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Bay Street Honorees

Bay Street Honorees

Bay Street Theatre's second annual Honors Benefit
By
Star Staff

    Bay Street Theatre has announced its second annual Honors Benefit, set for April 27 at East Hampton Point. This year the honorees include David Bray, Ana R. Daniel, Michael Grim, and James Osburn. All of the honorees support Bay Street, as well as many other local businesses and nonprofits.

    The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and a buffet. The awards presentation, featuring Joy Behar, a comedian, writer, actress, and co-host of the ABC talk show “The View,” starts at 8. Tickets cost $175 per person or $300 per couple. Reservations can be made by calling Mary Ellen DiPrisco at the Sag Harbor theater. The deadline for reservations is Friday, April 19. Proceeds support the theater’s year-round educational programming.

 

A Guitarist’s Paradise

A Guitarist’s Paradise

Allen Merrill’s Guitar Studio of East Hampton offers instruction, recording and mixing services, and a select number of guitars for sale.
Allen Merrill’s Guitar Studio of East Hampton offers instruction, recording and mixing services, and a select number of guitars for sale.
Morgan McGivern
“There seem to be a lot of people — of all ages — with a pent-up desire to start playing the guitar, improve or broaden their technique, or record their music”
By
Christopher Walsh

   After a career that took him to such far-off places as Japan, Singapore, and the Dominican Republic, Allen Merrill, who lives in East Hampton, is now letting the world come to him. Word has gotten out about the Guitar Studio of East Hampton, which Mr. Merrill launched in January, and a diverse group of South Fork residents is coming to inquire and take advantage of the new facility.

    “There seem to be a lot of people — of all ages — with a pent-up desire to start playing the guitar, improve or broaden their technique, or record their music,” Mr. Merrill said.

    As the sunlight streamed through the control-room windows on a late-winter morning, Mr. Merrill demonstrated a “synth” guitar, one of many guitars hanging in the studio. With a spectacular vista of Northwest Harbor outside, he clicked a foot pedal, raised a fader on the control room’s console, and the sounds of guitars, horns, flutes, and even keyboards filled the room to its farthest reaches.

    In the adjacent room, walls were lined with classical, acoustic, and electric guitars and amplifiers, including some by famous makers from around the world, such as Hauser, Ramirez, and Giussani. Mr. Merrill also noted the thick, soundproof door between the tracking and control rooms, as well as the collection of high-end microphones suited specifically for recording guitar, as well as vocals and other sound sources. In both rooms, Asian art, sculpture, and furniture promote a meditative, Zen-like tranquillity. It is a guitar aficionado’s paradise.

    Last autumn, Mr. Merrill and his wife, Gwen, a teacher of Mandarin, redesigned the addition to the house they built 20 years ago, to serve as a world-class teaching and recording facility. Since then, they have welcomed guitarists of all levels, as well as other musicians and performers, to take advantage of the studio’s diverse offerings.

    For Mr. Merrill, too, a lifelong passion for guitar playing, recording, and producing, pursued mainly during nights and weekends, can now be pursued full time. Previously, he was a partner with the management consulting firm McKinsey and Company, spending time in Asia and Latin America.

    “The passion and energy have always been there,” Mr. Merrill said. “Our travels and work overseas have allowed me to benefit from study and collaboration with some of the best instructors and players in the world. To be able to dedicate myself now to helping others learn, play, and record their music is a lifelong dream come true.”

    With this in mind, the Guitar Studio of East Hampton has three areas of focus: instruction; recording and mixing, and sales of select guitars, for some of which Mr. Merrill is Long Island’s exclusive dealer.

    “I’ve been surprised at how many inquiries we’ve had related to teaching,” he said. “I have students 9 and 12 years old at one end, and others who are well advanced but want to keep striving for the next level. We’re introducing folks to classical and flamenco guitar, as well as pop, rock, folk, and jazz. It’s fun seeing students try out different styles.” Mr. Merrill, who has recorded two of his own CDs, intends to hold student performances and recitals on-site, starting in the warmer months.

    Though he has been recording music for over 20 years, he feels particularly indebted to Berklee College of Music, the renowned Boston school, where he has benefited from taking the yearlong Professional Music Production program. “Berklee has clearly helped broaden and deepen my knowledge of audio technology and recording-mixing skills,” he said. “The instructors there include some of the best in the industry, and the Berklee Music Network is an invaluable ongoing resource.”

    Related to its second objective of recording and mixing, the Guitar Studio is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and gear that rival what is found in top commercial studios. Even the high-powered audio computer, from MusicXPC of Toronto, is specialized for music recording and production.

