hermia to elope, which she confides to friend Helena (Jessica Fields). Desperate to win the love of Demetrius, Helena tells him about the plan and he follows the lovers into the woods with plans of killing Lysander. Not wanting to miss her chance at love, Helena chases Demetrius, who rebuffs her attempts at wooing him away from Hermia.

Secretly observing Demetrius hurling cruel insults at Helena, Oberon orders Puck to spread some of the magical potion on the eyelids of the young Athenian man. Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and administers the juice to the sleeping Lysander. Coming across him, Helena wakes him while attempting to determine whether he is dead or asleep. Lysander immediately falls in love with Helena. Oberon sees Demetrius still following Hermia and becomes enraged. When Demetrius goes to sleep, Oberon sends Puck to get Helena while he charms Demetrius’ eyes.

Upon waking, Demetrius sees Helena and now both young men are in avid pursuit of her. However, she is convinced that her two suitors are mocking her, as neither loved her originally. At this juncture, Jessica Fields brings Helena’s confusion and anger to the forefront in several engaging arguments and rants. She started as a subservient maiden, but roared to life as a dominant woman using choice couplets and deft body movements to pull the audience towards her sympathies – a strong performance.

Of course, Hermia is now at a loss to see why her lover has abandoned her. The four quarrel with each other until Lysander and Demetrius become so enraged that they seek a place to duel to prove whose love for Helena is greatest. Oberon orders Puck to keep Lysander and Demetrius apart and to remove the charm from Lysander so Lysander can love Hermia again, while Demetrius will continue to love Helena.

All the while, Peter Quince (Henry Moncure III) and his fellow “Mechanicals” Nick Bottom (Dave Hastings), Francis Flute (Gene Dzielak), Robin Starveling (Sean McGuire), Tom Snout (Tom Wheeler), and Snug (Allan Kleban) plan to put on a play for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Bottom, who is playing the main role, is over-enthusiastic and wants to dominate others by suggesting he play three key roles himself. Dave Hastings shines in his role of Bottom and steals most scenes he’s in. Quince sets rehearsal for a clearing in the forest. (Where else?!)

At rehearsal, bombastic Bottom is noticed by a hidden Puck who transforms his head into that of a donkey. Titania, having received the love-potion, is awakened by Bottom’s singing and immediately falls in love with him. She lavishes him with the attention of her and her fairies, in which he revels. After some time Oberon releases Titania, orders Puck to remove the donkey's head from Bottom, and arranges everything so Helena, Hermia, Demetrius, and Lysander will all believe they have been dreaming when they awaken in the morning.

Theseus and Hippolyta arrive and wake the sleeping lovers, who are now properly coupled. Egeus demands and arranges a group wedding in Athens, which would be a perfectly acceptable way to end A Midsummer Night’s Dream; however, Shakespeare gives his audience a good deal more in the form of a “play within the play” performed by Quince’s men.

Back in Athens, Theseus, Hippolyta and the four lovers watch the six actors perform the tragedy Pyramus and Thisbe. The performers are so terrible playing their roles that the guests laugh as if it were meant to be a comedy. The audience in Gild Hall laughed mightily throughout the show, but this micro-play had us all in stitches.

After all the other characters leave, the excellent Kirsten Valania as Puck “restores amends” and suggests that what the audience experienced might just be a dream. If it was, it was a good dream.

Director Tanya Lazar muses: “It is always the language that draws me to a play selection – and A Midsummer Night’s Dream has some of Shakespeare’s most lyrical lines. For instance, Duke Theseus speaks of the ‘lunatic, the lover and the poet’ as one being, and Lysander mourns the loss of his true love with, ‘So quick bright things come to confusion’. I was also drawn to a comparison between Midsummers, a comedy, and Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy. Indeed, the ‘play within the play’ performed by the Mechanicals is a new and often hilarious take on that revered tragedy.”

The cast also included Eric Merlino as Philostrate plus Alexandra Rubincan, Olivia Hayward, Julien Eppler, Sophia Eppler, and Amalia Slattery as assorted fairies. I would be remiss to omit the wonderfully witty and informative call to intermission – read in rhyming iambic pentameter.

