Monday, November 21, 2011

Coastal Concerts brings quality music to Lewes


Coastal concerts, a determined group of volunteers in Lewes, has fulfilled their mission of bringing quality music to Southern Delaware. November 19’s concert with the Lincoln Trio was of a quality you would expect in a large city, yet without the hassle and expense.

The Lincoln Trio, formed in 2003, is an ensemble-in-residence at the Music Institute of Chicago. Desirėe Ruhstradt, violin, a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music – David Conifer, cello, a graduate of the Royal College of Music in London, and Marta Aznavoorian, piano, who studied at both Indiana University and the New England Conservatory not only have the chops to play anything you place in front of them, but they click together– listening and anticipating each other and sensing intuitively where their partners are taking the music and who will lead which phrase.

The Beethoven Piano Trio in D Major, opus 70, number 1 was executed smoothly and quietly – a pristine beginning. By the second movement, you could hear a pin drop in the hall and the Presto passages flowed like oil. The Jennifer Higdon Piano Trio (2003) starts with chords that Aznavoorian voiced masterfully, letting each tone ring for just the right amount of time. Silver Dagger (2009) written for the trio by their friend Stacy Garrop was much more of a twenty-first century adventure – the daring bonging of the piano strings with the pedal down and the strident bowings by Ruhstradt and Cunliffe created both the flavor of the country tune and the exploratory tonalities of new music.

They crowned the concert with Bedrich Smetana’s Trio in G Minor, Opus 15 – a fiery technical challenge which they played without restraint, bringing out the true melodic ringing of Smetana’s harmony and putting so much into the piece that the audience roared in response – demanding an encore with their standing ovation. The trio played Café Music by Paul Schoenfield with a bit too much speed, but the audience lapped up the jazzy delight.

The concert hall is perhaps a bit unconventional – a large church assembly room with a platform for the artists on which a lovely Steinway sits on a raised box flanked by two standing lamps. The sound was live enough so that the piano had more than its share of the combined dynamic, yet Aznavoorian played so well who could complain?

The next Coastal Concert will present Clancy Newman, cello and Noreen Cassidy-Polera, piano on January 28 at 2 p.m. in the Bethel United Methodist Hall. Why not make it a beach weekend and enjoy walking to a world class concert after lunch?

See coastalconcerts.org

See www.lincolntrio.com


Monday, November 14, 2011

Not Your Typical Christmas Show at NCT

With Thanksgiving still nearly two weeks away, it was no surprise that the crowd at New Candlelight Theater in Arden on Saturday was a bit smaller than usual. Don't expect such intimacy once the holiday season is in full swing. "A Very Candlelight Christmas" has been much-anticipated by fans of the dinner theater, not least of all because this seasonal production is an original, written and directed by NCT's Producing Artistic Director Chris Alberts and longtime friend Sonny Leo. For a theater that's done such familiar shows as "Cats" and "Annie" this season, the feeling of not having any idea what to expect is a definite change of pace.

 The show starts out like a typical Christmas variety show, complete with overly-enthusiastic hosts Katherine and Alan, comically played by Lindsay Mauck (who is underused in this production) and Tim Moudy. It's not long before the exuberant show derails, as the show-within-a-show's director, Devlin Powers (Patrick Hunt O'Hara), blows up at Katherine and sends everyone home, including his long-suffering brother Marcus (Paul Goodman). Not only does Devlin have no Christmas spirit, he's also sick to death of musical theater -- and thus begins his "Christmas Carol"-esque journey, complete with ghosts, time travel and  Bob Fosse.



A non-traditional set of Three Kings.
The NCT knows it draws lovers of musical theater, and almost all of the show's comedy references Broadway musicals. In that way, this is not a one-size-fits-all Christmas musical. It's for theater people, including die-hard fans. The Three Kings (also the ghosts of Christmas Past) are Don Quixote (Paul Goodman), the King of Siam (Andre Dion Wills) and "Fiddler on the Roof's" Teyve (Dave Snyder). Audrey III from "Little Shop of Horrors" even makes an appearance. It's more focused than it sounds, but some scenes work better than others. Tommy (Dan Sanchez) and Alan's rendition of "Baby It's Cold Outside" would have felt edgier if TV's "Glee" hadn't done a male duet version of it last Christmas, but Candlelight's version does have its own unexpected twist. And while some numbers, such as the Chanukah medley, seem to come out of nowhere, all of the musical numbers are well done. Standouts include "Shall We Dance" with young Zach Pennington and Jamieson O'Brien; "There's a Christmas Song for Every Situation" with Kaylan Wetzel Acon; and a very moving "Auld Lang Syne."

The often self-deprecating show pokes fun of beloved Broadway shows, but, of course, it's all in good fun. Just as it ultimately celebrates "that barn in Delaware," it also loves musical theater in a way only those who have made it their lives can.

"A Very Candlelight Christmas" runs through December 23; The 2012 Season starts up on January 27 with "Miss Saigon."

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Chapel Street Players present Beauty Queen of Leenane


Beauty Queen of Leenane is a neat and tight play by Martin McDonaugh, a child of Irish parents born in London where his family had emigrated just as the families of his Leenane must do in the 1989 setting. The characters he presents are also quite finely drawn.


Maureen, played with great energy by Kerry Kristine McElrone, is forty and feels as if life has passed her by. She is the youngest of three and the only maiden sister who, of course, got stuck with the harridan mother, Mag. Mary Catherine Kelley’s Mag was comic and tragic, following the intricate web that so many of us have in our relationships. She is sometimes funny and attractive and sometimes so aggravating that I was tempted to say, “Stop it” from the audience. The two actresses adroitly tossed off their alternating sweet and sours until it was hard to tell who was good, honest and true and who was a conniver.


Enter neighbor Ray Dooley, the kind of guy who is always friendly but ever-so-slightly annoying, who comes over and you immediately wish him gone. Patrick Cataract gives him a certain innocence and gentle appeal and you wonder why he seemed to be a fly on the wall to our lonely but attractive Maureen.

Maureen sets her sites on Ray’s older brother Pato, a warm and congenial guy played by David C. Hastings. Pato was not sure if Maureen’s pursuit of him was because she loves him or because she wanted to aggravate her mother. His letter to Maureen is a wonderful palette of his emotions and doubts and he delivered it in a monologue that deserved a standing ovation. (Unfortunately, our audience was terribly quiet on Friday, but it didn’t hurt the play’s quality).


The drama unfolds with revelations from everyone – with each of the characters unfolding those details they had so carefully kept under their hats during the first half of the play. Credit to McDonaugh for such a great script and for the actors and director Sean Kelly for making sure they didn’t reveal too much too soon. The next performances are November 12, 17, 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. at the Chapel Street Players on Chapel Street in Newark.


See www.chapelstreetplayers.org