    “We’ve also had a number of inquiries related to recording from the Latin community, perhaps because I lived and worked in Latin America for five years, speak Spanish fluently, and am known for having a cultural affinity,” Mr. Merrill said. “Again, there seems to be a pent-up demand, partly because of language constraints, and partly from not being connected in the right circles. I’m very interested in helping. And Latin music is not that far from some of the Spanish classical and flamenco guitar music that I was trained in.”

    The Guitar Studio’s third objective — making guitars available to students and others — is, he said, a byproduct of the studio’s other goals. Available models range from high-end classical guitars to custom-made McPherson acoustic-electric guitars to the fast-growing and in some cases more student-appropriate Cordoba line, several of which come in youth-friendly half and three-quarter sizes.

    Mr. Merrill has also reached out to local schools. “We’re exploring the idea of supplementing some of their instruction, or finding ways to provide another outlet for kids that have a continuing interest beyond what they are able to pursue in school,” he said. “It would be nice to see that take off, because it furthers the objective of enhancing guitar playing and interest in the community, which is ultimately what we’re all about.”

    With the studio established and lesson and recording schedules filling, the nascent business is ready for increased activity as the influx of summer residents approaches. “While we’ve lived in East Hampton year round in the past,” Mr. Merrill said, “and considered this for a long time to be our home, it’s great to be here full time again, and to be able to dedicate the coming years to guitar musicianship and enjoyment.”

The Art Scene: 04.04.12

The Art Scene: 04.04.12

Local art news
By
Jennifer Landes

Putting It on Paper

    Arlene Bujese has returned to the Southampton Cultural Center to present “Paperwork” through April 22. A reception will take place on Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m.

    The exhibition, for which Ms. Bujese served as curator, will include collage, drawing, painting, and photography. The artists include Stephanie Brody-Lederman, Margery Harnick, Anne Sag­er, Roseann Schwab, Walter Schwab, Gail Miro, Mary Stubelek, Greg­ory Thorpe, E.E. Tucker, and Hans Van de Bovenkamp.

    Those working in collage include Mr. Tucker and Ms. Schwab. Mr. Thorpe, Mr. Miro, Ms. Brody-Lederman, and Ms. Stubelek present drawings and paintings. Mr. Van de Bovenkamp incorporates some collage in his acrylic and watercolor works. Ms. Sager will show a series of black-and-white images of the ocean. Ms. Harnick’s work includes color images of New York City from her recent book “The Outdoor Museum.” Mr. Schwab is also showing color photographs.

Mostly Abstract at Ashawagh

    “Mostly Abstract!” a group show organized by Cynthia Sobel, will be on view at Ashawagh Hall in Springs this weekend. Paintings, drawings, and sculpture will be included in the exhibition, which was postponed from the weekend of the blizzard. A reception will be held on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.

    The artists featured will be Barbara Bilotta, Beth Barry, Phyllis Hammond, Jana Hayden, Jim Hayden, Stephanie Reit, Sheila Rotner, Cynthia Sobel, and Lieve Thiers.

New Show at Crazy Monkey

    The Crazy Monkey Gallery in Amagansett will open a new show of Daniel Dubinsky and June Kaplan, as well as a group exhibit by the art cooperative’s members.

    Mr. Dubinski focuses primarily on landscapes, ocean, beach, coastal settings, sky, and nature. Ms. Kaplan said her “dreamscapes reflect a direct passage into my turbulent emotional nature.”

    Tina Andrews, Barbara Bilotta, Sarah Blodgett, Lance Corey, Katherine Hammond, Jim Hayden, Stephanie Reit, Sheila Rotner, Daniel Schoenheimer, Cynthia Sobel, Bob Tucker, and Mark E. Zimmerman will also have work on view.

    A reception will be held on Saturday from 5 to 7 pm. The show will remain on view through April 28.

Artshwager Film at Parrish

    “Shut Up and Look,” a film about Richard Artschwager, who died in February at the age of 89, will be screened at the Parrish Art Museum  in Water Mill tomorrow at 6 p.m.

    The film allows a look into the private life of the artist over an eight-year period when he transitioned from exclusively black-and-white works into the world of color, creating some of the most vibrant art of his life. He is seen in his studio, playing the piano at home, walking in the canyons of New Mexico, and traveling around the world for his exhibitions of artworks that varied from paintings to sculptural forms throughout his career.

    A discussion will follow with the director, Maryte Kavaliauskas, and the  producer, Morning Slayter. Joining them will be Malcolm Morley and John Torreano, fellow artists who will discuss the artist and his work after the screening.

