Entertainers need an audience, yet in a town as small and condensed as Hanover, competition for time and interest can be fierce. The Hopkins Center strives to triumph over summer sunshine in its fights to fill seats, but its directors have no doubt that its line-up of eclectic and inviting performances will pull in both student and local attendees.
"There is so much going on, on campus and in the Upper Valley in the summer, and so many great things to do outdoors," Rebecca Bailey, publicity coordinator for the Hop, wrote in an email. "But we do offer some gems."
With the exception of student group performances, the Hop's summer offerings will be almost as robust as they are during the regular school year.
"The Hop becomes the student's playground for the summer," programming director Margaret Lawrence said. "One of the kickoffs we have is the annual free outdoor concert, which will happen this Thursday, rain or shine. This year, we have a world music band."
Although looming clouds and wind at midday drove the Debo Band indoors, the group still managed to excite. Based in Boston and consisting of 11 players, Debo Band is renowned for its mlange of Ethiopian-American music, which combines elements of funk, soul and jazz.
This weekend, the internationally-celebrated drag dance troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, known affectionately as the Trocks, will perform in Moore Theater. In tutus and en pointe, the men will bring their campy adaptations of classic ballets such as "Swan Lake" and "Giselle" to the local stage.
The performances, however, are not just parody.
"It is immediately evident that they are incredible athletes and they love ballet," Lawrence said. "But they just can't help but make fun of it. It's such fun and it's absolutely ridiculous."
On July 19, Moore Theater will host a cabaret-esque milieu. Ethan Lipton and his orchestra will perform a lounge act facsimile about the everyday workplace and saturnine progression of outsourcing in this case, to Mars.
Lipton, a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter known for his eccentricity and humor, juxtaposes traditions in American music with quotidian problems of the 21st century.
The final performing artist visiting campus this summer is Russian pianist Vladimir Feltsman, whose program will include works by Haydn and Schubert, as well as other pieces from the Romantic period. Having famously defected to the United States in 1987, he has since played solos with some of the greatest symphonies in the world, to great acclaim.
Exhibitions and screenings will be present at the Hop this summer as well.
"Beyond the visiting artists, everything here is still blazing, except student ensembles that don't perform formally in the summer because you just don't have enough numbers to make those work," Lawrence said.
Three films will be presented by directors or producers, including one by Ken Burns, an acclaimed documentarian and a regular exhibitor at the Hop. An advanced screening of "Despicable Me 2", which features the voice of Steve Carell, will also be screened with an introduction from producer Chris Meledandri '81.
Live simulcasts will be presented as well, including a stream of Peter Morgan's play "The Audience," which features Helen Mirren in a reprisal of her celebrated portrayal of the Queen, from the National Theatre in London. Every Wednesday, performances from the Metropolitan Opera in New York will be screened in Spaulding.
In addition, the theater department will host workshops and festivals throughout the summer. The events will start July 3 with Voxfest, a showcase of alumni productions.
Although the Year of the Arts came to a close in the spring, the Hop is determined to continue the momentum, Lawrence said.
"We are now compiling feedback and trying to work with the administration, especially the new president, to demonstrate that appetite will not go away," Lawrence said. "We are focused on being a leader in the process to find a creative way to move forward."
