April/Mid-May Magazine

NEW BENEFIT SERIES: ALL TOGETHER NOW

IN COLLABORATION WITH AND AS A BENEFIT FOR 3S ARTSPACE & PRESCOTT PARK ARTS FESTIVAL NOW MAGAZINE • APRIL/MID-MAY 2021

Innovation + Leadership

SCOTT WEIDENSAUL 4/20 Exhibition On Screen

FRIDA KAHLO 4/21 All Together Now

ZACHARY WILLIAMS 5/14 All Together Now

RACHAEL & VILRAY 5/22* SEASON SPONSORS

*ON THE COVER

KEEPING YOU SAFE DURING COVID-19

For the most up-to-date information visit: TheMusicHall.org/CovidProtocols

MAGAZINE EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Monte Bohanan Wesley Lovell Tina Sawtelle Sara Turner Gail VanHoy Carolan Brittany Wason

DESIGN Kaitlyn Huwe

THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS

What We’re Doing to Keep You and Our Staff Safe: • We are following guidance issued by the Governor’s task force and CDC, as well as adding other safety measures.

• Staff and volunteers will be wearing masks and PPE. • We’ve upgraded our HVAC system to include medical grade filters and an iWave ionization component. We are also changing filters more often and increasing the circulation rates on a 24-hour cycle.

• We’re seating our patrons with 6 ft. of space in all directions in between other parties.

What We’re Asking You to Do When You Visit: • If you are feeling sick, have symptoms of COVID-19 or if you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive to COVID-19, please stay home!

• We ask that you wear a mask in all communal areas. You may remove your mask while sitting in your seat, but please wear your mask while entering, exiting, and visiting concessions or the restrooms.

• The ticket purchaser name will be on the seats with white bands, please do not move these bands around the chairs or remove the name cards themselves. Do not sit in the seats with black bands.

THANK YOU! We are fortunate to have such a dedicated support system in this community. So many of you contributed to our COVID-19 emergency fund, donated tickets, or attended our socially distanced shows. This means the world to us—we wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you for allowing us to do what we love. Please continue to help make a difference for us by spreading the word about our shows or following us on social media! Feel free to like and share our posts and blogs. And for the most up-to-date information on our theaters and events, sign up for the enews at TheMusicHall.org.

CURATOR’S CORNER ALL TOGETHER NOW TINA SAWTELLE, Executive Director Spring is in the air and our thoughts turn to the re-emergence of not only our arts and cultural organizations, but also restaurants, shops, and getting outside to enjoy the natural beauty of the Seacoast in spring. There is no doubt that businesses have suffered in this last year due to the pandemic, and we’ve all had to Credit: PizzutiPhotography.com

be resilient and resourceful. If you've been waiting for the right moment to return to downtown Portsmouth, let us provide your incentive.

I am so pleased to announce that we will be partnering with 3S Artspace and Prescott Park Arts Festival (PPAF) to bring a series of shows to The Music Hall's stage as a fundraiser event for 3S and PPAF. All Together Now: A Benefit for the Music Lover in Us All will help kickstart not just our organizations, but also bring people back downtown to eat, shop, and stay. More details are online at TheMusicHall.org/AllTogetherNow. Utilizing The Music Hall’s Historic Theater for its spaciousness, new HVAC system, and central location allows all three organizations to operate safely, and because The Music Hall had success securing emergency support through the State of NH Live Venue Relief Fund, we couldn’t be happier to share the wealth with two other beloved arts and cultural organizations in our town. We hope you will join us this spring for this benefit to help restore the arts and economic viability of the Seacoast.

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603.436.2400

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT Saving a Seat for Our Sponsors

UPCOMING MEMBER EVENTS

We are always looking for ways to celebrate our sponsors.

We love to see representatives from these organizations

BOOK CLUB:

in the house, because that means we can thank them in

THE FEATHER THIEF

BY KIRK WALLACE JOHNSON

person. To ensure this happens, and to demonstrate our gratitude, we offer partners tickets and memberships when opportunities allow. It’s thrilling to have the people

Mon., 4/12 • 6pm Historic Theater & Livestream

behind our season sponsors—the Labrie Group, Carey & Giampa, and Portwalk Place, as well as the University of New Hampshire and B2W Software—on site to experience the full impact of their support.

