Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Les Six


The Delaware Symphony champagne series at the Hotel DuPont Gold Ballroom October 4 was a whirling delight of early twentieth century compositions. The program featured DSO woodwind principals and principal French horn in five solos and a grand finale sextet.


Pianist Lura Johnson, recently named principal piano to the DSO, was a powerhouse – playing every one of the quite difficult pieces and bonding extremely well with all five soloists. William Short was able to show his marvelous tone in both high and low registers in Henri Dutilleux’s Sarabande et cortege for bassoon and piano. (Having heard him play in Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra in both his final Curtis concert and the recent DSO opening, his smooth sound and control was no surprise.)


Charles Salinger’s arrangement of Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei for clarinet was a more somber and subtle piece, allowing Salinger to show his amazing control and dynamic gradations in a narrow range of sound. Karen Schubert’s horn sound in Paul Dukas’ Villanelle for horn and piano had the volume needed in that room to stand against the full sound of the grand piano’s open lid and Johnson’s strong attacks.


Jeff O’Donnell’s delicate oboe sound (which had been sorely missed during his year-long hiatus from the DSO) and Kimberly Reighley’s flute were both high enough to be in an almost different sound zone from the piano and this enhanced the effect of each performance, allowing their control and technical brilliance to be clearly heard.


And the Poulenc sextet was one of those moments in musical performances where everything seemed to click among the six musicians – the rollicking music resounded in the ballroom – and here is where the strength of Johnson’s piano playing really showed. What other pianist could have prepared that many notes for a single evening’s concert and still play with energy and gusto up to the very last note?


See www.delawaresymphony.org.


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Newest Blogger Lives It Up at "The Life"

Charles "Ebbie" Alfree, III is the newest blogger at Delaware Arts Info! We welcome him aboard and hope you enjoy his first installment!

The Wilmington Drama League opened its 2011–12 season with the Cy Coleman Broadway musical, The Life. The show chronicles the trials and tribulations of prostitutes and pimps in New York City the early 1980s—in those days before Disney and chain restaurants reformed 42nd Street and families began visiting the city again.
Watching the production, directed by the incomparable Tina M. Sheing, I realized how much prostitutes and everyday people actually have in common in the workplace.  Sure prostitutes might not have offices like a high-powered lawyer or executive, but they deal with the same pressures — contending with sexual harassment, working long hours, having coffee (or beer) breaks cut short.  In addition, there are the everyday stresses all people confront in their personal lives — balancing careers and relationships, worrying about getting older, wanting to be loved.  I’m sure all people can relate to at least one of these issues.
Although I was thinking about these similarities during the show, it didn’t stop me from enjoying the action on the stage! I was entertained by the show’s R&B and gospel–inspired musical numbers brought to “life” under the music direction of Matt Casarino.  The terrific performers, many in heels, brought dance numbers alive with some Fosse-esque choreography by Jody Anderson.
I must admit I loved listening to the lead prostitutes, best friends Queen (played by Sharon Brown Ruegsegger) and Sonja (played by Rebecca Gallatin), sing duets. By themselves their voices were strong, but combined they soared!  I also loved that Ms. Gallatin’s look was reminiscent of (get ready for a retro reference) Nancy Allen in Dressed to Kill.
The Life might have ended its run (closing night was October 2), but WDL is ending their season with another show of similar working girls – The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (May 4-19, 2012)!  And, I must admit I’m looking forward to their upcoming production, Barefoot in the Park (October 28-November 12)…One of my faves!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Passing Strange at Bootless

Stew, the creator/subject of Passing Strange, and collaborator Heidi Rodewald chose just five theater groups in the US to perform the stage version of the show this year; Wilmington's Bootless Artworks was one of them. Still essentially homeless (they are taking up in The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew & Matthew in downtown Wilmington for this show), Bootless continues to show that they're a major force in Delaware theater.

My last Bootless show was The Pillowman, an incredible, and incredibly dark, comic piece put on in an empty outlet store on the Riverfront. Passing Strange is positively light in comparison, but the journey is deep and real.

Directed by Malika Oyetimein and James W. Fuerst, the musical is narrated by Stew (Jerry Rudasill), who introduces his teenage self (Cory Hindorff) and his mother (Cherie Jazman), a comfortably middle class black family in Los Angeles. She drags him to church, where he finds after-hours inspiration from the secretly free-spirited choir director (B.K. Elam) who never left home. His punk band flounders, and, terrified of never moving past his neighborhood, he leaves his mother for Europe -- and the promise of creative freedom, sex and drugs. The farther he gets from home, the farther he gets from himself, until his life is a performance of "passing," gaining acceptance from a group of German radicals by using his non-existent ghetto street cred. Humorous, yes, and also quite poignant. The Narrator was shaped by the choices made by his naive young self, but it wasn't without loss.

