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Connecticut is blessed with an abundance of fine professional theaters – from the major regional companies (Yale Rep, Long Wharf, Hartford Stage, Goodspeed, TheaterWorks, Westport Playhouse) to more locally oriented theaters (Ivoryton Playhouse, Playhouse on Park in West Hartford, Connecticut Repertory Theater at UConn, Sharon Playhouse, Seven Angels in Waterbury, MTC in Norwalk and ACT-CT in Ridgefield). Plus there are the major presenting house that bring in national tours – the Bushnell in Hartford, Shubert in New Haven and the Palace in Waterbury.

Spread over 52,000 acres on high plateaus (7,000 to 8,500 feet), Mesa Verde National Park offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Puebloans who built their homes there from around 650 until about 1300 AD.

Despite occasional lineup changes, the band has always had a “Jay.” Even so, the original name that was bestowed upon them by the legendary songwriting and producing team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller did not use any of the bandmembers’ names. What's in a name? The vintage band is on tour this fall.

A new group of wine drinkers prefer their Zinfandel aged in bourbon barrels. It's the small nuances of charred vanilla on the palate that makes the difference. To achieve that consistantly, makes me want to jump on the bandwagon.

Astrid Hiemer contributed 19 photo illustrations for my fifth book of gonzo poems Topsy Turvy. On Sunday of Labor Day weekend we collaborated for a reading and book launch at historic Bascom Lodge on Mt. Greylock. There was a nice turnout on the porch. Jose, Alvin, Rick and Art joined us for the jazz dinner that followed. We stayed the night and had breakfast with hikers. It was an adventure we need to have more often.

The author recently visited Cartagena, Colombia. The city is a 500-year old urban jewel in the Caribbean with a wonderful scaled and visually vibrant Old Town (el Centro Historico). It is a wonderful destination on the western edge of the Caribbean. Planning of Cartagena both in terms of preservation and new development is a challenge, but climate change and rising sea levels is threatening its cultural heritage.

Gary Gulman was a finalist on NBCs’ “Last Comic Standing” and regular on late night shows and other vaunted venues. The former Boston College football player and high school teacher combines bruising punchlines with intelligent humor as he tours the world. He appears at Comedy at the Carlson in Rochester, New York, September 6 to 8.

Young award-winning Playwright Will Power (he’s 37), has made a bold decision to roll the dice of ‘reinterpretation’ with his brassy new play “Seize the King”, directed by Jaime Castaneda, now on stage of the La Jolla Playhouses’ Potiker Theatre.

In Guillermo Calderón’s interesting and offbeat play, Kiss, we find a kiss is not a kiss. For those expecting traditional narrative, this play might not satisfy. In addition to the script, which is highly original, the production is excellent.

A Shayna Maidel (Yiddish for a pretty girl) is skillfully directed by Vanessa Stalling, The tension-filled history play by Barbara Lebow is the timely story of a family torn apart by the Holocaust and war in Europe, meeting again in 1946 New York.

Initially, Attorney General Maura Healey opposed the fire sale of Berkshire Museum treasures proposed by now long gone and hardly missed director Van Shields. Those who protested gutting the collection were shocked and dismayed that Healey folded. Commentator Steve Nelson suggests that you send the AG a message. He suggests Norman Rockwell as a write in candidate during the primary on Tuesday, September 4. Nelson is an Op Ed contributor to the Berkhire Eagle.

In his latest film, Lee explores the many aspects of the black experience in America since the Civil War. Lee has mellowed since his earlier “controversial, verbal, and incendiary rhetoric” days that some complained about in his movies. But there have never been stronger or more talented chroniclers of the black experience in America than Lee and the great black American playwright August Wilson.

I read a lot of short stories, of varied styles and themes. I like the stories of George Saunders, Shirley Jackson, Philip K. Dick and Hilary Mantel, among others. But I have never read stories by John Collier. I’m correcting that gap right now because Black Button Eyes Productions’ world premiere of Nightmares and Nightcaps: The Stories of John Collier is a strange and spooky delight.

Musica Marin Festival runs September 21-23, 2018. Main performing venues are St. Stephen’s Church in Belvedere, Old St. Hillary’s Church in Tiburon, and the exclusive private 9-acre estate in Tiburon.

There are a series of reviews written on BFA by Charles Giuliano this summer about the many magnificent dance companies who were in residence at Jacob's Pillow in 2018. Here are my memories of some of their performances as poetry.

Combining mystery, surprise and old-fashioned storytelling in a compelling evening of theater, Proof, by David Auburn has won both the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize. It is presented at Oldcastle Theatre Company in Bennington, Vermont.

The summerlong Leonard Bernstein Centennial at Tanglewood ended with an all star celebration hosted by Audra McDonald. Five conductors and numerous guest artists presented a two hour program that featured his music as well as composers like Copland, a close friend, and Mahler, a kindred spirit. John Williams composed a special piece for the occasion. It was a night to remember as a chapter of Tanglewood's vivid history.

Richard Tashjian was the founder of the Armenian Artists Association of America a group of mostly New England artists of Armenian extraction that banded together to bring their work to the attention of the larger Boston community. With my Armenian heritage I qualified as a member and joined the group.

It has been a summer of celebrating Centennials for Leonard Bernstein and his collaborator, Jerome Robbins. The Jacob's Pillow season ended with Stars of American Ballet. They offered a tribute of five Robbins dances curated by New York City Ballet principal Daniel Ulbricht.

Charles Giuliano and Astrid Hiemer will present a reading and book launch at Bascom Lodge atop Mt. Greylock on Sunday, September 2. The reception and reading, free and open to the public, will be held from 5 to 7 PM. Following the reading will be a prix fixe dinner for which reservations are required. Hiemer will read from her artist's books and projects. Giuliano is launching his fifth book of gonzo verse "Topsy Turvy."

Santa Fe Opera presents the always stirring and diverse Apprentice Scenes. The backstory to these entertainments is that the company has a stellar apprenticeship program each summer that extends beyond singers to include young set designers, costumers, lighters, and the whole array of behind-the-curtain magicians who enhance opera scores to make them lavish events. Of course, it is the singers who are most in evidence, and to call them apprentices is a bit of misnomer.

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the moon, this transformational moment was expected to give us a new perspective on life on earth and our place in the Universe. Aldrin, it turns out, administered communion to himself on the moon. He was that kind of guy and Jacob Brandt in song and talk captures him.

As manifestation of a commitment to social justice theatre Barrington Stage is the first to produce a play by Rachel Lynett. Her Well Intentioned White People focuses on young, gifted and black, tenure track professor, Cass Davis. She teaches Carribean culture and the diaspora at a small, white, liberal college in a Red state. The play relates responses to racist attacks by an unknown assailant.

Theater Artist Ronnie Larsen is kicking off his four-play season in South Florida with a highly-suggestive play. The Gay Naked Play features full nudity -- discretion is highly advised. David Bell's play contains unapologetic humor which some might find offensive, a la The Book of Mormon.

We much enjoyed the London production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens. It won an Olivier in London and Tony for Best Play on Broadway. We approached his two hander Heisenberg, at Shakespeare & Company, with great expectations. As directed by Tina Packer it didn't pan out.