Arlen Schumer to discuss ‘The Flintstones’
Stockbridge — In conjunction with its current exhibition “Hanna-Barbera: The Architects of Saturday Morning,” the Norman Rockwell Museum will present “The Flintstones: Anatomy of a Pop Culture Classic,” a talk by artist/historian Arlen Schumer on Saturday, April 22, at 5:30 p.m. Schumer will look back at the idiosyncratic history of “The Flintstones,” television’s first prime-time animated program and one of Hanna-Barbera’s most popular shows. Schumer’s multimedia presentation will include early concept sketches, rare visual clips and an analysis of the modern stone-age family’s storied place in American television history. A reception will follow the program.
Schumer creates award-winning, comic book-styled illustrations for advertising and editorial markets, is a member of the Society of Illustrators, and is a historian of comic book art. His book “The Silver Age of Comic Book Art” won an Independent Publisher Book Award for best popular culture book. He has also written the books “Visions From the Twilight Zone” and “The Neal Adams Sketchbook.” He lectures at universities and cultural institutions across the country.
The program is for museum members or included with regular museum admission. For more information, contact the museum at (413) 298-4100.
–E.E.
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Shakespeare & Company to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday
Lenox — On Saturday, April 22, at 7 p.m., in celebration of the anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare & Company will host a performance of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by the Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare. A reception with the cast will follow the performance.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of the Bard’s most performed plays. The plot involves four lovers lost in the woods, a group of mechanicals putting on a play, and a fairy kingdom at odds. The play will be performed by six actors in multiple roles.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for youth and include a birthday reception with cake. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the Shakespeare & Company box office at (413) 637-3353.
–E.E.
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Mahaiwe to present Bolshoi Ballet talk, screening
Great Barrington — On Sunday, April 23, at noon, the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will partner with Jacob’s Pillow Dance to present a conversation with Jacob’s Pillow scholar-in-residence Brian Schaefer about the book “Bolshoi Confidential: Secrets of the Russian Ballet from the Rule of the Tsars to Today” by Simon Morrison. At 12:40 p.m., Schaefer will introduce a screening of the Bolshoi Ballet production of “A Hero of Our Time,” which will begin at 1 p.m. Choreographed by Yuri Possokhov with music by Ilya Demutsky, the ballet was adapted from Mikhail Lermontov’s 1840 literary masterpiece. The story of this new dance follows the larger-thanlife hero Pechorin on a tragic, poetic journey. The screening is an encore broadcast of the production, which was captured live on April 9.
Schaefer’s conversation is free and open to the public. Tickets for the Bolshoi Ballet in HD including the pre-broadcast talk are $17 for adults and $10 for youth. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the Mahaiwe box office at (413) 528-0100.
–E.E.
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Race Brook Lodge to host concert of classical Indian music
Sheffield — On Saturday, April 22, Race Brook Lodge will host a night of classical Indian music with a set of ragas by Brooklyn Raga Massive members Abhik Mukherjee on sitar and Ehren Hanson on tabla. Activities will begin at 4 p.m. with an interactive demonstration of Indian classical music and the concert will follow at 8 p.m.
Raga is a central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, but has no direct translation to concepts in the classical European music tradition. Each raga is an array of melodic structures with musical motifs, considered in the Indian tradition to have the ability to affect the emotions of the audience.
Mukherjee was born in Kolkata and was introduced to the sitar at the age of six by his father. He is a gold medalist from the Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, with a master’s degree in musicology. Currently a resident of New York, he has performed all over the globe and shared the stage with performers such as Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.
Hanson began learning tabla at age 15 and, in 2000, traveled to India to begin training with Pandit Anindo Chatterjee. In 2005 he received the senior performing arts fellowship from the American Institute of Indian Studies. In 2009 he founded the Anindo Chatterjee School of Tabla in Brooklyn, New York, and helped co-found the Brooklyn Raga Massive artist collective in 2012.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the show. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact Race Brook Lodge at (413) 229-2916 or info@rblodge.com.
–E.E.
