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mwitchipoo · 5 years ago

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May 14th, 2019, Jaz Coleman was at Berlin NYC for an intimate spoken word event. Coleman is the un-dogmatic vocalist for the band Killing Joke. The influential Post-Punk group was on their 40th anniversary world tour. Playing at venues across America was part of the itinerary, which included two sold out gigs at the following NYC venues; Le Poisson Rouge located in Manhattan and Brooklyn’s St. Vitus. Along the way, Jaz Coleman squeezed in a few spoken word events in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York City. Here we’ll discuss the NYC gig.

I first discovered Killing Joke when I was maybe around 15 years old. Heard strains of their single Love Like Blood from some radio program broadcast on WNEW-FM. It was a show featuring British alternative acts. Which is how I also discovered The Smiths. Love Like Blood led to me getting the Nighttime album on vinyl.

Prior going any further, I’m going to confess something. A few years after getting Nighttime, I saw Killing Joke live at CBGB’s. This was during the late ’80s. (Exact date: August 13, 1989) By then the group had already established themselves as legendary. So as a rude teenager, I walked to the bar. Unexpectedly I found myself standing right next to none other than Jaz Coleman himself. He was relaxing at the bar prior to the concert. Jaz was naturally friendly. This timing was way off for me, for around this time I was in my obnoxious late teen phase. So what do I do? I was completely rude to Jaz, then walked away. The middle age adult in me is looking back and shaking her head. I wasn’t being clever. I was being a jerk. Nonetheless, Killing Joke put on an amazing show. As the band played, a woman sporting light brown curly hair began talking to me. She asked me if I was observing Jaz’s facial expressions during the band’s performance. “He’s so intense” she cooed.

A friend who had gone with me to the CBGB’s gig became an impromptu fanboy after that night. He became obsessed with Killing Joke. Overnight the entire Killing Joke back catalog was a part of his record collection. According to memory, he mentioned that Jaz Coleman was doing some spoken word performance at the 13th Street Playhouse. I didn’t go to the Q&A titled “The Necessity of Struggle“, which Jaz was doing along with Martin Atkins. Most likely because I was a broke obnoxious teenager. So my friend goes the following Monday. I ask him for his feedback. He dropped a few tidbits here and there, but his review could be summed up in one word.

“Intense.”

As my friend continued on his Killing Joke fandom, I slowly began to regret my rudeness towards Coleman. Fast forward decades later. After discovering Killing Joke back when I was 15 during the Nighttime era, I rediscovered them upon my return to NYC during the mid-2000s. This was also around the time I was knee deep in studying ceremonial and chaos magick. My CD of Pandemonium, which I originally brought during the ’90s, was in constant rotation again. It wasn’t until I started Googling the band that Jaz, along with other members were also interested in the Occult. My suspicions were confirmed. Suddenly it made sense.

Jumping to the years 2018 and 2019. Once again I pick up on Killing Joke. My Spotify list had Killing Joke in rotation. As luck would have it, Killing Joke was touring. Perfect timing, cause finally I had the funds to go and see them live once more. I brought my ticket to the Le Poisson Rouge show, despite St. Vitus being closer to where I currently reside. This didn’t matter, for it all worked out in the end. Last minute I decided to go to the Jaz Coleman spoken word event at Berlin NYC. This time the lecture was titled “Off On A Tangent.” After all these aeons, maybe now I can see what my teenage friend was raving about.

Arriving solo at Berlin NYC, it should be noted that this time, I left my rude attitude at home. As my attitude was locked up in box, I assured it that it will be brought back when clocking in for work. Just give me two days once I’m back in the mundane.

Prior to Jaz Coleman, front man for the legendary Post-Punk band Killing Joke taking the stage. May 14th, 2019 during Coleman’s “Off On A Tangent” spoken word event in NYC. At the venue Berlin NYC.

Berlin NYC was small, intimate, and extremely hot. The temperature felt like a fricken’ sauna. Met some nice UK fans who traveled to NYC exclusively for the Killing Joke gigs. The hardcore Killing Joke fans are known as “Gatherers.” There was one particular fan I friended on Facebook – he followed the entire U.S. tour. The audience mostly consisted of these devotees.

Now, Berlin NYC is located on Avenue A near Houston. Deep in the heart of the East Village/Lower East Side. It’s 2019, so the area has been heavily gentrified. Despite a tiny closet masquerading at a studio apartment going for $3000 per month, it’s still the East Village. Therefore thanks to the help of a few audience members, it almost became a free for all. I’ll get to that later in the post.

Jaz Coleman, front man for the legendary Post-Punk band Killing Joke. May 14th, 2019 during Coleman’s “Off On A Tangent” spoken word event in NYC. At the venue Berlin NYC.

As luck would have it, an extremely kind gentleman offered his seat to me. I had the best view the whole night. Turns out the woman I sat next to was a friend, a petite blond woman who I met a few years ago through another mutual friend. She was with her male friend, a tall blond man with a thick Yugoslavian accent who she recently got re-antiquated with. Her friend takes one look at me, and offers to buy me a beer. Jaz Coleman quietly takes his seat on the stage. He starts by looking straight into the gathered, and thus set the tone for the night.

