“Unreconciled,” Jay Sefton’s tour-de-force play about a young theater student (Jay Sefton) who is the victim of abuse by a priest, and yet moves on to be a therapist and an actor, has its world premiere at Chester Theatre, July 4-14, after a workshop last summer at Chester. Sefton performed the work in Provincetown last month, and after the Chester run, the show moves to Belfast, Ireland, before opening Off-Broadway on Sept. 25. Sefton wrote the play with Mark Basquill. James Barry directs. For details on the play: www.unreconciledtheplay.com. For information on the Chester performances: www.chestertheatre.org.
The Springfield Symphony Orchestra presents a Juneteenth Freedom Day Concert on June 19 at 3 p.m. in Symphony Hall. Kevin Scott conducts with the Springfield Symphony Chorus and Kevin Sharpe’s Extended Family Choir. On the program is a selection of classical and spiritual music, and the world premiere of Avery Sharpe’s 400 Project. For details: www.springfieldsymphony.org.
“Jubilee: A Juneteenth Concert of Early American New England Music,” featuring lively Abolitionist psalmody, spirituals, dance tunes and chamber music from the repertoire of regional African American composers and band leaders, will be presented June 20, at the Deerfield Community Center. Historic Deerfield is producing the event. The show will include performances of music by Greenfield’s own John Putnam (c. 1817-1895), known as “the father of contradance music,” and a newly discovered manuscript of music by early Connecticut composer and fiddler Sawaney Freeman. For details: www.historic-deerfield.org/events.
“Where I End & You Begin,” an immersive art experience created by John Bechtold and Alli Ross with a sound score by Sam V. Perry and Eggtooth, comes to Mass MoCA June 28-30. It’s an audio walk for two people. Using headphones and a location-aware app for your phone, you and your companion travel the museum’s many spaces on a synchronized journey that transforms your relationship with one another and the world around you along the way. For details: www.eggtooth.org/upcoming.
The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum continues the Wednesday Folk Traditions concert series on June 19 with ReBelle. For details: www.pphmuseum.org.
The UMass Fine Arts Center will expand its programming imprint from the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall and Bowker Auditorium to the Mullins Center and The Drake for its 2024-25 season. The season programming will be announced in late July. Also, Kristina L. Durocher joined the leadership team of the UMass Fine Arts Center, as the Fine Arts Center’s inaugural visual arts director. For details: www.fineartscenter.com.
John Williams has canceled his two Tanglewood appearances, due to illness. Williams was set to make appearances for John Williams Film Night on Aug. 2-3, and Tanglewood on Parade on Aug. 6. For details: www.tanglewood.org.
Michael Sigal, a high school violinist, has won the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s 46th Young Artists Competition. Sigal will study music and international affairs at Indiana University in the fall.
“Zanna, Don’t,” the musical written by Tim Acito with additional lyrics and material by Alexander Dinelaris, plays K and E Theater Group June 27-30 at the Center for the Arts in Northampton. Eddie Zitka directs and choreographs. The cast features Michael Borges, Renee Bouldin, Michael Garcia, Nathan Holbrook, A.J. Kirby, Carina Savoie, Jay Torres and Joey Valencourt. The band is led by musical director Benjamin Maniscalchi. For details: www.ketg.org.
Opera Saratoga performs through July 7. Inti Figgis-Vizuela premieres a new opera, alongside productions of “Cosi fan Tutte” and “Guys and Dolls.” This season’s concertmaster is Springfield Symphony Orchestra and Springfield Chamber Players violinist Robert Lawrence. For details: www.operasaratoga.org.
Berkshire Opera Festival announced that the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is its new long-term home, through a multi-year residency. The Mahaiwe will present BOF’s mainstage production and other programming for the coming years, beginning with Gounod’s “Faust,” Aug. 24-30. The theater will also host a free preview of “Faust” with BOF’s co-founders Jonathon Loy and Brian Garman on July 24. For details: www.mahaiwe.org and www.berkshireoperafestival.org.
“Money Game,” a film written and directed by Turners Falls resident Julian Lowenthal, is screening at Greenfield’s Garden Cinema through June 20. “Money Game” was shot entirely in Western Massachusetts: Turners Falls, Greenfield, Amherst and South Deerfield. It has won a total of 14 awards so far, including seven at the Creation International Film Festival in L.A. For details: www.gardencinemas.net.
Tom McCabe, founder of the Children’s Theatre of Massachusetts and Paint Box Theatre, has passed away. RIP.
Looking for a Fun Summer Read? Kevin Winkler has written a fun biography, “On Bette Midler.” His previous two bios on Bob Fosse and Tommy Tune are also intriguing backstage glimpses of talents who made theater great. For details: bit.ly/rp30pk.
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.
