February/March 2010

Films ° Performances ° Lectures
and other events in February and March 2010

February 5-20
Square One Theatre Company’s favorite playwright, A.R. Gurney, is celebrated with one of his most popular plays, Love Letters. Covering a lifetime of letters between two people, who grew up together, went their separate ways, but continued to share confidences, the play is both funny and touching. Square One’s award- winning actors Peggy Nelson and Pat Leo will star in this gem. Square One Theatre, 2422 Main Street, Stratford, CT. 203.375.8778, www.squareonetheatre.com

February 26, 27 & March 5, 6
Edward Albee’s 1963 Tony Award-winning play, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? continues to delight audiences today. George, a professor at a small college, and his wife, Martha, have just returned home, tipsy from a Saturday night party. Martha announces that she has invited a young couple—Nick, an opportunistic new professor at the college and his naïve new bride, Honey —to stop by for a nightcap. When they arrive, the drinks flow and the games begin… Directed by Jacqueline Jursek. 8 p.m. Holliston Town Hall, 703 Washington Street, Holliston, MA. 508.429.5444, www.washingtonstreetplayers.org

February 26–March 14
When it first opened, London reviewers called The Weir, by Conor McPherson, “mesmerizing” and “pure theatrical poetry.” The play is set in a remote, rural pub in the west of Ireland where old friends swap ghost stories to impress a young woman who has moved from Dublin into a nearby “haunted” house. However, the tables are soon turned when she spins a yarn of her own. Directed by Tim Cronin. Powerhouse Performing Arts Center at Waveny Park, 681 South Avenue, New Canaan, CT. 203.966.7084, www.tpnc.org

March 5–20
The Burlington Players present Side Man by Warren Leight. Called “powerfully unsettling” and “enormously moving” by The New York Times, this play tells the comic and tender story of a young man looking back on his family life and a time before The Beatles and Elvis, when jazz men were as heroic as ball players and there was no shortage of Saturday night gigs. Park Playhouse, One Edgemere Avenue, Burlington, MA. 781.229.2649, www.burlingtonplayers.com

March 12
The Aquila Theatre Company performs William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, one of his greatest comedies. It takes place in the Forest of Arden where love comes in all shapes, sizes, and disguises. Set in a period of revolution in France when love conquered all, As You Like It tells the story of power-hungry men, girls playing guys and finding love in unexpected places. 8 p.m. Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield University, 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT. 203.254.4010, www.quickcenter.com

March 18
As part of its film series, filmArt@PAAM, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum presents How to Draw A Bunny (2002). This documentary, called “delightful” by The Los Angeles Times, tells the story of the life and times of the late artist Ray Johnson, who is recalled by James Rosenquist, Christo, Chuck Close, and Roy Lichtenstein, among others. The film will be screened with an introduction and post-screening discussion led by Howard Karren, a former editor of Premiere Magazine. 90 minutes. 6:30 p.m. Provincetown Art Association and Museum, 460 Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA. 508.487.1750, www.paam.org 

February 4–7
The Hartt Symphony Orchestra joins the Vocal Studies Division to present The Tender Land, this season’s Main Stage Opera by Aaron Copland. Call for times. Millard Auditorium, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT. 860.768.4228, www.hartford.edu/hartt

February 5–7 & 12–14
The Boston Opera Collaborative, a non- profit organization dedicated to providing opportunities for emerging artists, will present Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Set in turn-of-the-century Sweden, this Tony award-winning musical is a tale of missed opportunities, second chances, and the follies of love. Call for times. Tower Auditorium, 621 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA. 617.517.5883, www.bostonoperacollaborative.org

February 6 & 7
The Chameleon Arts Ensemble presents a concert for two nights entitled for that transforming touch. Something old, something new, something borrowed… the art of transformation is a practice as old as music itself. Libby Larsen weaves lute songs throughout her song cycle on the last words of Henry VIII’s wives, and even Brahms’ beloved Piano Quintet existed in two forms before the enduring work we know today. Don’t miss this revelatory concert of musical makeovers. Call for times. Goethe-Institut, 170 Beacon Street, Boston, MA. 617.427.8200, www.chameleonarts.org

February 7
Westport Arts Center presents harpist Bridget Kibbey and flutist Claire Chase with works by Bach, Britten, Paganini, Takemitsu, Piazzolla, and Elliott Carter. 4 p.m. Westport Arts Center Gallery, 51 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT. 203.222.7070, www.westportartscenter.org

February 13 & 14
Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts presents Philip Hamilton’s VOICES, an original a cappella performance piece that showcases the voice as a versatile and expressive instrument throughout time and cultures. Inspired by the power of the voice and vocal music’s ability to communicate through song and sounds, director Philip Hamilton creates a multi-cultural performance event that fuses global rhythms and influences. Call for times. 40 Stow Street, Concord, MA. 978.371.0820, www.emersonumbrella.org

February 20
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center returns with an evening of Beethoven with Gilbert Kalish, piano and Ani Kavafian, violin. Pre-concert Art-to-Heart from 7–7:40 p.m. with Michael Lawrence, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, director of Artistic Programs. 8 p.m. Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield University, 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT. 203.254.4010, www.quickcenter.com

February 26
A student symphony orchestra from Trondheim, Norway, Studentersamfundets Symfoniorkester, performs music from the nineteenth and twentieth century, with a concentration on Norwegian music. Most of the group’s performers are from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway’s second largest university. Both the school and orchestra are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. 8 p.m. MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA. 617.253.5351, web.mit.edu/arts

