Hudson’s own Bindlestiff Family Cirkus continues its wintertime tradition of hosting a monthly cabaret, featuring a variety of circus, theater, comedy and musical entertainers, at Club Helsinki Hudson with four shows: its adult-oriented cabaret on the fourth Saturday of each month, kicking off at 9pm on Saturday, January 24, 2015; continuing on Saturday, February 28; and again on Saturday, March 28; plus a Sunday matinee show on March 29 geared to the entire family.
Noche Flamenca, one of the most authentic flamenco companies in the world today, will present “Antigona” at the Mahaiwe on Friday, January 23, 2015, at 8pm. This new evening-length work based on Sophocles’ ancient Greek heroine combines live music, song, and dance, bringing the fiery, expressive nature of flamenco to one of the world’s great tragedies. There will be a post-show Q & A with the artists about flamenco and the production.
The Musical Box, an exhibition featuring two pairings of artists: John Newman and Cary Smith, and Evie Falci and Robert Otto Epstein, opens with a reception at Jeff Bailey Gallery on Saturday, January 24, 2015, from 6 to 8pm. The exhibit, inspired by a 1971 song by art-rock group Genesis, remains on view through March 8, 2015.
Sam Wagstaff, the legendary curator, collector, and patron of the arts, best known as a champion of the photography of Robert Mapplethorpe, is the subject of a reading by his biographer, Philip Gefter, author of “Wagstaff: Before and After Mapplethorpe,” at the Hudson Opera House on Saturday, January 24, 2015, at 5pm. Gefter, who wrote about photography on staff at the New York Times, captures Wagstaff’s indelible influence on the world of late-20th-century art.
“On & Off the Wall,” the annual juried sculpture show by CCCA Gallery, opens with a reception on Saturday, January 24, 2015, from 5 to 7pm, and remains on view through March 21, 2015. The exhibit was curated by Chatham, N.Y., sculptor John Cooley. Artists whose works were selected by Cooley include C. Michael Bufi, Dot Chast, Janet Cooper, Steven Dono, Julia Fingar, Dennis Herbert, Ellen Jouret-Epstein, Scott Keidong, Jack Kelly, Steve Kubicek, Clarke Olsen, Daniel Region, RJ Rosegarten, and Marlene Vidabor.
Norman Rush, a National Book Award-winner and author of “Whites,” “Mating,” “Mortals,” and “Subtle Bodies,” reads from his work in the Weis Cinema at the Bertelsmann Campus Center at Bard College on Monday, January 26, 2015, at 6pm. Rush will be introduced by author Mona Simpson. The reading is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations required.
Bibliothecaphilia, an exhibition exploring the medium and ethos of libraries and featuring the work of six artists, goes on view at MASS MoCA beginning Saturday, January 24, 2015. Participating artists include Clayton Cubitt, Jonathan Gitelson, Susan Hefuna, Meg Hitchcock, Dan Peterman, and Jena Priebe.
On Saturday, January 24, 2015, The Mount, Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, joins with Lenox businesses and organizations in hosting a day of literary appreciation on Wharton’s 153rd birthday. The festivities will include dramatic readings, raffles, and refreshments at three of Lenox’s leading literary hubs: The Mount, the Lenox Library, and The Bookstore. Each location will celebrate the joy of reading and a love of books, two of Wharton’s lifelong “ruling passions.”
The new exhibition If/Then – an interactive installation exploring the senses, rule-breaking, and creativity, opens at the Berkshire Museum on Saturday, January 24, 2015, and will remain on view through Sunday, May 3. An opening celebration for If/Then will be held Friday, January 30, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Roberto Carlos Lange, aka Helado Negro, concludes a weeklong residency at MASS MoCA with several all-star collaborators in tow, including Mikael Jorgensen, the lead pianist for the museum’s rock band, Wilco, with a work-in-progress showing of the made-at-MASS MoCA Island Universe Story in the Hunter Center on Saturday, January 24, 2015, at 8pm.
Hudson’s own Bindlestiff Family Cirkus continues its wintertime tradition of hosting a monthly cabaret, featuring a variety of circus, theater, comedy and musical entertainers, at Club Helsinki Hudson with four shows: its adult-oriented cabaret on the fourth Saturday of each month, kicking off at 9pm on Saturday, January 24; continuing on Saturday, February 28; and again on Saturday, March 28; plus a Sunday matinee show on March 29 geared to the entire family.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of Berkishire Daily and the Rogovoy Report, available online at rogovoyreport.com