Jaz states his intention. He says he was going to open the floor to the audience, allowing him to ask anything they want. That included not just Killing Joke but his interest in the Occult, his personal life, what have you. He taps the red stool next to his table. All you had to do was sit on stage next to him on the “hot seat.” But first, he requested that everyone in the audience to get up from their seats, walk around and introduce themselves to each other. I froze. It felt like I was in either a class or some self-help workshop…or both. For all we know, this could’ve been a casual working in process, and Jaz was starting up the ritual. Eva, the friend sitting next to me wasn’t too fond of this idea. She adamantly shook her saying “Nooooooooo…” Yeah, I wasn’t too thrilled either. After she was done disputing his request, I look up from my seat. There’s Jaz Coleman standing right in front of me. He says hello, introducing himself, and asks for our names as he extends his hand. I shake his hand calmly, but inside I felt like a deer caught in headlights. Don’t get me wrong. That itself was amazing, but I was still taken slightly aback.

Jaz takes his seat on the stage once again. Let the show begin.

Jaz Coleman answers questions from audience members May 14th, 2019 during his “Off On A Tangent” spoken word event in NYC. At the venue Berlin NYC.

Some brave souls get upon the hot seat. Jaz listens intently. He gives the inquirers as much as time they need to express themselves. Everything is going smoothly at first.

My friend’s friend, the blond dude with the Yugoslavian accent slowly builds up. He begins to interrupt. he guy didn’t mean to be rambunctious, but the drinks were starting to have an effect. I didn’t catch this guy’s name. You would think I would’ve. Considering he brought me a drink. Hell, we clinked our pint glasses together in a few toasts. But I didn’t, for I already was getting consumed in the event itself. Jaz had to scold him a few times.

Jaz Coleman, lead vocalist for the band Killing Joke and classical composer answers questions from audience members May 14th, 2019 during his “Off On A Tangent” spoken word event in NYC. At the venue Berlin NYC.

So Jaz asks who is next for the hot seat. The tall blond guy volunteers himself.

“Are you going to behave?” Jaz demands.

“Yes! Yes! I have a question…”

So Jaz allows him access to the red hot seat. The guy, starts by telling Jaz about his jacket. That this jacket is from a certain era, etc.

Jaz has this puzzled look; “What’s the question?”

The blond guy responds; “Nothing. I just wanted to show you my jacket…”

Jaz: “Get off the stage!”

The audience breaks into laughter. This impulsive comic relief leads to intermission, as Jaz decides to have some “tea and biscuits.”

After the break, Jaz explains to the audience that he is a recovering alcoholic. Eventually he decided it was wise to quit drinking, otherwise the alternative would’ve meant death. He recalls one incident where him and another band member got into a severe fist fight, to the point where blood could be seen on the walls. Jaz didn’t use channels like Alcoholic Anonymous. His claim was he used sheer willpower to combat drinking. He still enjoys the social aspect of going down to the pub however – but he will not order anything alcoholic. Jaz emphasized on the other alternative…death.

Jaz then pleaded for anyone who has struggled with alcoholism to speak to him. He was willing to help anyone who’s been in a similar plight. He points to the tall blond guy from earlier. “I had a talk with him during the break…”

The hot seat opens up again. More volunteers step up. As for me, I couldn’t think of anything to ask. For once, my mind was a complete blank slate. Don’t think I would’ve managed to get up on stage if I tried. Perhaps this was good. I was more content observing every moment of this unique experience.

Yet the free for all had already began. A tall, slim young woman with a gorgeous face approaches the stage. She begins by stating her parents were occultists, and that she had a rather unconventional childhood. Afterward that, she completely lost me. She rambled on for some time. I get it. She was completely lost in her feelings. While I don’t mean to disrespect her in any way, but she just went on and on. What was her point? To Jaz’s credit, he showed an incredible amount of patience. More kudos, he was actually listening. Where as I gave up on her after five minutes. This was followed by another pretty lady, but I tuned out what she was talking about as well. Give Jaz some applause. He has patience of a saint. Must be the Pisces in him.

Speaking of astrology. Jaz mentions sometime during the night that if you are ever curious about your death, check into the 8th house of your astrology chart. Astrology was something I was never an expert on, (tarot and other tools were more my forte) but I have my chart stored somewhere online. The next day, I did exactly that. Took a look at my own astrology chart. Turns out, Jaz is right. The 8th house of your astrology chart points to love, sex, and death.

Jaz dropped some additional wisdom, such as desire vs. love. He says that in order for something to come into fruition, you have to love it, but not desire it. Again, here he has a point. If you want something to manifest, it cannot be on desire alone. Desire leads to obsession, but do you truly love what you’re trying to obtain? My interpretation regarding desire vs. love is this. Desire is to obtain something, like power, or possession. Love on the other hand, is something that’s sincere and unconditional. No strings attached, no ulterior motives. You do something because you love to do it, without demands. Desire only brings misery. It’s an illusion. Desire means we are only fooling ourselves. We desire to feel important. So you take out a car loan to get that car that makes you look good. That car will take twenty years to pay off, as the bank makes interest. Meanwhile, you know you really can’t afford that car. So you’re enslaved. It’s a trap. Now we need cellphones in today’s world. So we pay the cellphone bill. But do we really need that Audi? I would be happy if I just owned any working car, period. Another example. I knew someone who collected watches. The watches were stored inside a dresser, never to be seen. Seriously though, how many watches does one need? I don’t even wear a watch myself – I just use the clock on my smartphone screen. Sometimes less is more. The more material items one collects, or the more someone desires, the more it becomes obvious that there’s an empty void desperately needed to be filled. Desire backfires. Thus love becomes the real magick.

