Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts announces a 2005-06 season filled with exciting dance, music, theater and family shows sure to please audiences of all ages and tastes. Performances include: a night of modern dance with Martha Graham Dance Company ; the unbridled comedy of The Second City Touring Company ; an evening of folk artistry with Richie Havens, Janis Ian and Tom Paxton ; and concerts by Pat Metheny Trio with Christian McBride an Antonio Sanchez , Canadian Brass , and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center . In addition, the Quick Center has planned a Leonard Bernstein Festival during spring 2006 with concerts, lectures and films highlighting the master composer's work.

The season opens on Friday, Sept. 30, with " Mayhem at Midnight," the latest installment of the Quick Center's popular Live Radio Drama series . The performance, directed by Thomas Zingarelli in the intimate Wien Experimental Theatre, will feature the works of master storyteller Edgar Allan Poe. Two more performances take place on Saturday, October 1. Director Daniel Smith and his seasoned performers will be back Friday, January 27, and Saturday, January 28, with "Radio Dames," highlighting stellar women's roles. The radio drama season wraps up with "Golden-Age Thrillers," on Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8.

Live! Lit , the Quick Center's own Sunday series of short story readings, begins its third season on Sunday, October 2, in the Wien Experimental Theatre. The season's theme is "One World" and the stories will explore the human experience as perceived by writers in New Zealand, Israel, South Africa, the Philippines and other locales. Future Live! Lit dates are: October 2, November 6, February 12, and March 12. All readings are preceded by afternoon tea.

"The Devil and the Violin , " opens the 2005-06 season of The Live Music Project , the Quick Center's resident conductor-less orchestra, on Friday, October 7. The pre-Halloween concert will feature music by Paganini and Tartini and a spooky story by H.P. Lovecraft. "Music for Shakespeare," a program of music inspired by the playwright's work, follows on Friday, November 11, and the orchestra will offer "America," featuring works from Copland, the Hitchcock film "Psycho," and the orchestra's co-founder Daniel Smith, on Friday, April 28. The orchestra will also perform "Myth and Music," a family afternoon of classic tales and music, on Sunday, January 22.

The world-renowned Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center takes the stage on Saturday, October 15, for the first of three concerts this season. The first program includes pieces by Poulenc, Franck and Brahms. The second concert, on Saturday, March 18, will feature Rossini, Bach and Meyer, and the third, on Saturday, April 8, is an all-Mozart program.

The children's offerings begin on Sunday, October 16, with "Cam Jansen" by Theatreworks/USA. Programs for young people run throughout the season and include: Story Salad Productions' performance of "Come Back Amelia Bedelia and Other Stories" on Sunday, November 13; Hudson Vagabond Puppets' "The Snow Queen" on Sunday, December 18; "Willy Wonka," part of Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration on Tour, on Sunday, February 5; the Kennedy Center's "Alexander Who's Not, Not, Not, Not, Not, Not Going to Move" on Sunday, March 19; and "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie & Other Story Books" by Theatreworks/USA on Sunday April 9.

Muriel Nussbaum tells the tale of Vincent Van Gogh, his brother, Theo, and his sister-in-law, Johanna, in "Van Gogh and Jo," a one woman show set for Wednesday, October 19, in the Quick Center's Thomas A. Walsh Art Gallery. Nussbaum offers insights into the lives of these three remarkable people in a show critics have called captivating and wonderfully researched.

Consummate mallet player Dave Samuels brings his Grammy-winning Caribbean Jazz Project to the Quick Center on Friday, October 21. Critically acclaimed saxophonist Joe Lovano will join in this vibrant evening blending jazz improvisation, Afro-Cuban and South American music.

Next up is a performance by the incomparable Martha Graham Dance Company , the first and most celebrated contemporary dance company in the world. An international roster of 24 top dancers will perform a stunning repertoire of Graham's inspiring classics on Saturday, October 29. An Art to Heart Q&A with the dancers follows the show.

The Pat Metheny Trio with Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez will be in concert on Thursday, November 3. This tour intertwines both new music and old favorites for an evening of explosive, deftly intuitive improvisation with the jazz guitar original and his trio.

With its talented singers and impressive choir, ballet and orchestra, Opera Verdi Europa is ready for a return engagement at the Quick on Saturday, November 5. After performing a memorable "La Traviata" last season, the ensemble will tackle another of the world's most beloved operas, Puccini's "Madame Butterfly," this season. An Art to Heart discussion with Howard Kissel, New York Daily News' chief drama critic, will take place before the show.

On Saturday, November 12, the Quick Center plays host to Ballet Flamenco JosŽ Porcel , a company that brings to life the rhythms, colors and sensual emotions that make flamenco so extraordinary. This incendiary evening will conclude with a post-show Art to Heart Q&A with the company.

The Quick Center's stellar concert offerings continue with two top folk musicians, Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell, on Saturday, November 19. Kaplansky's riveting blend of rock, folk and country mesh with Shindell's meticulous songwriting gifts for a truly memorable evening.

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra takes the stage for its much-anticipated annual holiday pops concert on Friday, December 16. Led by Associate Director Gerald Steichen, the orchestra offers a warm program of seasonal favorites, both sacred and secular, with many surprises along the way.

Dance is on tap again on Saturday, February 4, when Bill T. Jones/Arne Zane Dance Company comes to the Quick. Renowned for its energy and virtuosity, this company will offer a full-company piece, "Blind Date," and more of the innovative partnering and movement that marks its creative choreography. An Art to Heart Q&A with the company follows the show.

The Civilians, an imaginative theatre troupe that considers the interplay between the personal and the larger society through cabaret, comedy and experimental theater, takes the stage with "Gone Missing," running from Thursday, February 9, through Saturday, February 11. The six-member cast creates more than 30 characters in a play that considers the effects of things lost and found. "The Civilians has imbued a form not known for its hilarity - the docudrama - with a strong sense of humor," wrote Jason Zinoman in a New York Times review.

