A PLAINVILLE PERSPECTIVE – Plainville Hometown Connection, June 2003.
Opinionated Commentary by Janice Eisenhauer
BREAK A LEG!!!
The world could take a lesson from the Plainville Choral Society. In one of those “you had to be there” moments it came to me during the group’s stellar performance of Smokey Joe’s Cafe. You had to see them, standing on the stage together; so very much together. You had to feel it, the comraderie, the sheer joy of it, the motion as the adroit dancers move fluidly to and fro across the stage, purely for your relaxation and pleasure. Just try to catch the stunningly quick change of scene, many times even before the previous scene ends – mimicking the way life so many times hints at the future. No line up of cookie-cutter skinny shapes here or reminiscent rows of Rockettes. Physical differences and disabilities fade into the momentum of the production, the sparkle of the cheerful costumes and the magic mirror of the cast’s obvious mutual respect for each other and their audience. You had to know it. The hours and hours of effort and rehearsal, the working separately and then in tandem, the choreography, technical decisions and the musical orchestration. Each contribution is critical to the whole.
We are so very fortunate to have them, this unique organization. Under the gentle guidance of Peter Peluso, multi-talented himself, individuals in varied stages of artistic development converge. He provides encouragement, challenge and polish for newcomers and competent professional coaching for the seasoned performers. What fun to watch a talent rise above personal shyness, like a genie released from the confines of a jar. His wife, Maryjane Peluso, is faithfully present at the piano. It is difficult to imagine a PCS production without her expertise.
The PCS is self-supporting and other than an occasional grant, it depends on ticket sales and benefactors for support. They have the spirit and they spread it around. Well-known for performing at our Concerts in the Park series, they turn up often to entertain service clubs around town, traditionally at holiday time. All performances are appropriate for all ages and the group is perennially careful to choose tasteful, warm and fuzzy vehicles.
Smokey Joe’s Cafe, a succession of 60′s musical selections, showcased the individual talents of many members. The stars just kept on coming. Dianne Daley’s slinky feline rendering of “Some Cats Know”, her solo debut, was smashing and I thought the statuesque Liz Friedmann outdid even herself. She sings, she dances, and I know she plays assorted musical instruments including the guitar. The piece de resistance for me, however, was Jim Lawrence’s commanding delivery of “I, Who Have Nothing”. Demanding my fixed attention, I found it moving and powerful and felt that it came from the depths of his soul. I hope you didn’t miss it.
If you have a song in your heart (or your soul), or dancing feet, or even if you don’t, the Plainville Choral Society welcomes you. There are no auditions required to belong and to sing in the chorus.
In today’s busy world as we rush about in the pursuit of securing the finer things for the enrichment of ourselves and our family, take care not to overlook the treasures available so close to home.
The Plainville Choral Society with jazz legend Dave Brubeck – Hartford Courant, June 2001.
Choirs Enhance Brubeck Artistry
By GARY E. FRANK
It was an occasion to marvel at the virtues of aging and to rejoice at the promise of young talent.
The Dave Brubeck Trio joined with vocalist Dianne Mower and three different choirs in a program titled “Jazz and Voices” Saturday night at the Learning Corridor’s CREC Theater of the Performing Arts in Hartford.
“Jazz and Voices” provided a perfect forum for an appreciation of composer-pianist Brubeck’s transcendant artistry and its capacity to inspire even performers born just before Brubeck became eligible for Social Security.
At 80, Brubeck remains elegant and ebullient, and one of the most distinctive individual jazz talents of all time. Fronting a trio rounded out with two of his sons, drummer Dan and bassist-trombonist Chris Brubeck, the pianist kicked things off with a jaunty reading of W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues.” Brubeck claimed that this version was Handy’s original take on the early jazz masterpiece, with an opening movement based on the tango. “Think about that for a moment,” mused Brubeck, who then grumbled “purists” in a fashion whose meaning was unmistakable.
The opening set included sparkling renditions of Brubeck’s “Yesterdays,” “Big, Bad Basie,” and his signature tune, Paul Desmond’s “Take Five.” The trio was also joined by Mower and guitarist Norman Johnson for letter-perfect offerings of selections that included “My One Bad Habit Is Falling in Love,” and “I Didn’t Know ‘Til You Told Me.” “I Didn’t Know …” was one of several selections from “The Real Ambassadors,” Brubeck’s early ’60s reflection on social conditions in America. “The Real Ambassadors” is the inspiration for the award-winning jazz choir of the same name (directed by Mower) at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Performing Arts, who would help enrich the second half of the performance.
The “Jazz and Voices” portion of the show featured the Real Ambassadors, the Greater Hartford Academy of the Performing Arts Vocal Choir and the Plainville Choral Society. The Plainville Choral Society gave a sweet and dreamy texture to “Once When I Was Very Young” and the Langston Hughes-inspired “I Dream A World.” The ethereal qualities of the choral society’s performance seemed to represent the elder Brubeck’s orchestral sensibilities.
On the other hand, the Real Ambassadors and the GHAPA choir represented Brubeck’s love for the rhythms and harmonic structures of African American music, especially gospel and its secular cousin, the blues. The Real Ambassadors infused “Unsquare Dance” and “They Say I Look Like God” with a soulful energy, and “Three To Get Ready” with just the right amount of whimsy. “Three To Get Ready” was boosted further by a charming exhibition of tap dancing by 16-year old Corey Hutchens.
Flashback to the 60s – New Britain Herald, May 2001
Choral society pays tribute to the ’60s with music, dance
By PATRICK DRAKE
Staff Writer
America went through a lot of changes in the 1960s, and luckily for the Plainville Choral Society, most of them were immortalized in song. In its latest show opening Friday night at the high school, the society will be revisiting the wide-ranging music of the entire decade, complete with a number of big dance numbers.
The show, called Flashback to the 60′s, will cover everything from Surfer Girl to Aquarius.
“There is so much great 60s music,” said Elizabeth Friedmann, president of the board of directors for the society. “… We thought we would take advantage of that.”
The flashback fits into the group’s reminiscing theme in 2001.
We’ve been time traveling this year,” said Friedmann. Back in March, we went back to the 1890s.”
And according to Friedmann, parts of the whole 60s decade are back in style these days anyway.
The styles are in vogue again, the bellbottoms and the Volkswagens,” she said.
By covering the entire 60s decade, the show has something for everyone. It has the 1950s-based rock-n-roll of the early 60s, Motown, a Beatles and John Lennon medley, some Bob Dylan, and some of the more “tie-dye” music of the late 60s such as Janice Joplin and the Mamas and the Papas.
The society even included some comedy numbers from television shows, such as the Ed Sullivan Show and Laugh In, which will have anyone who lived through the 60s in stitches, according to Friedmann. Laugh In’s Sock It to Me Baby will be put on for the crowd, and there will even be music from Star Trek.
A whole suite of songs will be themed around the Ed Sullivan show.
Get ready for a really big shoe,” said Ed Sullivan’s player, kicking off the suite during rehearsal Wednesday night.
Plenty of familiar comedy characters will also make appearances, according to Friedmann. “It’s basically 10 years of the Ed Sullivan show condensed down to three minutes,” she said.
At one point, the Sonny and Cher Show will also show up.
Sonny and Cher is a fun thing to do, said Mal Cummings, a member of the society who plays Sonny and even looks a little like the performer who later became a Congressman. “Sonny couldn’t sing and neither can I.”
One of the best parts of the show is the finale at the end, a big dance number of “Aquarius” and “Let the Sun Shine In,” according to Friedmann.
“We’re rockin’ the house at that point,” she said.
