Entertainment

Hayley’s homecoming: Marblehead native Reardon returns to write album, play Me&Thee
Entertainment, Local News, Top Stories

Hayley’s homecoming: Marblehead native Reardon returns to write album, play Me&Thee

Folk pop singer-songwriter Hayley Reardon is home again, and this time she will be staying put — at least for a little while. In addition to her show at Marblehead’s Me&Thee Music on Friday, Feb. 17 and other local gigs, she has rented a house in Gloucester, where she plans to spend a few months writing her first full-length album in years. But if the past is prologue, where Reardon’s music might take her after that is anyone’s guess. The Current recently caught up with Reardon to hear a bit about her travels, which have included recording sessions in Barcelona, a residency in Dachau, Germany; and a particularly harrowing horseback ride in Scandinavia. Marblehead native Hayley Reardon, scheduled to perform at Me&Thee Music Feb. 17, returns to town after her music took ...
Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead displays Fogle’s playful, eloquent art
Culture, Entertainment, Life Style, Local News, Nonprofit corner

Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead displays Fogle’s playful, eloquent art

With its striking black-and-white palette, Jean Fogle's bold and dynamic work, now on display at the Stetson Gallery, defies categorization or labels. The multimedia exhibition showcases several decades of Fogle's vibrant and unconventional acrylics, drawings, collages and ceramics. Stroll into the compact and sunny gallery inside the Unitarian Universalist Church, and your eye is pulled to her diverse and energetic work in various media. On one wall is a large canvas entitled “First Date” with two whimsically “nervous” chairs sitting side by side. Flanking “First Date” are two painted ceramic plates with folk art images of a strutting rooster and flowers. On another wall is a collaged wreath of entwined hands made from antique gloves entitled “Friendship Wreath.” Building a ...
Accidentally on Purpose returns to Marblehead Little Theatre on Feb 4
Entertainment, Local News, Nonprofit corner

Accidentally on Purpose returns to Marblehead Little Theatre on Feb 4

Silly Theatre Productions & Marblehead Little Theatre partner up again for another evening of sidesplitting Improv Comedy in the beautiful Firehouse Theatre at 12 School St. in Marblehead on Saturday, Feb 4, at 7:30 p.m. Accidentally on Purpose (AOP) is an improv comedy troupe on the North Shore. The seasoned troupe's comedy style is like that of the TV show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?". The evening requires interactive madcap involvement of the audience with scene suggestions and volunteer opportunities.   The AOP Improv troupe has a varied and eclectic cast of professionals whose day jobs include author, doctor, teacher, tradesmen and corporate executives that have been laughing together for over a decade. These exciting day jobs serve to add a unique flavor to the...
Marblehead Little Theatre’s ‘Party?’ delivers a funny, bittersweet punch
Culture, Entertainment, Local News, Nonprofit corner, Top Stories

Marblehead Little Theatre’s ‘Party?’ delivers a funny, bittersweet punch

Stella Adler, the founder of the prestigious Stella Adler Studio of Acting, whose alumni include Robert De Niro, Salma Hayek and Marlon Brando, famously observed that "the theatre is a spiritual and social X-ray of its time." "Party?," the new ensemble comedy which opened at the Marblehead Little Theater on Jan. 20, does just that. This wicked, witty romp, which the play's author and Marblehead resident, Anne M. Lucas, aptly describes as a cross-pollination of Ibsen's "A Doll's House" meets Neil Simon, packs a bittersweet punch as it takes the audience on a rollicking spiritual and social X-ray of three marriages — couples in their 20s, 50s and 70s. With its spot-on comic timing and spitfire exchanges, "Party?" nimbly captures multiple relationship crossroads in a funny, take...
Community members offer their top media picks
Entertainment, Local News

Community members offer their top media picks

This is a regular series called “Current Recommendations,” asking folks about their media consumption and recommendations. A MARBLEHEAD VOLUNTEER Interviewed: Doug Hill Employer: Volunteer at Marblehead Little Theatre (and formerly at Kaplan Family Hospice House). Retired from the United States Air Force and F.L. Woods, Inc. Listening (music, podcasts): Doesn't really listen to music, occasionally Michael Feinstein, or soundtracks like "Hamilton," which offer so much. Streaming (watching on TV): Streaming the latest season of "The Crown," although I'm not enjoying it that much – turning too soap opera-ish. Also streaming Tom Clancy's timely action-packed 'Tom Ryan.' He proclaims, "It's pure escape!" Reading (or Audible): "Listening to books on tape – saved my life on...
REVIEW: Excess and indulgence: ‘Babylon’
Entertainment, Opinion, Viewpoints