    Tickets are $10, and free for Parrish members, children, and students. Space is limited and advance reservations are recommended.

Deadline Approaching

    The 75th annual Guild Hall Artist Members Exhibition will be held this year from April 27 to June 1. The deadline for registration and to be included on the list of participants, is Friday, April 12. Late entries will be accepted until April 20.

    The dates and times to drop off work will be April 19 and 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration materials are available on the Guild Hall Web site. This year’s awards judge is Elisabeth Sussman. The show is open to any artist member of Guild Hall.

Two New at Halsey Mckay

    Ted Gahl and Virva Hinnemo will have two separate solo shows at the Halsey Mckay gallery in East Hampton beginning on Saturday and running through April 30.

    Mr. Gahl’s exhibition is titled “Gin Blossoms,” which refers to a skin condition associated with alcohol consumption as well as the 1990s alternative band with the same name. According to the gallery, Mr. Gahl’s work incorporates “themes of melancholy, persistence, duration, nostalgia, and growth” in these works, which relate to both references. He works in both painting and sculptural mediums with a variety of traditional and invented techniques. He lives in Litchfield, Conn.

    Ms. Hinnemo is from Helsinki, but now lives in East Hampton. Her exhibition, called “Blind,” features small abstractions that had roots in naturalism but now act “as a description of mystery, a memory or allusion to language,” according to the gallery. Her coloration ranges from the vibrant to earthier tones applied in a specific way by the artist’s hand.

    A reception will be held Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m.

 

Flair and Pianos

Flair and Pianos

The Southampton Cultural Center events
By
Star Staff

    The Southampton Cultural Center will present two concerts this weekend.  Tomorrow at 7 p.m., “An Evening of Latin Flair” will showcase Stony Brook University doctoral candidates. Jay Sorce on guitar, Andrea Lodge on piano, Elizabeth York on violin, Josh Schwalbach on bass, and Scott Litroff on saxophone will perform works by Piazzolla, Milhaud, and Rodrigo.

    On Saturday, the Rising Stars piano series returns at 7 p.m. with Michelle and Kimberly Cann, a Caribbean-American two-piano duo who will play works by Lutoslawski, Ravel, Dolores White, and Rachmaninoff.

    Tickets for tomorrow’s performance cost $20, $10 for students under the age of 21. Saturday’s show costs $15, free for students. Tickets can be purchased on the cultural center’s Web site or at the door up to 40 minutes before the performances.

 

Austen in Montauk

Austen in Montauk

This year marks the bicentennial of the publication of “Pride and Prejudice,”
By
Star Staff

  Barbara Hellering will give an illustrated talk on “Jane Austen: Her Writing, Her World” at the Montauk Library on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Ms. Hellering will discuss the author’s life and work, breaking down the locations and historical events in her writing to place her characters more fully in their world.

    Ms. Hellering, a resident of Riverhead who is a member of the Jane Austen Society of America, believes Austen’s popularity can be attributed to the enduring nature of her subjects, from love and marriage to economic well-being.

    This year marks the bicentennial of the publication of “Pride and Prejudice,” which continues to inspire film versions and written works. Ms. Hellering will discuss different cinematic versions of the marriage proposal sequence from “Pride and Prejudice” to illustrate how Austen’s narrative is open to different interpretations.

 

Parsing Einstein

Parsing Einstein

Marc Robinson will discuss the hand gestures in “Einstein on the Beach,” seen here from a production in Toronto last summer.
Marc Robinson will discuss the hand gestures in “Einstein on the Beach,” seen here from a production in Toronto last summer.
Lucie Jansch, Luminato
The opera from its 1976 premiere to its 2012 restaging
By
Star Staff

    On Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Watermill Center, Marc Robinson will trace the many variations and meanings of the small hand gestures that make up most of the action in the opera “Einstein on the Beach.” He will follow the opera from its 1976 premiere to its 2012 restaging, drawing on research from the Einstein archives at the Columbia University Library and the Byrd Hoffman Water Mill Foundation.

    He will also examine allusions by Robert Wilson of the Watermill Center to other works of art and products of mass culture. Mr. Robinson will be joined by Helga Davis, who is performing in the current world tour of “Einstein on the Beach.”

 

Acoustic Duets

Acoustic Duets

The musicians will perform material from their respective catalogs in an acoustic duet format
By
Star Staff

    Mick Hargreaves and Pete Mancini will embark on a tour of mid-Atlantic states on Wednesday. The musicians will perform material from their respective catalogs in an acoustic duet format. The tour, lasting through April 27, will take the duo to venues in New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, as well as across Long Island.

