Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Kitchen Theatre Company is going to the dogs! with the musical adventure Emmett & Ella's Big Apple Escapade. Performances are on Saturdays April 29th and May 6th at 1 & 3pm.

Emmett is a hound dog, Ella's got some retriever in her, and Louella Smythe-Trappe is a lady who loves her dogs and loves to sing. When Louella's lifelong dream of singing at Radio City Music Hall in New York City becomes a reality, Emmett and Ella are shocked to learn that she isn't planning on bringing them along. The dogs hatch a plan to follow her, leading to a wild, unexpected, Big Apple escapade full of song, dance and interesting characters along the way.

The Israel-Palestine divide is often depicted as one of racial conflict, yet about half of Israeli citizens are people of color. The complexity of race and culture in Israel will be explored in a new series hosted by the Ithaca Coalition for Unity and Cooperation in the Middle East (ICUCME): "Israeli Citizens of Color: From Ethiopia to Chicago to the Negev." The series opens with two films/discussions on April 26 and May 10, at Cinemapolis, 120 E Green St, Ithaca, with a third film (or talk) spotlighting other communities of color planned. All screenings will be at 7:00 PM.

The first film, "Mekonen: The Journey of an African Jew," on April 26, traces the story of Mekonen, once a young Ethiopian shepherd, whose family journeys to Israel. After being drafted into the Israeli Defense Forces, he searches for a way to stay true to his Ethiopian roots and culture.

On a snowy Mothers' Day in 1977, The Grateful Dead performed one of the most significant concerts of their extensive career. Fans are invited to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this concert on Monday May 8th, 2017 as Rhino Entertainment and The State Theatre of Ithaca present 'The 40th Anniversary Celebration of Barton Hall, 5/8/77'.

The Grateful Dead played more than 2,000 concerts, but none continue to spark interest and provoke discussion quite like the band's performance at Cornell University's Barton Hall on May 8, 1977. The show, known by most Deadheads as simply '5/8/77' is one of the most collected, circulated and debated concerts by any band ever, has topped numerous fan polls through the years, and was a favorite of the group's longtime archivist Dick Latvala, who stated: "Enough can't be said about this superb show."

The Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers (DCJS) will present "An Evening of Negro Spirituals and African-American Sacred Music," Friday, May 12 at 7:30 in Ford Hall at Ithaca College. The concert is a preview of their Mother's Day (May 14) performance, at 6 p.m. on the Millennium Stage of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., which will be live streamed. The group also will perform the preview concert May 7 at 3 p.m. at the Park Church in Elmira.

"The Negro Spiritual has an honored place in American history as the voice of a uniquely American experience -- the perseverance and triumph of an oppressed people through its indomitable spirit and incomparable ability to sing through its anguish with steadfast faith to a God above, with a joy and sorrow unparalleled in our history," says Director Baruch Whitehead, who founded the chorus seven years ago. "Our mission is to raise our voices once again in these words and harmonies and to reach for these redemptive powers in our own times."

The State Theatre of Ithaca, CFCU Community Credit Union and Gateway Commons continue the State Theatre Community Series with Game of Thrones live action parody 'Graeme of Thrones' Sunday, April 9th at 7:00pm.

In this critically-acclaimed theatrical journey through the Seven Kingdoms, avid 'Thrones' fan Graeme just wants to recreate his favorite fantasy saga on stage.

"American music icon" (Dr. John) David Bromberg's will perform Thursday, May 4th at the Hanger Theatre, in support of his new Red House release, The Blues, The Whole Blues and Nothing But The Blues.

Bromberg's incredible career includes collaborations with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Emmylou Harris, Jerry Garcia, Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon, The Eagles, and so many more. This is the Godfather of Americana's 18th album, the latest in a solo career that began in 1971 on his self-titled debut.

Aurora, New York—This year's annual Wells College Faculty Dance Concert, titled "E/Merging," takes place Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Phipps Auditorium of Macmillan Hall. The concert welcomes new Wells dance faculty Heather Acomb and features her work as well as the work of two guest artists, Eran Hanlon (Rochester) and Jenny Showalter (Chicago). Tickets are free and available to the public.