REVIEW: Excess and indulgence: ‘Babylon’

"Babylon" might be the single most over-hyped, expensive piece of junk to hit theaters post-COVID. In a time where streamers are thriving, and theaters need saving, "Babylon" hurts. 'Babylon' is a disaster. Margot Robbie and Diego Calva in 'Babylon.' COURTESY / SCOT GARFIELD / PARAMOUNT PICTURES At the height of silent movies in Los Angeles in 1926, Mexican migrant Manuel "Manny" Torres (Diego Calva) wants to join the business. Slowly but surely, he makes his way up. But through drugs, crimes, and failed friendships, he's dragged down again. He can't help himself. "Whiplash," "La La Land," "First Man," and "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench" director Damien Chazelle, a Harvard graduate, has only seen acclaim in his career. While 'Whiplash, when first out, was exciting and promisi...
In Marblehead, Me&Thee kicks off winter season
Culture, Entertainment, Life Style, Local News

In Marblehead, Me&Thee kicks off winter season

From the vibrant rhythms of Brazil to a homegrown talent from Marblehead, from the melodies of two young mothers who were rock stars to a father and son birthday performance, Me&Thee Music opens its winter season with a compellingly varied lineup. The schedule kicks off with the warm sounds of Brazilian Jazz and bossa nova by the Teresa Ines Quintet on Friday, Feb. 3, beginning at 8 p.m.  The warm Brazilian jazz of the Teresa Ines Quintet opens the winter season at Me&Thee Music on Friday, Feb. 3. No-Fee Tickets and Information are available at: meandthee.org. COURTESY PHOTO / ME&THEE Ines, born in Rio de Janeiro, has performed to sold-out houses at the world-famous Zinc Bar in New York City, the Regattabar and Ryles in Cambridge, as well as in concert halls across Eu...
Post-COVID, audiences returning to Me&Thee Music
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Post-COVID, audiences returning to Me&Thee Music

As the world opened up again after two years in an induced pandemic coma, Me&Thee board member and founder Anthony Silva realized some changes needed to be made to the beloved performance space that has occupied the Unitarian Universalist Church on Mugford Street for 53 years to attract a new audience and stay relevant.  The first change would be the name.  “No one under 35 knows what a coffeehouse is. When you say coffeehouse, they think Starbucks. We are listed online as a restaurant,” he says of the venerable institution which has hosted acoustic music by renowned singer-songwriters for five decades.  “The church administrator told me that there would be people lining up outside the door at 9:30 in the morning asking for a cappuccino,” he says with a laugh. ...
Marblehead officials talk favorite holiday movies, songs
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Marblehead officials talk favorite holiday movies, songs

This is the first installment of a regular series called “Current Recommendations,” asking folks about their media consumption and recommendations.  Abbot Public Library Board of Trustee Deb Payson What is your favorite holiday movie? “A Christmas Carol” with George C. Scott (1984).  I love this movie because it reminds us all to be charitable and thankful during the holidays. What is your favorite holiday song? “What Child is This,” Andrea Bocelli duet with Mary J Blige & Marco Frisina.  Bocelli’s voice is pure joy in every song and every season. His duets are unique, exhilarating and holiday perfection. What is your favorite holiday book? “Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition”. This book “arrived” in our house in 2017 with our very own Elf, who flew ...
Marblehead theatre company to stage ‘Newsies the Musical’
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Marblehead theatre company to stage ‘Newsies the Musical’

Members of ‘Newsies The Musical’ outside the Old Town House in Marblehead. COURTESY PHOTO / KIM PIVER Through song and dance, “Newsies The Musical” chronicles an 1899 strike (with a creative license) led largely by a scrappy group of immigrant and middle-class boys who peddled newspapers in New York streets. Their actions inspired thousands of “newsies” across the country to follow their lead, protesting unfair wages handed down by media titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Unlike its 1992 movie counterpart, “Newsies The Musical” was a Broadway sensation in 2012. However, the movie, which starred a young Christian Bale, earned a cult following through the late 1990s and early 2000s.   North Shore Children’s Theatre Executive Director Nicole Poirier counts hers...