DSO thanks subscribers at Dickinson

On Tuesday, October 25, the Delaware Symphony played at John Dickinson High School, giving their subscribers a thank you concert and joining forces to promote the fantastic Kimball Organ.

The concert allowed the DSO to give yet another performance (the last one was in the 1980s in Washington, DC) of the Saint Saens Symphony No. 3 in C minor, often referred to as the organ symphony. They also played Fratres by Arvo Pǟrt and a fairly unusual piece by Ottorino Respighi called Church Windows (Vetrate di chiesa) which he refashioned from an earlier piano composition he called Tre Preludi sopra melodie gregoriane. For Church windows, Respighi added a movement and scored it for full symphony, pipe organ and tam-tam.

Since it is rare to have a good venue with a full pipe organ which can accommodate a full symphony as well, this performance at Dickinson was a rare treat.

See delawaresymphony.org

DTC Opens Season with "All My Sons"

By Blogger Charles "Ebbie" Alfree, III
After surviving the brutal yet extremely funny production of August: Osage County at the Arden Theatre Company (Philadelphia) yesterday, I was ready for a wholesome classic play by Arthur Miller. My friend Katt and I took a jaunt to the Delaware Theatre Company to see the playwright's family drama set in 1947, All My Sons (the first production of DTC's 2011-2012 season). Although August: Osage County premiered in 2007, 60 years after the premiere of Miller's play, both productions dealt with the same theme—dysfunctional families. (Apparently nothing has changed over the years.)

Cast (from left) P.J. Benjamin as Joe Keller, Robert Eli as Chris Keller,
Jered McLenigan as George Deever, and
Anne-Marie Cusson as Kate Keller. Photo credit: Matt Urban.

Set in post–World War II, All My Sons is the story of successful business owner Joe Keller, who grew up poor and undereducated, and his family. Joe is the kind of guy who will do anything to keep his family happy and living in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed, regardless of the consequences. Joe's wife, Kate, still holds hope that their eldest son, missing-in-action for three years, will come home. Their younger, more realistic son, Chris, has returned home from the war and now works for his father. The play begins the morning after a harsh storm as the family is preparing for a visit from their elder son's widow. Once she arrives, the layers of family guilt and unethical practices begin to unravel, with help from the family's neighbors.

The cast, directed by David Stradley, found the soul of the play and brought their grueling characters to life. P.J. Benjamin, in particular, gave an award-worthy performance as a loving father with a secret—a complex role perfectly executed. He and his colleagues performed on a set that evoked the feeling of living in a 1940s middle-class American “anytown”. The cast was met with a standing ovation, which was also to recognize everyone involved with this timeless play. I'm sure this cast will see a standing room at the end of every performance!

Driving home, Katt and I contemplated how the theme of the play still rings true today. How many mothers today are hoping their sons and daughters in the current war will come home? How many businessmen are making unethical decisions based on money rather than the greater good?

And, how many families are unable to face their problems and live "normal" lives? Based on these plays and the stories on the nightly news…perhaps not many….oy vey!

See www.delawaretheatrecompany.org.

It Must Be October! The Coffin Ball at Talleyville Frame Shoppe

Photo: Ophelia von Gray

While most of the attention on First Fridays is focused on downtown Wilmington, it's always worth the short drive up Concord Pike to the Talleyville Frame Shoppe & Gallery -- especially this time of year, when horror-themed art takes center stage. This year, artists-slash-shop owners Ric and Wendy Frane focused on a coffin theme for contributing artists and, appropriately, named the opening event The Coffin Ball.

Each artist started with the same canvas: a flat toe-pincher coffin shape. Other than the base, there were no limits: Pat Higgins used his as a panels for comic-style pieces; Paul Romano created a carved 3D piece; Kristen Margiotta painted an upside-down bat in her distinctive big-eyes style; Adam Cruz, Ric Frane and Leila Marvel explored dark femininity with paint; Baron Von Reign utilized digital photography; and Ophelia von Gray applied her soft sculpture "Guten Monster" art into dimensional, coffin-shaped wall art. Several of the artists went with a bit of a Dia de Los Muertos theme, including Poppycock Tattoo c-owner Tina Marabito's Our Lady of Guadalupe, Poppycock tattoo artist Dave Mele's skeleton fortune teller and Wendy and Ric Frane's dead bride and groom pieces. Other themes, such as Tina Imel's "Death of the USPS" and Higgins' "Greed" made social statements. As a whole, the collection represents a spectrum of Delaware artists with a dark side, all of them highly talented.

L-R: Pat Higgins, Adam Cruz, Ophelia von Gray, Kristen Margiotta, Leila Marvel, Wendy Frane, Ric Frane.

The Coffin Ball itself was more than a gallery opening, it was also a rock 'n roll masquerade party featuring DJ Shadylady and live music by -- who else? -- Coffin Fly, who rocked it as usual with their twisted brand of rockabilly.

Photo: Kristen Margiotta

The Coffin Ball artwork will be on display through October at the Talleyville Frame Shoppe and Gallery at 3626 Silverside Road (between the PNC bank and the Chuck E Cheese).

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.

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 42^nd 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!

See www.wilmingtondramaleague.org.  

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.

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!

See www.obsoleets.com.

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!

See www.fringewilmington.com.

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

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

Rehoboth Rocks Local Art Scene

The 73^rd 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.braddockmusic.com

See www.guitaracademyofsouthernde.com

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!