Celebrating the Bard—For a Bit Longer
Hurry, hurry, hurry. The annual Delaware Shakespeare Festival at Rockwood Mansion Park in Wilmington concludes this week on July 28. This year the festival celebrates its 10th anniversary with a production of the hilarious “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” During one enchanting forest night, a fairy king and queen duel for supremacy, young lovers fall wildly out of and into love, and the world’s worst acting troupe puts on a remarkable show. It’s a magical way to celebrate the season—and one very important event. 415-3373, delshakes.org
If you miss the fest, you can catch a performance by Delaware Shakespeare Theatre on Aug. 2 at The Freeman Stage at Bayside in Fenwick Island. (436-3015, freemanstage.org). And don’t forget “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as part of Shakespeare in the Garden at the Rehoboth Art League. Meet the New Faces of Shakespeare, a company of the Possum Point Players in Georgetown, on Aug. 4. The old farm is the perfect setting for an evening of magic. 227-8408, rehobothartleague.org
A Thrilling Sneak Peek
On July 25 WHYY will host a free screening of “The Barnes Collection” documentary at Theatre N in Wilmington in advance of the television premiere on Aug. 3. “The Barnes Collection” tells the story of Dr. Albert C. Barnes and his priceless art collection, considered among the world’s greatest, and details the design and construction of the new Barnes building in Philadelphia. The Barnes houses more Cezannes than all the museums in Paris and features the world’s largest collection of works by Renoir. The 3,000-plus-piece collection is regarded as the greatest collection of Post-Impressionist art, early modern art, and American and African art. “The Barnes Collection” uses the move to the new campus and renaissance of the Barnes Foundation to tell the story of a quirky, quarrelsome man and his astounding art collection. 571-4699, theatren.org
Jazzed
Jazz fans, don’t miss the new Sunset Jazz Series on Wednesday nights at The Grand. Local musician Sean Dougherty has lined up a slate of great talent to entertain you in the Sarah Bernhardt Room, where you can enjoy food and drink from neighboring Chelsea Tavern 5 p.m.-8 p.m.. Admission is free—if you buy two drinks—and Chelsea’s food is always fun. The series runs through August. thegrandwilmington.org
The Fringe of Fringe
Fringe Wilmington and Wilmington’s monthly Art on the Town Art Loop have teamed up to present you with adventurous performances of the Fringe Wilmington Festival year round. Fringe Unhinged is a free monthly performance series featuring encores from past festivals. Stick around after the Art Loop for a look at the often unconventional, sometimes bizarre, always entertaining performances. See them at the Film Brothers Film Co-Op, 205 N. Market St., starting at 8:15. Art Loops are usually the first Friday of each month. artloopwilmingtonde.com
They Had Us at ‘Hello’
Big pipes and uproarious comedy—it can be only The Brandywiners, those singular sensations of summer. This year they present “Hello Dolly!” at Longwood Gardens July 26-Aug. 4. The Tony Award-winning musical includes “Put On Your Sunday Clothes,” “Ribbons Down My Back,” “Before the Parade Passes By,” “Elegance,” “It Only Takes A Moment” and “So Long, Dearie”—as only The Brandywiners can sing them. Celebrate the joie de vivre of the fabulous Dolly Gallagher Levi in one of the most fabulous places on earth. 800-338-6965, longwoodgardens.org
Super Shows
The Clear Space Theatre Company’s Summer Repertory is well underway, with productions of “Cabaret” and “Annie,” as well as “Broadway at the Beach,” its own popular revue of classic show tunes. The shows run in two-day rotations, Tuesday through Sunday, through Sept. 2. It’s a boatload of fun. 227-2270, clearspacetheatre.org
The dynamaic duo behind the Rehoboth Summer Children’s Theatre have been hard at work. This year, don’t miss “The Jungle Book” through Aug. 15, “Puss in Boots” through Aug. 21 of “Cinderella” through Aug. 29. Most shows are at the Baycenter for the Performing Arts in Dewey Beach’s Ruddertowne. 227-6766, rehobothchildrenstheatre.org
Life is Short, Art Shows are Long
Also at Brandywine River Museum, see “Summer Sojourns: Art on Holiday,” nearly 100 paintings, drawings and prints from its collection made while their famous creators where visiting other parts of the country, as well as Europe, Asia and the Mideast, on summer vacations. The exhibition includes work from N.C. Wyeth’s visits to Port Clyde, Maine, including “Herring Gut” and Untitled (View of Eight Bells), and works that show how the ocean and dunes in Rehoboth Beach inspired some of Howard Pyle’s paintings of pirate lore. There’s more, of course. See it through Sept. 3. (610) 388-2700, brandywinemuseum.org
A highlight of every season at the Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover is “Award Winners,” an annual celebration of achievements by Delaware Division of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowships recipients. “Award Winners XII” honors top-tier visual and performing artists and writers. They are: Mahasveta Barua, William Bretzger, David Brinley, Anne Marie Cammarato, Fostina Dixon-Kilgoe, Xiang Gao, Gary Hanna, Ramona Maziarz, Abby Millager, James Miller, Ellen Priest, Nicholas Serratore, Jessica Stephens, Sally Van Orden and Carol Woolworth. It’s an opportuniy to see, hear and read the best, as well as study at their knees. See “Award Winners XII” through Oct. 21. 674-2111,
First up at the Delaware Art Museum, “Once Upon a Time in Delaware/In Quest of the Perfect Book” explores decorative book covers through the eyes of artist Nina Katchadourian and local collector Mary G. Sawyer. Katchadourian used volumes from Sawyer’s collection of 2,000 rare books to makes photographs of books grouped so their titles can be read as a sequence. The results are both humorous and insightful. In commemoration of the museum’s centennial, “100 Works for 100 Years” displays a fraction of the 12,000 objects in its collection, each selected for its aesthetic merit, popularity or provenance. Each tells a unique tale. 571-9590, delart.org
