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#myreadsmonday Red Clocks by Leni Zumas

I’ve heard people refer to Red Clocks as “The Handmaid’s Tale for a new generation” and I can see why these comparisons are being drawn. Red Clocks is a brilliant novel. It’s a concise, moving portrait of the lives of five different women struggling to find their places in the misogynistic world they inhabit. Five women, with five different lives, five different stories, but they are all connected by the trials of their sex. I don’t want to give too much away about the story, but in this very believable not-too-distant future, abortion is illegal, as well as in-vitro fertilization and adoption by single women. Legislation has given rights to unborn fetus’ that were previously only known to living and breathing Americans.

Lest you think this is all a story of doom and gloom, there is hope in these women’s tales. There is a quiet power found in the way they navigate their narrow existences. You’ll cheer for them, cry for them, want more for them, and wish them well on their journeys. You’ll get to the end and want to know more. Promotional materials for this novel ask “What is a woman for?” Leni Zumas both asks and answers this question in this terrifying and yet inspiring novel.

 

 

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Sunday Art Talk at LaBelle Winery: A Sense of Place with Yoav Horesh

LaBelle Winery, in partnership with the New Hampshire Institute of Art (NHIA), is presenting “A Sense of Place” with Yoav Horesh. This lecture will take place on Sunday, January 28th from 3:00-5:00pm at LaBelle Winery, 351 Route 101, in Amherst, New Hampshire. Horesh is a contemporary Israeli photographer best known for his work in both black and white and color photography capturing images of conflict, human tragedy, memory, and recovery in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

From the LaBelle Winery website:  “Since 2001, Yoav Horesh’s work has been concerned with history, conflict, memory, ethnicity and multiculturalism. His projects took place in the American South-West, Germany, Laos, Israel, the Gaza Strip, Bolivia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Mongolia and Cambodia, where history still shapes and influences current events and daily life. In his lecture, Yoav will talk about the “Sense of Place” as a common thread running through his work and how it relates to time, space and history.”

A cheese and wine reception will begin at 3:00pm, followed by Horesh’s lecture at 3:30. Registration is required; the event is free to NHIA members and alumni, and $5.00 for general public. For more information and to register, visit LaBelle’s website at:

https://www.labellewineryevents.com/event-registration/?ee=1073

Yoav Horesh is the current BFA Chair of Photography at NHIA, as well as a MFA Photography faculty member. More information about Yoav Horesh’s photography can be found at his website: http://yoavhoresh.com/

If you are interested in more information about membership opportunities at the New Hampshire Institute of Art, visit the membership page of their website at:

http://www.nhia.edu/alumni-and-friends/nhia-membership

Also of note, Horesh has an upcoming exhibit at Gallery Kayafas in Boston, Massachusetts.  His “Serene Oasis” Solo show at Gallery Kayafas, runs
March-April 2018. For more information on this show, visit Gallery Kayafas:

http://www.gallerykayafas.com/home/artists/yoav-horesh/

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Celia Thaxter’s Garden Announces Summer 2018 Tour Dates

I have always wanted to go out to Appledore Island and see Celia Thaxter’s garden, perhaps this will be my year! I had hoped to fit it in last summer but by the time I’d nailed down a date I could go all the tickets were sold out. I’ve been out to Star Island before (one of Appledore’s neighboring islands) but Appledore is special, because of Celia Thaxter and her garden.

Don’t know the story of Celia Thaxter? Let me fill you in:
Celia Laighton Thaxter was born in Portsmouth, NH in 1835. When she was a young child her family moved to Appledore Island, one of the 10 or so islands that make up the Isles of Shoals, located approximately 6 miles off the coasts of New Hampshire and Maine. (Some of the islands are part of the state of Maine, some are part of New Hampshire. Appledore happens to be located in Maine.) Her father initially held the job of lighthouse keeper on White Island (also part of the Isles of Shoals), but after several years he left that position to build and open the Appledore Hotel on Appledore Island.

Celia grew up on Appledore, and married her father’s business partner Levi Thaxter when she was just 16. The Thaxters initally lived on the mainland, in Watertown and Newburyport, Massachusetts. Celia and Levi Thaxter separated after 10 years of marriage and Celia returned to Appledore Island to both care for her mother and help with the running of her father’s hotel.

While on Appledore she met many literary and artistic luminaries of her day, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Whittier, Childe Hassam and William Morris Hunt. There are several well known paintings by Hassam of Celia Thaxter and her gardens.

