03/09/10

The Brothers Are Back

Senior Editor Maria Hess dishes on Delaware's arts scene. Got a show you want to discuss? You're on.

Posted at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

03/01/10

What They Did for Love

Senior Editor Maria Hess dishes on Delaware's arts scene. Got a show you want to discuss? You're on.

Posted at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

02/23/10

In the Pink

Welcome to The Arts Buzz.

It’s no surprise that The Grand booked “The Pink Floyd Experience” again. The show was a good sell last year, and it’s expected to do just as well this year when it hits the boards February 27.

The show is a re-staging of PF’s live concerts, featuring classics like “Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall.” It's performed live and lasts about two hours. Guitarist Tom Quinn leads the six-member band. On the drums is John Staten, who has performed with...

Posted at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

02/16/10

The Name is Asher

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A Delaware Premiere

The Delaware Theatre Company presents “My Name is Asher Lev” thru February 28.

Philadelphia’s Aaron Posner first adapted “Asher” for the Arden Theater Company in January 2009, enjoying favorable reviews. The Philadelphia Inquirer called the show “exquisite," while Talkin' Broadway labeled it "a truly theatrical experience."

And it is. The adaptation of the tremendous novel by Chaim Potok tells the story of Asher, a prolific artist born into a Hasidic Jewish family in 1940s Brooklyn. He is struggling to reconcile his creative voice with the expectations of his conservative family and community.

“I admire...

Posted at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

02/09/10

A Valentine

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Love Letters

Only a genius like playwright A.R. Gurney could conceive a play that required two actors to sit at a small table on a bare stage and read letters to each other. But his effort, “Love Letters," was well received on Broadway and earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination. The play will be presented at the Milton Theatre February 13-14.

The magic is in the writing, and the way letters written over a 50-year period—from Valentines in second grade to sensuous love letters in adulthood—chronicle the lives of Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, played by local favorites Liz Roe and Dick Pack.

You could characterize Gurney’s epistolary account as a glorified stage reading, and...

Posted at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

02/02/10

Real Music, Real Musicians

Welcome to Delaware Today’s arts blog, the spot to dish on the many cultural opportunities available to Delaware audiences. We’ll cover as many genres as possible, and note great events offered by organizations large and small, in all three counties.

They Don’t Get Much Real-er Than This

Music lovers won’t be disappointed by this weekend’s lineup at The Grand.

John McCutcheon hits the boards on February 4. Dr. John and the Neville Brothers are up February 5.

McCutcheon is the Superman of the folk music industry, able to reach diverse audiences in a single bound.
Don’t be surprised to find, among his fans, blue and white collars, bluegrassers and rockers, adults and kids. Most impressive is...

Posted at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

01/26/10

Music and Dance

Welcome to Delaware Today’s arts blog, the spot to dish on the many cultural opportunities available to Delaware audiences. We’ll cover as many genres as possible, and note great events offered by organizations large and small, in all three counties.

Follow This Yellow Brick Road

The Delaware Symphony Orchestra presents “Oz with Orchestra” at The Grand Opera House January 29-30. The original "The Wizard of Oz" will be shown on a large screen as the symphony, directed by David Amado, performs its score.

While the plot is full, it’s difficult to imagine “Oz" without the music. The music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg are legendary, of course, notably "Over the Rainbow," which won the...

Posted at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

01/19/10

Ballroom to Bawdy

Welcome to Delaware Today’s arts blog, the spot to dish on the many cultural opportunities available to Delaware audiences. We’ll cover as many genres as possible, and note great events offered by organizations large and small, in all three counties.

Ballroom, Baby

Barbara Eden isn’t popping out of genie bottles anymore, but I bet she can still rock the outfit. The TV legend is coming to Wilmington this weekend to appear as mistress of ceremonies in “Ballroom with a Twist.” The show runs thru January 24.

Posted at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

01/12/10

For Fans of Troy and Gabriella

Welcome to Delaware Today’s arts blog, the spot to dish on the many cultural opportunities available to Delaware audiences. We’ll cover as many genres as possible, and note great events offered by organizations large and small, in all three counties.

I continue to be impressed by the quality of shows produced at The New Candlelight Theatre, the only Equity dinner theater in the country.

The 2010 opener is “High School Musical,” which, as any kid will tell you, is the famous story of two high school juniors: Troy Bolton, captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella Montez, a math wiz who can sing.

If you’re not a parent, this may not be a big deal. But for anyone who has kids that loved the movie, this show is a must-see. I...

Posted at 09:02 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

01/06/10

The Show Goes On

Goodbye, Peggy

The loss of my friend and former Delaware Division of the Arts director Peggy Amsterdam devastated me, and I know, many others. Peggy was a tireless arts leader in Delaware before becoming president of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance in 2000. She died of cancer two weeks ago. She was 60.

Peggy did more than support me when we first met in the early '90s, when I was a local TV arts reporter. She taught me why the arts mattered, and where we’d be without them. We developed a friendship and worked on several projects. I hesitate to say that we became colleagues, because I was never in her league. She was supremely knowledgeable about the arts, and I never stopped learning from her.

My fondest memory of our time together was...

Posted at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0