November Highlights
Late fall is the perfect season to visit the state?s theaters, concert halls, and museums.
TheaterLobby Hero
November 1 to 20. William, Bill, Jeff, and Dawn struggle to answer ethical questions and tame their personal demons while keeping their sense of integrity intact in this elegantly spare and slyly humorous play. Portland Stage Company. 207-774-0465. www.portlandstage.com
The Laramie Project
November 2 to 13. In the wake of the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student, Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie, Wyoming, to conduct interviews with members of the community. From these interviews, a modern Our Town was created that explores themes of compassion, cruelty, and honesty. Bangor Opera House. Penobscot Theatre Company. 207-942-3333. http://ptc.maineguide.com
Arsenic and Old Lace
November 4 to 13. Two of the dearest, sweetest, kindest old ladies you'd ever want to meet. Care for a glass of elderberry wine? Camden Opera House. 207-236-7963. www.camdenoperahouse.com. Also at the Gaslight Theater, Hallowell, November 3 to 5 and November 10 to 12. www.gaslighttheater.org
In My Head I'm Thin
November 4 to 13. Get ready for an aerobics instructor from hell, a Barbie doll with the blues, and a giant nude painting with dieting advice. This show was written by the creators of Ida, Woman Who Runs with the Moose. Lewiston-Auburn's Public Theatre. 207-782-3200. www.thepublictheatre.org
Miracle on 34th Street
November 25 through December 4. Classic Christmas story that won Kris Kringle an Oscar. (Well, Edmund Gwenn, anyway.) Waterville Opera House. 207-873-7000. www.operahouse.com
Music and Dance
Sweet Honey in the Rock
November 4 at 8 p.m. Formed in Washington, D.C., in 1973, this Grammy-winning a cappella women's vocal group has electrified audiences with its songs of African-American celebration and struggle. The sextet's repertoire ranges from spirituals to Caribbean rhythms to protest songs and from blues to rap to traditional West African numbers. Maine Center for the Arts, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca/
USM School of Music
November 5. Conducted by Robert Lehmann, the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra will perform Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto, with Laura Kargul as soloist. November 19 to 21. Musical Theatre: By Rodgers! A powerful thing, human genes. This show features music of three generations of talented Rodgers: Richard Rodgers, of "and Hammerstein" fame, his daughter, Mary Rodgers (Once Upon a Mattress), and his grandson, Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza) sung by USM students. Saturday and Monday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 5 p.m. Both at Corthell Concert Hall on the Gorham campus. November 29. Joyous Sounds for a Festive Season: USM Chamber Singers, conducted by Robert Russell, will sing classical motets, a birthday tribute to Mozart, and songs of the season at the Immanuel Baptist Church, Portland. 7:30 p.m. 207-780-5555. www.usm.maine.edu/music
Battle of the Blends XII
November 5 at 7:30 p.m. Instruments? Who needs instruments. This twelfth annual a cappella showcase makes it clear that musical accompaniment may be nice, but it's not necessary. The Moment, Manginah, Boston Jazz Voices, Maine Gay Men's Chorus, and SoniCrush demonstrate the power of the human voice. At United Baptist Church, Lewiston. Maine Music Society. 207-782-1403. www.mainemusicsociety.org
Dido and Aeneas
November 5. The Choral Art Society arrives at the Maine Irish Heritage Center in Portland to perform Henry Purcell's short opera Dido and Aeneas, based on the story of the legendary Trojan hero. Purcell's opera will be accompanied by the DaPonte String Quartet and Ray Cornils on harpsichord. 207-828-0043. www.choralart.org
Aniruddha Knight: Bharata Natyam
November 6. India's best-known performing art, bharata natyam is a dance that dates back to the courts and temples of South India in ancient times. Knight is the only grandson of T. Balasaraswati, acclaimed worldwide as an extraordinary artist and the twentieth century's greatest proponent of bharata natyam, and, well, the man can dance. Center for Cultural Exchange, Portland. 207-761-1545. www.centerforculturalexchange.org
Bangor Symphony Orchestra
November 6. A German Trio. Carl Maria von Weber grew up nearby and his Der Freisch?tza: Overture is one of the three German pieces scheduled for the evening. Ludwig van Beethoven's Concerto, violin, violoncello and piano, op. 56, C major, and Johannes Brahms' Symphony no. 1, op. 68, C minor round out the musical fare. Guest soloists include Phillip and Noreen Silver and Trond Saeverud. Maine Center for the Arts, Orono. 207-942-5555 or 800-639-3221. www.bangorsymphony.com
CHI
November 8 at 7 p.m. Chi in Taoist philosophy means 'energy' or 'breath'. The forty members of the award-winning Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe -- jugglers, gymnasts, dancers, and tumblers -- must know how to harness their chi because they do feats that seem practically impossible. Maine Center for the Arts, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca/
Royalty of Doo-Wop & Rock & Roll
November 12 at 7:30 p.m. Some of the great talents of the doo-wop era -- including the Del-Vikings ("Come Go with Me"), the Belmonts ("Teenager in Love"), and the Flamingos ("I Only Have Eyes for You") rock Portland's Merrill Auditorium. 207-842-0800.
