ArtsBeat Radio/TV 1/31/20: Elizabeth Williamson, Hartford Stage

ArtsBeat Radio.TV 1/31/20. Mark G. Auerbach chats with Elizabeth Williamson, who has adapted and is directing "Jane Eyre" at Hartford Stage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-0106zg4IQ

Westfield News ArtsBeat 1/29/20

Westfield News ArtsBeat 1/29/20. Pick hits for February inclhuding "Jane Eyre" at Hartford Stage, The Tap Pack at UCONN/Jorgensen, "Love on Broadway" at Symphony Hall and more in WMass and No.CT. https://thewestfieldnews.com/artsbeat-february-picks/

ArtsBeat on Pioneer Valley Radio 1/28/20

My ArtsBeat segment on Pioneer Valley Radio's "Brad Shepard-Today". Previews of The Lifespan of a Fact at TheaterWorks/Hartford; Philadanco at the UMass Fine Arts Center, and 10x10 New Play Festival at Barrington Stage. starts at 9:18 http://pioneervalleyradio.com/2020/01/28/brad-shepard-today-tuesday-january-28-2020/  

MGAPR February Client Newsletter

February, 2020

Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends,

We’re pleased to share our clients’ activities.

The Big Broadcast! returns to Mount Holyoke College’s Chapin Auditorium for its 15^th edition on Saturday, March 7 at 2PM and 7:30PM. (Snow date is Sunday, March 8). This signature event at Mount Holyoke is created by and directed by Mark Gionfriddo, who also stars as “Matt Morgan”. WWLP-TV22’s Brian Lapis returns as emcee “Fred Kelley” for the 13^th year. Caitlin Jaene Mercer, MHC02, a founding member of the Jazz Ensembles of Mount Holyoke College, appears with that ensemble in the recreation of a live radio broadcast from 1942. Caitlin, a bass player and chanteuse, fronts the band Hippopotamous. For details on her career and links to her YouTube: www.caitlinjaene.com. Tickets are available at the UMass Fine Arts Center Box-Office and The Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley. For details: 413-545-2511, 800-999-UMASS, or www.fineartscenter.com. For the media release: http://mgauerbach.blogspot.com/2020/01/media-release-big-broadcast-returns-for.html

The Capitol Steps continue their 39^th season of political musical satire, putting the “mock” in democracy. In addition to their weekly Friday and Saturday performances in Washington, DC; their touring companies are playing coast-to-coast and Alaska this month. You can check their national tour schedule: http://www.capsteps.com/live/ And, they post new material weekly on their website: www.capsteps.com.

Westfield Concerts, powered by Gaslight Entertainment, is off to a great New Year. Their February music weekend features STARMAN: The Bowie Tribute on February 7, and Live’s Killer Queen Experience on February 8. For program information and tickets: www.westfieldconcerts.com. For the February concerts media release: http://mgauerbach.blogspot.com/2020/01/press-release-gaslight.html

More Shameless Self-Promotion

My weekly ArtsBeat column runs online every Wednesday in The Westfield News. Theatre reviews post generally a day or two after I review the performance. Find them at:

 https://thewestfieldnews.com/

ArtsBeat Radio/TV airs every Friday at 8AM on both 89.5fm/WSKB and WCPC15 in Westfield. They post to WSKB Community Radio’s YouTube shortly after they air. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjzPcoGhNs723gdf2cFc1pQ

With the help of producer/engineer Peter Cowles, we took ArtsBeat Radio/TV to Hartford’s TheaterWorks in January to do two programs on their upcoming production of “The Lifespan of A Fact” with line producer Eric Ort and scenic designer Brian Prather (aired on January 17) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSd_6s73MTY and with director Tracy Brigden and actors Rufus Collins, Nick LaMedica, and Tasha Lawrence (aired on January 24).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVf00zxsQ_E

Pioneer Valley Radio’s Brad Shepard—Today airs my theatre previews and reviews, mostly on Tuesdays. Stream at: http://pioneervalleyradio.com/category/programs/brad-shepard-today/

I wrote a January column for Succeeding in Small Business about mentoring. Thanks to Michelle vanSchouwen and Ben Jacek for their valuable input and advice. I’m really proud of this article. https://www.succeedinginsmallbusiness.com/mentoring-good-for-you-good-for-your-business-good-for-others/#.XhpLL1NKhQI

