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theater

    THE SHOW MUST GO ON

    As Covid Subsides, Theaters Push to Reopen

    Outdoor stages, new approaches planned

    By

    Few things in the life of the Outer Cape have been hit harder by Covid than theater. Live outdoor cabaret performances resumed after the lockdown, and the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival managed to put on a play in the Grace Hall parking lot to a drive-in audience. These signs of theatrical life were an inspiration to David Drake, artistic director of the Provincetown Theater, who desperately wanted to bring his company back onstage. Virtual events helped maintain a connection with his audience, but live theater has no substitute.

    By September 2020, he realized it was likely that playing indoors in summer 2021 would not happen. “We lost 90 percent of our income from ticket sales last year,” Drake told the Independent. “We can’t afford to do that again. We just didn’t know which direction the country and Covid were going. But by the beginning of March, with Biden in office and vaccinations happening, I came up with a plan.”

    That plan was to create an outdoor stage in the theater’s parking lot, behind the building at 238 Bradford St. Drake had been meeting with Christopher Ostrom, producing artistic director of the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, and Janine Perry, artistic director of Cape Rep in Brewster. “How do we go outdoors?” Drake asked. “We’re different ships, but we’re all in the same storm.”

    The other theaters had an edge: WHAT already had permits for outdoor productions on its property. And Cape Rep already had an outdoor stage.

    “I started reaching out to our abutters,” Drake said. There was also the problem of which plays to put on. The postponed slate from 2020 was unworkable. “Because we’re a non-union theater, we’re not allowed to issue guest contracts to performers. Two of the shows had Equity actors in them,” Drake said, referring to Actors’ Equity Association, the performers’ union.

    His board wanted him to limit casts to four actors or fewer to hold down costs. One postponed show, Jerker, a play about gay phone sex, would fit that limit, but it would have to take place in daylight, because of nighttime noise considerations. “It needs darkness,” Drake said. “In daylight, it’s camp. Sex in daylight is unromantic, unsexy. You’re looking at the wrong things.”

    Choices were limited. “I didn’t want to do Love Letters or The Gin Game,” he said. “No one would come unless I got Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon. I wanted to do The Skin of Our Teeth. I thought it would speak to our time — it’s funny and weird. There’s a giant pet dinosaur that could live in the parking lot. We could use a car to drive the actors out. But it had a cast of six.”

    He budgeted without concessions. The theater lacked an outdoor liquor license and would need to build a kitchen to serve the required food. “If you do the math, it won’t work,” Drake said.

    Despite opposition from some abutters, the licensing board granted permission on April 13 to set up an outdoor stage. Drake is basing his revenue estimates on 44 seats, but he’s hoping that the town will allow him more, based on the size of the parking lot. The theater is turning its indoor space into larger, safer dressing rooms.

    Most Cape theaters have not announced their summer schedules yet, but Drake offered a tantalizing tidbit: for one weekend in late June, he’ll present Neptune, by Timothy DuWight, an autobiographical piece about being Black and gay. The two remaining productions will be announced next week.

    Ostrom, at WHAT, is putting on four summer shows: two on the main stage in front of the entrance, for four weeks each; one limited-run event in the middle of the summer; and one show for kids in the tent out by the highway.

    “We plan on announcing by May 1,” Ostrom told the Independent. As an Equity house, WHAT follows union safety requirements. “We are a fully ‘bubbled’ company,” he said. “Because performers will be rehearsing and performing without masks, anyone who is onstage or interacts with those people is bubbled — tested weekly and quarantined if someone shows up positive. Those who don’t interact are working remotely. Six-foot social distancing applies to everyone. That’s been kind of a fun challenge to take on.”

    The actor-run Harbor Stage Company at Wellfleet Harbor was forced to wait out 2020. “We know that we will be back in the building for summer 2021,” emailed artistic director Robert Kropf. “We’re presently working through exactly what configuration we’ll use — if at all. Union concerns and safety protocols, ever shifting, require great resourcefulness. We’re hopeful that by August, we’ll be onstage again. The charm of the harbor, its rough-and-tumble-ness, is not easy to re-create elsewhere. Anything outdoors could remove us from the location proper, which we’re looking at as we wrangle out exactly what this summer will look like. The main challenge is remaining true to what we do and the way we do it.”

    THEATER

    Tennessee Williams Fest Stays Live and Distant for 2020

    The Municipal Abbatoir to be performed at parking lot drive-in

    By

    The view from the Grace Hall parking lot #3 of the dune and water tower above it would not be part of a Provincetown promotional flyer. But the sky was a saturated blue and the air was comfortably cool last Friday afternoon as David Kaplan, the longtime curator of the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival, assembled his small cast and minimal crew on the parking lot and dune to rehearse The Municipal Abbatoir, a dystopian sci-fi one-act play by Williams. It will be performed there on Thursday, Sept. 24, through Sunday, Sept. 27, as part of the pared-down 2020 edition of the festival.

    David Drake (left) and Ben Berry rehearse Tennessee Williams’s The Municipal Abbatoir on the dune above Grace Hall parking lot #3. (Photos Howard Karren)

    If the view was bleak, like an industrial park in the middle of nowhere, that was fitting for the play, in which a rebellious young man, determined to kill the General, the totalitarian leader of his state, persuades a dutiful clerk to do it instead. The clerk was on his way to the “abbatoir,” French for slaughterhouse, to sacrifice himself. In this brave new world, citizens offer up their lives to be processed as food.

    Standing in the parking lot, where the festival’s drive-in audience will be watching in their cars and listening to miked actors on FM radio, Kaplan rattles off notes to his stage manager, Alston Brown. “Make sure the hat is black,” he says. “Our first day with the gun. We were hoping it would glint in the sun. It glints!” Kaplan loves finding Alfred Hitchcock moments in this production, particularly long shots from early British movies.

    Up on the hill, David Drake, artistic director of the Provincetown Theater, and Ben Berry, artistic director of the Peregrine Theatre Ensemble, are performing a socially distant dance of death. Drake, looking downtrodden in dark clothes and a fedora, plays the clerk; Berry is the young man in a do-rag with assassination on his mind. As they say their lines and go through their paces, cars drive by on their way out of the parking lot, a man walks his two dogs, and a local teen walks straight through the middle of the dune on his way to somewhere else, oblivious to the rehearsal happening around him. Neither Drake nor Berry misses a beat, but they smile about it afterwards.

    “That’s why we’re rehearsing,” Kaplan says. “To include that in it.”

    David Kaplan, festival curator (in pink hoodie), gives notes to Alston Brown, his stage manager for The Municipal Abbatoir.

    In the same way that Kaplan hopes to incorporate the flow of real life in his site-specific production, the Williams festival has adapted to the Covid pandemic. “Our aesthetic works within the confines of keeping the audience safe,” Kaplan says. The Municipal Abbatoir was originally planned for the Provincetown cemetery, and the theme for this festival is “Williams and censorship,” which Covid has largely silenced, as if playing the role of the oppressive state.

    Instead of a cornucopia of international companies and a dozen plays, the Williams festival this year has just one, Municipal Abbatoir. Out-of-town companies are performing out of town, if they can; Penny Arcade will perform her rock cabaret act, “Longing Lasts Longer,” at the Bas Relief; and there will be presentations on Williams at the Bas Relief and Waterfront Park in the East End. The fest’s Tennessee Williams Institute will hold virtual seminars the following weekend, but Kaplan wanted the festival itself to be live events.

    “This is what we do,” he says. “I’m not making movies or television. I’m not looking down on anyone who does virtual performances, but I don’t do them.”

    The idea of a censorship-themed festival first came up when Kaplan was asked by Provincetown 400 officials what he’d like to do. “It really began five years ago, when I began wondering what theater was to the Pilgrims,” he says. “If there was any theater going on with the Pilgrims, it was in the woods, it was in secret, and they would have gotten spanked if they got caught. Theater was completely illegal in the Bay Colony, for all the usual reasons. It was where loose women saw men who shouldn’t be seen with them. There was the really bad example of men dressed in women’s clothing. And you could catch a disease by sitting in groups at the theater.” Again, that inevitable Covid connection.

    But, like the Pilgrims, Covid was not able to completely silence the festival. “We were lucky that we could wait till late September,” Kaplan says. “We said in May that the drag queens and Rick Murray will figure it out for us. I didn’t want to be the first person to do live performance. I went to Varla’s first show and learned from it.”

    Kaplan is looking to revive canceled productions next year, as the Williams festival moves forward. “It has taken nerves of steel and a real group effort,” Kaplan says. “I have a staff that believes in this. I have a board of directors that believes in this. We are creative people.”