Photo: Sydney Bilodeau

It seems only natural that the leader in employee participation with The Music Hall would be B2W Software, with their multi-year commitment to the source of all tickets, our B2W Box Office. There are 97 employees in the Portsmouth office, and many an impromptu party has erupted when employees from either the same department or those who are friends outside of the office arrive at an event to discover they’ve all won the office

BOOK CLUB:

THE FOUR WINDS

BY KRISTIN HANNAH Mon., 5/10 • 6pm Historic Theater & Livestream

pool for Music Hall tickets!

B2W staff consider themselves fortunate to have The Music Hall, such a historic and meaningful place, so close, and we in turn are appreciative of the devoted following. Our partnership with B2W is just one of our many mutually beneficial relationships with local businesses and nonprofit organizations. As a community-supported

For more information, contact Wesley Lovell at 603.766.2182 or WLovell@themusichall.org

cultural center, these connections—and you our members—are what makes our work possible.

TheMusicHall.org

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ON STAGE/ONLINE

LIVE AT THE HISTORIC THEATER SERIES SPONSORS:

APRIL & MAY HILARITY SERIES SPONSORS:

PRESENTING CINEMA SPONSOR:

EXHIBITION ON SCREEN SERIES SPONSOR: Sheehan Phinney

LIVE AT THE HISTORIC THEATER

NHTP’S 5TH ANNUAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL Sat., April 10 • 8pm • Historic Theater & Livestream

New Hampshire Theatre Project presents the 5th Annual Storytelling Festival, with five tales of personal trials, overcoming adversity, and finding joy in even the darkest of times.

HILARITY STEVEN

ROGERS

EXHIBITION ON SCREEN FRIDA

KAHLO

Wed., April 14 • 7pm • Historic Theater Who was Frida Kahlo? Take a journey through the life of a true icon, discover her art, and uncover the truth behind her often turbulent life.

Sat., April 17 • 8pm • Historic Theater

INNOVATION + LEADERSHIP SCOTT

WEIDENSAUL

Steven’s comedic ability has established him as a feature act in comedy clubs and also a regular opener for Brian Regan. His clever, rapid-fire material full of observations about his life and the world around him has entertained audiences from coast to coast!

From the ornithologist, naturalist, and Pulitzer finalist comes a breathtaking work of nature writing on global bird migration in the face of climate change. Moderated by Jameson French.

Tue., April 20 • 7pm • Historic Theater

INNOVATION + LEADERSHIP CREATIVEMORNINGS Fri., April 30 & Fri., May 21 • 8:30am Livestream • Free, RSVP required

PKX

CreativeMornings Portsmouth is a local chapter of the global breakfast lecture series for the creative community. Every meeting will feature a local speaker on the month’s topic and is free and open to the public.

Photo: RayaOnAssignment.com

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603.436.2400

ON STAGE/ONLINE

APRIL & MAY

INNOVATION + LEADERSHIP PRESENTING SPONSOR:

SERIES SPONSORS: Atlantic Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine; Bangor Savings Bank

INNOVATION + LEADERSHIP SUZANNE Tue., May 18 • 7pm • Livestream

KOVEN (LIVESTREAM)

A profound and humorous exploration of authenticity in work and life by a female doctor, with candid stories from the AIDS era to today’s COVID-19 pandemic. In conversation with Andrew Solomon.

ALL TOGETHER NOW: A BENEFIT FOR THE MUSIC LOVER IN US ALL A new series in collaboration with and as a benefit for 3S Artspace & Prescott Park Arts Festival For the full schedule, visit TheMusicHall.org/AllTogetherNow

ZACHARY WILLIAMS

Fri., May 14 • 6pm & 8pm • Historic Theater Hailing from Nashville, TN, Zachary Williams is an accomplished singer-songwriter, widely known as the front man for Americana band The Lone Bellow.

