WHAT’S HAPPENING

from Bangor Metro_September 2021

by Bangor Daily News

WOODS & WATERS

SEPTEMBER

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW MAINE?

We’ll give you the nickname — you name the town! Ready? Let’s go!

MONDAY, SEPT. 6

LABOR DAY 5 MILE ROAD RACE 2021

BANGOR

Strap on your running shoes for the annual Labor Day 5 Mile Road Race in Bangor. The race begins and ends at the Bangor Parks and Recreation Center. Check in for the race begins at 7:45 a.m. for pre-registered runners and the race begins at 9 a.m. In addition to age category awards, the Robin Emery award is given to the top female finisher, the Bob Hillgrove award is given to the top male finisher. The Ralph Thomas award is given to the top male master finisher, and the Leona Clapper award is given to the top female master finisher. Registration is $35 and can be completed through Bangor Parks and Rec.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 18

MAINE CELTIC CELEBRATION

BELFAST WATERFRONT

The Maine Celtic Celebration on the Waterfront in Belfast makes a return this year on Saturday, Sept. 18. While it’s a little later in the year compared to previous years, the celebration returns for its 15th season of music, dance, kilt-wearing contest, boathouse workshops, traditional Highland Heavy Games and much more. Visit www.mainecelticcelebration.com for more info.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 25

SPOSE AND THE HUMANS W/ BENSBEENDEAD

BANGOR ARTS EXCHANGE

Beloved Maine rapper Spose returns to Bangor with his defiantly honest lyrics and masterful storytelling for a concert at Bangor Arts Exchange. Born Ryan M. Peters, Spose grew up in Wells. His first album, “Preposterously Dank,” sold modestly but laid the seeds for his fervent fanbase. Opening for Spose and the Humans is Bensbeendead, a Portland-based vocalist/producer who has been making a name for himself in hip-hop and electronic music. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on the day of this all-ages show. For Bangor Arts Exchange members tickets are $17.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 25

BRAD PAISLEY

DARLING’S WATERFRONT PAVILION

Country legend Brad Paisley will play Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion on Sept. 25 with Jordan Davis and Kameron Marlowe. The winner of three Grammys, two American Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards and 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, he brings his blend of popular songs and unmatched showmanship to the outdoor stage in Bangor for a lively country show. Tickets available through Waterfront Concerts.

Find answers below.

Back to the STAGE

BANGOR-AREA ARTS ORGANIZATIONS READY TO OPEN THE CURTAINS AND TURN UP THE LIGHTS THIS SEASON

BY JULIA BAYLY

In a normal year, the Bangor-area performing arts organizations start announcing season plans in spring and summertime. For some theatre organizations, there are auditions in the spring too. And by September, the stages are ready to light up, bringing joy to audiences.

But the 2020 to 2021 season wasn’t normal. The stages remained dark while Penobscot Theatre Company, Ten Bucks Theatre and the Bangor Symphony Orchestra went virtual with their performances. Some Theater Company went ahead with live performances incorporating masks, reduced seating and social distancing. Meanwhile, Robinson Ballet suspended their performances all together, instead focusing on their dance school.

But the 2021 to 2022 season will be different.

Though the announcements are coming later than usual, performing arts organizations in greater Bangor are planning a return to live performances. The performers can hardly wait.

“Everyone in the organization is really excited,” said Brian Hinrichs, director of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. “We know we can create music on stage for digital concerts but we are so excited to be back into the theater and into the communication loop between the musicians and audience that happens in live performances.”

Hinrichs said the symphony is turning up the volume for the upcoming season as a way to welcome people back into the Collins Center for the Arts.

“We have programmed the season to draw people in with some popular pieces and some really splashy pieces,” Hinrichs said. “It’s all meant to remind people of that live orchestral experience.”

Over at Robinson Ballet, artistic director Stevie McGary is looking forward to a holiday season with live performances of “The Nutcracker.”

The Bangor Symphony Orchestra stands in an empty concert hall at the Collins Center for the Arts after recording its first digital concert of the season.

The stage at the Penobscot Theatre under construction last year.

The Bangor Opera House in downtown Bangor is home of the Penobscot Theatre Company.

“It is such a happy show and it brings such joy,” McGary said. “It really ushers in the whole holiday season and I think people are going to need to feel like they can get back together again rather than a Zoom holiday.”

The Bangor Ballet is also offering a Nutcracker performance this coming holiday with December shows of “Nutcracker in a Nutshell” in Dover and Hampden.

