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Hanover Theatre Rep presents ‘Poe Double Header’ in pared-down BrickBox launch

RICHARD DUCKETT

Edgar Allen Poe’s “The TellTale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado” could be called chilling stories, but it won’t be a stunt when the temperature of attendees gets taken prior to private performances of the two adapted tales in “The Edgar Allen Poe Double Header” put on by new The Hanover Theatre Repertory (THT Rep) at the BrickBox Theater at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20 Franklin St., Worcester.

The temperature checks are part of the precautions (also including face masks and social distancing) needed to bring back indoor, inperson live professional theater in Worcester for the first time since the March pandemic shutdown.

“The Edgar Allen Poe Double Header” starts Oct. 1 and runs Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until Oct. 25. Performances can accommodate a maximum of 20 patrons.

The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts has launched THT Rep as a new initiative through which it will produce its own line of plays and other events created in and for the BrickBox Theater.

It is the first producer in Massachusetts — and tenth the country — to be approved by the Actors’ Equity Association for an indoor performance, said Lisa K. Condit, director of marketing and PR for The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts.

The production is the result of several other firsts — and some hats.

“The Edgar Allen Poe Double Header” is the first event in the BrickBox Theater and the first production by THT Rep, said Olivia D’Ambrosio Scanlon.

She is both the managing director of the BrickBox Theater and artistic director of THT Rep. The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts manages the BrickBox Theater on behalf of the Worcester Cultural Coalition. “That’s when I’m wearing my manager director hat,” DAmbrosio Scanlon said. As member of the coalition, The Hanover Theatre also wants to use the BrickBox creatively and so formed THT Rep. “That’s when I’m wearing my artistic director hat,” she said.

Furthermore, D’Ambrosio Scanlon is the one-person performer and director of “The Edgar Allen Poe Doubleheader.”

In both stories the narrator, keen to stress personal sanity and rightfulness, talks of committing a murder.

“The tales are a bit chilling, a bit creepy and lots of fun,” D’Ambrosio Scanlon said. They come with full lighting, full sound and full costume. The production runs for about 45 minutes with no intermission, and people should plan on being at the theater for approximately an hour.

“It’s a fully realized if short production. Part of the reason I selected it — it feels satisfying but we don’t have people in the enclosed space for very long,” she said.

The 20-seat max is in the light of Massachusetts guidelines for private events, including but not limited to: maintaining occupancy within eight people per 1,000 square feet, up to 25 people total (the BrickBox is 4,200 square feet with a 20 foot ceiling). For “The Edgar Allen Poe Doubleheader” there will be five staff people. Everyone involved will be observing safety measures and undergoing weekly testing for COVID-19.

Performances are private and cost $2,500 to book. That can break down to $125 per person if there is a party of 20, D’ Ambrosio Scanlon noted. Any unused seats will be credited as a tax-deductible donation, at the rate of $125 per seat. Seating will be cabaret style with “pods” of two to four seats available at high- and lowtop tables, each pre-set with a bottle of prosecco and individually wrapped dark chocolates.

Besides the BrickBox Theater, people can also book “The Edgar Allen Poe Doubleheader” in their own homes. “I’ll work with them to make arrangements. I’ll work it out as best I can — even if it’s a single flashlight against my face, I’ll do that”’ D’Ambrosio Scanlon said.

Private bookings in the theater ensure you will be seated with people you know rather than if the show had been advertised for the public and seating assigned randomly, she said.

With regard to how bookings have been going, she said the first four performances have been made available to The Hanover Theatre community including the board of directors and volunteers. Beyond that, as of last Thursday, at least a couple of shows had been sold, and “I think once people get the hang of what it is, I think people will want to take us up on the opportunity.”

Asked if $2,500 wasn’t rather expensive, D’Ambrosio Scanlon said “I think it depends on how you approach that question. It’s a fully fleshed out theater performance that many, many hours have gone into. People are welcome to share the costs and break it down to $125 a seat. I don’t think it’s expensive in terms of the quality of the performance and the unique nature of the event. I do agree it’s not what people are necessarily used to when consuming theater.”

Live streaming from the BrickBox Theater is not currently possible because it doesn’t have the equipment yet, although it soon will, she said. “But more than that, we wanted to create a safe way for people to experience live theater at this time.”