    Alston Brown (left), Darlene Van Alstyne, and Nico Allen (right) walk obediently up the hill to the General (Ian Leahy) in a dream ballet at the play’s end.

    Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival 2020

    The Municipal Abbatoir, by Tennessee Williams, with David Drake, Ben Berry, Ian Leahy, and Darlene Van Alstyne: Drive-in at Grace Hall parking lot #3: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2:30 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 25, 1 and 3 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 26, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 27, 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.

    “Longing Lasts Longer”: Penny Arcade performs her rock ’n’ roll avant-garde memoir cabaret: Bas Relief Park, 106 Bradford St.: Saturday, Sept. 26, 7 p.m.

    “Cut Blanche”: a talk and screening about the censorship fight over A Streetcar Named Desire: Bas Relief Park, 106 Bradford St.: Thursday, Sept. 24, and Friday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 27, 6:30 p.m.

    “Tennessee Talks: Revolution”: reading by Jeremy Lawrence of Williams’s calls to political activism: Waterfront Park, 387 Commercial St.: Sunday, Sept. 27, 10:30 a.m.

    Tickets: $40 per person per event, in advance, at twptown.org.

    THEATER

    Terrence McNally, Fallen Giant of the Arts

    To the community of theater lovers and performers, he was family

    By

    Last week brought the stunning news that Terrence McNally had become a victim of COVID-19 at age 81. This was a man who had survived decades of AIDS, as well as his own personal battle with lung cancer. He was a warrior gay role model, a true theatrical lion. Terrence seemed indestructible. His passing brought to mind his luminous sense of joy in Provincetown in the summer of 2018.

    I vividly remember standing on Ken Fulk’s back porch, the harbor shimmering before us, handing the very first Provincetown American Playwright Award to Terrence. As the new artistic director of the Provincetown Theater, I saw a fresh page in our history being written.

    Terrence McNally celebrating the opening of his play Love! Valour! Compassion! at the Provincetown Theater on July 19, 2018. Back row, from left: Justin D. Quackenbush, Scott Douglas Cunningham, and Peter Gregus; front, from left: Tom Kirdahy, McNally’s husband; Tommy Walsh (behind Kirdahy); Adam Ross; McNally; David Drake; and Mark Boucher. (Photo courtesy Provincetown Theater)

    “How proud I am,” Terrence said, “that Provincetown is reclaiming its incredible role in American drama.” Referencing the original Provincetown Players, he continued, “Those people knew there was much more to America and Americans to write about, and that theater should reflect it. That it all began right here, I find so powerful. It’s almost inexpressible. The arts feed us and make us a better planet. Something I have dedicated my life to.” And, indeed, he had.

    Like many, I had grown into adulthood dazzled by the multitude of Terrence’s plays and musicals — Master Class; The Lisbon Traviata; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; The Ritz; Ragtime; and others. I felt as if Terrence was a close friend, when, in truth, we were but casual acquaintances.

    That is, until he came to receive the PAPA.

    This event, of course, came on the heels of hosting Terrence and his husband, Tom Kirdahy, at the opening of his masterwork, Love! Valour! Compassion!, at the Provincetown Theater. Nervous much? Not at all.

    Doing double duty as director and actor in the show was an incredibly intimate experience. The daily delving into his story of gay men’s friendships brought me closer to Terrence than I’d ever expected. So, when we got to the opening night curtain call, and offered Terrence a bow, he jauntily made his way onstage to join the cast. In an act of spontaneous brotherhood, we surrounded Terrence for a group hug that ended with us throwing open our robes — the final scene has the characters skinny-dipping, so we were all nude beneath — and shaking our stuff at him. He laughed and laughed. We all did. Like everything in Terrence’s worldview of the American spirit, there was nothing to hide. As a citizen of the planet, bonding was a call to duty. In that utterly Provincetownian moment, he was very much our papa.

    Arts Briefs and Listings

    Arts Briefs for March 12 through March 18

    By

    The diamondback terrapin seen here is the focus of one of the talks at the Cape Cod Natural History Conference on Saturday. (Photo Terri Munson/Mass Audubon)

    Cape Cod Natural History Conference at 4Cs

    Organized by the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, the 25th annual Cape Cod Natural History Conference will take place on Saturday, March 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Tilden Arts Center at Cape Cod Community College, 2240 Iyannough Road in Barnstable.

    The conference features presentations from environmental organizations across Cape Cod (including three talks by scientists and naturalists from the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown) on a variety of natural history topics, including white sharks, sea turtle rehab, salt marshes, coyotes eating seals, butterflies, and barn owls.

    Due to public health concerns, this conference has been cancelled. All Mass Audubon offices and sites are closed through the end of March. For more information, visit massaudubon.org.

     

    The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Der Fliegende Holländer will be live in HD at WHAT on Saturday. (Photo Metropolitan Opera)

    Catch the New Met Dutchman at WHAT

    The Metropolitan Opera has a new production of Richard Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer (“The Flying Dutchman”), directed by François Girard, with Evgeny Nikitin as the mysterious seafarer, and you don’t have to go to Lincoln Center to see it. It will be live in HD on the big screen at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater on Saturday, March 14, at 12:55 p.m. at 2357 Route 6.

    This performance has been cancelled by the Metropolitan Opera. For information about refunds, visit what.org, or call (508) 349-9428.

     

    L.M. Feldman
    Playwright L M Feldman will be at a staged reading of her new play, Amanuensis, or The Miltons, on Tuesday at the Provincetown Theater. (Photo courtesy Provincetown Theater)

    A Feminist Fantasia at Provincetown Theater

    Playwright L M Feldman, a rising talent on the national theater scene, will preview her new play, Amanuensis, or The Miltons, at a staged reading on Tuesday, March 17, at 7 p.m. at the Provincetown Theater at 238 Bradford St. This is the third of four Winter Play Dates at the theater. Admission is free and open to the public.

    John Dennis Anderson, Colin Delaney, Vanessa Rose, and Anne Stott will perform in a “gleeful, fantastical family saga of three sisters in search of their place in history,” according to the theater’s announcement, and Feldman will be around for a talkback after the reading.

    Due to public health concerns, the Winter Play Dates series has been cancelled. Visit provincetowntheater.org for more information.

     

    Florelle and René Lefèvre star in Jean Renoir’s 1936 classic caper, Le Crime de Monsieur Lange, screening at the Waters Edge Cinema on Wednesday. (Photo Rialto Pictures)

    Classic Crime Unfolds in Provincetown

    Filmmaker Jean Renoir, son of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste, hit his artistic peak in the 1930s, directing such all-time classics as Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game. Along the way he and screenwriter Jacques Prévert came up with Le Crime de Monsieur Lange, an utterly charming caper about a couple on the lam.

    The film will screen at the Provincetown Film Art Series on Wednesday, March 18, at the Waters Edge Cinema at 237 Commercial St., 2nd floor of Whaler’s Wharf in Provincetown. It will be introduced by series curator Howard Karren, who will lead a discussion afterward. Admission is $12-$8 or series pass.

     

     

     

     

    Arts Briefs and Listings

    Arts Briefs and Listings for March 5 through March 11

    By

    Susan Anthony Collages

    Susan Anthony collage
    The Dregs is a collage by Susan Anthony that is part of her show opening at the Wellfleet COA on Sunday afternoon. (Photo courtesy Susan Anthony)

    A show of collages by Wellfleet artist Susan Anthony will have an opening on Sunday, March 8, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Great Pond Gallery of the Wellfleet Council on Aging at 715 Old King’s Highway.

    The exhibit features a cross-section of work produced by Anthony over the last 10 years in archival pigment digital prints. It will be on view through April 3 at the COA, which is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

     

    Tamora Israel
    Tamora Israel is the featured reader at the Writer’s Voice Café at Provincetown library on Wednesday evening. (Photo courtesy Writer’s Voice Café)

    Tamora Israel to Read at Writer’s Voice Café

    The Writer’s Voice Café, the monthly open mic at the Provincetown Public Library, will feature poet and actor Tamora Israel at its next event, on Wednesday, March 11, from 6 to 8 p.m. at 356 Commercial St.

    Israel, who gave a TEDxProvincetown talk in 2019, “Consent and Boundaries in a post-#MeToo Era,” and last month wrote a brief one-act for the 24-Hour Plays at the Provincetown Theater, will showcase the evolution of her poetry at the Writer’s Voice Café. The event is free, and refreshments will be served.

     

     

     

     

    Provincetown Art Up for Auction

    Mary Hackett painting
    Lot 66 in Bakker Auctions’ spring sale on Saturday is Interior With Stove, a 16-by-20-inch oil on panel by Mary Hackett. Its estimated value is $2,000 to $4,000. (Photo courtesy Bakker Auctions)

    James R. Bakker Antiques is holding its spring online auction, featuring work from the estate of Patrick Manning and other collections, with bidding ending on Saturday, March 7, from 1 p.m., going lot by lot.