Celia Thaxter had been writing prose and poetry her entire adult life, but she is most well-known for her book An Island Garden which was published a year before she died at age 58 in 1894.  In the book, Thaxter lovingly describes her beautiful gardens, which she had arranged by height, as opposed to any specific color scheme. Flowers from her garden were made into arrangements that decorated both the Appledore Hotel and her island cottage home.You can see the entire text of Thaxter’s book, An Island Garden, here: 

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/thaxter/garden/garden.html

Celia Thaxter’s garden was reconstructed by Dr. John Kingsbury in 1977. Kingsbury was the founder and first director of the Shoals Marine Laboratory. He located the garden in the exact spot where Celia Thaxter’s garden had been, and some of her original plants still grown in the garden, including snowdrops, day lilies and the hops vine.

Now that you know a little more about Celia Thaxter, wouldn’t you love to visit Appledore and see her island garden? The Shoals Marine Laboratory runs a day trip tour limited to 34 participants per tour. It includes transportation to and from Appledore Island. The trip costs $100 per person; in addition to transportation, this fee covers a guided garden tour as well as a gourmet catered lunch. For more details, as well as the link to register, go to:

www.shoalsmarinelaboratory.org/event/celia-thaxters-garden-tours

These dates are limited and do sell out! There are only 10 tour dates, which means 340 spots. Don’t just dream of warm summer sea breezes and garden beds exploding with color, book your trip soon, or you’ll lose out like I did last summer!

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Ticket Alert: Gloria Steinem at New Bedford’s Zeiterion Theatre On May 19th

The New Bedford Lyceum is hosting A Conversation With Gloria Steinem on Saturday, May 19th at 8:00pm at The Zeiterion Theatre in New Bedford, Mass.

From the Zeiterion’s website: “In the 45 years since co-founding Ms. Magazine, Gloria Steinem has propelled into national consciousness as a respected and lauded writer, editor, and activist. She travels the globe as an organizer and lecturer and is a frequent media spokeswoman on issues of equality. The recently revived New Bedford Lyceum, a New England tradition of learning through intellectual debate, is thrilled to welcome Ms. Steinem to address the range of issues of which she’s most passionate for a conversation sure to stimulate dialogue beyond the legendary activist’s New Bedford debut.”

Saturday May 19th feels far away, and indeed it is; 126 days to be exact! But if you’re interested in getting tickets to see Gloria Steinem, don’t put it off- tickets are going fast!

Tickets start at $25, and are available on the Zeiterion Theatre website:

https://zeiterion.org/gloria-steinem/

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Sensational Sense and Sensibility!

Last night I was thrilled to have the opportunity to attend Bedlam’s Sense and Sensibility at the American Repertory Theater’s Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, MA. This adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel has been brought to the stage by writer Kate Hamill, with Staging and direction by Eric Tucker. The entire cast and creative team really brought their A-Game to this production, it was an incredible evening!

Sense and Sensibility is one of my favorite Jane Austen novels, and I wouldn’t hesitate to say that Ang Lee’s 1995 film Sense and Sensibility is one of my favorite movies of all time. I went into the theater last night with high expectations, and the production did not disappoint!

From the fresh and clever staging and choreography, to the spot-on acting, this show brought new life to a timeless story. I was surprised at how much I laughed throughout the evening! The actors knew just when to emphasize the humorous moments, yet they were equally accomplished at making the poignant, serious moments play out quite effectively.

Bedlam’s Sense and Sensibility runs through this Sunday, January 14th. There are still a limited number of tickets available for both the Saturday and Sunday 2:00pm shows. Head to the American Repertory Theater’s website RIGHT AWAY if you want to scoop up tickets for yourself!

https://americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/bedlams-sense-sensibility

I drove to Alewife for my visit, using the Redline to go to the Harvard MBTA stop. The Loeb Drama center is just a short walk up Church Street to Brattle Street. Easy-peasy! There is a parking lot close-by the theater on Church Street, and a handful of other parking lot choices within walking distance for those that would rather drive in to the city.

Go see Sense and Sensibility. Get lost in early 19th century England with Austen’s iconic characters, as they are skillfully, artfully,  and playfully brought to life by this energetic, fantastic team!