Hindorff is a star. And by that I don't just mean the star of this production, which he is, but a star, period. It's what I thought when I saw him in Cats at NCT in January, and my feeling has only been reinforced with Passing Strange. The ensemble includes four actors who take on triple roles as characters in LA, Amsterdam and Berlin -- Candace Thomas, Kori Beaman, Keith Wallace and B.K. Elam -- all of whom transformed dramatically and convincingly throughout.

The show features a live band, which was one of the main concepts of the original version, Travelogue. On preview night, the band sounded great, but at times drowned out the stage performers. Hopefully, the sound issues have been resolved.

Passing Strange runs through October 15. Ages 15 and up. For tickets, click here.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Wilmo on the Fringe


Wednesday night, again at the Queen! Although this time hubby and I are among the crowd enjoying the night of the Fringe Wilmington Performance Preview Party.  Among the many folks-about-town and dignitaries that packed the room of Upstairs Live, we were treated to the unique sounds of show starters, The Obsoleets.

The ensemble, armed with a musical arsenal that includes guitars, drums, an upright bass, accordion, mandolin, violin, erhu (although not tonight) and more, was made complete by the conspicuously placed and remarkably integrated new member, DJ Leon Barton.  It was, at first, an unlikely mix that ultimately made amazing sense.

Playing rare and period selections (think 1920s Bessie Smith), they fused the tunes with Leon’s subtle yet genius scratchwork, creating a fabulous—dare I say, fringy—new genre. What is it? Low country, bluegrass, folk? Our next-door tablemates said it reminded them of the New Orleans music scene. Whatever they call it, I want to hear more of it in Wilmo!


Onto the Performance Previews: There are more than 30 artists and 200 performances running at Fringe Wilmo now through Sunday, and each artist/group was able to give a 3-minute teaser of their performance at the preview. Some that struck my interest: A Contemporary Folk Evening with Flyground (Flyground, dance); One Word (MM2, dance); Dirk Darrow: NCSSI (Tim Motley, comedy/murder mystery); and No Diva Left Behind (Augustine Mercante, vocal & piano).  Check them out on the website and go get your fringe on!

In addition to main performances, tonight (Friday, September 23) there’s the Film Bros.’ Festival of Shorts at Theatre N; the Fringe 48-Filmmaking Competition; a Knights vs. Pirates Foam Sword Battle (ADULT & KID FRINGE?  awesome!) in Willingtown Square, Saturday, September 24, from 2:00-5:00pm, thrown by our pal DÉminence Grise; and of course, the Visual Fringe exhibition at the Chris White Gallery at Shipley Lofts.  Don't miss Fringe Wilmo 3.0!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Newark Film Fest




Cave of Forgotten Dreams is a Werner Herzog creation which is about the Chauvet caves. These caves were sealed off by a rock slide about 20,000 years ago so that when they were discovered by cavers on 13 December 1994, they were remarkably preserved. Some of the art in the caves is 38,000 years old. Herzog got permission from the French government to film the cave for this film which was released in 2010. Herzog narrates in fairly good English but also invites some French scientists and a perfumer who have accents that make them a sure winner for a Maurice Chevalier talk-alike contest. They were so laughable that I expected Peter Sellers to come on screen at any minute. The three dimensional photography of the caves is spectacular, but the broken English interviews is more absurd than any Pink Panther episode and the Herzog epilog was most puzzling.


Double hour (Doppia ora), 2009, directed by Giuseppe Capotondi, is a complex thriller about a hotel maid who meets a former policeman at a speed dating session. The two seem to click, but then events take a somber turn as they start their romance. Kseniya Rappoport emanates a waif-like character who is absolutely fascinating.


Another excellent film was Beginners – a poignant film which seemed to focus on homosexuality but in the end was a story about how to find, keep and live with love. Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor were excellent in their roles as classic American father and son seeking love from each other and from others.


The Trip, 2011, was a pleasant surprise to me – having heard that two Brits have a contest in sarcasm on a long trip to Yorkshire to eat good food; I thought I couldn’t stand it, but friends wanted to go and I was surprised at how good it was. Michael Winterbottom directs Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (both well-known comedic actors in the UK) and gives them plenty of liberty to improvise.


