by
Donald Brown |
Dec 14, 2023 8:54 am
|
Comments
(0)
T. Charles Erickson Photo
Samuel Douglas as Uncle Vanya and Rebeca Robles as Sonya.
The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale’s production of Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece Uncle Vanya — running now at the Iseman Theater on Chapel St. through Dec. 15 — is played before the theater’s usual stadium seating, but the viewers positioned on risers in the wings of the stage will feel themselves more pointedly in the midst of the action. The play, directed by fourth-year directing MFA candidate Sammy Zeisel, was adapted by the much-awarded playwright Annie Baker and experimental director Sam Gold to be staged, at Soho Rep in 2012, with a “you are there in the midst of the action” arrangement, where some spectators sat on the floor or makeshift seats, and the cast was surrounded by the audience.
by
Brian Slattery |
Dec 13, 2023 8:20 am
|
Comments
(1)
Cover of Nu Haven Style.
“Turetskaya,” the opening number on the Nu Haven Kapelye’s new album, Nu Haven Style — to be officially released the day of the klezmer orchestra’s annual concert at Congregation Mishkan Israel on Ridge Road in Hamden — gallops out of the gate, with horns, strings, and winds belting out the melody in unison while the rhythm section surges beneath them, an irresistible force, exploding with emotions, carrying, as so much klezmer does, simultaneous senses of deep happiness and sadness together.
by
Brian Slattery |
Dec 12, 2023 8:59 am
|
Comments
(2)
Brian Slattery Photos
Elm Shakespeare Teen Troupe's production of Henry V.
Cast members of Elm Shakespeare Teen Troupe’s production of Henry V burst onto the stage in a rush of sound and energy. “O, for a muse of fire that would ascend / The brightest heaven of invention! / A kingdom for a stage, princes to act, / And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!” they cried out together.
The famous introduction to probably Shakespeare’s most famous war play, the players reminded those seated in the risers at Educational Center for Arts’ theater, isn’t about war; it’s about imagination, creativity, and the collective act of actors, crew, and audience creating a world together inside a theater.
I kept my eyes on the timpanist, my ears open to astonishing sounds, and, because I didn’t know the lyrics and couldn’t sight-read the baritone part on the score, kept my big mouth shut.
by
Brian Slattery |
Dec 11, 2023 2:41 pm
|
Comments
(0)
Brian Slattery Photos
Punchlove.
John Zaccaria of the Knife Kickers spoke for many — including other musicians later in the evening — when he asked a vital question: “Why am I sweating in December?” It was warm with torrential rain outside, but the question was more about the temperature inside, as four bands blazed their way through sets of indie rock to an enthusiastic audience that arrived early and stayed late to bob their heads and hang at Best Video in Hamden.
by
Karen Ponzio |
Dec 10, 2023 9:43 pm
|
Comments
(0)
Karen Ponzio Photo
Christine Ohlman and Jim Chapdelaine.
There are three things you can count on in December: stores jammed with holiday shoppers, roads jammed with holiday travelers, and Christine Ohlman jamming though The Beehive Holiday Blowout at Cafe Nine. The 10th annual event happened Sunday during the Sunday Buzz with the legendary Beehive Queen, her sweet as honey band, and a hive full of fans that sang and danced along nearly nonstop as the rain poured down outside.
by
Brian Slattery |
Dec 8, 2023 8:48 am
|
Comments
(0)
Brian Slattery Photos
Barrett, Deupree, Morris.
In between sets of improvised music at Never Ending Books on State Street, the band joked with each other with the ease of old friends. Ringleader Joe Morris introduced the band to newcomers. Horn player Taylor Ho Bynum used to live in New Haven, Morris said, but relocated to Vermont; shortly after his arrival, he got 40 inches of snow.
“And I stayed!” Bynum interjected, to laughter. Morris then introduced bassist Brad Barrett. “I don’t have any good snow stories about Brad,” Morris said. He was killing time. Seeing that most of the audience had settled in, he then turned to his fellow musicians.
“All right,” he said, “Enough reality.” And began to play.
by
Karen Ponzio |
Dec 7, 2023 1:16 pm
|
Comments
(0)
Karen Ponzio Photos.