John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers
November 15 at 7 p.m. John Mayall's impact on the Brit blues is immeasurable -- he launched several of the great bands of the sixties. Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor all were Bluesbreakers before they went on to fame in such acts as, oh, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and the Rolling Stones. The current line up of the Bluesbreakers includes Robben Ford, Eric Bibb, and of course, Mayall, who is still going strong at seventy. A must for fans of the blues. Maine Center for the Arts, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca/
Portland Symphony Orchestra
November 15 at 7:30 p.m. Saint-Sa?ns and Debussy. Guest artists include Edwin Outwater, conductor, and Soovin Kim, violin. Saint-Sa?ns' March Militaire Fran?aise; Saint-Sa?ns' Violin Concerto; Debussy's (orch. Ravel) Danse; and Debussy's La Mer. Merrill Auditorium, Portland. 207-773-6128. www.portlandsymphony.com
The Derek Trucks Band
November 16 at 7:30 p.m. Talk about eclectic. The Derek Trucks Band blends jazz, rock, blues, Latin, and Eastern Indian music into a musical exploration based around a screaming guitar. State Theater, Portland. 207-775-3331. www.liveatthestate.com
Yamato
November 17 at 7:30 p.m. "If you're looking for inspiring drumming and infectious dance rhythms, you'll be disappointed. This is much, much more." That's what the Guardian of London had to say about Japan's Taiko drumming sensation. PCA Great Performances, Merrill Auditorium, Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperf.com
The Polyjesters
November 17. Born on the streets of Nice, France, the Polyjesters call their sound "chunk," which they describe as a mixture of swing, folk, and roots music. Based around an upright bass, a baritone ukulele, a fiddle, and percussion, the music is infectious however you describe it, and it's won fans around the world for this band. Ramada Inn, Lewiston. L-A Arts. 800-639-2919 or 207-782-7228. www.laarts.org
Don Campbell Trio
November 18 at 7:30 p.m. Named Maine's best singer-songwriter and country artist in 2004, Don Campbell plays adult contemporary and country tunes that celebrate the simple pleasures of life. UMA Jewett Hall Auditorium, Augusta. 207-621-3551.
