CTC's "HAIR" a High-Energy Show with a Still Resonant Message

By Guest Blogger, Ken Grant
Ken Grant has worked in Delaware media, politics and marketing for 25 years. He and his Lovely Bride enjoy Wilmington's arts and culture scene as much as they can.
If you've been to a City Theater Company production lately, you know there are certain things you can expect

Photo by Joe del Tufo

• Innovative and intimate staging
• Great music
• A high-energy cast that delivers the goods

This ensemble cast captures the spirit of rebellion and freedom from the 1960s and re-creates the confusion, conflict, and strange sense of hopefulness from the era.One word of warning for those unfamiliar with the musical -- there's not much of a plot to follow. A good portion of the first act serves as an introduction to our central characters, Claude (Brendan Sheehan), Berger (Jeff Hunsinger) and Woof (Adam Montgomery) -- followed by declarations by song on everything from the Vietnam War to drug use to open sexuality.

While there are a few winks and nods to current cultural conflicts, this production of Hair remains firmly planted in the Age of Aquarius.

The timeless elements remain as poignant as ever -- the conflict between a young adult and his parents, the search for an identity and a group of friends, and the difficulty of intimacy in the midst of open relationships.

Director Michael Gray and choreographers Tommy Fisher-Klein & Dawn Morningstar turned the entire room into the stage, allowing the actors to interact with the audience at a new level.

Of course, it's the 40+ songs that drive Hair, and music director Joe Trainor takes advantage of this position, exploring every facet of the musical styles featured from doo-wop to country to rock to the experimental psychedelic sounds of the 60s.

Back to the ensemble: Through most of the production, the audience sees, hears and experiences all 13 actors/singers/dancers as their lines, voices and bodies flow, merge and intertwine. The voices are both powerful and refined, expressing the boldness of youth with just the right amount of underlying uncertainty.

If you lived through the 60s and want to take a trip down memory lane, this production will have you smiling fondly at the passion of youth. If you're younger, you might be able to see how this musical paved the way for musicals like Rent and Green Day's American Idiot.

Hair is playing April 1-9 at the Black Box at 4 South Poplar Street in Wilmington. For tickets, go to city-theater.org.

Album Review: Hot Breakfast, "The Big Reveal"

By Holly Quinn

If there was ever an album that encapsulates the X Generation in the 21st Century, Hot Breakfast’s “The Big Reveal” is it. It’s not about how we were in the ‘80s and ‘90s (OK, it is a little bit), but how we are somehow grown up, being responsible at parties (Someone’s Got to Drive Larry Home) and listening to the same five records even though there’s a nearly endless supply of new music out there waiting to be downloaded (Too Many Choices). By the end, Matt Casarino (guitar and backing vocals) and Jill Knapp (lead vocals and percussion) have thrown up their hands and give in to the inevitable with Kids Today [Am I Right?], a tongue-in-cheek(ish) lament about those damn, maybe doomed, Millennials. And it’s not just squarely GenX, it’s squarely Delaware GenX, featuring Delaware punk rock legends Jake and The Stiffs on New York Drama, a high-energy rock track that hits right in the middle of the album, just when the extra adrenaline is called for. (This is a real album meant to be listened to in order like music was intended to be listened to -- forget the Spotify shuffle.) As is their style, there is plenty of humor (and, even in songs like Kids Today and Nobody Matters but You, it doesn't come off as mean-spirited), but there is also a lot of sincerity, coming through most notably on the tracks Going Your Way and the particularly moving love song Ten More Years. Stylistically, Hot Breakfast’s signature sound is “acoustic dork rock,” like a cross between ‘80s pop and ‘90s nerd alt-rock, with Knapp’s voice ranging from quirky and sarcastic to lilting and beautiful, yet it is a completely cohesive record. All in all, it’s an album that isn’t trying to impress the kids (something that feels rare for a rock album, even strange). They know their demo, and they speak to them, relatably and in no uncertain terms.

See www.hot-breakfast.com.

Percussion Rules with DSO Chamber Series

By Christine Facciolo
For centuries, people all over the world have pounded on percussion instruments to accompany music, dance and ritual. Yet percussion did not emerge as a vital musical entity until 1934 when Edgard Varese’s Ionization, one of the first compositions for percussion ensemble, premiered at Carnegie Hall under the baton of Nicolas Slominsky, to whom it was dedicated. One critic likened the performance to “a sock in the jaw.”

They didn’t play Varese Tuesday night, but the Delaware Symphony Orchestra percussionists William Kerrigan, Thomas Blanchard and William Wozniak did offer a sonically and visually captivating program that offered a fantastic — and flawless — insight into the creativity and versatility of this powerful section of the orchestra. “Percussion Rules,” the third concert in the DSO’s chamber series, presented gems of the repertoire that had a little something for every taste and tilt: classical, avant garde, ragtime as well as a swig of Latin.

The evening kicked off with Trio per uno (1999) by Serbian composer Nebojsa Zivkovic. This 20-minute work opened with a movement the composer aptly describes as a “wild archaic ritual.” This section had the three players gathered around a flat bass drum beating it obsessively with timbale sticks. This nervous pulsing on the bass drum was punctuated with unison thwacks from the pair of bongs and china-gongs allotted each player. Kerrigan, Blanchard and Wozniak offered a visceral and virtuosic performance that tapped an elemental strain of the human psyche.

By contrast, the slow middle movement presented a slow, contemplative melody that served as a respite before the volcanic close: sheer speed and energy replete with guttural, primordial shouts.

Stubernic (2000) by Mark Ford offered the trio another opportunity to showcase its prowess on a single instrument, this time the marimba. The Latin-inspired piece takes its name from Stefan and Mary K. Stuber, the composer’s former classmates who traveled extensively throughout Guatemala and Nicaragua. Moving around the instrument in circular motion — as if playing musical chairs — the three players dazzled the audience with their breakneck speed and tightly controlled ensemble work.

DSO pianist Lura Johnson joined the percussionists in a performance of John Cage’s Amores (1943), a four movement work featuring prepared piano. The composer described the work as “an attempt to express in combination the erotic and the tranquil, two of the permanent emotions of the Indian tradition.”

Prior to the performance, Johnson explained how she’d gone to Home Depot earlier that day to purchase the stipulated in the score, including nine screws, eight bolts, two nuts and three strips of rubber. Depending on what is applied to its strings and where, the piano can produce a limitless variety of pitched and unpitched sounds, becoming a miniature percussion orchestra all by itself

Johnson soloed in the two outer movements and conducted the inner two which were for percussion alone. The first of the two inner movements featured nine tom-toms and a pod rattle which provided contrast with its periodic nervous rustling. The second scored for seven wood blocks was a waltz-like affair.