    A selection of classic art from the Provincetown art colony is available, as well as work from contemporary artists, from Ray Nolin and Agnes Weinrich to Anne Packard and Chet Jones.

    All bidding is done online at bakkerproject.com, or call (508) 413-9758 for more information.

     

     

    Susan Lyman sculpture
    This wood sculpture by Susan Lyman is part of an exhibit of Cape artists and others at Brickbottom Gallery in Somerville. (Photo courtesy Susan Anthony)

    Cape Artists Find ‘Natural Attraction’

    Work by Nancy Berlin, Prilla Smith Brackett, Terry Gips, Susan Lyman, and Robert Shreefter will be featured in the show “Natural Attraction,” curated by Phyllis Ewen, at the Brickbottom Gallery at 1 Fitchburg St., Suite C111, in Somerville.

    The work by the artists, who are either local or show on the Outer Cape, is inspired by “how imagination and memories interact with the natural world,” writes Ewen in her blog.

    An opening reception will be held on Sunday, March 8, from 4 to 6 p.m., and the exhibit will be on view through April 4.

     

     

     

    Art Reach 101
    Art Reach 101 student Jake Edwards (right, with hat), practices figure drawing with a live model at the studios of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. A show of students’ work will have an opening on Saturday. (Photo Dominique Pecce)

    A Show of Students’ Art at PAAM

    “Carrot Cake: We Make It All Differently,” a show of work by students in all three tiers of the Art Reach program at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, will have an opening on Saturday, March 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

    The students, who also curated the exhibit, are in the Art on the Edge, Art Reach 101, and Reaching Forward Mentor programs. The show will be on view at the museum at 460 Commercial St. through March 29.

     

     

    Music and Theater Highlights

    CONCERTS

    Catie Flynn: Saturday, March 7, 5-7 p.m. at Truro Vineyards, 11 Shore Road, Truro. No cover.

    Billy Hardy & Beth Sweeney perform traditional Celtic music with student dancers from the Kanaley School of Irish Dance: Saturday, March 7, 3 p.m. at Wellfleet Public Library, 55 West Main St. Free.

    Denya LeVine: Music Salon on Wednesday, March 11, 1:30 p.m. at Provincetown Council on Aging, 2 Mayflower St. Free.

    Denya & Friends: Irish Folk Sessions: Friday, March 6, 7-9 p.m. at Provincetown Brewing Co., 141 Bradford St. No cover.

    Tianna Esperanza: Monday, March 9, 7 p.m., with open mic hosted by Peter Donnelly, at Coffeehouse at the Mews, 429 Commercial St., Provincetown. $5 donation benefits WOMR and Provincetown Theater.

    Lighthouse Chamber Players: Elizabeth Chang, violin, and Alissa Leiser, piano, on Sunday, March 8, 2 p.m. at Wellfleet Public Library, 55 West Main St. Free.

    Lower Cape Resistance Chorus: all welcome, Monday, March 9, 7-8 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 330 Main St. Free.

    Áine Minogue, Celtic Harp: Winter Afternoon Concert Series, Saturday March 7, 4 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. $15 in advance at wellfleetpreservationhall.org; $16 at door; kids 13 and under, $10/$11.

    Frank Poraski: Friday, March 6, 5-7 p.m. at Truro Vineyards, 11 Shore Road, Truro. No cover.

    Gregg Sullivan: Winter Music Series, Saturday, March 7, 1 p.m. at Eastham Public Library, 190 Samoset Road. Free.

    PIANO BAR

    Mike Flanagan: Thursdays, 7-10 p.m. and Fridays, 8-11 p.m. at Tin Pan Alley, 269 Commercial St., in Provincetown. No cover.

    Jon Richardson: Fridays and Saturdays from 9 p.m. at the Crown & Anchor’s Dive Bar, 247 Commercial St., Provincetown. No cover.

    THEATER

    Broadway: Then and Now: Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m., through March 14, at Academy Playhouse, 120 Main St., Orleans. $20; students $10 at academyplayhouse.org.

    The Mosquito Story Slam, “Locals”: Saturday, March 7, 7 p.m. (sign-up at 6:30) at Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford St. $15 at provincetowntheater.org.

    Red Herring, by Michael Hollinger, a workshop at the Veterans’ Company: Friday, March 6, 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 7, 2 & 7 p.m. at Cape Rep, 3299 Route 6A, Brewster. $10 at caperep.org.

    Women’s Voices: stories, poems, and songs by Cape Cod women in celebration of International Women’s Day, featuring Tamora Israel, Harriet Korim, Deborah McKay, K.C. Myers, Candace Perry, Wilderness Sarchild, Liberty Schilpp, Sallie Tighe, and Anne Walsh, on Sunday, March 8, 7-8:30 p.m. at Wellfleet Public Library, 55 W. Main St. Free.

    DRAG

    Drag Bingo with Tiki Bronstein, Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. at Atlantic House, 4-6 Masonic Place, Provincetown. 

    Drag Karaoke at Governor Bradford, 312 Commercial St., Provincetown: Dana Danzel, Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30 p.m. No cover.

    RuPaul’s Drag Race: Season 12, live on TV, hosted by Bang and Qya Cristal, Fridays at 8 p.m. (doors open at 7) at Crown & Anchor’s Wave Bar, 247 Commercial St., Provincetown. No cover.

     

    Arts Briefs and Listings

    Arts Briefs and Listings for Feb. 27 through March 4

    By

    Local songwriter Alex Brewer. (Photo Michael & Suz Karchmer)

    In and Around Town With Alex Brewer

    Alex Brewer is a local singer-songwriter and carpenter who recently released an album, Unquoted, featuring interpretations of Brewer’s songs by such local musicians as John Thomas, Michael Holt, Laura Cappello, and Tianna Esperanza. It was recorded at Brick Hill Studio in Orleans.

    Brewer will be one of the hosts of the free 10th-anniversary celebration of Feed Your Love Open Mic on Saturday, Feb. 29, 4 to 7 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall at 335 Main St.

    He’s also the featured artist at the Coffeehouse at the Mews open mic, hosted by Peter Donnelly, on Monday, March 2, at 7 p.m. There’s a $5 cover that benefits WOMR and the Provincetown Theater. The Mews is at 429 Commercial St. in Provincetown.

    Finally, Brewer will be performing a free concert at the Wellfleet Public Library at 55 W. Main St. on Friday, March 13, at 7 p.m.

    Brad Pitt as Jesse James
    Brad Pitt stars in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, showing at Waters Edge Cinema on Wednesday. (Photo Warner Bros.)

    The Cinematic End of Jesse James

    The iconic true-life outlaw Jesse James met his end not from government agents but from a member of his own gang in his native Missouri. His story is atmospherically dramatized by writer-director Andrew Dominik in an epic ode to notoriety, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which will screen as part of the Provincetown Art Film Series on Wednesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. at Waters Edge Cinema at 237 Commercial St., Whaler’s Wharf, 2ndfloor, in Provincetown.

    Brad Pitt stars as James, and Casey Affleck is Robert Ford, James’s admiring partner in crime who becomes his nemesis. Admission is $12-$8 or by series pass. The screenings are hosted by curator Howard Karren, who leads a discussion afterward.

    Quartett Giocosa will play grown-up music by child prodigies at Preservation Hall on Sunday. (Photo WOMR.org)

    An Afternoon With Quartett Giocosa

    Wellfleet Preservation Hall, as part of its Winter Afternoon Concert Series, will present a return engagement of the all-woman Quartett Giocosa, giocosa meaning “playful,” on Sunday, March 1, at 3 p.m. at 335 Main St.

    The concert is devoted to the work of child phenoms, and features string quartets by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, and Samuel Barber. Tickets are $22 in advance at wellfleetpreservationhall.org, and $23 at the door; kids 13 and under are $15 in advance, $16 at the door.

    One of the works on view by Dianne Longchamps at Wellfleet Preservation Hall. (Photo courtesy Dianne Longchamps)

    Dianne Longchamps Shows at Preservation Hall

    Local artist Dianne Longchamps’s show at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, titled “Standing in Water: Wharves, Piers, Pilings, and Flowers,” will have an artist’s reception at the hall at 335 Main St. on Saturday, Feb. 29, from 5 to 7 p.m.