The last film on the schedule was Trollhunter (Trolljegeren), 2010, was directed by Andre Orvedal. Made in documentary style, this film has some wonderful moments played as straight as an arrow: three billy goats on a bridge, government paperwork to fill out when a troll is killed and some spectacular trolls and special effects.


After the film, my friend Pam pulled out her hand troll puppet and let him greet the two guys dressed as trolls and waiting for the crowd to leave the last film of the festival.


See www.newarkfilm.com


Sunday, September 18, 2011

A Week in the Company of the Queen: Live & Lots of Local

OK, this is way late for a post, but I couldn’t get these guys out of my head. So…here’s my summary of one week of music, featuring love for fantastic local musicians and props for the love being shown to them by World Café Live at the Queen (WCLQ).

Event #1: Open Mic Tuesday
I headed out with some gal pals to the 6:30pm performance at WCLQ (500 N. Market Street, Wilmo) and enjoyed earfuls of awesomeness that covered nearly every genre from musicians of every background.   Lead-off for the night was a performer who wowed us with an incredible 10-minute set of African drumming and song.  I wish I remembered his name, but when I find it, I WILL let you know!  Following him, the Mosaic String Duo of guitarists Chris Braddock and Doug Seth gave us a rousing performance and a tour around the globe with their original music.   Touching on Spanish, classical, even “bluegrassy” influences, they had the crowd clapping, cheering and whooping it up during their entire set.  I hope they make a return visit to Upstairs Live very soon!  Also amazing that night was WCLQ regular, pianist/vocalist Noelle Picara, who I heard performs for happy hour on Fridays Upstairs Live as well.

See www.braddockmusic.com.

Event #2: Free Noontime Concerts
Another girlie pal and I met at WCLQ on a Friday afternoon for nosh (note: try the eggplant fries…YUM) and nuttiness from the ultimate “dork rock” duo, Hot Breakfast!  The pairing of Jill Knapp and Matt Casarino kept the packed room dancing in the streets…I mean, seats…for a great lunchtime break.  Their wacky set included songs like The Hole in Your Pants and epic covers of classic tunes from The Buggles (Video Killed the Radio Star) and Bonnie Tyler (Total Eclipse of the Heart).  This duo are as hilarious as they are talented…Yes, Breakfast is great for lunch!

Follow them @hotbreakfast

Event #3: Six Voices, One Piano
My final trip to WCLQ was a benefit for the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition.   It highlighted not only great vocalists, but also the continued benevolence of one in particular: Joe Trainor.  He organized the event and gathered a stellar line-up that starred Noelle Picara (who wowed us earlier at Open Mic Night), Leslie Carey, Brian Diltz, Gina Degars, Angela Sheik and Trainor himself.  The stark set and lone keyboard drew you in to their raw talent…wouldn’t it be nerve-wracking to perform just you and your piano?  Offering up both original music (Angela Sheik debuted a song called Good Year) and covers, their performances were effortless and soothing and powerful.   I know I’ve said this before, but I love to watch Joe perform.  He takes you on a emotional trip inside his own songs and practically transforms himself into whoever he’s covering---Billy Joel, the Beatles, you name it.  You’re really missing something special, in both talent and compassion, if you’ve never seen him.

Follow the Joe Trainor Trio @JTTrio

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Rehoboth Rocks Local Art Scene


The 73rd Annual Members Fine Art Exhibition in the Corkran and Tubbs Galleries of the Rehoboth Art League is remarkable for two reasons: one, that the Rehoboth Art League could have so many members with so much talent and two that the galleries are in such a beautiful setting.


I biked down Columbia Avenue and enjoyed a leafy canopy and wide shady streets leading to Dodds Lane and the incredible gardens surrounding the League. The Homestead Gallery is smaller, but in a beautiful old house so you feel as if you are in someone’s home that is filled with wonderful pottery and art.


Here I noticed in particular the pale greens of Gail Neiburg’s and Nettie Green’s ceramic plates, the bold acrylic of Tehrir Square by Alan Keffer, the oil of Atlantic City in the Morning by Jarrod Ranney as outstanding. But when I arrived at the Corkran and Tubbs Galleries, the work truly began to overwhelm me.


Ken Kusterer, who moved to Lewes in 2006, has a big city edginess in his portrayal of an endless group of black men in bright orange prison jumpsuits entitled Used to be slavery was oppression enough. He also had a portrait of Benito Juarez with an inscription in the picture. Bill Snow’s oil of a Fall Storm on Federal Street in Milton showed the purply grey sky of a storm, the shine in the street giving off the reflection of the buildings and car whose headlights pierced through the foggy aftermath of the heavy storm.


