Arts

2019 Chestertown HP Festival’s Wizarding Weekend

September 14, 2019 by Garfield Center 1 Comment

The Garfield Center for the Arts, working with wizarding fans and community volunteers, is busily planning a fun HP Festival Wizarding Weekend for October 4 and 5, 2019. This year’s event is being supported by other local nonprofits that include Main Street Chestertown, RiverArts, and the Downtown Chestertown Association.

The 2019 Chestertown HP Festival’s Wizarding Weekend invites fans of all ages to convene and enjoy the historic river town’s local arts and activities. Beginning on First Friday, October 4, participants can explore downtown shops and dance the night away at a family friendly wizard themed street party. All are encouraged to wear their HP and wizarding costumes! Chestertown RiverArts Clay Studio will be offering a Chest-a-Wizards workshop, where participants will learn how to mix magic spells and potions to take home! Pre-register at chestertownriverarts.com.

On Saturday, October 5, activities will run all day, from 10am to 4pm. Stop in at the Garfield Center at 210 High Street to pick up your map and schedule for the day. The HP Festival’s Wizarding Weekend Scavenger Hunt will take you through the streets of Chestertown in search of clues to solve the riddle featured on the event map. Dress your wizard best for our Costume Contest and ‘parade/procession’ for fans of all ages with fun prizes! Back by popular demand are the wand co-op at Bob Ortiz’s studio and the Goblins & Galleons Bank created by Kent School teachers and students. Visit the Kent County Library for a screening of “Order of the Phoenix”. The RiverArts Chest-a-Wizards workshop will be offered throughout the day. Young wizards can experience the magic of a potions class with Radcliffe Creek School. Gunston School students will help you discover your house and show your house pride with their Create Your House Banner activity. Kaleidoscope is offering a Magical Creature Habitat Workshop for ages 5-12. Pre-register at www.kaleidoscopechestertown.com. Fountain Park and High Street in Chestertown’s Historic District will host HP and wizarding themed artisans and craft vendors. Food trucks and vendors will be on site for a quick bite, and downtown restaurants and cafes will welcome diners for sit-down meals. Go to the official festival website, chestertownhpfest.org, and join our mailing list to be notified of updates. More information on the HP Festival’s Wizarding Weekend will be added to the website as it becomes available. Stay tuned!

With the exception of some workshops that require fees to cover materials, all events and activities for this weekend are free. Donations are always welcome!

Volunteers are needed! Email volunteers@chestertownhpfest.org.

For further details, directions, and suggested accommodations, visit www.chestertownhpfest.org.

The Chestertown HP Festival’s Wizarding Weekend is organized by the Garfield Center for the Arts and community volunteers as a celebration of the spirit of Harry Potter and an opportunity to promote our local community and its arts. Warner Bros. Entertainment and JK Rowling are not associated with or responsible for the festival in any way.

Located in the historic district in Chestertown, The Garfield Center for the Arts (www.garfieldcenter.org) is a cultural organization whose mission is to invigorate the cultural life of our community by nurturing, celebrating and supporting arts and artists through performance and education.

33 Variations at Church Hill Theatre Through September 22

September 14, 2019 by Church Hill Theatre Leave a Comment

The unique play 33 Variations continues at Church Hill Theatre through September 22. Moises Kaufman’s compelling contemporary play brings one of Beethoven’s finest piano works to life in a production that reviewer Peter Heck calls “a masterpiece.” With Stephanie King LaMotte playing the grand piano, Director Michael Whitehill shifts fluidly between the 19^th and 21^st centuries, exploring musical, medical and intellectual enigmas.

In 33 Variations, Kathy Jones gives a “virtuoso performance” as musicologist Katherine Brandt, coping with an advancing case of ALS, whilst pursuing her research on the background of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. Her story alternates and intersects on the stage with Beethoven’s own reaction to his growing deafness and his fascination with a brief work by a minor musician. Eddie Vance takes on the role of Beethoven and he “plays up the character’s comic side…to humanize the character.”

Kathy Jones plays musicologist Katherine Brandt in Moises Kaufman’s 33 Variations at Church Hill Theatre through September 22.

