Worcester Magazine December 31, 2021 - January 6, 2022 by Worcester Magazine

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | CULTURE § ARTS § DINING § VOICES

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IN THIS ISSUE

Worcester Magazine 100 Front St., Fifth Floor Worcester, MA 01608 worcestermag.com Editorial (508) 767.9535 WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com Sales (508) 767.9530 WMSales@gatehousemedia.com VP, Sales & Strategy Andrew Chernoff Executive Editor David Nordman Editor Nancy Campbell Content Editor Victor D. Infante Reporters Richard Duckett, Veer Mudambi Contributing Writers Stephanie Campbell, Sarah Connell Sanders, Gari De Ramos, Robert Duguay, Liz Fay, Jason Greenough, Janice Harvey, Barbara Houle, Jim Keogh, Jim Perry, Craig S. Semon, Matthew Tota Multi Media Sales Executives Deirdre Baldwin, Debbie Bilodeau, Kate Carr, Diane Galipeau, Sammi Iacovone, Kathy Puffer, Jody Ryan, Regina Stillings Sales Support Jackie Buck, Yanet Ramirez Senior Operations Manager Gary Barth Operations Manager John Cofske Worcester Magazine is a news weekly covering Central Massachusetts. We accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. The Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement. Legals/Public Notices please call 888-254-3466, email classifieds@gatehousemedia.com, or mail to Central Mass Classifieds, 100 Front St., 5th Floor, Worcester, MA 01608 Distribution Worcester Magazine is inserted into the Telegram & Gazette on Fridays and is also available for free at more than 400 locations in the Worcester area. Unauthorized bulk removal of Worcester Magazine from any public location, or any other tampering with Worcester Magazine’s distribution including unauthorized inserts, is a criminal offense and may be prosecuted under the law. Subscriptions First class mail, $156 for one year. Send orders and subscription correspondence to GateHouse Media, 100 Front St., Worcester, MA 01608. Advertising To place an order for display advertising or to inquire, please call (508) 767.9530. Worcester Magazine (ISSN 0191-4960) is a weekly publication of Gannett. All contents copyright 2021 by Gannett. All rights reserved. Worcester Magazine is not liable for typographical errors in advertisements.

Featured ..............................................................................4 City Voices ..........................................................................9 Cover Story.......................................................................12 Artist Spotlight................................................................19 Next Draft .........................................................................20 Listen Up ...........................................................................21 Adoption Option.............................................................28 Classiﬁ eds ........................................................................29 Games................................................................................30 Last Call .............................................................................31

On the cover “Dexter: New Blood” was just one part of Worcester’s biggest year in ﬁ lm and television to date. PHOTO SEACIA PAVAO/SHOWTIME

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FEATURED

Remembering First Night Worcester on what would have been its 40th year Richard Duckett Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Five years ago on New Year’s Eve, 2016, First Night Worcester celebrated its “35th Anniversary Spectacular.” The event got underway outdoors at Institute Park at the Levenson Concert Stage with opening remarks by Worcester Mayor Joseph M. Petty followed by a performance by Sasha the Fire Gypsy. Although First Night Worcester was not exactly the large-scale happening it had been in its heyday, the 2016 event still had more than 80 performers (rock musicians, folk singer-songwriters, country music , youth orchestras, children’s chorus, chamber music singers, theater, acrobats, psychics … ) at venues mostly in the upper Main Street, Salisbury Street and Grove Street areas of the city. And as always the event exuded plenty of charm as you saw individuals or groups of people out on sidewalks identiﬁ able by their First Night Worcester buttons heading determinedly to the next event on their respective program lists. But as psychic mediums Deborah Livingston and Katherine Glass (a popular attraction at First Unitarian Church, 90 Main St.) may have already known, this would turn out to be the ﬁ nal First Night Worcester. In May 2107, an announcement was made that “After careful review, we have decided the 35th would be our last event.” The then First Night Worcester Board President Kal-

The First Night 2012 procession marches down Front Street to view ﬁ reworks in Worcester. RICK CINCLAIR/ T&G FILE PHOTO

lin Johnson said at the time, “The Board is conﬁ dent it has reached the correct business decision, but we’ll miss setting the stage for thousands of smiling faces on New Year’s Eve.” COVID-19 last year and the sudden surge of the Omicron variant this December would probably have had a drastic impact even if it the event had continued. However, 2021 also would have been the 40th ﬁ rst First Night Worcester.

The very ﬁ rst First Night Worcester warmed up New Year’s Eve with performances and celebrations attended by thousands of people on Dec. 31, 1982. Over the course of 35 years, over a million people took in the activities which were a signature Worcester experience that also provided a welcome paid gig to hundreds of local performing artists. This New Year’s Eve there are a scattering of individual events scheduled to take place

around and about Worcester, all of which sound good on their own terms, but there’s nothing under an umbrella of bringing the community as a whole together. “Yes, I miss First Night Worcester,” said Charles J. Washburn, a founder of First Night Worcester and a past longtime member of the board. “It really felt like, in Worcester, we all belonged to one another.” On Dec. 31, 1975, a small

group of artists and musicians in Boston seeking to perform on stages, both indoor and outdoor, organized an artistic and cultural celebration of New Year’s Eve. First Night Boston came about, which remains the oldest First Night celebration in the country. For a long while, First Night Worcester was the second longest continuous event of its See FIRST NIGHT, Page 5

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First Night Continued from Page 4

kind. After a group of people in Worcester who had been going to Boston on New Year’s Eve for several years decided to put something together locally, the ﬁ rst First Night Worcester Dec. 31, 1982, drew between 10,000 and 15,000 people. There were hot air balloons over Lincoln Square that lit up and the event made use of the Worcester Memorial Auditorium, which at that time was still a regular venue for concerts. Altogether, there were 40 programs in 15 locations. The night was a success. According to one account, even the snow fell on cue (but didn’t accumulate). First Night would become a phenomenon, and not just around here. A national blizzard of First Night organizations formed across the country in the 1980s, numbering up to 400 at one point with a national organization that even had its own executive director (who once spoke at Mechanics Hall). Locally, First Night Worcester was a private, nonproﬁ t organization that continued to grow and had year-round programs in addition to putting on the big night itself. The budget for 2010 was reportedly $350,000. The organization relied on sponsors and sales of its First Night buttons (which were reasonably priced and got the wearer into all events as well as admission to partnering institutions such as the Worcester Art Museum) for most of its income. The DCU Center, Mechanics Hall, Tuckerman Hall and Worcester City Hall were among the venues that hosted First Night events, as well as, later, The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts. Some years the venues would be transformed such as the time City Hall was a medi-

A large luminous worm was used in the pre-ﬁ reworks parade in front of the Worcester Auditorium at Lincoln Square in Worcester during Worcester First Night 2009.

Groupo Fantasia, including Amado Rodriguez, left, performs in the tent during Worcester First Night 2012. RICK CINCLAIR/T&G FILE

PAUL KAPTEYN/T&G FILE PHOTO

PHOTO

eval castle when the Fist Night theme became “First Knight.” For many years, the steps of the Worcester Memorial Auditorium would be packed with people gathered to watch midnight fi reworks. One time there was a bubble-wrap stomp on the Auditorium steps. “Each year there was a new idea,” Washburn said. “Life sized ‘bowling pins’ in the Johnson Tunnel, illuminated hot air balloons, a parade of puppets and a throng in hand made costumes and burning ‘wish sticks’ created that night and also collected from all sorts of people who, for one reason or another, would not be able to join the fun in person.” There would be a wave of family activities during the day, that for several years included the “Main Street Mile” road race. A procession downtown in the early evening (with First Night Worcester board member Dorothy Hargrove always stealing the show dressed up as characters such as the the Snow Queen or Cruella DeVil) would be followed by a fi rst blast of fi reworks. Then came the evening and night events geared more for adults, followed by fi reworks at midnight. Musical headliners over the years included New Kids on the Block, Arlo Guthrie, Leon Red-

Ballet Arts Worcester dancers perform at the Worcester Art Museum during First Night Worcester 2012. PAUL KAPTEYN/T&G FILE PHOTO

bone, Livingston Taylor, guitarist Duke Levine and the Carol Noonan Band, ﬁ ddler Eileen Ivers, David Foster & the Mohegan Sun All-Stars with special guests including legendary Blues Brother Matt “Guitar” Murphy and singer Christine Ohlman, and actor and singer Alicia Witt (making a return journey to Worcester) with Ben Folds. The WRTA would have three buses circulating continually along the loop all night, picking

up passengers at seven appointed stops and anywhere else people happened to ﬂ ag them down for a ride. For those who preferred more rustic transportation, there were horse-drawn hayrides up and down Main Street. In the early 1990s Fist Night Worcester sold 15,000-20,000 buttons a year, but 65,000 or 70,000 people came downtown. “So, there’s a big gap between who our audience is and who comes downtown,” said

then First Night Worcester President Jonathan Finkelstein in 1992. “I have only fond memories of First Night Worcester,” reﬂ ected Kallin Johnson, a musician, conductor and director of music at Notre Dame Academy. “On several occasions, because I was still doing a lot of performing, I would be known to drive to Boston to perform at their First Night or even one See FIRST NIGHT, Page 6

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First Night Continued from Page 5

time I drove to Chatham to perform at Chatham’s First Night celebration but I always drove back to Worcester so I could be there at the end of evening — at the welcoming in of the New Year,” Johnson said. After joining the First Night Worcester board sometime just before the year 2000, Johnson recalled that one national concern was computers not being able to calculate a new century at midnight. “Would they all just shut down and self-destruct?” All was well. “Fond memories include the years we used the DCU center for many events — luckily one year, sometime in late 2009 or 2010, you could hardly walk around outside of there as the snow piled up so high outside that most attendees just stayed inside the DCU,” Johnson said. “I miss seeing all sorts of friends as I made the rounds, checking in on each site to be sure all was going well,” said Washburn. “In the early years mobile phones were not ubiquitous so our program committee checked in on each venture several times during the night. There were so many delightful moments. In the later years I especially liked seeing young families gathering for a show. It reminded me of bringing my own family to the earliest First Night celebrations.” Johnson said, “I shall never forget the uses of Tuckerman Hall where I convinced my friend, Paul Levenson (executive director of the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra which owns and operated Tuckerman Hall), to let us use the hall over multiple years. He reminded me recently of one participant who had several handfuls of glitter which at the appropriate time he/she let ﬂ y at the appropriate hour which provided months of clean-up for his crews. He told me that it took at least six months before