I’m really appreciative of the Mark G. Auerbach Public Relations team, who work with me to deliver quality service to my clients: Maureen Sullivan Media and Jason Martins who are handling front of house for The Big Broadcast!; Ben Jacek, who coordinates social media for The Capitol Steps and The Big Broadcast! And Bill Eagan at Eagan Pictures, who tweaked and refreshed our logo. And, kudos to Patrick Berry, my fellow Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative “Dream Team” partner; frequent co-host on ArtsBeat, and the man who coerced me to return to arts reporting when he owned the Westfield News Group, He has joined WWLP-TV22 as co-host of their morning program Mass Appeal.

I know the days are getting longer, but here’s hoping that The Groundhog predicts just six more weeks of winter.

ArtsBeat Radio/TV 1/24/20. TheaterWorks/Hartford

ArtsBeat Radi/TV 1/24/20. From the new lobby at Hartford's TheaterWorks, Mark G. Auerbach chats with the director and cast of the upcoming production "The Lifespan of a Fact". L-R. Director Teacy Brigden. Actors Tasha Lawrence, Nick LaMedica, Rufus Collins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVf00zxsQ_E

Westfield News ArtsBeat 1/21/20

Westfield News ArtsBeat: 1/21/20. A review of "Pike Street" at Hartford Stage.and arts news from WMass and No.CT. https://thewestfieldnews.com/arts-beat-303/

Media Release: The Big Broadcast! Returns for its 15th season at Mount Holyoke

DATELINE: January 21, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:: Mark G. Auerbach, 413-427-7352 or mgauerbach@gmail.com

THE BIG BROADCAST! RETURNS TO MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE’S CHAPIN AUDITORIUM ON SATURDAY, MARCH 7, FOR TWO PERFORMANCES AT 2PM & 7:30PM

The Jazz Ensembles of Mount Holyoke College present the 15th edition of The Big Broadcast! on Saturday, March 7 at 2PM & 7:30PM at Chapin Auditorium, Mount Holyoke College, in South Hadley, MA. Snow date is Sunday, March 8.. Created and directed by Mark Gionfriddo, who is also onstage as “Matt Morgan”, The Big Broadcast!  is a re-creation of a live 1940's radio show featuring the Mount Holyoke College Big Band, Vocal Jazz, and Chamber Jazz Ensembles performing well-known tunes from the swing era and the American songbook. WWLP-TV meteorologist Brian Lapis is emcee “Fred Kelley” for his 13th consecutive season. Mount Holyoke alum, bassist and singer Caitlin Jaene Mercer, will join The Big Broadcast! as special guest. 

Mount Holyoke College music faculty member Mark Gionfriddo originally created The Big Broadcast! for a small cabaret group he directed, and incorporated it into the concert season at Mount Holyoke College. It has since been designated as a Signature Event at the college.

“Preparation for the show began early in January when my students and I researched live radio broadcasts of the 1940's: big band swing music, those great radio serials, and the commercials of the day," said Gionfriddo. “We incorporate all of those elements into our production to give the audience the feel of an authentic radio variety program on a fictitious station named WJAZ."

According to Gionfriddo, this year’s program will include: Benny Goodman's "All The Cats Join In"; "It's Been A Long, Long Time" by June Christy and Stan Kenton; the Glenn Miller classic “A String of Pearls”; Peggy Lee’s “Black Coffee”, and a rare radio rendition of “On The Atchison, Topeka, and The Santa Fe” by the Andrews Sisters, which was never officially released.

Mark Gionfriddo, creator and director (and “Matt Morgan”) of The Big Broadcast! Is well-known to area concertgoers as a piano soloist, coach/accompanist, composer/arranger, conductor and music director. A versatile musician, Mark is known for his diverse repertoire which includes classical, jazz, rock, and popular music. Mark has been based at Mount Holyoke College since 1986 where he is Coordinator of Piano Studies for the Department of Music as well as Director and Founder of the Jazz Ensembles. In addition, Mark is Catholic Music Director and conducts the Abbey Chapel Singers for the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life.

