Mahaiwe Spring Program
Ricky Skaggs to Paul Taylor Dance
By: Mahaiwe - Mar 11, 2011
Great Barrington, Mass.-Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will present an eclectic array of April and May programming, including some of the world's top bluegrass, reggae, stand-up comedy, modern dance, flamenco, opera, theater, and movies. "We are committed to bringing year-round entertainment to our community," said Beryl Jolly, executive director of the Mahaiwe. "Our stage and screen are jumping with energy throughout all four seasons, to welcome audiences from down the street and from around the country."
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder will perform on Saturday, April 2 at 8pm. 2011 marks the 52nd year since Ricky Skaggs struck his first chords on a mandolin, and this 14-time Grammy Award winner continues to do his part to lead the recent roots revival in music. His album, Ricky Skaggs Solo: Songs My Dad Loved, is up for Grammy's 2011 Best Traditional Folk Album. The all-star lineup of Kentucky Thunder includes Andy Leftwich (fiddle), Cody Kilby (lead guitar), Mark Fain (bass), Paul Brewster (tenor vocals, rhythm guitar), Eddie Faris (baritone vocals, guitar), and Justin Moses (background vocals, banjo). Tickets are $40 to $60.
It will be an evening of sarcasm and silliness when comedian Kathleen Madigan presents her new act, Gone Madigan, at the Mahaiwe on Sunday, April 3 at 7pm. Madigan, whom Lewis Black deemed "The Funniest Comic in America," follows in the tradition of great comedic minds like George Carlin and Bill Hicks. With biting wit and a big dose of Midwestern charm, she skewers politics, American culture, and her family. Winner of the American Comedy Award for Best Female Comic, Madigan has been seen on The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, The View, Dr. Phil, and The Joy Behar Show, and she has had her own specials on HBO and Comedy Central. Tickets are $26 to $31.
The mission of Noche Flamenca is to create a diverse theatrical body of performance through song, music, and dance that expresses a rigorous, spellbinding aesthetic in the form of flamenco. Under the direction of Martín Santangelo, the award-winning Noche Flamenca has become Spain's most successful, and the most authentic, flamenco touring company. Formed in 1993 by Santangelo and his Bessie Award-winning wife, Soledad Barrio, the company regularly tours throughout the globe. The group will perform its intensely theatrical Spanish dance on Sunday, May 1 at 7pm. Tickets are $22 to $67.
The Mahaiwe Gala on Saturday, May 21 at 8pm will feature opera's great dramatic soprano, Deborah Voigt, accompanied by Brian Zeger. Voigt has made her mark in popular Italian operatic parts, such as Tosca, Aida, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, and Leonora in La forza del destino. This season, she added the title role in Ponchielli's La Gioconda to the long list of roles she has performed at her "home" opera house, the Metropolitan Opera. She is also an active recitalist and performer of Broadway standards. Tickets to this special event, which will benefit the Mahaiwe's year-round programming fund, are $67 and $127 (performance only) and $500, which includes a post-performance reception with Ms. Voigt.
The seminal reggae band, Wailers, will perform at the Mahaiwe on Sunday, May 22 at 7pm. Together with Bob Marley, the Wailers have sold more than 250 million albums worldwide. Their nucleus formed in 1969, when Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, and Peter Tosh recruited the Barrett brothers - bassist Aston "Family Man" and drummer Carly - from Lee Perry's Upsetters to play on hits such as "Lively Up Yourself," "Trenchtown Rock," and "Duppy Conqueror." Inspired by Rastafari and their ambitions of reaching an international audience, this is the line-up that pioneered roots rock reggae, and signed to Island Records in 1971. Outside of their groundbreaking work with Marley, the Wailers have also played or performed with a host of international acts, including Sting, the Fugees, Stevie Wonder, and Carlos Santana. Tickets are $40 to $55.
Paul Taylor Dance Company returns to the Mahaiwe over Memorial Day weekend to kick off summer with three performances. Taylor, 80, is one of the last living legends of the modern dance pantheon. This engagement will feature the New England premieres of his newest dance, Three Dubious Memories (2010) with music by Lenox-based composer Peter Elyakim Taussig, and Promethean Fire (2002), which is set to three keyboard works by Bach as richly orchestrated by Stokowski and examines a kaleidoscope of emotional colors in the human condition. Other works to be performed include Company B (1991) in which Taylor recalls the turbulent 1940s through the hit songs of the Andrews Sisters, Black Tuesday (2001), a bittersweet tribute to valiant souls of the Great Depression, and Polaris (1976), a comedic experiment in focus and texture.
The Saturday, May 28 at 8pm Paul Taylor Dance Company performance will include Company B, Three Dubious Memories, and Promethean Fire; the Sunday, May 29 at 3pm matinee will include Company B, Three Dubious Memories, and Promethean Fire; and the Sunday, May 29 at 7pm performance will feature Black Tuesday, Polaris, and Promethean Fire. Tickets are $22 to $72 (including a reception with the dancers); discounts are available when purchasing two or more performances in one order.
The Emmy and Peabody Award-wining series Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD continues at the Mahaiwe for a fourth year. The upcoming broadcast schedule includes Rossini's Le Comte Ory (Saturday, April 9 at 1pm), Strauss's Capriccio (Saturday, April 23 at 1pm), Verdi's Il Trovatore (Saturday, April 30 at 1pm), and Wagner's Die Walküre, starring Deborah Voigt (Saturday, May 14 at 12pm). Tickets are $18 to $25 (limited availability).
Opera expert Scott Eyerly gives an introductory talk about each Met opera before its live broadcast. Mixing erudition and humor, Eyerly's lectures enhance the opera-goer's experience. All interested community members are welcome to attend these educational seminars whether attending the broadcast or not. These talks will take place at the Mahaiwe at 11am on April 9 (Rossini's Le Comte Ory), April 23 (Strauss's Capriccio), and April 30 (Verdi's Il Trovatore). Eyerly's lecture about Wagner's Die Walküre on Saturday, May 14 will take place at 10am at the Mahaiwe. Tickets are $10 (general admission).
"Live in HD" broadcasts at the Mahaiwe also include London's National Theatre Live (NT Live), a successful new initiative to broadcast live performances from the National's stages to cinemas worldwide. The next play to be broadcast is The Cherry Orchard, directed by Howard Davies and featuring Zoe Wanamaker (Thursday, June 30 at 2pm). Tickets are $18 to $25.
The Mahaiwe Movie of the Month series continues with Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974, starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston) on Friday April 22 at 7pm and Fred Zinnermann's From Here to Eternity (1953, starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Deborah Kerr) on Friday May 13 at 7pm. Tickets to Mahaiwe Movie of the Month screenings are $6 (general admission). Mahaiwe Movies of the Month are sponsored by Don Buchwald & Associates.
Tickets
Join Friends of the Mahaiwe and receive special discounts and benefits now accessible online. Membership begins at $65 and all Friends receive priority ordering for first access to the best seats for most Mahaiwe Presents events, along with other benefits. The Mahaiwe Box Office is located at 14 Castle Street in Great Barrington, Mass. Box Office Hours: Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 6pm and three hours before show times. For tickets and information, see www.mahaiwe.org or call 413.528.0100.