    The tour wraps with an April 26 performance at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett and, the following night, “On the Air” at Crossroads Music in Amagansett Square. Mr. Mancini is the singer of the band Butcher’s Blind. Mr. Hargreaves, who lives in Southampton, recently served as co-producer of the band’s upcoming release, “Destination Blues.”

 

Swinging at 230 Elm

Swinging at 230 Elm

Swing dancing to the Max Feldschuh Quintet
By
Star Staff

    From 6 to 9 tonight there will be no-charge swing dancing to the Max Feldschuh Quintet, as well as free lessons in the basics, at a bandstand night at 230 Down, the bottom level of 230 Elm Street in Southampton.

    A cash bar and a $10 buffet will also be offered, along with a raffle to benefit a June production by Our Fabulous Variety Show. A contest will be held to choose a beneficiary for the group’s upcoming performance at Guild Hall, both on their Facebook page and via a “penny war” at the event, votes to be cast with spare change.

    The actors put on their vaudeville performances to perfect their craft while raising awareness and money for local and national issues.

Warhol’s Little Edie Photo to Be Sold at Auction

Warhol’s Little Edie Photo to Be Sold at Auction

Fans of Andy Warhol and Little Edie alike should spark interest in this Polaroid image taken by Warhol in 1976 for sale tomorrow at Christie’s.
Fans of Andy Warhol and Little Edie alike should spark interest in this Polaroid image taken by Warhol in 1976 for sale tomorrow at Christie’s.
A Polaroid image of Little Edie taken by Andy Warhol in 1976
By
Jennifer Landes

   Edith Bouvier Beale of East Hampton, the Jackie Onassis cousin known to the world as Little Edie ever since the Maysles Brothers film “Grey Gardens” came out in 1975, may forever be remembered by the film’s devoted fans as surrounded by cats and supporting her aged and eccentric mother, Edith (Big Edie) Ewing Bouvier Beale.

    Time moved on for Little Edie, however, and the film brought her a certain level of fame, or notoriety. In later years, her fan base increased even further as “Grey Gardens” gained a cult following. After her mother’s death she sold the house and had a life that somewhat resembled her vision of what it should have been all along.

    A Polaroid image of Little Edie taken by Andy Warhol in 1976, a souvenir of the early post-film time, will be up for auction at Christie’s tomorrow. It is expected to sell for $5,000 to $7,000.

    According to the auction house’s listing for the lot, Warhol and Beale met briefly at Grey Gardens around the time of the filming. The following year, she visited The Factory with Albert Maysles and sat for some photographs.

    Little Edie said at the time that she thought Warhol might make a painting from the photo, according to Bouvier Beale, a nephew, and Eva Beale, his wife, who are the family members selling the photo. The couple said last week that it was “one of Edie’s prized possessions. She seemed to be very proud that Andy Warhol was taking the photographs of her.”

    One of the photos from that day ended up in a Warhol book called “Exposures.” When the book came out Edie Beale was asked about the photograph, and she said that Warhol had given it to her to give to her mother. “I thought that was very sweet,” she said.

    Big Edie died in 1977. In 1979, her daughter sold their fabled Apaquogue Road house, which was in a state of disrepair so serious that the county health department had at one point threatened to condemn it, to Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn — the first potential buyers who assured her that they would restore the place and not tear it down.

    She then moved to New York City to be a singer and dancer. She was close to 60 at the time. Warhol attended some of her performances.

    Little Edie died in 2002. Mr. Beale, one of three nephews and a niece who survived her, was designated her executor. His wife said Little Edie kept everything in boxes, and they found the photo that will be auctioned tomorrow in one of them, along with others that they published in a recent book, “Edith Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens: A Life in Pictures.”

    The decision to sell the photo, said Eva Beale, grew out of a conversation she had with an art dealer who told her that “one of Edie’s friends was hoping to find this photograph at an auction one day.”

    “As the years go by, we are so amazed that Little Edie is the famous fashion icon that everyone adores,” Ms. Beale said. “In celebrating her life, we thought it was a good time to show this to the world — and what better way is there than Christie’s?”

    The couple’s favorite memory of their aunt, they said, happened at their wedding. They were married at Gurney’s Inn in Montauk in 1980, and she got up and serenaded them with “Toujours L’Amour.”

   She later visited them at their hillside house surrounded by redwood trees, in California, which she took to calling the tree house. They took her to Stinson Beach, a nearby seaside village, which they said she particularly enjoyed.

    The Beales plan to continue Little Edie’s legacy through “specially designed products and reproductions from Edie’s collection.