DSO principal flutist Kimberly Reighley soloed in An Idyll for the Misbegotten (1986) by George Crumb, a past winner of the DSO’s A.I. duPont Composer’s Award. The piece takes the melancholy flute solo of Debussy’s Syrinx and surrounds it with three rumbling drums. The composer felt that the combination of flute and drums best evoked “the voice of nature.” Crumb further stated that his idyll “should be heard from afar, over a lake, on a moonlight evening in August.”

Reighley supplied a superb solo, playing lines that fluttered, dipped and soared over a bass drum that evoked the sound of rolling, distant thunder. A call-and-response from the other two percussionists made it feel as if the impending storm had broken the skies wide open,

Each half of the program closed with a performance of a traditional Guatemalan song, Lain Nebaj and Manzanilla, both of which evoked the warmth of the tropics on this mild spring evening.

With the audience on its feet, the trio offered one last selection. Teaming once again with pianist Lura Johnson, they gave a rollicking rendition of George Hamilton Green’s xylophone rag Log Cabin Blues, with Kerrigan on xylophone and Wozniak on the drum set. Blanchard did the honors as sound effects man.

See www.desymphony.org. 

Piffaro Serves Up a "Delight" for Audiences

By Christine Facciolo
Music about animals took center stage on Sunday when Piffaro brought “A Mummers’ Delight: A Renaissance Menagerie” to The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew in Wilmington.

The Philadelphia-based early music ensemble is in the midst of celebrating its 30th anniversary season, and one of the ways it’s marking that milestone is by welcoming back guest artists from years past.

This concert featured performers Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell, artistic directors of Washington, DC’s award-winning Happenstance Theater.

Piffaro deployed its full panoply of instruments while Jaster and Mendell clowned and mimed their way through this rather silly — but highly entertaining — afternoon.

The program featured seven vignettes combining music and action: “The Hunter and the Hunted,” “The Crocodile,” “The Flea and Love,” “A Veritable Menagerie!” “The Bear,” “Winged Creatures,” “The Ape” and “The Horse into Battle.”

Animals and animal sounds were extremely popular in the 16th Century. But animals make for dubious musicians. Only birds can actually sing; the rest make a buzzing, neighing, roaring racket. About the only thing music can do is capture the way the beast sounds or moves — which the members of Piffaro finessed quite nicely.

Lively instrumental work depicted the darting motion of the butterfly in Pallavicino’s Una farfalla as well as the hopping motion of the flea in Bassano’s Note felice.

Descending passages in Vecchi’s Il cocodrillo geme mimicked the slithering movements of the crocodile. Appropriately enough, this set also introduced the flattened s-shaped instrument called the lizard or lyserden, a tenor cornett with a foggy yet pleasing sound.

Similarly, the contrasting tempos of The Apes dance at the Temple characterized the slow, often manic movements of the rustic animal.

Sometimes the effect is downright silly as in Banchieri’s Contrapunto bestiale, in which a dog, a cat, an owl and a cuckoo battled for attention with their various calls. The cuckoo won out, becoming the star of the final selection in A Veritable Menagerie!

It could also be impressive and clever like the realistic imitation of bird sounds in Gombert’s Le chant des oyseaux, one of the pieces that made onomatopoeic compositions popular all across Europe.

Complementing the musical merriment was the kinetic energy and playful interaction of Mandell and Jaster. Mandell served as the maestro introducing each segment with a passage from literature.

Jaster is a master mime, all-around clown and brilliant performer. Playing “the fool” to partner Mandell’s emcee, he entered with a “Do Not Feed” sign draping his derriere. Whether playing a dead goose, a chicken laying an egg, a hopping flea, taking a swipe at Mandell as a hissing cat or a cuckoo clock, he had the audience in stitches. But there was a soft side to him as well as when he portrayed the sad swan that dies singing or the dancing bear, forced to entertain the crowd.

See www.piffaro.org. 

A Musical Trip to Iceland (and More) with Mélomanie

By Christine Facciolo
Just when you thought Icelandic music had nothing to offer beyond singer Bjork and post-rock band Sigur Ros, Mélomanie ups and offers a superb entree to the vibrant and varied musical traditions of this island nation.

Sunday’s concert at The Delaware Contemporary (formerly The Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts) featured internationally known Icelandic violinist Eva Ingolf on electric violin as well as two World Premieres by composer Mark Hagerty: Raven Thoughts (Hrafna Hugsanir) and Icelandic Songs, Sacred & Secular (Islensk log, helg og veraldlega).

The concert kicked off with two rare gems by Scandinavian Baroque composers Johan Helmich Roman and Johan Aggrell. Roman was the first native Swedish composer of international influence, earning him the titles “the father of Swedish music” or “the Swedish Handel.” He traveled extensively throughout Europe, exposing himself to a variety of musical styles, chiefly from Handel and other contemporary Italian composers. The combination of flutist Kimberly Reighley, cellist Douglas McNames and violinist Christof Richter brought out the Neapolitan influence of Roman’s Trio in G minor with its restless harmonies and continually shifting melodic gestures.

Mélomanie performs with guest artist Eva Ingolf (far right). Photo by Tim Bayard.

Although less celebrated than Roman, Aggrell produced formally sophisticated music in a pleasing galant style. Reighley and Richter engaged in a spirited and expressive dialogue of his Sonata I in G major.

Ingolf offered a performance of her own composition, Lava Flow, a sonic description of the 2011 eruption of Grimsvotn, Iceland’s most active volcano. Searing high notes and a violently cascading melodic line call to mind the magnitude of the event which was the largest in Iceland in 50 years.

That performance warmed her up for the World Premiere of Mark Hagerty’s Raven Thoughts (Hrafna Hugsanir), a four-movement work for solo violin. The raven (or hrafn) is an important bird in Icelandic folklore. It is said that the Norse god Odin had two ravens that counseled him.

It is the intelligence and communication skills of these big black birds that inspired Hagerty to compose Raven Thoughts, which posits ideas — rather than any specific representation — about ravens. Ingolf’s playing is sublime and her articulation and tone impeccable as she moved through the urgency of “Danger,” the intense tragedy of “Loss,” the loopiness of “Flight” and the accomplishment of “Survival.”

Members of Mélomanie joined Ingolf in a performance of the program’s second World Premiere, Icelandic songs, sacred & secular (Islensk log heig og veraldlega) again by Mark Hagerty. It was Ingolf, whom the group met when they visited Rio in 2014, who introduced Hagerty to these traditional Icelandic songs that range in character from the robust to the elegant and hauntingly beautiful.

