Though the summer kicks off with an outdoor concert on the Green and closes with a live performance by singer Peter Wolf, the Upper Valley will draw more than just music offerings this term. Multiple theatrical performances, film showings and even a circus performance will come to Hanover and the surrounding area this summer.
Just as it does every summer, the Hop will open the summer season on June 26 with a live outdoor concert by Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca, a group with roots in Central Africa, Latin America and Los Angeles. Lemvo will also give a free pre-show talk.
The Hop will host a contemporary dance company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, on June 27 and 28. Hopkins Center publicity coordinator Rebecca Bailey characterized the company’s style of dancing as accessible to both dance lovers and those new to dance.
“The level of dancing is really accomplished and exciting, and the heart that they dance with is really something that the audience can connect with,” Bailey said.
The dance company will also teach two ballet-based master classes on June 28, for those who have some ballet experience and look to learn more from professionals.
Other summer Hop events focus more on theater, including three simulcast performances: the Royal Shakespeare Company on June 19 and 28, the National Theatre on July 24 and the world premiere of a Monthy Python performance on August 15.
The Hop will continue its emphasis on student-produced developmental theater as well. The weekend of July 5 will bring VoxFest, an annual festival of works developed by current students and recent Dartmouth alums.
Experimental theater works will continue with the three-week visit of the New York Theatre Workshop in August. The company will develop new works over the summer and plans to conduct readings of their works-in-progress. The company will perform Anaïs Mitchell’s folk opera “Hadestown” on August 16.
Bailey said she hopes these events will broaden students’ understanding of performing arts and film.
The Hop will screen newer films including “Chef” (2014), a comedy about a man who opens a food truck after tiring of his inflexible boss, and “Ida” (2013), a black-and-white drama about a nun’s search for answers about her past.
In August, the Hop will show “SlingShot” (2014), directed by Paul Lazarus ’76, which chronicles inventor Dean Kamen’s development of a water purification system.
“In summer in general it’s sort of spicy, flavorful and kind of a lighter menu, but stuff that you’ll really remember,” Bailey said.
The Dartmouth Film Society will kick off its summer film noir series on June 22, aiming to give the Dartmouth community a better idea of what exactly noir is, society director Johanna Evans said. The series will begin with “Asphalt” (1929), a German silent film. Carlos Dominguez, a graduate student studying digital music, will accompany the screening with a live performance of his new score.
Evans pointed to the following three films — “The Maltese Falcon” (1941), “Double Indemnity” (1944) and “Detour” (1945) — as other can’t-miss options.
Lebanon’s annual summer concert series will feature free nighttime concerts ranging from local folk bands for Monday Night Concerts in the Park to jazz and blues for the Thursday night Front Porch Concert Series.
Vermont-based Circus Smirkus, an international touring youth circus, will come to Hanover the weekend of July 5. This summer’s tour, “Anchors Away for Atlantis,” shows off new equipment that the staff hopes will surprise audience members, artistic director Troy Wunderle said.
Two local companies, North Country Community Theatre and Opera North, will come to the Lebanon Opera House, giving the season a “different flavor” than the facility’s usual acts, Lebanon Opera House assistant director Joe Gleason said.
North Country Community Theatre will perform “Carousel” seven times in July. The production will address themes of abuse and will include a community discussion with Kate Rohdenburg from WISE after the July 13 performance.
Opera North, a company in its 17th year of production, will perform “La Traviata” and “My Fair Lady” in August.
In addition to the local company performances, singer Peter Wolf, formerly with the J. Geils Band, will perform at the Lebanon Opera House on Aug. 23.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction appended (June 20, 2014):
The New York Theatre Workshop will perform "Hadestown" only once, not three times, as was originally reported. The performance is scheduled for August 16.
