February
HistoryRemembering The Tall Ships
Today, Bath Iron Works builds destroyers for the navy on the banks of the Kennebec River. But from 1897 to 1920, the Percy & Small Shipyard dominated the area. A Shipyard in Maine: Percy & Small and the Great Schooners, a series of related shipbuilding exhibitions at Maine Maritime Museum, tells the story of the men who built huge sailing schooners on this site. From an overview of Percy & Small's shipbuilding and shipping business through the details of design, construction, and finishing the great schooners, the story unfolds across the actual shipyard. Through May 1. $7-$10. 243 Washington St., Bath. 207-443-1316. www.mainemaritimemuseum.org
Theater
Dance Dance Revolution
Baltimore writer-director John Waters is best known for gross-out humor and freakish characters you'd be horrified to run across at the supermarket. But Hairspray, Waters' most mainstream script, made for a surprisingly sweet story about a plus-size girl who gets a spot on a local TV dance show. The Broadway musical, which is touring nationally, is even sweeter. Feb. 23 at 8 p.m., Feb. 24 at 2 & 8 p.m., and Feb. 25 at 2 & 7:30 p.m. $41-$60. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperformances.org
Outdoors
Slip Sliding Away
Don't let the title fool you: although the National Toboggan Championship does earn the winners bragging rights across the entire United States, it's at least partly a light-hearted affair, with categories for best team spirit and best costumes along with those for pure speed. The entry fee for a two-person team is $50; a three-person team is $75; and a four-person team is $100. Feb. 2 - 4. Camden Snow Bowl. 207-236-3438. www.camdensnowbowl.com
Before making plans to attend any of these events, call ahead to confirm, since dates and times may be subject to change. To submit event listings to Down East, send an e-mail to editorial@downeast.com
MUSIC AND DANCE
Alejandro Escovedo
A rare acoustic performance by the critically acclaimed singer-songwriter who is produced by Welshman John Cale (founding member of the Velvet Underground). Escovedo mixes rock, Tex-Mex, country, and almost all other genres. He is accompanied on this tour by violinist Susan Voelz. Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. $22. The Grand, 165 Main St., Ellsworth. 207-667-9500. www.grandonline.org
The Blondes of Broadway
Musical theater actress and lifelong brunette Samantha Fitschen tries to answer the question, "Why do I always get cast as a blonde?" In this funny cabaret, Fitschen relives some of her favorite Broadway Blonde roles, while singing songs by and about blondes. All hair colors welcome. Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 16 at 8 p.m., Feb. 17 at 8 p.m., and Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. $10. St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress St., Portland. 207-885-5883. www.stlawrencearts.org
Christine Brewer
As any opera aficionado will know, the art of the song recital is in decline. So what can one say about Brewer? She's the diva. Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. $34-$38. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperformances.org
David Mallett
Folk singer and Maine native David Mallett began his musical career at the age of ten, when he began touring New England with his older brother. Since then, he has enjoyed a career that spans four decades and has led him all over the world, performing songs that are filled with passion and incredible imagery. (And his mom didn't tell us to say that.) Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. $18-$22. The Chocolate Church, 798 Washington St., Bath. 207-442-8455. www.chocolatechurch.com
Juanito Pascual
Juanito Pascual has been called one of the greatest American flamenco guitarists, presenting all of the passion and artistry that has earned flamenco its rightful place as a major international art form. Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. $12-$16. The Chocolate Church, 798 Washington St., Bath. 207-442-8455. www.chocolatechurch.com
Leipzig String Quartet
Founded in 1988, the Leipzig String Quartet is now widely acclaimed as one of the most exciting string quartets on the international chamber music scene. The Neue Z?richer Zeitung, which is well read in these parts, has described the ensemble as "one of the towering and most versatile quartets of our time." Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. $34-$38. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperformances.org
Let It Snow Dance Party
Heat up on a cold night by dancing among classic cars and vintage airplanes -- just watch out for the propellers -- with the music of the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, one of the greatest big bands of all time. Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. $8-$29. Owls Head Transportation Museum, 17 Museum St., Owls Head. 207-594-4418. www.baychamberconcerts.org
Pink Floyd Experience
Not just another brick in the wall of cover bands, the Pink Floyd Experience is much more than a flawless recreation of the legendary songs. PFX echoes everything that made Pink Floyd one of rock and roll's greatest icons -- they make your head spin. Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. $18-$32. Maine Center for the Arts, UMaine campus, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca
