New Boston Duo: A spicy performance

We’ve been so caught up in George Little’s other exploits — like bowling his best game ever, hitting the triple-figure mark for the first time in his life, or the … well, let’s just come out and say it plain, the masochistic “spice challenges,” like trying to gobble down 10 super-spicy at the El Diablo Wings Challenge at Wing Itz so he can get his name on the Wall of Flame — that we almost forgot about the other thing: You know, the music thing? The Amesbury guitarist is a man of many guises. He’s a folkie sometimes, and sometimes he’s doing the classical thing. That’s what the degree from Longy is all about. And sometimes he’s in the wings, providing accompaniment for local theater productions. But this week, Little will be in the Port City with violinist Elizabeth Burke to perform as the New Boston Duo, which may not be quite as spicy as those El Diablo wings, but is pretty hot stuff anyhow. The duo digs deep into the Django/Grappelli l.e. "red hot” gypsy swing repertoire, but you never know exactly what they’re going to kick out. It could be anything from Django's "Minor Swing" to standards like "All of Me” to pop tunes like “All My Loving.” The concert begins at 4 p.m. March 6 at Central Congregational Church, 14 Titcomb St. Ten bucks gets you in the door. For more information, check out the web. And, for the record, Little was able to gobble up five El Diablo wings in 6.5 minutes. The challenge was to finish ten in ten — definitely doable, but “being 90 seconds behind pace I could tell I would fail to beat the time and threw in the towel,” he says. "I'm now 2 for 4 on spicy challenges." Now, please, somebody pass the Tums.

The season: Tell 100 of your closest friends

It’s gonna be a free-for-all at Maudslay State Park this year with the announcement that Theater in the Open will be staging all of its “in the open” shows gratis, a move that underlines the company’s belief that art is a necessity, not a luxury, and that everyone needs to get a little more into their system — and,  perhaps, coax the more people into the park, or encourage them to stop and see what’s happening if they stumble across a play while walking around the park. Here is the schedule:

SPRING
The Spring Thaw: An evening of thought-provoking theater and a showcase of local talent. Several guest artists and Theater in the Open regulars will perform April 28 at the Firehouse. Tickets are $25. This is a major fundraiser to help finance the free season. Info: 978.462.7336.

Pinocchio: A Playful Puppet Panto: TITO’s second plunge into the panto: a storytelling form, derived from ancient Italian improvisational shows and refined in 18th century Britain, which features song, dance, buffoonery, slap-stick and audience participation. What happens to old big nose as he journeys through the zany world of panto? What crazy characters will he meet along the way? Shows are 2 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, June 4-26. Free.

Family Hour in the Open: Storytelling, song, dance, fairy tales and group activity, 11 a.m. the third Saturday of every warm month at 11 a.m. May 21, June 18, July 16, Aug. 20 and Sept. 11 at Maudslay. Follow the flags from the parking lot. Free.

SUMMER
Summer Arts Workshop: Theater and visual arts workshops for youths between the ages of 6 and 16. Three two-week sessions for young people ages 6 to 12. Also a six-week performance workshop that ends with a  full-scale production. For adolescents between the ages of 13 and 16, there’s a four-week production workshop. Session I: July 5th-July 15th, Session II: July 18th- July 29th , Session III August 8th –August 19th. Performance Class July 5th- August 19th, Teen Intensive Workshop July 5th- July 29th .

The Flies by Jean-Paul Sartre: Veteran director Stephen Haley taps into Theater the Open’s unique storytelling traditions in presenting Jean-Paul Sartre’s interpretation of the classic Greek tragedy Elektra. Themes of filial duty, vengeance and redemption combine to create a powerful theater experience. Showtimes 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, July 23-Aug. 14. Free.

FALL
Grimm by Gregory S. Moss: An original adaptation of the Grimm Brother’s classic fairy tales, will draw on the natural magic of Maudslay State Park and the talents of Gregory S. Moss, who will be writing the original script. The classic fairy tales will come to life in unexpected ways. Shows are 2 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, Sept. 17-Oct. 2. Follow the flags from the parking lot. Free.

