NORTHAMPTON
‘Old School’
Young@Heart Chorus preps for
concert
By K eith O ’C onnor Special to The Republican
The Young@Heart Chorus is going “Old School” for its weekend concert, to be held Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Academy of Music in downtown Northampton.
Old represents the group’s age as a collective of men and women who in total years would number close to 1,000. The term old school represents a group of traditionalists, some of whom, like Young@Heart, are not afraid to introduce today’s modern music into their repertoire, many of these songs unknown to them.
“Old school is also of particular significance for our group. At one time we rehearsed at the former Gateway Performing Arts Center, which is now home to LightHouse Holyoke School, which has welcomed us back with open arms to rehearse there,” said Bob Cilman, longtime director of Young@Heart.
LightHouse Holyoke School is a competency-based, accredited private school working with public districts, individual families, and homeschoolers in grades 6-12.
“Old School” is produced in collaboration with LightHouse’s De la
Luz Technical Arts Institute with its theater director Isaac Littlejohn Eddy. The former Blue Man Group performer and The New Yorker cartoonist is the show’s guest theatrical director.
For those unfamiliar with the internationally acclaimed octogenarian rock ’n’ roll ensemble, Young@Heart this year is celebrating its 42nd anniversary after its informal beginnings as a sing-along at a Western Massachusetts meals site for the elderly. Stars of their own Fox Searchlight Top 100 theatrical documentary
SEE YOUNG@HEART, PAGE D3
Young@Heart this year is celebrating its 42nd anniversary after its informal beginnings as a sing-along at a Western Massachusetts meals site for the elderly.
The Young@Heart Chorus is going “Old School” for its concert on Sunday at the Academy of Music in Northampton. (JULIAN PARKER-BURNS)
Members of the Young@Heart Chorus range in age from 74 to 102, and have more than 50 international tours to their name. (PHOTOS BY JULIAN PARKER-BURNS)
Young@Heart
CONTINUES FROM PAGE D2
simply titled “Young@Heart,” the diverse group of seniors, ranging in age from 74-102, has more than 50 international tours under their belt.
“Our chorus members are so inspirational. I’ve been with them for so long and they have taught me about can and can’t do as a group and what it is like to age ... and at age 71, I’m beginning to learn that myself now,” Cilman said.
“Old School” will feature performances by some of Young@Heart’s beloved living legends who are all over the age of 90 and who have all been a part of the group for at least a decade, including Helen Boston (95), Gloria Parker (96), Steve Martin (96), Pat Booth (92), Norman Moreau (91), Anita Shumway (90), and Dora Morrow (102).
Along with the full chorus, they will sing songs by artists ranging from The Cramps to The Flaming Lips, The Velvet Underground, Mavis Staples, The Magnetic Fields, Beach House and Laurie Anderson — many unknown to them.
At age 96 and still going strong — although he laughingly says his “antique joints need replacing” and his “engine is full of rust” — Steve Martin will be soloist on “New Kind of Kick” by the garage punk band The Cramps formed in 1976.
“The song is about life and the person singing is saying ‘Life is short, filled with stuff, don’t know what for, I ain’t had enough’ with the message be-
ing they want ‘some new kind of kick,’” Martin said “I even get to do a short rap at the end of the song with the simple words ‘energy, bar code, Drano hotshot, wack attack, helium, nitrous oxide, formaldehyde, some new kind of kick.’ You get the drift,” he
“Our chorus members are so inspirational. I’ve been with them for so long and they have taught me about can and can’t do as a group and what it is like to age ... and at age 71, I’m beginning to learn that myself now.”
BOB CILMAN, DIRECTOR, YOUNG@HEART CHORUS
added.
Martin said he learned about Young@Heart from an old girlfriend he ran into at the supermarket.
“She told me about the chorus, which involved the elderly, and that they were looking for new members. Music is something that helps you when you age. You have to keep learning. It is suggested when you get old that you should read or take up a hobby to keep your mind busy. In my case, it was learning about rock and roll and how to memorize lyrics and to understand their meaning,” he said.
When former Blue Man Isaac Littlejohn Eddy — who recently began teaching at LightHouse Holyoke School — was introduced to Cilman, he noted that, “Bob floated the idea that I collaborate with them as guest theatrical director.”
“I talked a lot with Bob about the point of collaborating with me, that it was not to change the ensemble, but to showcase what is so strong
about them already ... their realness, how they move, walk, sing and interact together. And I wanted to create moments on stage to let the audience in to see those beautiful moments,” Eddy said.
At first it may seem as if Young@Heart and the Blue Man Group are very different from one another, but they are not, Eddy noted.
“Our roots and inspirations are the same. At the heart of Young@Heart is a kind of punk rock, subversive, community-based interest and love of humanity, and that certainly is at the root of a Blue Man show. It has been a really special experience working with the ensemble and I hope it is the first of many collaborations with them,” he said.
Tickets — ranging in price from $20-$50 — are available at aomtheatre.com/event/ youngheart-chorus-pres ents-old-school/ or at the Academy of Music Theatre Box Office in Northampton from 3-6 p.m. through Friday.
Monson Arts Council presents its 45th Annual
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A ‘Wicked’ tearful talk with costars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande
By Kyle Buchanan
New York Times
LOS ANGELES — “Excuse me,”
Ariana Grande said, flagging down an imaginary waiter. “May we have 1 million tissues please?”
It was midway through the fittingly witchy month of October, and Grande and Cynthia Erivo had convened at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles to discuss their new film “Wicked,” adapted from the long-running Broad-
way musical. With emotions riding high before its release on Friday, both women teared up frequently while talking about what the movie means to them.