The cast also includes Kendall Irene Davis who “finds a nice balance” as Brandt’s daughter as she struggles to come to terms with her mother’s illness. Debra Ebersole gives a “beautiful and nuanced performance” as a librarian in charge of the Beethoven archives. Robbie Spray does a “nice job” rounding out the 21^st century characters as Mike Clark, a nurse who treats Brandt while juggling a relationship with Clara. Will Robinson and Ken Gresh play two 19^th century men in Beethoven’s world. Robinson takes on the role of Anton Schindler, friend of Beethoven, giving “his character a delightfully pompous bearing…a solid job” and Gresh “plays up the clear contrast with…Beethoven” as Diabelli, the composer and publisher urging the completion of the variations.

Pianist Stephanie King LaMotte, on stage throughout the performances, plays the variations “with authority and vivid expression.” In his review, Peter Heck notes that, “While she has no dialogue, her performance is critical in setting the emotional landscape in which the rest of the play takes place.”

With actors and music at such a high caliber, heed the words of Heck’s review, “Do yourself a favor and go see it. And be sure to tell your friends about it.”

Assisting in the production are Producer Sylvia Maloney, Stage Manager Ronald Lee “Speedy” Christopher, Jr., Dramaturge Shelagh Grasso, and Choreographer Cavin Moore. Doug Kaufmann is in charge of lighting and sound; Steve Atkinson is the photographer. The play is produced under arrangements with Dramaatists Play service, Inc.

33 Variations runs weekends through September 22, with performances at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 pm on Sundays. Reservations are strongly advised and can be made by calling the box office at 410-556-6003 or online at www.churchhilltheatre.org

Spy Review: Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure”

September 13, 2019 by Steve Parks Leave a Comment

“Thy head stands so tickle on thy shoulder that a milkmaid, if she be in love, might sigh it off.”
–Lucio to Claudio in Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure”

Talk about staying power. The enduring relevance of William Shakespeare to current events well into a new millennium from his time, just more than half-way through the last, is an amazement. In dialogue from “Measure for Measure” (circa 1603-04) performed with impassioned zeal and due respect for its source by the Brown Box Theatre Project, we hear lines spoken today by both the accused and his accusers in #metoo sexual harassment/assault cases. He: “Who will believe you?” She: “No one will believe me.”

“He” is Angelo, cousin to the Duke of Vienna, who’s taken leave from his royal duties. Or has he? “She” is virgin novitiate Isabella, who on the cusp of taking her convent-for-life vows has learned that her brother, Claudio, is sentenced to beheading for the crime of lechery. It is the penalty prescribed by law. But the duke, a law-and-order moderate, has not ruled with a tight fist. He notes, in turning his reign over, temporarily, to Angelo, that his subjects are growing slack in moral conduct.

When Isabella, granted an audience with Angelo, beseeches him to spare her brother, he steadfastly refuses. That is, until he turns from his desk to gaze upon her. Stunned by her beauty, Angelo proposes a remedy that amounts to a proposition. He will lift the death sentence if Isabella will “lay down the treasures of your body”—with him, of course.

Isabella flees in horror to inform her brother that she cannot save him by this means. When he suggests it is not a sin to sin under such duress she flees in equal horror, while impregnated Julietta, the young woman with whom Claudio fornicated, lingers somberly by his cell. Comforted by a friar who is instead the duke in disguise—spying on the rule of his cousin—Isabella flinches at the offer of a work-around involving Marianna, betrothed to Angelo but spurned after losing her dowry.

Young professionals mostly a few years or less out of college, the cast is, for the most part, spot-on in each role, crisply directed by Kyler Taustin. Imposingly tall Chris Kandra strikes a royal pose as the duke, haughty yet approachable in his stage manner while Sarah Boess embodies the play’s emotional core with a convincing range from anguish to anger. She’s still recovering from shock as the lights go out—the end. Drew Cleveland presents a desperately bewildered, respectably clean-cut Claudio, making his sentence seem all the more merciless. Spencer Parli Tew as Angelo, the hypocritical heavy, oozes hubris while also allowing a glimpse of conscience in tortured soliloquies. Aislinn Brophy as Marianna and Ivy Ryan as Julietta bring victimization of women to glum witness. For his sharp comic relief as Claudio and Isabella’s friend, Francis Xavier Norton’s Lucio is found guilty of impertinence.