(All photos are from the American Repertory Theater website; photo credit: Ashley Garrett)

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#myreadsmonday : The Inaugural Post

I work in a library, which is pretty much a dream job for someone like me who loves to read. I have access to a regularly refreshed supply of reading materials, and it’s all for free! Our patrons know I’m a rather voracious bookworm, so I’m often asked for book recommendations. I love being able to put a great book in someone’s hands. It feels wonderful when someone returns a book and tells me how much they enjoyed it!

A friend suggested that as part of Amy On The Town I talk about what books I’m reading, which brings us to today’s post. #myreadsmonday. Every Monday I’m going to write about a book that I’ve either recently finished or something I’m in the middle of reading.

This week I want to write about social climbers.  I have a crazy fascination with books about women who are trying to fit in to a class way above their own, desperately hoping they can fake-it-until-they-make-it and be accepted by the elite set they are working so hard to emulate. There’s always a delicious amount of awkward striving and the stories often end with the character’s ambitions going down in flames. It’s a weird sub-genre obsession, I readily admit it!

On New Year’s Day I tore through The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine. I couldn’t put this book down! The Last Mrs. Parrish starts out looking like a dark take on the social climber theme I love, but has an excellent twist that makes the book super satisfying in the end! If you start reading it and catch yourself thinking, “this chick is evil, I can’t keep reading all this awful stuff!”, stick with it, and see how everything unfolds. The tagline on the book says it all, I think: “Some women get everything. Some women get everything they deserve.” Amber Patterson’s story-line may seem infuriating, but Daphne Parrish makes everything worthwhile. There’s more to this book than meets the eye.

If you get through The Last Mrs. Parrish and want more social climber stories, I suggest you check out Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford, The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll, and for a more classic feel, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, and of course Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.

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Lottery Alert: Wizard of Oz at the Boston Opera House

The Wizard of Oz – The Musical is playing at the Boston Opera House next weekend, January 12th- 14th. The online ticket lottery is open NOW through January 10th!

It’s really easy to enter the ticket lotteries for shows at the Boston Opera House, and a great way to get premium seats at discounted prices if you win! Good luck!

From Broadway in Boston: A limited number of tickets for all performances will be sold to winners through an online lottery drawing. Tickets are $49 and limited up to four (4) tickets per winner. Entries accepted through 12:00pm on Wednesday January 10th ONLY! Enter here:

http://www.luckyseat.com/wizardofoz-boston/

About the show: Click your heels together and join Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Dorothy and her little dog Toto, as they journey through the magical land of Oz to meet the Wizard and obtain their hearts’ desires. Watch out for the Wicked Witch of the West and her winged monkeys as you rediscover the real story of Oz in this fantastic musical treat for the whole family. See Broadway in Boston for more info: https://boston.broadway.com/shows/the-wizard-of-oz-baa/

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It’s my #Hamilversary! Plus a look back at the 2017 Hamilton History Tour


Two years ago today, I was in the room where it happens! I was lucky enough to see the original Broadway cast of Hamilton: An American Musical on January 6, 2016 at the Richard Rodgers Theater in New York City. After having listened to the cast recording non-stop since September 2015, it was exhilarating to finally see the talented cast perform in person. It’s definitely an experience I will never forget! I had a front-barricade spot for that evening’s Ham4Ham show, as well as staking out a prime location at the Stage Door for star sightings and autographs.

With my #Hamilversary on my mind today, it also had me reminiscing about this past summer when I traveled to NYC with Townie #2 (older daughter) for a self-styled “Hamilton History Tour” and surprised her with tickets to see the show!

I was able to do much of the planning for our trip with the following guide: Where Was The Room Where It Happened: The Unofficial Hamilton: An American Musical Location Guide, by B.L. Barreras. (Available from Amazon: http://bit.ly/wherewastheroom)

This compact little guide book was chock-full of insights and helpful tidbits about all things Hamilton related in the New York City area. I highly recommend ordering a copy if you’re thinking of creating your own Hamilton History Tour.

Our tour started with macarons. Yes, macarons! After getting settled in our amazing room at The Library Hotel (299 Madison Avenue, www.libraryhotel.com) we grabbed an Uber down to NoHo for the best macarons ever from Lafayette Cafe and Bakery at 380 Lafayette Street (http://lafayetteny.com/). (Come on, admit it…every time you read the name Lafayette, you are saying it in your head just like in “Guns and Ships” from the musical…LAFAYETTE!) I discovered the Lafayette Cafe in 2016 when Mr. On the Town and I were in the city for an off-broadway show, and we had a lovely lunch there.  I admit the connection of macarons to a Hamilton history tour is nil, but they are delicious, and the name connotation was enough for me. (The Lafayette and Birthday Cake macarons are the best ones!)

