JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Earlier this week, I mentioned summer theater as among the things I look forward to in this season, and I wanted to expand (or expound) upon that. Some of my earliest memories of performances are connected to summer. When we lived in Argyle, NY (the loose basis for my fictional town of Cossayuharie) my mother took me to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center every summer to see the New York City Ballet. As a divorced mom supporting herself as a substitute teacher, we had little to no money, but somehow, I saw all the Balanchine classics sitting on the grassy, gently sloping lawn.
As an aspiring actor in my high school and college years, I spent summers performing in community theater, apprenticing at an Equity house, and working (for pay) as a stage carpenter.
Later, as a parent myself, also with a limited budget, I took full advantage of the opportunities here in Maine. The kids and I have seen Shakespeare performed for free in Portland, Freeport, and Kennebunk, and treated ourselves to tickets to the wonderful Theater at Monmouth (more Shakespeare,) the Ogunquit Playhouse (musicals) and Lakewood Theatre, which claims to be the countries oldest summer theater as it enters it’s 123rd season. Their comedies are wonderful.
In addition, LL Bean sponsors “Summer in the Park,” a free concert series with first-come seating around their open-air stage in Freeport. We’ve seen great jazz, Arlo Guthrie and Matt Nathanson, among others. This summer they’ve got Melissa Etheridge!
Reds, what are the summer performances - free or otherwise - you look forward to?
JENN McKINLAY: So many memories of attending concerts (more than plays) in the park. When I was in high school, I volunteered at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, CT where they had a concert series that ran all summer long. This wasn’t for the peasants. We’re talking full orchestras and choirs (I was a choir kid, which is how I ended up there) and dining at cloth covered tables with full sets of china. Very bougie and just beautiful - definitely a glimpse into another world for me.
As a college student, I loved the free summer concerts on the New Haven Green, my favorite being Spyro Gyra - so fun!!! Not much in the way of outdoor concerts/performances in AZ in the summer - our jam is really in the winter where there is almost too much to do.
LUCY BURDETTE: I can’t think of too many outdoor performances, but this is perfect timing for what John and I did this week: take the grandkids to a nearby matinee of THE SOUND OF MUSIC. I was in this musical in high school so it’s dear to my heart–and I know the two kids have seen the movie at least twice. (They are 5 and almost 7.) I think they will remember this outing in the future, though it was a little long for their attention spans. And we, Grammy and Grampy, enjoyed taking them so much!
But here was my favorite performance during the past week they have stayed with us!
HALLIE EPHRON: When I was newly married and fresh out of college and living in Manhattan (rent controlled apartment!) Jerry and I went to Shakespeare in the Park - free tickets that you lined up to snag, plays directed by Joseph Papp. The most memorable performance was a very young Meryl Streep and equally young and raw Raoul Julia in a hilarious and wondrous production of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. SO SEXY.
So that sort of spoiled me for most summer theater (and for any subsequent production of that play) can’t begin to match.
Amazingly there are videos of parts of their performance online. ENJOY! You’ll never see that play in the same way…
I always attend Marin Shakespeare in an outdoor amphitheater . We saw a fun Midsummer Night’s Dream last year. Not so thrilled about Hamlet this year. My favorite was seeing South Pacific in a vineyard, including real WW2 planes flying overhead.
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, Hallie, I just started watching Raul and Meryl and they are so young and gorgeous..thank you for that! Gosh, in Rome we saw TOSCA performed at an abbey, outside, with parapets and balconies and you could see the battlements of the Castel Sant'Angelo. And oh,we went to the Concert of the Century on the Champs de Mar—Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras. Amazing.
We saw Edith Wharton one-acts performed in the drawing room of her home, The Mount. And SO much Shakespeare outside from Shakespeare and Co. in Lenox–one performance I remember was Merchant of Venice outside, no stage, it was so powerful.