Sankofa Kuumba Cultural Arts Consortium perform at the Epworth United Methodist Church in Worcester for First Night 2001. PAULA FERAZZI SWIFT/T&G FILE PHOTO

they were able to clean up all the glitter.” When Witt and Folds came to Worcester they needed a place to rehearse on the day before the New Year’s Eve concert in Mechanics Hall. “So I took them over to my music room at Notre Dame Academy where I teach and gave them full use of amplifi ers and drums, etc., “ Johnson said. “When I dropped them off there was not an ounce of snow on the ground but when I came back to get them a few hours later there was at least 6 inches of snow.” Also at Tuckerman Hall, country singer Ayla Brown, daughter of former U.S. Senator Scott Brown, received a marriage proposal. New Year’s Eve could be a very cold date in Worcester, and perhaps it felt more so as the years continued. Attendance began to decline, sponsors were harder to fi nd, and First Night button sales slowly fell off (with 6,000 sold in 2015). Fireworks were curtailed some years, and the planning shifted to smaller venues. In November 2013, First Night Worcester said “help” as it sought to raise $25,000 to fund the New Year’s Eve celebration. Meanwhile, where at one point there were over 400 First Night organizations across the country, by 2016 the number was down to about 20. There

Alicia Witt performs the ﬁ rst of two 40-minute sets at Mechanics Hall during Worcester First Night 2013. BETTY JENEWIN/T&G FILE PHOTO

The Worcester Common Oval entertained ice skaters during Worcester First Night 2016. RICK CINCLAIR/T&G FILE PHOTO

was no WRTA loop in 2016, but there were two trolleys to take people from place to place, and there was still a horse and carriage oﬀ ering hayrides. The 35th First Night was also deemed a success. But for whatever reason or reasons, the lights were going out nationally and locally. “First Night Worcester

stopped only because we could not be sure that the next year would be successful and we did not want to spoil our record and go out on a failed event,” Washburn said. There are First Nights taking place this year, including in Boston, albeit a scaled down version. So could we ... “You ask, will it ever return?

No, I don’t think so,” Washburn said. “That’s not to say that another civic-minded cultural event won’t emerge, and that it might even happen on New Year’s Eve. But First Night Worcester, as much as many people miss it and regret its passing, is history,” Washburn said.

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‘Accidental playwright’ Ed Humphries’ newest play set for Gateway Players Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Ed Humphries’ newest play, “Dad’s Dance,” will open in February, performed by the Gateway Players Theatre of Southbridge. A casualty of the pandemic, the play was originally slated to premiere at Old Sturbridge Village Theatre, before COVID-19 necessitated a worldwide shutdown. Initially delayed, it was later canceled entirely. However, the Southbridge resident’s own journey to the stage has been much longer than that and is a story all its own. “I’d call myself an accidental playwright,” said Humphries, referring to how he got to this point. Attending a performance to support a friend, he found himself surprised with how much he enjoyed the experience. Upon learning that the theater company was looking for more actors for a production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Humphries auditioned on impulse, landing the part of the villain Nurse Ratchet’s right-hand man in 2008. “Every time Ratchet is on the stage, he’s with her,” said Humphries of his character. “He acts as her pit bull who pushes the inmates around.” What made it so fun, he discovered, was playing someone who was his complete opposite. “I found the role cathartic. After a hard day at work, get on stage and bully the inmates,” he said laughing. For a time, he acted in one play a year while his kids were young — sometimes parts that he was interested in, but sometimes just ones convenient to his schedule. And it wasn’t long before he began to imagine what sort of play he would want to watch — a thought that “planted the seed” of writing his own plays, said Humphries. Having gone to school for journalism, and toying with writing a novel or two, he soon found out that a play was diﬀ erent from news writing or prose. So he began by studying the scripts for plays he performed in, starting with “Cuckoo’s Nest.” Theater depends almost entirely on dialogue, which was something Humphries always had the hardest time

From left, “Dad’s Dance” actors Lynn Boucher, Stephen Jean, Teresa Simpson and Mikey Dearn. ERIC HART

with. It was more than just writing a believable conversation, however, but one that “builds characters” and using dialogue as the sole source of character development. Studying that helped him home in on the individual voices and make his characters sound distinct from each other. It even allowed him to move beyond “writing a conversations to building characters” and he talked of how most of that will come from the actor but he gives them a blueprint and ingredients to work from at the start. A scene in “Dad’s Dance” when people are standing around drinking beer lent itself to his photographic memory for conversation — “I pick up funny lines and weave them in.” It all contributes to showing not telling the way diﬀ erent people can positively impact your life, if you open yourself up, and it is Humphries’ super power. “Always thought it was my weak spot but began to become my sweet spot and writing plays seemed more natural to

me,” he explained. He completed his fi rst play, “The Monkey Bar Mafi a,” in 2012, around three years after his part in “Cuckoo’s Nest.” Inspired by Humphries’ own experience of a year of unemployment and being a stay-at-home dad, the story dealt with the interaction of parents at the playground while watching their kids. Humphries co-directed the play and reworked the script throughout production, and still remembers the exhilaration of opening night. “It was unbelievable — after going over those lines again and again, you can forget that people will connect with them emotionally. [The play] came out at a time when unemployment was high,” he said, “so that likely hit people hard.” The experience was so inspiring that he immediately began work on his next play, and though his fi rst play was a steep learning curve, he has since co-directed two plays and directed a third. In his fourth and most recent one, “Dad’s

Dance,” he does not direct but acts instead. “It was sort of against my better judgment but the director was insistent,” he said about his return to acting, the ﬁ rst time since “Cuckoo’s Nest.” “Dad’s Dance” is loosely based on his relationship with his daughter and in support of her passion for dance. His daughter has been involved with dance for most of her life and participates in yearly dance recitals. Though he told her, ”this is what I’m going to write, but I need you to know it isn’t our story,” the play wouldn’t exist without the relationship they have with each other. Memories of playing dance video games with his daughter inspired parts of the play Like in all his other plays, Humphries makes people both laugh and cry. “When a friend of mine sat down to read the script, he asked, ‘is this going to make me cry at the end too?’” Humphries recalled. “It’s just how I’m wired.” And that is what draws the audience in, provides a sense of community and gives the performance a kind of healing power. Even though he wrote this all prepandemic, now the message of the healing power of community will be felt differently in light of COVID-19, “coming out of what we just came out of with social distancing” and could be therapeutic for audiences “now that we can enjoy theater.” All performances will be held at the Fellowship Hall of Elm Street Congregational Church, 61 Elm St., Southbridge. Performance dates are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11, 12, 18 & 19, and 2 p.m. Feb. 20. Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for seniors and youth under 18. Tickets may be reserved by calling Gateway at (508) 764-4531. Online credit card ticket sales at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/5322152 This comedy will be directed by Eric Hart, and produced by Ed Humphries. The cast includes Mikey Dearn, Teresa Simpson, Patrick Bracken, Stephen Jean, Mary Darling, Prreeti Tiwari, Lynn Boucher and Ed Humphries. Stage manager is Diane Servant, choreographer is Valerie Langlais, and technical director is David Corkum.

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The Trichomes ready for ‘New Year’s Eve Extravaganza’ at Electric Haze Robert Duguay Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s hard to believe, but in less than a week, 2021 will forever go into the history books. The ball will drop, 2022 will arrive, and a sense of hope for a better 12 months than the previous 24 will be prevalent among the masses. To ring in the next installment of the 2020s, there really isn’t a better way than hitting up a show to enjoy some live music along with some visual art, while possibly having a drink in your hand or a hit of a hookah. Fortunately, all of this is going down at a “New Year’s Eve Extravaganza” happening at Electric Haze on 26 Millbury St. in Worcester with an Apocpoet Art Gallery showing followed by The Chops from Boston, local multi-genre cover band Groover Cleveland and The Trichomes from Newmarket, New Hampshire, taking the stage. Back in April, The Trichomes released the single “Snake Oil,” which was recorded in the basement of their house. The song captures a weird and funky vibe while being nearly 10 minutes long. “We had another guitarist in our band for six months and that was the one song we recorded with him,” multi-instrumentalist Stefan Trogisch says about the making of the track. “Nearly a year later, after he wasn’t in the band anymore, we ﬁ nally released it as a single. The whole premise of it is just trying to feel weird but also funky while making something. It has some really funky verses but there’s kind of a circusy, Django Reinhardt vibe at the same time.” The band has a very collaborative and multi-instrumental

The Trichomes are set to play Electric Haze on New Year’s Eve. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREA LYNNE SKANE

approach to music. Other than jokingly mentioning attention defi cit hyperactivity disorder as an infl uence, the members each have diverse musical tastes which helps in seamlessly diving into diff erent styles. “I would say that we all have a lot of diff erent musical backgrounds and we all listen to some crazy music,” Trogisch said. “Stuff like Mr. Bungle but for main infl uences there’s some ‘70s fusion rock, we like punk rock, we like ska and even classical, so it’s kind of all over the place. With 2021 marking the re-

turn of live music after it barely existed during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, The Trichomes really enjoyed performing with diff erent musicians from other acts. They fi nd it to be a very fun experience while also bringing about fond memories from the past six months. “Being able to have people sit in with us again,” bassist and synthesizer player Ian Smith refl ects on his favorite moments of the year. “We’ve had a few sit-in sessions that made us really happy.” “It’s not that we’re always a

jam, jam, jam time band but we do like doing it on occasion,” Trogisch adds. “Whenever we’ve gotten a couple horn players from another act throwing down with us it’s always super fun. We don’t get to do that at our house as much but we have a trumpet player jumping in with us sometimes, which folks will see on the album we’re currently working on.” Speaking of that album, the band aims to have it out on a speciﬁ c date in the spring. It’s a date that ﬁ ts well with The Trichomes’ name if you do some

research. “Spring is what we’re looking at for a time to release the album, speciﬁ cally 4/20,” Trogisch says. “Our name comes from actual trichomes being the hairs on plants and when you touch them they stick to you, much like how music does. We released ‘Snake Oil’ on that date this year as well so we ﬁ gure it would be a good time to put out the album then and we’ll probably put out another single before that. Potentially it’ll be a song about cowboys wearing pants and dresses.”

