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March 31 - April 20, 2022
This weekend: Jane Eyre at Hampshire Regional High School, Blithe Spirit at the Majestic, Antigone at Springfield College, and an improvised musical at Happier Valley Comedy. And that's just the performances! Check out workshops and opportunities (like a chance for free space and some funding for your event from CitySpace!) or plan what you might want to see next weekend in all the listings below.
The next issue will include events from April 7 - 27. Submit upcoming events via the link below or by emailing me before Tuesday at midnight. Any questions, comments or feedback? Email me at pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com
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YOUR EVENT HERE
$5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing!
Email me to reserve your dates.
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THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS:
from Howlround
Gender Euphoria, Episode 9: On Being a 'Trans Trailblazer'
by Nicholas Shannon Savard and Scott Turner Schofield
From the article:
Nicolas Shannon Savard: Hello, and welcome to Gender Euphoria, the podcast. I'm your host, Nicholas Shannon Savard. My pronouns are they, them, and theirs. For today's episode, I sat down with award-winning actor, writer, consultant, and educator Scott Turner Schofield. Scott Turner Schofield was dubbed a trans trailblazer by many a media outlet after being cast in The Bold and the Beautiful in 2015, becoming the first openly trans actor to play a major recurring role on daytime television and the first trans man to be nominated for an Emmy Award for his acting in Studio City in 2020. A multimedia version of his on- man show special Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps premiered in the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival and was a special event at Outfest 2020. Behind the scenes, Schofield works as a consultant on HBO's hit show Euphoria and partnering with GLAD and IATSE, has vetted trans-affirmative policy for the union and has educated thousands of crew members in onset sensitivity.
Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com
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Hampshire Regional High School
Jane Eyre - HRHS Spring Musical
March 31, April 1 & 2 - 7:00 PM, April 3 - 2:00 PM
Hampshire Regional High School
Hampshire Regional High School’s Musical Theatre program makes its much anticipated return to the stage with its upcoming production of Jane Eyre the musical. Jane Eyre is a Tony Award-nominated musical depicting Charlotte Brontë’s haunting and mysterious gothic romance, with Music and Lyrics by Paul Gordon, and the Book and additional Lyrics by John Caird.
Myka Plunkett returns to direct her 6th production with HRHS with Lauren Bell as music director. The dates of the performances are March 31, April 1, and April 2 at 7 p.m. and April 3 at 2 p.m. All performances will take place at the Hampshire Regional High School auditorium in Westhampton.
The performance includes cast and crew from Westhampton, Southampton, Goshen, Chesterfield, Williamsburg and Worthington. Additionally, in an effort to provide performing arts opportunities to more children, after two years with limited options, the cast will include a children’s chorus from the elementary schools of the Hampshire Regional School District. More than 40 students will be accompanied once again by a talented live pit orchestra conducted by Rebecca Phelps.
Ticket prices are $15 for adults/general admission, $10 for Seniors and children under 18, and $5 for HRHS students and staff. Tickets are available by calling (413) 437-5587, emailing hrhstickets@gmail.com, at the door, or through this GoFan link
There is a service fee for all tickets purchased online.
As of the time of this publication, HRHS is mask optional, but attendees should check the school’s website (https://www.hrhs.net/) for updates closer to the date of the productions.
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BLITHE SPIRIT REVIVES MAJESTIC THEATER’S 24th SEASON
MARCH 31 THROUGH APRIL 3
Blithe Spirit, a classic comedy by Noel Coward, will be presented at West Springfield’s Majestic Theater February 24 through April 3. The opening of the show follows a brief hiatus in the Majestic’s 24th season of live theater that was caused by an uptick in reported cases of COVID in the region.
The story focuses on Charles, a socialite and successful writer who is researching the occult for his latest novel. He arranges for clairvoyant Madame Arcati to hold a séance in his home, during which she inadvertently summons the ghost of Charles’ first wife Elvira, who has been dead for seven years. Only Charles can see or hear Elvira; his current wife Ruth doesn’t believe Elvira exists. The ghostly Elvira makes ongoing efforts to disrupt the marriage, including sabotaging Charles’ car in the hopes that he will join her in the spirit world. Instead, it is Ruth who is killed in the car, and her ghost immediately comes back for revenge on Elvira.
Producing Director Danny Eaton feels certain the play will lift the spirits of its audience. “We’re really glad to be reopening our doors after closing for a few weeks when COVID numbers were climbing in our area,” he stated. “We were very dismayed to reschedule our January play, Betty and the Patch, for June of this year, but it really made sense, given the circumstances, and our mission to help keep attendees, performers and staff in good health. We, along with everyone else, feel weary at times due to the pandemic, but Blithe Spirit will provide great laughs and we think audiences will really enjoy this solid comedy.”