And of course we ALWAYS go to Symphony at Tanglewood, in the Shed, with such a wonderful atmosphere of the gathered music lovers. We heard Beethoven’s Ninth there, which was transporting, and one summer also saw James Taylor AND Jackson Browne. It was so funny. My Dad was there, and when Jackson Browne started Running on Empty, my theme song, and I got up and sang at the top of my lungs (along with everyone else like me), my dad turned to Jonathan and said: “I think that song means something to her. “
(And I know, I’m awful, but I am not fond of sitting on the lawn, though.)
JULIA: Now it's your turn, dear readers. What are the summer performances you remember or look forward to?
When I was in college, the Paper Mill Playhouse was our go-to summer theater . . . .
ReplyDeleteWe have a wonderful summer music series in Maudslay State Park, with tables outdoors. We corral a couple of friends and bring a picnic dinner with wine and make an evening of it. And we love to go to the all-day (and free) Lowell Folk Festival, with music and food from around the world in four or five venues around the downtown, which has most of the streets closed off. We usually end up at the dance pavilion!
ReplyDeleteI think I mentioned here recently seeing Midsummer's Night Dream outdoors, which was fabulous - except for the WWII planes taking off nearby - NOT by design.
Roberta, love the grandkids' performance!
thanks Edith, Lottie enjoyed them so much!
DeleteEdith, if the company had only done one of the history plays and set it in WWII, imagine what an effect that would have been! (I actually saw a terrific As You Like It at Theater at Monmouth where the war the men were coming home from was WWII. They used music from that era to great effect, and the costumes were wonderful.)
DeleteConey Island use to have summer concerts with musical guests. I saw Patti LaBelle, Luther Vandross, The Jacksons, Earth Wind and Fire, and they would also have themed performances, rap, jazz, blues, pop, and yes, even country. They were all fun to attend and it was free. Then there was Prospect Park and Central Park with their concerts more aligned with plays including Shakespeare and comedy acts as well as musicals.
ReplyDeleteDru Ann, I'm envious. That's QUITE a line up of performers!
DeleteWe would go up to Lake Winnipesaukee in NH and we went to see The Moody Blues and Pat Benatar. Also the Lowell Concert series in MA and saw Edgar Winter (Frankenstein) and Eric Burden and His New Animals. Excellent show. So good to see performers that I was too young to go see when they were on the charts.
ReplyDeleteWe've seen some great concerts at Lowell's Boardinghouse Park, Ginny - including Joan Baez!
DeleteI'm writing down the names of the concert venues I haven't heard of before. This is going to expand my performance horizons!
DeleteLast year, I saw an incredible free performance of 3Giants (3Géants) in downtown Montreal. It is an outdoor performance on a 50-foot metal structure. A dozen performers on trampolines, counterweights on pulleys, doing vertical dance, falls from great heights and aerial acrobatics.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNLSgurn_Rk
I am going to see them perform again when I am in Montreal next week.
Grace, thank you for including the video - it's amazing and beautiful. Kind of reminds me of Cirque de Soleil, taking the athleticism of acrobatics to an artistic high.
DeleteIn one of our many moves during my early teens, we were in Boston, and I heard the Boston Pops concerts in the park. And there was one outdoor performance of The Taming of the Shrew I enjoyed seeing in a park in Concord California when I was in my thirties. Other than those, I haven't seen outdoor performances, but I really enjoyed reading about all of the wonderful experiences above. What rich memories.
ReplyDeleteIt's a testament to the power of live performance, isn't it, Elizabeth? I've probably seen hundreds of movies in my lifetime, but none of them are as vivid in my memory as the plays and musicals I've gone to.
DeleteI so agree.
DeleteWe didn't have a lot of theatre when I was growing up in a military town unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteBut we had the San Diego Old Globe Theatre and the tickets were quite expensive for a family of 6.
When I got married my husband and I did see a lot of Shakespeare in Stratford Upon Avon (the best in the world !), Ontario, Canada, Oregon. As year went on the the San Diego Old Globe Shakespeare plays had improved considerably. The University of Calif at San Diego opened the La Jolla Playhouse which produced a lot of world class plays.
Anon, one of the reasons I've always sniffed around for free or what-you-can-pay performances was because I wanted my kids to learn to love theater as I did, but, as you note, tickets for a family of five add up very fast!