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CITY VOICES FIRST PERSON

LANDGREN HAPPY NEW YEAR?

The eternal presence of Billy Joel Meaghan Racicot Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

A few weeks ago, I piecemeal watched “Hired Gun” in my car as I waited to pick up my daughter from school, watching about 15 minutes each day. “Hired Gun” is a documentary about musicians who are hired by other, larger name musicians to play their hit songs “behind them.” They are not in the band, just part of it for as long as they are hired. It was a fascinating documentary, and I don’t want to Billy Joel, performing in Austin in October. See JOEL, Page 10

SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN

WORCESTERIA

A wish for the New Year – We all deserve to be seen Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

I am, perhaps unsurprisingly, a fan of “best of ” lists, yearend “people to watch” lists, “favorite album or music video lists” and their ilk. Usually, they're pretty terrible – “Hey, fellow kids! Let's check out those new hep cats Ed Augustus and Jim McGovern! They really might make something of themselves!” – but when done right, they can help journalists illuminate the amazing people who surround us: Some who grab the headlines, others who toil in obscurity, but nonetheless the people who often make our world better in some way, and they deserve to be seen. Worcester Magazine and the Telegram & Gazette do a

number of these, of course, beginning on Thanksgiving with our “Hometown Heroes” issue and rolling into the new year with a few interesting odds and ends. I even enjoy reading the lists by our rival and frenemy publications, such as The Worcester Business Journal's “22 People You Should Know in 2022,” or Vanyaland's “21 Boston Songs of 2021.” Indeed, the reasons I love these things are probably a lot of the same reasons I'm so excited about the Telegram's Storytellers program: We can't tell every story, no matter how hard we try, but sometimes, we can give people the tools and forum to tell their own. Mind, there are some limits to my love of these year-end lists. It was nice that the BosSee WORCESTERIA, Page 10

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Worcesteria

only look to the dismantling of the tent city near Walmart in October: It's easier to shuﬄ e people out of sight than it is to solve a systemic problem. Listen closely to people discussing the plight of the unhoused congregating under the Green

Street Bridge. Some clearly show concern for their welfare, while others worry how it looks, having the unhoused gather in the shadow of our shiny new baseball stadium, in a neighborhood that's gentrifying more with each passing day.

I'm reminded, as I contemplate this, of a story Craig Semon wrote, where he gave local panhandlers a chance to tell their own stories. It was a powerful piece of work, one that highlighted the humanity in his subjects. I'm also reminded of a

story the late Telegram & Gazette reporter Lee Hammel wrote many years ago, spending a night in the old People in Peril shelter, and talking to the people he found there. Both pieces were rare, intense glimpses into not just the fact that people were unhoused, but also the realities of their world. We rarely ask ourselves why there aren't more shelters, or why people don't always want to make use of the shelters there are. We talk about drugs and mental illness, forgetting that we, too, are really only a handful of missed paychecks from that being our life. I have no answers here, just a wish as we go into 2022: That we try to see each other. The people who build things, or create beauty. The people who struggle and survive, sometimes despite all odds. The people who are kind, when the world gives them every reason not to be. The people who show us who we can be as leaders, or as neighbors, or both. Not all of us can be in the headlines, but all of us deserve to not be relegated to anonymous shadows, to have the sunlight fall upon our face.

in me, how it felt so natural, so comforting. It took only a few more songs before I realized that I knew almost all the words to all of the big hit songs. Suddenly and rather bizarrely, it occurred to me that Billy Joel was a major part of my childhood musical experience, although nobody in my life was a “Billy Joel Fan” per se. I couldn’t help but wonder if my current strong connections to his musical themes and lyrics had, at least in part, been guided by the fact that I had grown up listening to his music on the radio. Every day. Billy Joel was across the airwaves when I was born in 1983 and his songs were a tenant in my mom’s red two-door Chevy Cavalier, where I slid around

the burning hot seats and stared out the tiny window. Back then, whatever was on the radio was what was on, and judging from my memory bank, my mom ﬂ ipped her dial between Oldies 103.3 and 104.5 WXLO. Even as young as 3 or 4, I remember these songs as I ran around our 2nd ﬂ oor unit of a 120-year-old three-decker up in Quinsig Village. As I got older and my musical tastes began to form, I started stepping away from some of the music I grew up on to explore new genres and artists. I started listening to the local college radio, WCHC, the radio station up at the College of the Holy Cross. (Mostly because 88.1 was the only channel that came in on my old Chevy Cava-

lier, white with four doors.) As far as I recall, I haven’t knowingly listened to a Billy Joel song in years but hearing tune after tune after tune of enormous hits which ﬁ lled the charts, I can’t help but think what a wonderful artist he truly is. Listening to “Tell Her About It” in my kitchen while putting away dishes, I was taken back to being a young girl and hearing that on the radio. Memories of singing along to “Uptown Girl” and “Piano Man,” listening intently to the story inside “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” and trying to decipher all the lyrics to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” came ﬂ ooding back. Singing “River of Dreams” in middle school chorus. Hearing my sister’s class sing it again

two years later. The music I heard growing up got into me, made me, shaped me, turned car rides into music videos, got me through the most boring church sermons. These songs wriggled and wiggled and wormed their way into my life and are just as much a part of me as my very own heartbeat. And Billy Joel was a huge part of the mix, and I didn’t even remember until I watched “Hired Gun.” Rock ‘n’ Roll Forever! Meaghan Racicot is a children’s author from Auburn. Read more essays by her at https://meaghanracicot.substack.com, and check out her picture books at www.meaghanracicot.com.

Continued from Page 9

ton Globe included two local political ﬁ gures in its “Bostonians to Watch” series, but I would never look too closely there to get a glimpse of life in Worcester, any more than I would look to the Globe for insight into the regional music scene. Its attention on either is spotty, only seeing the highest summits, not the work being done on the ground. The work being done on the ground matters. It, too, deserves to be seen. And that's the thing: We all deserve to be seen, and that's harder to accomplish than it seems. We've made great strides in equity – be it on race, religion, sexuality, gender identity or what have you – but always there's this pushback on the other side, one that seems to say, “OK. That's enough. You can exist, but we just don't want to have to hear about it.” Problem is, as a species, we have a long history of bad things happening when people are pushed into the shadows. There are all sorts of ways to disappear, after all. One need

Joel Continued from Page 9

spoil too much for anyone, so check it out if you can. What I would like to talk about today is Billy Joel. Perhaps “Keeping the Faith” was featured in the movie, or perhaps it was mentioned somewhere, for I found the catchy tune had wormed its way into my ear, and it was the ﬁ rst song title I typed into YouTube. While listening, I realized I already knew almost every single word. Not having actively heard this song in decades (not including whatever songs play in the background at the dentist), I was mildly surprised at how ingrained this tune was

People gather on Worcester Common for the Longest Night Vigil on the 31st Annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. TAJONN NICKELSON PHOTO

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POETRY TOWN

‘The Inn at the Square’ Robert Eugene Perry Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

The weeping prophet, Jeremiah Lent his name to a city shelter A bastion of safety from the cosmic wars Addiction, homelessness, mental illness. I washed back up there in the early '90s Just a tie-dyed shirt and cutoff jeans No home no family no friends no hope Blaming it all on bad luck. Broken for the last time, eyes opened Kindness rendered, I surrendered Compassion ripped off the pall of denial Exposed and desperate I asked for help –

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I was taught service, give it away Become that which you learn to love The life I wanted was there all along Becoming human, all things are possible. Robert Eugene Perry is a poet and author of several books. His most recent collection of poetry, “Surrendering to the Path,” was released by Human Error Publishing in 2020.

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Jeremiah’s Inn is a residential recovery program for men. The building once housed the Hotel Stafford. PAUL KAPTEYN/ T&G FILE PHOTO

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12 | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

COVER STORY

Meryl Streep as President Janie Orlean in “Don’t Look Up.” This rally scene was ﬁ lmed inside the DCU Center in Worcester. NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX

Making Hollywood magic at home Dexter, Whitney Houston, ‘Black Panther’ and Worcester’s big year in popular culture Craig S. Semon Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

f there was any doubt that Worcester has become a hotbed for Hollywood productions, all you have to do is look at the success of 2021, which has turned out to be the city’s busiest fi lm-making year yet. h In 2021, major motion-picture and television projects with scenes shot in Worcester included “Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever,” “Confess, Fletch,” “Dexter: New Blood,” “Salvation,” “Spirited,” “The Tender Bar” and the Whitney Houston biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” while projects released this year with scenes shot in Worcester include “New Guy,” a majority of “Dexter: New Blood,” “Don’t Look Up” and, once again, “The Tender Bar.” h And rumor has it, there are already two movies projects lined up to fi lm in Worcester for 2022. h Despite the stranglehold of COVID-19, Spider-Man and his multiverses have nothing on Worcester when it comes to the diff erent stories, realities and timelines unfolding in front of the camera. h The following is a look back at the year that was. See YEAR, Page 13

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Year Continued from Page 12

Local girl makes good In 2021, movie producer Andrea Ajemian continued her hot streak. The Worcester native who grew up in Rutland served as executive producer/unit production manager on two movies released in 2021, “I Care a Lot” and “The Unholy.” Filmed all over the Bay State (but nowhere near Worcester), “I Care a Lot” also featured Alicia Witt in a supporting role. The Netfl ix hit marks the fi rst time the two Worcester natives, Ajemian and Witt, have worked on the same fi lm project together. Although primarily shot at Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury, “The Unholy” (which was originally titled “Shrine”) has scenes fi lmed inside the Clinton Historical Society. On April 5, I tweeted: “It was a good Easter Weekend for Jeffrey Dean Morgan fans. Not only did he deliver the best episode of ‘The Walking Dead’ in years with a compelling, heartwrenching backstory on Negan, he also spooked us on the big-screen with the nifty little horror movie ‘The Unholy.’” Coincidentally, my Jeff rey Dean Morgan tweet was my most popular tweet of the year with 149K impressions, 143 retweets, 833 likes and 32 comments.

