“No Love Songs,” a musical look at early parenthood, has its American Premiere at Goodspeed Musicals’ Terris Theatre in Chester, Connecticut, Sept. 27 to Oct. 30. Developed in Scotland by Dundee Rep and Traverse Theatre and following sold-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in London, see it here first before it heads to New York! “No Love Songs” is from an original idea by Kyle Falconer, lead singer of Scottish indie band sensation The View, and Laura Wilde, his partner. It features songs by Falconer, and a book by Wilde and Johnny McKnight. The production will be directed by Andrew Panton and Tashi Gore. For details: www.goodspeed.org.
The Springfield Chamber Players have announced a six-concert series to inaugurate their Springfield season at the new performance venue 52 Sumner. The season opens on Oct. 27, with the SCP Clarinet Quintet. “Johnny Appleseed,” the folk cantata by Clifton J. Noble Jr., and a program of family-friendly music including “Ferdinand the Bull” and “The Boston Wonder,” will be presented on Dec. 8. Quartetto MOSSO performs its American program on Feb. 9. Ellen Redman brings her Celtic Trio, Last Night’s Fun, on March 22, followed by “Broadway with Strings Attached,” showtunes with Quartetto MOSSO and Martin Kluger, on April 26. The season ends with the Champlain Trio on May 15. For details: www.springfieldsymphonymusicians.com.
CONCORA has announced its 2024-25 seasons of concerts in Hartford and West Hartford. The series features works from Baroque masters Johann Sebastian Bach and George Friderich Handel (A “Messiah” and carol sing takes place on Dec. 1), alongside a musical pilgrimage from contemporary British composer Joby Talbot, whose “Path of Miracles” is the story of the Camino de Santiago in Galicia (March 17), and the world premiere of Edward Tyler’s “An American Requiem,” an emotionally charged work that reflects on the school gun violence epidemic in America. For details: www.concora.org.
Jayne Atkinson, Tony-nominated actor and star of TV’s “Madam Secretary” and “House of Cards” (and a Western Massachusetts resident) heads the cast of “True Art,” Jessica Provenz’s new comedy, which has its world premiere the Dorset Theatre in Vermont, Aug. 23 to Sept. 7. Provenz is development director of Barrington Stage Company, which produced her play “Boca.” Westfield native Michelle Joyner directs. For details: www.dorsettheatrefestival.org.
The River Roads Festival returns for its second season, Sept. 7, in Easthampton. Dar Williams and Laudable Productions have curated the festival, whose participants include Haley Heynderickx, Paula Cole, Gail Anne Dorsey, High Tea, Jill Sobule, Sunny War, Cheryl Wheeler with Kenny White, Dar Williams, and other folk luminaries. The festival partners with the Connecticut River Conservancy to coordinate the annual Source to Sea Cleanup, one of the nation’s largest river cleanups. For details: riverroadsfestival.com.
Tian Hui Ng, music director of White Snake Project and Pioneer Valley Symphony, will conduct the world premiere of White Snake Project’s opera “Is This America?” at the Strand Theatre in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Sept. 20-22. This new fully staged opera celebrates the life and legacy of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. “Is This America?” features performances by the Holyoke-based Victory Players chamber orchestra alongside a small ensemble of singers with the lead role of Ms. Hamer played by mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel. The composer, 85-year-old Mary D. Watkins, has blazed the trail for other Black women composers in the field of opera. Pascale Florestal stage directs. For details: www.whitesnakeprojects.org.
“The Pitch,” longtime Springfield Republican reporter Stan Freeman’s play about two sports journalists, had its world premiere at the Majestic Theater in West Springfield. It’s now a film on Amazon Prime. John Haag and Julian Findlay, the play’s original stars, recreated their roles in the film, which was shot in Western Massachusetts. It’s available on Amazon Prime.
Berkshire Opera Festival will present Verdi’s “La Traviata” as its mainstage production in 2025. Meanwhile, “Faust” runs at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on Aug. 24, 27 and 30. For details: www.berkshireoperafestival.org.
Joanna Faraby Walker has been named executive director of the Pioneer Valley Symphony. Walker was managing director of the Northampton Center for the Arts, and has previously worked at the Five College Dance Department, Stoneleigh-Burnham School, and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
“Jazz a la Mode,” New England Public Media’s acclaimed jazz program featuring Tom Reney, has celebrated its 40th anniversary. For details: www.nepm.org.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theater at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He has worked for arts organizations nationwide and reported on the arts for print and broadcast. Mark produces and hosts “ArtsBeat,” “Athenaeum Spotlight” and “On the Mark” for WCPC, Channel 15 in Westfield, and WSKB 89.5 FM. His “Arts Beat” column appears Mondays in The Westfield News. He’s a regular contributor to Pioneer Valley Radio and a member of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association.