This year’s production is a salute to the talented veterans who have performed in Arden for many years and a nod to the next generation of actors who continue this grand tradition.

A member organization of the Arden Club, the Arden Shakespeare Gild is dedicated to including everyone with an interest in Shakespeare, both as audience and as participant. The Gild produces one of Shakespeare’s plays each summer in the open-air Frank Stephens Memorial Theater in Arden. Each winter the members direct a Young Actors Workshop for kids from age 6 through high school. The Gild also sponsors lectures, readings, and social activities throughout the year.

Remaining performances are June 22, 23 and 24 at 7:30pm. The shows take place outside at the Frank Stephens Memorial Theater (aka The Field Theater) adjacent to the Arden Village Green. Performances move to Gild Hall in the event of rain. Call 302.475.3126, Mailbox 4 to reserve your tickets or go to www.ardenshakes.com for online ordering. Prices are $12; $5 children 12 & under.

Wilmington Artist's "Bridge to Success" Unveiled with 8th Avenue Collective Group

This post courtesy of guest blogger, Jasmine Brown, Jasmine is the owner of 8th Avenue Collective Group, a creative agency based in Wilmington. 

Haneef Salaam is a rapper from Southbridge in Wilmington. His music is uplifting and motivating, which makes anyone be able to relate to it. We suggest playing his debut album Bridge To Success first thing in the morning while getting ready for the day. It will certainly change your perspective. 

On Thursday, June 15, the room at ArtzScape was filled with Haneef’s family, friends and supporters. People from all walks of life came to check out Haneef Salaam and his inspiring music. Light refreshments were served to guests as they sat and listened to Haneef’s curated selections from his album. The night was broken up by two intermissions, raffles and interviews. Overall, it was a relaxing event with people networking, mixing and mingling over great food and even better music.

“Stop acting and reacting in chaos.”

            --- Haneef Salaam

“If you keep doing what you always did, then you’re going to keep getting what you always got.”

            --- Haneef Salaam

8^th Avenue Collective Group is a creative agency that helps artists, makers and doers create and share in their communities. They provide a digital and physical platform for creatives to network and broaden their horizons in order to reach goals and maximize potential. Its next event is Paint & Chill on Friday, June 30, 2017, at 5:00pm. It will be a relaxed evening of painting. No instructor, so guests can paint what they wish as they listen to music and enjoy light refreshments. Location is Artist Ave Station, 800 N. Tatnall Street, Wilmington, DE 19801.

Wilmington's Summer in the Parks Turns 5

This post comes from a release courtesy of The City of Wilmington...

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki and The Grand Executive Director Mark Fields today announced details about the fifth season of Summer in the Parks, a series of interactive cultural experiences provided free in Wilmington’s neighborhood parks. The program, a collaboration between the City and The Grand, will feature more than 60 events in 13 parks and public spaces across the city.

Each week, Summer in the Parks will feature cultural programs on a fixed schedule in eight city parks, including Haynes, Tilton, Holloway, Woodlawn, Prices Run, Barbara Hicks, Judy Johnson, and the Helen Chambers Playground. In addition, each week will feature a more traditional concert during the early evening. While The Grand serves as producer for the innovative program, it draws on a wide variety of artistic talent from Wilmington and the region.

“The partnership between the City and The Grand has produced unique and outstanding programs which children and families have enjoyed for the past few years,” said Mayor Purzycki. “We are pleased to present another summer of fun, entertainment and interactive opportunities in our City parks.”

All of the Summer in the Parks activities are designed to be more than presentations or performances by including some component of audience participation or interactivity, such as storytelling, theater, art, music, dance, and crafts. Summer in the Parks will showcase a total of 191 individual artists this summer representing 32 cultural organizations and groups. A full schedule of daytime and evening activities can be found on The Grand’s website.

