The article surfaced on the web yesterday, a Boston Globe Travel section report on the vibrant cultural life in Lowell, a city whose historic sector carries the designation of The Canalway Cultural District, thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Quickly, the news story by writer Patricia Harris and photographer David Lyon…
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This is a shout out to everyone at Merrimack Repertory Theatre who brought audiences an outstanding production of The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith, featuring Miche Braden in the lead role. A hot three-piece band made up of Jim Hankins on bass, Aaron Graves on piano, and…
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Following is one writer’s highlights in cultural experiences in Lowell and the Merrimack Valley this past year. These are events I attended, so this list is not an attempt to rate the best in the arts and culture for 2012. That’s for another post. Send in your favorite and unforgettable moments,…
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The world premiere of Jack Kerouac’s only full-length play, “Beat Generation,” drew a standing ovation from the opening night crowd last night at Merrimack Repertory Theatre. The production is a language fest with all the mundane and sublime elements that are expected in Kerouac’s writing. The play jumped off the…
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The world premiere of Jack Kerouac’s only full-length play, “Beat Generation,” is set for next Wednesday, Oct. 10, at Merrimack Repertory Theatre in partnership with UMass Lowell. The media buzz is building around this major event. The Sun, Eagle Tribune, Globe, Associated Press/New York City, WCAP-AM radio, WBUR-FM radio, BBC radio,…
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Last weekend, my wife, Rosemary, and I enjoyed a matinee performance of “The Verse Business” by A. M. Dolan, the one-man show about Robert Frost, starring Gordon Clapp, who is best known for his acting in the TV series “NYPD Blue.” Except for the side seats in the balcony, the…
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Bravo to eveyone at Merrimack Repertory Theatre for bringing home a highly competitive Kresge Foundation grant of $325,000. Awards from prestigious national foundations such as Kresge signal the excellence and maturity of Lowell’s cultural industry. There’s more where this came from, and the various parts and pieces of Lowell’s creative…
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Bryan Marquard of the Boston Globe remembers playwright Jon Lipsky, a longtime activist in the Boston theater community. Lowell area people may recall that he wrote “Maggie’s Riff” for Merrimack Repertory Theatre, an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s novel “Maggie Cassidy,” which is set mostly in the city and at Lowell High School.…
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