Hagerty preserves the character of these folk songs with quintal harmonies while imbuing them with a contemporary texture. The coupling of Ingolf’s electric violin with Donna Fournier’s viola da gamba in the sixth song Raven’s Song (Krummavisur) was stunning. The work was a perfect expression of Mélomanie's mission: the paring of contemporary and early — in this case medieval — music.

The only departure from the program’s Nordic theme was Partita 622, composed for Mélomanie (and included on its CD Excursions) by Mark Rimple. Written in 2008 following the death of his stepmother, the piece centers around the fascination she had with the number 622, which was reflected in the Gregorian and Hebrew calendars the day she died. Rimple structured the work around these three digits: the ritornellos appear six times, always a perfect fourth (2 + 2) higher before the composition ends, while the intervening passages are generated by multiples of and powers of 6 and 2.

Although written at the time of a death, the piece is not a lament but rather the contemplation of a mystery, in this case, the complexities of life. The title “partita” represents the “starting out” on a journey. Melodic themes are frenetically tossed among the instruments in a dissonant soup, until at the apex of tension, the themes are gathered in a slow sarabande-like postlude as the mystery remains.

See www.melomanie.org.

Powerful Messages Told Through Equally Powerful Performances

By Guest Blogger, Ken Grant
Ken Grant has worked in Delaware media, politics and marketing for 25 years. He and his Lovely Bride enjoy Wilmington's arts and culture scene as much as they can.

Hip-hop artist Richard Raw performs.

Dr. Lynnette Young Overby (Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Experiential Learning at the University of Delaware) and Colin Miller have created a multi-genre event that communicates hundreds of years of powerful, emotional history through dance, music, images, video, documentary footage and media interviews. The University of Delaware Professor of Theatre and Dance (Overby) and the CAS Director of Global Arts (Miller) gathered dancers from the U.S. and South Africa to explore the tumultuous racial strife of each country.

The project, Same Story Different Countries – From oppression to resilience to liberation in South Africa and the United States – takes the audience on a journey from the African Savannah to slave plantations in the U.S. to civil rights struggles in both the U.S. and South Africa. The primary form of communication in the show is dance. Dozens of dancers transform the stage, expressing the joy of community, the pain of oppression, the strength of character, the outrage at injustice, and the determination of a spirit that continues regardless of ignorance and violence.

While the dancers were performing to music provided by a soundtrack or beautiful live voices, there was one segment performed to the sound of testimonies before the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission and an interview by Wolf Blitzer with civil rights activist Deray McKesson.

Well-known Wilmington hip-hop artist Richard Raw performed his latest hit, Shine Yo Light, in the part of the program titled “The Power of Walking Together,” encouraging the African American community to take pride in their history and heritage while shining a light for others to follow.

The choreography and performances left the audience amazed at both the technical expertise and emotional connection achieved by the performers.

Unfortunately, this production has only been scheduled for one performance in this region, with talks now of taking the program to South Africa. If the organizers stage another production in the U.S., you will absolutely want to experience this powerful piece of performance art for yourself.

See www.ccacde.org. 

Delaware Theatre Company Takes a Look Into 'Nureyev's Eyes'

Bill Dawes as Rudolf Nureyev and William Connell as Jamie Wyeth

It's been over 10 years since I (as many others) saw Jamie Wyeth's fascinating paintings and portraits of famed ballet dancer, Rudolf Nureyev in the Capturing Nureyev exhibit at the Brandywine River Museum. Now we are treated to the tale behind the paintings, as playwright David Rush's Nureyev's Eyes tells an equally fascinating fictional story of the very real interaction between the two artists who would create the masterpieces.

After playing in other parts of the country, the Delaware Theatre Company appropriately brings Nureyev's Eyes to the Brandywine Valley through a partnership with George Street Playhouse. Of course, the play has the connection to the area, but even if it didn't, this stirring two-man drama would still captivate.

From the elaborate set of Jamie's studio to the chic 70's costumes, this production gets everything right! Oh yes...and the actors who play the artists also deliver.

Told through a flashback, the 90-minute play gives a fictitious account of Jamie and Nureyev's collaboration over the span of 16 years. We watch the pair's prickly meeting at a posh Manhattan party, where Jamie's obsession to paint the dancer begins. Looking into Nureyev's eyes, Jamie sees the soul of the icon, and must make him his new muse. However, Nureyev is reluctant to work with Jamie, it takes some convincing for Nureyev to let the painter of pigs and cows paint him. Eventually he concedes to Jamie's requests and thus begins the tumultuous relationship.

Through riddles, the two perfectionists learn more about each other's passions, fears and insecurities. Although they do become friends -- Nureyev even visits Jamie and his wife in Chadds Ford -- they maintain their high expectations for this work. Neither man wants to compromise his artistic integrity; and so, lofty demands are placed on each other, leading to their many arguments.

Both also have great reasons for working on this project. For Jamie, the paintings will show his style and differentiate him from his family's legacy; for Nureyev, the paintings deliver him immortality. Nureyev also sees this as an opportunity for him to convince Jamie to give a good word about him to the head of the New York City Ballet -- a friend of Jamie's who soon will be naming the new Ballet Master in Chief, a job which Nureyev dearly covets.

Under Michael Mastro's masterful direction, both William Connell (Jamie) and Bill Dawes (Nureyev) prove they are outstanding actors. Mr. Connell's subtle performance beautifully captures a painter who is living in the shadow of his celebrated father and grandfather, while working to make his own mark in the harsh world of contemporary art. Although subtle, Mr. Connell shows great strength when verbally sparing with Mr. Dawes, who is stunningly scary as the intense, over-the-top star. Mr. Dawes achieves the great task of creating a full character that ends up being likable. He perfectly portrays both Nureyev's explosive diva-like persona and his sensitive, vulnerable side. Although defected from Russia many years ago to become an international star, even his fame, fortune and public adoration can't replace a family he misses and eliminate his fears of being followed by the KGB.

BTW - a few interesting facts learned at opening night - Nureyev is not pronounced as most people say it (Nur-e-ev), but is actually pronounced (Nur-a-ev). And the smock Mr. Connell wears in the play was loaned to the actor by Mr. Wyeth himself.

Nureyev's Eyes runs through March 20 at the Delaware Theater Company. Visit www.delawaretheatre.org or call 302-594-1100 for additional information and tickets.

Mamma Mia...That's Some Fun Set to Music!

