Tickets to the Redfern make great holiday gifts

From Jackie Hooper, Redfern Arts Center:

A classic Neil Simon comedy, two very different puppetry companies, and cutting-edge modern dance performances promise a dynamic spring lineup at Keene State’s Redfern Arts Center. The 1960s era comedy Last of the Red Hot Lovers opens the season in February followed by choreographer Dahlia Nayar’s new dance installation performed in the intimate setting of the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery. Love puppetry? The Redfern is offering two uniquely different companies this spring: the family favorite Puppet Showplace Theater and a darkly comic puppet musical by Wakka Wakka Productions. The season concludes with an exciting new duet project by Doppelgänger Dance Collective.

Tickets for the 2017 Spring Season make great holiday gifts, especially with a fantastic Redfern mug, which is given to every patron purchasing a membership. There are many levels of membership, all of which offer ticket discounts. Tickets and memberships can be purchased by phone, 603-358-2168, or in person at the box office, open Monday to Friday, noon to 6 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online, and more information about the season is at www.keene.edu/arts/redfern/.

The Redfern’s 2017 Spring Season comprises five performances. Keene State student tickets are only $5 for any performance and KSC faculty, staff and alumni receive a discounted ticket.

• Walnut Street Theatre: Last of the Red Hot Lovers (Wednesday, February 8, 7:30 p.m., Main Theatre. Tickets: $18-$32). Before there was online dating there was….swinging! Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a hilarious comedy by America’s oldest theatre company, Walnut Street Theatre. In this freshly conceived production of Neil Simon’s Tony Award-nominated classic, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, true comedy ensues when a middle-class man in the hip 1960s looks for something new and different, but ends up finding himself in the same situation, again and again… and again!
• Dahlia Nayar: 2125 Stanley Street (Thursday and Friday, February 9 and 10 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, February 11, at 2 p.m., Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery. Tickets: $8-$10). 2125 Stanley Street is a performance installation created by choreographer Dahlia Nayar that investigates questions of belonging and the personal embodiment of culture and cultural memory, especially in the context of home. In this special collaboration with the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery, Nayar reflects on her experiences growing up outside of Chicago with parents from India and the Philippines. The installation invites audience into a home that unfolds though movement and sound, a home that is both familiar and yet cannot exactly be located.
• Puppet Showplace Theater: Tall Tales! Stories and Songs from New England (Saturday, February 25, 11 a.m., Alumni Recital Hall, all tickets $5 for this family show). Ever wanted to sing along with a sea shanty? Or dive deep into a fox’s den? Then join puppeteer Brad Shur and musician Chris Monti on a whirlwind tour of New England’s lesser-known folklore. Audiences will discover a giant sailor, a fashionable bear, and the world’s largest wheel of cheese. Drawing from three hundred years of stories, songs, and local history, this show is a delight for audiences of all ages.
• Wakka Wakka Productions: Made in China (Thursday, March 23, 7:30 p.m., Main Theatre. Tickets: $12-$25). A darkly comic puppet musical inspired by true events, Made in China is a fantastical exploration of human rights, consumerism and morality as told through the unlikely love story between an odd middle-age woman and a Chinese ex-pat. Made in China features over 30 puppets, live music, and video animation. The award-winning visual theatre company Wakka Wakka Productions pushes the boundaries of the imagination by creating works that are bold, unique and unpredictable.
• Doppelgänger Dance Collective (Thursday, March 30, 7:30 p.m. Main Theatre. Tickets: $12-$20). Doppelgänger Dance Collective (DDC) is a duet project between two dancers of similarly versatile technique, powerful physicality and eagerness to create compelling and dynamic work. Founded by dancers Shura Baryshnikov and Danielle Davidson, DDC fosters the creation and performance of original contemporary dance, often performed with live music. DDC will make their Keene debut with two world premieres as well as recent work from their repertory. We are proud to have Doppelgänger Dance Collective as the Choreographer in Residence for the KSC Dance Department for the 2016-17 season.