Cherrie Cherrie through the eyes of Andres Madariaga
Music and visual art both went live Wednesday night at Cafe Nine when Color in Sound, an event organized and curated by local artist Andres Madariaga, brought together three musical acts and a number of visual artists, some who displayed their work, some who created art while the bands played, and some who did both.
The Palestinian sunbird up for auction to raise humanitarian funds.
In Emmeline Kaiser’s painting, a vibrant blue Palestinian sunbird perches in a blooming meadow, a picture of peace.
That bird has raised $75 and counting in a fundraising effort organized by local artists of color for humanitarian aid to Palestinian communities now facing bombs and evacuation orders.
by
Brian Slattery |
Dec 7, 2023 8:23 am
|
Comments
(0)
Brian Slattery Photos
As the temperature outside dropped to feeling downright wintery, Space Ballroom in Hamden on Wednesday was filled with warmth, as indie-folk favorites Darlingside, with Field Guide opening, created a night of hope and good cheer for a packed house of fans ready to receive it.
by
Brian Slattery |
Dec 6, 2023 8:59 am
|
Comments
(2)
Ann Lehman
Friends on Bench.
The two friends in Ann Lehman’s sculpture — we only know they’re friends because the title tells us so — appear as though they’re deep in the middle of a long conversation, one that started long before we arrived and will continue after we’ve gone. One is perhaps trying to convince the other of something. He’s pressing his point. The other isn’t convinced, but he’s hearing the argument out. It’s happening on a bench that could be in any public park. In short, it’s a definition of community: people coming together in an open space, exchanging ideas, listening and speaking, challenging one another knowing that the friendship is stronger than any argument, that the bonds between people matter the most.
by
Brian Slattery |
Dec 5, 2023 8:53 am
|
Comments
(0)
Ken Grimes
Untitled (The Electrical Experiments of Marconi).
Ken Grimes’s pieces in “The Truth Is Out There” partake of the style of cartoons, woodblocks, and also — thanks to the associations from the X‑Files reference in the title — the illustrations on the covers of the Golden Records aboard the deep space exploration vehicles Voyagers 1 and 2. Those contain information for any aliens that might find the record, starting with instructions on how to play the music and proceeding to a diagram showing the location of the origin of the mission, that is, us.
Grimes’s work shares that sense of playful seriousness. It muses aloud whether scientific experiments activated a distant alien probe, the tone of voice making room for wonder, conspiracy, and the skeptical response to both: Probably not. And so what if it did? The inherent humor allows for it all — yet in its dogged focus on its subject matter, puts its thumb on the scale. Grimes hears the skeptics. But what if there’s life out there? When it makes contact, how do we respond?
by
Karen Ponzio |
Dec 4, 2023 8:33 am
|
Comments
(2)
Tyshawn Sorey Trio.
Did you hear thunder Friday night or see lightning? Probably not, unless you were one of the lucky few to attend the sold-out Tyshawn Sorey Trio show at Firehouse 12. Part of the venue’s 2023 Fall Jazz Series, these three acclaimed musicians — Tyshawn Sorey on drums, Aaron Diehl on piano, and Matt Brewer on bass — presented a scintillating set of spontaneity and skill, coupled with unbridled joy, that became a master class on how live music can be downright magical.
by
Brian Slattery |
Dec 1, 2023 8:59 am
|
Comments
(0)
Joan Marcus Photos
Taylor A. Blackman
When we first meet Boseman Salvage Junior (Taylor A. Blackman), he’s shoveling snow, and turns it into a dance. The labor he’s doing can’t take away from the grace with which he’s doing it. As he continues to move, in more abstract ways, the dance becomes a strong expression of character, a portrait of a young man with more within him than he knows how to contain. In that context, his act of shoveling becomes meaningful, given the mountain of snow that hovers in the background for his dance — and for the entire play. No matter how much he shovels in that moment, can he make a dent in it? But he works, and dances, anyway.
by
Karen Ponzio |
Nov 30, 2023 9:23 am
|
Comments
(0)
Karen Ponzio Photos
The Nick Di Maria Quartet
Wednesday night’s luminous lunar display recalled the opening line of “That’s Amore”: “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…” so it seemed apropos that I was on my way to see The Nick Di Maria Quartet at Nolo, the State Street purveyor of New Haven’s most well-known meal and so much more.
by
Brian Slattery |
Nov 30, 2023 8:22 am
|
Comments
(0)
Brian Slattery Photos
Mizu.
