March
Art
Back To The Land
The land's the thing in the work of Harrison Bird Brown, a Portland native who began his career painting signs on the city's waterfront. But he quickly moved from commerce to nature, painting scenes of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the White Mountains, and the Alps. In Vividly True to Nature: Harrison Bird Brown, 1831-1915, the Portland Museum of Art shows about forty of Brown's paintings and a smaller group of his works on paper, most from the museum's permanent collection. March 10 - Sept. 9. $4-$10, and free Fridays 5 - 9 p.m. 7 Congress Square, Portland. 207-775-6148. www.portlandmuseum.org
Music
Sweet Harmony
It's been more than twenty years since Paul Simon's Graceland album brought the traditional Zulu harmonies of Ladysmith Black Mambazo to the attention of audiences worldwide. But the South African a cappella troupe is still going strong, with founder Joseph Shabalala recruiting four of his sons to fill in for original members who've retired. Catch their uplifting sound at the Camden Opera House March 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. $8-$29. 29 Elm St. 207-236-7963. www.camdenoperahouse.com
Outdoors
Give a Hoot
Got the urge to do something different this month? Then join Maine Audubon staff naturalist Judy Walker in Freeport for an evening spent calling great-horned, barred, and saw-whet owls. Since they're on territories and actively pursuing a mate, the big-eyed birds are likely to respond to imitations of their calls. Sign up soon: the Owl Prowl is limited to twelve participants. March 7 from 8 - 10 p.m. $3-$15. 207-781-2330, ext. 215. www.maineaudubon.org
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
Air Force Band of Liberty
With a clash of cymbals -- which is better than a clash of arms -- the air force's musical ambassadors for the Northeast bring on the beat. March 11 at 3 p.m. Free. Camden Opera House, 29 Elm St. 207-236-7963. www.camdenoperahouse.com
Cherryholmes
Cherryholmes has been taking the bluegrass world by storm. This incredible family -- dad, mom, and four children ages thirteen to twenty-one -- travels throughout the country approximately three hundred days a year, singing, dancing, and playing music with their trademark drive and energy. March 28 at 7:30 p.m. $29-$32. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperformances.org
Dance Asia
Qi Shu Fang and her troupe of Asian dancers perform with flowing ribbons, a dancing lion, amazing acrobatics, and martial arts -- sans Jackie Chan. March 4 at 2 p.m. $8. Waterville Opera House, 93 Main St., Waterville. 207-873-7000. www.operahouse.com
Discover Theater!
Designed to both educate and entertain, this sixty-minute production tells the timeless stories of Disney's Cinderella and The Jungle Book. March 31 at 1 & 4 p.m. $5-$20. Maine Center for the Arts, UMaine campus, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Mo Willem's Caldecott Honor-winning children's story is transformed into a live production with original music and audience participation. Perfect for children ages three to seven. March 24 at 2 p.m. $10. South Portland High School Auditorium, 637 Highland Ave. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperformances.org
Hubbard Street 2
Praised for its powerful and innovative repertory, HS2 is a vibrant company of six young dancers performing fresh and innovative works by emerging choreographers. March 24 at 8 p.m. $18-$30. Maine Center for the Arts, UMaine campus, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca
Imani Winds
The five accomplished musicians of Imani Winds joined forces in 1997 to expand the boundaries of the traditional wind quintet and explore the links among European, African, and American music traditions. This young ensemble of African/Latin American heritage has established a reputation for dynamic playing, innovative programming, and inspirational outreach programs. March 4 at 3 p.m. $30. Minsky Recital Hall, Maine Center for the Arts, UMaine campus, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca
John Hammond
Grammy Award-winner and four-time nominee John Hammond has shared the stage with the likes of blues masters Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. March 24 at 7:30 p.m. $18-$25. The Chocolate Church, 798 Washington St., Bath. 207-442-8455. www.chocolatechurch.com
Kit Armstrong
What is your description of a wunderkind? Fourteen-year-old English phenomenon Kit Armstrong wrote his first musical composition at age four, began playing piano at five, made his concerto debut at eight, started college at nine, and performed at Carnegie Hall by eleven. If he ain't it, we're not sure who is. March 4 at 2:30 p.m. $8- $29. Rockport Opera House, 6 Central St. 207- 236-2823 or 888-707-2770. www.baychamberconcerts.org
Lasansky School of Dance
You'll want to dance, too. Enjoy performances by midcoast dancers from seven to seventeen years old in this twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the Lasansky School of Dance. March 10 at 7 p.m. $8-$12. Camden Opera House, 29 Elm St. 207-236-7963. www.camdenoperahouse.com
Madame Butterfly
Puccini's sad tale of a callous American officer, B.F. Pinkerton, who marries and leaves Cio-Cio-San, a vulnerable Japanese girl. Performed by Teatro Lirico D'Europa, Europe's largest and most successful touring opera company. March 7 at 7:30 p.m. $34-$53. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperformances.org
Marta Gomez
Colombian singer-songwriter Marta Gomez performs original songs based on rhythms from all over Latin America and mixed with jazz and pop elements. March 10 at 7:30 p.m. $12-$16. The Chocolate Church, 798 Washington St., Bath. 207-442-8455. www.chocolatechurch.com
Miami String Quartet with Arianna Zukerman, soprano
Praised in the New York Times as having "everything one wants in a quartet: a rich, precisely balanced sound, a broad coloristic palette, real unity of interpretive purpose, and seemingly unflagging energy." Phew, that was logorrheic. Let's try something a little lighter: the Miami String Quartet has quickly established its place among the most widely respected quartets in America. March 25 at 3 p.m. $30. Minsky Recital Hall, Maine Center for the Arts, UMaine campus, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca
The Pirates of Penzance