Though “Measure for Measure” is by any measure a drama, its ending is oddly typical of Shakespeare’s comedies.

Framing and embroidering this ambitious production is a grand ecclesiastical set by Abby Shenker and gilded-royal to religious-garment costumes by Chelsea Kerl.

Well-dressed and well-played this “Measure for Measure” is tailored for provocative present-day pertinence.

Boston-based Brown Box, which tours the Delmarva peninsula each May and September, brings its free Shakespeare-in-the-park to St. Michaels Saturday night.

Steve Parks is a retired theater critic now living in Easton.

Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure”

Saturday, Muskrat Park, 207 Willow Green St., St. Michaels
Sunday, Pemberton Hall lawn, 5561 Plantation Lane, Salisbury
Wednesday, Teackle Mansion lawn, 11736 Mansion Lane, Princess Anne
Thursday, Northside Park, 200 125th St., Ocean City
Sept. 20, Exmore Town Park, 3386 Main St., Exmore, Delaware
Sept. 21, Lewes Public Library lawn, 111 Adams Ave., Lewes, Delaware

Admission: Free, bring lawn chairs or blankets, brownboxtheatre.org

Vocal Phenom Alicia Olatuja Headlines JazzFest This Weekend

September 12, 2019 by Spy Desk 1 Comment

Alicia Olatuja will perform at the Chestertown Jazz Festival Saturday, Sept. 14

Alicia Olatuja, the phenom who thrilled a live and broadcast audience of millions at President Obama’s second inauguration, is coming to Wilmer Park to headline the 2019 Chestertown Jazz Festival in Wilmer Park, on Saturday, Sept. 14.

“Alicia is a singular talent, an incomparable voice that combines artistic excellence with diverse influences and thoughtful arrangements,” says Rory Trainor, the former Mainstay Executive Director who now manages many of Olatuja’s tour appearances for the Unlimited Myles agency.

“Alicia is one of the most humble, sincere, grateful, and fun artists I have ever had the chance to work with,” Trainor added. “She is a joy on and off stage. Chestertown is in for an incredible show in the park.”

Alicia Olatuja’s appearance on the banks of the Chester River is a major coup for Dr. Mel Rapelyea’s five-day festival. In the midst of a busy 2019 for the rising star, Alicia released “Intuition,” her second solo album, then took off to introduce the new material in Japan and Wellington, New Zealand, as well as in Munich, Rotterdam, London and Paris.

Alicia Olatuja

Now she’s back in the US, continuing her tour stateside through the fall. Her many venues include Midwest and East Coast university campuses as well as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Miami—and Chestertown.

Olatuja will be featuring songs from “Intuition” written by female composers, an interest she started to focus on when she was working on her master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music. She said, “I feel like right now, people are ready to hear what women have to say in a new and profound way, about love and passion and also some of the more difficult subjects.”

Critics are raving about Olatuja. BSC News in France declared that she has “a voice that captivates,” while Nick Bewsey of ICON wrote that “Olatuja has a salt-of-the-earth voice and genuine embrace of the lyric—she’s like a rebooted Lizz Wright, but with her own sense of majesty.”

The New York Times called her “(a) singer with a strong, lustrous tone and an amiably regal presence onstage.”

Alicia Olatuja will take the stage under the Jazz Fest tent in Wilmer Park Sept. 14 to cap a full day of music that will start at 11 a.m. with much-loved local and regional performers, followed by national and international powerhouses during the afternoon.

The 100 Voice Choir of Kent County will open in Wilmer Park at 11 a.m. under the direction of Sylvia Frazier, and the Washington College Jazz Combo will follow, directed by master musician and “Mainstay Monday” host Joe Holt.

Baltimore’s much-loved tenor saxophonist Greg Thompkins will take the stage with his quintet by mid-afternoon, followed by Gregor Huebner. Huebner’s “El Violin Latino” will fill the tent with the music of Cuba and South America, from jazz to Bossa Nova with a taste of Eastern European klezmer music thrown in.

Rapelyea said that festival audiences love Huebner’s group so much that he’s bringing them back to Chestertown for the third time.

