Crane School of Music graduate Josh Barkley will host a unique tour of North Country churches, performing organ and piano music at each stop this December. The tour is free to the public, and even with stops at these historic churches, the performances will not include a religious service.
A multi-instrumentalist, Josh Barkley has played the accordion for his high school production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” the saxophone in his high school marching band, electric bass in a local country music group, and the organ at church on Sunday. This man of many talents is best known as a jazz pianist who plays the piano on the fly, improvising music more than sticking strictly to sheet music.
Barkley, an SLC Arts musician, will begin the holiday music tour featuring organ and piano on December 11, with each performance beginning at 6:00PM and taking place at a different church in St. Lawrence County, with the final concert on December 22nd at SUNY Potsdam’s Hosmer Hall.
In the Cortland Repertory Theatre’s 2022 season, only two performances were able to be completed, due to unfortunately timed cases of COVID-19 within the theatre’s cast and crew. The scheduled play, Agatha Christie’s “Murder On The Orient Express” was never executed.
Luckily, Artistic Director Kerby Thompson said the set, props and costumes from were stored over the winter, so the Cortland Repertory summer season, celebrating the organization’s 51st anniversary, will kick off at the Little York Pavilion in Preble, NY on June 7, with Christie’s chilly murder mystery.
The 2023 season will contain three plays and two musicals: the Agatha Christie, Tony-nominated “Xanadu “by Douglas Carter Beane, “Unnecessary Farce” by Paul Slade Smith, “The Cake” by Bekah Brunstetter and wrapping up the season, “The Wizard of Oz.”
“Xanadu” will be showing from June 21 to June 30. This performance is based on the 1980 cult classic, with music and lyrics by Jeff Lyne and John Farrar. For fans of 80s pop, look no further — “Xanadu” features renditions of iconic hits from the period like “Strange Magic,” and “Evil Woman,” between hilarious story lines of forbidden love and greek gods on Venice Beach, California.
“Unnecessary Farce” centers on an embezzling mayor, his accountant, undercover police and a Scottish hitman. It’s one of Cortland Repertory Theatre’s most popular comedies, planned to show in this 2023 season between July 5 and 15.
“The Cake” was originally planned for the theatre’s 2020 season, but had to be canceled because of the pandemic. This comedy centers on a woman living in North Carolina who is cast onto an Americanized “Great British Baking Show,” but her life is complicated while she bakes a wedding cake for her late best friend’s daughter’s wedding. It will be playing July 19 and July 28.
Finally, closing the season, is Cortland Repertory Theatre’s original telling of “The Wizard of Oz.” This stage version, premiering August 2 to August 19, was adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company and is based upon the classic movie.
Cortland Repertory Theatre is now selling 5-show summer subscriptions along with 5 or 6 pack Flex Passes. The 5-show subscription allows the patron to see all 5 productions; the Flex Passes allow the purchaser to choose the shows they see. Special pricing is available for youth, seniors, military and first responders. Get tickets at their site.
Throughout the winter season, historic venues across Central New York present holiday show offerings to keep up with the Christmas festivities. The most popular event being Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker; it wasn’t until the 1960s that performances of this ballet really took off as an annual Christmas tradition. This year, there will be many popular holiday events preformed in places such as Utica, Cortland, and Endicott this December.
EPAC Nutcracker with the FUSE Dance Center of Binghamton
Established in 1998, The Endicott Performing Arts Center provides a high quality performing arts venue to local, regional, and touring artists. Thus, enabling their students to present, develop, and improve their artistic efforts. This season, EPAC presents four performances of “The Nutcracker” December 9th, 10th, and 11th. With the amazing dancers from The FUSE Dance Center of Binghamton, teaming up with the EPAC Repertory Company, ‘The Nutcracker’ has become a holiday tradition that you don’t want to miss.
Four performances are held on Friday December 9 at 7pm, Saturday, December 10 at 2pm and 7pm, and Sunday, December 11 at 2pm.
Tickets are $20 Adults / $18 Seniors and Children.
For more information, reserve seating, and to purchase tickets, click the link here.
Photo credit to Matt Ossowski
Upcoming Concerts and Events at The Stanley Theatre
This holiday season, there will be many upcoming shows you won’t want to miss at The Stanley Theatre. The most popular being The Nutcracker which the Board of Directors and Artistic Director, Melissa Larish, have endeavored to make the production unique, through major investments in sets, costumes, choreography, lighting and guest artists. Other shows like Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, Home Alone, and A Charlie Brown Christmas will all be held throughout December.
The Nutcracker
December 2nd | 7:00 p.m.
December 3rd | 7:00 p.m.
December 4th | 2:00 p.m.
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas
December 7th | 7:30 p.m.
Home Alone (1990)
December 8th | 6:30 p.m.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
December 20th | 7:00 p.m.