On set, things had been no less emotional. “The tears would fall every single time,”
Erivo said as she recounted shooting a fraught dance sequence with her co-star. “I didn’t have to try for them, they were always there.”
most anticipated movies of holiday season 18
By Moira M acdonald
The Seattle Times
HOW ABOUT A LITTLE POPcorn for the holidays? Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find on big and small screens all over town during the festive season. Note that all release dates are tentative and subject to change.
“Gladiator II”
No Russell Crowe, but there’s plenty of star power in Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel of ancient Rome, with Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington. (Nov. 22)
“Wicked”
Technically “Wicked: Part 1,” though no one seems to call it that, this first of two movies based on the smash Broadway musical stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, two young witches in the Land of Oz. Jon M. Chu (“In the Heights,” “Crazy Rich Asians”) directs. (Nov. 22)
Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande in a scene from the film "Wicked." (UNIVERSAL PICTURES VIA AP)
At left, John David Washington in a scene from "The Piano Lesson." (NETFLIX VIA AP)
Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius in "Gladiator II."
The Grinch’s Grotto is from the creators of The Dr. Seuss Experience, and Dr. Seuss Enterprises.
Movies
“The Piano Lesson”
August Wilson’s acclaimed play, in which a Black family in 1930s Pittsburgh comes to terms with their past, arrives on screen, directed by Malcolm Washington and starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington (both reprising their roles from the 2022 Broadway revival of the play) and Danielle Deadwyler. (Arrives on Netflix Nov. 22)
“Moana 2”
Eight years after the original “Moana,” a Disney animated hit set in ancient Polynesia, comes a sequel, with Moana (voiced by Auli‘i Cravalho) and Maui (Dwayne Johnson) off on a new voyage to the far seas of Oceania. (Nov. 27)
“Queer”
Based on a 1985 novel by William S. Burroughs, this romantic drama follows an American expat (Daniel Craig) who finds himself attracted to a younger man (Drew Starkey). It’s directed by Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me by Your Name,” “I Am Love,” “Challengers”), who’s made a specialty of lushly filmed love stories. (Nov. 27)
“Maria”
Director Pablo Lorraín’s latest deep dive into the life of a prominent woman (previous works include “Spencer,” about Princess Diana, and “Jackie,” about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) takes place during the last days of the life of opera superstar Maria Callas, played by Angelina Jolie. (In select theaters Nov. 27, arrives on Netflix Dec. 11)
“The Order”
In this drama, based on true events that took place in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s, Jude Law plays an FBI agent in pursuit of the leader (Nicholas Hoult) of a white supremacist terrorist group known as The Order. (Dec. 6)
“Y2K”
Seems a little late in the year for a horror comedy?
Nonetheless, Kyle Mooney’s debut film is the story of two high schoolers who crash a New Year’s Eve party in 1999. The cast includes Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”), Jaeden Martell and Julian Dennison. (Dec. 6)
“Nightbitch”
Best title of the year? Writer/director Marielle Heller follows up “A Beautiful
Sarsgaard, John Magaro and Ben Chaplin star. (Dec. 13)
“Mufasa: The Lion King”
Barry Jenkins, acclaimed director of “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” takes on his first animated feature: a photorealistic “Lion King” sequel featuring the voices of Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Seth Rogen and Beyoncé. (Dec. 20)
“The Fire Inside”
Speaking of Jenkins, he wrote the screenplay for this fact-based drama about Olympic boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (Ryan Destiny). Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rachel Morrison (“Mudbound”) makes her feature directing debut. (Dec. 25)
involved with a younger man (Harris Dickinson). Dutch filmmaker Halina Reijn directs. (Dec. 25)
“Nosferatu”
A little bloodsucking for the holidays? More than a century after F.W. Murnau’s silent vampire film “Nosferatu” (itself based on Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula”) comes this gothic remake, with a cast featuring Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin and Willem Dafoe. (Dec. 25)
“A Complete Unknown”
Timothée Chalamet plays Bob Dylan. You need to know any more than that? (Dec. 25)
“Nickel Boys”
Day in the Neighborhood” and “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” with this adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s 2021 novel, starring Amy Adams as a stay-at-home mother who transforms into a dog at night. (Dec. 6)
“Kraven the Hunter”
If you’re grieving the absence of Russell Crowe in “Gladiator II,” fear not: Here he is in the latest Marvel Comics installment, playing the father of biggame hunter Kraven (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Ariana DeBose and Alessandro Nivola co-star. (Dec. 13)
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim”
And you thought this franchise was over? Not quite. This animated film uses the voices of Brian Cox and Miranda Otto to tell a story — visually inspired by Peter Jackson’s trilogy — of legendary king Helm Ham merhand, who became the namesake of Helm’s Deep. (Dec. 13)
“September 5”
Another drama based on true events, this one goes back to 1972, when a group of sports journalists at the Summer Olympics in Mu nich found themselves cov ering a hostage crisis. Peter
“Babygirl”
Lots of buzz out of the international film festival circuit this fall about this erotic thriller: Nicole Kidman won the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival for her role as a CEO who becomes
Based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this drama follows two boys at an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida. Documentary filmmaker RaMell Ross (“Hale Country This Morning, This Evening”) makes his feature directing debut. (Date TBD)
CONTINUES FROM PAGE D4
Jude Law stars in “The Order,” due out in theaters Dec. 6.
