Leigh Barrett stars
More than a century and a half after its original publication, the emotional power of Charles Dickens’ holiday fable, “A Christmas Carol,” remains undiminished, and the current stage adaptation at Stoneham Theatre is a testament to the classic tale’s influence and staying power.
The current incarnation of Stoneham Theatre opened its doors on Dec. 1, 2001 with “A Christmas Carol,” and while other holiday works have graced the Stoneham stage over the last decade, the theater decided to celebrate its tenth season by returning to the story that brought new life to the historic theater.
Continue reading ‘Stoneham’s ‘Christmas Carol’ True to Dickens’
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Tags: Andrew Codispoti, Ann Marie Shea, Charles Dickens, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Daily Item, Diego Arciniegas, DJ Plunkett, Eric Hamel, Gabriel Kuttner, Gerard Slattery, ghost, ghosts, Grant MacDermott, Ilyse Robbins, Jakob Michaels, Janelle Mills, Jessica D. Turner, Leigh Barrett, Marie Polizzano, Mark Cartier, Mark Sardella, Michael Kreuntz, Michael Sticca, Nigel Gore, Rebecca Lerman, Sabrina Ponte, Scrooge, stage, Stoneham Theater, Stoneham Theatre, Susanne Nitter, theater, theatre, Toni Elliott, Veronica Barron, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Zoey Michaels
Bad Signs
You might have spotted them in the last month or so, manning their little table in front of a local Post Office or some other busy public building. They have posters and signs depicting President Barack Obama – altered so that he is sporting a Hitler mustache.
Charming.
These are the Lyndon LaRouche loonies, and they like to show up on sidewalks and public events, handing out their unintelligible screeds and engaging anyone who would talk to them.
They are followers of Lyndon H. LaRouche, a self-styled economist, political activist, and the founder of several political organizations known collectively as “the LaRouche movement.” He has been a perennial candidate for President of the United States, having run in eight elections since 1976 and as recently as 2004.
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Tags: Barack Obama, Congress, Democrat, Democrat Party, Democratic Party, election, elections, fringe, Health Care, Health Care Bill, Health Care Reform, Hitler, LaRouche, Lyndon LaRouche, Mao, meetings, Nazi, Obama, Obamacare, Politics, post office, President, President of the United States, radicals, Senate, Tea Party, Tea Party Movement, town hall, town hall meeting, White House
Taxing Times
Wakefield, Massachusetts votes itself a new tax
The 2009 Regular Town Meeting proved to be a taxing one – and not just for those who hung in for the entire three and a half hours. Town Meeting backed two new local taxes: one that will bring the tax on a restaurant meal in Wakefield to 7 percent and another that hikes the hotel occupancy tax from 4 to 6 percent. So it was a taxing Town Meeting even if you didn’t sit through it.
Over the years, Wakefield voters have shown themselves to be reliably frugal when they go to the polls, handily voting down Prop. 2½ overrides and outsized budgets. Town Meeting, on the other hand, has tended to be looser with the public purse strings.
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Tags: Daily Item, hotel tax, John Carney, local option, local option meals tax, local taxes, MA, Marc Luca, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, meals tax, tax, taxation, taxes, Town Meeting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Performance on Friday, November 21, 2009 in Cambridge, Massachusetts
The line was already forming outside the First Parish Church as I cruised by at 7:15 p.m. in what I knew would be a vain attempt to find a parking space. I parked in a garage at the other end of Harvard Square and walked back. The line was still down the sidewalk, but the doors were open and Dan Hicks fans were filing into the church sanctuary.
I got in line and the 50-something woman in front of me turned and said, “Are you here to see Dan?”
“No, I’m just getting a good seat for Sunday’s service,” I wanted to say, thinking that was the kind of response that Dan would appreciate. Instead, I politely nodded yes when she asked if I’d ever seen Dan before.