    Longchamps’s colorful paintings will be on view at the hall through March 10, Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

     

     

     

    The Mommyheads
    The Mommyheads rock the Wellfleet library on Friday night. (Photo courtesy Mommyheads)

    Progressive Pop by the Mommyheads

    Classical musician Michael Holt’s progressive pop band, the Mommyheads, will perform in a free concert on Friday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. at Wellfleet Public Library at 55 W. Main St. The four Mommyheads have been playing together since the ’80s, scored a deal with a major label, and have toured throughout North America and Europe. Michael’s parents are Bob and Joan Holt of Truro.

    The Provincetown Theater is seeking actors for upcoming productions. (Photo No Film School)

    Casting Calls for the Provincetown Theater

    The Provincetown Theater will be holding open auditions for two summer productions in its 2020 lineup of plays, Sarah Schulman’s comedy The Lady Hamlet and Robert Chesley’s erotic drama, Jerker. The auditions are on Saturday, Feb. 29, and Sunday, March 1, from noon to 6 p.m. at the theater at 238 Bradford St. There are four open roles in The Lady Hamlet and one in Jerker.

    Audition sides for both productions are available at the theater during business hours (1 to 6 p.m.) as well as at the auditions. Rehearsals for The Lady Hamlet begin June 1, and shows will be performed Monday through Thursday from June 29 to July 23. Rehearsals for Jerker begin July 7, and shows will be performed Monday through Thursday from Aug. 3 to Sept. 3. For updates and information, go to provincetowntheater.org.

    Where Shall We Stay, a work in mixed media and paper by Julia Salinger, is part of her show at Wellfleet Council on Aging. (Photo courtesy Julia Salinger)

    Julia Salinger at Wellfleet COA

    Julia Salinger, a Wellfleet artist who shows year-round at her home studio-gallery, Mermaid’s Grange, is the artist whose work is featured in “If Only: An Exhibition of Drawings,” at Wellfleet Council on Aging at 715 Old King’s Highway, open weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

    Salinger, in her notes on the exhibit, writes that she strives to achieve a balance in her artwork of paint and collage, “the outer concrete reality with the inner fantasy life.”

    She’ll host an artist’s reception at the COA on Saturday, Feb. 29, from 3 to 5 p.m.

     

     

     

     

     

    Music and Theater Highlights

    CONCERTS

    Black Whydah Trio: Irish folk instrumentalists Jean Sagara, John Best, and Ellen Sullivan: Winter Music Series, Saturday, Feb. 29, 1 p.m. at Truro Public Library, 7 Standish Way. Free.

    Alex Brewer: Monday, March 2, 7 p.m., with open mic hosted by Peter Donnelly, at Coffeehouse at the Mews, 429 Commercial St., Provincetown. $5 donation benefits WOMR and Provincetown Theater.

    Sarah Burrill: Friday, Feb. 28, 5-7 p.m. at Truro Vineyards, 11 Shore Road, Truro. No cover.

    Chamber Music for the Outer Cape, “American Voices: America Sings”: New York Opera Society, Outer Cape Chorale Chamber Singers, and baritone John Whittlesey, Saturday, Feb. 29, 7 p.m. at Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum, 1 High Pole Hill Road. $30 at pilgrim-monument.org or at door.

    Feed Your Love Open Mic: 10th-anniversary celebration, hosted by Alex Brewer and John Beardsley, with John Grannis, Jim Rohrer, Candace Perry, Charles Thibodeau, Ken Silvia, Beth Ellicott, Rose Martin, Larry Franklin, Steve Sollog, Allan Weisman, and the Bert Jackson Quartet: Saturday, Feb. 29, 4-7 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. Free, donations accepted.

    Fred Fried, Peggy Gerber, and Michael Ryle: Rowena Myers Waking Up Winter With Music Series, Saturday, Feb. 29, 3 p.m. at Snow Library, 67 Main St., Orleans. Free.

    The Mommyheads, Michael Holt’s indie-pop band: Friday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. at Wellfleet Public Library, 55 West Main St. Free.

    Quartett Giocosa: Winter Afternoon Concert Series, Sunday March 1, 3 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. $22 in advance at wellfleetpreservationhall.org; $23 at door; kids 13 and under, $15/$16.

    Kareem Sanjaghi: Winter Music Series, Saturday, Feb. 29, 1 p.m. at Eastham Public Library, 190 Samoset Road. Free.

    Songs for the Border, live music benefit for migrant asylum seekers and Seguimos Adelante, with emcee Vanessa Vartabedian; Tianna Esperanza with Frank Poranski and Larry Chaplan; and Denya LeVine with Julie Charland and Tim Dickey: Friday, Feb. 28, 6 p.m. at Provincetown Brewing Co., 141 Bradford St. $10 suggested donation.

    Gregg Sullivan: Saturday, Feb. 29, 5-7 p.m. at Truro Vineyards, 11 Shore Road, Truro. No cover.

    PIANO BAR

    Mike Flanagan: Thursdays, 7-10 p.m. and Fridays, 8-11 p.m. at Tin Pan Alley, 269 Commercial St., in Provincetown. No cover.

    THEATER 

    Assassins, by Stephen Sondheim: Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, 2:30 p.m. (last performance, March 1), at Eventide Arts, 713 Route 6A, Dennis. $25 at eventidearts.org.

    OPERA

    Agrippina, by George Frideric Handel: a new production by David McVicar, live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Saturday, Feb. 29, 12:55 p.m. at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, 2357 Route 6. $30, $27 seniors, and $12 students at what.org.

    DRAG

    Drag Bingo with Tiki Bronstein, Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. at Atlantic House, 4-6 Masonic Place, Provincetown.

    Drag Karaoke at Governor Bradford, 312 Commercial St., Provincetown: Dana Danzel, Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30 p.m. No cover.

    RuPaul’s Drag Race: Season 12, live on TV, hosted by Bang and Qya Cristal, Fridays at 8 p.m. (doors open at 7) at Crown & Anchor’s Wave Bar, 247 Commercial St., Provincetown. No cover.

     

    Arts Briefs and Listings

    Arts Briefs and Listings for Feb. 20 through Feb. 26

    By

    Cori Redstone’s Art of Protest

    Artist Cori Redstone, who was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and got her M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts, organized her first protest, a middle school walkout, at age 14. She remains an activist through her work.

    Redstone will be giving a talk, “Why Make Art When the World Is F#@cked?” on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. at the Fine Arts Work Center at 24 Pearl St. in Provincetown.

    The event is free and open to the public.

    Ellis Paul in Concert at First Encounter

    Maine-born, Boston-based folk singer-songwriter Ellis Paul, an award-winning performer for 30 years, will appear in concert on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Encounter Coffeehouse at Chapel in the Pines, 220 Samoset Road in Eastham. He has released 20 albums and two children’s books.

    Tickets are $25 at the door.

     

     

     

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

    Reading of Elizabeth Hemmerdinger’s Squall

    The next installment of the Provincetown Theater’s Winter Play Dates series of full-length staged readings of new work will be Squall, by Elizabeth Hemmerdinger, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. at the theater at 238 Bradford St. The performance is free and open to the public.

    Squall is a psychological thriller about two women trapped on an island off the coast of Maine. The reading is directed by Gary Garrison and features Vanessa Rose and Anne Stott. It will be followed by a talkback.

    Hemmerdinger, who got her M.F.A. from New York University, is a producer of the documentary film Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me and associate producer of The Homestretch.

    Rick Drost at Coffeehouse at the Mews

    Rick Drost, a singer-songwriter from Cambridge, will be the featured act at the Coffeehouse at the Mews open mic on Monday, Feb. 24, at 429 Commercial St. in Provincetown.

    The coffeehouse is hosted by Peter Donnelly. There’s a $5 donation added to your restaurant bill that benefits WOMR and the Provincetown Theater. Reservations are suggested.

    Drost has been writing songs since the ’60s and performing full-time since he retired as a software engineer in 2015.

    Jon Richardson Back at the Bench

    Provincetown’s own Jon Richardson is back warming up the crowds at the piano at the Crown & Anchor’s Dive Bar on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. at 247 Commercial St. in Provincetown.

    Richardson, who performs as a duo with Peter Donnelly and produces recordings of his own and others at his home studio here in town, plays piano bars throughout the season at venues in Provincetown and elsewhere, including Tin Pan Alley.

     

     

    Arts Listings

    Music and Theater Highlights

    CONCERTS

    Sarah Burrill: Friday, Feb. 21, 5-7 p.m. at Truro Vineyards, 11 Shore Road, Truro. No cover.

    Crowes Pasture: Monique Byrne & Andy Rogovin: Winter Music Series, Saturday, Feb. 22, 1 p.m. at Truro Public Library, 7 Standish Way. Free.

    Denya & Friends: Irish Folk Sessions: Friday, Feb. 21, 7-9 p.m. at Provincetown Brewing Co., 141 Bradford St. No cover.

