May Theatre & Cinema Highlights
5/15 through 5/18– RED CARNATIONS X 2, play by Glenn Hughes, opera by Robert Baksa, at Walking the Dog Theatre/Basilica Industria, Hudson—Neither Walking the Dog Theater nor Diamond Opera Theater has been able to find evidence of anyone performing a double bill comprising a play AND an opera, both on the same text, so this may very well be a first. Two men, one young, one more mature, wait for a young lady. Each of them wears a red carnation to be recognized. Confusion, romantic expectations, and the comic situation all illustrate the importance of getting to know a person before proceeding to romance. The opera (music and libretto) is composed by Columbia County’s own Robert Baksa, and was commissioned by Lincoln Center for the Metropolitan Opera Studio. Tickets available online and at at Spotty Dog Books & Ale on Warren Street, Hudson. Walking the Dog Theater/Basilica Industria, 110 S. Front Street, Hudson, www.wtdtheater.org, 518.755.1716, Th–Sa 5/15–17: 8 PM; Sa/Su 5/17–18: 3 PM
5/9 through 5/18– THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE, by William Saroyan, at the CENTER for Performing Arts, Rhinebeck—Set in Nick’s Pacific Street Saloon, Restaurant, and Entertainment Palace in San Francisco in the fall of 1939, The Time of Your Life won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 but playwright William Saroyan refused the award because he believed that “commerce should not judge the arts.” He did accept the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for the play, however, also awarded in 1940. (Pop music fans should note that Saroyan was also co–author of Rosemary Clooney’s hit “Come On-a My House.”) This CENTER stage production of Saroyan’s wise and bittersweet homage to bars will be directed by longtime CENTER performer David Tass Rodriguez. The CENTER for Performing Arts, Rte. 308, Rhinebeck, www.centerforperformingarts.org, 845.876.3080, Fr/Sa 8 PM, Su 3 PM
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