Continue reading ‘Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks a Hit in Harvard Square’
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Tags: Boston, Cambridge, Cambridge MA, Cambridge Massachusetts, concert, Dan Hicks, Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks, Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks, Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, Daria, Dave Bell, First Parish Church Harvard Square, Harvard Square, music, Paul Smith, Richard Chon, Roberta
Honoring Those Who Served
Veterans Day 2009 in Wakefield, Massachusetts
As featured speaker at yesterday’s Veterans’ Day exercises, US Army veteran Sam Stella delivered his remarks in an auditorium lined with the photographs of Wakefield soldiers who died in battles fought in distant places long ago. He focused his comments on the roles that United States servicemen and women played in World War I and World War II.
“They did what they were supposed to do,” Stella said of the veterans of both World Wars, “and that’s the reason why we’ve been able to continue in this country. When people get together and do things in unison, the job gets done.”
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Tags: Albert Turco, American Legion, Betsy Sheeran, Galvin Middle School, Gen. John Rogers Galvin, James Good, John Carney, John Encarnacao, Katherine Clark, monument, Patrick Glynn, Paul DiNocco, Sam Stella, soldier, soldiers, US Air Force, US Army, US Marine Corps, US Navy, veteran, veterans, Veterans' Day, Wakefield, Wakefield Choral Society, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, World War II, World War II Memorial
Next Wednesday, Nov. 11, Wakefield, Massachusetts observes Veterans Day with ceremonies beginning at 11 a.m. in the Galvin Middle School Auditorium.
While Memorial Day each spring focuses on honoring deceased veterans, Veterans Day is intended to honor and thank all US military personnel who served in all wars, particularly living veterans and those currently serving in the armed services. As such, it is fitting that Wakefield’s Veterans Day observance each year is held in the school named for Wakefield native John Rogers Galvin. General Galvin’s 44-year military career included two tours of duty in Vietnam, and he ended up as NATO‘s Supreme Allied Commander, Europe and Commander in Chief, United States European Command from 1987 to 1992.
Continue reading ‘Veterans Deserve Big Turnout on Nov. 11’
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Tags: Air Force, American Legion, Army, Daily Item, Gen. John Galvin, General John Rogers Galvin, Marines, military, Navy, US Air Force, US Army, US Marine Corps, US Navy, veterans, Veterans' Day, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Wakefield Massachusetts
Play about a teenage girl with supernatural powers
From the very start, you know that there’s something different about The Sparrow, and that goes for both the play currently on stage at Stoneham Theatre and the title character.
The Sparrow is an inventive and original play that combines a comic book aesthetic and a cinematic style – achieving a result that is artistic yet accessible and approachable. The play was conceived by Nathan Allen, who directed the original production at the House Theatre in Chicago. Allen also directs the Stoneham production.
Continue reading ‘‘The Sparrow’ Soars at Stoneham Theatre’
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Baseball’s October Bandwagon
It’s October and the Red Sox are once again in the post-season, so dust off that pink hat and try to remember where TBS is on your cable system. Because even if you have no idea what ALDS stands for, you’ll be watching anyway, rooting for the home team and hoping “we” go all the way this year.
Welcome back, casual fans. This is your time of year.
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Jack on Spring Street
My artist brother, Bob Sardella, painted this scene showing our chlidhood home on Spring Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts. In the foreground is Jack, the great dog we had for 15 years back in the days before leash laws, when dogs roamed free.
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Tags: Art, artist, Bob Sardella, dog, dogs, Family, Jack, painting, Sardella, Sardella Sign & Display, Sardella Signs, Spring St., Spring Street, Wakefield, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts
Unique landmark in Wakefield, Massachusetts
I never got to see the castle before it burned down 35 years ago next month. But as a kid attending the Greenwood School, I certainly heard about it.
“Have you seen the castle?” was a frequent schoolyard inquiry. In that typical childhood way, the goal of the questioner was, as much as anything, to prove that he knew something before you did – as if being the first to know about the castle was second only to having built it.
Continue reading ‘Hoag’s Castle Burned 35 Years Ago’
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Tags: Acorn Ave., castle, Castle Clare, castle Wakefield, Clarence Hoag, Greenwood, Greenwood Castle, Greenwood MA, Greenwood Massachusetts, Greenwood School, Montclare Estates, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Mark Sardella 