DeleteLove reading about all these memories. Also, wasn't the young Meryl Streep incredible?? And Hank, you saw the 3 tenors? I'm green with envy...
ReplyDeleteIn Paris, yet! I think Hank needs to fit writing her memoirs in between her twisty thrillers!
DeleteThe Cincinnati Opera productions were in an outside amphitheater at the zoo for fifty years, finally coming indoors at Music Hall in the seventies, much to the relief of the singers and orchestra. Until 2020, the singers did an outdoor recital of fan favorites at the zoo, interspersed with cameo appearances of cheetahs, snakes, warthogs, macaws...and the infamous flamingo parade. Since 2021, they perform in the bed of a truck in a nearby park. Wonderful singing, but it's not the same without roaring lions and trumpeting elephants. We attended two operas this month, "Lucia di Lammermoor" and "Barber of Seville." WOW all around for the singing and in "Barber", the hilarious stage antics.
ReplyDeleteSummer opera - I forgot to add that in!
DeleteOkay, Margaret, you can't add "the infamous flamingo parade" without filling us in on the details.
P.S. That would make a great band name, wouldn't it? "Yeah, I saw the Infamous Flamingo Parade open for Elvis Costello in '83."
DeleteThe Cincinnati Zoo flamingo parade. When I visit the zoo in the summer, I frequently come across a flock of flamingos making the rounds as zoo ambassadors. I greet them and fall into line and chat as they honk at each other. They're very comfortable with people and very vocal. Nothing is funnier than seeing them visit Hippo Cove.
DeleteDuring the grand finale at an opera event, the flamingos marched on stage and stopped, entranced by the soprano singing "If I could talk to the animals." They surrounded her, and as she moved toward the back of the stage, they followed, honking furiously. She was terrified, but never stopped singing. And has probably never agreed to sing at the zoo again!
Margaret, that's hysterical! What a sight.
DeleteWe have not been to a summer performance in years, that time of year has been so chaotic for us for ages, and I have missed Cincinnati Opera for a bunch of reasons. But just last night I ordered tickets for Madame Butterfly in a couple weeks. I'm sad to have missed Barber of Seville, Margaret!
ReplyDeleteYears ago, Cincinnati had a vibrant outdoor concert and play schedule, and I tried to take in as many as possible. The CSO played in various parks, usually five or six free concerts a summer, and there was Shakespeare in the Park, also a moveable feast. It was fun to pack wine and cheese and a blanket with friends. Until Covid, our community had concerts in the park, but they have not started them back again, sadly. However, we live less than two miles uphill from Riverbend, and we can often hear the rock and other concerts pretty clearly, a weird artifact of the river valley acoustics.
Hank, Three Tenors! Swoon. Hallie, what a treat, to see Meryl Streep and Raul Julia. That had to be a dynamic duo!
Karen, if you haven't had the chance to watch the video, make some time later in the day. It's SO worth it.
DeleteThree things were memorable. The first one was the fireworks display in Montreal. It was a part of the first Fireworks festival and the only tickets that we could get were for China. I was not too exited about that, but what a show! (of course, Michael got a migraine – can’t take that kid anywhere!) The walk back along the walkways of the old Expo site had such a community spirit as hundreds of people took their time, and just enjoyed the experience and the night.
ReplyDeleteThe second was the Canada Day open concert in Ottawa. People were lined up too many people thick as there was a visit from Queen Elizabeth. Of course, we could see nothing. Later we were walking on a side street looking for something to eat, when she passed us in the limo and waved just to us. The Arrogant Worms (a group from Kingston, ON) were the feature performance of the concert. Parliament Hill was crowded with people in red and white singing together the Pirates of Saskatchewan at the top of their lungs – how Canadian is that!
The third was free and so unexpected. We were at a Kitchen Party in a small outport in Newfoundland. The ship had had to exit the harbour to get out to sea as the egress was very hard to navigate in the dark, so there was a long Zodiac trip back to board. The night was pitch dark with nothing but a sky of stars. The waters were flat-ass calm. That would have been enough, but the moon was twinkling off the phosphorescence in the water making it just dance before us. There was not a sound from any of the people in the various Zodiacs as we all were just mesmerized. A wonderful ending to a wonderful day.
