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Arts draw audiences despite economy
Published online on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009
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The economy might be in the toilet, but as the fall performing arts season gets under way, at least a few local arts organizations are drawing impressive audiences:
Good Company Players doesn't often extend runs because of the repertory nature of the company's season, but sales have been so good for "Hairspray" that it couldn't resist. The show, which originally was scheduled to run through Nov. 15 at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater, will now play through Nov. 29. In addition, there will be added evening performances on Oct. 28, Nov. 1, 8, 11, 15, and 22. (There will be no show Nov. 25 and 26 for Thanksgiving.)
The show "Married Alive!" -- originally scheduled to open Nov. 19 -- will now open Dec. 2.
The Fresno Philharmonic's opening concert of the year Sept. 26 was the best attended and sold the highest number of single tickets for a September opening in recent years.
The Philharmonic continued with a special concert Thursday featuring young piano sensations The 5 Browns, and returns this coming weekend (Saturday and Oct. 25) with guest soloist Meng-Chieh Liu, who first shot to fame in 1993 as a 21-year-old student who substituted for André Watts at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia with three hours' notice. (He replaces Czech pianist Pavel Kaspar, who had problems getting a visa.)
Bernice Bing is the artist behind "Velasquez Family." It is part of the George and LaVona Blair donation to the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.
Liu will play Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20.
Also on the program: Brahms' "Tragic Overture" and Dvorak's Symphony No. 8.
Another classical-music institution kicked off its 2009-10 season with a big audience: the Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concerts season. Even after adding as many chairs as organizers could fit at the Fresno State Concert Hall, the recent performance by Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang was a sell-out -- and more than 30 people had to be turned away.
The concert series welcomes another stellar performer, Garrick Ohlsson, who will perform works by Beethoven, Liszt and Chopin in a concert 8 p.m. Friday. Ohlsson was the winner of the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition.
Blairs' bequest
For years now, George and LaVona Blair of Fresno have had a strong relationship with the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. So it's no surprise that the couple is donating their massive collection of Bay Area abstract expressionist and other works of art to the museum.
The nearly 400 pieces by approximately 200 artists include paintings and sculptures by many of the artists that represent California's important involvement in mid-20th century American art.
Many of the Blair works received a handsome public display in 2004 in an exhibition titled "San Francisco and the Second Wave." Works from the collection will be on public view in 2010 when the Crocker unveils its new 125,000-square-foot expansion.
Art reminders
Don't forget three strong shows that are only up for a couple more weeks. All close Nov. 1:
At the Fresno Art Museum, "20th Century Post-Modernism: 50 Years of Collecting, 1960-2010" features selections from the museum's permanent collection. I know museum curator Jacquelin Pilar is particularly proud of this brief show.
At Gallery 25, Valerie Runningwolf's show "Spirit of the Age" is a fascinating display of mixed-media works. I like how a number of gallery members offered their own works as responses to the show.
At Fig Tree Gallery, Elaine Lynn tackles the overpopulation issue -- something that she's been passionately painting and researching for some time -- in an exhibition titled "Our Habit." Don't miss her "mushroom" wall art that puts the population explosion into perspective.
Off to New York
By the time you read this, I'll be in New York listening to a concert called "Magyar Madness" by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. It's the first event in an packed 10-day fellowship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts that I'll be attending with two dozen other classical music and opera journalists. I'm sure I'll find a few minutes to catch a Broadway show or two as well.
The columnist can be reached at dmunro@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6373. Read his blog at fresnobeehive.com/author/ donald_munro.
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