To explain what last week’s concert by The Knights was like, it’s easiest to start not at the beginning, but with the encore. After finishing a satisfying program of classical-ish music from the Americas, a percussionist came up to the conductor’s box. He sat down. He pulled a rectangular box between his legs. The chamber […]

“A multicultural cabaret.” That’s how the New World Performance Laboratory is billing a benefit event by two Akron actors, a guitarist and director, on April 12, 13 and 14. It’s also not a bad description of this company’s sophisticated and daring approach to theater. The group was multicultural before it was a buzzword. For 20 […]

Every year, Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival director Jane Startzman tries to stretch in a new direction.  This time, she scored a dance coup by booking the Martha Graham Dance Company. The Graham company will appear for two free outdoor shows, Aug. 3 and 4. One of the best things about Akron in the summer […]

In the 30 years since Peter Shaffer’s play “Amadeus” first appeared at the National Theatre of Britain, it has played to much acclaim in various productions and revivals in London and on Broadway. Many of us came to it through a hit movie in 1984 that featured Tom Hulce as a madcap, foul-mouthed Mozart. When […]

“Stop! Convince me that those shoes are magic.” It could only be one pair of famous shoes that director Myron Lewis is talking about: Dorothy’s. On a recent weeknight in the gymnasium of Akron’s Arlington Church of God, Lewis rehearsed the students of YEPAW (Youth Excellence Performing Arts Workshop) as they prepared for two performances […]

The bold colors and muscular lines of works by Bahamian artist Maxwell Taylor added a visual punch to the high-energy lineup of the University of Akron’s 10th annual JazzFest, which wrapped up last Friday night. “I’m always drawing,” the soft-spoken Taylor told a group at a reception for his exhibition, casting a glance around the […]

The Berlin-based Vogler Quartet is used to big tours. Its performance with Ute Lemper and Stefan Malzew at Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall last week was part of a 10-city tour that includes stops at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. As it turns out, the four men of the Vogler Quartet are […]

“It’s not very often that you hear “Carry On” played on bassoon,’’ the high school student sitting next to me at Friday night’s Sixth Floor Trio concert said appreciatively. Darn right, you don’t. And if a Kansas song played on piano, clarinet and bassoon not only sounds unlikely, but truly to be avoided, then surprise: […]

Networking groups for young professionals are nothing new, but one in Akron that has the arts at its center has a different kind of appeal. ArtCetera is a project of the Akron Area Arts Alliance. Under the Arts Alliance’s umbrella, it’s reaching out to the younger audiences that every arts group craves. Lisa Knapp says […]

The Akron Symphony Orchestra’s music director, Christopher Wilkins, has a knack for spotting important talent on the rise. Pianist Yuja Wang performed in Akron just as her international career was gaining traction. Now, violin-lovers won’t want to miss a program on Saturday, March 17, featuring the rising young violinist Chad Hoopes. Born in Naples, Fla. […]

Forty-two commissions throughout 36 seasons. That would be an impressive pace for a professional dance company. It’s really an astonishing achievement for a youth ballet, and the tradition continues this weekend with the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet’s premiere of “The Little Mermaid” at the Akron Civic Theatre. Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet, a Knight Arts grantee and […]