Comedy's in the spotlight on Saturday, February 18. when The Second City Touring Company comes to the Quick. Second City has helped form our collective sense of humor for decades, launching the careers of top comedians such as John Belushi, Bill Murray, Joan Rivers and Tina Fey. And there are plenty more laughs where they came from.

Canadian Brass , the "fab five" from up north, has been performing around the world for decades to audiences awed by their technical dexterity and virtuosity. They'll take the Quick Center stage on Friday, February 24.

Switching musical gears again, the Quick Center presents Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway in their dueling review, "Sibling Revelry." This award-winning show features the Callaway sisters, both Tony nominees, in an entertaining evening of solos and duets ranging from musical theater to jazz to pop. The pair will appear on Saturday, March 4.

On Friday, March 10, the Quick Center will fill with the sweet sounds of legendary folk artists Richie Havens, Janis Ian and Tom Paxton. From Havens' fiery guitar to Ian's plaintive political idealism to Paxton's instantly hummable style, this evening is a must for fans of this truly American art form. The concert will follow a talk, "Politics and Music: Society's Child and Leonard Bernstein," with Fairfield Music Program Director Brian Torff. The lecture, part of the Bernstein Festival at the Quick, considers how the master composer championed Ian's controversial song, "Society's Child" and the era of political and social emphasis in music.

The lecture series continues on Thursday, March 30, with internationally acclaimed conductor/performer David Amram , who will discuss the influence of his Jewish roots on his composing and reflect on Bernstein's music and his own compositions. On Wednesday, April 12, Orin Grossman, Ph.D. , will offer "From Copland to Bernstein: The Creation of American Classical Music," a look at 20th-century composers who forged a distinctive American sound. Martha LoMonaco, Ph.D. , will end the lecture series with "Bernstein on Broadway: With a Little Help from His Friends," on Tuesday, April 25. Her talk will feature Bernstein's collaborations with Robbins, Betty Comden, Adolph Green and others.

Actor/writer David Rogers lays himself bare in "Naked on Broadway: A Lifetime with David Rogers," set for Thursday, March 16, through Saturday, March 18. In this rollicking show, Rogers discusses his long and distinguished theater career, including hilarious bits about Tallulah Bankhead, Bea Lillie and Bea Arthur, as he sings songs he wrote with John Kander, Alan Menken, Charles Strouse and others.

The Quick Center's Leonard Bernstein Festival continues with an all-Bernstein concert with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra on Friday, March 24. Noted conductor Michael Barrett will lead the orchestra for the evening, which includes special guest soloists and Bernstein's daughter, Jamie, and a program of beloved songs from "West Side Story," "Candide" and "On the Town." The evening begins with an Art to Heart discussion with Howard Kissel of the New York Daily News.

The Quick Center will begin screening films influenced by Bernstein's music with "West Side Story," on Sunday, March 26. In addition to the chance to see this award-winning film on a big screen, the audience can attend an introduction and discussion of the film with Jamie Bernstein. Winner of 10 Academy Awards, "West Side Story" is the "Romeo and Juliet" tale reconceived and set among warring gangs in 1950s New York City. The 1961 film brilliantly combines Bernstein's music with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a memorable concept by director/choreographer Jerome Robbins. Jamie Bernstein will introduce and discuss the film at 2 p.m.

The Quick Center's Bernstein film events continue on Sunday, April 2. with another classic, "On the Waterfront." Starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden and Rod Steiger, this controversial Elia Kazan film tackles political corruption and individual heroism and features what is considered by many Bernstein's finest score. Mark McGregor, S.J., and Mark Scalese, S.J., both Fairfield University assistant professors of film, will introduce the film.

The film series concludes with "Candide" on Sunday, April 30. Based on Voltaire's novelette, this film features a recent New York Philharmonic semi-staged version of the effervescent musical, including performances by Broadway stars Patti Lupone and Kristin Chenoweth. Fr. McGregor and Richard Regan, assistant professor of English, will introduce the film.

Incomparable performer and conductor David Amram will lead the Fairfield University Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble and Theatre Fairfield in "An Evening of Bernstein to Amram," on Friday, March 31. Program highlights will include some of Bernstein's classical, jazz and film scores, as well as works by Amram and some of his favorite composers.

The Bill Charlap Trio takes on the romanticism and rigor of Bernstein's music in "Somewhere" on Saturday, April 1. The concert features Charlap's fascinating way with the piano in this unique pairing of sophisticated music and graceful musicians.

The Russian National Ballet offers the timeless beauty of "Sleeping Beauty," on Friday, April 21. Led by Artistic Director Sergei Radchenko, the company is committed to the strong tradition of classic Russian ballet as well as the innovative ideas that continue to transform it.

Comedic original Joy Behar takes time out from her co-hosting duties at ABC's popular "The View" to appear at the Quick on Saturday, April 29. Among today's leading comics, Behar is a hit whether it's on a stand up stage or your living room screen.

The Quick Center's memorable season concludes with Barbara Schottenfeld's "Schottensongs," running from Thursday, May 4, through Saturday, May 6. This wickedly funny evening about love was written by Schottenfeld and her storied collaborators Jule Styne and Henry Mancini. Directed by Mark Graham, the program also features Emmy and Grammy award winner Paul Bogaev at the piano.

For ticket information or a copy of the Quick Center's 2005-06 brochure, call the box office at (203) 254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396. Discounts for Quick Center events are available to subscribers and groups. For more information, visit the website, www.quickcenter.com.

Posted On: 05-05-2005 10:05 AM

Volume: 37 Number: 247