Maudslay is Haunted:  Theater in the Open's  annual haunting. Eerie vignettes, spooky sketches and an all-around haunting during a one-hour walk through Maudslay State Park. This is a family event intended for all ages. Shows are 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 22-23. Rain dates are Oct. 29 and 30  Tickets: $5, children 3 and under are free. Follow the Frankenstein signs. 

WINTER
It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play: A  twist on the holiday classic, “It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Show” is based on the beloved Frank Capra film but done in the style of "the golden age of radio,” complete with sound effect foley artists, singing sponsors and old-fashioned holiday spirit. Shows are Dec. 15-23 at the Firehouse.

Weekend: The Argument continues in NYC

Yeah, sure. It’s a long haul, you’ll get no argument here, but the Big Apple is the only place you’ll get an argument from Port playwright Gregory S. Moss. Well, not “an” argument, but “The Argument.” The play, originally produced at The Hangar Theater almost four years ago as part of director Kerry Whigham’s Drama League Fellowship — and, not long after, enjoyed a successful run at the Firehouse in a stunning Stephen Haley production, is the story of life, death and regret in post-Katrina New Orleans, although the hurricane is never mentioned by name. The story is non-literal, a funny, grotesque, apocalyptic fairy tale conceived as a response to the disaster. It addresses the issues raised, and still unresolved, and rapidly fading from the public consciousness, without directly invoking the actual events: Two young Chinese twin sisters inherit a Big Easy watering hole, a business that has consumed their  lives. One sister wants to sell the business, to leave, to live. The other believes it's their "duty" to carry on. This is the argument, which ends when flood waters claim the life of one sister. The surviving sister then begins a quest to give the life unlived by the dead sister back to her.

 

Attic Theater Company, a collective focusing on the work of contemporary playwrights, brings the new production to the stage this weekend at another former firehouse — DCTV, a Manhattan landmark, with Whigham at the helm again. The cast includes John Albano, Brooke Bundy, Sara Bues, Ted Caine, Nick Choksi, Eric Clem, Andrea Dionne, Michael Eisenstein, Sam Gooley, Monica Hammond, Krista Hasinger, Harrison Hill, Sarah Kohl, Sarah Montgomery, Claire Natale, Kevin O'Callaghan, Mallory Portnoy, Stephen Stocking. The show runs March 4 to 13. Moss, who seems to be leading a vagabond existence, bouncing from city to city for productions of his work, which is grabbing some rave reviews. His “punkplay,” a play inspired by the purple-hair kids hanging around the Inn Street fountain,  was described as “brilliantly funny dissection of adolescent grasping for identity” by Time Out Chicago. His “Orange, Hat and Grace,” recently staged at Soho Rep, “works its way into the creases of your soul, conjuring influences as disparate as Pygmalion and Beckett and Shepard,” says  New York Magazine ... Wow, We like him, too, man.

JUST THE FACTS, MAN: The Attic Theater Company will stage Gregory S. Moss's "The Argument"  at 8 p.m. March 4-6 and March 10-13, at DCTV,  87 Lafayette St., New York. The theater is located between Canal and White streets, Tickets are $18, or $5 for students. For more information, check out the Attic web.

Will time make man more wise?

Now, fresh from the warped minds that brought you "The Reindeer Monologues," an hilariously disturbed look at the holiday season, comes something, well, a little more refined. Here's a hint: The life of the wife is ended by the knife. No, wait a minute, that's Stewie trying to work through his matricidal fantasies while passing off a guttersnipe as a lady in the Family Guy's Reindeer-like take on "My Fair Lady," which was adapted from Shaw's "Pygmalion." Which Neptune Sushi, a New Hampshire-based film and theater company, drags kicking and screaming, but thankfully not singing, into the 21st Century in "The Shapes of Things."  A modern drama set at a small California liberal arts college, the play follows the lives of four twenty-something students, focusing on the psychology and intimacy surrounding the nature of art and the limits of the human will. The production stars  Marc Pelletier, Audrey Claire Johnson, Greg White and Gina Kattar. Aaron Foss directs. It runs at 8 p.m. July 9 and 10, and at 3 p.m. July 10 and 11 at The Actors Studio, Mill 1, Suite 5, the Tannery, 50 Water St. Tickets are $12 general admission and $10 for students and seniors. There is a special $8 admission for students and seniors for the Sunday show only. For more information, log onto http://www.neptunesushi.com or email info@neptunesushi.com. And, in case you didn't catch the reference, the headline is a lyric from the old Yardbirds song "Shapes of Things." Got nothing to do with the show. Great song though. Like the Bowie cover on Pin Ups better. Been stuck in my head since getting the release. Anyhow ...

