Entertainment

New Rep Theatre Suspending Operations Citing Pandemic, Uncertainty About Performance Space

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Watertown-based New Repertory Theatre announced it will be suspending operations beginning July 21. The company based at the Mosesian Center for the Arts had to cancel the end of its 2019-2020 season and its entire 2020-21 season. It has put on a pair of moving plays in outdoor locations around Watertown. 

“As with many cultural institutions, the COVID-19 pandemic led to fiscal challenges for the New Repertory Theatre,” said the statement from New Rep, which was published by the Newton Needham Regional Chamber. Along with the pandemic, New Rep faces uncertainty about its stage space. 

“Additionally, our performance venue, the Mosesian Center for the Arts, is undergoing renovations, which adds to the COVID-related uncertainty we are already experiencing regarding mounting in-person performances in the near future. With these challenges in mind, the Board of Directors of the New Repertory Theatre has made the decision to suspend operations until we determine next steps for the organization,” the announcement said. 

New Rep will be making more announcements in the near future, the announcement said. “We have informed the staff of this decision and the reasons for the suspension.

Commander's Mansion

Boston Midsummer Opera Performing Under the Tent at the Commander’s Mansion

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The Boston Midsummer Opera announced upcoming shows in Watertown at the tent outside the Commander’s Mansion. Boston Midsummer Opera presents

Mélange Operatique 2021: Scenes, Arias & Ensembles

July 22, 23, and 24 at 5:30 pm | July 25 at 3 pm

Directed by Antonio Ocampo GuzmanMusic Direction by Susan Davenny Wyner

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

In the Tent Behind the Commander’s Mansion

440 Talcott Ave. | Watertown, MA 02472

Wine, beverages, and snacks will be available for sale at the Tent. 

Parking is adjacent to the tent and is easily HC accessible. Learn More About the Commander’s Mansion

COVID-19 PROTOCOL

We will be following all State and Town mandates concerning events for outdoor venues as they apply for the week of July 18-25, 2021. Audience capacity will be limited to 50% (100 audience members). We are requesting patrons bring their COVID-19 vaccination card to show with their tickets or wear a mask to the event.

Entertainment

Watertown Studio Offering Dance Classes for Kids, Some for Free

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Ballroom in Boston provided the following announcement:

Local dance studio, Ballroom in Boston, is offering kids dance classes throughout the summer! Check out the details below! 

Dance With Me:

Ages: 2-3

Do your kids constantly dance and twirl around the house? Our Dance With Me class is perfect for you! This class provides an introduction to creative movements for toddlers and their parents or guardians. We encourage them to learn and move to fun songs while working on their motor skills and listening.

Cartoon

Season’s Over for Small Saves in This Week’s Cartoon

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James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net. Combining this with the love of cartooning Small Saves emerged in 1991 and took on a life of his own. “To play goal–then come home and draw Small Saves — is my ideal definition of a good day.”

Entertainment

Watertown Musicians Return to Serenading Visitors of the Watertown Library

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Anaïs MarkwoodThe Watertonics play music and sign on the porch of Thomas Michel’s home, which overlooks the back parking lot of the Watertown Library. On Sunday he was joined by friend and soprano Maria Ferrante. This past Sunday saw the first Watertonics concert since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, an event welcomed by many Watertown residents.  

The Watertonics, self described by co-founder Thomas Michel as “Watertown’s leading front porch busking group” is a local music group who have been giving concerts from Michel’s front porch for a few years. 

The Watertonics’ front porch concerts began with Michel and his friend Ted Sharpe simply practicing together on Michel’s porch, which overlooks the back parking lot of the Watertown Free Public Library (WFPL). They noticed many library patrons stopping to listen to the music as they got in and out of their cars and decided to make it more official, naming themselves the Watertonics and establishing a weekly concert schedule of Sunday afternoons. . 

Michel and Sharpe met in graduate school at Duke University and have been playing music together for many years.

Around Town

Applicants Wanted for Watertown’s New Public Arts & Culture Committee

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Watertown Town Hall

The Town of Watertown provided the following announcement:

Town Manager Michael J. Driscoll is seeking eight (8) Watertown citizens interested in servingon the Public Arts and Culture Committee. The Town of Watertown has established a Public Arts Master Plan that was created through the efforts of a steering committee that included a number of representatives of stakeholder organizations in the community that deal with arts and culture, as well as Town departments and the Town’s consultant, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The Honorable Town Council adopted the Watertown Public Arts Master Plan at its meeting on February 23, 2021. The Watertown Public Arts Master Plan includes a number of implementation strategies, including Implementation Item 1A, a recommendation for the creation of an appointed Public Arts and Culture Committee (PACC) that acts as a permanent, standing advisory body to the Town of Watertown, to make recommendations over two core program areas:

1) Art in Public Places: Permanent, semi-permanent, temporary, and ephemeral artworks and activations that create a vibrant, welcoming, inclusive, and connected public realm. This may include semi-permanent projects as well as temporary artworks and installations funded through a variety of funding sources.

Entertainment

A Victory Dance in this Week’s Small Saves Cartoon

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James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net. Combining this with the love of cartooning Small Saves emerged in 1991 and took on a life of his own. “To play goal–then come home and draw Small Saves — is my ideal definition of a good day.”

Entertainment

Mosesian Center Welcomes Writers & Musicians for Earfull Series, Group that Melds Hip Hop & Other Genres

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The Mosesian Center for the Arts provided the following announcement:

While the Mosesian Center for the Arts building remains closed for renovation, the arts center continues to produce live, in-person events on the grounds of the Commander’s Mansion at the Arsenal on the Charles. On July 14 and August 4, two Earfull events takes the stage—and both are nearly sold out. Since the early 2000’s, Boston musician and author Jen Trynin, and bookstore connoisseur Tim Huggins, have been hosting the series, bringing together the worlds of writers and musicians. They prove that, given the right environment, Book People will love the experience of live music, and Rock People will realize how cool it is to hear great authors reading their work aloud. On July 28, STL GLD performs with Regie Gibson.