Penobscot Theatre Company is also opening its 2021 to 2022 season with a holiday show. “Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play ” opens in November. That’s a little later than usual.

“We usually open our season in September,” said Trisha Hobbs, the theatre’s artistic director. “This is the first time we are opening with a holiday show for the holidays.”

For those that can’t wait till the holidays, Some Theater Company is getting into the Halloween theme in October with the musical “Rocky Horror LIVE.” That will be performed at their space located in the Bangor Mall.

Penobscot Theatre’s executive director Jennifer Shepard could not be happier to have live theater back in Bangor.

“We really consider [Penobscot Theatre Company] to be a flagship of downtown Bangor,” Shepherd said. “People don’t just come to see a show, they come to eat out, shop and it’s a place where people gather to see each other.”

Over the last year some organizations offered performances virtually online to keep those channels of communication open between performers and audiences. It worked by keeping the live arts relevant and accessible to people.

They also used the time to do some behind-the-scenes work.

The staff at Penobscot Theatre Company took advantage of the downtime to spruce up the dressing rooms and rehearsal spaces and address some other maintenance issues.

“In a normal year, our productions overlap each other and we are building sets for several shows at a time,” Hobbs said. “Last year we had the time to really take care of our ‘home’ and of our people.”

While they’re ready to get back to performing, the year off came with some unexpected enlightenment. Hobbs said the year off gave them time to consider what she is calling a more humane performance schedule.

“The season can be really quite grueling and does it have to be?” Hobb said. “Do we really need 12 hour days and is that pace really worth ramping back up to?”

Turns out, it’s not.

So there will be some modifications with the new season’s schedule in terms of numbers of shows with a season including performances of “Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play,” “Tell Me On a Sunday,” “Maytag Virgin,” “Hockey Mom,” “Becoming Dr. Ruth” and “9 to 5: The Musical.”

Past and present Robinson Ballet dancers perform in “Reflections” in 2016 at Husson University’s Gracie Theatre.

As in the past, Hinrichs said the upcoming BSO season is going to combine traditional composition with brand new pieces.

“Our musical director has always been a genius uncovering hidden gems and introducing new composers,” Hinrichs said. “When we did not have live audiences and ticket sales to worry about last year he was really able to lean into that.”

So the BSO this coming season will embrace new compositions paired with traditional blockbuster works that include Beethoven, Mozart and Stravinsky alongside world premiers by composers Reinaldo Moya, Jessica Meyer and the delaked premier of “The Warming Sea” composed for the 2020 Maine Science Festival, which was cancelled.

“We are really proud of this schedule,” Hinrichs said. “It’s pushing the art form while celebrating the past and delivering works with that ‘wow’ factor.”

The full Robinson Ballet Company 2021 to 2022 schedule remains to be determined, according to McGary. But it will include other performances in addition to The Nutcracker.

“At this point we are not sure what we are doing other than Nutcracker,” McGary said. “But we will be doing a show in March or April geared more towards adults and in May there will be a show that is geared more for children.”

Regardless of the final show selection. McGary said the performers are more than ready to start rehearsals.

“I am ready and the dancers are more than ready,” she said. “They have not performed live for a year and a half and, while they have been dancing in the studio, it is very different to be working on something with an end goal and then see your work come to life — that is the magic of dance.”

Downtown Bangor got a brief reminder of what has been missing when members of Robinson Ballet did an outdoor performance in the park during July’s First Friday event.

Moving the shows to the live, indoor stage could bring some challenges, McGary said, given the ongoing nature of the pandemic and the fact that younger performers may not be eligible for the vaccine. She said parents may be hesitant to allow them back into the studio.

“With our younger kids that dance for Nutcracker, there may be an issue with their family’s comfort level in having them inside a confined space,” McGary said. “We have been using masks to dance and we are hoping we don’t have to for the live performances.”

It’s definitely going to be a learning year, according to Hinrichs who said BSO is looking at a hybrid season of live and online performances. Going digital last year showed him a way to expand the audience, so they will continue to offer online access to concerts this coming season.

“We really want to encourage people to come into the theater, but we all understand some folks are not ready for that,” Hinrichs said. “We have gotten such great feedback about our digital performances and it opens it up for people who may not otherwise be able to enjoy the concerts so we think it will be a nice thing to do.”

Everyone involved believes that is the bottom line: bringing performers and audiences back together.

“Everyone is unified in this mission to perform and perform safely,” Hinrichs said. “And we want to do it to the largest number of people as possible.”