Weekend Outlook: Stars Are Out — Singers, Stage & Gazers
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James Taylor's two benefit concerts for Haiti's earthquake victims at Great Barrington's Mahaiwe Theater tonight and Saturday may be sold out, but you can still catch the legendary performer tonight at 8 on WAMC.
The public radio station (at FM 90.3 & 105.1 in the Berkshires) will simulcast tonight's performance of "Help for Haiti: An Intimate Evening with James Taylor." It's also received a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission that will allow it to use its phone banks to take contributions for Partners In Health, the medical charity Taylor has selected to receive the donations. Call 1-800-323-9262.
Taylor and his wife, Kim, matched tickets sales for Friday night's concert, raising a total of $300,000. The response led Taylor to offer a second concert on Saturday, again with all ticket sales going to Partners In Health. So far, some $450,000 has been raised.
Partners In Health, based in Boston, has been bringing modern medical care to poor communities in nine countries; it's been working in Haiti for two decades. You can also donate online at www.jamestaylor.com.
Gaze at the Stars
Experience the wonders of the universe at the Milham Planetarium, located inside the Old Hopkins Observatory at Williams College.Astronomy students at the college will host a free show for the public on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Audiences will be treated to shows from the high-precision Zeiss Skymaster planetarium projector, installed in April 2005.
The Zeiss Skymaster is capable of demonstrating phenomena including: retrograde motions of the planets, phases of the moon, the varying temperatures/colors of stars, locations of neighboring galaxies, the mythological figures and zodiacal signs ascribed to constellations, the Southern Hemisphere's sky, comets, artificial satellites, and much more.
The observatory, built in 1836-38 by the first professor of astronomy at Williams , Albert Hopkins, is the oldest extant observatory in the United States. Shows will last about 50 minutes.
For reservations (recommended) contact Barbara Swanson at 413-597-2188. Others will be admitted as space permits. Large groups should call for special appointments. A campus map showing the Hopkins Observatory's location can be found here.
Sondheim on Stage
Broadway icon and Williams graduate Stephen Sondheim will share the stage with New York Times columnist Frank Rich on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 8 p.m. in Chapin Hall. The event is open to the public, free of charge, but tickets are required. Tickets may be reserved (limit two per person) online or by calling 413-597-4435.
A Poetic Evening
Chapters Bookstore, 78 North St., Pittsfield, hosts a reading and discussion on the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay on Friday at 6 p.m. The event will be lead by professor of literature James Kraft and Edna St. Vincent Millay Society Executive Director Peter Bergman, who will talk about the poetry, the life Millay lived in the Berkshires from 1925 to 1950, and her relationships with other women. Call 413-443-2665 for more information.
On Stage
Williams College has two theater events happening on tonight, Friday.
"The Shadow of the Glen," written by Irish playwright J.M. Synge and directed by junior Ben Kaplan, will be shown at Centerstage at 7:30; the show is free.
The one-act dark comedy premiered in 1903, and was Irish
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"Two Chairs and a Box," a series of four short plays directed by students, will take the stage Friday night at 8:30 in the Directing Studio. Tickets are $1 at the door.
Sophomore Mario Mastromarino directs the classic David Ives comedy "Sure Thing"; Vashti Emigh, also a sophomore, directs Edward Albee's first play "The Zoo Story"; junior Amanda Keating directs John Cariani's play "Almost, Maine," and "Santa Claus: A Morality," by e.e.cummings, is an existential tragicomedy directed by sophomore David Daniel Phillips.
For more information, visit '62Center.
Sweet Treats for a Cause
Students and parents from Morris Elementary School, Lenox are holding a bake sale fundraiser on Saturday from 10 to 5, with proceeds going to the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.
Java-Jazzed
On Sunday, have "Hot Coffee, Cool Jazz," from 2 to 4 at Epoch Assisted Living at Melbourne, 140 Melbourne Road, Pittsfield. The Allen Livermore Trio will perform sets as baristas from Coffee Concepts serve up hot, made-to-order java. The trio features award-winning saxophonist Allen Livermore, pianist Ben Kohn and double-bassist Peter Toigo. For more information: 413-499-1992.