By far, the Wilmer Park Jazz Fest isn’t the only offering of the Chestertown Jazz Festival. There are four other opportunities for jazz lovers to hear great music: at the Garfield Center on High Street and at Sumner Hall on Queen Street in Chestertown, and—twice—at The Mainstay in Rock Hall.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, the Jazz Festival’s Kickoff performance will be at 8 pm at The Mainstay. The kickoff concert is sure to please, featuring tenor saxophone legend Larry McKenna and his quartet.

On Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m., Barbara Parker and Joe Holt will be the Jazz Festival stars at The Garfield Center for the Arts. And on Sunday, Sept. 15, Sumner Hall will host two showings of “Jazz on a Summer’s Day,” the famed film about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.

On Monday, Sept. 16, the Chestertown Jazz Festival will return to The Mainstay for a 7 p.m. gig that will likely feel more like a jam session than a concert. “Mainstay Monday” host and pianist-extraordinaire Joe Holt will perform with two consummate jazz masters, Max Murray on bass and Frank Russo on drums.

For more information, see the Chestertown Jazz Festival page on Facebook, and for tickets and information to any or all of the Chestertown Jazz Festival performances, go to www.garfieldcenter.org or call 410-810-2060.

Church Hill’s “33 Variations” a Masterpiece — Spy Review by Peter Heck

September 11, 2019 by Peter Heck Leave a Comment

Eddie Vance as Ludwig van Beethoven

When I first heard that Moises Kaufman’s 33 Variations was scheduled for performance at Church Hill Theatre, I wasn’t sure what to expect. To be honest, it sounded a bit dry and academic. Boy, was I wrong! This is a thoroughly absorbing play, built around a compelling human story and some of the most powerful music you’ll hear on a local stage. The music is absolutely magnificent.

The play originally appeared at Washington’s Arena Stage in September 2007. It made its Broadway debut in 2009, with Jane Fonda in the lead role — her first Broadway appearance in 46 years. Zack Grenier took the role of Beethoven, a part he played in a 2008 west coast production. In 2007, it won the Egerton New American Play Award, and in 2008 the American Theater Critics award as best new play. The Broadway production was nominated for several Tony awards, including best play, best performance by leading and featured actors (Fonda and Grenier). It won the award for best scenic design, by Derek McLane.

The plot is the story of musicologist Dr. Katherine Brandt, a specialist in the music of Beethoven. She has received special access to the library in Bonn, Germany, where musical manuscripts and other documents of Beethoven’s life are stored, with the goal of researching the composer’s “Diabelli Variations.” Based on a simple waltz by a music publisher who asked all the leading composers of his day to write variations – a gimmick to create a quick best-seller – Beethoven’s 33 variations are a challenging work that Dr. Brandt finds intriguing. Why did this banal dance tune inspire such a powerful response from one of the greatest musicians who ever lived?

Pianist Stephanie King LaMotte

As we soon learn, Dr. Brandt is working under a severe handicap. A victim of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, she faces progressive physical deterioration that will eventually kill her. Despite her diagnosis–or perhaps because of it–Dr. Brandt is determined to go ahead with her plans and travel to Germany to continue her research. Her daughter, Clara, is appalled by this decision. She is worried about her mother’s illness. What if she gets worse? Who will take care of her mother in Germany? Clara is also angry and hurt that her mother would choose to spend what remaining time she has in Germany with Beethoven and not at home with Clara.

But Dr. Brandt is not the only character struggling against a cruel universe; at the same time as we follow her story, we see Beethoven’s efforts to complete the variations, complicated by his struggle against deafness – perhaps the most devastating affliction that can befall a musician. Their two stories play out in close parallel, with lines and themes echoing back and forth between them. And tying them together is the actual music of Beethoven’s 33 variations, performed by a pianist who occupies the center of the stage.

But to summarize the plot that baldly is to leave out much of the play. There is a great deal of humor, especially in the scenes with Beethoven, his assistant Schindler, and Diabelli, the music publisher and composer. There is a love story, as Dr. Brandt’s daughter and a male nurse find themselves drawn to one another. There is the puzzle that caught Brandt’s attention in the first place: why the great composer was attracted to such an unimpressive, mediocre melody by Diabelli? And there is the critical element of the acting – the Church Hill production features seven actors and a pianist working together to create a truly memorable experience. Kudos to director Michael Whitehill for orchestrating it all.