You’re not here to read about my tangents. Back to that night. Jaz mentions some other bits of advice, but eventually the Q&A comes to a close. Before the event ends, Jaz wants to play a classical piece that he composed himself. For those who don’t know, Jaz Coleman is also an accomplished classical music composer. Which explains why some Killing Joke songs sound rather epic. Again, this makes sense. As he plays a classical track, you can see the expression on his face. He’s completely immersed with each note. Meanwhile my petite blond friend starts chewing my ear off in defense of her friend. She says he’s a good guy, he has a good heart, etc. I’m trying to go back and forth between watching Jaz Coleman and listening to my friend.

I think Jaz did have some sort of effect on her tall male friend, which I will get to in my next Killing Joke post. It’ll be mentioned in my Killing Joke concert review, which took place the next night.

It’s getting late, but Jaz Coleman offers to meet anyone in the next room, located in the back of the venue. I politely but quickly bid farewell to my friend, rushing to the back. Most likely rushing to avoid anymore drama.

As I’m waiting on line, my patience was starting to crack. It’s been a long, busy month for me. Crankiness was starting to appear. I don’t know how I managed to contain myself. I grumbled a few times while on line. Guess it must be the Aries in me.

This all changed as soon when it was my turn. I swear, as soon as I took a few steps into the back room and said “hello”, Jaz extended his arms and proceeded to give me a warm hug. That was totally unexpected. I retained my composure on the outside, but inside I was giddy. Now here’s the part where I do something I normally NEVER do. Please allow my vulnerability as I start swooning here.

After the hug, I closely look straight into his eyes. I told my interest in the occult as he smiled. “I’ve been listening to you since I was 15” I said, “but I’m sure you’ve been told that before…”

“No” as he shook his head, “Don’t say that.” Putting on a mock accent, he continued: “I want to thank you for putting food in my belly!” That was cute. At that point the wicked witch in me melted. Words? What words, I lost them. I stammered again that I was a fan for a while, but quickly checked myself. Excusing myself, I said I was going, but I will be at the concert. “I’ll look for you tomorrow night” he chimed, as I sped out the exit. Cause inside by this point, I was dying.

Go on, have a chuckle at my expense. It’s all good. It took me two weeks to process this. A delayed reaction of sorts. I will say for the record, as Jaz hugged me, it was not inappropriately. It was a genuine hug, no matter how unexpected. What really got to me what the realization that today, the human touch has become a luxury. As human beings we are afraid to hug each other as a friendly gesture. Perhaps we have lost the meaning of showing kindness. It’s perfectly okay to text each other until nightfall. There’s adventures in “sexting”, etc. God forbid though, to have a true conversation face to face. We have become jaded creatures, for every other person is an opportunist. That is distressing, and I’m digressing. But I’ll tell you this. By perchance Jaz Coleman decides to form some sort of spiritual collective or cult. It could be either in New Zealand or South America. I just might hit up travelocity.com. I jest, I jest….or am I? I caught that raised eyebrow. Therefore I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

If you’ve come this far, I thank thee. I’ve rambled on like that girl on stage. Cause it’s easy to type mindlessly on a laptop keyboard. On my cell is photo of me with Jaz Coleman. He offered to take “selfies” with anyone who requested. It’s not one of my best photos. In fact, I look exhausted. It’s been an exhausting month. But perhaps I made up for being such a jerk to him back when I was in my late teens.

Off On A Tangent – Jaz Coleman (Killing Joke) Spoken Word Event. May 14th, 2019. NYC. May 14th, 2019, Jaz Coleman was at Berlin NYC for an intimate spoken word event. Coleman is the un-dogmatic vocalist for the band Killing Joke.

#Berlin NYC #Jaz Coleman #Jaz Coleman spoken word #Killing Joke #May 2019 #Off On A Tangent

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newyorktheater · 7 years ago

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Ruthie Ann Miles and Kelli O’Hara

Ruthie Ann Miles as Imelda Marcos in David Byrne’s “Here Lies Love”

In the week since the horrendous car crash in Park Slope that killed two young children, including the four-year-old daughter of Broadway actress Ruthie Ann Miles, and put her in the hospital, almost 8,000 people raised more than $400,000 to help her family.

The driver who ran the red light has chronic illnesses, and was “cited on four previous occasions for running red lights and another four for speeding through a school zone.”

pic.twitter.com/Dx0f3RLnOy

— Ruthie Ann Miles (@RuthieAnnMiles) March 8, 2018

Here she is in 2015 singing Something Wonderful from The King and I, a role for which she won a Tony Award.

This week in New York theater: The Prom gets a date; Hamilton breaks another record, playwrights Lucas Hnath and Suzan Lori Parks get rich. A preview of Rise, the new TV series about a high school drama class. And two startling revelations from Shakespeare scholars in Cincinnati.

The Week in New York Theater Reviews

Chukwudi Iwuji and Chris Perfetti,

The Low Road

Bruce Norris’s “The Low Road” presents the improbable adventures of a scoundrel, one Jim Trewitt, to whom an adversary rightfully attributes “a rather comprehensive wickedness.” It is a wild ride through the first two decades of Jim’s life in Colonial America, which lead up to the American Revolution, peopled by some 50 vivid characters – whores and highwaymen and Hessians; celibates and slaves and British soldiers; Mohegan scouts , rich liberal benefactors and giant alien bees — portrayed by a superb cast of 17, including Chris Perfetti as the delightfully sniveling anti-hero, and the priceless Harriet Harris as the naïve Madame who raises him. Norris intends “The Low Road” as a lesson in economics – or, more precisely, as a cautionary tale about the evils of Republican-style capitalism.