Cortland Rep Downtown Holiday Events
Cortland Repertory Theatre Downtown, located at 24 Port Watson Street in Cortland, offers an exciting and festive December of holiday shows and events. For the first time since 2019, CRT is offering a weekend of photos with Santa, on Saturday, December 3rd from 10:00am-12:00pm and 2:00pm-4:00pm, and on Sunday, December 4th from 1:00pm–3:00pm. Along with this, they will also be offering a Holiday Broadway Brunch on December 10th, a performance by The Rave-On’s December 11th, Third Thursday Trivia on December 15th, and more to come.
Holiday Broadway Brunch
December 10th at 11:00am
The Rave-Ons
December 10th at 7:30pm and December 11th at 2:00pm
Third Thursday Trivia
December 15 at 7:00pm
The Story of Ebenezer Scrooge by The Traveling Lantern Children’s Theatre Company
December 17th at 11:00am
Dancin’ Thru the Decades New Year’s Eve Community Dance
December 31st at 9:00pm
For more information or to purchase tickets to any of these events, please visit the link here.
Harlem Stage will host the holiday concert Uptown Nights: Kings Return, featuring the Grammy-nominated, Dallas-based vocal quartet to the Harlem Stage Gatehouse for two special concerts.
The intimate and uplifting celebrations will showcase the group’s genre-spanning artistry, with amazing a cappella arrangements of holiday classics and originals, that combine jazz, classical, gospel, R&B and soul. They’ll also perform fan favorites alongside tracks from Merry Little Christmas and their debut, Rove. Throughout the performances, Kings Return will also share stories behind their favorite holiday songs.
Kings Return
Formed in 2016 from pre-existing friendships, Kings Return rose to fame recording and performing covers of well-known ballads and anthems in an Arlington church stairwell. With a nostalgic old-school a cappella sound and beautifully arranged harmonies, the group has brought joy and chills to hundreds of thousands of viewers and audience members. They are nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella, for their interpretation of “How Deep Is Your Love.”
Harlem Stage is the performing arts center that bridges Harlem’s cultural legacy to contemporary artists of color and dares to provide the artistic freedom that gives birth to new ideas. Uptown Nights is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Uptown Nights: Kings Return holiday show takes place Friday, December 16, and Saturday, December 17, at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse (150 Convent Avenue, New York, NY, 10031). Tickets, $25-35 can be purchased at harlemstage.org.
Classic holiday songs by the acclaimed Mariah Carey will be premiered, along with an orchestra performance, in Broadway Sings on December 5th at Sony Hall in New York City. Carey’s prominent festive albums, Merry Christmas and Merry Christmas II You, are planned to be part of the concert series for this season.
Broadway Sings Concert Series Advertisement
Broadway stars Jeannette Bayardelle from the Girl from the North Country musical, Amber Ardolini of Funny Girl, Alysha Deslorieux of Hamilton, Keri Rene Fuller of Six and more will be featured in the cast to sing memorable Christmas tunes, including “Silent Night,” “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and “O, Holy Night”. A 14-piece orchestra will be along with the song performances to be held at the venue that is owned by Blue Note Entertainment Group.
Sony Music Hall in New York City
Doors for “Broadway Sings Mariah Carey” on December 5 open at 6pm and the show begins at 8. Tickets can be purchased on the Sony Hall website.
Broadway Performer Sings Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”
Central Park Dance will return to The Capitol Theatre with their annual production of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker on Sunday, December 11th at 12:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. With more than 100 students from the school, professional dancers and young dancers from the surrounding communities, audiences will have two chances to enjoy this timeless tale.
In celebrating a legacy that has spanned across more than four decades, Central Park Dance has made its mark on the Westchester dance community. As a producer of original ballets, they invite their all levels to participate. Dancers of all ages will make up their large ensemble of performers, spanning from the littlest mouse to the blizzard of snowflakes.
This year, the production will welcome back American Ballet Theatre soloist Luciana Paris to dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, along with her Cavalier Jose Sebastian, who is currently a member of American Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet as well as the director of ABT’s Incubator program.
“In our more than 40 years in Westchester, we have watched several generations of students dance through our doors,” explains Maria Bai and Mario La Strada, founder and directors of Central Park Dance Studio.
“We have made it our mission to offer students a well-rounded dance education that includes not only time in the studio, but opportunities to interact with and perform for our community. We are overwhelmed by the support we have received around our sold-out productions over the last 6 years, and we are so lucky to be able to expand the opportunity to more students and more families each year.”
One of the longest running and most respected dance studios in Westchester for 40 years, Central Park Dance offers classic and progressive styles of dance and fitness for both adults and children. Central Park Dance is also home to the Signature and Remixx performance companies as well as the Ballet Academy, which provides the aspiring dancer with pre-professional training, performance opportunities and mentorships.
The Nutcracker performances will take place on Sunday, December 11th at 12:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Ticket prices range from $45, $35 and $25 and are available by clicking the link here.
