Page 38 - Dutchess Tourism 2023

Raise the Curtain
© STEVE MACK
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DUTCHESS COUNTY DESTINATION GUIDE
From concerts to comedy, dance, film or theater, Dutchess County has long been a lively epicenter of exceptional entertainment. Top-notch touring artists and productions regularly visit the stages of our theaters, and many local performers and live events are on par with the steady stream of traveling attractions.
PERFORMING ARTS
Every summer, Vassar College’s Powerhouse Theater
and New York Stage & Film Summer Season present a dynamic schedule of new plays, musicals, readings and works in progress. Internationally known as the theater that premiered “Hamilton!” before it became a Broadway smash, Powerhouse has cemented its reputation as the place to see a new work while it’s in development.
Opened as the Collingwood Opera House in 1869, the opulent structure now known as the Bardavon 1869 Opera House has presented performances by the likes of Mark Twain and Aretha Franklin. Today, catch performances by the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, live simulcasts of New
York City’s Metropolitan Opera and leading performers in music, opera, literature and comedy, including author David Sedaris, Broadway powerhouse Audra McDonald, and EGOT award winner John Legend.
The Stissing Center opened its doors in 2019 after years of renovations and restoration of Pine Plains’ Memorial Hall, which was originally built in 1915. The Center acts as an artistic and cultural hub and presents events in music, film,
dance and theater, including the Local Produce Readers’ Theatre play-reading series, which features local playwrights and talent, and the Chamber Music Series.
On the campus of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson stands the gleaming, magnificent Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, which hosts orchestral and
jazz concerts, dance productions and other events. The center comes alive, however, during the college’s annual SummerScape and Bard Music Festival, which run for eight weeks of superlative concerts, dance, opera, theater, film and discussion. Don’t miss the dazzling “tent of mirrors” known as Spiegeltent, June through August.
In Tivoli, diverse world-class performances can be found at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, an artist sanctuary serving
as an incubator for innovative dance, theater, music, film, poetry, culinary, media and visual arts. Tivoli’s Tangent Theatre showcases mainstage productions and pop-up play readings at intimate settings throughout town. It also hosts the annual NEWvember New Plays Festival.
The Marriott Pavilion on the Hyde Park campus of The Culinary Institute of America hosts the Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra, which performs music by well-known composers like John Williams along with innovative, lesser- heard works. The CENTER for the Performing Arts at Rhinebeck, a long-running community theater, hosts a popular Saturday morning family series featuring children’s performers. The Rhinebeck Chamber Music Society sponsors concerts at the Church of the Messiah every spring and fall, while the Pawling Concert Series presents classical, world and modern music events at the Trinity- Pawling School. The architecturally gorgeous Howland Cultural Center just celebrated its 150th year in Beacon and continues to be a community arts and performance space hosting the Howland Chamber Music Circle Piano Festival, Beacon Litfest and a variety of workshops, art exhibits and more.