By Guest Blogger, Ken Grant

Ken Grant has worked in Delaware media, politics and marketing for 25 years. He and his Lovely Bride enjoy Wilmington's arts and culture scene as much as they can.

Lord Byron said, “All tragedies are finished by a death, all comedies are ended by a marriage.”

The US Touring Company of Mamma Mia. Photo provided.

Of course, when your play’s first act is set on the day before the wedding and the second act is set on the wedding day itself and you add in the music of Abba, a cast of vocal and physical acrobats with hundreds of costumes and more than 30,000 rhinestones – then you get a dose of fun that infects The Playhouse on Rodney Square and spills joyously out onto Market Street. Welcome to the traveling production of Broadway's smash, Mamma Mia!

The story centers around several trios of characters – from young Sophie Sheridan (Kyra Belle Johnson) and her friends Ali and Lisa (Kat Borrelli and Christina Eskridge) planning for Sophie’s wedding, to Sophie’s mother Donna (Eris Fish) and her lifelong friends Tanya and Rosie (Laura Michelle Hughes and Sarah Smith) still struggling to figure out how to have a successful relationship. Then, there’s the three men from Donna’s past – Sam, Bill, and Harry (Chad W. Fornwalt, Ryan M. Hunt and Andrew Tebo) – who are invited to the festivities under false pretenses.

Wedding drama is always fun to watch from the outside – but in this case the drama isn’t created by a young couple unsure about their future, but rather a young bride seeking answers about her past and the generation before working through their various regrets and lingering questions.

All of the performers capture the essence and effervescence of Abba while exposing a deeper layer of emotion (hope, longing, resignation, desire).

You don’t have to be intimately familiar with the music of Abba to be caught up in the fun of this production. For those who grew up with the music, this is a great trip along memory lane; and for those who didn’t, this show could turn them into new fans of the Swedish pop phenomenon.

The staging for this production seems deceptively simple at first, but becomes incredibly versatile as two pieces transform the set from indoor, outdoor, and alleyway locations on a small Greek island.
Make no mistake – this production delivers fun and gets the audience smiling, laughing, clapping, and yes, even dancing.

If you’ve gone to see a blockbuster film in the past few years, you know that you probably shouldn’t leave until all of the credits have run, as more and more movies offer nice little "surprises" at the end. Likewise, do not assume that when the cast offers their bows at the end of this musical that the entertainment is over. Stay where you are and enjoy – you won’t be sorry!

Mamma Mia is playing at The Playhouse on Rodney Square March 4-6.

See http://duponttheatre.com/mamma-mia.

DSO & Brasil Guitar Duo Wow Audiences with US Premiere

By Christine Facciolo
The Delaware Symphony Orchestra (DSO) both secured a place in music history and established itself as a strong contender for a 2017 Grammy nod with this weekend’s performance and recording of three double guitar concerti, including the US Premiere of El Libro de Los Signos (The Book of Signs) by Cuban composer and cultural icon, Leo Brouwer.

Lending their virtuosic playing to the project was the Brasil Guitar Duo, the stunning collaboration of the supremely musical Joao Luiz and Douglas Lora. Endowed with extraordinary professionalism and technical mastery, these two young talents — who met as teen-aged guitar students in Sao Paolo — have earned critical acclaim for the sensitivity, refinement and mutual respect they bring to every performance.

The near sell-out crowd was especially hushed during their performance. One might attribute that to the fact that they knew recording was in progress. But it’s more likely they were simply in awe of this breathtaking display of artistry.

Luiz and Lora introduced themselves to the audience with a masterful performance of the unaccompanied Sete Aneis (7 Rings) by Brazilian composer Egberto Gismonti (b. 1947). This one-movement composition in Rondo form is based on the “choro,” one of the first forms of Brazilian urban music, which made its way to Rio de Janeiro from Africa in the mid-19th Century. The work is a study in contrasts and the duo accommodated. A wistful opening morphed into a blazing pizzicato passage before wrapping up with a lyrical and tender finish.

Next came the much-anticipated US Premiere of El Libro de los Signos (The Book of Signs) by Brouwer (b. 1939), widely considered to be the most significant living composer of art music for the guitar. This work — scored for two guitars and string orchestra — features music from Brouwer’s Afro-Cuban roots mixed with traditional form. The work was composed in 2003 at the behest of Greek guitarist Costas Cotsiolis and John Williams, and premiered in January 2004 at the Megaron Theatre in Athens. According to the composer, its language uses sounds to explore its rest-motion ambivalence.

The first movement features a series of variations on a theme by Beethoven. The second gives the same treatment to a more lyrical theme. The third — and most virtuosic — exhibits more of the Cuban influence. Brouwer achieves a seamless web of sound by the interplay of passages that at times have the guitars sounding like the orchestra and at other times having the orchestra play in the style of a guitar.

The duo rounded out their portion of the concert with a performance of the Concerto Caboclo for two guitars and orchestra composed especially for them by fellow Brazilian Paulo Bellinati (b. 1950). The duo honored their idol — who was in attendance — with a masterful performance.

Bellinati draws on Brazil’s rich musical heritage, infusing it with contemporary harmonies and techniques. The opening movement is most unusual for a concerto. In place of a fast-paced Allegro, the soloists enter with a cadenza in which they share musical materials much like a conversation. The orchestra entered only to be interrupted by another cadenza. Even as the movement increased in intensity, the music never lost the relaxed and lyrical feel of the coutryside.

The second movement (Adagio) was inspired by the Brazilian songs known as modas de viola. In keeping with the question-and-answer structure of these songs, one could frequently hear rhythmic ostinatos used in one guitar as accompaniment for the other. More ostinatos are heard in the final movement, which featured catchy rhythms and flashy fingerwork. Maestro David Amado’s meticulous direction of the orchestra’s dynamic levels ensured that the soloists were never overpowered.

The second half of the program was devoted to a performance of Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, an opium-filled tale of love, obsession, betrayal and murder. In his pre-concert remarks, commented on how Berlioz, who made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his “Treatise on Instrumentation,” took an abstract form — the symphony — and used it to tell a story. And while symphonies that followed a program had existed before, most notably Beethoven’s Pastoral, Berlioz took the process to its logical conclusion with every note geared to the specifics of his p lot. That accomplishment as well as his use of the “idée fixe” would go on to inspire composers like Wagner and Liszt.