The internationally acclaimed Carl Rosa Company returns to Portland with Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera about the wild men of the sea. March 15 at 7:30 p.m. $31-$48. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperformances.org
Portland Symphony Orchestra
Join the PSO for Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and Beethoven's Symphony no. 2. March 4 at 2:30 p.m. u Beethoven's Symphony no. 7, Mozart's Overture to Marriage of Figaro, Bernstein's Symphony no. 2 "The Age of Anxiety." March 20. u The PSO hosts Le Vent du Nord, a Québécois music and dance ensemble that provides foot-stomping rhythms and the irresistible, joyous pull of Celtic-inflected tunes, rooted in European tradition with a whimsical New World flair. March 24 & 25. u Then join the PSO and Le Vent du Nord for a joint performance of traditional Québécois music. March 26 & 27. $8-$57. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.portlandsymphony.com
The Saturday Show with Michael Lane Trautman
An accomplished mime, a skilled stand-up comedian, an inventive juggler, Trautman is a human barrel of laughs. Almost every Saturday at the St Lawrence Arts & Community Center. Shows at 11 a.m. $8. St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress St., Portland. 207-885-5883. www.stlawrencearts.org
Shakespeare in Hollywood
Ken Ludwig, author of Lend Me a Tenor, has done it again with a madcap farce about the filming of the 1930s version of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. What happens when the real Puck and Oberon show up on the movie set and begin making mischief with the likes of Jimmy Cagney, Louella Parsons, and the Warner Brothers? March 1 - 25. $15-$20. St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress St., Portland. 207-885-5883. www.stlawrencearts.org
Solas
Celtic music with a Yankee twist. "The best Irish traditional band in the world," raves the Boston Herald. March 17 at 7:30 p.m. $30-$35. Camden Opera House, 29 Elm St. 207-236-7963. www.camdenoperahouse.com
Theater
Intimate Apparel
Esther, an African-American seamstress in 1905 New York, makes an uncommon living creating exquisite lingerie for both wealthy socialites and the ladies of the night, but dreams of a better life and of finding a husband. March 27 - April 22. $19-$33. The Portland Stage Company, 25A Forest Ave. 207-774-0465. www.portlandstage.com
Miss Witherspoon
Miss Witherspoon refuses to reincarnate. Life stinks. And nothing God, Gandalf, or Rex Harrison can say will convince her to return to Earth. Forced to face the consequences of her past lives, she must accept her spiritual lessons and learn to use her stubbornness for the good of mankind. (Yes, it's a farce.) March 16 - 25. $10-$16. The Public Theater, 31 Maple St., Lewiston. 207-782-3200. www.thepublictheatre.org
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
Owen Smith: Perception in Flux. Over the last decade artist Owen F. Smith has explored how new media, such as digital art and Internet-based art, have affected issues of representation and perception. In a constantly changing digital environment, instability and flux have become the constants. For Smith the conceptual basis of an artwork plays a dominant role, as does a healthy dose of irony. The exhibit concentrates on a body of recent work that explores new concepts of visual representation, as well as some older works that provide a context for Smith's current explorations. Through April 1. u Next Generation. CMCA's fifth biennial juried exhibition featuring junior and senior art majors from Maine colleges and universities. March 4 - April 21. $5. 162 Russell Ave., Rockport. 207-236-2875. www.artsmaine.org
Colby College Museum of Art
Bernard Langlais: Abstractions and Reliefs. While working in New York in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Maine-born artist Bernard Langlais (1921-1977) began to explore the medium of wood relief.Us ing found wood objects and scraps, Langlais developed a unique style of "painting with wood," creating complex works that are as viscerally stirring as they are familiar and mundane. This exhibition, co-organized with the Aucocisco Gallery, presents twenty-four of these evocative, early wood reliefs. March 1 - July 2. 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
Kaddish for the Dispossessed. This public art installation by student Asherah Cinnamon is located on the grass area of Back Cove Park at Preble Street Extension in Portland across from the Hannaford store. It will remain outdoors to emphasize the challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness in the coldest months. Through March 25. Free. 207-879-5742, ext. 229. www.meca.edu/GalleriesExhibitions/ICA/Overview.aspx#2
Portland Museum of Art
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. u Käthe Kollwitz Prints: Defending the Downtrodden. One of Germany's leading graphic artists of the early twentieth century, Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) was a staunch defender of the poor, a critic of both World Wars, and deeply dedicated to her family. In recent years, the PMA has assembled a growing collection of her etchings, lithographs, and woodcuts that covers the course of Kollwitz's illustrious career. This exhibition features twenty-two works, most which are gifts from the David and Eva Bradford collection of German Expressionist graphics. They range in date from the late 1890s to the turbulent 1920s during the years of the Weimar Republic in Germany, when unemployment and poverty were rampant. Through May 27. $4-$10, and free Fridays 5 p.m. - 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
Special Events
Dessert Theater
A fun-filled night with great laughs, great food, and great company at the Waterville Opera House. There will be entertainment and an opportunity to indulge in decadent desserts created by a local chef. A cash bar will also be available. March 9 & 10 at 7:30 p.m. $20. Waterville Opera House, 93 Main St. 207-873-7000. www.operahouse.com
Tracy Kidder
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder speaks on "The Writing Life" as part of the Camden Public Library's third annual Arts & Lecture Series, produced in collaboration with Bay Chamber Concerts. March 18 at 2:30 p.m. $8-$45. Camden Opera House, 29 Elm St. 207-236-7963. www.camdenoperahouse.com