Portland Symphony Orchestra
Three of Broadway's leading ladies, Debbie Gravitte, Jan Horvath, and Christiane Noll, light up the stage with their renditions of hits from A Chorus Line, Les Misérables, Evita, Gypsy, and more. Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. & Feb. 11 at 2:30 p.m. $8-$54. u Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances. Weber/ Berlioz's Invitation to the Dance, Brahms' double Concerto for Violin and Viola, and Rachmann's Symphonic Dances. Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Concert conversation with Maestro Lipsky at 6:15 p.m. in the Rehearsal Hall. $8-$54. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.portlandsymphony.com
Princely Players -- On the Road to Glory
Songs of hope and the quest for freedom found in the struggle to survive the trauma of slavery. The Princely Players, an eight-member ensemble, have been featured on NPR and the BBC, as well as the Smithsonian's Wade in the Water series. Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. $18-$27. Maine Center for the Arts, UMaine campus, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca
Steve Riley & The Mamoo Playboys
For twenty years two-time Grammy-nominee Steve Riley has been pushing the boundaries of Zydeco into what he calls "the new Cajun music" by mixing traditional styles with a contemporary flair that's always danceable. Feb. 16. $20. The Grand, 165 Main St., Ellsworth. 207-667-9500. www.grandonline.org
Turtle Island and the Assad Brothers
A unified string theory. Turtle Island (2006 Grammy-winner for Best Classical Crossover Album) and the Assad Brothers pluck, glide, and strum music from Africa, India, and the Appalachian Mountains, with the rhythmic poetry of the Balkans, the warmth and passion of Brazil, the hard-swinging elegance of Gypsy jazz, and everything in between. Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. $37. Maine Center for the Arts, UMaine campus, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca
THEATER
As You Like It
As Shakespeare so rightly wrote, "All the world's a stage." And this is the bard's most performed comedy, complete with gender reversals, thwarted lovers, and a very happy ending. Feb. 2 & 3 and Feb. 9 - 11. $12-$16. Camden Opera House, 29 Elm St. 207-236-7963. www.camdenoperahouse.com
Iron Kisses
A heartfelt, contemporary story of an American family and the unique relationship between a brother and a sister. Full of humor and sadness, this dramatic work touches on growing old, divorce, homosexuality, and family secrets. Feb. 27 - March 18. $19-$33. The Portland Stage Company, 25A Forest Ave., Portland. 207-774-0465. www.portlandstage.com .
ART MUSEUMS
Bates Museum of Art
Scrape, Cut, Gouge, Bite, Print. . . The Graphic Work of Charlie Hewitt 1976-2006. Born in Lewiston in 1946, Hewitt grew up in Auburn and Brunswick. A student of Philip Guston, David Hare, and Elaine DeKooning at the New York Studio School, Hewitt has played a significant role in printmaking in Maine since 1984, when he returned to the state to work at the Vinalhaven Press. As the repository for Hewitt's graphic work, the Bates College Museum of Art has an extensive collection that will provide the material for this retrospective exhibition, including woodcuts, drypoints, etchings, and digital prints. Through March 18. Free. 75 Russell St., Lewiston. 207-786-6158. www.bates.edu/museum.xml
Center for Maine Contemporary Art
Time Out: Art Created During Residencies. The fourteen artists in Time Out were awarded national and international residencies, ranging in length from three to six weeks, by private or public foundations. Each artist is represented by works executed during those "times off" or by artworks that have been strongly influenced by the experience of the residency. Through Feb. 25. $5. 162 Russell Ave., Rockport. 207-236-2875. www.artsmaine.org
Colby College Museum of Art
Whistler as Printmaker. While James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) achieved fame as a painter, he was also a serious and innovative printmaker, producing some 450 etchings and about 180 lithographs. His imagery and the technical means he developed for etching and for printing plates influenced not only his fellow printmakers in Europe and America but also many others who followed. This selection of prints is drawn from a collection on loan to the Colby museum consisting of almost two hundred impressions representing the highest quality and range of Whistler's printmaking. Through Feb. 25. Free. 5600 Mayflower Hill Dr., Waterville. 207-872-3228. www.colby.edu/museum
Farnsworth Art Museum & Wyeth Center
Jonathan Fisher: Pioneer Painter and Printmaker. While serving as a pastor of the First Congregational Church in Blue Hill, Fisher also carved woodblocks to print a series of more than a hundred insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals, all published in the 1834 book Scripture Animals. Through March 11. u Imprints of Maine: 1900-1950. Selected from the museum's permanent collection, the pieces include modernist works by Rockwell Kent, Carroll Thayer Berry, and Leo Meissner, as well as more traditional artists. Through March 24. u Elizabeth B. Noyce Bequest Anniversary. Art collector and Maine philanthropist Elizabeth B. Noyce's bequeathed works of American art. Through June 17. $8-$10. 16 Museum St., Rockland. 207-596-6457. www.farnsworthmuseum.org
Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art
Robert Indiana: The Hartley Elegies/MECA Prints. Robert Indiana is widely regarded as one of the most important painters, sculptors, and printmakers working today. Perhaps most famous for his LOVE image, which has appeared in prints, monumental sculpture, and postage stamps, Indiana profoundly influenced Pop and Minimal art as well as reductive abstraction in the United States. Driven by a strong pacifist sensibility, Indiana makes spare, powerful text-images that combine contemporary social commentary with a keen awareness of the legacy of avant-garde art. Through Feb. 4. Free. 522 Congress St., Portland. 207-879-5742, ext. 229. www.meca.edu/GalleriesExhibitions/ICA/Overview.aspx#2
Portland Museum of Art
Francisco Goya: Los Caprichos. This exhibition will feature one of the most influential works of graphic images in the history of Western art, Los Caprichos, a series of eighty black-and-white prints published in 1799 that satirize the foibles of late eighteenth-century Spanish society and humanity in general. Influenced by Enlightenment thinking, Goya set out to analyze the human condition and denounce social abuses and superstitions. Through Feb. 25. u New Acquisitions 2006. Every winter, the museum highlights significant art acquisitions of the previous year in a special exhibition. Contemporary art was a major highlight of collecting activity in 2006, with prints by Francesco Clemente, Jim Dine, Anish Kapoor, Robert Stackhouse, and Pat Steir, and two paintings by John Walker entering the collection. Nineteenth-century art was also represented, with the purchase of an important work by Charles Codman and the remarkable bequest of a painting by Thomas Moran. Opening on the museum's fourth floor, New Acquisitions 2006 will spotlight a selection of these artworks and others that entered the collection in the last twelve months. Through Feb. 28. u A Deaf Artist in Early America: The Worlds of John Brewster, Jr. This show features fifty outstanding paintings illustrating the full-range of Brewster's long and successful career. The exhibition and companion book provide a major assessment of Brewster's life and art within his four worlds: his artistic influences, his distinctive painting style and techniques, his elite clientele, and the world of the deaf in early America. Through March 25. $4-$10, and free Fridays 5 - 9 p.m. 7 Congress Square, Portland. 207-775-6148. www.portlandmuseum.org
USM Lewiston-Auburn College
Area Artists 2007. Open juried biennial exhibition featuring painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, and contemporary crafts from artists in Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford counties. Through March 30. Free. Atrium Gallery, 51 Westminster St., Lewiston. 207-753-6500. www.usm.maine.edu/lac/art
FAIRS & FESTIVALS
Caribou Winter Carnival and Snowmobile Festival
Kick the winter blues and head to Caribou for ten days of fun in the snow. Activities include a broomball tourney, mom or dad mush, and the county-wide Snow Goddess Snowmobile Poker Run sponsored by the Caribou Snowmobile Club. Feb. 8 - 18. 207-498-6165. www.cariboumaine.net
Derby Fest
The Sebago Lake Rotary Club presents the state's largest fishing derby along with an antique snowmobile show, snowmobile radar run, togue tournament, food, polar dip, cross-country race, and ice fishing for kids. Feb. 23 - 25. All events free except for the togue tournament, which is $30 for single entry and $50 for a family. Point Sebago Resort, Casco. 888-423-3524. www.icefishingderby.com
International Snowmobilers Festival
During this three-day event it's all cross-border frivolity -- and revving engines. Mainers and New Brunswickers come together for snowcross races, Canadian dinner and dancing, moonlight drags, and international "lucky runs," using the exceptional trail networks in both locales. Feb. 2 - 5. Madawaska. $30. 207-728-7000.
SnoFest
Proof that locals do not hibernate once the snow arrives. Events include family fun day, sled dog races, which start at the Katahdin parking lot and go to Brownville and back, chili and chowder cook-off, bonfire, snowmobile parade, third annual Chocolate Festival, and skating party. Feb. 17 - 25. Greenville. 207-695-2702. www.mooseheadlake.org
Special Events
Comedy Jam
Bath's own John Ater, one of Maine's top comedians, invites national and regional comedians to entertain you. Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. $13-$18. The Chocolate Church, 798 Washington St., Bath. 207-442-8455. www.chocolatechurch.com
Duff Powell
Stand-up comedian Duff Powell captures the humor of small-town Maine as he performs observational routines and impersonations. Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. $17.50-$19. Camden Opera House, 29 Elm St. 207-236-7963. www.camdenoperahouse.com