This truly iconic work poses a challenge to any conductor: Do you play the music and let the story take care of itself, or do you help it along? Amado’s reading is absolutely on the right side of sentimentality. His interpretation bristled with desire and intention. The first movement was playful and flirtatious. The ball waltzed itself into sheer delirium. As the music turned dark, Amado followed suit: the rhythms were unyielding; the mocking of Berlioz’s hero filled with spite. He kept the momentum going beyond the March to the Scaffold. The Witches’ Sabbath with its growly brass and tense strings sustained the nightmare to the very end. And let’s not forget the punctuation of the requiem Dies Irae by The Bells of Remembrance, which are featured in each concert of the DSO’s Classics Series this season.

See www.delawaresymphony.org.

Isn't it grand? Isn't it great? "Chicago" at The Playhouse certainly is!

Full disclosure: This is one of my favorite musicals*, largely for its incredible music and choreography.

*After initially learning about legendary choreographer Bob Fosse via Paula Abdul’s 1989 music video homage, I had to seek out all things Fosse-related. Later, I found Chicago and was completely taken by it. 

The cast of Chicago. Photo by Jeremy Daniel

The longest-running American musical in Broadway history, the production features music and lyrics from iconic partners Kander & Ebb, book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, and a storyline that delivers all the salaciousness we adore (maybe "nowadays" more than ever): scandal, sex, murder, media frenzy, a perverse craving for celebrity.

To me, this show is quintessential Broadway – the way I envision shows might have been during the “old days” – no monstrous sets, flashy light shows or rock star-penned scores, but rather about the raw energy generated from dynamic music and choreography, and compelling characters. It delivers in every aspect.

The production set is stark, the costumes black and scanty yet sleek, the cast steamy and sexy. Hoots and cheers come from the crowd throughout the evening, but especially for the sizzling signature opening, All That Jazz, that sets the tone for the entire show. 

Tonight, the capacity crowd is noticeably heavy with women – I’m imagining groups of GNOs giggling madly at the “justified” murderesses of the Cell Block Tango in a warped female-empowerment moment.

Terra C. MacLeod plays a slick Velma Kelly – the former Vaudeville star serving time for the double-murder of her hubby and sister – with a perfect balance of sass and snark. You can almost feel yourself agreeing with her and Mama as they lament, “Whatever happened to class?”

Dylis Croman as Roxie Hart.
Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

Dylis Croman expertly plays up the unrefined Roxie's conniving and relentless nature, a woman who’ll not be stopped in her quest for fame – by a jilting lover, dull (if still-loving) husband or jealous inmate. The only thing that could stop her is the worst fate of all – waning public interest.

Jailhouse matron “Mama” Morton, played with command and style by Roz Ryan, lights up the crowd with her rendition of When You’re Good to Mama. (Incidentally, Morton now holds the record for most performances in a musical by a leading actress.) 

Other standout characters, of course, are the orchestra, who kept the audience animated, even dancing out the doors at the end; the compassionate Mary Sunshine (with a hilarious surprise), played by D. Ratell; and Billy Flynn, played by Tom Hewitt, who held an impressively looooooooong note in his number, All I Care About, to renewed cheers and hoots.

From the first notes of All That Jazz to the final sparkly curtain, Velma, Roxie and company kept us revved, rapt and ready to “paint the town” with them in their twisted pursuit of fortune and fame. This beloved musical is a night on the town you simply can't miss. 

Chicago runs at The Playhouse on Rodney Square through February 28.

See http://duponttheatre.com.

Hannah Sturgis to Represent Delaware in National Poetry Out Loud Competition

Content of this post was taken from a Delaware Division of the Arts press release...

Delaware's Poetry Out Loud Champion, Hannah Sturgis.
Photo by Kathleen Buckalew.

Hannah Sturgis, a junior from Polytech High School, earned the title of 2016 Poetry Out Loud Delaware State Champion at the state finals held in Smyrna, Delaware, on February 23. The first runner-up was Brandon Dawson from Middletown High School, and the second runner-up was Jordan McMillan from Sanford School. More than 18 students competed in the Delaware finals.

Hannah Sturgis’s final recitation, Infelix by Adah Isaacs Menken, earned her high marks with the judges. The full poem can be found on the Poetry Foundation’s website.

For her winning presentation, Hannah Sturgis will receive $200 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC, with a chaperone to compete at the national championship May 2-4, 2016. Polytech High School will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. Brandon Dawson, the first runner-up will receive $100, and Middletown High School will receive $200 toward the purchase of poetry books.

The Poetry Out Loud state competition, sponsored by the Delaware Division of the Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition.

See. www.artsdel.org. 

Welcome to Lully's World via Brandywine Baroque

By Christine Facciolo
Jean Baptiste de Lully’s death is legendary among musicians: While beating time on a staff during a performance of his Te Deum in 1687, he suffered a fatal injury. The wound he suffered to his foot developed gangrene. Three months later on March 22, Lully died.

Lully’s music did not die that day, though. His stylistic monopoly remained secure for decades after his death. His influence in the writing of opera led to a century of French opera in his style. The two-part “French Overture” he invented spread across Europe, influencing both Bach and Handel.

Brandywine Baroque paid tribute to that legacy by “Celebrating the World of Lully” on Sunday, February 21, at The Barn at Flintwoods. The ensemble included harpsichordists Karen Flint and Joyce Chen, violinists Mark Davids and Mandy Wolman, flutist Eileen Grycky, gambists John Mark Rozendaal and Donna Fournier and soprano Laura Heimes.

The major work of the program was Francois Couperin’s L’Apotheose de Lully, in which the composer portrays the ascent to Parnassus of his predecessors, Lully and Corelli. Apart from being intended as a compliment to the two composers, one might also view this work as an attempt to settle the debate raging in the musical world over the conflicting merits of the French and Italian styles.

This is indeed music with a history (and some humor) as little Italianate gestures recall that Lully, the quintessential French composer was himself Italian-born. The desired rapprochement occurs when Lully and Corelli meet on Parnassus and are persuaded by Apollo that a union of their respective styles would amount to nothing less than unparalleled musical perfection.

The music is indeed wonderful. The combination of violins, keyboard, flute and viol da gamba gave the impression that no other group of instruments could be more fitting. The performance was easy on the ears, luxurious yet intimate.

While the program did not feature a work by Lully himself, it did include a selection from Deuxieme Suite a 3 violes, Livre 4 by his student virtuoso violist Marin Marais, who also served in the court of Louis XIV. Gambists John Mark Rozendaal and Donna Fournier excelled in this contrapuntal work representing the peak of the established French musical tradition.

The richness and splendor of French Baroque sacred music — at times gravely somber and spectacularly exuberant — was amply demonstrated in Pierre Bouteiller’s motet O felix et dilecte conviva and Rene Drouard de Bousset’s Abraham, a rare example of a cantata spirituelle so popular in the late court of Louis XIV. Laura Heimes’s crystalline and precise soprano blended beautifully with the instrumentalists in both works.