Variety is the spice of life Not only did Alicia Witt keep her collective wits during COVID-19, she made the most out of her downtime by staying very busy during the pandemic. While she is best known as an actress, Witt — who made her acting debut in David Lynch’s “Dune” at the age of 7 — released a stellar new album, “The Conduit,” and a combination cookbook/memoir/lifestyle guide, “Small Changes: A

Director and screenwriter Adam McKay and Jennifer Lawrence on the set of “Don’t Look Up.” PHOTO NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX

Rules-Free Guide to Add More Plant-Based Foods, Peace & Power to Your Life.” Arguably her most fully realized showcase as a singer/ songwriter to date, “The Conduit” is a conﬁ dent throwback to the classic singer-songwriter albums of the ‘70s. Like Carole King, Carly Simon and Karen Carpenter before her, Witt is intimate and unguarded, honest and real. Her elegant, understated piano playing enhances her probing, precise words while lavish (but never overpowering) strings make it sound like nothing on mainstream pop music today. “Small Changes” is not your typical self-help book; Witt doesn’t pretend to be self-help expert or know-it-all ﬁ tness guru but a friendly, reassuring voice sharing her personal experience with fads, diets, exercise and veganism (although she’s a sucker for an occasional See YEAR, Page 14

Worcester natives Andrea Ajemian and Alicia Witt on the set of “I Care A Lot” in 2019. Ajemian served as executive producer/unit production manager on the ﬁ lm, while Witt costarred. SUBMITTED PHOTO

14 | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Year Continued from Page 13

piece of salmon) and saying this works for her; if you make a few changes in your life, it may work for you. 2021 had all the makings of a great year for Alicia, one of her best in recent years. A successful concert and book tour introduced the personable celebrity to a whole new audience. Then, suddenly, a few days before Christmas, an unspeakable tragedy struck. Bob and Diane Witt, Alicia Witt’s parents, were found dead in the family home. They were her biggest fans and supporters, who were there for her when she was a 5year-old reciting Shakespeare to John Davidson on “That’s Incredible,” who were there for her when David Lynch called the house to see if she was interested in starring in “Dune,” and every little and major success that has followed The fi rst time I met Alicia was when I invited her to attend a “Twin Peaks” fi nale party I was throwing on June 10, 1991. Witt, who was 15 at the time (but mature beyond her years), briefl y appeared as Donna Hayward’s ivory-tickling kid sister Gersten Hayward on David Lynch’s nighttime soap. Understandably, Alicia brought to the party her parents, Bob and Diane, who arrived wearing “Bob” and “Diane” nametags. Over the years, I have seen Bob and Diane numerous times, in places like Mechanics Hall and Emerson College, just radiating with the joy of seeing their daughter share her art and grow as a person and a performer.

The Iceman Cometh to the Commonwealth You don’t have to be a forensic expert to see that Worcester and some of the surrounding neighborhoods have contaminated the various crime scenes

In this scene from “Dexter: New Blood,” Julia Jones, who plays Angela Bishop, the police chief of Iron Falls, N.Y., crosses paths with David Zayas, who returns as “Dexter” fan favorite Angel Batista, in a scene ﬁ lmed at the AC Hotel by Marriott Worcester. SEACIA PAVAO/SHOWTIME

in “Dexter: New Blood.” In the opening scene of the fi rst episode of “Dexter: New Blood,” everybody’s favorite fi ctional serial killer is seen running through the snow-covered backwoods of Iron Falls, New York, where the weeklyrun, 10-episode Showtime series is set. But, in actuality, actor Michael C. Hall (who plays the show’s title character and his alias, Jim Lindsay) was fi lmed running through the woods of Camp Collier in Gardner, while his encounter with an albino deer took place at 535 Harvard Road in Lancaster. Dexter goes to the Iron Lake Tavern to meet Angela Bishop (played by Julia Jones), who is not only his girlfriend but the police chief of Iron Falls. Decorated with holiday lights and trimming, the interior of the

tavern is, in fact, the Bull Run in Shirley. We go to Iron Lake High School for the ﬁ rst of many times in episode three, which is, in reality, Nashoba Regional High School in Bolton, complete with fake snow outside. In episode ﬁ ve, the action unfolds at a law enforcement conference at the AC Hotel by Marriott Worcester, 125 Front St., in Worcester. In the same episode, Dexter is seen driving his 1995, twotone Ford F-150 in the parking lot of The Crystal Bar, a local dive where one of the drug dealers responsible for Dexter’s son overdosing at a party hangs out. It turns out that The Crystal Bar is none other than the BMan’s 140 Tavern at 344 Redemption Rock Trail (Route 140) in Sterling. The same bar was also used as Dell’s for the

latest remake of “Salem’s Lot,” which also ﬁ lmed scenes at the Princeton Public Library. Dexter waits for neighborhood drug dealer No. 2 outside his home, who (at least, on the show) lives at 29 Colby St., Worcester. Despite the scene ﬁ lmed in May, the ground is also covered with (fake) snow. In episode six, Chief Bishop goes home and you can clearly see this is 3 Chestnut St. in Grafton. And we still have a few more episodes left.

actor Ben Affl eck (who plays Uncle Charlie) shot exterior scenes on Maverick and Cane streets in Fitchburg. Clooney, who is the director of the fl ick, fi lmed interior shots on the third fl oor of the 93-year-old Commerce High School building. For the Worcester shoot, “The New York Times” newsroom was reconstructed inside the walls of the old school building.

Paging Dr. Ross

After seeing its original release date delayed for 13 months due to the pandemic shutdown, “Free Guy” ﬁ nally hit the big screen in 2021. With elements of “The Truman Show,” “Ready Player

In April, George Clooney, best known as Dr. Doug Ross on TV’s “ER” and twice named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, came to Worcester to ﬁ lm scenes for “The Tender Bar.” A week earlier, Clooney and

Worcester Common Deadpool Outlet

See YEAR, Page 15

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | 15

George Clooney arrives at the old Commerce High to shoot a scene for “The Tender Bar.” CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Year Continued from Page 14

One,” “They Live,” “Groundhog Day” “Wreck-It Ralph” and “Deadpool” (also starring Reynolds), “Free Guy” is a visually eye-popping feast for the senses that deserves to be seen on the big screen. It also has plenty of heart, soul, humor and smarts. And, in three key scenes that take place inside Brew on the Grid at the corner of Portland and Franklin streets, you can clearly see some very strange things happening in the background on these downtown streets, as well as the Worcester Common. In “Free Guy,” Reynolds plays Guy, an unassuming, nametag-wearing, bank teller who repeats the same mundane, daily routine day after day. Routinely each day, Guy walks into Worcester’s Brew on the Grid and gives Missy

(Britne Oldford) his regular morning order — a medium coff ee, cream and two sugars. For those who question if it’s really is the local coff eehouse at 56 Franklin St., you can clearly see the number “56” over the doorway backward as it stands today. In the background, heavily armored soldiers fi ring heavy artillery run down Portland Street and cross Franklin Street, while explosions can be clearly seen on the Worcester Common. When fi lmed, the Telegram & Gazette reported an explosion, with 10-foot-high fl ames, and the sound of gunfi re, which prompted the Police Department to broadcast an “FYI” to offi cers throughout the city. In addition to “Free Guy,” Reynolds stars in “Spirited,” a musical reimagining of the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol” fi lmed at Mechanics Hall, making this Hollywood hunk (and another

During a break from ﬁ lming “Free Guy,” Ryan Reynolds waves to his fans outside Brew on the Grid. ASHLEY GREEN/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

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Year Continued from Page 15

former People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive”) the inaugural member of Worcester’s twotimer club. For the week-long “Spirited” shoot, Mechanics Hall’s Great Hall was made to look like a Rockettes-inspired “Christmas Spectacular” stage show. In addition to Reynolds, “Spirited” stars Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and SNL funnyman Will Ferrell.

From ‘Mad Men’ to newsmen If you didn’t realize that Jon Hamm and John Slattery were in town fi lming “Confess, Fletch,” you might have concluded it was a mini-“Mad Men” reunion unfolding in the Heart of the Commonwealth. But, instead of playing Don Draper and Roger Sterling, respectively, Hamm is playing unorthodox investigative reporter Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher reaching out to his crusty, oldschool editor Frank Jaff e (played by Slattery) for some help. “Fletch” is the character from Shrewsbury native Gregory Mcdonald’s series of 1970s mystery novels fi rst portrayed on screen by Chevy Chase in 1985. While Chevy Chase’s take on Fletch was more about broad comedy and sight gags, Hamm’s Fletch is supposed to be more about clever dialogue, witty banter and the art of investigation. We’ll see. For the eagerly anticipated “Fletch” reboot, the T&G offi ce, located in Mercantile Center at 100 Front St., was transformed into the newsroom of the fi ctitious tabloid The Boston Sentinel. Scenes from “Confess, Fletch” were fi lmed in the T&G’s main newsroom on the third fl oor, the reception area on the fi fth fl oor, and in the executive editor’s offi ce, also on

The official name is the DCU Center, but many Worcester residents, and AMC’s “Kevin Can F**K Himself,” prefer an earlier label. JOJO WHILDEN/AMC

the fi fth fl oor. Props included a news rack, home subscription mailboxes, tote bags and wall calendars sporting the logo of the fi ctitious newspaper Fletch works for. Hamm and Slattery also were shot in a scene inside Cicero’s Café on Suff olk Street, while “Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr., who plays Detective Monroe, aka the chief investigator in a murder (or two) in which Fletch is the prime suspect, most likely interrogated Hamm at the Worcester Police Department fi lm shoot.