In 2000, Mark accompanied Garrison Keillor on the Chapin Auditorium stage in a New England Public Radio benefit show, and he conducted the MHC Big Band in 2006 during two episodes of the popular NPR public radio quiz show "Says You!" During the summers, Mark has been resident music director for Berkshire Theatre Group since 2011for their productions of Peter Pan, Seussical the Musical, Mary Poppins, Beauty and The Beast, A Christmas Carol, The Music Man, Tarzan, Shrek the Musical, and the Neil Ellenoff Musical Mondays series. Mark's production of A Class Act also appeared off-Broadway at the Robert Moss Theatre.

Mark has recently reunited with the internationally renowned Young@Heart  chorus as pianist and arranger, a post he held from 1992-1998. He is also co-author of Good Night, Dear Hart, Good Night, a book about Holyoke's Hart-Lester H. Allen and the Ponzi scandal, on the Epigraph imprint.

Brian Lapis ("Fred Kelley") joined the 22News Storm Team in 1996. He got his start in broadcasting at the age of 15 at radio station WILI, in his hometown of Willimantic, CT. He's worked as a radio on-air talent for stations in Hartford, CT; Philadelphia, PA; Syracuse, NY; and Providence, RI. Brian has a Bachelor's degree in Television Radio Film Management from Syracuse University. In addition, he holds a certificate in Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State University. This is his 12th season as WJAZ announcer and emcee “Fred Kelley”. In 2013, the National Weather Association named Brian “Broadcaster of the Year".

Brian loves performing as “Fred Kelley”. “The combination of the opportunity for me to perform, the creative energy of the students and Mark Gionfriddo, and the great music makes this far and away my favorite event of the year," he said.  "As a 'student of broadcasting’, I am one who appreciates the Golden Age of Radio and just how hugely popular these variety shows were in their day.  I’d like to believe that if I were around back in the 1940s, I would have a gig like Fred Kelley’s."

Caitlin Jaene Mercer, Mount Holyoke Class of 2002, is a self-described chanteuse style singer and a classically trained bassist, who performs original songs, jazz standards, and fronts her alternative rock band Blue Hippopotamus.Her career started when she played bass with the National Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. At Mount Holyoke, she was a founding member of the first Jazz Ensemble, and a singer with the a cappella V8s. After seeing Melissa Ferrick perform at Mount Holyoke’s Women in Music Festival, she chose music as a profession. She’s currently based near Philadelphia, where she mostly plays locally, but she performs nationally in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, and more. Her website is: http://www.caitlinjaene.com/ and she’s online on
Instagram and YouTube @CaitlinJaene.

Performance sponsors of The Big Broadcast! are: Mount Holyoke College, New England Public Media, a partnership of New England Public Radio and WGBY; PRIME Magazine; WWLP-22News & The CW Springfield, The Republican powering MassLive and El Pueblo Latino, and Loomis Communities. 

Tickets (general admission): $25.00 premium front and center seating.$20.00 regular seating. Senior Discounts: $10.00 in advance and $15.00 at the door. Students: $10.00. Tickets are on sale at The Odyssey Book Shop, Village Commons, South Hadley; the UMass Fine Arts Center Box Office; and at the door (subject to availability). For phone orders, call 413-545-2511 or 800-999-UMASS. For online tickets, visit www.fineartscenter.com. Doors open one hour prior to each performance. Chapin Auditorium is fully accessible.

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ArtsBeat Radio/TV: 1/20/20: TheaterWorks Part 1

ArtsBeat Radio/TV 1/20/20. Part one of a two-part special from TheaterWorks in Hartford, as they rehearse their next production,"The Lifespan of a Fact". Mark G. Auerbach interviews line producer Eric Ort and scenic designer Brian Prather. Thanks to Peter Cowles, Fereddie McInerney, and Michael McKiernan for helping us take ArtsBeat on the road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSd_6s73MTY

Westfield News Review: Anastasia at The Bushnell

Westfield News review of "Anastasia" which returned to Hartford after it had premiered at Hartford Stage and moved triumphantly to Broadway. https://thewestfieldnews.com/review-anastasia-returns-to-hartford/

Westfield News ArtsBeat 1/15/20

Westfield News ArtsBeat 1/15/20. Barrington Stage's 10x10 New Play Festival, Shakespeare & Company's Winter Play Rading Festival, and other arts news for WMass and No.CT.
 https://thewestfieldnews.com/arts-beat-302/