Kathy Jones

Kathy Jones, who is becoming one of the most versatile actors in the local theater community, takes the role of Dr. Brandt. She does a good job of conveying her character’s drive to understand the music and her determination not to let her disease slow her down. At the same time, she convincingly shows the effects of the disease – I was reminded of video footage of the physicist Stephen Hawking, one of the most famous modern victims of ALS. A virtuoso performance by Jones, done very naturally and convincingly.

Eddie Vance, who was most recently in CHT’s Jesus Christ Superstar, has a juicy role as Ludwig van Beethoven. One of the most brilliant geniuses in musical history – and well aware of the fact – the character is at the same time completely impractical. Dressed in slovenly clothes, chronically behind in his rent, unconcerned with currying favor from rich patrons, he depends on his friends to take care of the basic tasks of everyday life. Vance plays up the character’s comic side, which does a good bit to humanize the composer. Very nicely done.

Dr. Brandt’s daughter Clara, who struggles to understand her mother’s drive to continue working while she is ill, is played by Kendall Irene Davis. A 2016 graduate of Washington College, Davis has moved into the local theater scene both onstage and off, with important roles in several CHT plays and choreography credits on Jesus Christ Superstar. Here, she finds a nice balance between her character’s anxiety for her dying mother and her new love interest in the male nurse who is attending her mother.

Kathy Jones as Dr. Katherine Brandt and Debra Ebersole as Dr. Gertrude Lagenburger

Debra Ebersole, another CHT veteran, is cast as Dr. Gertrude Ladenburger, a German musicologist who is in charge of the Beethoven archives Brandt has come to study. At first stern and unsympathetic, she unbends during the course of the play to become the American’s main helper. A beautiful and nuanced performance by Ebersole, showing a nice range.

Will Robinson as Anton Schindler and Ken Gresh as Anton Diabelli

Will Robinson, a veteran of both CHT and Shore Shakespeare, plays Anton Schindler, Beethoven’s friend and assistant who helps the composer navigate the challenges of the day-to-day world. Robinson gives his character a delightfully pompous bearing and a supercilious mien, bringing both humor and social satire to the role. A solid job by one of the area’s most reliable character actors.

Ken Gresh plays Diabelli, who keeps trying to push Beethoven to finish his variations so the book can be published. Dressed in the peak of early 19th-century style, Gresh plays up the clear contrasts with the slovenly Beethoven, with a delicious Italian accent to cap off the characterization. Well done.

Robbie Spray plays Mike Clark, a nurse who treats Brandt and subsequently finds himself in a relationship with her daughter. Spray, whose most recent appearance was in A Flea in Her Ear at CHT, does a nice job of making the somewhat nerdish character sympathetic while still believable. Spray’s Mike is caught in the middle between his patient and his new love interest. And he has to make a decision about where his loyalty lies. Spray handles this conflict smoothly.

Kendall Irene Davis and Robbie Spray

Last, but far from least, Stephanie King LaMotte is the pianist for the production. Her playing is inspired. LaMotte is an impressive pianist. While she has no dialogue, her performance is critical in setting the emotional landscape in which the rest of the play takes place. She plays the variations – by no means easy music to play – with authority and vivid expression.

The set is very effective and very simple–a change, one might even say a variation!–from the usual elaborate, gorgeously decorated sets that director Michael Whitehill is known for. Center stage is a grand piano. A single bench on the left side of the stage represents the modern-day scenes in New York. The right-hand side is 19th century Germany with a desk and chair to show alternately Beethoven’s study or Diabelli’s, the music publisher’s, office. Lighting and costumes are also good.

I can’t praise this production highly enough; the actors are in fine form, the play itself is at the same time refreshingly different and emotionally compelling, and at the heart of it is the unparalleled music of Beethoven. Do yourself a favor and go see it. And be sure to tell your friends about it.

33 Variations will be playing through Sept. 22, with performances at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for CHT members, and $10 for students. Call the box office at 410-556-6003 or visit www.churchhilltheatre.org for reservations or additional information.

