Hot Tickets Summer 2009

To Be, Again
There was a lot of hype three summers ago when Shakespeare & Company tackled the formidable tragedy, Hamlet, not the least of which was brought about by the casting of Jason Asprey in the lead role and his mother, Tina Packer—the company’s artistic director at the time—in the role of Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude (and her real-life husband, Dennis Krausnick, as Polonius). Perhaps lost in all the tsk-tsking about the interfamilial drama was the fact that Asprey tackled the title role—perhaps the most unforgiving one in all of theater history—and served up a complex yet believable prince of Denmark. This summer Shakespeare is bringing back the original production, brilliantly directed by Eleanor Holdridge as a ghost story crossed with The Sopranos, with Nigel Gore returning as a very suave, sexy Claudius. (June 26-August 28, Shakespeare & Company, Founders’ Theatre, 70 Kemble St. Lenox, Mass., 413.637.3353, www.shakespeare.org)

Classical Rock Star
Few classical musicians inspire Beatlemania-like hysteria, and even fewer who do are also accorded the respect of critics and their peers. Violinist Joshua Bell is one of the rare ones able to balance the adoration of fans—including a hefty female contingent that forms a line stretching for hundreds of yards to the backstage entrance of the Shed whenever he performs at Tanglewood—with the rigors of his chosen métier. This summer, Bell, who made his Carnegie Hall debut at age eighteen and who has recorded works by composers as diverse as Vivaldi, Beethoven, Sibelius, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, and John Corigliano, will tackle Max Bruch’s first Violin Concerto, one of the most popular such pieces of the late-nineteenth century. (July 12, Tanglewood, Route 183, Lenox, Mass., 888.266.1200, www.tanglewood.org)
 

Motor City Mama
Considering she has at least two strikes against her—as a woman and a violinist, neither of which are typical for a jazz soloist—Regina Carter has done well for herself, which speaks to her singular talent as well as the content of her character. Establishing her credentials in 2001 when she played a violin originally owned by Niccolo Paganini, and then released a recording of his music, Carter is now considered a leading force in jazz violin. Winner of a MacArthur “genius grant,” the Detroit native will perform some of Paganini’s works, as well as music from Mali, Senegal, and Uganda, when she appears with her quartet, headlining the much-coveted Saturday night slot at this summer’s Tanglewood Jazz Festival, on a bill that also features jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon in a program called “Dreaming the Duke.” (September 5, Tanglewood, Route 183, Lenox, Mass., 888.266.1200, www.tanglewood.org)
 

Would a Rose Smell as Sweet?
You may think you’ve never heard Amanda McBroom sing, but if you’ve been a sentient creature for the last decade or four you’ve definitely heard her songs, which have been recorded by the likes of LeAnne Rimes, Barry Manilow, Judy Collins, Barbara Cook, Anne Murray, Harry Belafonte, Betty Buckley, Stephanie Mills, the Manhattan Transfer, Donny Osmond, the Chipmunks, and the Baby Dinosaurs in The Land Before Time (she wrote all the songs for eleven Universal Cartoon videos with longtime collaborator Michele Brourman). McBroom, however, will always be best known for penning “The Rose,” made famous in the version recorded by Bette Midler for the movie of the same name. McBroom has been an actress, recording artist, and cabaret performer in her own right for decades, and it’s in the intimate confines of the cabaret format that McBroom best communicates with an audience. (July 2-3, Barrington Stage Company, Stage 2, 36 Linden St., Pittsfield, Mass., 413.236.8888, www.barringtonstageco.org)
 

These Shoes Were Made for Tappin’
In his world, shoes are what it’s all about, and Jason Samuels Smith had some big ones to fill when he was just fifteen and assigned the role of Savion Glover’s understudy in the Broadway smash, Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk. Still not yet thirty years old, Samuels Smith, who has worked with rap duo Outkast and choreographer Debbie Allen, is already an Emmy and American Choreography Award winner, and widely known for appearing as a featured guest artist on the FOX TV show So You Think You Can Dance. Having already performed at the season-opening gala last month, Samuels Smith returns to Jacob’s Pillow for a rare two-week engagement with live music, featuring his company of tap soloists, A.C.G.I. (Anybody Can Get It), paying homage to the history of tap while incorporating contemporary influences including hip-hop. (July 22 - August 2, Jacob’s Pillow Dance, Doris Duke Theatre, 358 George Carter Rd., Becket, Mass., 413.243.0745, www.jacobspillow.org)
 

Girl from the North Country
Born in Canada and raised by globetrotting diplomat parents in Korea and Switzerland, Kathleen Edwards returned to the sounds of her native land when she made a splash with her 2003 debut album, Failer, which most definitely did not and was not. The recording immediately introduced Edwards as something of a younger, female version of her fellow countryman, Neil Young, as her music and reedy voice boast a similar country twang and penchant for minor keys. Last year’s Asking for Flowers cemented her reputation as one of the queens of alt-country, and she’ll be sharing headlining duties at this year’s Green River Festival alongside such like-minded artists as Michael Franti and Spearhead, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, CJ Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Chris Smither, Crooked Still, Eilen Jewell, Winterpills, Richard Shindell, Tracy Grammer, and Dave Alvin. (July 17-18, Green River Festival, Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, Mass., 413.773.5463, www.greenriverfestival.com)
 

She’s the Rio Thing
Diana Krall is touring this summer behind an album tailor-made for a Fourth of July picnic on the lawn at Tanglewood. Quiet Nights, the frequent Tanglewood guest artist’s twelfth album, is all about summer romance in the selection of songs, Krall’s breathy vocals, her coy pianism, and the suggestive rhythms, many drawing on Brazilian bossa nova. Such songs as “Walk on By,” “The Boy from Ipanema,” “I’ve Grown Accustomed to His Face,” “Every Time We Say Goodbye,” and the title track—the English name of the bossa nova classic “Corcovado”) are just going to float out of the Shed and hover above the Independence Day crowd this year. Will her husband (Elvis Costello) join her for a duet or two? One can only hope. (July 4, Tanglewood, Route 183, Lenox, Mass., 888.266.1200, www.tanglewood.org)

Character Actor
Cliff Eberhardt’s best songs are cinematic character sketches, portraits of people on the edge, emotionally challenged or scarred. Alternately plagued by guilt, drugs, lust, and pain, they nevertheless defy judgment, each in their own, eloquent way arguing their case for the listener’s sympathy. It’s a tricky road to walk, but one that Eberhardt, one of the top contemporary-folk singer-songwriters headlining this year’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, pulls off with ease. Partly it’s due to Eberhardt’s self-effacing sense of humor; when the song is over, Eberhardt leaves the drama—however personal its origins may be—behind in favor of being an old-fashioned entertainer,  which is undoubtedly what keeps audiences coming back for more. (July 23-26, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, 44 County Rd. 7D, Hillsdale, N.Y., 866.325.2744, www.falconridgefolk.com)

[JULY 2009]