Area Arts

Ladysmith Black Mambazo At Bowdoin College February 3

Brunswisk -- Grammy-winning South African music icons Ladysmith Black Mambazo will bring their trademark harmonies to Bowdoin College's Pickard Theater, Friday, February 3, 2006, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15, and go on sale Wednesday, January 25, at the David Saul Smith Union, information desk on campus. Call 207-725-3375.

Internationally Acclaimed Soprano Joins Oratorio Chorale For Mozart Celebration
Barbara Bonney, the most-recorded lyric soprano in the world, lived in Harpswell and graduated from Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham
Brunswick -- The Oratorio Chorale, under the direction of Peter Frewen, will welcome internationally acclaimed soprano Barbara Bonney in a 250th celebration of Mozart's birth.

Ms. Bonney will perform Mozart's joyous "Exsultate, Jubilate" and will be joined by the Chorale, baritone Robert Honeysucker, tenor William Hite, contralto Sonia Sasseville, and the Maine Chamber Ensemble in Mozart's majestic and moving "Requiem."

The Chorale will round out the program with a selection of sacred choral works by Mozart.

Barbara Bonney was born in New Jersey and lived for several years in Montclair. The family moved to Harpswell, Maine, in 1970 and Ms. Bonney was a member of the first graduating class at Mt. Ararat High School. She spent her junior year at the University of New Hampshire as a student abroad in Salzburg. While there, she auditioned for an opera chorus, was "discovered," and found herself singing an average of 10 title roles a year before she was 30 years old.

Today Ms. Bonney is the most-recorded lyric soprano in the world, with more than 90 CDs recorded. Although London is her home base, her career takes her around the world. In 2006, before she comes to Maine, she will be performing and/or recording in Miami, Houston, England, the Canary Islands, and Linz, Austria, and at Carnegie Hall.

This concert marks a homecoming for Barbara Bonney, who last performed in Maine in 1998 when she received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Bowdoin College. This special program, to be presented in Topsham and Portland, offers a rare opportunity to hear this extraordinary soprano in an exciting concert of some of the world's best-loved music.
The concerts will be presented Friday, February 17, at 7:30 p.m., at the Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham; and Saturday, February 18, at 7:30 p.m., at the Cathedral of St. Luke in Portland. Tickets are $20 in advance and $24 at the door; students half-price; children under 12 free. Group rates are available.

Tickets are available at Starbird Music and Longfellow Books in Portland; Books Etc. in Falmouth; Clayton's in Yarmouth; Gulf of Maine Bookstore in Brunswick; Mason Street Mercantile and Magnolia's in Bath; Treats in Wiscasset; and the Maine Coast Book Shop in Damariscotta. Tickets are also available from any Chorale member.

This concert is made possible by a special grant from Downeast Energy & Building Supply, as well as by grants from the Edward Daveis Benevolent Fund, The Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust, and the Davis Family Foundation. The concert sponsor is JS McCarthy Printers.
For more information, visit the Oratorio Chorale website at www.oratoriochorale.org or call 725-1420.

Concert to benefit Habitat for Humanity house

"Gospel Extravanza", a concert featuring the Christ Church Men's Gospel Choir, will be held Friday, February 3 (snow date February 4) at Tuttle Road United Methodist Church (52 Tuttle Road, Cumberland) at 7:30 p.m. Also performing will be Come Together, a group of musical members of various area churches, and the Tuttle Road Ladies Quartet.

The concert will benefit Habitat For Humanity's second house in Cumberland, currently under construction. The admission price is suggested as $10 per person or $25/family; tickets can be purchased at the door.
Join us for a night of toe-tapping praise music to benefit an important cause.
For information call 829-3766.

The Persuasions Reconfirm the Power and Beauty of the Human Voice and Spirit

L/A Arts presents legends of a cappella, The Persuasions, on Thursday, February 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Franco American Heritage Center, Lewiston for a concert that will reconfirm the power and beauty of the human voice and spirit.