(MICHELLE FAYE / TIFF / TNS)
Nightclubs
THURSDAY
Uno Chicago Grill: Country Music. 820 West Columbus Ave., Springfield
FRIDAY
Delaney House: Buddy McEarns. 3 Country Club Road, Holyoke
East Mountain Country Club: Foolish U. 1458 E. Mountain Rd, Westfield
MGM Springfield: MGM Roar
Comedy Club: Ian Lara. 1 MGM Way, Springfield
The Drake: Morrissey Blvd, Autumn drive and The Wild Brood. 44 North Pleasant St., Amherst
The Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center: The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Tribute with After the Rain. 289 Main St., Greenfield
The Meeting House: Dave Brinnel. 827 Williams St., Longmeadow
Theodores’: Roberto Morbioli. 201 Worthington St., Springfield Tree House Brewery: Tom Savoy. 1 Community PL, South Deerfield
Uno Chicago Grill: Roots, Blues and Rock. 820 W. Columbus Ave., Springfield
West Springfield’s Irish House
Restaurant & Pub: John Stokosa. 429 Morgan Road, West Springfield
SATURDAY
Delaney House: Alex Rohan. 3 Country Club Road, Holyoke
MGM Springfield: MGM Roar
Comedy Club: Ian Lara. 1 MGM Way, Springfield
The Drake: Hayley Jane Band with King Manzi. 44 N. Pleasant St., Amherst
Theodores’: Erin Harpe and the Delta Swingers. 201 Worthington St., Springfield
Uno Chicago Grill: Modern, Contemporary Rock. 820 West Columbus Ave., Springfield
West Springfield’s Irish House Restaurant & Pub: The Healys. 429 Morgan Road, West Springfield
SUNDAY
Uno
W. Columbus Ave., Springfield
Note: The Republican is not responsible for unannounced schedule changes.
JJ Slater to bring desert magic to Parlor Room
THE DESERT HAS long been seen as a mystical place. It certainly turned out to be for JJ Slater.
Slater, best known as the guitarist for Signature Dish, the band that also features local chanteuse Lexi Weege on vocals, just finished his first solo album, “The Silver Key,” which he wrote while in Taos, New Mexico. The band will play the album in full (along with other material) at a show at Northampton’s Parlor Room on Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Slater, who originally hails from Lakeville but now resides in the Pioneer Valley, received a residence grant opportunity in Taos at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation to write music — with no strings attached — for 10 weeks.
“I’d been releasing music in little batches for years but hadn’t tackled a full-album project since my previous band, Humble Digs,” Slater said. “I thought the time away from home would be inspiring and give me room to focus on playing around with bigger ideas.”
Along the way, Slater unfortunately hit a deer and was stranded in Ohio for three days, ultimately limping along to New Mexico.
“This only strengthened my resolve to create something meaningful and memorable, at least for me,” he said.
Slater wound up writing a lot of music in Taos, some of which was separate from the album project. For the album, Slater envisioned a concept with a fictional motel as a liminal space in an artist’s life — an artist who wants more than to just survive but can’t quite learn how to thrive.
“I certainly felt that way while wracking my brain for ideas, locked out of my bank account, and 2,500 miles away from a brand-new relationship,” he said. “The first thing I came up with was the name of the motel, ‘The Silver
Key,’ referencing a Lovecraft short story. The song ‘Cool Salida Breeze’ came next, placing it somewhere in America — about 200 miles north of where I was staying — and then the rest sort of just rolled out.”
That “rolling out” of songs certainly sounds like the desert in Taos lent some of its mystical magic to the project.
“Taos inspired the sounds and expansiveness. After a few
weeks I really needed money, so I started trimming juniper trees and cleaning up a property south of Santa Fe, owned by a guy named Bjarn, who had helped with the ‘Breaking Bad’ cinematography,” Slater said.
“I would drive two hours south before dawn, work until the sun reached a zenith in the sky, then drive home exhausted. By the time I got back, the light would be getting lower, golden
hour would be cast over the sagebrush, and music would leak in.”
Slater said that he mostly works on music first, then does the lyrics afterward.
“My songs are always groovebased, even if they have a lot of chords sometimes. I like to play with harmony. Usually I’ll hum along,” he said. “For this record, I had a story mapped out that I wanted to tell. I didn’t get too hung up with detailing everything or coming up with character names, though. I wanted to sort of tell a story without expository details, as if they were written by a character living a life.”
The Parlor Room show will feature the album, but since the record is only about 35 minutes, “we’ll be doing our usual 20-plus song set, including songs from Lexi’s record ‘lw,’ some new Signature Dish songs, blues covers, etc.,” Slater said.
TUESDAY
Chicopee Elks #1849
431 Granby Road, Chicopee 413-592-1849
Bingo Tuesday
Doors Open at 4PM
2 Progressive Jackpots 6:15PM Early Bird
6:20PM Start
Min. Entry Package $15
Open Seating
2 Halls for Players
Handicap Restroom 1st Floor
WEDNESDAY
Polish American Citizens Club 355 East Street, Ludlow, 583-6385
Bingo Wednesdays 6:30-9:30pm
Doors Open at 4pm. Minimum Admission $50
1 - 1199 Progressive Betty Boop 50/50 Prize $900
2 - $500 Cover Alls
3 - $400 Special Games All regular games $100 with 80 people or More. All Cards are included with Admission. Prizes climb with additional attendence. Full Kitchen 4-6:30pm.
THURSDAY
Fairview Knights of Columbus 1599 Memorial Drive, Chicopee (413) 532-2011
DOORS OPEN 4:30PM
MASKS OPTIONAL Progressive Jackpot 6:15pm Early Bird 6:20pm Start
Electronic Bingo Aval. Snack Bar, Open Seating, Handicap Restrooms
Min. Entry Package $15
Chicago Grill: Jazz. 820
JJ Slater with the band Signature Dish will play his new solo album, “The Silver Key,” at Northampton’s Parlor Room. (CATERINA KENWORTHY)
George Lenker LIVE WIRE
‘Wicked’
“And I’d catch them,” Grande added.