Margo, those all sound like extraordinary experiences, and you point to one of the things that make live performances so compelling: we're in it together with a community of people. It's special because we're part of something bigger than just ourselves.
DeleteMARGO: I am hoping to see the International Fireworks performance in Montreal next Thursday. It is Portugal's turn.
DeleteAre they back on? I heard they were cancelled for a while because of the fires. I hope you get to go and I am sure you will love it. Make sure you take a chair and enjoy the grass, and the night. Also make sure that you don't take our Michael - he still gets sick!
DeleteWe used to go to Zoograss at the Portland Zoo, later converted to "Zoo concerts". In the early days, my son's dad's bluegrass band played there to an appreciative audience. My most recent Zoo concert was John Prine, fabulous! When my son was young, we saw The Importance of Being Earnest at a park in Boise and laughed and laughed. We used to go to the Vancouver Folk Festival where we spent 3 days outside listening to music and attending workshops==amazing groups and songwriters from all over the world. One year we stayed on friend's sailboat and rowed the dinghy in to the performances each day.
ReplyDeleteI love bluegrass music, and adored John Prine. So sad and senseless that we lost him to Covid.
DeleteGillian, I love the idea of staying on a boat and rowing a dinghy to the performances! I hope you at least learned some appropriate sea shanties at the Folk Festival. :-)
DeleteBetter that you should learn some inappropriate sea shanties!
DeleteI agree, Lucy. I was very sad when Prine died of Covid. He was an amazing songwriter. Julia, yes there were some sea shanties and so much else. The Vancouver festival is happening next weekend. I would love to go again sometime, but it's a long drive! Google tells me that it draws 40,000 people. Jericho Beach is such a delightful setting--mountains on one side and the bay on the other, even if you aren't staying on a sailboat!
DeleteMargo, in my family inappropriate sea shanties would definitely be welcome.
DeleteWhen I was 16, I went on a 6-week, 8-country guided tour of Europe during the summer before my senior year of high school. I'm an only child and my parents thought it would be good for me to "practice" being away from home before going off to college. My clearest memory is the performance of Aida we saw at the Baths of Caracalla, an open-air amphitheater. It was so big that they had real elephants and camels onstage as part of the performance, and when there was a brief intermission, the gelato sellers were out in force. I don't think anything else has ever come close!
ReplyDeleteMargie, I think you're right. Aida in a Roman amphitheater with real elephants? Yeah, I'm afraid you peaked at eighteen when it comes to live performances!
DeleteJulia, this may be the greatest blog we have ever had ever of all time! I cannot believe you found these videos! This is amazing amazing amazing. I was there in those concerts! That’s incredible! I almost burst into tears. Thank you thank you thank you for this. And the other videos are incredible. Two. What a day on Jungle Red! OK, gushing over. But beyond the call of duty to find those videos, Julia, it’s quite nostalgic, and quite wonderful.
ReplyDeleteIt's the magic of YouTube, Hank!
DeleteI love reading this! Growing up near NYC Shakespeare in the Park was a regular. I remember lots of outdoor concerts by folks who probably later became names to remember! My fav in NYC, the buskers in Washington Square. That's where I first saw Simon and Garfunkel. They were already names - Bridge over Troubled Waters had just been released - but they wanted to try out new material. All the performances in college were outdoors.
ReplyDeleteJulia, how lucky you were to see Saratoga performances. I worked for Edward Villella in the mid 80s and he spoke of how wonderful it is to perform at Saratoga.
Jenn, loved that you used bourgie!
You worked for Edward Villella?! One of the great dancers of his generation I saw him paired with Patricia McBride, dancing Balanchine, New York City, ballet. Wow.
DeleteKait, I'm swooning. I saw Edward Villella and Patricia McBride dance Jewels at SPAC. It was almost 50 years ago now, but I can still recall their absolute brilliance. (Plus, he was SO handsome. Swoon!)