Italian composers and those writing in the Italian style were equally well-represented. Martin Davids’ violin was crisp and decisive in his rendering of the relatively obscure Francois Francoeur’s I Sonata No. V in A minor. Supporting him were Joyce Chen on harpsichord and Donna Fournier on viola da gamba.

Davids, Wolman and Rozendaal reveled in the playfulness of Tarquinio Merula’s vibrant and imaginative version of the Ciaccona, a dance form that migrated to Italy from Mexico in 1615.

No Baroque program would be complete without a selection by the prolific Georg Philipp Telemann and this concert was no exception. The note-filled Quartet in G major is a perfect display of this polyglot composer’s “mixed taste” style of writing, with its French, German, Italian and Polish influences. The ensemble’s playing — with Grycky as flute soloist — was both energetic and vibrant while deftly weaving together the mixed tastes of this composition.

See www.brandywinebaroque.org.

Women Composers Take Over the Evening at The Music School of Delaware

By Christine Facciolo
For centuries, women composers were little more than a footnote in music history. Considered a novelty, their work rarely left the confines of the drawing room or recital parlor, if they got performed at all. Even the celebrated pianist Clara Wieck Schumann felt compelled to fill her programs with the works of her husband or their friend Johannes Brahms rather than her own.

So it was only fitting that a program honoring women composers open with one of Wieck Schumann’s own compositions, the Scherzo No. 2 in C minor (1845). The little sonic gem received an expansive and probing interpretation from Holly Roadfeldt Wednesday, February 17 at The Music School of Delaware in Wilmington.

The concert, which benefitted the Anthony G. Simmons Scholarship Fund and other scholarships, served to encourage young female musicians by emphasizing the works of living women composers. Roadfeldt remembered her disappointment at hearing one of her students say she felt she could not pursue composition because she was a woman.

Roadfeldt’s muscularity and poetic power were on fine display in three of the four pieces from Joan Tower’s No Longer Very Clear collection. Her fingers never stopped from the moment she placed them on the keyboard for Or Like a…an Engine (1994). Think Ondine from Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit. The second piece, Vast Antique Cubes (2000), gave Roadfeldt the opportunity to play in legato before tackling Throbbing Still (2000), Tower’s recollection of the rhythms she experienced growing up in South America. Think Inca Empire meets Stravinsky.

The Serafin String Quartet offered two works by Julia Adolphe. Just twenty-eight years old, Adolphe, a doctoral student in music composition at the University of Southern California, has already achieved considerable success. In 2014 she became one of three young composers chosen to have their work performed by the New York Philharmonic. She is now working on a commission from the Phil, a viola concerto for its principal violist.

Serafin and Adolphe share a passion for exploring new musical worlds. Veil of Leaves (2014) shows Adolphe’s potential for becoming a premier composer for this most intimate of forms. The work begins with the strings in unison but continuously diverges and converges in a swirl of pitch and texture. This is a piece that demands not only supreme musicianship but deep concentration which was etched on the players’ faces.

Between the Accidental (2010) engaged the quartet in a contrapuntal tour de force, juxtaposing jarring dissonances with modal melodies in a netherworld of tonality.

Roadfeldt took the stage again to perform two works by Philadelphia-based composer Kala Pierson. Spark (2014) and Flare (2016), the latter of which received its World Premiere at the concert with the composer in attendance. As their names suggest, these works are rhythmically fluid and vividly expressive — perfectly suited to Roadfeldt’s flair for intensity and meditative focus.

Pianist Jennifer Campbell appeared as both performer and composer, offering Perceptions of Shadows, a work she wrote in 2013. This is an intensely introspective piece, showing that as shadows change with time, so do our perceptions of life’s struggles. This work proves that Campbell is not only an acclaimed pianist but a composer of great insight and sensitivity.

Campbell joined forces with violist Esme Allen-Creighton for a first-rate performance of Rebecca Clarke’s Sonata for Viola and Piano. This work written in 1919 is packed with big-hearted melodies and delicate colors. It’s hard to fathom how and why it missed winning first place in competition and why it doesn’t get more outings than it does.

Allen-Creighton brought together all the right elements — robust sound, free-flowing legato lines, unbridled lyricism as well as a technically assured presentation — to make us want to hear more from an instrument that continues to play, well, second fiddle to the violin. Campbell supplied the virtuosic pianistic accompaniment which was as demanding as any concerto.

See www.musicschoolofdelaware.org.

Mélomanie Delivered Musical Treats for Wilmington Valentines

Mélomanie performed at The Delaware Contemporary on Feb. 14.

By Christine Facciolo
Music lovers who braved Sunday’s frigid temps got treated to a concert of sweet musical morsels from Mélomanie.

The program was an eclectic one, featuring the works of the definitely Baroque Telemann, the stylistically fluid Ibert and neo-Baroque contemporary Kile Smith.

The program featured a reprise performance of Smith’s The Nobility of Women, which was commissioned by Mélomanie and premiered in 2012. Mélomanie Co-Artistic Director Tracy Richardson commented that the ensemble gave Smith the choice of an additional instrument to be played by a guest artist. He chose the oboe — an instrument not uncoincidentally played by his daughter, Priscilla Herreid. Herreid reprised her role as guest soloist for this concert.

Smith’s composition proves that musical styles never really disappear, they just go out of fashion until inspiration or musical necessity spark their resurrection. Smith took his cue for this eight-movement work from the name of the 16th Century dance manual Nobilita di Dame by Fabritia Caroso. Each movement bears the name of a Baroque dance form: Allemande, Sarabande, Musette, Ciaccona.

The work is a pretty staid affair until Richardson breaks out with a dazzling harpsichord solo in the third movement. Herreid did herself proud, soloing in the Sarabande, which features a delicate italianate melody of great beauty. The Ciaccona served as a fitting finale, packed with interesting flourishes.

Smith’s work paired quite nicely with Telemann’s Quartet in G Major from the “Tafelmusik” collection. “Tafelmusik” — literally meaning table music — is a mid-16th Century term for music played at banquets. Mélomanie imbued the piece with a vigor and flourish that would compel anyone to put down their fork and defer to the music.

The program also featured the Two Interludes for flute, violin and harpsichord by 20th Century French composer, Jacques Ibert. The first interlude was slow and stately, in triple meter, reminiscent of a Baroque sarabande. The second was fast with swirls of color and a Spanish flavor thanks to inflections of the Phrygian mode. Both pieces were rich in tone yet balanced a perfection union of lushness of Impressionism and the clarity of Classicism. Flutist Kimberly Reighley, violinist Christof Richter and harpsichordist Richardson strike the perfect balance between lushness and clarity of tone and texture.

