Concerts to benefit Food Bank of Western Mass
The 35-piece ensemble, Bombyx Brass Collective, will play two concerts to benefit the Food Bank of Western Mass: one will be at United Methodist Church in South Hadley on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. and the other at Bombyx on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.
The show, “Pops Across The Pond,” is the group’s first of the season and will primarily feature works by British composers, including Delius, Holst, Byrd, Walton, Boysen and Zimmer/Fernie.
In a press release, public engagement manager Cheyenne Burnham said, “Over 123,000 people a month (on average) rely on our regionโs network of food pantries and that number will continue to rise as funding for vital programs like SNAP get cut. The Food Bank is incredibly grateful to the members of our community who are dedicated to making sure people have access to nutritious food. There is an important place for joy within fundraising efforts and events like these bring people together for a common purpose rooted in care and compassion.โ
Admission is $25 suggested donation at bombyxbrass.org/donate. Guests are also encouraged to bring non-expired dry goods to donate at the door.
RuPaul’s Drag Race winner brings show to Northampton
Drag queen Sasha Velour, who won season nine of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” will bring her “one-queen” show “The Big Reveal Live Show” to the Academy of Music on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m.
The 90-minute show will be Velour’s “most over-the-top, side-splitting, emotional and intricate theatrical production โ and still her most intimate show yet,” according to the event description, featuring drag, storytelling, video art and more.
For more information about the show or to purchase tickets, visit aomtheatre.com.
Hilltown Artisans Guild holds annual show, sale
The Hilltown Artisans Guild will hold its annual Holiday Show and Sale at Worthington Town Hall on Saturday, Nov. 15 and Sunday, Nov. 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Artwork at the show will include paintings, photography, prints, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, quilts, wood art, clocks and more.
Admission is free.
CitySpace to present ‘Acting Class’
Local drag artist Dame Judi Dentures, who calls herself “your favorite 1200-year-old drag grandma,” will host an “acting class” at CitySpace on Friday, Nov. 14 and Saturday, Nov. 15.
The “class” is “part drag show, part theatrical monologue and part interactive acting masterclass” with “some delightful guest lecturers,” according to the event description, “at the intersection of clown and drag.”
The show is recommended for ages 16 and up.
For more information, visit cityspaceeasthampton.org/#/events.
“Daughters” is available on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, and at local book stores. For more information about Demas and her upcoming book events, visit corinnedemas.com.
Caravaggio documentary screening in Amherst
Amherst Cinema will screen the documentary “Caravaggio” on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m.
The movie, which was in production for five years before its release, is about the legendary Renaissance painter Caravaggio, known as a master of chiaroscuro, a technique involving light and shadow. It features numerous works by Caravaggio and examines the way that his works depicted clues about himself and his psyche.
In the program notes, director Phil Grabsky wrote, “Caravaggio was deeply thoughtful, spiritually inquisitive, and artistically revolutionary. He believed deeply in the power of realism to connect with people on an emotional level. He chose models from the streets not to shock, but to speak truth. He painted saints with dirt under their fingernails because he understood that the divine resides in the real, the raw, the human. That takes courage. It takes conviction. And it takes a kind of empathy that few artists before or since have managed to express so powerfully. This is not a film about a man in the shadows. This is a film about an artist who used light to reveal the soul.”
The theater will also re-air the movie on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 1:30 p.m.
For more information, visit amherstcinema.org.
Members of BSO to perform at Smith College’s concert hall
Valley Classical Concerts will present a concert with five members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Smith College’s Sweeney Concert Hall on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m.
The soloists flautist Elizabeth Klein, oboist John Ferrillo, clarinetist Christopher Elchico, bassoonist Sam Watson, and horn player Rachel Childers will be joined by retired BSO associate principal bassoon Richard Ranti and Smith College faculty pianist Jiayan Sun, who live in Northampton.
Their program will feature Beethoven’s “Quintet for Piano and Winds,” Carl Reinecke’s “Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and Horn,” Paul Hindesmith’s “Kleine Kammermusik,” and Bohuslav Martinลฏโs “Sextet for Piano and Winds.”
Before the show, Valley Classical Concerts’ artistic director John Montanari will host a Q&A with the musicians.
“An all-woodwind concert is a bit of a departure for VCC. Weโre hoping it will attract some new people to our already very loyal audience,” Montanari said in a press release. “Considering who is playing, I guarantee that what is happening on our stage will be as good as any concert in the world.โ
For more information about the concert, visit valleyclassicalconcerts.org.
Pulitzer-winning ‘Next to Normal’ coming to UMass
The theater department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will present the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “Next to Normal” at the Rand Theater on Nov. 14-15 and 19-22 at various times.
The musical is about a woman named Diana, who struggles with bipolar disorder and family life while her family members deal with struggles of their own.
This show is recommended for ages 13 and up. It features content related to mental illness, self-harm, suicide, death, medical trauma, delusional episodes and drug use.
For more information, visit umass.edu/theater/performances.