On stage at The Umbrella in Concord, MA through May 4
I did not see the 2008 Elliot Award-winning Boston Theatre Works production of Angels in America directed by Nancy Curran Willis. In fact, I had never seen Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play at all. So I headed to Concord, MA for the Umbrella Community Arts Center production of Angels in America Part 1 – Millennium Approaches (also directed by Willis) expecting good things but with a relatively blank slate when it came to characters and storyline
I left blown away by the production.
Willis consistently takes community theater to new levels, giving the audience a professional theater experience at a fraction of the price (no surprise given Willis’s extensive background in both professional and community theater), and it is true in spades of Umbrella’s production of Angels in America.
Some of it is casting. Willis knows how to put excellent actors in roles that bring the best out in both the actor and the character he or she plays.
The play focuses on the intersecting lives of eight principal characters in New York City at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
Continue reading ‘Angels in America Part 1 – Millenium Approaches’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Feature stories, Reviews | 2 Comments
Tags: AIDS, Alex Savitzky, Angels in America, Brian Boruta, Concord MA, Damon Singletary, David Berti, Emily Rosser, Jennifer Shea, Kendall Hodder, Kevin Tobias Brown, Liz Robbins, Mark Sardella, Nancy Curran Willis, Peyton Pugmire, Rick Shamel, Sharon Mason, stage, theater, theatre, Tony Kushner, Umbrella Community Arts Center
Dock Rescue
April 12 is now officially the earliest date that I have physically entered a body of water in the state of Massachusetts. It is a personal record that I hope will never be broken.
It was a perfect spring day for yard work, warm and dry. That’s exactly what I was – warm and dry – until I happened to look down at the pond. What I saw demanded my immediate attention.
My damaged wooden dock, slated to be replaced before summer, was in danger of floating away. Tied to land by a rope, the board that had the cleat attached had disintegrated and broken off. The dock was literally hanging on by a splinter. If it broke off completely, there would be nothing preventing what was left of the dock from drifting away and becoming a giant piece of floating pond trash. I did not want to be that kind of neighbor.
Continue reading ‘Dock Rescue’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Nature & Wildlife | 1 Comment
Tags: April, cold, dock, lake, Massachusetts, pond, rescue, spring, water
Twilight Zoning
Well, as it stands right now, there will not be a parking garage in downtown Wakefield, Massachusetts and based on recent developments, you might want to hold off on that down payment on an assisted living unit.
It’s been anything but dull in our sleepy little town over the last few weeks.
There’s blame being cast left and right, but in reality what we just witnessed was little more than a good old-fashioned political slugfest. Each side has accused the other of being disingenuous and playing fast and loose with the facts. Are those kinds of charges unusual in a heated political debate?
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Assisted Living, Brightview Senior Living, economy, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, parking garage, Politics, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
[Wakefield Daily Item, April 3, 2014]
With the exception of the town’s handling of the Quinn Bill, there was little disagreement during Tuesday night’s debate between the three candidates vying for two seats on the Board of Selectmen in the April 22 Town Election. The forum was moderated by William Carroll with questions posed to the candidates by Wakefield Daily Item reporter Mark Sardella.
Betsy Sheeran of 27 Spruce St. is running for a fourth term on the board, while fellow incumbent selectman Patrick S. Glynn of 30 Coolidge Park is seeking a third three-year term. Challenger Roland A. Cote of 9 Bartley St. said that the main reason he was running was to address what he saw as the town’s mishandling of the Quinn Bill that provides salary increases for police officers for educational attainments.
Continue reading ‘Few Fireworks at Wakefield Selectmen’s Debate’
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Tags: Betsy Sheeran, Bill Carroll, Board of Selectmen, cable TV, David Watts, debate, elections, Jr., Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Patrick Glynn, Politics, Roland Cote, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, WCAT
[Wakefield Daily Item, March 25, 2014]
Between 150 and 200 local residents packed The Savings Bank Theater at Wakefield High School on Monday, March 24 for a forum on a proposal to build a downtown parking garage in conjunction with an assisted living facility.
The evening was evenly divided between presentations by town officials and questions from the public. Selectman Brian Falvey handled the bulk of the formal presentation for the first 90 minutes with a panel of town officials adding specific input on aspects of the project.