Eaton reported that the down time was put to good use to upgrade amenities at the venue. “We’ve installed all new carpeting, stage lighting and sound equipment. New chairs have been ordered, and new HVAC systems are improving air quality throughout the theater and café. We’ve been very busy during the time we’ve been closed,” he stated.
The cast of Blithe Spirit includes Fleece (Ruth), Russell Garrett (Charles), Jeannine Haas (Madame Arcati), Sara Corbyn Woolf (Elvira), Stuart Gamble (Dr. Bradman), Christine Voytko (Mrs. Bradman) and Caelie Flanagan (Edith). Understudies include Myka Plunkett, Jack Grigoli, and Alexandra O’Halloran.
Sue Dziura, who is the associate producing director, is directing the play, Stephen Petit is production stage manager, and set design is by Greg Trochlil. Costume designer is Dawn McKay, Dan Rist is lighting designer and Aurora Ferraro is the associate production manager.
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Springfield College Theater
Antigone by Sophocles
April 1 at 7:30 pm April 2 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm; and April 3 at 2:00 pm
Fuller Arts Center, Springfield College, Springfield
This fresh adaptation of a classic Greek drama tells the story of a rebellious young woman, Antigone, who resists a tyrannical political leader, the new king Creon, who happens to be her uncle! Our new version features the modern-day setting of a war-torn country, and the constant media, cameras, and reporters who press themselves into the middle of this family tragedy. A masterpiece of civil disobedience, Antigone explores the struggle of the individual with the laws of the state.
Do the proud ever find joy? Whose truth matters?
More information
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The Understudies: An Improvised Musical!
April 2nd at 7:00 PM
Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA)
Be part of the fun as brave improvisers and their trusty musician create an entire musical from scratch. Saturday, April 2nd at 7pm at the Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, on rte.9). Tickets: $13 online and at the door.
For more info: https://www.happiervalley.com/understudies.html
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The Academy of Music Theatre
AOM Season Series Presents: The Flick
4/7/22 at 7:30 PM, 4/8/22 at 7:30 PM, 4/9/22 at 7:30 PM, 4/10/22 at 2:00 PM
The Academy of Music Theatre
In a run-down movie theater in central Massachusetts, three underpaid employees mop the floors and attend to one of the last 35 millimeter film projectors in the state. Their tiny battles and not-so-tiny heartbreaks play out in the empty aisles, becoming more gripping than the lackluster, second-run movies on screen.
With keen insight and a finely-tuned comic eye, The Flick is a hilarious and heart-rending cry for authenticity in a fast-changing world. 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Obie Award to Annie Baker for Playwriting; Obie Award to Matthew Maher for Sustained Excellence of Performance; Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.
https://www.aomtheatre.com/event/the-flick/
Ticket Prices:
$20 + taxes & fees
All patrons MUST wear a mask inside the theater while not eating or drinking. |
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Olvidados: A Mexican American Corrido
By Elisa Gonzales
Lyrics by Elisa Gonzales
Musical Arrangement, Composition, and Additional Lyrics by Moises Vázquez
Directed by Sara Guerrero
April 7, 8, 9 at 7:30 p.m., April 9 at 2 p.m.
In the Rand Theater, located in the Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts at UMass
Tickets: Sold through the Fine Arts Center Box Office and at the door.
Prices: $15 general admission, $5 youth, students, and seniors
Content Advisory: Use of racial slurs and discussion of a child’s death
During the Great Depression, over one million Mexicans and Mexican Americans were illegally and unconstitutionally repatriated to Mexico. What they went through has reverberated through successive generations, and among those affected were Professor Elisa Gonzales' great-grandparents. April 7-9, UMass Theater presents a workshop production of Olvidados: A Mexican American Corrido, Gonzales' compelling new musical about her ancestors' experiences.
"I owe so much of what I have been able to accomplish because of my family—my parents, my grandparents, my great-grandparents—I wanted to find a way to honor their stories and their legacy. Olvidados is my love letter to them," said Gonzales.
This is a workshop production — meaning the piece is a work in progress and likely to undergo further revision — and it is a creative collaboration with Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble. We are thrilled to have Breath of Fire Founding Artistic Director Sara Guerrero as director, and Ensemble member Moises Vázquez as the composer and musical director of the piece.
Breath of Fire takes as its mission the support and enrichment of the lives of Latinas in visual & performing arts, working to raise awareness of critical issues in the community and to be a catalyst for personal healing and social justice, a goal which fits beautifully with Gonzales' work.