All photos by Steve Atkinson

Shore Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” at Centreville Wharf, Fri.-Sat., Sept. 13-14

September 11, 2019 by Jane Jewell Leave a Comment

The cast of Shore Shakespeare’s 2019 production of “The Merchant of Venice”

The Bard is alive and well on the Eastern Shore of Maryland! Now in its 8th year, Shore Shakespeare has produced one or more plays each summer, all performed outdoors in the traditional Elizabethan style with elaborate costumes and clever portable sets. This year the company has chosen one of Shakespeare’s most well-known and perhaps most controversial plays – The Merchant of Venice. The tour started with one weekend in Cambridge, followed by a weekend in Oxford, and now Shore Shakespeare is coming to Centreville for its final performances of the 2019 season.

The Centreville performances will begin at 6:00 pm on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13 and 14 at the Wharf at 212 Watson Road. All performances are free and open to the public. So pack a picnic, grab a blanket and chair and come see Shakespeare under the stars just like the traditional theater in the Elizabethan era.

Program cover for Shore Shakespeare 2019 production of “The Merchant of Venice”

Directed by Christian Rogers and Juanita Wieczoreck, The Merchant of Venice tells the story of two sets of star-crossed lovers in 16th century Venice, Italy. Bassanio, a young fortune-hunter, seeks a loan from his friend Antonio, the merchant of the title, so he can compete for the hand of Portia, a beautiful heiress. Antonio is short of funds and, against his better judgment, borrows the money from Shylock, a notorious Jewish moneylender. In the meantime, the other set of lovers, Jessica and Lorenzo, have eloped, bringing down on them the wrath of Jessica’s father, Shylock. Her father is especially upset because Jessica has married out of her faith — Lorenzo is a Christian. Shylock is devastated but no one seems to have any sympathy or understanding for him. Unfortunately, this happens just when Antonio’s trading ships meet with disaster at sea and Antonio is no longer able to repay Bassanio’s debt to Shylock — which has now come due.

Here is where it becomes tricky — and controversial. This is the famous “pound of flesh” which Antonio agreed to pay if the loan was not repaid in full on time. No one ever thought it would come to that. But Shylock, still angry and stung by his daughter’s defection, insists on getting his “pound of flesh” and a trial is set. Through various schemes and tricks, including multiple disguises, Antonio’s life is saved.

The Merchant of Venice uses many of Shakespeare’s favorite dramatic devices including characters in disguise, often as the opposite sex. Here Portia and her companion Nerissa disguise themselves as legal scholars–male, of course–and successfully argue Antonio’s case in court. Neither Bassanio nor Antonio nor the Duke who is the judge recognize them, thus not-so-subtly pointing out that, in this case, the women are the smart ones. But it is all done good-naturedly and the lovers presumably live happily ever after.

The cast of Merchant features company co-founders Avra Sullivan as Portia and Christian Rogers as Antonio. Shylock is played by Brian McGunigle with Max Hagan as Bassiano and Howard Mesick as Gratiano. Also in the cast are Jackie Royer, Li Wojehowski, Troy Strootman, Paul Briggs, Samantha Davis, Josh Hansen, John Feldman, Deanna van Skiver, and Jane and John Tereby. The production is co-directed by Christian Rogers and Juanita Wieczoreck, with costume design by Barbi Bedell and tech support by Hope Dorman.

Li Wojehowski as Jessica, Brian McGunigle as Shylock in Shore Shakespeare 2019 production of “The Merchant of Venice”

Troy Strootman as Lorenzo, Howard Mesick as Gratiano in Shore Shakespeare 2019 production of “The Merchant of Venice”

The Merchant of Venice has been controversial for centuries – though not always for the same reasons. At the time, anti-semitism was common, accepted, and usually ensconced in law. The city-state of Venice was much more tolerant of diversity–including religious diversity– than most other places in Europe. That comparative legal and social leniency, however, did not mean that there was no prejudice against those of the Jewish faith. There definitely was–in Venice, in Shakespeare’s England, and in Europe generally. Shakespeare basically uses that reality, the stereotypes of his time, for dramatic effect, using them both for humor and for symbols of the various traits of human nature. Like today, people’s attitudes varied back then. For example, Shakespeare was more sympathetic to Shylock and the Jewish faith than his rival playwright, Christopher Marlowe, was in the play The Jew of Malta. Still, a good deal of the language and the ideas in Merchant will seem offensive to modern ears even though they faithfully represent the accepted norms in Shakespeare’s day.

