Grab your Guinness and get ready for something truly wonderful – the Irish Repertory Theatre’s unique digital fall season. The three-month run begins Thursday, Sept. 17 with violinist Gregory Harrington performing his interpretations of traditional and contemporary songs, juxtaposing Bach and Bob Dylan, Beethoven and Leonard Cohen, Radiohead and Johnny Cash. His annual sold-out spring concert had to be canceled this year due to the pandemic. Instead, it will be presented at 7 p.m. this Thursday. Joining him onstage will be cellists Eleanor Norton and Philip Sheegog. But that’s just the start of what has got to be some amazing offerings by the award-winning, New York City-based Irish Rep. The lineup for the Digital Fall Season also includes Geraldine Hugh’s “Belfast Blues,” filmed at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, which will be presented Sept. 22-27. “Give Me Your Hand,” starring acclaimed actors Dermot Crowley and Dearbhla Molloy on a poetic stroll through the National Gallery of London, will be presented Oct. 13-18. Eugene O’Neill’s “A Touch of the Poet” has an all-star cast and creative team and will be presented Oct. 27-Nov. 1. You will not want to miss Bill Irwin in his celebrated, award-winning concept piece “On Beckett/In Screen,” which will be presented Nov. 17-22. There’s so much more, including a concert presentation of Dylan Thomas’ “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” to be streamed in December. Tickets to these are free, but the theater would certainly appreciate a donation, with suggestions running from $10 to $25 per viewer. You need to make a reservation in order to get access. The shows will be streamed at various times. For more information or to make reservations, visit IrishRep.org and click onto “Digital Fall Season.”
If you have not taken advantage of the Vero Beach Museum of Art website, then you’re really missing out. On its home page, you will see links to numerous offerings, including “Museum Extras.” There you will find Anke’s Art Moment, hosted by Anke Van Wagenberg, the museum’s senior curator. During the pandemic, while the museum has been closed, she has been regaling art lovers with a series of up-close-and-personal looks at select pieces from the museum’s collection or exhibition. Visitors to Anke’s Art Moment series have learned about Sol LeWitt, Milton Avery, Romare Bearden, William Wegman, Sharron Quasius and just so many more artists. They’re all online, six months’ worth’ in fact. While you are on Museum Extras, be sure to look at its Flick Pick series. These are smartly curated films, which can be streamed free or sometimes rented for a tiny fee. There’s also about six months’ worth of weekly selections, including documentaries on celebrities such as opera singer Maria Callas and choreographer Merce Cunningham, smart narrative films such as Dustin Hoffman’s “Quartet” and “A Man Called Ove,” and classics such as Orson Welles’ “The Magnificent Ambersons” and “The Sunshine Boys” with Walter Matthau and George Burns. In a different section, you’ll find Cork, Canvas & Company, a Zoom gathering where you’ll sip wine and make art. Remaining sessions begins 6 p.m. Oct. 22, Nov. 5 and Nov. 19. The cost per session is $25 non-members and $20 museum members. Get all this by visiting VBMuseum.org.
If you’re in a mood for a drive and an actual visit to a museum, head south to the A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery. This is the place where you can discover the Highwaymen artists – self-taught African-American artists who created vibrant works of early Florida, ripe in bloom and moonlight. Backus guided some of the Highwaymen artists such as Harold Newton and Alfred Hair in starting the art movement and creating these Florida masterpieces. By the way, a new movie called “The Highwaymen” will begin production after pandemic restrictions lift. The film, by an independent Orlando company called Stars North, will tell the true story of the group of painters as they painted their way from hard labor in citrus groves. So, in the meantime, brush off your knowledge base about this important art movement by visiting the A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery at 500 North Indian River Dr., Fort Pierce. Admission is $5 with discounts for seniors, veterans, members of AARP and AAA. It’s free for current museum members, students with I.D., active duty military personnel and children under 18. Call 722-465-0630 or visit BackusMuseum.org.