Chairy, chairy baby

The business of the arts (besides the art itself, of course) is getting seats into the seats, but that's not what's going on with those crazy kids at the Actors Studio. They're trying get seats, fifty of them, for people to put their seats into. New chairs, comfy chairs. Which turns out to be  a surprisingly expensive proposition and one that presents an opportunity for those of you with disposable income (whatever that is) to if not see your name up in lights then at least see it in the theater. On a plaque on the chair in front of you. Or you could think of it as a reserved chair. Hey, it will have your name on it. You'll have ignore the inconvenient truth that there will be other seats in "your" seat when you're not there. It'll cost you a hundred bucks, but, seriously, you can't put a price tag on the warm feeling you get from helping out an arts group that gives a voice to emerging artists and local voices. And when you donate the hundred bucks, somebody else, an anonymous donor, will pony up about hundred so you will be doubling your pleasure — everyone's pleasure, really, since the new chairs will be so comfy so your seat won't get numb, and even if it does there won't be any of that creaking when you shift your weight. Everyone's a winner. So, if you've got any of that disposable income stuff and wanna help out, whip out the old checkbook and make out a tax-deductible check to the Actors Studio.  Tell them the name you want on the plaque. Heck, they're even planning an appreciation night for you. Want more information? Check out the Actors Studio web or call 978.465.1229. And, by the way, those seats in the picture aren't the specific seats. They're just for illustration purposes only.

Sunchunck: Spinning a celebration

Okay, my head is spinning. Everything seems backwards here. Usually you buy the tickets, then you see the show. But Sunchunck, those crazy kids, are mixing it up a little next time out. On July 2, the Port rockers will be playing a short set just outside the ticket entrance at LeLacheur Park, home to the Lowell Spinners, whipping up the crowd before the game starts. Then, during the seventh-inning stretch, the boys will be bringing out the big gun, playing their powerhouse cover of "God Bless America," on the right side of the 5,000-seat stadium. It's all part of the minor league Sox affiliate's  Americana Celebration. And they've got something to celebrate besides the country's birthday: They're sitting on top of their division, with a 45-30 record, a 9.5-game lead over Oneonta and an 11-game lead over the Vermont Lake Monsters, who they'll likely demolish when Sunchunck's in town. The hometown rockers, by the way, are no strangers to playing at sports events. They played "God Bless America"during the Pats/Dolphins game at Gillette Stadium on Veterans Day last year — in front of 60,000-plus fans, after the National Anthem, accompanied by an Air Force flyover. Yikes! For more information, check out the Spinners or Sunchunck webs.

A launch for Mia, a taste for mangos

Now, this is unusual ... and sounds like family fun. A book launch. In the great outdoors. In Market Square. At a tiki hut cafe. Where they'll be serving free mango smoothies all afternoon. The tiki hut is a re-creation of the Green Flash Café,  featured in "Hurricane Mia: A Caribbean Adventure," the new book by award-winning author Donna Marie Seim. In the book, which is recommended for kids age 8 to 12, Mia learns that her mom is sick. Then she and her younger brother are whisked away to their grandparents’ home in the Caribbean for the summer. She's furious ... until she meets Neisha, an island girl, who tells her about “the tea that cures everything.” An incredible adventure follows, taking Mia and friends on the high seas, where they meet barracudas, explore uninhabited islands and search for the magic tea. Seim is a graduate of Ohio State University and holds a master's degree in special education from Lesley University. Her first  book, "Where is Simon, Sandy?," about a little donkey that wouldn’t quit, also takes place in the Caribbean It won the Mom’s Choice Award for 2009 for best children’s picture book, and was a finalist in the picture book category for the National Indie Excellence Awards for 2010. The blender will be whirring from noon to 4 p.m. June 26 outside of the Dragon's Nest. Seim will read a selection from the book. She and illustrator Susan Spellman will be on hand to sign the book.