Rounding out the program were selections by two all-but-forgotten French composers: Louis-Antoine Dornel, a contemporary of J.S. Bach and Benoit Guilemant, an 18th Century flutist.

Herreid once again showed her mastery of the Baroque oboe — a notoriously difficult beast to tame — in the former’s Sonata n G Major, which featured a lively interplay between soloist and bass.

Cellist Douglas McNames and gambist Donna Fournier — this time on cello collaborated on a lively performance of the latter’s melodic Sonata No. 4 in C Major, Op. 3.

See www.melomanie.org. 

Students Create Mural "In Their Words" and Honor Black History Month

The info in this article comes from a Delaware Art Museum press release...
In honor of Black History Month, the Delaware Art Museum unveiled an Aaron Douglas-inspired mural created by local high school students. The February 4 unveiling ceremony included a short presentation during which the participating students and the project leader -- arts educator/artist Chad Cortez Everett -- spoke about the process.

The mural is part of the Museum's Mural Arts Interpretation Project, a student-art initiative created last fall with the goal of exposing under-served students -- who have not taken part in an art class or had access to art education since middle school -- to meaningful art education while raising public awareness of cultural diversity. The project includes eight high school students from William Penn and Dickinson High Schools.

The students' mural is a large-scale painting inspired by Study for a Mural by Aaron Douglas, an African American illustrator and muralist and important Harlem Renaissance artist.Study for a Mural (c.1963) -- currently on view in the Museum's modern American Art gallery -- was a mural design for the home of Dr. W.W. and Mrs. Grace Goens, a prominent African American family in Wilmington. Douglas painted two murals for the Goens family, and this study presents his design for the second mural for their Hockessin home in 1964.

Over the course of 10 weeks, Everett and the students met to discuss how to preserve the spirit of Douglas' work while transforming it to reflect themselves and today's society. After learning about Douglas and the Harlem Renaissance from Curator of American Art Heather Campbell Coyle, the students discussed the world they live in and how it might differ from Douglas' era. The students incorporated text from their discussions into the design and learned how to transfer an image to large canvas panels.

The words the students discussed and chose were born out of the original themes of the piece: African American history, cultural significance, and societal progress. As the students planned the mural design, they developed images and symbols that serve as important markers of their own personal histories. After a discussion about monochromatic color (as Douglas typically painted) the students chose to use local color and edit as they went, preserving a homage to Douglas' color scheme in the bottom right corner of the piece. The three-panel piece, which will be named during Thursday's presentation, will be on display on the Museum's lower level during the month of February.

The Museum is open late every Thursday evening from 4:00-8:00pm with free general admission. Special events and programs for all ages are offered on select nights throughout the year.

See www.delart.org.

Celebrating Black History Month with Programs & Exhibit at DHS

Information for this post was provided by a press release from The Delaware Historical Society...

The Delaware Historical Society (DHS) celebrates Black History Month with special public programs and an exhibit.

LECTURE: Littleton P. Mitchell Fighting for Equality in the Civil Rights Era
Thursday, February 4, 6:00pm
Delaware History Museum
Dr. Leland Ware, the Louis L. Redding Chair and Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Delaware, will highlight Delaware civil rights leader Littleton P. Mitchell’s contributions to advancing the cause of equality. Mitchell, president of the Delaware NAACP for 30 years, is known locally and nationally for his personal courage during the Civil Rights Movement. He was also was a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal.

PERFORMANCE: The Folk Music of Africans Americans with Devonna B. Rowe
Tuesday, February 9, 12:30pm | Delaware History Museum
Award-winning performing artist and educator, Devonna B. Rowe, will take the audience on an interactive musical journey through the history of the African American people, exploring traditional African songs and influences on modern American culture. A Delaware Historical Society program with funding support from The Black Heritage Educational/Theater Group.

FAMILY PROGRAM: The Underground Railroad in Delaware
Sunday, February 28, 1:00pm | Old Town Hall & the Quaker Hill Historic District
Join DHS and Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation for a family event highlighting the Underground Railroad in Delaware. Walk in the footsteps of freedom seekers who passed through Wilmington on their journey to freedom and participate in activities exploring the difficult decisions made by people at that time. The first half of the program takes place in the Quaker Hill Historic District followed by a visit to Old Town Hall at the Delaware Historical Society. There will be family activities at both locations.

EXHIBIT: Dream Quilts The Dream Quilts are on display through the end of February at the Central YMCA in Wilmington, the Walnut Street YMCA in Wilmington and the Dover Public Library. The project was first launched 2012 to inspire a new generation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s powerful message from his 'I Have a Dream' speech. After learning about Dr. King’s legacy, school children decorated quilt squares that were later stitched into quilts by A Stitch in Time, an African American quilting group in Dover. In 2014, two of the quilts were exhibited in Vice President Biden’s home at the Naval Observatory during Black History Month.

All programs are free and open to the public, but reservations are requested at deinfo@dehistory.org or 302.655.7161.  The Delaware Historical Society owns and operates the Delaware History Museum; a nationally recognized Research Library; Old Town Hall; Willingtown Square, four 18th Century houses surrounding a picturesque urban courtyard located in Wilmington; as well as the Read House & Gardens located in historic New Castle, recognized as an “American Treasure” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Park Service; and the Center for African American Heritage, which will be included as part of the expansion of the Delaware History Museum, expected to reopen in spring of 2016.

See www.dehistory.org.

All I Wanna Do Is Have Some...Delaware Fun-A-Day!

Who isn't in the mood for some fun, especially in the midst of a DelMarVa winter? Delaware Fun-A-Day has your winter-blues remedy Friday, February 5, 2016 from 5:00-9:00pm at The Delaware Contemporary (formerly The Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts [DCCA]). It promises to be an evening to fill you with art, music, food, comedy and — of course — plenty of F-U-N!

In the past few years, The Delaware Contemporary has successfully positioned itself as the go-to place for all manner of art "events" and cool happenings. It seems the perfect setting for a project like this.

Delaware Fun-A-Day is a multimedia, all-ages, all-inclusive, non-juried art project, which is actually part of a nationwide project. The fifth annual artistic exhibition was launched by local organizers and entries have grown each year. The event is modeled after Philadelphia's Art Clash Collective, which debuted 11 years ago.

The idea is simple: Make something each day in January (with a self-determined theme) and present it in a show during February's Art Loop. Past projects have run the gamut from sculpture to painting to photography to poetry to knitting to song to beading. The Fun-A-Day crew reports a record number of participants this year — with the youngest participant in First Grade.