Prominent actor and screenwriter, John Cameron Mitchell, and 1972 Cabaret film lead actress, Amber Martin, will collaborate together in the premiere of their Cassette Roulette show performances at MassMOCA and BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn. A series of songs, stories and characters will be featured in their performance, which will be backed by Justin Craig and the Hedwig house band Tits of Clay, additionally featuring an introductory set from J. Hoard.
Songs covered will be from notable works directed by John Cameron Mitchell, such as the films Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Big River and The Secret Garden and his musical Anthem: Homunculus. Amber Martin is performing works derived from roles played and paying tribute to some characters part of her casted roles during her acting career.
Their vibrant stage acts are planned to be continued in 90-minute shows, designated for a smaller range of audiences, at Joe’s Pub on Jan. 21, Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 19, Feb. 26. Each will start at 6:30p.m., with tickets being on sale at The Public Theater, located at 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan.
Tickets for the Cassette Roulette Residency at Joe’s Pub can be bought on the Public Theater website.
On Saturday, November 5, Town Hall will present the New York premiere of Laura Kaminsky and Kimberly Reed’s new chamber opera, “Hometown to the World.”
Conducted by Tania León, directed by Kristine McIntyre, and presented in association with Santa Fe Opera, the opera focuses on the impact of the largest workplace ICE raid in U.S. history that took place in Postville, IA in 2008.
Postville greeting sign with the slogan Kaminsky/Reed’s opera was named after.
It highlights the multiculturalism of the small Iowa city before the raid of the town’s world-largest kosher meatpacking plant, and looks at the raid’s impact on Postville and families living in the town after the plant’s subsequent closure.
“Hometown to the World” brings together three characters from different communities affected by the raid: Linda Morales, a Guatemalan woman whose undocumented husband and son were deported but who remained to care for her U.S.-born baby; Abraham Fleischman, a gay Hasidic Jew, who, banished from his family, seeks refuge in Morales’ home; and County Commissioner Larsen, an American of Scandinavian descent, who despairs at the town’s downfall.
Performers include Cecilia Duarte, Blythe Gaissert, and Michael Kelly, the ensemble Sybarite5, and a chorus comprised of 100+ public high school students from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts.
Rapper and actor Common has been added to the cast list of the Broadway debut for “Between Riverside and Crazy,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning play from Stephen Adly Guirgis directed by Austin Pendleton.
The Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy-award winning performer will join already announced Off-Broadway cast members Victor Almanzar, Elizabeth Canavan, Rosal Colón, Lisa Colón-Zayas, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Michael Rispoli.
Produced by the theater company Second Stage, “Between Riverside and Crazy” will begin previews on Wednesday, November 30 and will officially open on Monday, December 19 at Hayes’ Theater. Second Stage originally presented the play in February in at the Tony Kiser Theater.
The play follows ex-cop and recent widower Walter “Pops” Washington (Henderson) and his recently paroled son Junior (Common) as the two try to hold on to one of the last rent stabilized apartments in Manhattan’s Riverside Drive.
Common, whose acting body includes roles in submarine thriller “Hunter Killer,” David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad,” and historical drama “Selma,” most recently appeared opposite Keke Palmer in the film “Alice,” which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. He also serves as an executive producer of Showtime TV series “The Chi” and Netflix drama “Burning Sands.”
As of January 3, Maria-Christina Oliveras has joined the cast of “Between Riverside and Crazy” in the role of Church Lady. Ms. Oliveras replaces Liza Colón-Zayas, who had to leave the production due to a scheduling conflict.
Subscriptions and singular tickets for “Between Riverside and Crazy” can be found on the Second Stage website, and the Hayes Theater box office opens November 14.
In “English with an Accent,” Migguel Anggelo looks critically at the concept of The American Dream from a perspective shaped by his intersecting queer, Latino and immigrant identities. The performance, co-commissioned by the Lincoln Center uses original music, dance and theater to tell the story of an immigrant’s arrival in New York City. Migguel Anggelo will lead, joined by a cast of 10 dancers, for a performance coming to the Lincoln Center’s Clark Studio Theater, December 1 through 3.
Anggelo is a Venezuelan-American multidisciplinary performing artist. He has been awarded residencies at Mass MoCA, the Kimmel Center, the Miami Light Project and more to develop his works in song, dance, text and costume.
Music in the show is composed by both Migguel Anggelo and his longtime collaborator and music director Jaime Lozano. Lozano collaborated with Anggelo on other songs on “English with an Accent,” Anggelo’s album of the same name, which will be released December 2, during the production period. “So Ironic” from the upcoming album uses animation and dance paired with spoken word to tackle stereotypes about immigrants in American culture.
Anggelo said “English with an Accent” is especially meaningful to him now that he has become a naturalized U.S. citizen after 16 years. His naturalization reframes the piece’s themes of safety and home in a country.
Watch a trailer for the performance below; tickets are available at the Lincoln Center’s site.
