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Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater

Oddfellows Playhouse Teen Repertory Company presents the world premiere of&nbsp;Mel Chomsky's History of the World May 14 - 23 in Middletown.Mel Chomsky’s History of the World is an original comedy written and directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Dic Wheeler. This high-energy play blends theater, circus, and Commedia dell’Arte. Beginning in Melilli, Sicily in 1626, three performers are swept into a wild time-travel adventure led by a dead philosopher-comedian, Mel Chomsky, journeying from Melilli to Mattabasset, ancient Greece, the American Revolution and beyond. It’s a bold, slapstick ride through history that explores the ongoing tension between democracy and authoritarianism.
Writer/director Wheeler, who will be leaving the Playhouse in June, says about the production: “I wanted my final show at Oddfellows to celebrate my life-long love of physical comedy, Commedia and circus, but also be a commentary about the current state of the world. The play combines the broad comedy of Mel Brooks with the world view of Noam Chomsky, throwing in a dollop of Dr. Who. The cast includes familiar characters like Socrates, George Washington, Marie Antoinette and Pope Leo X, plus many others throughout time and space, but at the heart are three archetypes of Commedia - the Miser Pantalone, the hungry servant Arlecchino, and his love and protector Colombina - all led by their tour guide Mel Chomsky.”Mel Chomsky's History of the World Performances will be at 7 pm on May 14, 15, 16, 22 and 23 and 2 pm on May 23. Mel Chomsky’s History of the World contains strong language and ridiculous situations.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $12 for kids and students. “Big Hearted Oddfellow” tickets are available for $30 for anyone who really loves and values theater and its impact on the lives of young people. May 14 at 7 pm&nbsp; is a “Pay What You Can” Preview.
Purchase tickets at: <a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/oddfellowsplayhouse/mel-chomsky-s-history-of-the-world" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/oddfellowsplayhouse/mel-chomsky-s-history-of-the-world</a>
 
&nbsp;For more information, call (860) 347-6143, email <a href="mailto:info@oddfellows.org">info@oddfellows.org</a>, or go to <a href="https://www.oddfellows.org" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">www.oddfellows.org</a>.

Local Event: World premiere Comedy in Middletown!

World premiere Comedy in Middletown!

Oddfellows Playhouse Teen Repertory Company presents the world premiere of Mel Chomsky's History of the World May 14 - 23 in...

Middletown House Concert Series

Created by James Martin, the Tyre Isle Band plays traditional dance tunes and ballads from Ireland, Scotland, and the Hebrides. With Tatyana Gorbunova on flute, Will Holshouser on accordion, and Martin on mandolin, guitar, mandocello, banjo, and vocals, the band reimagines the music and Irish Sean-nós traditions of the British Isles. Delving deeply into the original melodies and rhythms, and adding newly conceived compositions to this living repertoire, the Tyre Isle Band continues the work of James Martin from when the toured the US and Canada with the critically acclaimed British Isles band How to Change a Flat Tire. For this concert, Maggie Holtzberg from the original HTCAFT band will be joining on fiddle. James Martin is an accomplished musician, dancer, choreographer and filmmaker. He was Associate Arts Professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Dance Department and taught there from 1989-2023. In 2020 he won the New York University Tisch School of the Arts David Payne Carter Award for Teaching Excellence. He has danced with Donald Byrd/The Group, Gus Solomons jr, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane and Company, Claire Porter, Jamie Cunningham and Tina Croll, Heidi Latsky, The New York Baroque Dance Company and The Connecticut Ballet Company among others. As co-founder of the band How to Change a Flat Tire, he appears on “A Point of Departure” and “The Traditional Music of Shetland and Ireland” (Front Hall Records). Tatyana Gorbunova is a musician &amp; interdisciplinary artist. Recent work includes playing in the band for a stage adaptation of Rime of the Ancient Mariner and multiple roles in Story Winks - modern adaptations of fairy tales (Ophelia Theater Group). When not playing the flute or acting on stage, she teaches Culinary Arts at a Montessori school and curates the vinyl collection at her record shop, Pancakes Records, in Astoria, NY. Will Holshouser is an accordionist, composer and improviser whose music draws on a wide variety of inspirations, from traditional accordion folk styles to jazz, hymns, classical and experimental music. Will’s music explores these eclectic influences through the accordion’s expressiveness and sense of fun. Originally from Cambridge, MA and active on the New York music scene since the 1990s, Will has toured and recorded with violinist Regina Carter, trumpeter Eric Vloeimans, and clarinetist David Krakauer, as well as with his own groups. Will's trio has released three albums on the Portuguese label Clean Feed and he has made collaborative albums with Musette Explosion and with Han Bennink &amp; Michael Moore. Will has also performed with Michael Winograd, Guy Klucevsek, Andy Statman, Mark Morris Dance, Antony &amp; the Johnsons, Suzanne Vega, Loudon Wainwright III, Martha Wainwright, New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others. maggie_holtzberg.jpg Folklorist and musician Maggie Holtzberg works closely with artists, culture bearers, and their communities to help carry traditional knowledge forward. Serving as state folklorist in Georgia (1992-1998) and Massachusetts (1999-2023) has been her calling and privilege, allowing her to come to know, learn from, document, and help support people practicing cultural traditions of local significance. She has curated exhibitions, authored books, co-directed documentary films, produced concerts, programmed folk festivals, and successfully nominated seven National Heritage Fellows. Holtzberg was awarded the Benjamin A. Botkin Prize in 2018 for lifetime achievement in Public Folklore and was named a Fellow of the American Folklore Society in 2021. She holds a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania (1987) and B.A. in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University (1979). During her time at Wesleyan, having just returned from the Shetland Islands and fiddle tutelage under the great Tom Anderson, she joined the band How To Change A Flat Tire.$25 suggested donation
Please contact Jody Cormack for reservations and directions
jcormack@wesleyan.edu, or 860-983-7963

Local Event: The Tyre Island Band with Maggie Holtzberg on fiddle

The Tyre Island Band with Maggie Holtzberg on...

Created by James Martin, the Tyre Isle Band plays traditional dance tunes and ballads from Ireland, Scotland, and the Hebrides....

The Tyre Island Band with Maggie Holtzberg on fiddle

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World premiere Comedy in Middletown!

The Tyre Island Band with Maggie Holtzberg on fiddle