Friday will deliver the exhibits of 100+ Delaware artists — drone photography, mythical creatures, dogs of Delaware, mandalas, timed abstract paintings, fairies doing yoga, cross-stitched labyrinths and more — but also music by DJ Skinny White; improv comedy from City Theater Company's Fearless Improv (shows at 6:00pm & 8:00pm); and plenty of nosh from the Contemporary's new caterer/food truck partners Plum Bistro by The Plum Pit. The Contemporary's current gallery exhibitions will also be open: Lynda Schmid's Listening to Horses, Amy Stevens' Letting Go and a joint exhibition by studio artists Dan Jackson and Ken Mabrey. In-house artists' studios will also be open for tours.

See you for the FUN! See www.delawarefunaday.com.

The Coastal Camera Club: A Juried Exhibition

By Guest Blogger, Stan Divorski Stan Divorski is an artist and avid art and photography collector who lives in Lewes, Delaware. He has a PhD in Psychology from Northwestern University, a Certificate in Painting and Drawing from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington DC and has studied modern art curating at the Chelsea College of Arts in London.

All art or photography lovers must see this joint exhibition of the Rehoboth Art League and the Coastal Camera Club, showing the work of photographers who are members in both organizations.

The artists display a creative — and at times playful — willingness to explore what the medium has to offer. Each artist shows a willingness to experiment with ground, presentation, image manipulation and staging to create uniquely effective images. The curators, Jay Pastore and Lee Mills, are to be congratulated for putting together a captivating demonstration of this diversity.

A few examples from this abundance of worthy images are in order. Dick Snyder’s “Florentine Ceiling” sets the tone by challenging the viewer to make sense of his black and white abstraction of a cathedral ceiling. Dizzying perspective, rich pattern, narrow tonal range and frameless canvas support simultaneously suggest M.C. Escher, a medieval tapestry and a Southeast Asia temple wall painting. 

Linda Rosenbluth’s “Out on the Town” at first appears to be an art deco poster of the 1930s, due to saturated neutral colors, rectilinear composition and flat light. Closer examination confirms a photo of a modern urban scene. 

Robin Harrison’s “At Rest” depicts a flamingo without the curved neck and stick legs that dominate most images of the bird. Harrison has selected a pose that abstracts the essence of the bird, highlighting its shyness and the textural richness and subtle color variation of its plumage. 

"Reflection" by Brooke Hedge

Brooke Hedge’s “Reflection” exemplifies how to capture mystery with only minimal editing of a photograph. Traditionally framed and matted, this black and white view of a young woman’s sun dappled reflection could well have been titled “Narcissus” after Ovid’s boy of that name. Its subject is Pre-Raphaelite, and its texture is that of Monet’s brush strokes. The image symbolizes innocent purity, the fleeting nature of beauty and the uncertainty of perception. 

Adjacent to Hedge’s work, Leslie Sinclair’s “Woodland Tea Party” takes a less purist approach. The frameless, aluminum mounted image of a tea table in a forest is a light painting (composed of multiple individually lit layers combined to form the final image). Reminiscent of Gregory Crewdson’s large scale, staged cinematic tableau, this smaller work is carefully arranged, conjuring Alice in Wonderland as interpreted by David Lynch.

If this exhibit is representative, The Coastal Camera Club may be more than a club, but rather the beginnings of a school of photography with a vision unique to the Delaware shore.

The Rehoboth Art League, with 1800 members, is Sussex County's first organized cultural arts center. Located on a historic plantation, it encourages artists and arts education and sponsors exhibits and programs.

The Coastal Camera Club, with more than 200 members, serves the Delaware seashore. It encourages and promotes interest in all phases of photography, encourages education in photography, holds contests and presents awards, and promotes the photographic efforts of its membership. 

See www.rehobothartleague.org and http://coastalcameraclub.com. 

Best of 2015: Holly's Picks

WDL's Memphis. Photo: Kristen Romero

2015 was another great year for Delaware theater, with big changes (The DuPont Theatre was sold by the DuPont Co. to The Grand in January, and Delaware Theatre Company began actually developing shows for Broadway for the first time) and big excitement -- I don’t think I went to a single show in ‘15 without a full audience. I might even go so far as to say that Delaware is in the middle of a theater Renaissance, from Community theater on up.

I get get to catch every show of 2015 -- I don’t cover Delaware Theatre Company for Stage anymore, so I’ve missed a few highly praised productions -- but I did catch a lot of great productions. Here are my top picks:

Best Drama: Nora, Delaware Theatre Company -- One of the DTC shows I did catch was Nora, based on Ingmar Bergman’s A Doll’s House, a gripping story of a Victorian-era woman learning to assert her independence. It’s productions like this that are are putting Wilmington on the map.

Best non-musical comedy: Steel Magnolias, The Candlelight Theatre -- TCT is known for high-quality musicals, so it was a surprise that my favorite of their ‘15 season was their non-musical production of Steel Magnolias, a comic drama with an all-woman cast.

Best Shakespearian: Love’s Labour’s Lost, City Theater Company -- CTC had two big shows in 2015, and while “American Idiot” got more hype, “Love’s Labour’s Lost” was the real winner for me. With an immersive stage setup and a rock soundtrack, this was not a typical production of Shakespeare by any stretch, but it was the most successful non-traditional production I’ve seen yet.

Best Summer Production: Evil Dead The Musical, Bootless Stageworks -- Bootless’ Summer Splatter Series is a Wilmington tradition, and a highlight of the summer. They’ve done Evil Dead before, but this year it was at their new location at St. Stephen’s Church on Broom Street, and showed that Ryan P.J. Mulholland may have been born to play Ash.

Best Family Show/Most Fun: Shrek The Musical, Wilmington Drama League -- With a huge all-ages cast retelling the uplifting story of triumphant misfitittery, Shrek was way more fun than I expected it to be.

Best Touring Show: Camelot, The Playhouse -- Despite rumors that The Playhouse would no longer focus on Broadway touring shows, the 15-16 season is packed with big Broadway shows. My favorite of 2015 was Camelot - the updated version of the classic musical had some of the most stunning visuals of the year.

Best Show Overall: Memphis, Wilmington Drama League -- WDL stepped their game up to a whole new level with Memphis, the Broadway musical about the birth of rock ‘n roll. Everything hit the right note: the diverse cast was amazing, the sets were atmospheric, the story was a lesson in American history as well as a lesson in the roots of rock music. Truly a Community production that was up there with the professional theaters.