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Puffs at WhatCo.
Off Broadway
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

PUFFS at the The Theater at WHATco

PUFFS at the The Theater at WHATco bergan with the company storming the stage with verve as they presented this parody of the Harry Potter franchise. PUFFS portrays the story of a group of underdog students from Hufflepuff House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We follow the madcap antics of Wayne Hopkins, an overly enthusiastic Puff who dreams of being a hero like Harry Potter.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Reginald L. Wilson plays Terrence and Tatiana Scott plays Sable in Wilson's play on domestic violence, Scrambled Eggs. Photo courtesy of Faith Steps Productions
Off Broadway
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled Eggs by the author Reginald L. Wilson made its world premiere at the Gene Frankel Theater in New York City. It was crafted in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It was billed as a “compelling play on domestic violence is meant to incite conversation, build understanding, and inspire advocacy.”

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Heather Massie in her solo play, "HEDY! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr," at Morningside Players, 100 La Salle Street, Manhattan. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.
Off Broadway
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr

As the audience gathered for HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, we were transported through time by a captivating blend of visuals and sounds. Simple props from the era and film clips of Hedy Lamarr added to the allure. As we watched, we heard music like Cole Porter’s You Do Something to Me (1929) and Wang Wang Blues (1920) performed by Paul Whiteman and His Ambassador Orchestra.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Hays Street Hart at Smoke Jazz. Photo by Edward Kliszus
Jazz
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Hays Street Hart at Smoke Jazz Club

Hays Street Hart at Smoke Jazz Club presented tunes from their Bridges Record Release tonight. As I sat in the sold-out performance the sounds I heard reminded me of the incredible importance of the jazz trio (aka rhythm section). From the first few bars, I imagined the work of Bill Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian—or perhaps Oscar Peterson with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Conrad Herwig. Photo from ConradHerwig.com
Jazz
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Conrad Herwig and The Latin Side All-Stars at The Django

Conrad Herwig and The Latin Side All-Stars at The Django brought forth classic, expressive jazz. Herwig enriched it with the syncopation, excitement, and complexity of Latin rhythm, the pathos of Coltrane, and a dash of the rhythmic drive of Bebop. After the band played the head, solos didn’t just follow the tune’s melody, a technique common with jazz players. Solos inhabited the structure of bar lines, chords, and powerful rhythms in personal contexts. The complex relationships between improvised melodies, structures, and rhythm resulted in rich, abstract, and contextual meanings for listeners. It was fantastic!

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Psycho Clan and ETR Ventures' Nightmare Dollhouse
Off Broadway
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Nightmare Dollhouse

Nightmare Dollhouse was a spooky, creepy doll-themed event that sent shivers down spines, horrible horripilations indeed! The event was staged in an old building in New York’s Lower East Side. One inched through the dimly lit rooms while walking or crawling through creepy spaces. Strange artifacts, surprises, and spine-tingling antics by weird characters made the heart race. I’ll not give it all away, but my favorite may have been sticking needles in a voodoo doll as the victim squirmed, or wait, perhaps I enjoyed drinking from a child’s make-believe haunted tea set as I was offered a ‘biscuit’ shaped like a giant cockroach.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Jay Campbell, Cello and Conor Hanick, Piano at the 92nd Street Y in New York. Photo from 92NY.org
Chamber Music
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Jay Campbell, Cello, and Conor Hanick, Piano

Jay Campbell, cello, and Conor Hanick, piano, performed at the prestigious 92nd Street Y in New York. With a large contingency in attendance, the duo opened with Claude Debussy’s Cello Sonata (1915). In the Debussy, the duo captured the work’s stunning display of the beauty and versatility of the cello. The Cello Sonata (1915) fits the impressionist period with its fluid, non-linear musical forms and harmonic language. With aplomb, Campbell aptly evoked the intended mood, atmosphere, and tonal structures. Hanick concurred musically as he played the magnificent concert grand piano with sublime facility.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Main Kent Tritle conducts Musica Sacra. Photo from MusicaSacraNY.com
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Musica Sacra Presents SurRound

Tonight’s special program, Musica Sacra Presents SurRound, was set in the magnificent Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, New York City.  The audience was treated to a mélange of a capella music from organum of the Middle Ages to the complexity and richness of the Renaissance and seminal works of contemporary times. In addition, we were treated to a world premiere of Daniel Ficarri’s  Blessed Are the Pure in Heart, which shall undoubtedly join the canon of vital choral literature.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Michael Davis. Photo by Julieta Cervantes
Jazz
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Michael Davis Hip-Bone Big Band

The Michael Davis Hip-Bone Big Band shook the rafters tonight at New York City’s Birdland Jazz Club with one great number after another. Tonight was a celebration of their new album, Open City. Performed for a packed house, they broke it down with contemporary jazz. It was modern, sophisticated, and cool with smatterings of bebop.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
Exorcistic at The Box NYC
Off Broadway
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Exorcistic at The Box NYC

Exorcistic is a rock ‘n roll, hubris-free, hilarious take-off of the 1972 film The Exorcist. The music is thumping, toe-tapping, and diverse. Solos and harmonies fit magically within the storyline. The lighting and sound are perfectly managed, and the costumes and sets blend well with the staging trappings. The actors frolic about the theater, from the balcony, and about the audience as they create a truly multi-dimensional, intimate experience. The premise of the production and script is clever and effective, and the cast barely escapes demonic possession.

Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic
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