    Rick Drost: Monday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m., with open mic, at Coffeehouse at the Mews, 429 Commercial St., Provincetown. $5 donation benefits WOMR and Provincetown Theater.

    Kathleen Healy: Saturday, Feb. 22, 5-7 p.m. at Truro Vineyards, 11 Shore Road, Truro. No cover.

    Lower Cape Resistance Chorus: community sing of protest songs, Monday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. Free.

    Mardi Gras Dance Party with Sugarcane Duquesne: Friday, Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. $15 in advance at wellfleetpreservationhall.org; $16 at door.

    Ellis Paul: Saturday, Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m. at First Encounter Coffee House, 220 Samoset Road, Eastham. $25 at door.

    Kareem Sanjaghi: Rowena Myers Waking Up Winter With Music Series, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2 p.m. at Snow Library, 67 Main St., Orleans. Free.

    Toast and Jam with Tim Dickey, Julie Charland, Blake Newman, and Alice Malone: Saturday, Feb. 22, 3 p.m. at Wellfleet Public Library, 55 West Main St.

    Bart Weisman Klezmer/Swing Band: Winter Music Series, Saturday, Feb. 22, 1 p.m. at Eastham Public Library, 190 Samoset Road. Free.

    PIANO BARS

    Mike Flanagan: Thursday, Feb. 20, 7-10 p.m. and Friday, Feb. 21, 8-11 p.m. at Tin Pan Alley, 269 Commercial St., in Provincetown. No cover.

    Jon Richardson: Friday-Saturday, Feb. 21-22, from 9 p.m. at Crown & Anchor, 247 Commercial St., Provincetown. No cover.

    THEATER

    Assassins, by Stephen Sondheim: Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2:30 p.m., through March 1 at Eventide Arts, 713 Route 6A, Dennis. $25 at eventidearts.org.

    Rumpelstiltskin: performed by the Dream Tale Puppets, Saturday, Feb. 22, 11 a.m., at Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre, 105 Division St., Harwich. $12 at capecodtheatrecompany.org.

    Snow White: Thursday & Saturday at 7 p.m., Friday & Sunday at 2 p.m., at Academy Playhouse, 120 Main St., Orleans. $20, students $10, at apacapecod.org.

    Squall, by Elizabeth Hemmerdinger: staged reading, directed by Gary Garrison, with Vanessa Rose and Anne Stott, talkback following performance, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 7 p.m., at Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford St. Free.

    Winter Vacation Magic with the Amazing Richard & Co.: Thursday-Friday, Feb. 20-21, 2 p.m., at Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre, 105 Division St., Harwich. $15 at capecodtheatrecompany.org.

    DRAG

    Drag Bingo with Tiki Bronstein, Wednesday, at 9:30 p.m. at Atlantic House, 4-6 Masonic Place, Provincetown.

    Drag Karaoke at Governor Bradford, 312 Commercial St., Provincetown: Dana Danzel, Friday-Saturday, at 9:30 p.m. No cover.

     

     

    THEATER

    Despite Real-Estate Challenges, Harbor Stage Sticks to Its Mission

    But the founders of Wellfleet’s artist-run theater are still searching for a place to live

    By

    Harbor Stage Theater actors
    The four founders of the Harbor Stage Company in Wellfleet in its 2013 production of Brenda Withers’s The Billingsgate Project, left to right: Brenda Withers, Robert Kropf, Stacy Fischer, and Jonathan Fielding. (Photo courtesy Harbor Stage Company)

    For their first seven years, the four actor-founders of the Harbor Stage Company — Robert Kropf and Stacy Fischer, Brenda Withers and Jonathan Fielding — who run the small Wellfleet theater at 15 Kendrick Ave. on their own without a board, had an affordable place in Wellfleet to live in year-round.

    “It’s really important in a vocation where there’s so much unknown, always, that we have a base, a place to breathe and rest and regroup and operate,” Kropf says via email. “We’re unique in that the four of us live together in the summer. Pretty much all of our administrative-brainstorming work happens in the kitchen. ‘Production meetings’ are more like a conversation over coffee with messed-up hair. It’s just the way we work.”

    Last year, the Outer Cape real-estate market finally caught up with them. “We lost our spot, because it was on the market and it was sold,” Withers says by phone on Sunday, before running off to a rehearsal. “We were stunned by the sticker price. This summer, we ended up renting for two months. It’s pretty scary for us. We rent the theater year to year — it’s not permanent. This was the first time we realized that maybe we won’t be able to stay.”

    The 2019 season offered two plays, the original comedy The Hermitage — in which a yuppie couple dally with the idea of housing a homeless artist — and a powerful production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters, instead of the company’s usual three, as well as a series of readings. Withers says it was a way to have longer runs during the short summer season.

    “People were frustrated about not getting in,” she says. And it also made the “constantly in rehearsal, constantly in production thing” less pressurized. “We’re just going to make it work however we can. But if there’s a year when donations drop or the economy fails, we just might not be able to do it.”

    The two couples who founded the Harbor Stage met while performing at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, which was based at the 15 Kendrick Ave. building before it built the Julie Harris Stage on Route 6.

    Harbor Stage performance
    Robert Kropf and Brenda Withers in The River, a 2016 Harbor Stage production of Jez Butterworth’s play. (Photo courtesy Harbor Stage Company)

    “Twenty years ago, when I drove down to the harbor and saw the space for the first time,” Kropf says, “I felt home. The truth is, we all fell pretty hard for the Cape. We’re not officially locals, though I’d call us that. We do leave in the off-season. Dividing our time means we have to cover housing year-round at our home bases, which makes it difficult at both ends. Stacy and I live in Boston; Jon and Bren, in New York. But as the company grows more and more permanent, our desire for permanent housing on the Cape has become a priority.”

    A few years ago, Withers says, “We looked into buying a place. We quickly realized that that was untenable.” They applied to the housing lottery in Wellfleet for affordable housing, but when a place became available, Fielding had gotten a job that disqualified them because of personal income limits.

    “Because we are our own board,” Kropf says, “we do what we want the way we want it. The downside is that fund-raising is challenging, as we only have so much time and energy. The housing issue is directly related. Our supporters, volunteers, audiences, and community are incredibly generous and loyal, but without large, corporate sponsorships or heavy-hitter philanthropists, sustainability has become more piecemeal, year to year. Which is demanding — a constant reckoning.”

    The company is always balancing the financial realities of running a theater with its original aims in doing so, such as keeping ticket prices low. “It’s important, on the Cape and off,” Withers says. “Theater has become less popular because audiences feel less welcome. One solution that’s been suggested to us would be to raise the price of tickets. And we have raised it, from $20 originally to $23 now. That was a huge discussion.”

    Harbor Stage performance
    Jonathan Fielding in Church, in the Harbor Stage’s 2012 inaugural season. (Photo courtesy Harbor Stage Company)

    Kropf says that he and Withers, in particular, have always shared a “like-mindedness in terms of working. And a desire to self-produce, to create our own work, pave our own way, have artistic control. There’s always been a natural ease with which the four of us get along. I think of us more like a band than a theater company.”

    Withers concurs. “I’m very grateful that we’re all just great friends,” she says. “It’s a horizontal power structure. Certainly, the four of us feel equal. It’s a real ensemble. Everyone has a voice. That’s unusual. As a holistic experiment, it’s been very successful.”

    What they’re not interested in, Kropf says, is “anything resembling a corporate structure. This attitude informs pretty much every aspect of our scrappy operation. For example, play and season selection happens when it happens. Usually very late in the process. We take the time to find what is the most interesting, inspiring, immediate thing we want to work on. We have the time and the ability to prioritize the artistic process over the bottom line. It’s a struggle, but we think it’s important. In general, I’d say we’re long-gamers, in for the long haul. So it’s important to us to strike the balance between idealism and pragmatism. We’ve almost cracked it. Almost.”

    this week

    Arts Briefs & Listings for November 14 through 20

    exhibitions, music, theater, and other happenings on the Outer Cape this week

    By

    BRIEFS

    Badland Film’s a Fund-raiser for HOW and PFS
    It’s an interesting idea for a Western: a bounty hunter who goes after Confederate war criminals. Badland, a feature film starring Kevin Makely, Mira Sorvino, Bruce Dern, Wes Studi, and James Russo, will be preview-screened on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 1 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the Waters Edge Cinema at 237 Commercial St. (Whaler’s Wharf, 2nd floor) in Provincetown. Tickets are $20 at the box office or watersedgecinema.org, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Helping Our Women and the Provincetown Film Society.