Pamelyn Manocchio, The Grand’s Director of Community Engagement, is the producing coordinator for Summer in the Parks. “These seven weeks represent some of the most creative, engaged people from the arts community. All of them are dedicated to the idea of taking art out of our theaters and studios and right into the heart of these neighborhoods. We’re not asking the people to come to the art. We’re bringing the art directly to the city residents.”

“We’re extremely proud of this program,” said Fields, “for what it does for the city’s youth and families, but also what it demonstrates about the highly collaborative arts community we have created through the years. Summer in the Parks is a testament to the dynamic contribution the arts makes to the city all year long.”

Summer in the Parks 2017 Schedule: June 26-August 10 (no programs July 4)

Weekday Mornings 9:30-10:30am 

• MONDAY: Haynes Park (N. Franklin – W. 30th & 32nd Streets) 
• TUESDAY: Woodlawn Park (4th & Ferris Streets) 
• WEDNESDAY: Tilton Park (N. Franklin – W. 7th & 8th Streets) 
• THURSDAY: Helen Chambers Playground (N. Madison & W. 6th Streets) 

Weekday Afternoons 12:00-1:00pm

• MONDAY: Barbara Hicks Park (Bradford & B Streets) 
• TUESDAY: Holloway Park (N. Lombard & E. 7th Streets) 
• WEDNESDAY: Prices Run (BBW Park at N. Locust & E. 23rd Streets) 
• THURSDAY: Judy Johnson Park (N. Dupont & W. 3rd Streets) Evening Events for Families 6:00-7:30pm

Evening Events for Families 6:00-7:30pm

• WEDNESDAY 6/28: Union Park Gardens (S. Bancroft Parkway & S. Sycamore Street) Elbert-Palmer Drum Line & Diamond State Concert Band 
• THURSDAY, 7/6: DCH Urban Farm (E. 12th & Brandywine Streets) Antony & Friends 
• THURSDAY, 7/13: Haynes Park (N. Franklin – W. 30th & 32nd Streets) Christina Cultural Arts Center 
• THURSDAY, 7/20: Tilton Park (N. Franklin – W. 7th & 8th Streets) Dance4Life 
• THURSDAY, 7/27: Judy Johnson Park (N. Dupont & W. 3rd Streets) Pristine Raeign 
• THURSDAY, 8/3: Kosciuszko Park (Sycamore & S. Broom Streets) Richard Raw Productions 
• FRIDAY, 8/4: Stapler Park (W. 16th & N. Union Streets) Wilmington Ballet 
• THURSDAY, 8/10: Elbert Park (S. Buttonwood & D Streets) Atiba Music & Carib 

Featured artists include: Almanac Dance Circus Theatre, ASCAB Capoeira Delaware, Delaware Art Museum, Delaware Contemporary, Delaware Shakespeare, First State Ballet Theatre, FLYOGI, Found Art Fun, GCJ Uniques, Griots Wa Umoja, Illstyle & Peace, Janina Williams World Music, LaFate Gallery, Maya Belardo Music, Minas, Music School of Delaware, Philly Vibes, Pieces of a Dream, TAHIRA, Walt the Street Dog, Warm Hugs Good Hearts, Wilmington Drama League, Yoco Knit Shop.

Art Museum Kicks Off Summer with Thursday Happy Hours

This post comes from a release courtesy of Delaware Art Museum...

To kick off summer, the Delaware Art Museum is hosting Happy Hours every Thursday --- June 29 through September 14 --- from 5:00-7:00pm on the Museum's back terrace in the Copeland Sculpture Garden or in the Thronson Café during inclement weather. Drinks and food specials will be provided by Toscana, the Museum's exclusive caterer. 

Special themed Happy Hours will take place on select dates throughout the summer. On June 29, July 6, and July 13, guests will enjoy local musician Seth Tillman on vocals and acoustic guitar. On July 27, the Museum will host a special Game Night featuring bean bag toss, Jenga, and other outdoor games. On August 31, visitors are invited to bring their four-legged friends for Doggy Day Happy Hour, with special dog treats included. All dogs must be leashed during the event.

