Archive: Arts & Entertainment

The Hangar Theatre Company presents its second annual production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca with public performances running December 2-23, 2018.

Featuring a delightful cast of local and national talent, enchanting period costumes, imaginative scenery, original live music, and the familiar Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, this retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic novella brings a contemporary perspective to the story while remaining true to the time-honored tale of redemption and generosity that resonates during the holiday season.

The Kitchen Theatre Company's 2018-19 Season continues with 2.5 Minute Ride by three-time Tony-winner Lisa Kron, writer of Broadway's Fun Home. Performances of 2.5 Minute Ride begin at the Kitchen Theatre Company in the Percy Browning Performance Space on November 25th and run through December 9th. Opening night is Thursday, November 29th.

In 2.5 Minute Ride, Lisa Kron invites her audience on a roller coaster ride through the Kron family album. The play switches back and forth between Kron's Michigan family's annual pilgrimage to a Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park; her journey to Auschwitz with her septuagenarian father, a Holocaust survivor; and her brother's marriage to an Internet bride. Using a complex and surprising mix of humor and seriousness, the play takes on the big things, the little things, and the unexpected ironies that tie them all together.

Guilty or innocent? You be the judge as the story behind this question and more is performed on the Lansing Middle School stage. '12 Angry Jurors', produced by the Lansing High School Drama Club, is based on the award-winning play and movie '12 Angry Men'. The play depicts the life or death struggle of 12 strangers who must decide on the guilt or innocence of a man. With these 12 jurors come 12 different personalities, opinions, and backgrounds -- all of which come into play as they try to decide the fate of a man.

Auditions for '12 Angry Jurors' began the first full week of school, and students at LHS have been working diligently ever since. The cast of '12 Angry Jurors' consists of 13 onstage actors and four crew members. In addition to this, LHS faculty member Chris Finn is lending his voice as the off stage judge. The play showcases the strength of the cast by portraying a character study of each juror, exploring the character background and reasoning behind their decisions in the trial. As a result, the cast has spent a large amount of time preparing for these complex roles.

The Tompkins Trust Company and the CSP Management Family series continues with a musical revue of beloved contemporary children's books: Dragons Love Taco's and Other Stories on December 2nd at 2:00pm, especially for grades K through 5.

Welcome to the new vaudeville, La Cerise Noire, created by Scott Hitz and the Mighty Mickie Quinn featuring a tantalizing variety of delectable delights: burlesque, drag, comedy, circus, belly dancing, grown-up puppetry, magic, and much more to tickle your fancy.

La Cerise Noire will be hosted by Benny Black (Hitz) & Cherry Bomb (Quinn) with Nate 'the Great' Marshall providing musical delight.

The show features Benjamin Klopcic (juggling) Regina (belly dancing), The Amazing Stanley (magic), Dizzy DeScretion (drag), Gustave Guignol (puppets), Acrolette (acrobatics), Monsieur Merlot (boylesque), and Joey Steinhagen and Jeremy Pletter (comedy).

Béla Fleck (banjo), Zakir Hussain (tabla), and Edgar Meyer (bass) are masterful performers who regularly cross the frontiers of musical genre. The leading virtuosos on their respective instruments, Fleck, Hussain, and Meyer move with ease among the worlds of classical, bluegrass, and North Indian music, creating a fusion that is uniquely their own.

Fleck has transformed the image and the sound of the banjo through a remarkable performing and recording career. Hussain's consistently brilliant performances on the Indian tabla have established him as a national treasure in his own country and earned him worldwide fame. Meyer's mastery of the double bass is rivaled only by his activity as a composer.

On Saturday, November 17 at 7:00 pm at Bailey Hall, the Cornell Wind Symphony under the direction of James Spinazzola presents 'Symphonic Dances', a program featuring a performance by the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Concert Band and a collaboration with Cornell dancers under the direction of Jumay Chu.

Continuing the celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s centennial, the program includes Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs and Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, along with other dance-related works by Tielman Susato and Roberto Sierra.

On November 11, 2018 the Ithaca Gay Men's Chorus (IGMC) will perform their Fall Concert, "Unseasonably Queer" at 3:00 PM in the First Baptist Church, located in Ithaca's historic Dewitt Park at 309 North Cayuga Street. 

IGMC will perform a varied list of musical pieces including Lux Aeterna by Brian Schmidt and Ave Maria by Franz Biebl, and many more.

The Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) announced its upcoming November gallery exhibition, The Bright, The Bleak, The Enigmatic: Art of Haiti. Opening on Friday, November 2, the exhibition will feature works by contemporary artists trained in the studio of renowned painter Philomé Obin and the related Arc-en-ciel studio in the port city of Cap Haïtien.

Since its 1906 debut, 'The Awakening of Spring', by German playwright Frank Wedekind, has often been criticized and sometimes banned for its controversial subject matter, including sexuality, violence, and mistrust between generations. For the Cornell University cast of 'The Awakening of Spring', November 9–17 at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, staging the play lets them reflect on the complicated relationships between young people and adults, both historically and in the modern world.

"Especially considering that it focuses on such a young time in our lives, it sheds light on those experiences in a way that is always relevant. There will always be people who are exploring these concepts for the first time," says Dominique Thorne '19, who plays fourteen-year-old Wendla.

VIDEO GAMES LIVE, a complete celebration and multimedia concert experience featuring music from the most popular video games of all time, is making its way to Ithaca at the State Theatre and Binghamton at the Forum Theatre on November 15th and 16th at 7:30pm.

VIDEO GAMES LIVE is a multimedia concert experience featuring the best music and exclusive synchronized video clips from the most popular games from the beginning of video gaming to the present. Performed by the Binghamton Philharmonic and Harpur Chorale, the show combines exclusive video footage and music arrangements with synchronized lighting, solo performers, stage show production, special FX, electronic percussionists and unique interactive segments. Whether it’s the power and passion of the more recent blockbusters or the excitement of remembering the sentimental classics you played growing up, it will truly be a special night to remember for the entire family. The show has a segment dedicated to the old retro arcade classics – but there is also modern music and older, more memorable pieces that no one has ever heard played live.

How many chances do we get to make a first impression? For Roland and Marianne, the two protagonists in 'Constellations' by Nick Payne, the answer is infinite. In the play, running November 1–3 in the Black Box Theatre at Cornell's Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, Payne proposes that life exists in a multiverse, in which countless parallel existences play out simultaneously, allowing for an infinity of possible futures.

The Department of Performing and Media Arts' production of 'Constellations', directed by Julia Dunetz '19, combines science, technology, and storytelling to engage its audience both emotionally and intellectually in Marianne and Roland's romance. The play is, according to sound designer Franklin Wang '20, "a marvelously technical production. It's a rare chance to see something so transformative in the Black Box. The story is unique and the whole show is such an experience."