HANOVER — A new-and-improved Hopkins Center for the Arts sprang to life last fall following a multi-year $123.8 million renovation and expansion.
After a grand opening in October, the rest of the fall season was relatively tame as students settled into the expanded building, now featuring the Daryl and Steven Roth Wing, a 15,000-square-foot addition that includes a recital hall, new rehearsal spaces and a black box theater with a shock-absorbent sprung floor, movable seating and digital technology to allow for experimental performances.
With the initial breaking-in period out of the way, the winter season begins in earnest this Wednesday with a performance from the hip hop group Chrybaby Cozie and Harlem Lite Feet. The rest of the season promises a diverse group of artists who will put the improved arts center to the test.
“We really wanted to be sure that we were showing our community and the artists who were visiting what the particular capabilities of the new spaces are,” the Hop’s Executive Director Mary Lou Aleskie said.
Illusionist Scott Silven, for instance, will perform his show “Wonders,” which takes inspiration from his childhood in the Scottish isles, on Jan. 15-18 in the Roth Studio.
“I’m not sure we have any other space in the building or maybe even in the Upper Valley that can present an illusionist in a way that feels a little bit like cabaret and a little bit like a magic show,” Aleskie said.
Silven’s show is recommended for ages 12 and up. “Lindsay and Her Puppet Pals,” performed by traveling puppet master Lindsay Aucella on April 18, also in the Roth Studio, is aimed at children ages 3 to 8 and their families.
A recital series also is planned for the Morris Recital Hall, named for 1953 alum John “Jack” Morris and 2011 alum John “Mac” Morris, which is the large glass box overlooking the Green that was designed for solo and small ensemble performances.
Jason Moran, a former artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center, is slated to perform work from pianist Duke Ellington’s repertoire in the recital hall at 7 and 9 p.m. on Jan 21. He performs again the next day as part of The Bandwagon, his jazz trio with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits.
A mixer at the Top of the Hop, the renovated social space and bar across from the recital hall, will take place before The Bandwagon’s performance.
A few weeks later, Dartmouth professor of music Sally Pinkas will perform piano works by Johannes Brahms as part of a chamber music quartet on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11. Pinkas will return to the hall for a solo performance on April 22.
On May 5, Italian pianist and composer Francesco Libetta will perform original pieces alongside Leopold Godowsky’s interpretations of Frederic Chopin’s “Études” on both a 19th century French piano and a modern Steinway.
While the Hop is now home to several new performance venues, the pre-existing Moore Theater and Spaulding Auditorium also are being put to good use in the coming months.
Former Saturday Night Live cast member and comedian Melissa Villaseñor will claim the stage in the 792-seat Spaulding Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. this Friday.
At the end of the month, the Brooklyn-based Mark Morris Dance Group will bring the work of composer Burt Bacharach to the Moore Theater in a choreographed performance on Jan. 30 and 31. A renowned choreographer, Morris is a Montgomery Fellow at the college and a Hop Resident Artist.
The dance group will host an intermediate dance class for people ages 16 and up at 5 p.m. on Jan. 29 in the Hodgson Family Dance Studio.
Dartmouth College students also have performances in store, having returned to the Hop in the fall after working out of other spaces on campus.
A student production of “Legacy of Light” will be up in the Roth Studio on Feb. 20 through Feb. 28. The comedy follows two female scientists living hundreds of years apart as they experience love and motherhood and forge careers in a male-dominated field. Written by American playwright Karen Zacarias, the play premiered in 2009.
The theater department will head to the Moore Theater in the spring to perform Green Day’s musical “American Idiot” on May 27 through the 31st.
The Dartmouth College Gospel Choir also will take advantage of Spaulding’s improved acoustics with a performance on Feb. 26.
Creating a space for people to come together was a crucial part of designing the improved Hop and the upcoming season, Aleskie said.
“It’s not really just about ‘oh I’m going to get tickets to see a show or I’m going to a film,’ that’s important, but it’s also like, ‘I’m going to hang with my people,’” she said.
With that intention in mind, the Top of the Hop is open from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays through Fridays for people to drop in and enjoy a drink.
Another ambition for the season was to cultivate a sense of fluidity and connectedness between performance spaces.
On May 8 and 9, the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra will perform Stravinsky’s “Firebird” in Spaulding while the college’s dance ensemble dances to the orchestra’s music in the Roth Studio. Both performances will be simulcast into the other theater space.
The dual shows are an homage to the experimental version of “Firebird” that was performed in the Roth using 500 car taillights in September, when renovations were still being completed.
To learn more about the Hopkins Center for the Arts’ upcoming performances and to purchase tickets, go to hop.dartmouth.edu or call 603-646-2422.
Laughter and song at Lebanon Opera House
New Hampshire comedian Juston McKinney will perform at Lebanon Opera House at 7:30 on Saturday, Jan. 10. For tickets ($32.50) and more information, go to lebanonoperahouse.org or call 603-448-0400.
The following evening, the Upper Valley Community Band will play a range of jazz, Broadway and cinematic music at the opera house. Audiences can expect to hear Robert Russell Bennett’s “Symphonic Songs for Bands” and Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide Suite,” among others. Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert are free with a suggested donation of $20 to UVCB.
Norwich readings
The Norwich Bookstore will host a reading of Vermont author Deborah Lee Luskin’s new memoir “Reviving Artemis” and Dartmouth professor Ellen B. Rockmore’s new novel “The Given-Up Girl” from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13. “Reviving Artemis” traces how the author rekindled her connection to nature and faced fears later in life, while Rockmore’s novel follows a woman who attempts to find the daughter she gave up when she became pregnant in college in the pre-Roe v. Wade America of the 1960s. To learn more about Tuesday’s readings, go to norwichbookstore.com.
Music, theater
While Northern Stage in White River Junction is known for drama, here are two music-related notes worth mentioning:
Jazz at the Junction returns to theater at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9, this time with a performance from the Ray Vega QuARTet. Burlington-based Ray Vega and his band will perform work by John Coltrane and Duke Ellington among other jazz masters. For tickets ($38-$60; $28 for youth and students) and more information, go to northernstage.org or call 802-308-4315.
The original cast album of “The Vermont Farm Project: A Farm-to-Stage Musical,” which premiered last year at Northern Stage is now available for purchase. The album features music and lyrics from Upper Valley musician Tommy Crawford, who created the show with his wife Sarah Elizabeth Wansley, Northern Stage’s Associate Director. The digital album ($13) or CD version ($15) can be purchased on the theater’s website at northernstage.org.
Burning trees
The same evening, Main Street Museum will host a tree burning at 7 p.m. outside the White River Junction arts space followed by karaoke with live accompaniment from Windsor musician Jakob Breitbach’s group Karaoke Bandstand. Admission to the tree burning is free with a $5 suggested donation. Entry to the karaoke is $10-$20, or best offer, but no one is ever turned away for lack of funds. To learn more, go to mainstreetmuseum.org.
CORRECTION: Jason Moran is a former artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center, having resigned from the position last year. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Moran’s status in the role.