“Wicked” functions as a revisionist prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” with director Jon M. Chu’s film following Erivo’s green-skinned Elphaba long before she becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. As a young woman at Shiz University, Elphaba is forced to bunk with Grande’s Glinda, a rival-turned-friend who plots to make over her outcast roommate during the fizzy musical number “Popular.”
But as Elphaba learns the dark secrets that undergird Oz’s Emerald City, the disillusioned young witch finally steps into her own power and belts “Defying Gravity,” the showstopper that, onstage, is meant to bring down the curtain on the first act. On screen, the song serves as the climax of the 2 1/2-hour movie: The rest of the story is saved for “Wicked Part Two,” which was shot in tandem with the first film and is slated for release next November.
Though there’s tremendous pomp to the production, it was important to Erivo — a Tony winner in 2016 for “The Color Purple” and a nominee at the 2020 Oscars for “Harriet” — to deliver an intimate, human-size performance as Elphaba. “I had no intention of playing to the green,” she said. “I wanted people to see her inner life.”
Better known for her pop-music career, Grande was just as determined to upend expectations, shedding her trademark high ponytail and changing the pitch of her voice to fully commit to her character’s effervescence. “It was really important to erase as much of myself as possible so that they could just be looking at Glinda,” she said.
Both women are 5-foot-1 vocal powerhouses — Grande joked that when they were first introduced, “We were both quite shocked that we had finally met someone the same size” — and the bond forged between them during the film’s supersize shoot was more than evident during our
“Historically, Black women have never really been seen for the role. If they have, they haven’t gotten the role, and if they do, they usually are the alternate or first cover.”
also between them, I was at your house, you were at my house.
ERIVO: We got many tattoos together.
GRANDE: Yes. We went shopping, we went for a walk in the Heath.
ERIVO: That was a lovely day, actually.
GRANDE: And we both were wearing not walk-friendly shoes.
ERIVO: The worst shoes ever. What’s wrong with us?
interview. Merely meeting the other’s gaze could make them both misty, and when they discussed wrapping the film, both women once again began to cry.
“I can’t even deal with it,” Erivo said, laughing.
Embarrassed, Grande started to crawl under the table. “I’m going away!” she said. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.
Q. When you learned the other one had been cast, what was your reaction?
CYNTHIA ERIVO: Absolutely no surprise whatsoever.
ARIANA GRANDE: I said, “Thank God.”
ERIVO: Thank goodness, because it was not the two ladies that I was auditioning with.
GRANDE: Oh my God!
Q. Cynthia, you’ve said you didn’t think you’d be considered for this movie. Why not?
ERIVO: Historically, Black women have never really been seen for the role. If they have, they haven’t gotten the role, and if they do, they
usually are the alternate or first cover. There’s only one woman I know on record that has done it on the West End. So I just didn’t think they were looking for me.
Q. Why do you think so few Black women have been seen for the role?
ERIVO: I don’t know. Maybe it’s a symptom of the time when it was made.
Q. Ariana, did you dream that your career might intersect with “Wicked” somehow?
GRANDE: Absolutely, I thought that at 10 years old. I started on Broadway, and I am so thankful for the ways in which my career took pivots and pop became my main thing, but I also think my soul deeply misses musical theater and comedy. So as soon as I got murmurs of the fact that it could possibly be turning into a film, all I wanted was a chance to audition.
Some members of my team at the time were like, “You shouldn’t even have to audition,” and I was like, “You
don’t understand, of course I have to. This is something that has to be earned.” I have so much to prove, and I threw myself at it in every way that I could.
Q. Your characters room together in the movie. How closely did you stick together while making it?
GRANDE: Oh God, very. Not only because we were in most of the same scenes but
GRANDE: But I think that was one of my most cherished parts of this experience: I felt held and like I had a friend every step of the way. I’m really proud of us for how genuinely we took care of each other throughout this whole time.
ERIVO: I’m glad it was us.
Q. What have each of you pulled from the other?
GRANDE: I feel really inspired by her fierce ability to be truthful and protect
Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande arrive at the premiere of “Wicked” on Nov. 9 at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. (PHOTO BY JORDAN STRAUSS / INVISION / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Cynthia Erivo, on being cast as Elphaba in ‘Wicked’
Cynthia Erivo in a scene from the film "Wicked." (UNIVERSAL PICTURES VIA AP)
Questions about Thanksgiving dinner wines answered
Wondering what wine goes best with turkey, or just how much wine you should buy for your Thanksgiving guests? Columnist Ken Ross has the answers.
THE SUPER BOWL OF holiday feasts storms into town next week. Yes, we’re talking about Thanksgiving.
Sure, food plays a big role when it comes to Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Hanukkah and all the other holidays next month.
But Hanukkah takes place over eight days.
New Year’s Eve is more about the party and the midnight countdown.
As for Christmas, it has a lot going on to say the least — feasts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Midnight Masses, Christmas trees, carols, presents and an endless parade of Hallmark movies and TV specials. (“The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” and “Charlie Brown’s Christmas” remain my favorite.)
And, yes, I realize there’s more to Thanksgiving than the daytime meal for many people.
Just ask NFL fans. (Triple header starting at 12:30, by the way.)
But for many of us, Thanksgiving is all about the food. And best of all, many of us don’t have to work for the next three days after Thanksgiving, which is usually about how much time many of us need to recover from all the eating.
Not surprisingly, one of the questions I have often been asked since I started writing this weekly wine column in 2012 is which wine should be served on Thanksgiving.
So most years since then, I have written a wine column about this subject just before Thanksgiving.