The Bizarro Worcester I lived my whole life in Worcester and watching the ﬁ rst two episodes of AMC’s “Kevin Can F**K Himself ” that is supposedly set in Worcester, I saw very little, if anything, that resembled Worcester. See YEAR, Page 17

Jon Hamm has his hair and wardrobe checked in between ﬁ lming scenes of “Confess, Fletch,” shot at the Telegram & Gazette office. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | 17

Year Continued from Page 16

In fact, the two-minute teaser released for the second season “Star Trek: Picard” reminded me more of Worcester than the fi rst two hours of “Kevin Can F**K Himself.” Seeing the “Picard” teaser, I started remembering watching fi rst-run “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episodes in my family home in the Greendale section of Worcester with my brother, every Saturday at 7 p.m. on WCVB Channel 5 Boston. Even the 11 season fi nale of “Blue Bloods,” a show set in New York, captured Worcester better when Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) corrects Jamie (Will Estes) on the pronunciation of the second largest city in New England. “It looks like Worchester, Mass., is the place,” Jamie said. “That’s pronounced Woosta, Jamie,” Danny said. True, “Kevin Can F**K Himself ” has plenty of sarcasm and cynicism, which are arguably Worcester’s two biggest exports. But the closest we come to a legitimate Worcester or “Wormtown” reference is a “Wormtown Brewery” sign hanging up in a liquor store that Allison (“Schitt’s Creek” star Annie Murphy) works at. And never is the liquor store ever referred to as a “liquor parlor,” “packie” or “packie store,” which is a missed opportunity and fi ne example of true Worcester vernacular at its fi nest. There also is a generic reference to hard seltzer but none to Polar Seltzer. What gives? None of the scenes for “Kevin Can F**K Himself ” were fi lmed in Worcester and it shows. And for a true Worcesterite, it sticks out like Smiley Ball trying to rally up fans at a WooSox game at Polar Park — sadly none of which is referenced in “Kevin Can F**K Himself.”

Letitia Wright, who plays Princess Shuri, is visible on top of a humvee in a purple outﬁ t, for a run-through of a scene shot in Worcester for “Black Panther 2” while the camera captures the scene from behind. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

The creators of the show think a character wearing a Tshirt sporting a Worcester logo (including George’s Coney Island Hot Dogs and Ralph’s Chadwick Square Diner) makes the show Worcester. All it does is makes you look like a poser to anyone who has ever wined or dined at Ralph’s or Coney Island.

The show also tries to compensate for its lack of Worcester authenticity with the actors all adopting grating, exaggerated Boston (not Worcester) accents that are more HannaBarbara than Kelley Square. And you thought only the makers of Worcester Monopoly had absolutely no clue on the ﬁ rst thing about Worcester.

Wakanda Forever? No, Worcester Forever! In the biggest movie productions to ever hit Worcester, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” ﬁ lmed a complex chase scene in blocked-oﬀ downtown consisting of three police cruisers barreling down Main Street toward Lincoln

Square to block an armored Humvee. The cruisers came to a screeching halt in front of the Worcester County Courthouse, positioned on Main Street, to block the Humvee coming from the other direction. After several run-throughs, actress Letitia Wright walked on the set wearing a long-fl owing black cape covering her outfi t. Wright plays the Black Panther’s sister, Princess Shuri, the chief science offi cer for Wakanda, whose throne’s left vacant due to the real-life death of fan favorite Chadwick Boseman. The Humvee circles back with a sky-blue motocross bike perched upright and fi xed fi rmly on the roof. And a person who appeared to be Wright, or possibly her stunt double, puts on a motorcycle helmet, hops aboard and is fastened to the bike. The Humvee roars down Main Street with the motorcycle and its driver fastened to the roof of the armored vehicle. It stops short of hitting the cruisers. Wright (or who appeared to be Wright) gets off the bike and puts her cape back on while a realistic-looking, crash-test dummy of the actress is fi rmly fastened to the bike. The Humvee with the dummy perched on the bike on the roof came speeding down Main Street again and spins out without hitting any vehicles. The Ernest A. Johnson Tunnel that runs beneath Lincoln Square hasn’t seen this much excitement since the New England Summer Nationals. And that wasn’t the only big scene for “Black Panther” fi lmed in Worcester. Another highly involved combination chase and fi ght scene, involving motocross motorcycles and police cruisers, was fi lmed in front of The Cathedral of Saint Paul at 38 Chatham St. Next time Disney wants to roll into town for a not-so-secret, secret fi lming, they might See YEAR, Page 18

18 | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Year Continued from Page 17

want to do it on something other than the back of mammoth, adamantium-enforced transport trucks covered with signage that boasts “Leased to: Marvel Film Productions” posted prominently on its side.

Houston, we have a problem Hot on the heels of the Academy Award-winning Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the Elton John biopic “Rocketman” and the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect,” Whitney Houston is the next beloved popstar to get her story told in a Hollywood movie. In October, cast and crew rolled into the city to fi lm scenes for “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” at the Worcester Regional Airport. For the scenes fi lmed for the Whitney Houston biopic in Worcester, it appeared that Whitney (played by British actress Naomi Ackie) was going to get in or get off a private jet on the airport’s runway and jump into or out of a limo surrounded by an entourage. The former church choir singer turned chart-topping sensation played a sold-out show Nov. 9, 1987, at the Worcester Centrum. Although she somehow got into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, the only thing rock ‘n’ roll Houston ever did was the way she died. Don’t get me wrong. Houston was drop-dead gorgeous, had an incredible voice and grew up in happy household. Everything came easy and early to her in life, unlike her musical biopic comrades. So most likely, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” is going to be devoid of drama until the fi lm introduces Bobby Brown as the bad guy. Houston’s fi rst cousin is Dionne Warwick, who is a

Actress Ashley Moore is visible in the diner as the crew prepare to shoot a scene. The crew for the movie “Salvation” shoot a scene inside the Boulevard Diner, with a ﬁ lm camera on a track. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

member of the Psychic Friends Network. Now, I have absolutely nothing close to psychic powers but I would have had enough sense to know Bobby Brown was bad news and I would have told Whitney on day one to stay away from him. Despite painfully recreating Houston’s vapid videos and her rousing, lip-synced performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium in Florida during the Persian Gulf War, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” sounds like it’s going to be a massive (and unwelcomed) downer.

Boulevard Diner Traveling Salvation Show Repent sinners. “Salvation” has come to Worcester. A scene for the new movie starring Ashley Moore and Thomas Jane was ﬁ lmed in November at the Boulevard Diner on Shrewsbury Street.

Moore — who stars in the Amazon Prime Video series “I Know What You Did Last Summer” — plays Angela, a troubled foster child who discovers the snake-handling Pentecostal community she has developed a kinship to is not what it seems. Jane — who has starred in “The Punisher,” “Deep Blue Sea,” “The Thin Red Line” and “The Mist” — plays the charismatic Pastor Wally. Moore’s scene at the Boulevard Diner (renamed Coot’s Diner in the fi lm) consisted of her waitressing in the greasy spoon, exiting a side door carrying a bag of trash and walking to the back, where someone pushes her to the ground near a trash container. Inside, the grill was fi lled with pancakes, which probably indicates that the scene fi lmed inside take place during the breakfast rush. The next day, “Salvation” fi lmed at the UMass Memorial Medical Center Hahnemann

Campus at 281 Lincoln St., Worcester. Someone gotten bitten by a snake, perhaps? Prior to Worcester, scenes for “Salvation” had been ﬁ lmed at the old Philbin Farm on West Berlin Road in Bolton, which doubled as the home for the sacred snake-charmers.

The sky is falling. The sky is falling Pop quiz, hot shot. What do Frank Sinatra and Meryl Streep have in common? ANSWER: They have both performed at the Centrum in Worcester. We’re not here to talk about The Chairman of the Board. Next year, to celebrate Ol’ Blues Eyes opening the Centrum 40 years ago (on September 2, 1982), we’re going to talk plenty. We’re here to talk about the three-time Academy Awardwinning actress in “Don’t Look Up.” On Dec. 4, 2020, during the

height of the pandemic outbreak, Streep was ﬁ lmed playing the president of the United States on the DCU Center stage alongside her sniveling Secretary of State (and son), played by a scene-stealing Jonah Hill. Together, Streep and Hill rallied supporters to take a blind eye toward science and deny the existence of a comet on a collision course with Earth by merely not looking up at the sky. Coincidently, roughly ﬁ ve years earlier (on Nov. 18, 2015), Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump conducted a campaign rally in the very same spot that Streep mocked the POTUS in “Don’t Look Up,” the latest from Academy Award-winner scriptwriter and Academy Award-nominated director Adam McKay, who grew up in Worcester. The movie also stars fellow Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. Unfortunately, DiCaprio and Lawrence didn’t shoot any scenes in Worcester, because, if they did, Lawrence would be in Worcester’s two-timer club with Ryan Reynolds. Well, maybe, next time.

Rags to Riches I would be remiss if I did a year in review and not mention the passing of “The Big Ragoo.” Once called the most talented man to ever grace the Burncoat High School’s variety show stage by the show’s longtime academic advisor Samuel McClure, Eddie Mekka (born Rudolph Edward Mekjian) died Nov. 27. He was 69. Mekka is best known for playing Carmine Ragusa, aka “The Big Ragoo,” on ABC’s hit ‘70s sitcom “Laverne & Shirley.” He also danced the jitterbug with Madonna in “A League of Their Own,” directed by former cast-mate Penny Marshall (who played Laverne). So open your arms and your heart and may 2022 bring every treasure you’re hoping for.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | 19

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Kristi Xhelili Kristi Xhelili Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Kristi Xhelili is an artist specializing in the mediums of music, fi lm, and photography. Born in Albania, but moved to Worcester and raised here since age 3, his photography work demonstrates his personal confrontation with these two diff erent cultures. Some of his deeper work revolves around street photography and how he uses this medium to observe and understand the very real environments around him, particularly concerts within the Central Mass. area — how they are diff erent, how they are similar. He also experiments and explores a vast array of of photographic techniques, including astrophotography, portraiture, long exposures, to light paintings, and much more. With a sense of wonder and curiosity, as well as a keen eye, he created images full of magic and hope, to the total opposite, where images may cap-

ture raw despair and madness in an era of widespread depression. All of his work includes only single exposures, all taken in-camera and never “Photoshopped.” Says Xhelili, “It matters quite a lot … that a photograph you might see of his is always very much REAL.”