January Succeeding in Small Business Column

My January column for Succeeding in Small Business. Mentoring. https://www.succeedinginsmallbusiness.com/mentoring-good-for-you-good-for-your-business-good-for-others/#.XhiCVVNKhQJ

ArtsBeat Radio/TV 1/10/20 Goodspeed's Elisa Hale

ArtsBeat Radio/TV 1/10/20. Mark G. Auerbach chats with Elisa Hale from Goodspeed Musicals, who are about to present their 15th Festival of New Musicals. Elisa also previews the 2020 season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErW1qjS5X-s

Westfield News ArtsBeat 1/8/20

Westfield News ArtsBeat 1/8/20. Nilaja Sun's "Pike Street" at Hartford Stage; Goodspeed's 15th Festival of New Musicals. "Anastasia" returns to Hartford, site of its world premiere, and arts news for WMass and NoCT. https://thewestfieldnews.com/arts-beat-301/

Press Release: Gaslight Entertainment/Westfield Concerts February Music Weekend

Dateline: January 7, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:

Patrick Berry, Gaslight Entertainment. 413-579-8540 or patrick@westfieldconcerts.

Mark G. Auerbach Public Relations. 413-427-7352 or mgauerbach@gmail.com

CALENDAR LISTINGS

WESTFIELD CONCERTS MONTHLY MUSIC WEEKEND: FEBRUARY, 2020

Powered by Gaslight Entertainment

February 7-8, 2020

Westfield Woman’s Club

28 Court Street, Westfield, MA 01085

Tickets and Information:  www.westfieldconcerts.com

Friday,  February 7, 2020

Opener (TBA) 7PM

STARMAN: The Bowie Tribute 8PM 

STARMAN presents the entire dynamic David Bowie Experience, covering all stages of his career. This includes mid-set costume changes -executed flawlessly- to represent his ever evolving stage personas and musical styles. Performed with much humor and a deep love of his music, the concert is authentically presented by an ensemble of 7 dedicated musicians who perform David Bowie's catalog with care, humorous reverence, and impeccable attention to detail. For details: https://www.starmanbowietribute.com/

Saturday, February 8, 2020

Opener (TBA) 7PM  

33 1/3 Live's Killer Queen Experience 8PM

33 1/3 LIVE's Killer Queen Experience is a 90-minute concert set of all your favorite Queen tracks spanning their extensive catalog and is guaranteed to satisfy even the biggest Queen fans. 33 1/3 LIVE's Killer Queen Experience reproduces each track faithfully, while retaining the energy and excitement of a live performance. "For the Killer Queen Experience we have nine musicians, playing multiple instruments, and six vocalists, so we can reproduce live the parts that even Queen could not manage on stage," says lead vocalist Justin Gonzalez. For details: https://kqexperience.com/

The inaugural Westfield Concerts series are produced by Gaslight Entertainment, co-founded by Patrick Berry and Jay Pagluica, to present monthly music weekends with national touring music acts and regional up-and-coming artists in downtown Westfield, MA.The music program s include all kinds of music genres from pop to rock, jazz, blues, and folk. Westfield Concerts are held at The Westfield Woman’s Club in downtown Westfield, MA. For details on Gaslight Entertainment and Westfield Concerts: 413) 579-8540‬ or www.westfieldconcerts.com., and on Facebook as Gaslight Entertainment.

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ArtsBeat Radio/TV 1/3/20

ArtsBeat Radio/TV 1/3/20. Mark G. Auerbach interviews Tony Lechner and Angela Combest of Rock Voices, headed to The Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton next week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVwv9jz9QMM&t=181s

Westfield .News ArtsBeat 1/2/20 Print Edition

The Big Broadcast! Artwork

Thanks, Gabrielle Perlman for giving the 15th edition of The Big Broadcast! a fabulous new look. And, thanks to the sponsors for making this year's event possible.

Weastfield News ArtsBeat 1/1/20

Westfield News ArtsBeat 1/1/20. January Arts Picks, from "Anastasia" at The Bushnell to "The Lifespan of a Fact" at TheaterWorks. The Springfield Symphony celebrates Beethoven's 250th with former Maestro Mark Russell Smith, and more productions in WMass and No.CT. https://thewestfieldnews.com/january-artsbeat-picks/