    Art From Debris Enlivens Local Bounty Banquet

    The Center for Coastal Studies is hosting a fund-raiser for its Ghost Gear Recovery Project on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at CCS and St. Peter’s Hall. This sculpture by Orly Genger, titled “Red, Yellow, and Blue,” was installed in Madison Square Park in New York City about seven years ago. It was created from rope recovered from the commercial lobster fishery. (Photo courtesy Laura Ludwig)

    The Center for Coastal Studies will host a Local Bounty Banquet on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 5 p.m. (social hour at CCS, 5 Holway Ave. in Provincetown) and 6 p.m. (banquet at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, 11 Prince St. in Provincetown). The event is a fund-raiser for the Ghost Gear Recovery Project, with the aim of raising matching funds in support of an ongoing effort to recover lost, abandoned, or discarded fishing gear from the ocean.

    At the banquet there will be a buffet, a presentation on the Derelict Fishing Gear Recovery Project, music by special guests, and an exhibit of artwork featuring marine debris contributed by diverse artists.

    Tickets are $100, $90 for CCS members at coastalstudies.org. At the website, click “Connect and Learn” and then “Special Events.” Also available are banquet T-shirts whether you attend or not.

    Critchley Unveils Revised Feminist Mayflower Compact
    As part of his ongoing project “Democracy of the Land,” in tandem with Provincetown 400, local artist Jay Critchley unveiled a pop-up installation now on display at the Provincetown Public Library of his revised and illustrated Mayflower Compact with all women signers, including Cher, Rosa Parks, Gertrude Stein, Whoopi Goldberg, and Sojourner Truth. The original was signed in 1620, almost 400 years ago. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    Radio Play Version of It’s a Wonderful Life to Open at Provincetown Theater
    Starting Thursday, Nov. 21, and running through Sunday, Dec. 8, the Provincetown Theater will feature Joe Landry’s It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, a version of the classic Frank Capra film adapted for radio, with live sound effects. Directed by the theater’s artistic director, David Drake, the show features a cast of 10 (in alphabetical order): Laura Cappello, Colin Delaney, Nicholas Dohr, Paul E. Halley, Beau Jackett, Alex Juchmejwich, Kenneth Lonergan, Racine Oxtoby, Julia Salinger, and Anne Stott.

    Performances are Thursday-Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Provincetown Theater at 238 Bradford St. Tickets can be purchased online at provincetowntheater.org or at the theater’s box office, weekdays 1-4 p.m. or call (508) 487-7487.

    Arts Listings

    CONCERTS
    Quartett Giocosa, “Macabre”: Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden,” Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Moussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain,” and Saint-Saens’s “Danse Macabre,” Saturday, Nov. 16, 7 p.m. at Federated Church of Orleans, 162 Main St. $22.

    The Broughams, “Rock to Stop Homelessness,” Saturday, Nov. 16, 6 p.m. at Hog Island, 28 West Road, Orleans. $20 donation.

    Gregg Sullivan, Saturday, Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. $15 at wellfleetpreservationhall.org.

    Peking and the Mystics, Saturday, Nov. 16, 3 p.m. at Wellfleet Public Library, 55 W. Main St. Free.

    OPEN MICS
    Kathleen Healy, featured act, Monday, Nov. 18, from 7 p.m. at Coffeehouse at the Mews, 429 Commercial St., Provincetown. $5 donation (cover).

    Feed Your Love Open Mic, Wednesday, Nov. 20, from 7 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. Free.

    PIANO BARS
    Jon Richardson, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 15-16, from 9 p.m. at Crown & Anchor Dive Bar, 247 Commercial St. in Provincetown. No cover.

    Tin Pan Alley, 269 Commercial St., Provincetown: Cassandra Marsh, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 15-16, 8 -11 p.m.; Gerald Goode, Sunday, Nov. 17, 7-10 p.m.; and Jim Brosseau & Friends, Monday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m. No cover.

    THEATER
    Something Rotten! book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, music and lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick: Tuesday-Thursday 7 p.m., Friday-Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. through Dec. 8 (no shows Nov. 26-28) at Cape Rep, 3299 Route 6A, Brewster. Tickets $35-$40 at caperep.org

    To Kill a Mockingbird, adapted from the film by Aaron Sorkin: Thursday-Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2:30 p.m. through Nov. 23 at Eventide Arts, 713 Main St. (Route 6A), Dennis. Tickets $25 at eventidearts.org.

    DRAG
    Drag Karaoke with Dana Danzel at Governor Bradford, 312 Commercial St. in Provincetown: Friday-Saturday from 9:30 p.m. No cover.

    RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (on TV) With Thirsty Burlington and Bang: Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at Crown & Anchor Wave Bar, 247 Commercial St. in Provincetown. No cover.

     

     

    this week

    Arts Briefs & Listings for November 7 through 13

    exhibitions, music, theater, and other happenings on the Outer Cape this week

    By

    BRIEFS

    Sparky and Rhonda Rucker Perform at First Encounter

    Sparky and Rhonda Rucker — musicians, authors, and teachers — will perform a variety of folk songs, spirituals, and historical ballads on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.) at the First Encounter Coffeehouse at Chapel of the Pines, 220 Samoset Road in Eastham. Admission is $20 at the door.

    An Adam Graham painting
    The untitled work by Adam Graham pictured here is part of the series “Noir,” which will have an opening on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Adam Graham)

    Adam Graham’s ‘Noir’ at Seashore Point

    “Noir,” a show of new work by Provincetown artist Adam Graham, untitled black-and-white mixed media (charcoal, pastel, acrylic, and oil) paintings on paper, will have an opening reception on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m. at the Residences at Seashore Point at 100 Alden St. in Provincetown. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

    Madama Butterfly Live From the Met

    The Metropolitan Opera’s exquisite production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, directed by the late Anthony Minghella and using Bunraku puppets, will be simulcast live in HD on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 12:55 p.m. at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater at 2357 Route 6. The performance will be conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi, and features Hui He as the tragic Cio-Cio-San, Andrea Carè as Pinkerton, Elizabeth DeShong as Suzuki, and Paulo Szot as Sharpless. Tickets are $30, seniors $27, and students $12 at what.org.

    Provincetown Film Art Series Opens on Sunday

     The Provincetown Film Art Series, now in its 14th year, will have its Kickoff Celebration fund-raiser screening, of Edward Yang’s Yi Yi (2000), at 2 p.m. (1 p.m. reception) at Waters Edge Cinema at 237 Commercial St, 2nd floor of Whaler’s Wharf. The series, presented by the Provincetown Film Society and Provincetown Art Association and Museum, is curated and hosted by Howard Karren, arts editor of the Provincetown Independent.

    Bi-weekly screenings, which begin this Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. with Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, continue through May 13, 2020. Season passes for $185 (or $135 for PFS or PAAM members) can be purchased at paam.org or provincetownfilm.org. Individual tickets are $12, or $8 for PFS or PAAM members. Tickets to the Kickoff Celebration screening are $40.

    Dance on Film Series Comes to WHAT

    The Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater will present Dance on Film, a series of screenings on four Fridays in November at 7 p.m., beginning on Nov. 8 with the 1948 classic The Red Shoes, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a ballerina (Moira Shearer) and the shoes that possess her. The films will be introduced and followed by a short discussion led by Marc Strauss. Tickets are $12 at what.org.

    LISTINGS

    CONCERTS

    Ball at the Hall: A RAICES Benefit with music by Bittersweet, Sunday, Nov. 10, 7-10 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. Tickets $30 in advance at wellfleetpreservationhall.org, $35 at the door.

    Music Salon With Zoë Lewis, Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 1:30 p.m. at Provincetown Council on Aging, 2 Mayflower St. Free.

    Out Late With Diana Di Gioia, Saturday, Nov. 8, 3 p.m. at Provincetown Public Library, 356 Commercial St. Free.

    Sparky and Rhonda Rucker, Saturday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m., at First Encounter Coffee House, 220 Samoset Road in Eastham. $20 at door.

    PIANO BARS

    Jon Richardson, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 8-9, 9 p.m. at the Crown & Anchor Dive Bar, 247 Commercial St., Provincetown: No cover.

    Tin Pan Alley, 269 Commercial St., Provincetown: Clare Hogan, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 8-9, 8-11 p.m.; Gerald Goode, Sunday, Nov. 10, 7-10 p.m.; Jim Brosseau & Friends, Monday, Nov. 11, 7-10 p.m. No cover.

    THEATER

     Crude: The Climate Change Musical, by Maureen Condon: Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. (last performance), at Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre, 105 Division St. in Harwich. Tickets are $27, seniors $25, under 21 $15 at capecodtheatrecompany.org

    Mosquito Story Slam, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”: Saturday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m. at the Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford St. $15.