RACHAEL & VILRAY

Sat., May 22 • 6pm & 8pm • Historic Theater

SON LITTLE

Rachael Price of Lake Street Dive and guitarist-singer-composer Vilray bring their jazz, old vinyl duo to Portsmouth for a special fundraiser concert. *Check website for ticket package details

Bluesy chords, Latin rhythm, classic soul, and old-school R&B come together with Son Little's raw, raspy vocals and instrumental virtuosity.

Fri., June 11 • 6pm & 8pm • Historic Theater

TheMusicHall.org

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proud supporters of the Music hall

bringing the arts home...

The ArTs Are The Answer to vibrant and prosperous communities where we treasure our heritage, celebrate our diversity and nurture our ingenuity.

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603.436.2400

HERE & NOW

B2W BOX OFFICE @ THE HISTORIC THEATER: 28 Chestnut Street

This May, we celebrate our members and your steadfastness. Because of you, we have confidence that this theater will recover and bring us together for moments of joy and wonder. Not a member? Consider joining; tax-deductible memberships start at $50 per household. Time to renew?

Please do. If you have the capacity, consider upgrading. With a 90% loss of earned revenue, you have never mattered more.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

We’ll be raffling items each week: Your name in lights on the marquee, a film “party” for up to 20, and a private tour with your family or COVID pod.

Questions? Call the B2W Box Office at 603.436.2400 and Wesley and Jillian, our Ticket and Member Services team, will be happy to help.

AT A GLANCE LEGEND

MEMBERSHIP MAY

At the Historic Theater At the Loft Offsite/Online

APRIL 2021 Rental Partner

Safe Haven Ballet presents Don Quixote

Thursday, April 8 & Friday, April 9 • 7pm Live at the Historic Theater

NHTP’s 5th Annual Storytelling Festival* Saturday, April 10 • 8pm Exhibition On Screen

Frida Kahlo

Wednesday, April 14 • 7pm Hilarity

Steven Rogers

Saturday, April 17 • 8pm Innovation + Leadership

Scott Weidensaul

Tuesday, April 20 • 7pm Innovation + Leadership

CreativeMornings PKX (Livestream) Friday, April 30 • 8:30am

* This show will also be livestreamed, for more information, please visit our website.

History, in Short Bites Historian, author, and movie star!? The Seacoast’s

MAY 2021

very own J. Dennis Robinson is working on a series

All Together Now

of short videos talking about the history of The

Friday, May 14 • 6pm & 8pm

Zachary Williams

Music Hall and Portsmouth. These fun and engaging

Innovation + Leadership

Suzanne Koven (Livestream)

videos bring history to life for all ages, and will air

Tuesday, May 18 • 7pm

on our Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube channels!

Innovation + Leadership

These are designed to be companion-pieces to his

CreativeMornings PKX (Livestream)

award-winning history book, Music Hall: How a City

Friday, May 21 • 8:30am

Built a Theater and a Theater Shaped a City. Books are

All Together Now

available for purchase at our bar/concessions.

Photo: David J. Murray/ClearEyePhoto.com

Saturday, May 22 • 6pm & 8pm

JUNE 2021

Live Under the Arch Returns!

All Together Now

Last summer, our outdoor concert series, Live Under

Son Little

Friday, June 11 • 6pm & 8pm

the Arch, was a big hit with audiences and artists alike, and this year we’re going to make it even better!

MORE SHOWS ARE ON THEIR WAY!

Join us for socially distanced concerts right outside the theater, with the stage set under the Chestnut Street Arch and the best in local and regional talent

Sign up for enews at TheMusicHall.org

from May to October! You can purchase a table for

BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT:

two, four, or six people, and enjoy the show with friends and family. Of course there will be music and we’ll have comedians and authors, too. Stay tuned for the line-up and see you there!

Rachael & Vilray

Photo: Kristen Bulger

Just Announced & Rescheduled Shows Indoor & Outdoor Programming Safety Updates TheMusicHall.org

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PUBLISHED EVERY SIX WEEKS BY:

Friends of The Music Hall 28 Chestnut Street Portsmouth, NH 03801

NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO. 609 MANCHESTER, NH

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3

UPCOMING SHOWS

NH THEATRE PROJECT’S STORYTELLING FESTIVAL April 10

SUZANNE KOVEN May 18

ZACHARY WILLIAMS APRIL/MID-MAY 2021

5/14