DeleteJust checked the comments so I don't know Hallie and Julia will see it - yes, in the start up days of Miami City Ballet. I began as Edward's assistant, moved into acting company manager, and then became head of group sales. It was a fabulous time. He is an elegant gentleman. I grew up watching him at NYC Ballet and when I went for the interview I had figured it must be with his son because, of course, I grew up watching him so he would be ancient. Nope. It was the dancer himself. I was tongue-tied and flabbergasted!
DeleteThat's so amazing, Kait. I just checked - he's retired, but still going at 87!
DeleteHow could I forget! I was at Woodstock - the ultimate outdoor concert of my generation.
ReplyDeleteKait, you have surprising twists and turns in your past!
DeleteMy husband's twin brother and three friends were at Woodstock! As well as several other people we know. How crazy--there were a lot of people there, but so many we are tangentially connected to.
DeleteJay, my son is a huge metal fan, so I'm going to pass the review and video on to him. And yes, I plan to see Melissa Etheridge. They're also hosting Marc Cohn and Shawn Colvin - definitely going to be there for that!
ReplyDeleteFree Symphony concert in SF during the summer. Performing with my acting school in Chester, CT one summer.
ReplyDeleteSo many fun things during the summer like Free Concerts in the Park. Free SF Ballet performance during the summer before the pandemic.
Diana
A lot of things paused during the pandemic, Diana. Let's hope most of them survived and will be back up and running!
DeleteOh Kait, I WISH I could have been at Woodstock, despite all the mud. What an experience! As for the outdoor performances of summer, Peter and I have season tickets to a Swiss Barock Ensemble, and we recently saw them play outside on the lawn of one of Bern's smaller castles! But the outdoor music experience I will never forget was watching a dress rehearsal of Carmina Burana in 1969 or 1970 in Central Park. I was maybe 15 or 16, staying with my godmother on the Upper East Side (she was at work every day), and roaming around the city on my own. So exciting--and then to come upon this great music that I knew well being played out of doors for free. I just sat on the grass and watched and listened and felt like a grown-up!
ReplyDeleteKim, what a magical experience!
DeleteLucy - love the grands and Lottie :) Adorbs! Also, I played a nun (ha ha ha ha) in The Sound of Music in high school, too! :)
ReplyDeleteJenn, I wish we had emojis here, because I would be using the wide open goggling eyes right now.
DeleteWould LOVE to see Marc Cohn, Julia. Jealous!
ReplyDeleteJulia, thank you for the amazing baby Raul and Meryl! That was the highlight of the day!
ReplyDeleteLove outdoor summer concerts, whether it's the famous -- Doc Watson on the (green) ski slopes -- or the very local -- off in minutes to see my hunny play at the Ferndale Volunteer Fire Dept Bison Burger BBQ fundraiser. So relaxed and casual, and in sweet surroundings. And such fun to see the little ones dancing and playing!
ReplyDeleteLike Anonymous above, I live in San Diego so have been fortunate to see the SD Old Globe Theater’s Shakespeare in Balboa Park. When I was in college, the theater had a fire so they built a temporary outdoor stage while the theater was being repaired. The outdoor venue was so popular they made it permanent. Behind that stage is the San Diego Zoo so you get to hear some of the animals and birds contributing to the performance!! For many years, also in Balboa Park, we had the Starlight Theater where they did musicals al fresco all summer long. What made these performances memorable is that the theater was in the flight path of airplanes landing at San Diego Lindbergh Airport. The sound person was situated halfway up the theater and could see the approaching planes; as they neared, the person hit first a yellow light and then a red (stoplight) to tell the performers to pause. When the plane and its accompanying noise had passed, the green light was given and the show went on!
ReplyDeleteI love theater and concerts so living in San Diego allows us to see many cultural events for a good portion of the year. — Pat S.
Pat, I've heard amazing things about the San Diego arts scene. I'm looking forward to seeing much more of the area this fall at Bouchercon!
DeleteI think you might be surprised to learn that I would also love to see Marc Cohn live as well. I own all four of his solo releases. And I've actually seen Shawn Colvin live.
ReplyDeleteJay, you ought to think about driving up to Freeport! Free show!
ReplyDelete