Hangmen

“Hangmen” is Martin McDonagh’s first new play in New York since the misbegotten “A Behanding in Spokane” in 2010 (He’s been busy elsewhere, most recently writing and directing the Oscar-nominated film “Three Billboards in Ebbing, Missouri.”) “Hangmen” is undeniably entertaining….There are however several caveats…As with many McDonagh plays, the mordant humor, as funny as much of it is, involves a gleeful reliance on violence bordering on the sadistic.

Mark Blum, Jamie Brewer and Vanessa Aspillaga,

Amy and the Orphans

“Amy and the Orphans” is inspired by the playwright’s own Aunt Amy (who “was born with Down syndrome during a time in this country when medical professionals told my grandparents they’d just given birth to a ‘Mongolian idiot’” who should be institutionalized), and by her introduction to Jamie Brewer, the actress with Down Syndrome who is portraying Amy. “Spending only an hour with Jamie completely changed what I believed people with Down syndrome were capable of, despite having known my aunt my whole life.” It’s plainly the playwright’s main aim to have the audience spend 90 minutes with Amy/Jamie and change our beliefs as well.

queens

In “queens,” the latest resonant, heartfelt play by Martyna Majok, a Polish immigrant woman named Renia reigns over a crumby basement in the New York City borough of Queens, but she sees it as her home, her world, and her salvation…

“queens” is not just a portrait of one woman, but of a community of women, mostly newly arrived in America, who pass through this cluttered basement, with nowhere else to live, from 2001 (shortly after September 11th) to 2017.

Week in New York Theater News

The Prom, with Beth Leavel, @therealsieber, and Brooks Ashmanskas, is opening at the Cort Theater November 15. Plot: 4 “fading Broadway stars” descend on small-town Indiana prom to bask in publicity by supporting a student who wants to bring her girlfriend.

A sneak preview from BroadwayCon:

History repeating itself, across the pond: Hamilton gets 13 nominations for 2018 Olivier Awards, the most in the British award’s history. Not surprising, given what the British critics said

Other New York-affiliated shows nominated for Olivier Awards include Angels in America (which originated in England and is now on Broadway), Audra McDonald for Lady Day (which originated on Broadway), The Ferryman (which will be on Broadway in October), as well as a slew of shows by American playwrights.

Full list

Playwrights Lucas Hnath & @suzanloriparks among eight writers to be awarded @WindhamCampbell Prizes — each receiving $165,000!https://t.co/kpnc0tdlyz pic.twitter.com/pgjen8fkhL

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 7, 2018

The 2018 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has been awarded to U.K. playwright Alice Birch for her play “Anatomy of a Suicide”. Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Prize is awarded annually to recognize women from around the world who have written works of outstanding quality for the English-speaking theatre. “Anatomy of a Suicide” premiered to glowing reviews at the Royal Court in the spring of 2017, directed by Katie Mitchell. The play portrays three generations of women struggling with a legacy of depression in a family haunted by its past.

Evan Yionoulis, professor at Yale Drama School, to lead the drama division at the Juilliard School, succeeding the late James Houghton.

2018-19 Paper Mill Playhouse season: September: Unmasked by Andrew Lloyd-Webber. November: Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn. January 2019: My Very Own British Invasion (music by Beatles, Herman’s Hermits et al).April: Benny & Joon, musical based on movie. May: Disney’s Beauty & the Beast 2018-19

2018-19 Primary Stages

Sept: Final Follies by A.R. Gurney

Nov: Downstairs by Theresa Rebeck, wit Tyne Daley

Jan 2019: God Said This, by Leah Nanako Winkler

May: Little Women by Kate Hamill

Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties, written by Jen Silverman and directed by Mike Donahue. replaces MCC’s recently canceled production of Neil LaBute’s Reasons to Be Pretty Happy.”

Darko Tresnjak, who’s just announced he’s leaving his job as artistic director of the Hartford Stage Company next year, is taking over as director of “This Ain’t No Disco,” at the Atlantic Theater Company this summer. Trip Cullman, who is currently directing “Lobby Hero” at the Helen Hayes, had scheduling conflicts.

RISE — “Most of All to Dream” Episode 102 — Pictured: Josh Radnor as Lou Mazzuchelli

RISE — “Most of All to Dream” Episode 102 — Pictured: (l-r) Ted Sutherland as Simon Saunders, Sean Grandillo as Jeremy — (Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

Rise premieres March 13

Based on “Drama High,” Michael Sokolove’s 2013 nonfiction book about the visionary Levittown, Pa., teacher Lou Volpe, the first 10-episode season follows the permanently rumpled Lou from the moment he lands the drama job, beating out Rosie Perez’s better-qualified fellow teacher, to the opening night of his first musical: “Spring Awakening.” Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller is making his first foray into series TV The showrunner of Rise, is Jason Katims, who created Friday Night Lights, and sees the show as closer to that sensibility than Glee.

Nevertheless, there are so many musical numbers that Atlantic Records will each Friday release original cast recordings of the tracks featured in the following Tuesday’s episode of “Rise,” culminating in a full album in May.

Last Friday, they released five, including:

“Glorious (Rise Cast Version)” – Rise Cast, Auli’i Cravalho & Damon J. Gillespie

Broadway Standouts at the Oscars

The fabulous @KealaSettle!! The rest of the world gets to hear what we’ve done on Broadway for years! pic.twitter.com/Yamo8OQTcE

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 5, 2018

You’ve got to love this couple! They just won their second #Oscars for Best Song for @pixarcoco Their beloved songs – and new ones — are in @FrozenBroadway, opening this month! pic.twitter.com/lkuMOn61NS

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 5, 2018

With his Oscar, Bobby Lopez becomes 1st ever Double #EGOT (DEGOT?), with two Emmys, two Grammys, two Oscars and two Tonys (for Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon) .

