Out & About
Great Grooms
Arguably the best-known artwork in Westchester County, The Bookstore has
been a part of the Hudson River Museum¹s permanent collection for nearly 30
years. Combining art with functionality, pop artist Red Grooms¹s
16-by-35-foot mixed-media sculpture < which humorously depicts a bevy of
unique characters browsing through a used bookshop < was created to serve as
the museum¹s gift shop (which it did for 27 years). This spring, the museum
celebrates Grooms and The Bookstore with two events. Red Grooms: In the
Studio is a major exhibition by this ever-popular artist. The works on
display include never-before-seen preliminary studies (called maquettes) for
what the artist calls ³sculpto-pictoramas²: his large, colorful, and
frenetic depictions of urban life. And The Bookstore itself has seen some
major changes. No longer used as a gift shop, the piece has undergone a
major restoration. Museum visitors can now mingle with the quirky clerks,
shoppers, ghosts, and mice < as well as the 5,000 painted books < in the
sculpture¹s brand-new gallery setting. Exhibit on view through May 31.
Wed.-Sun. 12-5 p.m., Fri. 12-8 p.m. $5, $3 seniors & children. 511 Warburton
Ave., Yonkers. 914-963-4550 or www.hrm.org
UPAC-ing them in
Don¹t know if you¹ve noticed, but since its merger with Poughkeepsie¹s
Bardavon Opera House two years ago, the Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC)
has showcased a steady stream of top-flight entertainers. Case in point:
this month, legendary storyteller/author/actor Bill Cosby brings his comedic
wit (and wisdom) to the center¹s Broadway Theater on the second (3 & 7 p.m.,
$45-$85). On the fifth, superstar cellist (and 15-time Grammy winner) Yo-Yo
Ma and Friends perform string quartets penned by a variety of composers (8
p.m., $65-$125). Full of energy and passion, the contemporary dance troupe
Ailey II leaps onto the stage on the ninth (7 p.m., $32). 601 Broadway,
Kingston. 845-339-6088 or www.upac.org
OK Chorale
While the idea of spending several hours at the opera may not appeal to many
people, listening to opera choruses < those oft-exuberant pieces crafted to
open or close an act < is a neat way to get a dose of some of the genre¹s
best-loved music. For the second concert performance of their 10th
anniversary season, the Taconic Opera presents ³Immortal Opera Choruses.²
Featured works include the Hell Chorus from Boito¹s Mefistofele, as well as
several famous Verdi compositions (including the Chorus of Hebrew Slaves
from Aida and the show-stopping Anvil Chorus from Il Trovatore). Bravo!
March 15 at 7:30 p.m. $18, $15 seniors & students. Peekskill Presbyterian
Church. Corner of South and Washington Streets, Peekskill. 914-245-3415 or
www.taconicopera.org
Junkyard jam
Looking for something a tad offbeat? Check out the Electric Junkyard
Gamelan, which performs this month at Time and Space Limited. This unusual
quintet plays original music on invented instruments, all of which were
conceived and built by bandleader/composer Terry Dame. Group members
serenade you with riffs on the Rubarp (an electric harp that uses rubber
bands for strings and coat hangers for a frame), the Clayrimba (tuned clay
pots struck with mallets like a marimba), and the Terraphone (a horn made
from copper pipes). The ensemble¹s surprisingly tuneful sound shows the
influence of genres ranging from Indian classical to modern jazz < all
shaped by Dame¹s humor-laced voice. March 29 at 8 p.m. $10. 434 Columbia
St., Hudson. 518-822-8448 or www.timeandspace.org
Storied singer
The story of country-music songstress Trisha Yearwood¹s rise to stardom
could be the plot of a Broadway musical. Small-town Georgia peach wins a
local talent show at 16; lands a job with MTM Records after college; cuts a
demo with a rising star named Garth Brooks, who introduces her to a producer
who just happens to have a song he¹s been looking for a female singer to
record. The song, ³She¹s in Love with the Boy,² goes to number-one on the
charts; eight more number-one singles (and 11 gold or platinum albums)
follow < as does a fairytale wedding to Brooks. The three-time Grammy winner
brings her lustrous voice to Eisenhower Hall Theatre for a one-night
performance. March 8 at 8 p.m. Call for ticket information. U.S.M.A campus,
West Point. 845-938-4159 or www.ikehall.com
