Performing Arts
• Losing My Religion returns: Sethums Performs will present Losing My Religion: Confessions of a New Age Refugee, a one-man show highlighting the absurdities, paradoxes, and heartfelt qualities of having any kind of spiritual leaning, in a one night only benefit for the Hooker-Dunham Theater on July 1 at 8 p.m.
This show escorts the audience through an earnest, sidesplitting depiction of the trials and tribulations of losing and finding one's spiritual path. Seth Lepore uses his fecund imagination to take a humorous and sincere look at the pitfalls and biases that make up the melting pot of spiritual choices.
The intention of the piece is to create an ongoing dialogue that presents more questions than answers in terms of how we approach faith as a culture.
Hooker-Dunham Theater is on 139 Main St. in Brattleboro. Tickets are available at the door for $7-20, sliding scale. Advance tickets are available by calling 802-254-9276.
• Melodrama at NEYT: New England Youth Theatre brings two melodramas to the stage, performed by the senior melodrama company.
My Gun Is Pink by Jeffrey Goffin, directed by NEYT faculty Jane Baker and Andrew Marchev, is a suspenseful mystery driven by two fearless female detectives. Babe Archer, Private Investigator, is tough, fearless, and smart. Her partner, the cops, and the “hoods” are all female. The only males are the kind of roles usually played by women on TV - Babe's adoring secretary, her partner's “steady” and the filthy rich dupes of the crooks. It's a play designed for fun, turning expectations - and suspects - upside down. This show plays Friday, July 2 at 6 pm and Saturday, July 3 at 3 and 6 p.m.
Do or Die by Tom Taggart, directed by NEYT alumni Rosa Palmeri and Sean Fitzharris, is a fast-paced spy thriller in three acts by the genius who brought you Deadwood Dick. See what happens when a well-meaning ranch owner and her unsuspecting boarders are suddenly caught in the middle of an international government conspiracy with no way to get out. This show plays Friday, July 2, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, July 3, at 1 and 8 p.m.
All tickets for these shows are $7.50. You may purchase them online anytime at www.neyt.org, or by going to the NEYT box office on Wednesdays between noon and 5 p.m. NEYT is located at 100 Flat St. in downtown Brattleboro.
Also playing is Theatre Adventure Program's Peter Pan on Friday, July 2, at 10:30 a.m. at Green Street School in the gym. All tickets are $6 at the door. The Theatre Adventure Program is a theatre arts class for children, youth, and adults with disabilities and welcomes a smaller number of their typically developing peers. It is a program of New England Youth Theatre.
Music
• Twilight On The Tavern Lawn continues: On Friday, June 25, Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils will perform starting at 6:30 p.m. in downtown Putney on the Putney Tavern lawn (bring a lawn chair or blanket) or at The United Church of Putney (15 Kimball Hill) in case of rain. The concerts are free to the public (donations are accepted) and food will be available. For information, visit www.twilightmusic.org or call 802-387-5772.
Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils play a mix of soulful, sultry jazz and blues sprinkled with a little New Orleans spice. Samirah formed her electrifying new band in 2009 just in time for the release of her second CD “My Little Bodhisattva,” which was recorded in New Orleans. A year later, Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils have earned a regional following performing lively arrangements of jazz and blues standards and originals from the Berkshires to Boston.
The band, which features Michael Zsoldos on saxophone, Jason Ennis on guitar, Miro Sprague on piano, Michael O'Brien on bass and Connor Meehan on drums, complements Samirah's style perfectly. They plan to release a new live performance CD and DVD “Hot Club” in the fall of 2010.
Next up in the 2010 Twilight on the Tavern Lawn concert series schedule is an evening of high energy accordion/guitar driven dance music of Louisiana by Planet Zydeco on Friday, July 9.
• Yellow Barn presents Young Artist Program concert: On June 25 at 8 p.m. at Centre Congregational Church in Brattleboro, Yellow Barn's Young Artists Program will present the first of three concerts in a series during its 2010 season. The performance will feature guest faculty composer and electric guitarist, Steven Mackey, who will perform alongside the young musicians, and will include works by Dohnányi, Dvořák, Hersant, Mackey, Mozart and Schubert.
Yellow Barn's Young Artists Program will run from June 18-July 2, 2010. The program provides 2.5 weeks of intense study, focusing on chamber music repertoire from the 17th century to the present day, and includes a collaborative composition component for six young composers. For more information about the 2010 summer festival performances, visit www.yellowbarn.org.
Visual arts
• Recycled art exhibit: Through The Music Gallery & Studio is located inside Turn It Up! at 2 Elliot St., downtown Brattleboro. Just go through the music up the stairs and Through the Music is on the right.
For the month of July, TTM is featuring a group show of recycled and reused art. The opening will be held during the Gallery Walk on July 2 from 5:30-9:30 p.m. If you can't make it during the Gallery Walk, TTM is open throughout the month. The recycled and reused art show will be at TTM from July 2-28.