Unexpected Broadway trend: Two of this season’s new musicals (SpongeBob and Escape to Margaritaville) feature scenes on volcanoes.

Shakespeare in Cincinnati

“Hamlet” outside Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

Brian Isaac Phillips, CSC’s producing artistic director in front of the set for the current production of “Othello.”

on the wall of CSC

Each room is named after a pub mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays

Shakespeare wrote his plays knowing they would be cut during performance, says Terri Bourus of the New Oxford Shakespeare Project, speaking at a panel on Shakespeare for the the first-ever Regional Conference of the American Theatre Critics Association in Cincinnati over the weekend. The city fathers of London REQUIRED running time be no more than around 2 hours, to avoid the spread illness and insurrection. Full Hamlet takes four hours.

As a result of the research conducted for the New Oxford Shakespeare Project, Bourus maintained, there will no longer be 38 plays in the Shakespeare canon. There will be 43, including The History of Cardenio and Arden of Fevershame

Gary Taylor and Terri Bourus, general editors of The New Oxford Shakespeare Project, in the lobby of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company after the Shakespeare panel

The panel was held at the brand new $17.5 million building of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, which features state-of-the-art acoustics and lots of whimsical touches: a sculpture of a pig outside entitled “Hamlet,” rooms named after pubs in Shakespeare’s plays (like The Elephant.) CSC began in a church basement 25 years ago; the Otto M. Budig Theater is its fifth venue, the first specifically constructed for the theater, and one that it owns.

CSC’s building is only one of an extraordinary amount of theater/arts building and rebuilding happening in Cincinnati, including a $135 million renovation of Cincinnati’s Music Hall

and continuing expansion of Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati as well plans for a new theater from the Tony-winning Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

Ruthie Ann Miles. Rise is Not Glee. Bard Cut and Expanded. Week in New York and Cincinnati Theater In the week since the horrendous car crash in Park Slope that killed two young children, including the four-year-old daughter of Broadway actress Ruthie Ann Miles, and put her in the hospital, …

#Alice Birch wins Susan Smith Blackburn Prize #Cincinnati Theater

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cynthiajayusa · 7 years ago

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Top 10 Happenings This Week

MENTALIST – Alan Chamo: Mind Hacker – comes to the Colony Theater starting Friday, August 17 at 8 p.m. The award-winning mentalist is known for his unique psychological illusions and intimate, interactive shows. Born in Argentina and raised in Israel, Chamo now calls South Beach home and performs mind-bending feats in both English and Spanish (Spanish-language shows 10 p.m. Saturdays). Tickets range from $39 to $49.

CONCERT – Mary J. Blige – will be taking the stage at the Fillmore Miami beach on Tuesday, August 22 at 8p.m. The iconic singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist has eight multi-platinum albums, nine Grammy Awards, a 2012 Golden Globe nomination and five American Music Awards. Opening is jazz-soul vocalist Lalah Hathaway. Tickets ranger from $95 to $265.

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MOVIES – The Hitman’s Bodyguard – The world’s top bodyguard gets a new client, a hit man who must testify at the International Court of Justice. They must put their differences aside and work together to make it to the trial on time. This movie which is a 118 minute action comedy is rated R and stars Elodie Yung, Ryan Reynolds, Tsuwayuki Saotome, and Roy Hill. Hits theaters Friday, August 18.

TELEVISION – Marvel’s The Defenders – premieres on Netflix on Friday August 18. After each tackling their personal demons in their own series, Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Iron Fist (Finn Jones), will team up in Netflix’s latest Marvel superhero series. The eight-episode season is set one month after the events of Marvel’s Iron Fist and will feature the Defenders as they take on the Hand. Elodie Yung will reprise her role as Elektra, while Rosario Dawson – the only actor to appear in every prior series – will once again appear as Claire Temple. Also appearing are Daredevil‘s Elden Henson, Scott Glenn and Deborah Ann Woll; Jessica Jones‘ Rachael Taylor, Carrie-Anne Moss and Eka Darville; Luke Cage‘s Simone Missick; and Iron Fist‘s Jessica Henwick. Sigourney Weaver also joins the cast as the head of an ancient organization.

COMEDIAN – Andrew Dice Clay – The controversial comic has made a name for himself on screen, in the film “Blue Jasmine” and on TV in “Entourage,” “Vinyl” and “Celebrity Apprentice.” His one-hour cable specials include “The Diceman Cometh” and “Indestructible.” He is back on the stand-up circuit after last year’s Showtime series “Dice.” Catch him at Boca Black Box Starting Thursday August 18 and going through Sunday August 19, with admission ranging from $75 to $105. For more info call 561-483-9036

MUSIC – I Love the 90’s – takes place at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater on Saturday, August 19 at 7 p.m. and features a lineup of some of the decade’s most iconic acts, including Salt N Pepa, Vanilla Ice, Coolio and Young MC. To purchase tickets, which range from $48 to $128 or for more information go to Theamppompano.org.

ELVIS – Chris MacDonald’s – performs in “Memories of Elvis” at the Parker Playhouse on Saturday, August 19 at 8p.m.. As the only tribute artist hired by Elvis Presley Enterprises to perform at Graceland’s Heartbreak Hotel, Chris MacDonald returns for a very special 40th Anniversary Memorial Celebration of the life and music of the King of Rock-n-Roll. Chris MacDonald will bring back the “Memories of Elvis In Concert” in a dynamic live performance complete with costumes, backup singers, dancers, videos and a high-energy 8-piece concert band. This is MacDonald’s only South Florida appearance for his summer concert tour. Tickets range from $33.39-$54.59.