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CITY LIVING THE NEXT DRAFT

On the move: Auburn distributor says draft sales rebounded in ’21 Matthew Tota Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

A lasting image from 2020’s disrupted beer market was a vast sea of unused kegs sitting in an Atlas Distributing Inc. warehouse. With bars and restaurants temporarily closed, all that beer — thousands of dollars in untapped wealth — had no place to go. By year’s end Atlas would have to spend extra money training people to decant the kegs to remove and dispose of every drop of beer inside. “That was a long, costly process for everyone,” said Jamie Salois, vice president of the Auburn wholesaler. As grim a picture that was, draft sales did start to rebound, but not without the wholesaler losing several accounts along the way. Happily, too, the kegs have started moving again. As of this week, Atlas’ draft sales were up 65% over last year. More than a year later, though, its draft business remains around 5% down from pre-pandemic numbers. And the distributor early on showed more caution with the number of kegs it stocked. “At the end of the day, we were fortunate and didn’t take for granted that we didn’t have to shut down as a business,” said Salois. “Pre-pandemic about 18 to 20% of our total business was on-premise. We’re probably somewhere around 14% on-premise now,

Kegs of product are stored in the warehouse of Atlas Distributing Inc. in Auburn. MATT WRIGHT/T&G FILE PHOTO

and it’s starting to creep back now.” As the year draws to a close, I checked in with Atlas, one of the region’s largest distributors, for an overview of the 2021 beer market. Last year was certainly not a normal one for its industry. Naturally, then, this year was not as much a return to form for Atlas as a continuation of the rebuilding eﬀ ort underway from the minute its ﬁ rst on-premise accounts began reopening. The biggest bright spot for Salois has been the measured return of draft sales; many of

the wholesaler’s 1,200 bar and restaurant accounts have resumed ordering the same volume as before the pandemic, a sign of the ongoing recovery. “Those bars that you can name that you would think would be busy have remained busy,” he said, “but it’s been diﬃ cult for the smaller ones.” Its oﬀ -premise sales, meanwhile, have been chugging along relatively unfazed. The wholesaler has about 550 retail accounts. Atlas’ biggest selling national beer brands for 2021 were Boston Beer Co.’s Samuel Ad-

ams and Molson Coors Beverage Co.’s Blue Moon Brewery — not much of a surprise as they rarely waiver. Wachusett Brewing Co., Harpoon Brewery and Greater Good Imperial Brewing Co. were the wholesaler’s bestselling Massachusetts brands. Greater Good has been Atlas’ fastest growing craft brewery in recent years, Salois said. “Greater Good, year over year, month over month, continues to grow for us,” he said, “They are a terriﬁ c brand and brewery partner. They are innovative, too.”

For the past few years, hard seltzers have been the industry’s golden child. The category has seen explosive growth with no end in sight — until 2021. Owing partially to the fl ood of new brands to the market, Atlas’ hard seltzer sales have fl attened, a surprise given the category only a few years ago saw 80 to 90% growth, Salois said. “How can you take a category that has seen tremendous growth and freshen it up?” he said. “It’s defi nitely somewhat plateaued. But it’s still a very big piece of the business that isn’t going anywhere.” The year has shown the market’s new golden child to be non-alcoholic beer. Atlas’s non-alcoholic beer sales are up about 50%, Salois said, with a handful of new brands launching in 2022. “It’s defi nitely a growing category, and the quality of beer has greatly improved,” he said. “That’s just it, though. It’s going to get crowded very fast, so what is the long-term picture of that category look like? We won’t get to hard seltzer levels, but you see these trends go up, then everyone comes out with a non-alcoholic beer.” What category will break out in 2022 and beyond? Salois believes THC- and CBD-infused beverages are destined to be huge sellers, once they get through the legal quagmire holding them back. “We are already preparing for it,” he said. “We don’t want to be playing catch-up.”

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | 21

LISTEN UP

Favorite New England music videos of 2021 Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

It seems like there were fewer music videos by local and locally-tied artists this year, probably because of the pandemic, but the ones that did come out were excellent, and many of them were extremely intense. That’s OK. It was a good year for music to refl ect some of the strong emotions most of us are feeling these days. It was diffi cult to limit myself to just 10 favorites, but these are the ones that stayed with me the longest. Note: Some of these videos contain adult language and imagery. “Mysterious Maiden,” by K’Nen & Jafet Muzic: “Mysterious Maiden” was the fi rst offering from the collaborative hip-hop ensemble, Stanton Capitol Records, which centers on K’Nen, Jafet Muzic and Danny Fantom. Here, K’Nen and Jafet deliver a love letter to hiphop, and the parts of the music that they feel are near in danger of being lost. The video itself captures images of the artists and their friends which seem joyous on the surface, but there’s something about shooting the video in black and white that casts a shadow on the music, accenting lyrics such as, “It’s my soul we used to play the ciphers off the tip-top ‘til dawn/Yeah baby I’m gone.” The sense of something fading into memory is palpable. “Run Away” by Ralph Weah”: Worcester-native hiphop artist Ralph Weah manages to capture and intensify the heat of his song “Run Away” with this brightly lit video. It’s a song that captures the push and pull of a disintegrating video, driven by a sizzling beat visuals that contrast the persona’s distress against images of what are at fi rst clearly

Zola Simone. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

pleasant memories. It’s a beautifully shot video, one that makes the heartbreak at the song’s core just a little more painful. “Not Like Other Girls,” by Zola Simone: The 18-year-old rising star from the Boston area Zola Simone absolutely crushed it with her debut album, “Now You See Me,” and a lot of the qualities that make her so magnetic can be found in this video: A youthful pop sensibility, a sense of honesty in the music that leaves it open to the listener, and a biting wit: “She reeked of privilege and Urban Outﬁ tter’s perfume … you’re not like other girls/ you’re worse.” The video wellpackages those qualities and gives the listener a glimpse of what’s making this young artist so exciting. “My Baby,” by Abbie Cotto: The video starts with an absolutely hilarious skit of the Worcester R&B singer being shut down hitting on a woman in an elevator (note: don’t do this in real life), before transitioning to more steamy – honSee VIDEOS, Page 22

Stanton Capitol Records artists, from left, Jafet Muzic, Danny Fantom and K’nen. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Abbie Cotto.

A still from the music video “Run Away,” by Ralph Weah.

PHOTO/PAUL ROCHETTE

RALPH WEAH

22 | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Videos Continued from Page 21

estly, just this side of explicit — action. Cotto pulls it off with immense charisma and sizzling vocals, and while the steam might be a bit much the workplace, there’s no denying that Cotto manages to create sizzle like few others. “She’s Outside,” by Gene Dante: With the music video “She’s Outside” – really, with his whole album, “DL/UX” – Dante proves that there’s still life in the glam rock sound. This is an exhilarating song, one that piles riff upon riff . The video takes that energy and shines a psychedelic light on it. In a lot of ways, it’s a pretty simple video, just the band playing and close-ups of Dante singing, but there’s something about it that takes the song’s hooks and pushes them into overdrive. “Papi,” by Louie Gonz with Mr. Pacheco: Honestly? This video is straight-up wild, super-imposing the faces of local rappers Louie Gonz and Mr. Pacheco riding dinosaurs, being operated on by space aliens, being turned into spider-like robots and more. The song itself benefi ts from Gonz’s ability to work in multiple layers: On the one hand, it’s an unrepentant party song, a little dirty but with an inescapable beat. On the other, there’s a sadness there, as the persona wrestles with an inability to settle down, about choosing a career in music above all else. It can be enjoyed as straight-up pop hiphip, but honestly, once you have Gonz on a velociraptor, it’s hard not to be hooked on the video. “LeBron,” by Oompa: “You do what you can/I do what I want,” raps Boston hip-hop artist Oompa in the video for her song, “LeBron.” Every inch of the song radiates swagger, and the video takes that vibe and amplifi es it, particularly with shots of the rapper playing basketball. The whole thing seems

Louie Gonz. PROMOTIONAL PHOTO

Gene Dante. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Oompa. PROMOTIONAL PHOTO

From left, Amber Tortorelli, Rainy Logan, and Jonathan Cordaro of Sapling in Kelley Square. CHRISTINE PETERSON

casual, and there’s something about that light hand which just brings the song’s sense of confi dence to the fore. The video, the song and the artist all come off as eff ortlessly cool, and let’s be honest, that’s not something many music videos manage to achieve. “I Sing the Body Electric,” by Sapling: This song was a Bside to the 7” single of Sapling’s song, “Maria Vs. Machine Maria,” which perhaps makes it an odd choice for a video, but then, Sapling doesn’t always make predictable artistic decisions. The video itself is a wildly eclectic array of video footage

of the band – sometimes performing, sometimes prepping for other music videos, sometimes pantomiming in front of the mirror or cooking. The clips are interspersed with images of old black and white cartoons, and when set to the discord of the song’s escalating cacophony, can make for an unsettling experience. “Legend of the Fall,” by Slaine: Boston rapper Slaine’s 2021 album, “The Things We Can’t Forgive,” is an intense experience, overwhelming at points, and a lot of the reasons for that intensity can be found distilled into this video. “Leg-

end of the Fall” ﬁ nds Slaine facing himself across the table at a diner. “Out of everybody, you were who I hated most,” raps Slaine, directing the verse to himself. “A (expletive) grown man who’s afraid of ghosts.” The song is unrelenting all the way up to the end, when the tone changes slightly: “So I forgive you for all the (expletive) that you lived through/For all the (expletive) that was done to you, everything that you did too.” Ultimately, it’s less a song about recriminations and guilt, and more one about healing and moving forward. It’s emotionally brutal, and still ex-