Visitors are also invited to enjoy the special exhibition The Original Mad Man: Illustrations by Mac Conner (on view June 24-September 17) and retro-inspired cocktails Thursday evenings. This comprehensive and lively installation explores the work of one of America's original "Mad Men." McCauley ("Mac") Conner (born 1913) created advertising campaigns for a variety of products during the decade when the advertising industry was at its height and centered on Madison Avenue.

Mac Conner's illustrations for leading women's magazines such as Redbook and McCall's animated a wide range of popular literature, from romantic fiction and detective stories, to topics of import such as Cold War anxiety and juvenile delinquency. His work is a "time capsule" of an era when commercial artists helped to redefine American style and culture.

Always on view are the Museum's renowned collection of British Pre-Raphaelite art and the spectacular collection of American art and Illustration.

The Thronson Café is open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Thursdays, 11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m., and Sundays, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. 

See www.delart.org. 

Finally, Some American Idiots with Something to Say (or Sing)

By Guest Blogger, Dan Sanchez

Dan holds a BA in Theatre Production from the University of Delaware and has studied theatre around the world. Dan has worked extensively both onstage and behind the scenes across the Mid-Atlantic Region with theaters such as Three Little Bakers, The Candlelight Theatre, the Philadelphia Theatre Project, The Milburn Stone Theatre and Phoenix Festival Theater. 

“If you don’t like sex, drugs, rock-and-roll, and cursing, you’re in the wrong show,” said Wilmington Drama League's Stage/Production Manager, Kathy Buterbaugh during her Saturday, June 10, curtain speech. “This is a 90-minute show without an intermission; so I hope you have three beers because once this thing starts, it just goes!”

And, boy, does it! Based on Green Day’s 2004 album American Idiot, Director Chris Turner brings the show to life on the Wilmington Drama League (WDL) stage with a cacophony of song and dance in a story of love, loss and redemption.

Originally conceived as a rock-opera by Green Day frontman Billy Joe Armstrong, the band had always intended for this music be performed on stage a la The Who’s Tommy, and used their 2004 album release as a sort of demo. Flash forward to September 2009: The show is running at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California. It was then transferred to the St. James Theatre on Broadway where the musical officially opened on April 20, 2010. The show closed on April 24, 2011 after 422 performances.

The musical won two 2010 Tony Awards for Best Scenic Design of a Musical and Best Lighting Design of a Musical. It was also nominated for Best Musical that same year but lost out to Memphis. In 2011, the Broadway Cast Recording of American Idiot won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

The basic storyline of American Idiot is flimsy but familiar: Three young suburbanite kids get bored/feel trapped with their mundane lives – as well as mommy and daddy’s rules – and decide to break free.

Subsequently, one (Will, played by William Bryant) stays home after finding out his girlfriend, Heather, is expecting. Another (Tunny, played by Ben Long) joins the military and is shipped off to war. And, in a role originated by and named for Wilmington native Johnny Gallagher, Jr. (Original Cast of Spring Awakening. TV & Film: The Newsroom, 10 Cloverfield Lane) is Brandon Zebley as Johnny, who yearns to break free and live a less than humdrum life, ultimately turns to drugs.

Rounding out the cast of Wilmington Drama League production is an energetic bunch of local talent: Alexander Cook, Gina Dzielak, Kendra Eckbold, Marion Jackson (Heather), Daulton Mahley, Darby McLaughlin (Whatshername), Ty Pride (Extraordinary Girl), Felipe Rocha, Chrissy Stief and Shane Wilson.

Tony Delnegro’s interactive set features multiple levels, a plethora of flatscreen TVs, graffiti, and gives a sense of an urban everywhere and a dystopian nowhere, providing an ample playground for the shows many locales. Combined with smart lighting design by Aaron Cook and Brian Kavanaugh, this production also employs two projectors focused on the walls of the house to immerse the audience in a world of ever-changing imagery – by Banksy, a city skyline and more – to set the mood perfectly.