    Something Rotten! book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, music and lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick: Opens Nov. 6. Shows Tuesdays-Thursdays 7 p.m., Friday-Saturday 8 p.m., Sundays 2 p.m. through Dec. 8 (no shows Nov. 26-28). Tickets $35-$40 at caperep.org

    OPERA

    Madama Butterfly, by Giacomo Puccini, live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera, Saturday, Nov. 9, 12:55 p.m. at Wellfleet Actors Harbor Theater, 2357 Route 6. Tickets are $30, seniors $27, students $12 at what.org.

    DRAG

     Drag Karaoke at Governor Bradford, 312 Commercial St. in Provincetown: Thursday-Saturday at 9:30 p.m.: Dana Danzel. No cover

    RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (on TV) With Thirsty Burlington and Bang: Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. at Crown & Anchor Wave Bar, 247 Commercial St. in Provincetown. No cover.

    GETAWAYS

    From the Outer Cape to New York City

    A new relationship passes the travel test on a four-day trip

    By

    I live in Truro, she lives in Connecticut. We’ve both been to New York City many times. For me, it’s been about work. I could tell you what’s on exhibit at every major museum. She goes for theater and knows every little out-of-the-way neighborhood place.

    We met online, and we’ve been seeing each other for three and a half dog years (six months). It was time to find out if our relationship would travel. And if you’re a shop owner on the Outer Cape, as I am, you dream of a few days away in October.

    Lila and Susan visit NYC
    The two travelers: Lila (left) and Susan

    We made a few plans: She wanted to take me to a show and dinner at her favorite little Thai restaurant. I really wanted to visit at least one museum. And we agreed to leave some things to chance.

    Our plan combined splurges with budget-conscious moves. What really helped was the chance to stay at her friends’ apartment in Greenwich Village. In exchange, those friends will stay at my place in Truro over Thanksgiving.

    Summer traffic gone, the drive to New York is easy enough. But we wanted to avoid the hassle of parking in the city. The solution was to make Westport, Conn. our first destination. From there, you can hop on Metro North for the last leg to Grand Central.

    The Westport stop might seem counterintuitive on such a short trip. But treating it like part of our getaway worked: a drive past the fall colors we don’t see on the Cape got us to Westport in time for lunch.

    The town is an old haunt for both of us. We were taken aback by the lineup of upscale stores along Main Street. But there was the beautiful, lazy Saugatuck River running through town as it always had. The historic Westport Playhouse, opened in 1931, once frequented by local residents Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, is still there. And the view across Long Island Sound at Compo Beach is as spectacular as ever.

    We got a head start on our New York experience with lunch at Gold’s Delicatessen, 421 Post Road. The counter is stacked with smoked fish and nova, but we went for hot corned beef (for me) and liverwurst (for her) sandwiches on rye, served with a couple of pickles on a paper plate.

    We ditched the car in Fairfield and boarded the train. This satisfied our bargain-hunting instincts: parking is $6 per day on weekdays and free on weekends, when there are plenty of spaces. The hour-and-a-half ride to Grand Central Station cost us seniors just $18 round-trip.

    Here’s how we mixed it up for the next 48 hours:

    Day One: A Village Walk

    We decided to play it loose that first evening. The Village offers great people watching, and we needed the walk.

    We strolled Bleecker Street, Cornelia Street, Carmine Street, Christopher Street. The sidewalks were filled with people. We meandered in and out of shops, checked out a few menus. I felt instantly on vacation. We noted there was live music at the Blue Note on West 3rd Street, but ended up at the Independent Film Center at 323 6th Ave. We got ourselves a pair of $12 senior tickets and saw “Laundromat,” starring Meryl Streep. It was a thrill just to be able to walk around the corner to the movies.

    We found dinner down the block afterward at Dos Toros. Yes, it’s takeout. And it’s a mini-chain. But it’s one with California roots, including a focus on sustainable practices. A good carnitas burrito is comfort food and not easy to find on the Cape.

    Day Two: A Museum, Views, Dancing

    After coffee at the apartment, we walked to the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea. I had never visited, but I collect folk art and appreciate Himalayan art, so I was curious.

    The Rubin is a peaceful oasis in the middle of 17th Street. Start at the interactive “Wheel of Intentions,” where you can send yours into the universe.

    Our $14 senior tickets and the museum’s free audio guide swept us into three blissful hours with the collection of Himalayan, Tibetan, and Indian art. I was intrigued with the lost wax casting process used to make a 19th-century Himalayan sculpture. Curried cauliflower, potato samosas, and arugula salad made a terrific lunch at the museum’s atrium café.

    Next, for a belated birthday surprise, she suggested Gulliver’s Gate at 216 West 44th St. — a world of miniatures in a gigantic 49,000-square-foot space in Times Square. Walking through the spectacular locations created by seven design workshops around the world made me feel like a kid again.

    You can wait in line to get a good view of the city’s skyline, but we found a way to skip the line and relax into it with a drink and a bite. At the View Restaurant on the 48th floor of the Marriott in Times Square, the revolving floor makes a 360-degree turn every hour. We didn’t even have to wait for a table.

    We’d been wanting to find time to dance all summer, but with my work schedule it hadn’t happened. Lucky for us, she had read that Tito Rodriguez and his salsa band were playing a free concert at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium. We danced the night away, surrounded by a crowd filled with as many students as seniors.

    Day Three: Two Great Shows Plus Cheesecake

    We met some of her New York friends for brunch at the Hollywood Diner at 574 6th Ave. This landmark is open 24 hours a day.

    Then we managed to see two Broadway shows in one day: Dear Evan Hansen and Come From Away. This took some planning: one at 2 p.m. and one at 8 p.m., with dinner in-between. Before we left the Cape, she used TodayTix, an app for buying discounted tickets up to 30 days in advance.

    In between we had dinner at her pick nearby, the great little Pongsri Thai at 244 West 48th St.

    I know this is controversial, but I think the cheesecake at Junior’s on 45th Street is sublime. Mine was topped with fresh strawberries and a birthday candle.

    The return the next day meant a dash to Grand Central and a nap while riding the rails back to Fairfield. On the drive back to Truro we marveled at all we had seen and done in 48 hours. Yes, Lila and I agreed, our relationship traveled well.

    this week

    Arts Briefs & Listings for Oct. 31 through Nov. 6

    exhibitions, music, theater, and other happenings on the Outer Cape this week

    By

    ‘Buying Gay: How Physique Entrepreneurs Sparked a Movement’

    East End Books, 389 Commercial St., will host a reading on Friday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m.

    Author David K. Johnson’s book, “Buying Gay,” includes a wealth of images. (Photo courtesy Columbia University Press)

    Author David K. Johnson, an associate professor of history at the University of Southern Florida, presents a vivid look into the lives of physique entrepreneurs and their customers. The book includes a wealth of illustrations. Buying Gay explores the connections and tensions between the market and the gay rights movement. Physique entrepreneurs of the 1950s and 1960s were at the center of legal struggles, especially against the U.S. Post Office, including the court victory that allowed full-frontal male nudity and open homoeroticism. Buying Gay reconceives the history of the gay rights movement and shows how consumer culture helped create community and a site for resistance.

     

    Curtis Speer's "The Lightkeeper"
    “The Lightkeeper” by Curtis Speer

    Rhapsody in Blue at the CUSP Gallery

    Photographer and gallery owner Curtis Speer will have an exhibition of his ocean-themed work from Nov. 1 to 24. Titled “The Blues,” the pieces include ships, shipwrecks, and other visual stories about the sea.

    “The Lightkeeper” is a self portrait from a series taken along the rocky coast of Maine inspired by the paintings of Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper. “The Lightkeeper” denotes courage, bravery, and tenacity in the midst of adversity.

     

     

     

    Solo Time for First String Violinist

    Edmund Bagnell, the first violinist of the singing string quartet Well-Strung, will make his solo debut in “He Plays the Violin” in Provincetown this weekend. The new show is a part of the inaugural season of New Works Provincetown, a theater lab founded by Mark Cortale to create new works here. Music direction is by Matthew Aument and the show is directed by Michael Schiralli, Varla Jean Merman’s long-time director.
    Show times are Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Provincetown Art House Theatre, 214 Commercial St.
    For tickets and information see brownpapertickets.com/event/4399313 or call (800) 838-3006.

    Music, Theater, and Halloween Weekend Listings

    CONCERTS

    Harold López-Nussa Quartet: Sunday, Nov. 3 at 4 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. $25-$30 at payomet.org.

    We Are the Men: Saturday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. at The Academy Playhouse, 120 Main St., Orleans. $20 at acacape.org.

     PIANO BARS

     Jon Richardson: Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 2 at 9 p.m. at the Crown & Anchor Dive Bar, 247 Commercial St., Provincetown. No cover.

    Scream Along with Billy: Friday, Nov. 1 at 11 p.m. at Grotta Bar, 186 Commercial St., Provincetown. No cover.