One year, I wrote about a wide range of Thanksgiving wines, including red, white and sparkling wines, including wines for leftovers.
Another year, I wrote about five classic Thanksgiving white wines and five classic Thanksgiving red wines. I’ve even written about which Thanksgiving wines you might like based on your
favorite Thanksgiving movie.
(Like “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”? Try an Australian Shiraz since “you clearly have a great sense of humor and love oddball comedies.”)
This year, I decided to take a different approach.
This year’s Thanksgiving wine column addresses some of the most frequently asked questions about Thanksgiving wine.
And, for the record, to come up with these questions, I didn’t ask any “artificial,” electronic wine experts.
I used my imagination and put myself in the shoes of someone standing in a wine store, wondering what on earth they should buy to serve to all their family and friends coming over for Thanksgiving dinner.
I know these people very well. That’s because many years ago I used to work in a wine store in Northampton and would answer all sorts of wine questions. And this time of year many of those questions were about what wines to serve on Thanksgiving.
I did my best to help them find the right Thanksgiving wines.
Hopefully, I can steer you in the right direction today as well.
Q. What wine goes best with turkey?
four bottles of wine. And get a variety of wines as well — perhaps two reds and two whites. In addition, maybe even buy a few extra bottles of wine, just in case everyone likes more red or white. And don’t worry if you have a few unopened bottles of wine left over. Just store them in a cool, dark place (ideally under 50 degrees) and the wine should be fine for a few weeks. It’s al-
Personally, I have never been a big fan of one-size-fits-all wine and food pairings.
A. This is a question I still get asked all the time by many people. First, let’s get the official answer out of the way. Many so-called “experts” claim red wines made with Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling are the perfect turkey-wine pairing.
Personally, I have never been a big fan of onesize-fits-all wine and food pairings. Everyone’s taste is different. Some people love spicy foods. I definitely do not. And if you serve the same wine to seven different people, you often get seven different descriptions of what the wine tastes like. And every person is right. That’s what’s so great about wine. There are no wrong an swers. So if you like Cabernet Sauvignon or Champagne, go for it and open a bottle this Thanksgiving. (Seriously, both taste great with turkey.) Besides, there’s more to Thanksgiving dinner than turkey. So whatever wines you open will likely go great with some or all of the dishes being served next Thursday.
Q. How much wine should I buy for Thanksgiving?
A. This is another ques-
tion I have often heard over the years and not just about Thanksgiving. Whenever you’re having people over to eat, many people want to know how much wine they should serve with the meal. Personally, my advice is one bottle (one standard, 750-milliliter bottle) for every two people drinking wine. So if there are eight adults who drink wine at your Thanksgiving feast, I would buy at least
ways better to have too much wine than not enough.
Q. How much money should I spend on Thanksgiving wine?
A. If you are a regular reader of this wine column, you know you don’t have to spend a lot of money to find great wines. There are many outstanding wines that cost less than $15
Columnist Ken Ross has all your wine-related Thanksgiving worries addressed. (KEN ROSS PHOTO)
Ken Ross Wine Press
Report describes ‘challenging’ state of Massachusetts restaurants
Is beer less healthy than wine?
THE MASSACHU-
setts Restaurant Association (MRA), the trade group that represents the Bay State’s dining establishments, has issued a report detailing the state of the industry.
Drawing on economic data developed by both the MRA and the National Restaurant Association, the report describes a “challenging” dining-out business landscape.
According to the MRA, twothirds of full-service operators are dealing with lower customer counts than they served in 2023 while at the same time are having to cope with food and labor costs that continue to increase.
The report quoted Stephen Clark, the association’s president and CEO, as observing that “consumers are dining out less frequently” as a result of the inflationary pressures they continue to experience, while at the same time more than half of full-service restaurateurs find themselves still saddled with the debt they took on during the COVID-19 pandemic.
High operating costs and weak demand predictably impact restaurant employment and profitability. The restaurant industry in Massachusetts has yet to return to 2020 employment levels, and more than a third of full-service operators report that their restaurant has not been profitable in 2024.
As quoted in the report, Clark summed up the shortterm prospects for the restaurant business.
“The industry is on shaky ground, over the next few months, it appears we are going to see more of the same ... softening sales and profitability will be challenged until labor and food costs are brought back to a more manageable level,” he said.
The challenge for the industry — and the economy as a whole — will be to stabilize costs and restore consumer confidence, the latter still
impacted by events of the past five years.
Side Dishes
Iron Duke Brewing Company of Ludlow will host a French Canadian Weekend Celebration on Nov. 22 and 23.
The celebration begins on Friday, Nov. 22, at 4 p.m. with French Canadian music from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 23, The Willes will play from 7 until 10 p.m.
The Iron Duke Food Truck will have special menu options that include French meat pie, poutine and sugar pie. Iron Duke has also produced limited-edition merchandise to commemorate the celebration.
For more details, contact the Iron Duke Brewing Company at 413-624-6258.
On Saturday, Nov. 30, starting at 5 p.m., Teresa’s Restaurant in Ware will be holding a
dinner theater event.
Entertainment is to be The Eagles Experience, a cover band that performs all the favorites of the ’80s rock powerhouse from which they take their name. The show will be preceded by a cocktail hour and a family-style dinner of Italian American specialties. For more information or to make reservations, call 413967-7601.
Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar locations are making a foray into the “value wars” by introducing a $9.99 Really Big Meal Deal. The deal includes a choice of Applebee’s BIG Classic Bacon Cheeseburger or the brand’s new Big Cluckin’ Chicken Sandwich, both of which come with fries and a fountain drink.