Slaine. TOMMY LEMERISE/DUMONT MEDIA GRP

tremely moving. “She Closed Her Eyes,” by Ricky Duran: This song by local favorite Ricky Duran is an earnest and aﬀ ecting portrait of grief, written in the wake of the 2018 death of his mother. It’s a simple video in a lot of ways, but it conveys both the song’s sense of loss and acceptance. There’s a sense of intimacy about the video, a sense that this is a conversation between the singer and the listener, and that sense of intimacy is what drives the song’s emotional content. It’s an honest, sweet and sad little song, but it resonates terribly deeply.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | 23

CONNELL SANDERS

My year-end entertainment list Sarah Connell Sanders Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

I’ve just fi nished watching “Don’t Look Up,” a satirical story of two astronomers hellbent on saving mankind from a catastrophic comet hurtling toward Earth. The only problem is, no one will listen. The fi lm was written, directed and produced by noted Worcesterite and Academy Award-winner Adam McKay. Although his script was conceived during the “before” times, much of its content feels all-too-familiar. “Don’t Look Up” points to our tendency to direct emotional energy at entertainment rather than the world’s problems. I am certainly guilty of this. In a year fi lled with great suff ering, I relished red carpet photos of Bennifer 2.0, dug for the details of Kim and Kanye’s divorce, and parsed Olivia Rodrigo’s lyrics to “drivers license.” I found it especially hard to listen to the news on my ride to work and began regularly turning the dial to Top 40 radio at the mere mention of COVID-19. McKay’s fi lm understands this behavior in a way that both acknowledges its fl aws and feeds the beast. Balance is important. Here are a few of the books, movies, songs and shows that I found not only digestible but also intellectually stimulating:

Book: “Who is Maud Dixon?” Author: Alexandra Andrews Plot: Florence feels underappreciated in her low-level publishing job. When literary darling Maud Dixon takes her on as an assistant, Florence feels as if she is ﬁ nally getting the chance she deserves. The duo travels to Morocco and where the writer mysteriously

Straight-laced Sunny (Kuhoo Verma, left) and her rebel BFF Lupe (Victoria Moroles) are South Dakota high schoolers on an epic trip to ﬁ nd a morning-after pill in the comedy “Plan B.” BRETT ROEDEL/HULU

vanishes. Rather than reporting the disappearance, Florence takes it upon herself to see what it’s like to live as Maud. Why it’s important: My feed is ﬁ lled with TikTokers preaching the Law of Attraction and encouraging me to manifest wealth. “Who is Maud Dixon?” reminded me that conﬁ dence alone is not enough. Hard work is a pivotal piece of the success equation.

Movie: “Plan B” Director: Natalie Morales Plot: Two South Dakota teens, Sunny and Lupe, embark on an unpredictable road trip in See LIST, Page 25

“Who is Maud Dixon?” by Alexandra Andrews.

Taylor Swift on Oct. 30 in Cleveland.

PROMOTIONAL IMAGE

DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES FOR ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME

24 | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

NEW ON DVD

Moses (Benicio del Toro, center) is a criminally insane painter and prison guard Simone (Léa Seydoux) is his muse in Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch.” SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Wes Anderson reports in with ‘French Dispatch’ The latest off ering from director Wes Anderson tops the DVD releases for the week of Dec. 28. “The French Dispatch”: Anderson’s new fi lm, an ode to the glory days of The New Yorker, follows a fi ctional American magazine set in an equally fi ctitious French village. The movie is structured as a series of vignettes, each representing an article in the upcoming French Dispatch insert of the Kansas City Evening Sun. Featuring a cast stuff ed with stars, “‘The French Dispatch’ could easily be a parody of a Wes Anderson fi lm because it is too Andersonian for its own good,” writes Tribune News Service critic Katie Walsh in her review. “It features many of his regular repertory players: Bill Mur-

ray, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Saorise Ronan, Tony Revolori, Adrien Brody, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Lea Seydoux, plus some new pals: Timothee Chalamet, Benicio del Toro, Elisabeth Moss and Jeff rey Wright.” Each vignette follows a diff erent piece of writing for the upcoming issue of The French Dispatch and features different cast members. The publication itself is the pet project of the publisher’s son, played by Murray, an Anderson regular. “It’s hard to be critical of a fi lm and fi lmmaker that seem to have pure intentions, seeking to craft a charming love letter to the golden era of (generously funded) print media,” Walsh concedes.

“But the tics and habits that make up Anderson’s often imitated, never duplicated aesthetic have reached the point of actively working against him as a ﬁ lmmaker.”

ALSO NEW ON DVD DEC. 28 “Castle Falls”: Dolph Lundgren directs and stars in this action thriller about a building scheduled for demolition that happens to have $3 million in cash hidden inside, with various factions vying to secure the illicit bounty before detonation. “Mayday”: In this modern fantasy, Grace Van Patten plays a young woman who is transported to a coastline where she joins an all-female army and is

trained to kill men, though she begins to have misgivings about the cause.

OUT ON DIGITAL HD DEC. 28 “The Gardener”: Home invasion thriller about a wealthy family gathered at a manor in the English countryside for the holidays, taken unawares by a vicious gang bent on robbery and mayhem. Now the only thing standing in there way is the estate’s unassuming gardener, a former soldier. “Who Is Amos Otis?”: After assassinating the president, a man pleads selfdefense and must convince a jury his actions were just, that by acting he saved the country and world from its unhinged leader.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | 25

List

ists as disposable. As per usual, Bridgers is an unbelievable addition to the track.

Continued from Page 23

their quest to ﬁ nd emergency contraception after Sunny loses her virginity. Why it’s important: “Plan B” is a sharp buddy comedy, never making light of reproductive rights while still managing to address the issue alongside plenty of laughs.

Song: “Nothing New” (Taylor’s Version) Artist: Taylor Swift featuring Phoebe Bridgers Memorable Lyric: “How can a person know everything at 18 but nothing at 22?” Why it’s important: Swift has taken on the monumental task of re-recording her early works in order to regain ownership of them from her former record label. This undertaking gives Swift the opportunity to include tracks that had originally been scrapped, like “Nothing New” — a reﬂ ection on the music industry’s inclination to treat aging female art-

Show: “Maid” Streaming Service: Netﬂ ix Premise: Alex ﬂ ees an abusive relationship with her young daughter and tries to make ends meet by working as a house cleaner. In addition to her own struggles, Alex must support her own mother who is refusing mental health treatment and living out of her car. Why it’s important: It took me months to get through all 10 episodes of “Maid.” The show brings on deep feelings of frustration that are ultimately rewarded as you watch Alex grow into a strong and independent woman. I would be remiss not to mention the absolute pleasure I took this year in watching the deplorable characters of two brilliant dark comedies on HBO, “Succession” and “The White Lotus.” What works of entertainment got you through 2021? Find me on Instagram at @sarah_connell and let me know.

TOO TOO TOO TOO TOO TOO

Margaret Qualley plays single mother Alex in Netflix’s “Maid,” an adaptation of the best-selling memoir by Stephanie Land. RICARDO HUBBS/NETFLIX

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26 | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

5 THINGS TO DO

TWIDDLE, NEW YEAR’S AT THE ECOTARIUM AND MORE .... Richard Duckett and Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK Vermont-based rock band Twiddle. JAY BLAKESBERG

Jamming on New Year’s Eve Spending your New Year’s Eve with Vermont-based jam band Twiddle seems like a pretty good time. The band’s music has some serious good vibes, with songs such as “Jamflowman” taking advantage of the inherent funk of a syncopated guitar riff, and “When It Rains It Pours,” which carries the listener away with its easy flow. The songs are hook-laden and immediately catchy, but really, it’s the feeling of joy that permeates everything that makes the music so appealing. (VDI)

What: Twiddle Neon New Year’s Eve When: 8 p.m. Dec. 31 Where: The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester How much: $42.50

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | 27

Getting the drop on the New Year Get an early start on ringing in the New Year at the EcoTarium on Dec. 31. At noon and 2 p.m. there will be a kid-friendly countdown and ball drop with bubble wrap “fireworks” (and a firework photo backdrop). Families can also make a time capsule for their past year, add a 2022 resolution to the resolution wall, make noisemakers, participate in “Fire and Ice” education programs, and more. (RD)

The Corvettes Doo Wop Revue. PROMOTIONAL PHOTO

Twistin’ the Night Away The set list is a veritable cornucopia of the greatest hits of rock ‘n’ roll’s early days, including “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Twistin’ the Night Away,” “Palisades Park,” and “At the Hop.” The Corvettes Doo Wop Revue takes these ‘50s favorites and more and reminds the audience how fresh and exciting that music was, before it became all too familiar. Certainly, this show is an exercise in nostalgia, but it’s also a lot of fun. (VDI) What: The Corvettes Doo Wop Revue When: 8 p.m. Jan. 7 Where: Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley How much: $25

What: New Year’s Eve — EcoTarium When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 31 Where: EcoTarium, 222 Harrington Way, Worcester How much: $19 adults; $15 seniors; $14 children and students; free children under 2; free EcoTarium members. Guests are currently required to wear masks within the museum and within proximity of certain animals onsite. www.ecotarium.org.

In years past, the EcoTarium’s Siegfried the Stegosaurus has been known to party for New Year’s Eve. TELEGRAM & GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

New Year’s Hike On Exhibit “Journey in Dry Medium,” colored pencil and mixed media drawings by Jim Palace, will be on display and for sale from Jan. 6 to 29 at Booklovers’ Gourmet in Webster. In his artist’s statement, Palace says that he is formerly a computer aided drafting and design designer. “For the last 2 years, under the tutelage of Ed Turner, (owner of Art and Frame Emporium) I have concentrated on my colored pencil and mixed media projects.” (RD)

“Put Me In Coach.” JIM PALACE

What: January Art Exhibit — “Journey in Dry Medium” by Jim Palace Where: Booklovers’ Gourmet, 72 East Main St., Webster When: Exhibition Jan. 6 to 29. Regular business hours: Tuesdays-Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. An artist reception will be held 1 to 3 p.m. Jan. 22. How much: Free and open to the public. Call (508) 949-6232 for more information.