D’Ambrosio Scanlon has an extensive background in theater as

Olivia D’Ambrosio Scanlon in BrickBox Theater. She is preparing for her one-person show.

an award-winning producer, director, actor and teaching artist. She has worked with Nora Theatre Co., New Rep, Commonwealth Shakespeare, Playhouse Creatures, Trinity Rep, Asolo Rep, Hartford Stage, and Bridge Rep, which she founded and helmed for five years.

She came on board as managing director of the BrickBox Theater a year ago.

“We’ve all had quite a year,” she said.

“We were supposed supposed to open May 15 with a lovely lineup of programing. Then, of course, that didn’t happen.”

The BrickBox Theater had long been anticipated in the community as a “black box” space for theater, concerts, films and other activities. D’Ambrosio Scanlon said she’s talking with groups who had expressed an interest in the space about possibly using it for live streaming. If the private shows for “The Edgar Allen Poe Doubleheader” are “wildly successful,” such a format might be considered again.

Switching hats, THT Rep plans to present professionally produced classic theater in the BrickBox, D’Ambrosio Scanlon said. “With its raw aesthetic, I think it provides a perfect setting for a stripped-down, intimate presentation of classic works.”

THT Rep had been considering a production of “Romeo and Juliet” last June with teenagers from The Hanover Theatre’s summer theater youth conservatory and professional actors playing the adult parts. D’Ambrosio Scanlon is still hoping that the production can go ahead, perhaps in the first part of 2021.

“We’re not ready to plan out a season as a company normally would do. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is something we would like to do. It’s meant to be with real teenagers.”

Harvey Ball 20/20 in 2020

Worcester tradition celebrates 20th anniversary with 20 award recipients $100 Special for the Month of October

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VEER MUDAMBI

The invitations are in and you shall go to the ball — with Zoom playing the role of fairy godmother.

This year’s Harvey Ball, on World Smile Day, Oct. 2 will be a free virtual event so everyone can bring the Harvey Ball home. Worcester Historical Museum has planned a “spectacular show,” said WHM executive director William Wallace. The gala celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with 20 recipients of the Harvey Ball Smile Award.

The “Harvey” is presented annually to an individual, organization or group of individuals whose commitments have made a major positive impact on the Worcester community. “(The recipients) are all icons for happiness and goodwill, just like Harvey Ball’s famous Smiley Face … and something we need now more than ever,” said Wallace.

The event is named after Worcester’s Harvey Ball, who is credited with the creation of the ubiquitous smiley face icon in 1963.

Celebrations began Monday with a weeklong silent auction that runs to 10 p.m. Oct. 2. Available items include a half-carat diamond ready to be set, WooSox tickets and a year’s supply of Girl Scouts cookies, with viewing available on Facebook and Instagram.

After registering, participants can pick up lawn signs and a Smile party pack at the Worcester Historical Museum, through Oct. 2 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., while supplies last. The party packs include a bottle of Prosecco, an exclusive pie from Tabletop Pies, a bottle opener, coaster, glasses, and napkins among other things, all in a custom Worcester Wears Yellow tote bag.

To ensure that all guests receive the event ZOOM link, the organizers recommend that participants register themselves at www.worcesterhistory. org and click on The Harvey Ball 2020 logo. The ZOOM link/password to participate will be emailed to registered guests with emails only. The link is typically sent the day before the event and again the day of the event by 4 p.m. Registration is free.

Arrangements have been made with featured caterer, Struck Catering, along with a number of local restaurants. Registrants can make plans directly with each participating restaurant to celebrate either on-site or at home with takeout (remember to ask about the special drink!). Struck Catering will be offering a catered dinner/hors d’oeuvres package.

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Union Music thrives on more than sales

IVOR DOLAN

Through the doors of Union Music on 142 Southbridge St., a musician’s delight beckons: walls covered with all sorts of colorful guitars and equipment right down to their straps, dens of keyboards, and an assortment of drums and cymbals, not to mention repair services for the instruments.

“If you’re a music store, you have to have everything,” says Dan Hunt, a luthier (guitar maker) and occasional contractor for Union.

“Everything” in this case also means providing a haven where area musicians gather to perform, mingle and teach.