There are also many small pieces and crafts that are quite tempting, including notecards with Lewes Eateries by Kathy Buschi of Magnolia as well as mirrors and other small items. This exhibit is open until August 26, but it seems the Rehoboth Art League is a powerful force that will be with us for some time to come.


See www.rehobothartleague.org


Mosaic String Duo at the South Coastal Library

Both of the musicians are teachers. Douglas Seth founded the Guitar Academy of Southern Delaware after years of teaching in Florida and Chris Braddock has taught for many years at the Music School of Delaware and is currently guitar department head. Their concerts are lessons in stringed instruments: an octave mandolin, an oud (the Middle Eastern ancestor of the lute), a Dobro or resonator guitar, a twelve-string and classical guitar for Braddock and a classical, flamenco and electric guitar for Seth.

The concert consisted of pieces written by Braddock and Seth and they treated the crowd to brief explanations of titles, introductions to the various instruments and spoke of the composing process. Seth’s strong classical style and training (listen to his rendition of the prelude to the Bach Cello suite on his web site) is a great backdrop for Braddock’s more eclectic musical style. Together the two of them are quite creative.

Their tongue-in-cheek musical jibes as in the piece Ottmar Who?, a gentle mockery of Ottmar Lieber’s constant use of flamenco themes, was a lot of fun – with Braddock playing a melody reminiscent of a James Bond walk-on theme and Seth playing a constant flamenco ostinato in accompaniment. Seth’s virtuosic guitar solo for RW’s Backwoods Adventure took him to a very complex picking pattern of a wild country music hoe-down with Braddock accompanying him on the resonator guitar.

It was a fun evening and a delight to see such a large and enthusiastic crowd on a stormy rainy night at Bethany Beach.

See www.guitaracademyofsouthernde.com

Sunday, August 14, 2011

A Night of Music & Friends for the Arts in Wilmo!

Last night, Wilmington and the Baby Grand on Market Street were buzzing from the energy of a killer concert for two excellent causes. The Joe Trainor Trio (Joe Trainor, vocals/piano/keyboard, Kevin Neimi, bass & Jeff Dement, drums) are fantastic local musicians with huge philanthropic hearts.  They put together a blowout tribute to the music of Billy Joel with a few of their most talented friends, and their performance was a benefit for The Arts Academy at the Grand and City Theater Company (CTC). 

Billed as JT3 & friends present the music of Billy Joel, the evening featured musicians Chuck Kuzminski (lead guitar); Kerry Kristine McElrone (vocals); Jill Knapp (vocals/percussion/saxophone) & Matt Casarino (vocals/guitar/saxophone), who are known as the musical duo Hot Breakfast.  Special guest performers were CTC Artistic Director Michael Gray (vocals), Melissa Joy Hart (vocals), Stephen Manocchio (guitar/harmonica) and Gordon Holmes (vocals).  It was quite a full stage, and this musical gang had the near-capacity crowd hooting, clapping and eventually dancing in the aisles.  It was also clear that the group enjoys performing together: laughing, dancing and mugging to the crowd and each other throughout the sets.

The whole show was awesome (several folks commented to me afterward that they were "totally blown away"), but the highlights for me were, in no particular order:
  • Matt Casarino's "Billy the Kid" performance
  • The group performance of "Only the Good Die Young"
  • Gordon Holmes' kickass cover of "Pressure" (photo at right)
  • The rousing closing performance of "Piano Man"
Trainor is tremendously talented in so many respects.  He's fun to watch, his voice moves you, and he has an incredible knack for aligning musicians to produce a knockout musical punch.  (I sat next to his former music teacher during the show, and she was just beaming.)  JT3 and this collection of musicians are local gems that I think everyone should celebrate---for their talent but also their willingness to share it for the greater good of the Arts in Wilmington!  

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Pick of the August Art Loop

Two DE Arts Info bloggers, Margaret Darby and Holly Quinn, hit the Loop this month:

Holly says: If you follow local music in Delaware (or if you follow this blog regularly), no doubt you've seen David Norbut's work. This month, Poppcock Tattoo at 115 W 8th Street in Wilmington hosts a selection of his photography, with a focus on his Western series of landscapes, nature and portraiture -- with a couple of his stunning live band photos in the mix, as well as a video incorporating a larger selection of photos. Norbut has a great eye in any location, not least of all the sweeping, sometimes weathered beauty of the American West, leaving me wanting more.

