Where the Arts Come Out To Play
Wolftrap, a national park for the performing arts, has just announced their summer schedule for the Filene Center. Most of the shows aren’t to my taste (I think they are programming for an older crowd), but there are a couple that might be worth checking out.
I’ll definitely see Bugs on Broadway where Bugs Bunny joins the National Symphony Orchestra (August 3 & 4), and Common joins Joss Stone on June 13 (check out her new album if you haven’t already).
Last summer, the one show I went to see at Wolftrap was Play - the video game orchestra. And the conductor made a point of thanking the younger audience members for coming out and about how important it was to introduce a new generation to orchestral music. And other than Bugs on Broadway, I see no attempt to reach out to that audience and bring them back to Wolftrap.
Note to the programming staff: Start reaching out to your future subscribers. I have no interest in Celtic Woman and I saw Riverdance 12 years ago - once was enough. There have to be other new shows (but please god not Cirque de Soleil) that you can find to interest an audience. Or are you content to be the fast food equivalent of the performing arts - safe and familiar, but bland and uninteresting. You should want to be better than that.