Trashing of Woodstock swimming holes jeopardizes their use
‘I hate to give up on my species, but maybe we put up a sign that says carry in, carry out. If you don’t, we’re going to have to close it…’
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Fighting the opioid crisis: It takes a village
I was surprised at how much a few minutes of training affected me. Walking out of the event into the cool evening air, with a few dozen of my neighbors who had all been newly empowered to save a life in a crisis, I felt an unexpected rush of optimism. It’s not much, having a plastic baggie of naloxone to keep in the glove compartment in case of emergency, but it made me feel like part of the solution, not just a helpless, hand-wringing spectator.
Mamma Mia! in Phoenicia
Mamma Mia!, opening July 14, will run three weekends. The production unites local theater regulars, former professional actors, and stage newcomers, aged from 16 to 91, in an upbeat show set to the music of Swedish pop group ABBA. Phoenicia is hosting what may be the first community theater production of the long-running Broadway musical, the rights having been made available for the first time just a few months ago.
Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s House Tour provides some grand views
The idea behind Woodstock’s role as a center for artists over the past century plus is pretty much the same as the concept behind the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s annual house tour benefits, which hit their tenth anniversary Saturday, July 14.
Voice Theatre’s All My Sons at Byrdcliffe Theater
Even before the lights come up it’s obvious this is a magnificently audacious production.
Woodstock Playhouse alive at mid-season
Seventy six trombones came marching into Woodstock this past week, or at least the rousing Meredith Willson song of the same name from his classic musical The Music Man, which opened last weekend at the Woodstock Playhouse as the repertory theater’s second offering of what’s shaping up to be another spirited season.
Yankeetown Pond bought for a dollar! (Part 1)
Rumors proliferate in Woodstock like botulism in an ancient can of tuna fish. So until it failed to go away, I paid little mind to the one in the headline. A single visit to the town offices, however, and the gossip was at least partially substantiated. Someone named Erin Moran had indeed purchased 24 acres of land under and around one of Woodstock’s less advertised treasures (which occupies approximately 125 acres) for a dollar.
Many Woodstock residents say large commercial projects are harming town’s character
In over an hour of public comments, neighbors of Woodstock Way and Mudd Club Bagel and Coffee Shop, and a host of community members, spoke about trends that have seen more and more commercial projects coming back to the ZBA and town planners, or the town’s building department, after major changes have already been made, asking that they be legalized. Many said it was harming Woodstock’s character. It was time, said one man to loud applause, that a line be drawn.
Maverick heats up
Trio con Brio Copenhagen’s playing of Beethoven’s “Ghost” Trio, Op. 70, No. 1 was about as fine a version of that piece as I’ve ever heard, vigorous and energetic with powerful accents, appropriately creepy in the second movement, and with very good balance.
Breathe life into a stone: Macbeth at Opus 40
Artistic director Matt Mitler said he is fascinated by the mythological archetype of the trickster, an entity who destroys to make way for the new. “In some spiritual practices, it’s considered ‘holy destruction,’” Mitler explained, “from Baldr in the Norse myths to Jesus.” In the search for a text that would embody destruction leading to creation, the company turned to Macbeth. They approach the play’s violence as a kind of ritual combat, designed to create a purifying catharsis for actors and audience. Dzieci Theater Company will present Makbet, their Eastern European-flavored version of the Shakespeare tale of ambition and revenge Saturday, July 7.