Arts Briefs: Musical theater karaoke in Easthampton, improv in Hadley, and more
Published: 12-11-2024 1:21 PM |
Can you sing some “Sweeney,” croon some “Cats,” or belt some “Beetlejuice?”
Easthampton Theater Company will host Musical Theater Karaoke at New City Brewery in Easthampton on Saturday, Dec. 14. Sign-ups start at 7 p.m.; singing starts at 8 p.m. Holiday songs are “encouraged but not required.”
There’s a suggested $10 donation at the door, and all proceeds benefit Easthampton Theater Company.
In a world affected by climate change, a hive of bees faces a crisis: how will they survive, and how do they replace their queen?
So goes the plot of “To Serve the Hive,” an 80-minute play by Julia Byrne, which will run for one show only at First Congregational Church of Ashfield on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m, followed by a talk. In this “queer political thriller and a climate crisis drama,” the press release notes, “all the characters are bees.”
Though the production debuted in Northampton last year, First Congregational brought it to Ashfield this year (at the suggestion of Pauline Productions artistic director Jeannine Haas, who plays the Queen Bee) as part of their Young Voices: Listening to Our Youth initiative. All but one of the actors in the five-person cast are under 26 years old, and the playwright is 27.
The show is suitable for adults and teenagers and contains “some stage violence and adult references and themes.”
Admission is free, but cash and check donations are accepted at the door. To reserve your seat(s), email info@paulinelive.com with your name and the number of tickets you’d like.
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Folk/roots band Low Lily, two-thirds of whose members are based in New England, will perform a show in honor of the winter solstice at The Parlor Room on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 7:30 p.m.
Though the show won’t be on the day of the winter solstice itself — that’s Saturday, Dec. 21 — it will still feature “beautiful wintry, seasonal songs and high octane fiddle tunes” that “capture the beauty, coziness, and challenges of the darkest time of year,” according to a press release.
Clawhammer banjo player Maggie Shar, a Hampshire College alumna, will open.
General admission tickets are $18, including fees, via parlorroom.org.
Easthampton’s Marigold Theater will be filled with Latin music and dancing on Friday, Dec. 13, at 8 p.m. as TapRoots (a “unique and complex mix of funk, soul, salsa, afrobeat, reggae, Afrocuban jazz, rock, samba”) and Mal Maïz (“the psychedelic side of Latin music”) join forces for “A Night of Tropical Fusion.”
Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 on the day of at marigoldtheater.com/taproots.
At “Flip The Script,” an improv show on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. at Happier Valley Comedy in Hadley, playwright/actor/singer Stephanie Carlson will see a play she wrote brought to life – kind of.
In this show, the performers take a local writer’s unfinished, unproduced script, cast it on the fly, and perform it until they run of pages. From there, according to the event description, they improvise the rest “while the playwright watches in delight (or horror!)”
Tickets are $15 online at happiervalley.com or at the door.
In the show “Foes of a Minimum Wage Guard,” which will be performed in Northampton at 33 Hawley on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 6 p.m., filmmaker and actor Ken Harris plays 12 characters, all of whom are involved in a conflict about the struggles of preventing shoplifting.
Per the event description: “In this story of self-discovery, Steve Smelly, a complacent elderly retail guard, reluctantly accepts a new assignment as a loss prevention detective due to a department shortage. If he fails to curb shoplifting, he faces termination by the fearful district manager Mr. Coldstone. Steve stumbles upon a shocking discovery that could impact his employment. His difficult decision to handle this ultimate turn of events during a day of utter chaos will affect his relationship with coworkers and friends.”
Tickets are $15; search “Foes of a Minimum Wage Guard” on eventbrite.com.
Back in mid-October, the Gazette reported that the Norwood-based Hometown Arcade would be opening a Northampton location inside Thornes. At the time, owner Matt Snow was planning to open the new location in November, but the arcade actually had its grand opening last Friday, Dec. 6.
The space includes more than 50 arcade games, six pinball machines, video games, bubble hockey, and more.
All-day free play admission – that is, paying one price for access to all games, rather than paying different prices per game – is $20 per person.
Hometown Arcade is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.