March 6 & 7
The Nashua Chamber Orchestra presents two evenings of concerts entitled Out of The World. Along with classical favorites like Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony No. 41 and Fauré’s Requiem, they will also perform pieces by two contemporary composers: Diana, Queen and Huntress by Robert Edward Smith, and Mist, by Diane Wittry. First performance at 8 p.m. at Nashua High South, 36 Riverside Street, Nashua, NH. Second performance at 3 p.m. at Milford Town Hall, 1 Union Street, Milford, NH. 603.554.6164, www.nco-music.org

March 27
The Yale Symphony Orchestra presents a two-part musical celebration in honor of J.S. Bach’s 325th birthday. The festival begins at 4 p.m. with performances of a selection of Bach’s chamber music. At 8 p.m. they will present all six of his Brandenburg Concerti. Battell Chapel, corner of Elm and College Street, New Haven, CT. 203.432.4140, yso.research.yale.edu

February 2
Mark Morris Dance Group will stage a program of three works at the UMass Fine Arts Center Concert Hall. The program includes Looky, set to composer Kyle Gann's Studies for Disklavier; All Fours, featuring Béla Bartók's String Quartet No. 4; and V, with accompaniment provided by a performance of Robert Schumann's Quintet in E flat for Piano and Strings, Op. 44. All works are performed to live music. 7:30 p.m. There will be a pre-performance talk at 6:30 p.m. Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, University of Massachusetts, 151 Presidents Drive, Amherst, MA. 800.999.8627, www.fineartscenter.com

February 26
As part of Fairfield University’s series, Latin America Images, Dialogue and Action, the Ballet Folklórico de México presents a special music and dance performance. Ballet Folklórico founder Amalia Hernández continues her mission to bring reflections on the beauty of the universe in motion, from the early beginnings in the pre-Colombian civilizations through Hispanic influences of the Vice royal era up to the popular strength of the Revolutionary years, not only in Mexico but to the rest of the world. 8 p.m. Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield University, 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT. 203.254.4010, www.quickcenter.com

March 19–21
Celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary, the Stephen Petronio Company performs the Boston premiere of I Drink the Air Before Me. Compelling music, visual art, and fashion collide with high-powered choreography in this dance performance. Call for times. Institute for Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA. 617.478.3103, www.icaboston.org

February 18
Frank Salmon, professor of the history of Art, Cambridge University, England, will give a lecture entitled The Idyll, the Ideal, and the Real: The Rediscovery of Greek Architecture and its Consequences in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. The “rediscovery” of ancient Greece during the Enlightenment constitutes a remarkable episode in cultural history. In this lecture, Salmon will discuss what lay behind this “Grecian” interest and consider its effects, particularly the “Greek Revival” in architecture that occurred on both sides of the Atlantic in the ensuing centuries. 4:30. Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 221, Route 30 South, Middlebury College. Middlebury, VT. 802.443.3168, www.middlebury.edu/arts 

February 3
In conjunction with the exhibit Lost in Pittsburgh (on view through February 19), artist Zsuzsi Matolcsy and curator Arno Rafael Minkkinen will give a joint talk about the exhibit, which depicts a three-year photographic journey into the lives of young adults who have chosen to live outside of the mainstream of society. 3–5 p.m. University Gallery at UMass Lowell, McGauvran Student Union, First Floor, 71 Wilder Street, Lowell, MA. 978.934.3491, www.uml.edu/dept/art/galleries

February 19
At the opening reception of the group exhibition This World, Other World (on view February 19–March 27), the artists will present an informal discussion of their work. The exhibition, guest curated by David Grozinsky, admissions manager of the Vermont Studio Center, features Studio Center alumnus who expand the notion of landscape outside the realm of direct observation, drawing viewers into a variety of imagined worlds of their own construction using sculpture, paintings, and prints. 5–8 p.m. The Firehouse Gallery, 135 Church Street, Burlington, VT. 802.865.7165, www.burlingtoncityarts.com

February 24
In conjunction with his first solo exhibition in New England, Stephen Vitiello will give a talk during the opening reception of his new sound and light installation, created in collaboration with lighting designer Jeremy Choate. In this piece, sound will be connected with light and color, creating an immersive synaesthetic experience. The lighting will be designed in sympathy with the audio, and the resulting combination will surround the visitor, altering our spatial perception. 6 p.m. Davis Museum and Cultural Center, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA. 781.283.2051, www.davismuseum.wellesley.edu

February 28
In celebration of Pat Steir: Drawing Out of Line, the artist joins in conversation with Kathan Brown, founding director of San Francisco's Crown Point Press, one of the most prestigious print shops in the country and where Steir has been making prints since 1977. Jan Howard, curator of prints, drawings, and photographs at the RISD Museum of Art, will moderate a discussion about how the role of drawing has been played out in Steir's prints. 2:30 p.m. RISD Museum of Art, 24 Benefit Street, Providence, RI. 401.454.6500, www.risdmusuem.org

March 12
Carol Prusa will be giving an artist talk at the opening reception of her exhibit Cosmic Fabric, on view March 3–March 28. Carol Prusa uses the antique art form of silverpoint to create otherworldly works of profound beauty and complexity. 6–9 p.m. eo art lab, 69 Main Street, Chester, CT. 860.526-4833, www.eoartlab.com

March 25
The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University presents a talk with Andrew Witkin, who participated in its Visiting Faculty 2009–10 show. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be an informal discussion of his work and process. 6 p.m. Room B04, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, 24 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA. 617.495.3251, www.ves.fas.harvard.edu/ccva.html