    “We are truly amazed with all the attention that continues even today for all things Grey Gardens,” Ms. Beale said.

‘Peter Pan’ Takes Flight

‘Peter Pan’ Takes Flight

The Darling children, from left, Paula Guerra, Colin Freedman, and Dillon Andrada, watched Peter Pan, played by Jayne Freedman, take flight.
The Darling children, from left, Paula Guerra, Colin Freedman, and Dillon Andrada, watched Peter Pan, played by Jayne Freedman, take flight.
Durell Godfrey
Springs Community Theater actors soar above the stage
By
T.E. McMorrow

   Spring is literally springing through the air for the Springs Community Theater, as its actors soar above the stage during rehearsal at Guild Hall for a new production of the ever-popular 1954 musical version of the J.M. Barrie classic, “Peter Pan.”

    “It was a dream of hers. She always wanted to do it,” Barbara Mattson, the producer, said of her long-time friend, and co-driving force behind the company, Jayne Freedman.

    The two women founded the community theater group several years ago, drawing mainly from Springs residents for its membership, but also including budding actors and theater lovers from the greater East Hampton area and beyond, with some members coming from as far away as Riverhead.

    But, a couple of years ago, the two women, each at about the same time, lost their mothers. As they took a hiatus from theater, each provided the other with mutual emotional support and shared courage.

    “We haven’t done a show in a couple of years,” Ms. Freedman said. The time seemed right for a production of “Peter Pan.”

    What is so exciting about this production, which will play at Guild Hall Friday, April 12, and April 13, 19, and 20 at 8 p.m. and April 14 at 2 p.m., is that Peter, a part traditionally played by a woman, and the children in the show will be flying through the air over the stage.

    If that sounds ambitious for a community theater, it is, but, don’t worry, this is a well thought out, carefully scripted production.

    “We couldn’t have done it at the old Guild Hall,” Ms. Mattson said. The women asked Joe Brondo, the John Drew Theater’s assistant technical director, for advice on how to make their dream come true. His answer? Flying by Foy, the leading provider of flying special effects for theater and concerts.

    “They do huge shows, all over the world. Las Vegas, Cirque du Soleil. But, they do small shows, community theater, too,” Ms. Mattson said.

    The children will fly straight up and down, with no sideways movement, but Ms. Freedman will need to bring her wings of Mercury. She will be going across the stage, as well as up and down.

    Last Thursday was the first time the cast “flew” in rehearsal.

    “Nobody knew what to expect. The kids were hysterical!” Ms. Mattson said.

    But there is more to the show than just flying.

    “Every time we do a dance number, I think to myself, that’s going to be the show-stopper,” said Ms. Freedman, who is co-directing with Diana Horn and sharing choreography duties with Anita Boyer, who plays Tiger Lilly.

    The company didn’t need to go far to find its Captain Hook — the always funny Josh Gladstone, whose day job is artistic director of the John Drew Theater, is taking on the role.

    Day jobs are something both Ms. Freedman and Ms. Mattson are very much aware of, with Ms. Mattson being an assistant manager at Douglas Elliman Real Estate in East Hampton and Ms. Freedman running Jayne E’s Family Cuts in Springs.

    How do they make Springs Community Theater happen?

    “We’re very lucky. We’ve had a couple of sweet angels helping us. We’ve done fund-raising,” Ms. Freedman said, adding that the advertising in the program helps make the production possible, as well.

    As for being a producer, Ms. Mattson said, “I’m loving it. It’s so much work. It’s fun. It’s a three-month whirlwind.”

    The creation of “Peter Pan” as we now know it was by an interesting, organic process that was only possible in the fertile ground of post-World War II American musical theater.

     Originally a play with musical numbers by Mark Charlap and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, it didn’t do well in its pre-Broadway tour in 1954. The director Jerome Robbins brought in a legendary trio — the composer Jule Styne and lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green — to write additional numbers, creating the musical show that we know today. At the same time, the producers sold the show to NBC for a special TV broadcast the following year, guaranteeing the production’s profitability.

    Most Baby Boomers have childhood memories of a black-and-white Mary Martin as Peter, flying across their screens.

    Now, another generation gets to discover the joy of the boy who wouldn’t grow up. “I’m just a wannabe,” Ms. Freedman said. “I love the kids. I love being Peter Pan. I get to be a kid again.”

    Tickets cost $25 for adults, $15 for those under 18, with special senior citizen tickets available for $20 on the April 14. They can be purchased at theatermania.com or by calling Jayne E’s Family Cuts.