BRATTLEBORO — I am writing to call attention to an omission in Deborah Luskin's “Praise in 2010” column [The Commons, January]. Yes, you saw it coming, Deborah (“I hesitate to list our terrific cultural institutions for fear of leaving some out”), and here it is.
Perhaps it can be argued that the Hooker-Dunham Theater and Gallery is more a venue than an “institution.” Nevertheless, the theater provides a very important service to our community - a topnotch space for performances (theatrical or musical), films, talks, and any mix thereof. Musicians know it as a place for real connect-with-their-audience and great sound. In fact, that appreciation goes beyond the local community.
My son, a designer who lives in Brooklyn, recently had occasion to mention his hometown to a colleague who, it turns out, is also a musician. When she heard “Brattleboro,” she excitedly told him how much she has loved playing in the Hooker-Dunham because “the audiences really pay attention and the sound is great!”
Annual Festivals hosted at Hooker-Dunham in the past year include The Women's Film Festival, Best of the Sevincer Animation Festival, Brattleboro Area Jewish Community Israeli Film and Food Festival, and the Brattleboro Literary Festival.
The gallery has had a hugely successful year with painters, photographers, video installation, and archival displays. Annual shows include “Visions” (the Women's Film Festival art show), In-Sight Photography Project, the American Institute of Architects Vermont chapter, and the Brattleboro Retreat. The Youth Gallery is given over to the under-18 crowd for school, group, or individual art shows, as a free outreach program to the community.
Some of the theater companies Hooker-Dunham hosts are: Strong Coffee Stage Co., Vermont Theater Company, GUTworks, Trixie Little's Burlesque, Green River Productions, the 24-Hour Play Festival, an Austine School production, and many individuals. Among individual projects, kids' matinees feature magicians and other entertainers, stand-up comedy, and one-person plays such as Michael Fox Kennedy's “Abraham Lincoln in Brattleboro.”
One of the most popular events is the Twilight Music series that regularly presents outstanding professional musicians, most recently Antje Duvekot and Kris Delmhorst.
Independent music offerings include all genres – classical to Celtic to Jazz (Yellow Barn, Eilen Jewell, Lissa Schneckenburger, Samirah Evans, and others) plus CD release performances and parties.
Hooker-Dunham Theater has turned itself into a movie theater for Post Oil Solutions, Brattleboro Climate Protection, Vermont Natural Resources Council, Monadnock Friends of Tibet, Kopkind Colony, Vermont Center for Photography, Vermont-Cuba Solidarity Group, and individual filmmakers.
So, a shout-out to you, fair Hooker-Dunham. May 2010 see more of the same lineup of quality music, film, and theater fare. For an evening of entertainment in a cozy setting, no one does it better!