Continue reading ‘Questions, Answers at Crowded Garage Forum’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Feature stories, News, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Alison Simcox, Assisted Living, Bob McLaughlin, Bob Mitchell, Brian Falvey, Brightview Senior Living, Bronwyn Della-Volpe, Dan Lieber, Dan Sherman, Doug Heath, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, parking garage, Pat Bruno, Police Chief Rick Smith, Richard Stinson, Stephen P. Maio, The Savings Bank, Tom Mullen, Wakefield Cooperative Bank, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, WCAT
Starting July 1
Starting July 1, you won’t be able to buy cigarettes or any other tobacco products in Wakefield, Massachusetts if you are less than 21 years old. The Board of Health voted to amend local regulations this week by raising the age for purchasing tobacco from 18 to 21. The board’s unanimous vote came after a public hearing that included testimony from advocates for and against the change.
Continue reading ‘Must Be 21 to Buy Tobacco in Wakefield’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: Board of Health, cigarettes, cigars, convenience stores, Dr. Lester Hartman, Mark Panagakas, Mark's Smoke Shop, Massachusetts, Matthew Durand, Police Chief Rick Smith, smoking, tobacco, Wakefield MA
It depends on who you ask
Downtown Wakefield is changing, in case you haven’t noticed or have been hibernating under a rock somewhere for the last few months, in which case you could hardly be blamed given the winter that thankfully officially ended at 12:57 p.m. on March 20.
In any case, the downtown area is changing, which is nothing new, really. There used to be parking spaces in the middle of Main Street. I’m frankly a little surprised that that idea hasn’t been floated to solve the downtown parking problem.
There also were once trolley tracks in the center of Main Street. Maybe returning to that would cut down on the number of cars trying to park in the square.
Businesses come and businesses go and nail salons move in. As long as they pay their rent and taxes, why should anyone really care?
Continue reading ‘A Bright View for Wakefield’s Future?’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Assisted Living, Brightview Senior Living, CVS Pharmacy, Dollar Store, Lynn MA, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, parking, parking garage, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
[Wakefield Daily Item, March 17, 2014]
The two candidates vying for the Massachusetts State Senate seat formerly held by now Congressman Katherine Clark squared off last week in an 80 minute debate at Wakefield’s WCAT studios.
Clear differences emerged between the Democrat, State Rep. Jason Lewis of Winchester, and Republican Monica Medeiros, an Alderman and former School Committee member from Melrose, as the candidates faced questions from representatives of the local press including the Wakefield Daily Item and the Melrose Weekly News.
Continue reading ‘Candidates Clash in 5th District State Senate Race’
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Tags: Bill Carroll, David Watts Jr., election, Jason Lewis, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Monica Medeiros, Politics, State Senate, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, WCAT
To benefit The Scholarship Foundation of Wakefield, Massachusetts
Student directors from The Scholarship Foundation of Wakefield (TSF) met with the Board of Selectmen to discuss the upcoming 34th Annual TSF Phonathon on Saturday, March 22, 2014.. Between 12 and 4 p.m. on that day, students will be calling local residents. The annual Phonathon helps raise funds for scholarships awarded to Wakefield college students. Each donation, regardless of the dollar amount, goes a long way in making a difference in the life of at least one local student in need of scholarship assistance. Last year’s volunteers helped raise $49,000.
Continue reading ‘Scholarship Fund Phonathon March 22’
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Tags: Ann Santos, Betsy Sheeran, Brigid Scanlon, Cathy Donovan, college, Maggie Scanlon, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Patrick Glynn, Phonathon, Phyllis Hull, scholarship, The Scholarship Foundation, Tiziano Doto, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Will Shea
Directed by former Wakefield resident Nancy Curran Willis
St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, and as much as we’d like to, most of us can’t just drop everything and go off to celebrate in Ireland. Fortunately, the Arlington Friends of the Drama are offering a very attractive alternative that will whisk you off to Ireland for two charming hours. And you won’t even need a carry-on.
The Mai (pronounced “May”) is Irish playwright Marina Carr’s lyrical and allegorical tragicomedy about love, tradition, heritage and family, told through a mix of Irish storytelling, Greek mythology and feminine politics.
Continue reading ‘‘The Mai’ Brings Irish Humor & Tragedy to Arlington Friends of the Drama’
Filed under: Art, Columns & Essays, Feature stories, Reviews, theater, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Anne Sullivan, Antione Malfroy-Carmine, Arlington Friends of the Drama, Demetra Tseckares-Restuccia, Iain Bason, Ireland, Irish, Jenna Lourenco, Jennifer Soucy, Katie Higgins, Marina Carr, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Nancy Curran Willis, Nellie Farrington, play, The Mai, theater, theatre, Tricia Akowicz, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Mark Sardella 