Acomb is a Rochester, N.Y., based dance artist and educator and former full-time member of the Bill Evans Dance Company. She has performed widely across the United States and taught in several prestigious dance departments locally and nationally. Acomb is thrilled to be joining the Wells faculty and eager to share her work in the "E/Merging" concert. "This concert is full of such passionate and athletic dancing," says Acomb, "and each piece will leave you with a different feeling. It's a very texturally rich concert."

This fall, platinum selling rock band X Ambassadors will return to their hometown of Ithaca, NY to host an outdoor concert and city wide weekend festival. The inaugural Cayuga Sound Festival is set to take place September 22-23 at historic Stewart Park, and other local venues, in Ithaca, NY. Tickets for Cayuga Sound Festival will go on sale Friday, March 31st at 10am EST.

Presented by X Ambassadors, This Fiction and DSP Shows, the inaugural Cayuga Sound Festival will include performances by X Ambassadors, The Roots, K.Flay, The Knocks, Margaret Glaspy, Jukebox the Ghost, Tei Shei and more. A portion of the proceeds will benefit local non-profits including Friends of Stewart Park, The Ithaca Youth Bureau, GIAC, Planned Parenthood Ithaca, Community School of Music & Arts and more TBA.

Looking in the large square window panes of Cornell's Rand Hall, with their industrial vibe, one would expect to see College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) students at work. Instead, three female dancers move in and out of frame: both the physical frames of the windows, and the camera frame of videographer and AAP senior Brad Nathanson.

So begins the video trailer for Captured Spaces, the spring Locally Grown Dance Festival from the Department of Performing and Media Arts; the dance concert will run March 23–25 at Cornell's Schwartz Center. Directors and choreographers Jumay Chu, Ed Intemann, Byron Suber, and Nic Ceynowa are faculty members in the Department of Performing and Media Arts.  

In a heartfelt cabaret, a talented group of local teens will lift their voices in song to raise money for a music scholarship. The event, 'Connectivity: A Body Song Story' will be held at the Black Box Theater at Ithaca High School on Saturday, March 18, at 2:00 pm. The performance will feature numbers from popular musicals interwoven with an original script. Homemade baked goods will be available for purchase.

The cabaret's theme is the yearning to connect with others and build relationships between lovers, friends, sisters, and mentors. The script was written by Rachel Frank, a junior at Newfield High School, who has also written two published novels. According to Frank, the joy of love and the discord of heartbreak will be reflected in the cabaret songs, like "When He Sees Me" from Waitress, and "What You Mean to Me" from Finding Neverland.

The doppelganger mythology brings to mind unwelcome spirits, paranormal look-alikes, and evil twins. For his new play Two Truths and Allie (March 16–18, Black Box Theatre, Cornell's Schwartz Center) trans playwright Joshua Bastian Cole drew inspiration from literary sources such as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Cole, a PhD student in Cornell University's Department of Performing and Media Arts, co-directs the play with fellow PhD student Samuel Nelson Williamson Blake, who also serves as dramaturg.

In Two Truths and Allie, protagonist Bobby is dealing with a devastating breakup and the haunting absence of his lover, Allie. In the midst of his grief, a familiar face from Bobby's past suddenly returns and the boundary between the real and the phantasmagoric frays. "Two Truths and Allie has those elements of the gothic doppelganger monster figure," explains Cole. "There's a sense of darkness, but it's also weird and whimsical. Despite the heartbreak, there are elements of fantasy, magic, and comedy."

The Cayuga Nature Center’s annual celebration of all things maple is making a delicious return this month: Maple Fest 2017 will take place from 9am to 2pm on Saturday, March 18th and Sunday, March 19th.

In continuation of more than 30 years of tradition, Maple Fest will feature a pancake breakfast, live music, vendors, maple sugaring demonstrations, and a variety of educational activities. Maple Fest continues to provide interactive ways for visitors to learn about the science behind maple product production, as well as the importance of local industry in New York State. Maple Fest will be hosted as part of the New York Maple Producers Association’s Maple Weekend.