Arlo Guthrie
November 19 at 8 p.m. If your dad was one of the most prominent songwriters of the twentieth century and you grew up in a household visited by the likes of Pete Seeger, Cisco Houston, and Leadbelly, you'd probably be pretty cool, too. Arlo's musical legacy is similar to his father's: folk tunes with a political message that are often funny and witty. PCA Great Performances, Merrill Auditorium, Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperf.com
Chris Botti and his Band
November 20 at 3 p.m. Don't be deceived by this trumpeter's matinee-idol good looks because his singular combination of lush atmospheres and thoughtful improvisations has earned him both critical acclaim and mainstream adoration in the jazz community. Maine Center for the Arts, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca/
Street Scene
November 25 at 6 p.m. Music by Germany's Kurt Weill and lyrics by the Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. A musical about immigrants and lower-class residents of a New York street pursuing their dreams and experiencing a complex series of seductions, betrayals, and murder. Camden Opera House. 207-236-7963. www.camdenoperahouse.com
The Nutcracker
November 26 through December 4. What would Christmas be like without Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker? We shudder to imagine. Portland's Merrill Auditorium. Maine State Ballet. 207-842-0800. www.mainestateballet.org
The Beach Boys Christmas Show
November 27 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. For a band associated with the halcyon days of summer, the Beach Boys had plenty of Christmas hits, "Little Saint Nick" and "Merry Christmas, Baby" among them. The famous harmonists will be performing these, along with standard Christmas songs, and all the songs that still make them a sensation and an influence to contemporary bands like Dublin's The Thrills. Maine Center for the Arts, Orono. 207-581-1755. www.ume.maine.edu/~mca/
Dark Star Orchestra
November 27 at 7 p.m. A Grateful Dead cover band. Someone must be grateful. State Theater, Portland. 207-775-3331. www.liveatthestate.com
Fairs and Festivals
International Film Festival of the Spirit
November 4 to 6. It's spirited, it's international, it's a film festival, it's the International Film Festival of the Spirit! Featuring films, performing artists, and presenters that honor and celebrate the global expression of spirit. Strand Theater, Rockland. 207-236-6594.
Maine Brewers Festival
November 5. This is one festival that truly hops. At least it wouldn't be anywhere without hops. The best of Maine's micro-brews (page 78) are showcased at the Portland Expo. Live music by Reckless Daughter, James Montgomery, and old favs Enter the Haggis. Must be twenty-one and have a valid I.D. to attend. www.mainebrew.com
Special Events
History Exhibit at Harrington House 2005
Through December. Begun in 1799, Pettengill Farm is one of the oldest of Maine's saltwater farms. This exhibition complements the publication of A Window Through Time -- Pettengill Farm & the Soul of New England and launches the thirtieth anniversary of Pettengill Farm Stewardship. The book takes viewers back 200 years to explore what it was like to live and work on the Maine coast then. Harrington House, Freeport. 207-865-3170. www.freeporthistoricalsociety.org
Epicurean Auction Benefit
November 1 at 5:30 p.m. An evening of food and wine from twenty of Maine's best restaurants and a silent and live auction followed by desserts and coffee. Merrill Auditorium, Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperformances.org
Bangor Civic Center Crafts Show
November 5 & 6. Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The United Maine Craftsmen shop their wares at this seventeenth annual show. Admission is just $1. 207-621-2818. www.unitedmainecraftsmen.com
Thanksgiving Craft Show
November 25 & 26. Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Get your Christmas shopping done early at this United Maine Craftsmen's weekend bonanza. Brewer Auditorium. Admission is $1. 207-621-2818. www.unitedmainecraftsmen.com
Maine Antique Paper Show
November 26. From throughout the Northeast, dealers of old maps, antiquarian books, trading cards, letters, and photographs bring their collectibles and treasures to Maine. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Governor's Restaurant, 700 Main Street, Route 1, South Portland. 207-828-8065.