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MOVIES – Logan Lucky – Two brothers attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina. This Comedy Crime Drama is 119 minutes, is rated PG-13 and stars Katherine Waterston, Daniel Craig, Channing Tatum, and Sebastian Stan. Hits theaters Friday, August 18.

COMEDIAN – John Caparulo – will be at the Palm Beach Improv from Thursday August 17 through Saturday, August 19. The stand-up’s hour-long special on Comedy Central, “Meet Cap,” showcased Caparulo’s talent for comic observations about everyday life. He’s a regular guest on “The Tonight Show” and “Chelsea Lately” and was a featured comic on TBS’s “Blue Collar Comedy: The Next Generation.” Caparulo starred in Vince Vaughn’s documentary “Wild West Comedy Show” and hosted CMT’s series “Mobile Home Disaster.” Tickets are $20 and $22.

SOLAR ECLIPSE – Frost Museum of Science – invites everyone to watch one of the most spectacular astronomical events from the museum’s Science Plaza. An expert astronomy team will be on hand to make sure you’re safely studying the sky using solar eclipse viewing glasses and solar telescopes. The event takes place on Monday, August 21 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $17 to $28. For more information go to: frostscience.org.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/08/17/top-10-happenings-this-week/ from Hot Spots Magazine http://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2017/08/top-10-happenings-this-week.html

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demitgibbs · 7 years ago

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Top 10 Happenings This Week

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from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/08/17/top-10-happenings-this-week/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/164291621965

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hotspotsmagazine · 7 years ago

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Top 10 Happenings This Week

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from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/08/17/top-10-happenings-this-week/

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larryland · 7 years ago

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“Now is the dramatic moment of fate, Watson, when you hear a step upon the stair of someone walking into your life, and you know not whether for good or ill. What does Dr. Mortimer, man of science, ask of Sherlock Holmes, specialist in crime? Come in!”

– Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Is the Baskerville family cursed? Who, or what, lurks amongst the mist out in the Great Grimpen Mire?

So begins the adventure in The Hound of the Baskervilles, the fifth of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, originally published serially in the Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902. It has been called one of the best murder mystery/detective stories ever written. Holmes is hot right now, and in 2015 award-winning farceur Ken Ludwig (Lend Me a Tenor) hopped on the bandwagon and adapted the novella for five actors – two playing Holmes and Watson and the other three playing all the other 46 roles.

Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, under Jen Wineman’s direction, is opening at the Dorset Theatre Festival for a three-week run July 13-29. The added wrinkle? The role of Holmes is being played by Liz Wisan, who played the “woman track,” comprising 15 different roles, in the production at the Old Globe in San Diego in 2015.

“I called Liz and asked her if she was interested in doing the show again if she could play a different role,” Wineman explained. “I was open to a woman or a man playing Holmes and/or Watson, as their genders are kind of irrelevant. I wanted to find the best people to play these parts, I was not out to make a statement with the casting. Getting Liz in any role would be a treat, and after she decimated the competition at auditions I knew that that was it.”

“And Jen is one of my favorite directors. I really I wanted to work with her,” Wisan chimed in. “She is a genius at directing comedy.”

“I wanted an actor who could take command of the stage,” Wineman said. “Even today many female characters have to be led and be told what to do. Holmes has agency, like Rosalind in As You Like It. I was looking for someone with that agency, and Liz has it.”

“Liz will join the ranks of the great virtuoso actresses like Katherine Hepburn, Glenn Close and Fiona Shaw, who have played traditionally male roles,” said Festival Artistic Director Dina Janis, who has made Dorset a mecca for female playwrights, directors, and artists during her tenure. The Festival’s 40th anniversary season opened with a world premiere of Downstairs, a Theresa Rebeck play directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt. “We are thrilled to present this twist on Sherlock and welcome to our stage a star in the making. Our audiences are going to be delighted by her, and we could not be more excited.”

This is the first time Wineman and Wisan have worked at Dorset, and they are both blown away by the physical beauty and tranquility of the area.

“I am in love with this place, it is so beautiful,” Wisan said. The landscape, the architecture, the rolling hills, I have been walking around for hours learning my lines.”

Wineman agrees. “It is so gorgeous here. I just did a very serious play in New York City, so the contrast is wonderful. I want to make Baskerville the funniest thing it can be!”

“There is this myth that women aren’t funny and we beg to differ!” Wisan added emphatically.

Wineman confesses that her cast inspires her to new comedic heights. “The five people I’ve cast are pretty zany. They share my sense of humor, and the show is a thriller but also incredibly hilarious,” she explained, warning the audience to prepare for lots of cross dressing and hilarious physical capers.

Dave Quay is portraying Holmes’ faithful companion, Dr. John Watson.

“Dave is a very talented physical comedian and clown. He really nailed the role at auditions when he performed a scene where Watson is falling down a hill. Different actors handled it different ways, but when I saw Dave I said ‘That’s it!’,” Wineman said. “Often Watson is played as the straight man, but here you’ll be surprised to find out how funny Watson can be.”

The cast is filled out by Brian Owen, who has performed in two previous productions of Baskerville, Caitlin Clouthier, in the “woman track,” and Raji Ahsan. Wineman was cagey about whether any canine performers were in the cast.