The choreography by WDL perennial Dominic Santos manipulates tribal-like movements and punk-rock head-banging to evoke the angst and feelings of disenfranchised young adults.

Standout performances among the talented cast come from the ladies opposite of our main character trio; Marion Jackson as the pregnant and disappointed Heather; Darby McLaughlin as the sultry vixen Whatshername; and Ty Pride as the Extraordinary Girl. Each of these young ladies have angelic voices that effortlessly soar through each song they belt.

The real highlight of this show, however, is the band who rocks out on this non-stop wave of music with the energy and vigor of an actual Green Day concert. But, of particular note, is Music Director/Band Leader, Caty Butler. This young talent takes the stage for the first time in American Idiot as the enticing smack dealer St. Jimmy, a role traditionally played by a man and one she only stepped into a week before opening. Butler outright owns this role and commands the stage with her vocal prowess. I look forward to watching her continue grow as a musician and wait with baited breath to see her onstage as an actor again.

Though I did over hear an older patron ask, “What the hell did I just watch?” after the show, I would say that’s a good indication that this ain’t your NaNa’s Broadway and highly recommend checking out the charismatic production of this high-concept rock-opera before it’s gone.

American Idiot at the Wilmington Drama League runs through June 18. Tickets are available via the Drama League website www.WilmingtonDramaLeague.org or via phone at 302.764.1172.

Ladybug Festival Announces Chase As Presenting Sponsor

This post content comes from a press release from Gable Music Ventures...

The sixth annual Ladybug Festival, celebrating women in music, is getting a boost from the local business community as Chase has agreed to serve as the presenting sponsor for the event.

Festival organizers Gable Music Ventures say the support is one of the reasons an expansion is possible for this year. “This support from Chase demonstrates their commitment to the revitalization of Wilmington. With this additional support we are able to expand the event to include a second day, which enables us to hire more independent artists and bring more business into downtown Wilmington,” says Jeremy Hebbel, co-owner of Gable Music Ventures. 

Gayle Dillman, founder and owner of Gable Music Ventures, says that this support from Chase speaks to the company’s direct support of the businesses on Market Street, independent artists, and other small businesses that participate in the event. “The support that Chase is putting into this event will allow us not only to physically grow the event, but will provide much needed advertising and marketing dollars so that more residents of the city of Wilmington know the event is happening, and that it is free for all to attend." 

“With more than 3,000 employees working in Downtown Wilmington, Chase is committed to supporting the city’s efforts to bring fun-filled cultural activities downtown,” said Jenn Piepszak, CEO of Chase’s credit card business. “We’re also thrilled to be able to be involved in such a diverse event.”

In addition to the support of Chase this year, other key players in the business community fund the event which allows for Gable Music Ventures to offer up so much entertainment at no cost to attendees.  Sponsors this year include previous funders ShopRite, City of Wilmington Mayor’s Office, the 2nd & LOMA neighborhood, Downtown Visions, Trellist, AAA MidAtlantic, and InWilmington.  

New sponsors this year include Chase, Capital One, ResideBPG, Lyons Insurance, and Lyft which is the exclusive transportation sponsor offering discounted rides to festival attendees.  

“The City is pleased to support this year’s festival because it provides an important entertainment venue for Wilmington residents and visitors to our wonderful City,” said Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki. “My thanks to all of the musicians, organizers, sponsors and supporters who have helped to grow the Ladybug Festival each year.”

See theladybugfestival.com. 

New Project Melds Passion for Arts & Animals

Information in this post comes from a post from Delaware Humane Association...

Photo courtesy of Delaware Humane Association.

Calling all local artists! Delaware Humane Association (DHA) is looking to display pet-related art (but pet-related themes are not required) in its new storefront adoption center in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

The goal is to display and sell works onsite, with a portion of sale proceeds benefiting DHA. An exhibit opening or reception could be a part of the submitting artist's agreement.

Delaware Humane Association will display a different artist's work for varying periods of time. If you are interested or know someone who may be, please contact DHA's Adoption Center Manager Jody Rini at JRini@delawarehumane.org.