The new Big Cluckin’ Chicken Sandwich consists of a crispy breaded chicken breast served on a toasted brioche baguette. The sandwich is garnished with shredded lettuce, pickles, tomato and mayonnaise.
The Really Big Meal Deal, which is available for dine-in or takeout, is to be a limited-time offering.
Applebee’s created this offer after disappointing third quarter results for the chain. The company’s response has been to develop future marketing
IRESPECT SCIENCE. IT can guide us through otherwise daunting challenges as well as helping us to understand what has often seemed inexplicable to previous generations.
Of course, it also provides us with new technologies that help improve our lives. But every so often I read something in a science journal that irks me because it makes generalizations based on information.
Such is the case with a recent article on Scitechdaily. com, which cited research by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. According to the findings, “beer drinkers tend to have lower-quality diets, engage in less physical activity, and are more likely to smoke cigarettes compared to those who consume wine, liquor, or a combination of alcoholic beverages.”
OK, I’m guessing that statement fits with the general perception of beer drinkers by a lot of folks. Beer is seen as a blue-collar, working-class beverage swilled by the hoi polloi, whereas wine and cocktails are viewed more as “sophisticated” drinks, sipped elegantly in the upper echelons of society.
But now just hold on for one pop-toppin’ second: I have two issues with the article. First, “beer drinkers” are certainly not a solid monolithic group, and second, there’s a reason why beer drinkers in general would have poorer diets — and there might be correlation, but the beverage itself is not causative.
Let’s look at “beer drinkers” first: Beer in general is much cheaper than wine (and a lot of spirits). Not craft beer, but overall, so drinkers of cheaper beer are probably going to be lower-income folks, who (according to research) also tend to buy cheaper food (like fast
George Lenker Beer Nut
food) and are more likely to smoke. The beer market is still largely (87%) made up of large industrial bands, which include the cheaper beers. So, yes, a lot of beer drinkers are probably in somewhat lower economic and social classes than imbibers of the other alcohols.
But I would argue that craft beer drinkers are not so easily pigeonholed. Craft beer is certainly not inexpensive, especially these days. I’m guessing that craft beer drinkers are a heterogeneous group who certainly have diets that run from disastrous (me) to super-healthy. And although my observations are anecdotal, I also have to say I rarely see anyone strolling outside for a cigarette at craft beer breweries and pubs.
To me, craft beer drinkers are not that different from wine aficionados.
As far as the second point: Let’s just look at drinkers of non-craft beer. Plenty of these folks just like to grab a six-pack or case of a more inexpensive brand. Why? Because life is expensive and these people don’t have the available cash to spend $15 on a four-pack of canned craft beer. Plus they grew up on whatever brand their parents or older siblings drank. You can get a 30-pack of Miller Lite for $27. That’s the same as two four-packs of many craft beers. (Yes, the craft beer cans are 16 ounces while Lite cans are 12, but the total ounce comparison is 360 ounces of Lite to 128
The Massachusetts Restaurant Association has released a report detailing the state of the industry, describing it as “challenging.” (ADOBE STOCK PHOTO)
Hugh Robert Off The Menu
WEST SPRINGFIELD
These dogs are ready for the holidays
The Thanksgiving Classic Cluster returns to the Eastern States Exposition starting today and runs through Sunday, Nov. 24. For more information, email tccdogshows@gmail.com or search
“Thanksgiving Classic Cluster” on Facebook. At right is a scene from the 2023 show. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN, FILE)
ter holidays.
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promotions built around “full meal value,” an all-inclusive pricing strategy that focuses on the total cost of a sandwich or entree packed with sides and a drink.
Coffee shop giant Dunkin’ is releasing, for retail grocery distribution, limited-edition flavored coffees.
New flavor options include Merry Mint Bark and Winter White Razz Iced Coffees as well as, for brewing at home, Dunkin’ Gingerbread ground coffee.
Dunkin’ has also created a Dunkaccino Hot Chocolate BOMB, a molded sphere of milk chocolate that’s filled with mini-marshmallows. The bomb is designed to be “activated” when placed in warm milk, where the chocolate melts and releases the marshmallows, creating a hot chocolate drink.
These seasonal coffee products will be exclusively available in Target stores during the run-up to the win-
Arby’s is observing the Thanksgiving season with a pair of limited-time sandwich selections.
The Deep-Fried Turkey Gobbler stacks thick-sliced, deep-fried turkey breast on a brioche roll, then garnishes it with crispy onions, Swiss cheese, an herb spread and a dash of “everything” seasoning.
The Turkey Club is a sandwich build that employs bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato as garnishes for sliced deep-fried turkey.
There are Arby’s restaurants on Granby Road in Chicopee and on Southbridge Street in Auburn.
IHOP’s Pancake of the Month for November is Maple Bacon. Diced bacon is baked into the hotcakes, which are subsequently finished with a maple glaze. A bacon strip and whipped topping garnish an la carte stack of four, and a short stack of the cakes can be enjoyed as part of several combination breakfast entrees.
There are IHOP locations
on Riverdale Street in West Springfield and the Five Town Plaza in the Sixteen Acres section of Springfield.
The Melha Shriners have once again organized Breakfast with Santa on four upcoming weekend dates.
The breakfasts are being held at The 1080 (formerly the Clarion Hotel) on Riverdale Street in West Springfield. The get-togethers feature Santa and Mrs. Claus as special guests; the Clauses are happy to make themselves available for photos with those attending.
Breakfast is priced at $10 for those 13 and older, with youngsters 4 to 12 charged $5. All proceeds benefit the Melha Shiners.
Dates for the breakfasts are Nov. 30, Dec. 1, Dec. 7 and Dec. 8. Advance reservations are required and they can be made online at melha shriners.org/breakfast withsanta/.