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Wisan explained that she is playing Holmes as a person, not specifically playing in to gender. “I am a woman bringing to the tale and to the stage whatever ‘womaness’ there is about me, but there are also things about me that are ‘mannish’ – I have a deeper voice and I am tall. Holmes is a person who is smart and quick, a genius. It is so wonderful to play a role that is traditionally male and have access to that brilliance and wit. In this time when women’s rights are being called into question it feels good!”

“There’s been a lot of attention recently to gender identity, we don’t call Holmes ‘madam,’ we haven’t changed the pronouns in the play. What defines a man is sort of left open,” Wineman explained. “We’re trying to look 30 years into the future when no one will be asking who can play iconic roles.”

Wisan defies anyone who would define what is feminine. “A friend had readings of iconic film scripts in her living room where men would read women’s roles and women would read men’s roles. I was reading the John Travolta role in Pulp Fiction and someone told me ‘You were reading it like a man.’ I was reading it in my voice and I am a woman. What is a woman? What is a man? And who decides these things?”

Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery runs July 13-29 at the Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Road in Dorset VT. Single tickets and subscriptions for the 2017 Summer Season are on sale. The box office may be reached by calling (802) 867-2223 ex. 2 Tuesday through Saturday 12-6pm (8 pm on performance days.) For more information, or to purchase tickets and subscriptions online, visit Dorset Theatre Festival’s website at dorsettheatrefestival.org.

There will be a pre-show discussion Hounding Holmes’s History on Thursday, July 20 at 6 pm in the café, led by resident dramaturgs Sam Levit and Matt Kirby, who will discuss the history of Baskerville adaptations

Holmes and Hounds at the Dorset Theatre Festival “Now is the dramatic moment of fate, Watson, when you hear a step upon the stair of someone walking into your life, and you know not whether for good or ill.

#Baskerville #Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery #Brian Owen #Caitlin Clouthier #Dave Quay #Dina Janis #Dorset Playhouse #Dorset Theatre Festival #Dorset VT #DTF #Hounding Holmes&039;s History #Jen Wineman #Ken Ludwig #Liz Wisan #Matt Kirby #Raji Ahsan #Sam Levit #The Hound of the Baskervilles

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larryland · 7 years ago

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A 19th century painting of Manchester, VT.

In 1812 Russell Colvin, a farm worker who all agreed was “feeble-minded,” disappeared from the Boorn family farm in East Manchester, Vermont, where he, his wife, and their many children lived with her family. Seven years later two of his brothers-in-law, Stephen and Jesse Boorn, were accused of murdering Colvin, and sentenced to hang. At almost the eleventh hour, a man claiming to be Russell Colvin was identified in New Jersey and brought to Manchester, where everyone agreed that this was indeed the missing man. Charges were dropped.

This is a very brief synopsis of the true story actor Oliver Wadsworth will bring to the stage in The Tarnation of Russell Colvin at the Dorset Theatre Festival for four performances June 8-10, before touring it to Jamaica VT on June 22, Wardsboro VT on June 24, and South Londonderry VT on June 30.

“This is the perfect event to open the Dorset’s 40th Anniversary Season. We created, commissioned, and workshopped Tarnation… right here in the Green Mountains of Southern Vermont. The story is a little-known gem of local history,” Wadsworth explained. “In the present political climate, where people outside the norm feel more ostracized than ever, Russell Colvin’s story–and his miraculous return–is perhaps more pertinent than ever.”

“And I met some descendants of the Boorn family recently,” Wadsworth remarked. “Quite by accident while I was having my tires checked.”

Bringing this story back home, to a place where there are most likely descendants of many the characters Wadsworth will bring to the stage, is both important and intimidating. There were, and still are, several clashing opinions of the Boorn-Colvin murder case. Which side does Wadsworth come down on in his one-man play?

“Each narrator comes forward and says ‘I know absolutely what happened,’” Wadsworth explained. “Everyone weighs in very strongly so I decided to do a kind of Rashomon and take them at their word.”

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“Usually, it’s the winners who get to write the history,” Wadsworth continued. “But in this story the losers get to get up on the platform and tell their story.” There are many published accounts of the case, beginning with contemporary writings and court records from 1819. It was a pamphlet by Leonard Sergeant, discovered in Northshire Books, that introduced the story to Wadsworth, who has had a home in Shaftsbury for fifteen years.

Sargeant didn’t publish his work until 1873, by which time he was the former Lieutenant Governor of the State of Vermont, but in 1819 he was the junior defense attorney for the Boorn brothers, assisting Richard Skinner, who became the state’s ninth Governor. While Sargeant was born in Dorset, where Stephen Boorn lived and farmed off and on during the years between Colvin’s disappearance and the trial, he had not known Colvin.

What made the community decide, seven years after he disappeared, that Russell Colvin had been murdered? Back in 1812 Colvin’s son, Lewis, had been working with his father and uncles when a fight broke out. The boy fled the scene but when he asked his Uncle Stephen later where his father was he was told he had “gone to hell.” Stephen told another person that Colvin was “where the potatoes don’t freeze,” which meant underground. But neither of those remarks raised suspicions then because Colvin had wandered off before. It wasn’t until 1819, when Jesse and Stephen’s uncle, Amos Boorn, a respected member the community, started having dreams in which Colvin’s ghost appeared and told him that he had been murdered and where he was buried, that the idea that Stephen, Jesse, or both brothers were the responsible parties began to take shape.

An 1856 map of Manchester, VT. Manchester Village is between the H and the E, while the Bourn Brook and East Manchester Road arch over the letters S-T-E-R. What we now call Manchester Center is marked by its original name, Factory Point.