     Tin Pan Alley, 269 Commercial St., Provincetown. Gerald Goode: Thursday, Oct. 31, 8-11 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 3, 7-10 p.m. Mike Flanagan: Friday-Saturday, Nov. 1-2, 8-11 p.m. Jim Brosseau & Friends: Monday, Nov. 3, 7-10 p.m. No cover.

    THEATER

     Crude: The Climate Change Musical, by Maureen Condon: Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. through Nov. 10 at Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre, 105 Division St., Harwich. $27, seniors $25, under 21 $15 at capecodtheatrecompany.org

    David’s Friend, by Nora Burns: Friday-Saturday, November 1-2 at 7 p.m. at Pilgrim House, 336 Commercial St., Provincetown. $20-$30 at pilgrimhouseptown.com.

    Grounded in Varna, by Jody O’Neil: Friday-Saturday, Nov. 1-2 at 8 p.m. at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, 2357 Route 6. $25 at what.org.

    Mosquito Story Slam, Day of the Dead Special Edition, “Reunited”: Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. (6:30 p.m. sign-up) at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. $15 at wellfleetpreservationhall.org.

     Something Rotten! book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, music and lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick: Opens Wednesday, Nov. 6, Tuesday-Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. at Cape Rep Theatre, 3299 Rt. 6A, Brewster, through Dec. 8 (no shows Nov. 26-28). $35-$40 at caperep.org

    DRAG

     Drag Karaoke with Dana Danzel: Thursday-Saturday at the Governor Bradford, 312 Commercial St., Provincetown. No cover.

    Mackenzie’s HalloQueen Spooktacular: Friday-Saturday, Nov. 1-2, at 9 p.m. at Pilgrim House, 336 Commercial St., Provincetown. $20 at pilgrimhouseptown.com.

    Varla Jean Merman in “Pieced Together … All My Best Parts,” at The Art House, 214 Commercial St., Provincetown: Friday, Nov. 1, at 9 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 2, at 8 p.m. $35-$45 at provincetownarthouse.com.

    Halloween Happenings

    Art House, 214 Commercial St., Provincetown. Varla Jean Merman in “Pieced Together … All My Best Parts,” Friday, Nov. 1, 9 p.m. & Saturday, Nov. 2, 8 pm. $35-$45.

    Boatslip Beach Club, 161 Commercial St., Provincetown. Last Dance Tea Dance, Sunday, Nov. 3, 4-7 p.m. Free.

    Crown & Anchor, 247 Commercial St., Provincetown. Townie Halloween in the Wave Bar, Thursday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m., no cover; Spooky Bearlesque, Friday & Saturday, Nov. 1 & 2, 7 p.m., $29; Hallowoof: The Return of the Monsters, Friday, Nov. 1, 9 p.m., $15; Spooky Bear Costume Ball, Saturday, Nov. 2, 9 p.m. $10.

    Motta Field, Winslow St. Provincetown Recreation Dept.’s Greet ’n’ Treat, Thursday, Oct. 31, 4:30-6 p.m. Free.

    Pilgrim House, 336 Commercial St., Provincetown. Mackenzie’s HalloQueen Spooktacular (costumes encouraged), Friday-Saturday, Nov. 1-2, 9 p.m. $20.

    Provincetown Town Hall, 260 Commercial St. Black & Gold Halloween Ball, Saturday, Nov. 2, 8 p.m. $60 at Ptown.org.

    Wellfleet Drive-In Theatre, Route 6. Trunk or Treat Festival, Thursday, Oct. 31, 4-7 p.m. Free (includes hotdogs & cider).

    Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. Community Ofrenda Installation, Tuesday-Saturday, Oct. 29-Nov. 2; Halloween Dance Party with Sarah Swain & the Oh Boys (costumes encouraged), Thursday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. $15/$16 at the door. Day of the Dead Mosquito Story Slam, Friday, Nov. 1, 7 p.m. $15.

    Halloween Screening: Secret Agent (1936) Provincetown Public Library, 356 Commercial St. Hitchcock’s Worst Films (And Why They’re So Good) film series, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 5:30 p.m. Free.

    THEATER

    ‘Cabaret’ Offers a Startling Contrast to Provincetown Audiences

    Peregrine Theatre Ensemble’s current production is breathtaking and bold

    By

    PROVINCETOWN — It was the evening before Provincetown’s Carnival parade, and Commercial Street was filled with half-naked people in 10-inch heels and three-foot Afros. Loud men in thongs hawked tickets to “Bearlesque.” It was our last chance to see it! Seven p.m.! The feeling of freedom and unabashed sexuality extended to the stage of Fishermen Hall, where the Peregrine Theatre Ensemble is performing John Kander’s and Fred Ebb’s 1966 musical “Cabaret” through Aug. 31.

    The set of "Cabaret"
    “Cabaret” is on stage at Fishermen Hall in Provincetown through Aug. 31. (Photo Michael & Suz Karchmer)

    Huge picture and mirror frames lay across the back of the stage, and hazy smoke drifted through the air. The lighting was a central part of the performance, conveying everything from moods to scenery: flickering light bulbs in the startling or disturbing scenes; dark except for a spotlight in the grim solos; flashy red lights for the garish Kit Kat Klub.

    “There are 900 light cues during the show,” Eitan Markowitz, the stage manager, remarked in an interview before the performance. “And he does every one!” added Grace Smyth, who plays Texas, one of the Kit Kat Girls.

    Ryan McNevin
    The sexually ambiguous Emcee is played by Ryan McNevin. (Photos Michael & Suz Karchmer)

    The show is an extraordinarily immersive experience for the audience. The Emcee, played by Ryan McNevin, addresses us eye-to-eye almost every time he speaks. Toward the end of the show he even chose a dazed volunteer to dance with him onstage. The choreography, by director Kyle Pleasant, is daring and vivid, using every inch of the small stage. Conductor Chris Prio leads a tight band of musicians who lurk at the back of the stage, adding to the illusion that we are in a disreputable but thrilling nightclub.

    Equally exciting is the fact that every character is heavily involved in every scene, even if they are only loitering in the shadows.

    “Every character has a name,” said Bella Rusli, who plays a Kit Kat Girl named Helga. “We all have our own story,” noted Smyth. With every character identifiable and memorable, it’s impossible to dismiss them as unimportant.

    Bella Rusli
    Bella Rusli plays a Kit Kat Girl named Helga.

    The story is set between the two world wars, right before Hitler came to power in Germany. American wannabe novelist Cliff Bradshaw, played by Owen O’Leary, comes to Berlin to write and discovers a city filled with sex, drugs, and stubborn denial of the looming Holocaust. He makes a friend, Ernst Ludwig, who (spoiler alert!) turns out in Act 2 to be a Nazi.

    The sexually ambiguous Emcee of the Kit Kat Klub runs a raunchy operation of young prostitutes — male, female, and in-between. Sally Bowles, played by Sarah Thorn, is an English runaway, romantic, alcoholic, and addicted, who falls for Cliff. Fraulein Schneider, played by Halcyone Joseph Cabral, runs a boarding house and falls in love with Herr Schultz, played by Ian Leahy, a fruit seller — and a Jew. Tension between the characters builds until the final scene, when Cliff decides to run home to America, and the people left behind face the reality of the coming Nazi regime.

    Nothing about this show is insignificant, especially today. “A lot of the story is about coming to terms with what’s happening in reality,” said Markowitz. “It’s still relevant.”

    Right now, many in America are in denial — whether it’s about the human rights violations at the border, the climate crisis, or the oppression that still exists in various forms all around the country. “Cabaret” reminds us of our human habit of dismissing and denying until it’s too late.

    “For a long time, Provincetown has been a safe haven,” said Eli Neslund, who plays Ernst Ludwig. “I think people really feel it here.” To be reminded of the persecution that gay and Jewish people endured and still endure while we bask in the glory of Provincetown is a startling contrast.

    Eli Neslund
    Eli Neslund plays Ernst Ludwig.

    The show is breathtakingly bold and fabulous, but it clearly calls out an audience of everyday people. Fraulein Schneider sings a song called “What Would You Do?” as she fearfully cancels her engagement to the Jewish Herr Schultz. During the song, the audience is forced to consider what we might do if faced with a choice like hers: stand our ground and face the consequences? Or back away in silence?

    “The original production of ‘Cabaret’ had a mirror at the end with the audience just staring at themselves,” said Markowitz. It’s a show that forces us to consider how we want our own story to end.

    “Cabaret” is on stage at Fishermen Hall, 12 Winslow St. in Provincetown, Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. through Aug. 31. Tickets are $45 at the door, at www.peregrinetheatre.com, or by calling 774-538-9084.

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