On Wednesday, Nov. 27 from 6 to 9 p.m., the Tavern Restaurant in Westfield will be hosting its annual Thanks-
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of craft beer.)
So, drinkers of the cheaper industrial brands are probably poorer, and as other sociological studies have shown, probably have less healthy habits in other areas of their lives. That means the (cheap) beer factor is correlated but doesn’t cause the poor health.
I don’t think any alcoholic beverage is healthier than others. They’re all alcohol, which is a poison.
And the study pointed out that none of the alcohol-using groups even sniffed at reaching a score of 80, which is considered an adequate diet on the 100-point healthy eating index. Although beer drinkers scored lowest at 49, liquor-only drinkers (and combination drinkers) only scored 53, with wine drinkers not really distinguishing themselves much at 55.
giving Eve acoustic performance, with the group Built for Comfort playing in the loft. The restaurant’s full menu will be available, and reservations can be made by calling the Tavern at 413-562-0335.
Table 3 Restaurant Group in Sturbridge will be holding “Thanksgiving at the Barn” in their function venue, The Barn at Wight Farm, on Thursday, Nov. 28, starting at 11 a.m.
The grand buffet will feature carved fresh turkey, prime rib, and cracker-crusted cod as well as a selection of holiday sides. Hors d’oeuvres, salads, and desserts are also included.
Cost to attend is $45.95 per person plus tax and gratuity. Reservations can be made by calling 774-241-8450.
The Farm Table in Bernardston is featuring a new fall menu.
Among the main course selections, the bill of fare offers are Braised Short Rib with mashed potatoes and a Statler Chicken Breast served with cauliflower puree and roasted carrots alongside.
Those who prefer a plantbased option are accommodated with a Chickpea Lentil Stew, which also brings together tomatoes, carrots, and peppers.
On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, the Farm Table will be serving a Thanksgiving Buffet from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Farm Table is open Tuesday through Sunday evenings starting at 4 p.m. Lunch is served on Saturday and brunch is available on Sunday mornings.
Reservations can be made by calling 413-648-5200.
Although The Federal in Agawam is no longer with us, its culinary spirit lives on this November as Posto in Longmeadow presents “A Federal Thanksgiving” for takeout. Posto is offering a full selection of holiday “pick up” packages, from an all-inclusive Turkey Dinner feast to favorite sides like The Federal’s signature risotto balls.
Orders for Nov. 27 pickup at Posto in Longmeadow must be placed by Nov. 21 at 5 p.m. Call 413-935-8500 for more details.
or even $10 a bottle. That’s why I write an annual wine column each December about the top 10 wines under $10. Next month, you can read about more outstanding wines for under $10.
Q. Should I refrigerate wine before Thanksgiving dinner?
A. The short answer? Maybe. If you’re serving sparkling wine or white wine, then yes, you should definitely refrigerate the wine before serving it on Thanksgiving. In general, the wine should be refrigerated for at least two hours to get it nice and cold.
You don’t need to refrigerate red wine in most cases. In fact, putting most red wines in the refrigerator will simply slow down how long it takes for the wine to be at the right temperature for serving with dinner, which you can read more about below.
Q. What temperature should the wine be when it’s served?
A. One common mistake people make is serving certain wines too cold, especially white wines. They should be about 45 to 55 degrees, which is warmer than many people’s refrigerators. When white wines are too cold, the flavors are often dull and you can’t taste them.
As for sparkling wine, they should be slightly colder — around 40 to 45 degrees. But again, not too cold for the same reason. So you decided to splurge and bought a bottle of Champagne, make sure it’s not ice cold so everyone can actually taste all those great, toasty flavors.
As for red wine, the general rule of thumb is it should be served at room temperature. However, when this rule was made, the ideal room temperature was roughly 55 to 65 degrees. That’s because that was the average room temperature of an old country house or castle.
Champagne) is dry, toasty and refreshing. (Suggestion – Nicholas Feuillatte Brut – $35.99 at Liquors 44 stores); Cava: A type of Spanish sparkling wine made the same “traditional” way as Champagne — that costs far less. (Suggestion: Segura Viudas Brut Cava Reserve — $9.99 at Table & Vine in West Springfield)
White wine
Q. How long before Thanksgiving dinner should I open the wine?
A. Sparkling wine you can open any time and serve in a matter of minutes. As for white wine, the same rule applies. Most white wines don’t need to “breathe” after you open them. They generally taste great straight out of the bottle. Now, I’m sure there are a few of you wondering what on earth I’m talking about when I say that a wine need times to breathe. But wine is a living thing, especially red wines. After they have been in the bottle for a few months or years, they need time to open up and reveal their flavors.
Pouring red wine into a glass opens up the wine and exposes it to oxygen. Some red wines only need a few minutes in the glass before dinner. However, other reds (especially older wines made with Cabernet Sauvignon) need an hour or more to open up.
So what should you do? If it’s a red wine, open the bottle about an hour before the meal and taste a small amount. If the wine tastes tight or harsh, pour some into each glass so it has time to open up. If the wine tastes perfect, put the cork back in the bottle and wait to serve at mealtime.
Q. Do I need to keep Thanksgiving wine cold?
A. Sparkling wine? Yes. White wine? Yes. Red wine? No. But remember, don’t serve any of the wines too cold.
Q. Should I put the cork back in the wine after I open it?
A. Yes. After you open a wine and pour some into each glass, definitely put the cork back in the bottle. This way, if no one wants any more wine with dinner, the wine will not go bad. And by bad I mean flat, dull and boring.