What kind of a place was Manchester, Vermont in the early 19th century? Vermont became the 14th state in 1791, but Manchester was first settled in 1764, when ownership of the land, known as the New Hampshire Grants, was still under dispute by both New Hampshire and New York. The railroads didn’t arrive until the 1850’s so travel was on foot, horseback, horse-drawn conveyance, or by water. Newspapers were few – Bennington and Rutland had the closest – and mails were slow.

Like many New England townships, Manchester was divided into several smaller sub-communities – to this day Manchester and Manchester Center have separate zip codes and post offices – and the Boorn family lived in the more rural settlement of East Manchester, on what is now called the Bourn Brook.

A founding family of the town, the Boorns were not poor, but they had fallen a bit from their earlier socioeconomic standing. Stephen and Jesse were younger sons at a time when inheritance went to the eldest, and Colvin’s inability to support his wife, their sister Sally, and many children made him a drain on the family fortune.

At a time when there was no separation of church and state in neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut – you could not incorporate a town without a “Christian” church (what we now know as the Congregational Church) and a pastor in residence – Vermont was notoriously irreligious. Manchester Village was home to a Baptist congregation, while a Congregational parish struggled into existence in Manchester Center over the early decades of the 19th century, following several waves of religious revival. The educated and professional elite gradually moved to the Congregational side – the source of much tension in the community – and they were loath to be seen as members of a community that tried murderers on the recommendation of ghosts. The popular Congregational minister, Lemuel Haynes, son of a black father and a white mother, was a great supporter of the Boorn brothers, and in 1820 he too wrote a pamphlet about the trial.

The Reverend Lemuel Haynes

The title page of Haynes pamphlet on the Boorn/Colvin trial.

Also of importance to Wadsworth was the question of what the theatre was like in early 19th century America.

“I became fascinated by the solo performers of the 1820-1830’s,” Wadsworth explained. “British born Charles Matthews (1776-1835) did a number of ‘Yankee characters’ and dialects on a very successful US tour in 1822-1823, just after the Boorn/Colvin trial. American raconteur George “Yankee” Hill (1809-1849) was another inspiration. I decided that I would be the ‘counterfeit*’ Russell Colvin telling the story, playing all the characters and telling their sides, in the style of those contemporary performers.”

Charles Matthews

George “Yankee” Hill

To that end, Wadsworth carries all his props and costumes in a period carrying case and hopes to perform in front of an authentic painted theatre drape at each venue. “I will ask each theatre what they have locally for a town scene and perform in front of that,” he explained.

The Dorset Playhouse, originally fashioned from two Revolutionary period barns and opened in 1929, has no such curtain, so Wadsworth will travel across the state to Saxtons River, where Main Street Arts holds the most extensive collection of curtains** by Charles W. Henry (1850-1917) from Guilford, VT, all painted between about 1903 and 1910.

Scenic artist Charles Washington Henry, 1850-1917.

The Charles W. Henry drop Wadsworth is borrowing from Main Street Arts in Saxtons River, VT, for “The Tarnation of Russell Colvin.”

“The rolled-up curtain is very long and it can’t be folded, so I’ve rented a school bus to transport it to Dorset,” Wadsworth laughed. “Henry, who came from a theatrical family, painted incredible backdrops, altering the colors so they would appear accurate in the gaslight they used in theatres then. Notice the blue leaves in the drop I’ll be using in Dorset.”

“I love doing this solo show, but I often find myself playing multiple characters these days,” said Wadsworth, who is headed this fall for Penguin Rep in Stoney Point NY to appear in a show called Fall River about the Lizzie Borden case where he will again assay multiple roles. “Getting inside a wide variety of characters is a great equalizer. It has helped me develop all sorts of compassion for many different people.”

The Tarnation of Russell Colvin will be performed June 8 & 10 at 7:30 pm and June 9 at 10 am & 7:30 pm at the Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Road in Dorset, VT. Seven o’clock performances are also scheduled for Jamaica VT on June 22, Wardsboro VT on June 24, and South Londonderry VT on June 30. Click HERE to buy tickets. Written & performed by Oliver Wadsworth; directed by Kirk Jackson; costumes by Richard MacPike; set by Michael Rancourt. Special thanks Main Street Arts; Saxton River, VT; and the Town Hall of Wardsboro, VT, for the loan of the theatre curtain.

*The idea that the man who appeared in Manchester in 1819 was a “counterfeit” or imposter Russell Colvin is one of many. Gerald W. McFarland, in the most recently published book on the subject, The Counterfeit Man: The True Story of the Boorn-Colvin Murder Case (1990), espouses this view in what is otherwise a well-researched and even-handed account.

**Vermont has made an extraordinary effort to locate, restore, and conserve historic painted theatre curtains. Curtains Without Borders, a conservation project dedicated to documenting and preserving historic painted scenery, began in 1996 as a project of the Vermont Museum & Gallery Alliance. The 190 painted curtains, found in town halls, grange halls, theaters and opera houses, were mostly created between 1890 and 1940. They are handsomely documented in the book Suspended Worlds by Christine Hadsel. In 2008/2009, Curtains Without Borders and the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance collaborated on a survey to locate and document New Hampshire’s collection of historic scenery. Over 140 pieces have now been documented.

Local Murder Mystery Comes to the Stage In 1812 Russell Colvin, a farm worker who all agreed was “feeble-minded,” disappeared from the Boorn family farm in East Manchester, Vermont, where he, his wife, and their many children lived with her family.

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