An assortment of welcome-back emails came in last week. A couple were too classic not to share: “Even if you had to take a cut in pay, we are glad you’re back to write your articles. Outside people need to know the things you bring up really do happen, but we are used to them […]

Greater Portland Auditions The Blue Lobsters are welcoming new singers. Professional director, eclectic and fun. Rehearsals Saturday mornings in Portland; call Deb at 761-1741 for more. “Little Women: The Musical,” 6:30 p.m. Oct. 11 & 12, Lyric Music Theater, 176 Sawyer St., South Portland, for December run, lyricmusictheater.org. Exhibits Priscilla Stevens, Townsend Real Estate & Art Gallery, 553 Shore Road, […]

Classic acts from multiple musical genres are the top picks on this week’s performing arts calendar in southern Maine. In Portland on Friday, a tribute to The Band, a classic roots group from the 1960s and 1970s, will hold forth. The following night, Joe K. Walsh, a contemporary exponent of classic Appalachian mandolin, will officially […]

Several readers reached out while I was on hiatus, asking where I had gone. My editor, publisher, and even a Sun Media Group vice president took a few inquires. More importantly, many of you wanted to know when, and if, I’d be back. The “why” behind it all was a personal conundrum I hope to […]

Greater Portland Auditions “Little Women: The Musical,” 6:30 p.m. Oct. 11 & 12, Lyric Music Theater, 176 Sawyer St., South Portland, for December run, lyricmusictheater.org. Exhibits Priscilla Stevens, Townsend Real Estate & Art Gallery, 553 Shore Road, Cape Elizabeth, plein air pastels, landscapes, through Oct. 15. Friday 9/30 “Icelandx207,” 6 p.m. reception for multimedia installation by a local artist in a […]

Want to spend an evening with a four-time Grammy Award winner? Or how about an evening with a Tony honoree? Both are happening on consecutive nights this weekend at Portland’s Merrill Auditorium. On Friday it’s “An Evening with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen,” a pair of country singers who hail from Texas. Although they […]

Greater Portland Exhibits Priscilla Stevens, Townsend Real Estate & Art Gallery, 553 Shore Road, Cape Elizabeth, plein air pastels, landscapes, through Oct. 15. Shelley Breton, oil paintings, Freeport Community Library, 10 Library Dr., through September. “Icelandx207,” multimedia installation in a container by Portland photographer, on view Sept. 27-Oct. 12 in Congress Square Park, Portland. Opening reception 6 p.m. […]

Now that we’re entering the first week of autumn, several of southern Maine’s premier arts producers are opening their fall-winter-spring seasons. The biggest upcoming show will be the Portland Symphony Orchestra, presenting a pair of Pops! concerts titled “Classic Rock.” Another classic pops act is Maria Muldaur, who’ll appear at Vinegar Hill Music Theatre on […]

Greater Portland Exhibits Priscilla Stevens, Townsend Real Estate & Art Gallery, 553 Shore Road, Cape Elizabeth, plein air pastels, landscapes, through Oct. 15. Shelley Breton, oil paintings, Freeport Community Library, 10 Library Drive, through September. Film PMA Films, Portland Museum of Art; more at portlandmuseum.org/events/movies. Summer Documentary Film Series, Portland Public Library, 6:30 p.m. Thursdays […]

We’re in the waning days of summer, astronomically speaking, but there’s nothing waning about the choices in this week’s arts and entertainment offerings. Top pick in my opinion is Ogunquit Playhouse’s lavish production of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” an exuberant musical fable set in the Oregon Territory in 1850. Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, Maine’s […]