While oxygen helps open up a wine — especially older reds — too much oxygen can be a bad thing for many wines. That’s why I always put the cork back in the bottle after opening it, whether it’s a red or a white. Think of wine like a perfume. If you leave the bottle open, those magical flavors will vanish into thin air.
As for sparkling wines, there are special bottle stoppers made for sparkling wine that help preserve all the bubbles. Ask for one when you’re buying the wine at a wine store. Hopefully, the employee helping you will know what you’re talking about.
Q. What wines go best with Thanksgiving left-
overs?
A. I bet you know where I’m going with this one. Just like Thanksgiving dinner, so many different wines taste great with leftover turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and all the other common Thanksgiving dinner treats.
So if you have wine leftover from the dinner, have some of it with your leftovers. This is especially true if you have leftover red wine in a bottle you opened on Thanksgiving. In general, you should drink that leftover red wine by Friday night. By Saturday, some red wines may have lost all their unique flavors.
So don’t wait too long to finish all the great wines you bought for Thanksgiving, especially if the wines are already open. There’s nothing worse than throwing out great wine, especially after you went to all the trouble to buy them to serve with all your fantastic foods.
Recommended Thanksgiving wines
While I wholeheartedly support serving any wine you want with Thanksgiving dinner, here are a few recommendations.
Sparkling wine
Champagne: Sparkling wine from France’s Champagne region (especially “brut”
Sonoma County Chardonnay: Cool, Northern California ocean breezes help make complex, affordable Chardonnay wines. (Suggestion: JUSTIN Sonoma County Chardonnay –$38 Suggested Retail Price); New York Riesling: Riesling wines from New York’s Finger Lakes Region, especially drier ones rather than sweeter Rieslings, go great with turkey. (Suggestion: Dr. Konstantin Frank Dry Riesling — $19 SRP); New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc: Light, bright, affordable white wines with refreshing flavors, including hints of green apple, lemon zest and fresh cut grass. (Suggestion: Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc - $12.99 at Table & Vine)
Red wine
Oregon Pinot Noir: Earthy yet elegant red wines with delicate graceful flavors, especially Pinot Noirs from Oregon’s cool, rainy Willamette Valley. (Suggestion: 2021 Montinore Estate Pinot Noir “Red Cap” Willamette Valley — $23.99 at Table & Vine);
Chile Cabernet Sauvignon: Affordable, complex Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be found throughout this South American country. (Suggestion: 2021 Root 1 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon — $10.99 at Table & Vine);
Red Bordeaux: Often made with a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, red wines from France’s Bordeaux region are legendary for their complex, elegant flavors. (Suggestion: 2019 Chateau Clos Du Roy — $16.99 at Table & Vine) Cheers!
Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com every Monday and in The Republican’s Weekend section every Thursday.
Wondering how much wine you should buy for your Thanksgiving guests? Columnist Ken Ross’ general rule of thumb is one standard, 750-milliliter bottle for every two people. (ADOBE STOCK PHOTO)
‘Wicked’
herself. Just by being around her, I have become more of an ally to myself when I used to do a lot of self-abandoning, and I really do credit that to our friendship. (Tearing up) Whoa, I literally promised myself in the car I wasn’t going to do this. Through spending this time with her and also with a character that believes in herself, I feel like I’ve been able to heal certain parts of myself that were in deep need of having a friend like Cynthia and a friend like Glinda.
Q. In the past, you felt like more of a people-pleaser?
GRANDE: Oh yeah, absolutely. Someone would punch me in the face and I’d say, “I’m sorry.” I’m being silly, I’m doing a bit, but yeah, I had trouble listening to the voices that I knew were true for fear of being judged. And I think that it’s a really beautiful thing to overcome.
ERIVO: I don’t know if she knows, but she’s definitely changed my life. I think it was one of the first times a person looked at me and just was happy with what was there. I would tell her about what I wanted for myself as a musician and she just believed it, I think more than I did. I don’t think it was up until I met her that I was like, “Oh, I think I can have what I want in this lifetime, and I can have it in my way.”
She taught me to handle this crazy beast that is emerging success, because I’ve had a measure of it but this is new. She’s really held my hand all the way through it and wants it for me just as much as I want for myself.
Q. When you finally wrapped as these characters, what was the feeling?
ERIVO: I was devastated.
GRANDE: The whole day was a nightmare. We cried every minute, every hour.
We both were in a horrible state for a few days.
ERIVO: Yeah, it was really hard to let them go.
GRANDE: I don’t think we ever truly, fully will. I think we both needed them the way that they needed each other.
ERIVO: I still fiercely love her.
GRANDE: Me, too. We brought our corsets home and our shoes and our wands. I still have all of my wigs.
ERIVO: Characters like this don’t come along very often, they just don’t. So it’s a real privilege to be able to play these women because they’re so much more than just iconography. You can help people understand—
GRANDE: Humanness.
ERIVO: Yeah. And hurt and love and pain. And the gray areas that we all have.
GRANDE: Especially in today’s culture, when there’s a constant erasure of nuance and humanness and feelings, it’s so important to have these characters and this story to remind people that change is possible. We can choose to be good, and we can be wrong.
ERIVO: We hold spaces for all of those things, and it’s OK. We don’t all have to be the same, but we can still be able to understand one another in our differences, and that’s what these women want to do.
Q. You’ve been working on this film for years, and now it’s finally coming out. How does that feel?
ERIVO: Very crazy. It has been a long ride.
GRANDE: You said it was going to fly.
ERIVO: It did, in a way. Time moves, doesn’t it?
GRANDE: A little too quickly. We were in the Wizard’s chamber two years ago and I said, “I’m so thankful we have so much time ahead with each other.” And she said, “We’re going to blink and it’s going to be May.” And I said, “No, no. Don’t say that.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