While Poppycock was hopping, people wall-to-wall, The Chris White Gallery at Shipley Lofts was considerably more quiet. The work in Anti-Subliminal, a group show featuring multimedia work by artists including Jesse Jynch, John Durandetta, Herman V. Brandt, Bresnow, and Brandon Cash, brought together illustration, photoshop and graffiti art, with an installation piece by 3EYES highlighting the show. 

Yakime Brown
Margaret Says: Holly’s venture into Poppycock Tattoo to see David Norbut’s photography and wanting more made me conscious of Michelle’s admonition that we should find some new venues….which I tried to do.  I started on Lower Market to see what the LOMA Coffee House was doing – a few works by Catherine Mulrooney were all I could see from the street and earsplitting music coming out of an electric guitar and enhanced by the guitarist’s plananx of bass pedals.  Didn’t dare enter as I didn’t have my earplugs on me, but it was obviously happening.  Went to Dimensions and Co. by Ace to see a few Underground Comixxx by Jabar Brown, who was by himself eating pizza out of a box and chatting on his cell phone….Venture Creative Marketing Group was firmly closed – unlike the framer next door who tried to call to find out if Venture was going to open later.  But it was all happening at 919 Market, so it was worth hiking up the hill – hearing more earsplitting music from the Queen (holding my ears even a full block away where we encountered a hip guy asking us where the music was coming from)….and walking into 919 to find a great party going on!  A big cake, lots of snacks and lively art by Yakime Brown – a friendly guy in a porkpie hat who strode right up to say hello.  It was fun telling him which pieces I liked best and hearing how he felt about those same pieces.  His textures are shiny, acrylic paint for the most part – either done in an explosive circle, seemingly shot from a cannon or made into flowerlike petals with his palette knife.  Yakime Brown also has a considerable variety – with some pieces of staid stripes in a flat mode.  Originally from Brooklyn, Brown has been living in Bear for the past few years and has quite a following.  AND it seems that the new curator of 919 is ready for things to hop.

And, there was new life in the DCCA with the completion of the Movable Feast project by interns  Jung-A Woo and Hoyun Sun.  When I arrived, teenagers from the Latin American Community Center and their teachers were buzzing around outdoor tables cooking on hotplates to show what they had learned about food and culture .  Woo and Sun had a film loop explaining the project and the kids photographs and art were displayed in the DCCA lobby.  But the real fun was watching the poise and pride of the kids as they prepared and served foods they had learned about during the six-week project. 

My conclusion is that you can always find new surprises in the Art Loop.  Can’t wait for the next one because, like Holly, it left me wanting more.


Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Wilmington Children's Chorus Goes Abroad!

The "Singing Ambassadors of Wilmington" have gone international, embarking on a 10-day musical and cultural tour of Europe!  Twenty-eight members of the 100+ ensemble will travel to Wilmington's Sister Cities of Fulda, Germany and Nemours, France for a performance, partnership and education-filled journey.  Click on the link in the headline above for a diary and photos from their trip, courtesy of the choristers themselves!

Delaware Arts Info wishes them all a wonderfully musical time abroad!  ENJOY!!!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Barefoot in Bellevue Park

July 21 was horribly horribly hot, but the First State Symphonic Band was cheerfully rehearsing in the giant band shell of Bellevue State Park as I arrived. Conductor Jonathan Wittman had a huge rag on a music stand in front of him so he could wipe his brow between numbers, but the band played on.

Most of the repertoire consisted of familiar marches, but an interesting experiment was the Alfred Reed Armenian Dances, a complex medley of tunes reminiscent of a Turkish bazaar. You could hear snake charmer themes and all sorts of exotic melodies as the band toured through the exotic five/eight rhythms.


Another fun surprise was a band piece by Joe Eigenbrot, a Bethlehem PA native and saxophonist in the band. His piece showed the Polish and German heritage reflected in the peoples and spirit of his native area.


Kids danced in front of the band, staff put on a bubble machine, dogs barked, and people ate dinner, wandered and enjoyed the informal atmosphere of a park concert.


Come to the next concerts, every Thursday and Sunday evening at 6:30 until August 28. Or if you prefer lunchtime concerts, they have one every other Wednesday through September 14 from noon to 1. (Don’t worry, there are lots of trees to shade you!)


The concerts are free, but there is a park charge of $3.00 if you do not have a State Park Sticker for your car.


See www.firststatesymphonicband.com

See www.destateparks.com/park/bellevue/