The location of the Lafayette Cafe and Bakery is also notable due to its proximity to The Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street, https://www.publictheater.org/ ). The Public Theater is where Hamilton: An American Musical first premiered off-broadway, so we paused there for a quick photo-op. (And mused with envy at all the people who were lucky enough to see it in that intimate theater setting!)

 

Next on our tour was a stop at Trinity Church (75 Broadway, https://www.trinitywallstreet.org/). We admired the beautiful architecture of this 300 + year old church and talked with the friendly person at the information desk inside. He gave us a helpful map which showed the locations of Alexander Hamilton’s resting place (pictured above), as well as Eliza’s, Angelica’s (I hate to break it to you, but she’s *not* literally buried near him like Eliza sings in “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”), and other notable Hamilton related historical figures.

After a ramble down Broadway with a quick stop at the Fearless Girl statue for another photo-op, we made our way to The Fraunces Tavern (54 Pearl Street, http://www.frauncestavernmuseum.org/). The Fraunces Tavern is the likely true-life location for the scene depicted in “Aaron Burr, Sir” (I’m John Laurens in the place to be…) Historically speaking, the tavern served as a headquarters for George Washington and is known as the location where Washington bid farewell to his troops (think “One LastTime”…the speech he dictated to Hamilton in that song was given at the Fraunces Tavern).

The Fraunces Tavern is both restaurant and museum. The first floor is an authentic colonial tavern that’s been in operation since 1762, and the upstairs and building next door house a vibrant museum filled with Revolutionary War and George Washington memorabilia. We toured the museum first and then enjoyed a delicious dinner.

After dinner we continued our stroll through the Financial District, with a stop at Federal Hall National Memorial, as well as a visit to 57 Maiden Lane, the former location of Thomas Jefferson’s NYC home (the meeting Burr sings about in “The Room Where it Happens” was located here). Unfortunately, Jefferson’s house is long gone, replaced by an ubiquitous NYC skyscraper, but there is a plaque to commemorate the location.

 

Day two started early with another Uber ride, this time north to Hamilton Grange, Alexander Hamilton’s New York home (409 W. 141st Street, https://www.nps.gov/hagr/index.htm). This historic home is owned and managed by the National Park service. Admission to the site is free. The most important thing to know about Hamilton Grange is that tours are available on a first come first served basis only. Ranger-led tours happen at 10am, 11am, 2pm, and 4pm on Wednesdays through Sundays. I definitely recommend arriving *at least* 30 minutes prior to whatever tour time you are interested in. We visited the Grange first thing on Wednesday morning. While waiting for our tour, I sprung the surprise of our afternoon tickets to the musical to Townie #2. You can see below the moment of surprise, followed by the excitement and delight!

After a quick lunch and time to refresh back at the Library Hotel, we made our way to the Richard Rodgers Theater for the show! Seeing Hamilton after being immersed in the history of the show for two days gave us a greater appreciation of the scenes and the characters.

 

The Ham4Ham shows had since gone digital, so we didn’t have that experience, but we did walk by the stage door just in time for me to snap a photo of James Monroe Iglehart, our Lafayette/Jefferson. Theater-loving Townie #2 is looking forward to future trips to New York City for more shows and more fun!

 

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New Year, New Adventures

For a while now people have been telling me I should start a blog. “You always do such fun stuff! You need to write a blog so you can tell people all about it!”

So, after a little more poking and prodding, here I am. I’ve started Amy On The Town as a way to share about my museum visits, theater trips, road trips, concerts, and other fun events. I’m based in Southern New Hampshire, but my friends know I’ll drive all over the place for fun! (Day trips to New York City are not unheard of in my world)

I love getting out and about and seeing what there is to see. I hope I’ll be able to help inspire others to take advantage of what our beautiful New England area has to offer. There are so many cultural wonders if you just take a moment to look!

What was a favorite experience you had this past year? Three big ones for me in 2017 were:

1. Jumping off the “Jaws Bridge” in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard.

2 Meeting Cary Elwes after a screening of The Princess Bride at The Hanover Theater in Worcester, Mass (yep, that’s Westley himself in that photo!)

3. Taking my older daughter (Townie #2) on a Hamilton History tour in NYC before surprising her with tickets to see Hamilton the Musical.

I’m looking forward to having lots of fun in 2018 (and beyond!). Thanks for joining me!