John and Jane Terebey as Salanio and Salarino in Shore Shakespeare 2019 production of “The Merchant of Venice”

Avra Sullivan as Portia & Jackie Roye as Nerissa in Shore Shakespeare 2019 production of “The Merchant of Venice”

A recent press release from Shore Shakespeare put it this way: “What should contemporary audiences make of a work whose characters and issues have been debated by audiences, scholars, critics, directors, and actors for over four hundred years? Considered both a romantic comedy and a “problem play,” The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most controversial works. Set in 16th Century Venice, it is on the surface a romantic comedy featuring a love tested by obstacles placed in the path of the lovers. The play also examines the darker themes of intolerance, tribalism, betrayal, and revenge – personified in the characters Antonio, a Christian merchant, and Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. As the two plotlines weave together, nothing in The Merchant of Venice is quite what it seems to be. …

Brian McGunigle as Shylock, Max Hagan as Bassanio, Chris Rogers as Antonio (lying down center) in Shore Shakespeare 2019 production of “The Merchant of Venice”

“Whatever you think you already know about the play, this production will challenge your assumptions and defy your expectations. The Merchant of Venice, in the words of Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro, ‘scrapes against a bedrock of beliefs about the racial, national, sexual and religious difference of others. I can think of no other literary work that does so as unrelentingly and honestly.’ So honestly that it should be noted that the text contains language that some may find offensive.”

Shore Shakespeare invites you to make plans now to see this thoughtful and honest production.”

The Shore Shakespeare Company is affiliated with The Mid-Shore Community Foundation. Donations to The Shore Shakespeare Fund are fully tax-deductible. More information is available at Shore Shakespeare’s website and on their FaceBook page.

Paul Briggs as Launcelot, Li Wojehowski as Jessica in Shore Shakespeare 2019 production of “The Merchant of Venice”

Troy Strootman as the Prince of Morocco in Shore Shakespeare 2019 production of “The Merchant of Venice”

Brian McGunigl as Shylock in Shore Shakespeare 2019 production of “The Merchant of Venice”

Howard Mesick as the Prince of Arragon in Shore Shakespeare 2019 production of “The Merchant of Venice”

All photos credit Christine Kinlock

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RiverArts Curators Sade & Glebe discuss “Connections: Work in a Series”

September 11, 2019 by RiverArts Leave a Comment

Creating a series allows each individual piece of work to be able to stand on its own, yet simultaneously relate to the rest of the other works in some manner.

The idea of working in series or in distinct purposeful directions is not about repetition but rather about being able to explore, investigate, examine or address ideas, themes, issues, compositions, concepts or topics in progressively deeper and more meaningful ways, and from a greater variety of perspectives than is possible by making just one or two. The exhibition was open to all media and artists were challenged to explore the theme, “Connections: Work in a Series” and to take their art to a deeper, more meaningful level.

Curator & Artists’ Talk
September 12, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Chestertown RiverArts
315 High Street, Suite 108
Chestertown, MD 21620
410-778-6300 Chestertownrverarts.org

Explore the Tree in the History of Art at Adkins Arboretum

September 11, 2019 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

Albrecht Altdorfer, Large Spruce, 1517

From early sacred drawings to modern exhibitions, the tree features prominently in art. Join Benjamin Tilghman, assistant professor of art and art history at Washington College, for an October lecture series at Adkins Arboretum that considers instances where artists have made trees the primary subject of their artworks. Woven Mulberries, Abandoned Oaks and Gilded Larches: Exploring the Tree in the History of Art aims toward developing a deeper understanding of the relationships among humans, trees and the environment as a whole. Each of Tilghman’s three lectures can be enjoyed individually or in a series. Programs include:

Renaissance Era: Sun., Oct. 13, 1–2:30 p.m. The program will focus on the Renaissance artists Albrecht Dürer, Albrecht Altdorfer and Leonardo da Vinci. While all three helped to revolutionize artistic depictions of the natural world, their approaches are different in ways that highlight diverging ideas about nature in the sixteenth century.