“We have lessons, so that’s a big part of it, and we have 100 to 120 students per month,” says owner Michele Barabash, whose family bought the business just over two years ago. “One teacher has been teaching for 40 years, and he has students of every age from all over.”

This fixture for local musicians and music students claims a 120- year heritage. Union Music opened in 1900 with a different name and purpose, as a pawnshop called Union Loan Co., Inc. However, as the 1970s saw the rise of credit cards, the popularity of pawnshops as a source of credit declined.

And while acoustic guitars, and the odd brass instrument, had become popular collateral at Union Loan, former owner Carl Kamp rebranded the store with its present name and shifted entirely to the sale of musical instruments.

Nowadays, beyond the world of musical equipment visible on the sales floor, the store also offers other services and events, starting with the daily music lessons. The lessons are available to anyone regardless of age or experience and under ordinary circumstances, take place downstairs from the showroom.

Although the COVID-19 epidemic closed the store for almost three months until early June, remote instruction for students remained available via teleconference and has continued in that format since. In recent weeks, some teachers have resumed in-person lessons.

Woodwinds teacher Ken Sawyer says, “I can have a fifth-grader sitting beside a high school kid and that fifth-grader usually does pretty well simply because of the fact that he sits beside a sophomore or a high school kid who’s been with me for a couple of years.”

The results of the musical training extend beyond the classroom, although Union Music’s wide- ranging musical events are currently on hold.

“Some of the teachers have recitals here,” said Barabash, including performances by individual students on-site and by larger ensembles, which practice here but play at other venues.

Sawyer adds, “I have a 30-piece student band that has been perform

From top: Victor Evdokimoff practices bluegrass fiddle in the performance room; Union Music’s instrument collections are just part of the store’s offerings; Woodwind and Brass teacher Ken Sawyer in his office in one of Union Music’s teaching rooms downstairs from the main store.

IVOR DOLAN

ing for the last 31 years,” at Point Breeze on Webster Lake.

“We’ve had jams, and also open mics once or twice a month,” says Barabash, adding that musicians of all genres and ability levels join in.

The open mics give young musicians a chance to get used to playing in front of an audience, notes Rich Leufstedt, a ukulele musician. “If you’re a high schooler and you want to play music or perform at an open mic, it’s hard to play at some of the ones that are at bars, so it gives an

opportunity for anyone to have a chance to play music.”

The teachers at Union Music put special emphasis on playing with others, an approach that has left them yearning to restore group performances.

“When you get in front of other people, it can be hard and that is what the jams are for — to make you more comfortable playing with people,” explains Victor Evdokimoff, who teaches fiddle and mandolin and runs the monthly bluegrass jam. “I think the essence of it is playing with other people.”

For those looking for a tropical flavor, the Union Ukulele Club has met on the last Thursday of every month. Leufstedt, who runs the groups, says, “We’ve had the ukulele club there for just over seven years. Union Music

provides us a space to gather and have musicians from all different abilities play the ukulele together.”

“These people have been there for years and they love the store,” Evdokimoff observes. “The store has an incredible reputation. And I am sure it has made a huge difference in Worcester, there’s no doubt about it.”

H A R V E Y B A L L CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

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2020 Smile Award winners

“The Big 3” — City Manager Edward Augustus, Medical Director Dr. Michael Hirsh and Mayor Joseph Petty for their efforts during the pandemic. Melanie Bonsu, director of development and marketing/communications for the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts State Sen. Harriette L. Chandler Musician Ricky Duran, who was the runner-up last year on “The Voice.” Musician Alisan Porter, who won “The Voice” in 2016 Judge Martha Grace, retired Mass. Juvenile Court Chief Justice Judi Kirk, director of assessment for the Boys and Girls Club of Worcester Satya Mitra, philanthropist AiVi Nguyen, chair of the United Way of Central Massachusetts

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Imrana Soofi, Muslim Community Link executive director Nellie Toney, MLK Breakfast chair Dolly Vazquez, Worcester Latin American Festival founder Paul Demoga, Edward Madaus, honored for their Vision for Worcester, involving The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts and Worcester Memorial Auditorium. DeJongh “Dee” Wells, co-founder of the Central Mass. Film Festival James Welu, Worcester Art Museum director emiritus WooFood Favorites — George’s Coney Island, Table Talk Pies

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