The echoes of racial and ethnic scapegoating from 90 years ago sound eerily familiar in this musical, which highlights the corrido as a storytelling form. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States defines the corrido as a verse narrative, a story sung to a musical accompaniment, portraying characters engaged in heroic, often tragic, struggles in real or realistic episodes that reflect the language, experiences, and values of common folk. For approximately two hundred years, corridos have been a cherished part of a traditional heritage in various regions of Mexico and the United States.
"Stories like the Repatriation Drives of the 1930s never make it to our classrooms. Telling this story, at this time, feels even more critical as we are witnessing several states adopting laws and policies that would prohibit and restrict the teaching of anything related to race and racism," explained Gonzales.
Come to the Rand Theater at UMass to see and hear us bring this powerful and uplifting story to the stage.
Get your tickets today!
Tickets can be purchased through the Fine Arts Center Box Office (click here to go directly to our events) or at the door before each performance.
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Amherst College Department of Theater and Dance
The Last Five Years
April 7, 8, and 9
Amherst College Kirby Theater: 200 S Pleasant St, Amherst, MA 01002
The Amherst College Theater and Dance Department is proud to present Jason Robert Brown's beloved musical, The Last Five Years. This show is Mattea Denney's (Class of 2022) senior honors project, and will be Amherst College's first theatrical performance open to the public in over two years.
This renowned musical by Jason Robert Brown offers an intensely personal look at the highs and lows and unknowable spaces in Jamie and Cathy's five-year relationship – from meeting to break-up... or from break-up to meeting, depending on how you look at it. As it toggles between these two points of view, with one character's story moving forward and the other’s backward, the audience may feel like they are flipping through the scrapbook of Jamie and Cathy's lives together, as though we've been invited to pull out an old video and play back a moment, seemingly frozen in time but still alive in our memory.
The show is directed by Ashley Olivea Teague and musical directed by Keiji Ishiguri. Mattea Denney ('22) and Sterling Kee ('23) star as Cathy Hiatt and Jamie Wellerstein and are joined by Sebastian Son ('22), Alfred Kibowen ('23), Luke Herzog ('23), Annika Paylor ('24), Lydia Silver ('25), and Phoebe Mugford ('25) in the ensemble.
Performances will be held at Amherst College's Kirby Theater on April 7, 8, and 9. The house opens at 7:30 PM and the show begins at 8:00 PM. Tickets are free! Reserve your ticket.
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PORT OF ENTRY SECOND IN SILVERTHORNE THEATER COMPANY PLAY READING SERIES
GREENFIELD, MA– Silverthorne Theater Company presents the second in its 2022 Thursdays Play Reading Series play.PORT OF ENTRY, by Talya Kingston, directed by Amy Brentano, on Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 7:30 p.m at the LAVA Center, 324 Main Street, Greenfield.
About the play: It’s a regular day in the back office of a small New England International airport. TSA agent Hank is orienting newbie Chloe in her new job and Jana has just arrived on a flight from the Middle East to start her new semester of graduate school. The problem is that overnight a new law has come into effect – commonly known as “The Muslim Ban” – and it’s up to these gatekeepers to enforce it. A play that asks the questions: who is protecting our country? And who are they protecting it from?
The reading is offered free and open to the public. Registration is required because of limited space and may be made here.
Following the reading, audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback to the playwright
Directed by Amy Brentano, a strong cast of local actors are performing.
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2nd Saturdays Presents...
April 9th at 7:00 PM
Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA)
A dive into theatrical longform improv formats you'll love, from classics like Armando and Shrink to new creations like Neighbors, which has played to standing ovation! Saturday, April 9th at 7pm at the Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, on rte.9). Tickets: $13 online and at the door.
For more info: https://www.happiervalley.com/2nd-saturdays.html.
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HVC’s Fun Fridays: Storytelling Standup Showcase
April 15th at 7:00 PM
Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA)
Watch Happier Valley Comedy talent try out their latest material, laugh together, raise a glass, and support up-and-coming standup comedians. Doors open at 5:30. Showcase starts at 7pm. Friday, April 15th at the Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, on rte.9). Free!
For more info: https://www.happiervalley.com/happiervalleycomedy_fun_fridays.html#thirdfridays
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HVC Presents: Not In Charge!
April 16th at 7:00 PM
Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA)
Join the talented group Not In Charge for a polished, fast-paced improv show inspired by true stories from the cast and audience! Saturday, April 16th at 7pm at the Happier Valley Comedy Theater (1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, on rte.9). Tickets: $13 online and at the door.
For more info: https://www.happiervalley.com/notincharge.html
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