Rossini Club Concert

The February Concert of the Portland Rossini Club will be on Sunday February 5th at 3 p.m. in Trinity Episcopal Church, 113 Coyle Street, Portland. The program will include music for piano by Chopin, and by Maine composer Robert Gans. There will be songs by George Gershwin and music for violin and piano. There will be a reception with refreshments after the concert. Suggested Donation is $5. FMI call 829-3393.

Brown Bag Theater Returns To The Theater Project

Brunswick--The Theater Project will be offering their "Brown Bag Theater" series again during the February school break. This workshop for third, fourth, and fifth graders was last offered during the December break, and proved so popular that each day had a waiting list.
"Brown Bag Theater" will run from 9 to 12 on February 21, 22 and 23. Young actors may sign up for all three days or one or two. The class is $30 a day, or $75 for all three days.
Interested actors must register by February 17. For information and registration, call The Theater Project at 729-8584, or stop by 14 School Street in Brunswick.

Artists sought

Warren Kids and Teens TheaterWorks is seeking performing artists of all types for a coffee house on February 11 at 7 p.m. in the Warren Library Auditorium, 479 Maine St., Westbrook, ME. This is a great opportunity for established and budding artists to perform in a public venue. FMI: Alice at 637-2944 orwarrenkidsandteens@yahoo.com.

USM African American Collection of Maine Exhibit to Open February 1; Reception on February 3

"Black Bangor: African Americans in a Maine Community" is the latest exhibit curated by Maureen Elgersman Lee faculty scholar for African American Collection of Maine at the University of Southern Maine. The exhibit will be open during regular library hours from Wednesday, February 1, through Sunday, April 30, in the Special Collections area on the 6th floor of USM's Glickman Family Library, Forest Ave., Portland. An opening reception for the exhibition and a celebration of Lee's recently published book, "Black Bangor: African Americans in a Maine Community, 1880-1950," will take place on Friday, February 3. The reception will feature an exhibition preview from 4-5 p.m. on the 6th floor of the library, followed by a book signing and reception from 5-7 p.m. on the 7th floor. The reception and exhibition are free and open to the public. (Snow date for the reception is
Friday, February 10. In case of inclement weather, please call 207-780-4800 for information.)

Shakespearean drama, Henry V, tours to Maine communities

The Theater at Monmouth, The Shakespearean Theater of Maine, is touring a production of Shakespeare's drama, Henry V, which will be presented at the Franco-American Heritage Center on February 2nd, 2006 at 7:30 PM.

For the second year in a row, The Theater At Monmouth has been selected as the only company in Northern New England, and one of only 22 companies across the country to participate in the prestigious Shakespeare in American Communities: Shakespeare for a New Generation program. With financial support from the National Endowment for the Arts through Arts Midwest, and an Artists in Maine Communities grant from the Maine Arts Commission, The Theater At Monmouth is touring with a full production of Henry V.

Advance tickets [$10.00] can be purchased at Hannaford Supermarkets in Lewiston and Auburn; and Victor News on Park Street in Lewiston. Tickets at the door are $12.00. For credit card sales, please call 783-1585. For more information, please visit our website atwww.francoamericanheritage.org. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Community Little Theatre to direct and choreograph the Tony Award winning Grand Hotel, The Musical in March

Dumont, director, choreographer and actor, performed in the Philadelphia production of this show a few years ago with many of the Broadway Company, even having the original costumes from the show. No stranger to CLT, he choreographed this show when it was presented here 11 years ago. He has since directed and choreographed Cabaret and Pippen at CLT and assisted with the choreography for Singin' in the Rain. He was Managing Director for Maine State Music Theatre where he performed in A Chorus Line. He is presently Assistant Director at USM's Summer/Winter Session. (Photo by Rachel Morin)

All performances are held at The Great Falls Performing Arts Center, Academy St., Auburn on March 10-19. Tickets may be reserved by calling the box office at 783-0958 or accessing the theater's website at laCLT.com. Tickets are $15 and $13. It is anticipated that tickets will move quickly on this production.