Museums
Portland Museum Of Art
Neil Welliver: Water and Sky pulls together approximately twenty works from the major periods of this late artist's career, drawing upon the permanent collection of the Portland Museum of Art as well as several private collections. Through November. ? Murray Hantman's life spanned almost the whole of the twentieth century -- 1904-1999 -- and for half that time the New Yorker spent his summers on Monhegan and in New Harbor, compelled by the unique lighting and expansive vistas of the Maine coast. This retrospective exhibition charts Hantman's evolution from his early training at New York's progressive Art Students League to his assistance on major public mural projects during the Depression to his arrival at an abstract painting style in the years after World War II. October 22 through January 29, 2006. ? Christo's Gates were quite the phenomenon in New York's Central Park in the past year, and now the famed fabric artist is coming to Maine. Sort of. Wrapping trees in the North Woods? No, he'll be here in the form of the exhibit Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The W?rth Museum Collection, which is drawn from one of the most comprehensive collections of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's work in the world, and owned by the W?rth Museum in K?nzelsau, Germany. This exhibit comprises drawings, scale models, collages, and photographs that provide an overview of each of the monumental Christo and Jeanne-Claude projects to date. November 3 through December 31. 7 Congress Square, Portland. 207-775-6148. www.portlandmuseum.org
Farnsworth Art Museum & Wyeth Center
A highly respected artist and a revered teacher, Frederick Lynch [Down East, August 2003] has lived and worked in Maine for more than thirty years, building a reputation as one of the leading abstract painters in the region. Not everyone can paint in a style that incorporates elements of Cubism, hard-edge Abstraction, Pop Art, and Minimalism, but Lynch manages to blend all these into a unique style that's his own as this retrospective shows. October 30 through February 15, 2006. ? Selected Works by James Wyeth and N.C. Wyeth. Oh, those Wyeths. They're back at the Farnsworth (they really never leave the Farnsworth). The show pits the work of grandson Jamie against the work of grandpa N.C. through March 1, 2006. ? Stew Henderson: Recent Work. Henderson's sculptural collages have done the Maine gallery circuit, showing at Icon in Brunswick, the former Frick Gallery in Belfast, the Leighton Gallery in Blue Hill, and down the street at the Caldbeck. Now the artist, who teaches at the Arts Center at Kingdom Falls in Montville, is hitting the big time with a solo show at the Farnsworth. His colorful, geometric, "linear" collages will be on display from November 30 through February 22, 2006. Rockland. 207-596-6457. www.farnsworthmuseum.org
Bates Museum of Art
Robert Indiana is a great admirer of Marsden Hartley, the Lewiston native and famed American modernist, and in the early 1990s he created an homage to him: the Hartley Elegies. The imagery in these ten large-scale prints is drawn from Hartley's 1914-15 German Officer paintings, created after the death of the young soldier Karl von Freyburg, a devastating event in Hartley's life. In his distinctive style, Indiana unites military insignia and geometric forms with references to Maine, America, war, and historical events to create a series of symbolic portraits. Through December 17. ? Off the Coast: A Landscape Chronology explores innovations in contemporary landscape art and shows how recent Maine painters are changing the way people from away perceive the state. Through May 30, 2006. 75 Russell Street, Lewiston. 207-786-6158. www.bates.edu/museum.xml
Colby College Museum of Art
Terry Winters: Prints & Sequences. Colby is home to the entire archive of Terry Winters' prints and the museum is rolling them out for the first time. Winters has continually explored issues of series and continuity in his art, evidenced in his early prints to his most recent works. Through November 6. 5600 Mayflower Hill Drive, Waterville. 207-872-3228. www.colby.edu/museum
Center for Maine Contemporary Art
Gideon Bok: Guardrailing features new paintings by the winner of CMCA's 2004 Biennial Juried Exhibition. Through December 17. ? Nancy Romines Walters: Some Families and the Ties that Bind spotlights drawings and sculptural installations in various media that examine filial connections. Through December 17. ? Outside In. An invitational show of up-and-coming photographers whose work deserves more visibility. Through December 17. 162 Russell Avenue, Rockport. 207-236-2875. www.artsmaine.org
USM Lewiston-Auburn College
The Uncounted: Portraits by Rebecca McCall. The portraits of children that Bangor photojournalist Jim Harney took during his 2003 to Baghdad were sensitively rendered into paintings by Rebecca McCall. ? Robert Shetterly's Americans Who Tell the Truth. Thirty portraits of individuals who possess qualities of courage, honesty, tolerance, generosity, wisdom, and compassion, and whose contributions have had a lasting effect on American life. Hall Gallery. November 10 through December 16. Lewiston-Auburn. 207-753-6500. www.usm.maine.edu/lac/art
Abbe Museum
Mocotaugan: The Story and Art of the Crooked Knife
This exhibition includes historic examples from the Jalbert Collection as well as a selection of contemporary crooked knives. Through December 31. Bar Harbor. 207-288-3519. www.abbemuseum.org
