Vermont Arts News | Vermont Arts

BURLINGTON-MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury Acting Company’s Cutting-Edge Staged Reading series will present “Dance Nation” by Clare Barron: at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 13, at ArtsRiot in Burlington; and at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at the ART Performance Space in the Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury.

The goal with this series is to share the bold, clever work of some of the most dynamic young writers to hit the New York scene in the last five to 10 years. Each play enjoyed a successful run in a boundary-pushing Off-Broadway theater. Each play speaks to our contemporary moment.

Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plot to take over the world. And if their new routine is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at the Boogie Down Grand Prix in Tampa Bay. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2019, “Dance Nation” is about so much more than cutthroat competitive dance, as playwright Clare Barron fearlessly tackles the under-explored dramatic territory of young adolescents entering puberty. The play is weirder and darker than its subject matter might lead you to presume and with its (sometimes crude) adult language is not a play for children.

WATERBURY-WARREN — The Mad River Chorale spring concerts, “The Persistence of Beauty,” will be presented this year at 7:30 p.m. Friday May 13 at Waterbury Congregational Church, Route 100; and at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 14, at the Warren United Church, Warren Village.

Conductor Mary Jane Austin has designed a program including much of the singers’ favorite music for spring, with its themes of happiness, positivity, rebirth and, of course, beauty. Alison Cerutti will support the singers on piano. The community chorus, which includes singers from 14 different central Vermont towns ranging in age from high school to the ninth decade, will be performing the music of Verdi, Randall Thompson, Mozart and Handel.

For information and advance tickets, call 802-496-4781, or go to madriverchorale.net online. Proof of vaccination and masks required for admission.

BRATTLEBORO — After a two-year hiatus, the Brattleboro Concert Choir resumes live performances with “Return to Light,” a program of deeply joyous and introspective works by American composers for choir, organ, and piano. The two performances are: 7:30 p.m. Saturday May 14, and at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at the Latchis Theatre downtown.

The alternately joyful and introspective program includes 20th- and 21st-century works by Zanaida Stewart Robles, Randall Thompson and Morten Lauridsen.

Jonathan Harvey, music director, says, “Our goal with this concert is to share some of the joy that we feel at being able to reemerge after such a dark time.”

Tickets are $18, $20 at the door, $10 youth admission $10 and younger than 13 free; go to bmcvt.org online.

PLAINFIELD — The Plainfield Town Hall Opera House Spring 2022 Series presents Alison Cerutti, solo piano, at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 8. On the program is Rameau’s Gavotte and Variations, Ginastera’s Argentine Dances, Brookfield composer Erik Nielsen’s “The Calling,” and the Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 by Chopin.

Cerutti is a founding member of Arioso and the Northern Third Piano Quartet. As one of Vermont’s leading collaborative pianists, Cerutti performs with the Mad River Chorale, Winooski Valley Festival, All-State Music Festival, Music-COMP, and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Cerutti has also performed for Counterpoint, TURNmusic for the 2015 production of “A Fleeting Animal,” and the Unadilla Theatre productions of “HMS Pinafore,” “The Mikado” and “The Pirates of Penzance.”

Admission is by donation ($20 suggested); call 802-498-3173, or go to www.plainfieldoperahousevt.org online. Proof of vaccination and masks required for admission.

MIDDLEBURY — How does The Grift celebrate 23 years as a band? With G23, a two-night rock extravaganza with some very special guests. Two sets each night. No song played twice. It’s a dazzling music and light show you won’t want to miss. Produced by Anders Entertainment Group, The Grift plays at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14 at Town Hall Theater.

Adding to the festivities, THT will feature savory and sweet food trucks, starting at 5 p.m. on both evenings. The Screamin’ Eagle, The Rollin’ Rooster, and Evolution Kitchen’s Dairy Fairy ice cream will join the fun. The event also features the band’s favorite beer, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, as well as a selection of wine, hard cider and non-alcoholic beverages.

Tickets are $39 for all ages. A portion of proceeds will benefit The Giving Fridge on May 13 and the Middlebury Community Music Center on May 14. Tickets and information are available at bit.ly/GriftTHT online.

BRATTLEBORO — Audiences of all ages are invited to a screening of Buster Keaton’s comedic masterpiece “The General” (1926) at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 14. The film will be presented with a live pipe organ soundtrack by Ben Model, one of the nation’s leading silent-film accompanists.

“The General,” starring and co-directed by the silent-film legend Keaton, is an ambitious retelling of a real event from the Civil War, when a locomotive called “The General” was captured and then recaptured by opposing forces trying to sabotage crucial train supply routes on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. Keaton’s death-defying stunts and unparalleled gift for physical comedy make “The General” a captivating cinematic experience for all ages, who continue to enjoy this comedic gem nearly 100 years after its first release.