Start your year off on the right foot with a New Year’s Day hike for families at Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center & Wildlife Sanctuary. Participants will hike or snowshoe the sanctuary trails looking for animal tracks and other signs of wildlife. The hike is about three miles total. Please bring water and dress for the weather. Bring your snowshoes or borrow a pair at the sanctuary. (RD)

The Smiley Face Trail in Worcester is a link between Mass Audubon's Broad Meadow Brook and the Blackstone River Bikeway. STEVEN H. FOSKETT JR./T&G STAFF FILE PHOTO

What: Hike into the New Year for Families When: 9: 30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Jan. 1 Where: Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center & Wildlife Sanctuary, 414 Massasoit Road, Worcester How much: Members $20 adult, $15 child; nonmembers, $25 adult; $18 child. Registration is required. www.massaudubon.org/program-catalog/broad-meadow-brook/80216-hike-into-the-new-year-for-families

28 | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

ADOPTION OPTION

WARL gives thanks for support On behalf of the mutts, meows and critters at the Worcester Animal Rescue League, thank you for your friendship and support in 2021. Many animals still need help. Please consider making a year-end donation to help the most vulnerable animals in Central Massachusetts. Donate today at https://worcesterarl.org/donate/. Many thanks for your kindness, your caring and your generosity. Happy Holidays!

Montana is one of the animals that’s been helped by WARL. PHOTO COURTESY SARA MCCLURE

Stewie is one of the animals that’s been helped by WARL. ANJIE COATES/FURRY TAILS

Waffles and her sister Strudela were two of the animals that have been helped by WARL. PHOTO COURTESY MELISSA SCHER

Lightfoot is one of the animals that has been helped by WARL. EAST DOUGLAS PHOTO

Maggie is one of the animals that’s been helped by WARL. PHOTO COURTESY SARA MCCLURE

Ethan Allen is one of the animals that’s been helped by WARL. PHOTO COURTESY WARL

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | 29

LEGALS NOTICE: The Worcester Housing Authority FY23 Agency Plan is available for review and public comment at www.worcesterha.org. A public hearing will be held at 10:00AM on Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at its main administrative offices located at 630 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA.

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Across 1 George Eliot’s “___ Marner” 6 Intellect 9 Window framework 13 Opposite of obtuse 14 Turn towards 15 Nickname for the president of Mexico (based on his monogram) 16 Get gone, colloquially 19 Fiji-to-Samoa dir. 20 Voicemail noise 21 Capital of French Flanders (and birthplace of de Gaulle) 22 Burger King offering on the smaller side 26 Laundry challenges 28 First-string athletic groups 29 “The Christmas Song composer Mel 30 “Gently worn,” really 33 30-Down, e.g. 34 Onetime seller of onesies 37 Electric guitar hookup 40 Jay who hosts a new revival of “You Bet Your Life” 41 Very slow tempo 43 ‘40s pinup Betty 48 Clan of hip-hop notoriety 49 Fast asleep 53 Forename in fragrances 54 Remove with absorbent material 55 “Game of Thrones” airer 58 Right about now (and a hint to the closing word of each theme answer) 62 Poker holding 63 Part of a whole 64 ‘50s White House name 65 Airport postings, for short 66 Red No. 5, e.g. 67 Tiffs

Down 1 Fill up 2 Confident affirmation 3 Tepid 4 Chewed on some cheese 5 Black or Red 6 Batman, really 7 More inhospitable 8 “Dancing With the Stars” perfection

“Time to Start Over”--only a few days left. by Matt Jones

9 Contacts wearer’s solution 10 Earhart who shows up in the latter half of “American Horror Story: Double Feature” 11 Ski race with gates 12 Optimistic types 14 Producer’s nightmare 17 Uploads or downloads, in obsolete internet usage 18 Oversupply 23 She & ___ (Zooey Deschanel’s band) 24 Ground floor apartment number, perhaps 25 Actress Pinkett Smith 26 Place for a snort nap? 27 “Ode ___ Nightingale” 30 Purple base of some Filipino desserts 31 Roget’s entry (abbr.) 32 One of a Freudian trio 35 “Madonna: Truth or Dare” director Keshishian 36 Bathtub stopper 37 Object of loathing 38 ___ Dew 39 Fad disc from the ‘90s 42 It’s E. of S. Sudan 43 “Faust” dramatist 44 Charge towards 45 Show up to

46 47 48 50 51 52 56 57 59 60 61

Runs over the edge, as ink Lender’s attachment “Dances ___ Wolves” Sister magazine of Jet ‘60s role for Michael Caine Former Senate majority leader Trent Fishing supply Mineral museum displays Bomb of a bomb Dashes longer than hyphens Talk nonstop

Last week's solution

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | 31

LAST CALL

Nick Austin, Southbridge commercial actor Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Local actor Nick Austin is the epitome of Build Back Better, having battled a debilitating depression that threatened to end his career but came out on the other side. The Southbridge native went from a promising career in Florida to struggling to pay the bills, before reigniting his passion for acting and fi nding hope even in the chaos that was 2020. Walk me through your journey with depression and how it began. I had a good year in 2017-2018, working as an actor and living in Florida. When I came home for a project in Connecticut, I stayed with my mom in Massachusetts. That’s when I met this girl and even though I went back to Florida to continue my path, I ended up staying there for just a month. I packed up and came home in October of 2018, leaving everything I had built in Florida. I was hustling, motivated, doing the best I could, then after an unsuccessful romantic entanglement, everything just collapsed. I had nowhere to go, no direction. I had no plan — I lied to people, saying I was working but I wasn’t really. Basically it was a real downward spiral. Did you pursue any acting gigs here? I didn’t do any auditions — I totally quit acting, which I loved. No casting, no submissions, no reading. I was just so scattered that I took a real estate license course, searching for something to fi ll the void and keep my mind busy but I used to just sit in the class not even knowing what was going on. I was just so wrapped up in why on earth I had left my career in Florida and how here I was, sitting in a class learning about something I didn’t even want to do. I failed the federal test seven times and the state nine times before I passed and wasted so much money. At that point, there was so much rejection and failure that the space in my head was bad. Once I passed, I didn’t even care. I had thought it would boost my confi dence and morale but it just got worse. By that point, I started to run out of money because I had spent a great deal trying to get a start in the real estate venture. So I started working with a friend at a property management company. It was a tough job, we were working in a pretty run-down apartment and I remember, I was cleaning a bathtub thinking — this is my life now. I left my dream in Florida and now here I am in this apartment. I had lost all inspiration and motivation for everything. I was just so far gone and couldn’t get back up so I just walked away from that job. And that turned into staying home every day, barely able to get out of bed. It was grey. No emotion for anything and just started to fall into really bad times. In the summer of 2019, all my friends are working, doing their thing, and I was home alone with no goals, no aspirations, just spending money.

Nick Austin is a commercial actor from Southbridge, Mass. NICK AUSTIN MANAGEMENT

When was the turning point? The fi rst turning point was admitting to my friends that I was in very bad shape — I was sitting in a parking lot, crying on the phone to one of my best friends and basically confessed that I was completely broke. I had spent everything I earned, acting-wise and investment-wise, I had spent every single dime. I was not even functional and had to set little goals — like getting up and brushing my teeth was a small accomplishment, and cleaning my room or car. Then I began to regain some kind of composure and confi dence about the basic stuff in life. While I was pulling myself together, what really gave me some momentum was driving cross-country with my dad to pick up my brother in California. He’s a pilot in the Marine Corps and was returning from deployment ... It was really impactful to me I was in California for a couple weeks and came back to Massachusetts and got a job with UPS. Getting a little money and a work routine helped me get back on the rails a little. How did you get back into acting? I ended up getting in touch with a producer from New York, who was someone my family knew. He was

doing a feature fi lm in Dubai. I met with him on Super Bowl Sunday in February 2020. I had started to get a bit of my old hustle back and drove to New York, even though everybody was home watching the game. He gave me a role in his fi lm and fl ew me out to Dubai about two weeks later. At that point, though I was able to manage daily functions, I was still climbing out of a deep hole — so everybody around me was not in favor of me pushing myself like that but everything worked out smoothly, and I was in Dubai for about three weeks. At the time, I remember standing outside the Dubai mall, probably about a million people and realizing how it was the fi rst big gig I had since I basically quit everything. Coming back to Massachusetts after that, I got a little bit of a daily rhythm back, still doing the little victories each day to keep going. My cousin and her husband own a farm/brewery nearby and I was just like, yeah, I need this. It was the best thing that happened to me mentally — working on the farm doing all kinds of stuff . It helps you focus on what’s in front of you and not stay in your head as much. From there, I was able to continue acting, book some gigs and get back on that track. How was it trying to pull yourself up during the pandemic of all times? It was kind of like a clean slate. We were all in the same boat with everything kind of shut down, so I decided I had to pave another path. I booked some small projects for some commercial companies. It revitalized me in the sense that it felt like a fresh start — the slow process of everything opening back up sort of mirrored my own journey of slowly climbing back up. The industry changed very fast during the pandemic — it turned into a lot of self takes, where you submit audition tapes from home. I built a home studio and worked from home — it became pretty fun to send stuff from my house, the deadlines were a bit later and I could send more tapes out. There are still more self takes being accepted and I think it helps many actors and models. During the pandemic, I did stuff for Viacom, CVS, Weber Grills — it was huge doing that, looking back. Now that I think about it, doing all that during that time made a diff erence for me and I’m just super grateful for those opportunities ... Fast forward to right now, December 2021, I think I’m in the best position of my life. What would your advice be to young people — those dealing with depression? Everybody handles it diff erently but there’s some great help out there. At the end of the day, no matter what, you’re in your own mind, it’s just you, no matter what. I personally think that if you set little goals every single day — have multiple ones each day — it can give you momentum that you need to keep going. Also, you can’t bottle it up — talk to people. If it wasn’t for my friends and family, I wouldn’t be here, to be honest.

32 | DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Worcester Magazine December 31, 2021 - January 6, 2022

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