Sweeping music from cello and electronics that sounded as huge as the tide. A man on stilts, playing guitar, his hair nearly touching the ceiling. Another man singlehandedly turning the club into a dark lounge. Thanks to Mizu, Tall Juan, and Kyle Avallone, all these moments and more happened at Cafe Nine, bringing big vibes to a rapt audience on Wednesday night.
by
Brian Slattery |
Nov 29, 2023 8:37 am
|
Comments
(0)
Amartya De
Brassworks, CPIML Building, Kolkata
The photograph of a brass worker in Kolkata encompasses the weight of history and the immediacy of the present; it’s an image from decades ago, but it’s plausible to believe that there are still people who work metal in similar ways now. The picture is lived in. It carries other senses with it. Maybe the tangy smell of heated metal, the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere. The sounds of a metal shop. And for Amartya De, it’s a connection to where he’s from, a small piece of that larger whole.
Mexican restaurant owner Brenda Jain took a chance on her lifelong love for Thai food and decided “It’s Thai Time.” We decided it was time to check it out for ourselves.
by
Brian Slattery |
Nov 28, 2023 7:55 am
|
Comments
(0)
Penrhyn Cook
Holiday Reflections.
Penrhyn Cook’s series of photographs, Holiday Reflections, are absorbing enough in their own right. Colorful and festive, the images are just askew enough to warrant a closer look. Are we looking at double exposures? What do we make of the giant fruit and a rainbow on a city block? In the context of Kehler Liddell Gallery’s annual holiday show — titled “Deck the Walls” and running at the Westville space through Dec. 24 — the title of Cook’s series earns itself a double twist, as the works of fellow gallery members on the opposite walls are reflected in the photos’ glassy surfaces. Images layer on images, an apt depiction of the show as a whole, in which all the gallery members play a part.
by
Karen Ponzio |
Nov 27, 2023 8:19 am
|
Comments
(0)
Karen Ponzio photo
Michael Slyne at Volume 2.
On the day after Thanksgiving, many scattered through stores to find the best prices on holiday presents. Others settled into couches to catch college football. A select few found themselves making their way to FiFac’s House, a monthly music series held on the last Friday of each month over the past year at Never Ending Books. Not unlike the multitude of series held at the State Street gathering space — both before and after its reimagination under the Volume Two collective — the night offered an array of performers that established a symbiotic relationship between creator and listener via dissonance, dreaminess, and experimentation.
by
Brian Slattery |
Nov 22, 2023 11:00 am
|
Comments
(15)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Reel life in New Haven: The 2018 Black Panther opening became a festive community event for organizers like Paul Bryant Hudson, Jennifer Quaye Hudson, and Mercy A. Quaye (pictured).
Midnight showings of classics and new movies. Packed lobbies for James Bond films. A small screening room for arthouse flicks. The smell of popcorn. The collective laughter, sobbing, and gasping as an audience took a ride through a movie together.
When Bow Tie’s Criterion Cinemas closed its doors in October, New Haveners lost the ability to have those experiences — and now face the question about the future cultural place of movies in the Elm City.
by
Lisa Reisman |
Nov 22, 2023 8:42 am
|
Comments
(2)
Lisa Reisman photo
"Marblehead" director-producer Darrell Bellamy Jr. and screenwriter Melo Ali El.
Exterior of Kennies Earl Kreative House on Shelton.
The scene was a bare-bones space with concrete walls in an industrial building on Shelton Avenue. Jeff Bell was pleading with Carter Goodrich not to hurt him.
“I have some money in my pocket and a watch worth five grand,” Bell told Goodrich, his voice quaking. “Just let me go. Please let me go.”
Off in the distance, a door slammed shut. A siren wailed.
“That’s a wrap,” said director and producer Darrell Bellamy.