Romantic Era: Sun., Oct 20, 1–2:30 p.m. This talk will highlight artists such as Caspar David Friedrich and John Constable and will explore how trees played a role in their attempts to bring together the sublime power of the natural world with changing ideas about the environment and national identity.

Contemporary Era: Sun., Oct. 27, 1–2:30 p.m. This final lecture will explore how contemporary artists, including Ai Wei Wei, Andy Goldsworthy and Giuseppe Penone have used trees to highlight the fraught but meaningful relationship between humanity and the environment.

Tilghman specializes in the art of medieval and early modern Europe but maintains an active interest in the art of the Islamic world and modern and contemporary art. His research has focused primarily on objects from early medieval Ireland and Great Britain, with special interest on manuscripts such as the Book of Kells and the Lindisfame Gospels. Since 2010, he has been a core member of the Material Collective, a collaborative working group of art historians dedicated to fostering innovative and humane research in the humanities.

Each lecture is $15 for members and $20 for non-members. Advance registration is appreciated at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. Open year round, the Arboretum offers educational programs for all ages about nature and gardening. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

A Conversation with Award Winning Author Rebecca Makkai

September 10, 2019 by Maria Grant Leave a Comment

Rebecca Makkai autographs printer’s galleys from her latest book.

Rebecca Makkai gave a reading of her critically acclaimed book The Great Believers last Thursday at the Literary House at Washington College in Chestertown. The Great Believers won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in fiction, the LA Times Book Prize, was on the New York Times Ten Best Books of 2018, and was a finalist for the 2018 National Book award and the 2019 Pulitzer Prize.

Over the past 10 years, Makkai has written three books—The Borrower (2011), The Hundred-Year House (2014) and The Great Believers (2018), as well as a short story collection Music for Wartime (2015). Her books deal with themes of loss, authenticity, betrayal, tragic flaws, sexual identity, coming of age, living in times of crisis and the importance of artistic communities. There is usually a connection with Chicago and its surrounding suburbs where Makkai was born and raised and still lives with her husband, two daughters and rescue puppy. When asked why the focus on Chicago, she said she finds the city exciting, weird and magical.

The Great Believers tells a riveting tale of the AIDS epidemic in Chicago during the 1980’s and its subsequent effect on people it touched. The book effectively uses flashbacks and flash forwards between the 1980’s and 2015, with a subplot of a woman connected to the lost generation artists of the 20’s.

When writing The Great Believers, Makkai said she worried if she had the right to tell this story of the AIDS epidemic given that she’s a heterosexual woman. She said that it has since been pointed out to her that her situation enabled her to present a different and more holistic perspective to the AIDS tragedy and its ongoing ripple effect. “I was able to be removed enough while doing my research that I could tell the story of the long arm of grief that the AIDS epidemic extended to—sisters, brothers, future generations, etc. Also, the Chicago perspective of AIDs in the 80’s really hadn’t been thoroughly explored. Most attention was paid to New York and San Francisco. I was amazed at how little focus Chicago got during this epidemic. Obviously the crisis is not over. More than a million people in this country are still infected with H.I.V.”

The Great Believers is much more than a story of AIDS. Makkai said that she hoped that her readers would see the book’s life affirming focus and appreciate the joy and humor in it. She said many people who have read the book have told her that the book motivated them to reach out to others or ask about an uncle or relative who may have not been mentioned for a long time. They told her they realized it was important to hear their stories.

I asked Makkai about some of the writers she feels are currently under appreciated or of whom readers may be unaware. She mentioned Julie Otsuka (When the Emperor was Divine and The Buddha in the Attic), Helen Phillips (The Need and The Beautiful Bureaucrat), and Samuel Park (The Caregiver), who died at 41 years old from stomach cancer—a beautiful book that he was unable to promote because of his early death. .

The Great Believers has been optioned for television by Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions. Makkai has already started working on her next novel. She is on the MFA faculties of Sierra Nevada College and Northwestern University and is Artistic Director of StoryStudio Chicago.

Maria Grant served as Principal-in-Charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting where she advised several Federal agencies and major private sector corporations throughout the U.S.. Since her retirement from Deloitte, she has been HR Director for a nonprofit organization and focused on reading, writing, music, travel, gardening and nature. She cherishes the hummingbirds that gather daily just outside her screened porch overlooking Island Creek.

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