Author: Saratoga TODAY

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Katherine Applegate, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller “The One and Only Ivan,” will appear at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga Springs for an author talk and book signing celebrating her newest novel, “Wombat Waiting.” The event is hosted by the Northshire Bookstore.

The middle grade standalone novel-in-verse is about compassion, resilience, and friendships, following a dog named Wombat in the aftermath of a catastrophic fire. Wombat isn’t actually a wombat—but when the homeless dog is discovered, singed and ash-covered after a terrible fire destroys a community, someone tags her with the nickname, and it sticks.

Applegate will stop by the Spa City on Sunday, May 10 at 1 p.m.

On Wednesday, May 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Northshire, an evening of professional development for educators will occur. Northshire’s team of expert children’s booksellers will share some of their favorite new books for preschoolers, children, and teens. The Adirondack Literacy Council will be on hand to certify professional development credit and will be raffling off prizes. The event is free, but reservations are encouraged to facilitate professional development credit.

On Monday, May 18 at 6 p.m. at Northshire, author Steve Sheinkin and graphic novelist Jon Chad will discuss “Diamond Fever!” their high-stakes true crime story set in the wild west. 

Late one night, two travel-weary miners, Philip Arnold and John Slack, show up at a businessman’s office in San Francisco. The miners seem nervous. They’ve got something that needs to be locked in a safe overnight. What is it? Well, that really has to stay secret, but it’s…diamonds! And lots of them. When word of the find hits the streets, diamond fever sweeps the country. Wealthy investors are desperate to elbow Arnold and Slack aside and seize control—but can they persuade the miners to reveal the location of their bonanza? At the same time, thousands of prospectors fan out across the mountains and deserts of the West—will one of them find the site before greedy bankers grab everything for themselves?

Additional information and tickets for all Northshire Bookstore events are available at www.northshire.com/upcoming-events.

SCHENECTADY — After the final concert of the 2025-26 season last weekend, the Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra (SSSO) announced the shows coming to Schenectady and Saratoga Springs during the 2026-27 season, “Repertoire and Orchestration,” to celebrate Proctors’ 100th birthday.

Kicking off the season at Proctors, their first concert, “Across the Channel, Across the Pond,” will be on the MainStage Sunday, Oct. 25. The SSSO will take patrons on a journey through Spain and the New World to the grandeur of France in a program that celebrates music without borders. Marc Migó’s “Carnival de las Indias” will be brought to the stage with narration by Annie Dutoit. Then, Saint-Saëns’ “Organ Symphony.”

Separate from the official season, the SSSO will be back with their annual favorite, “Poinsettia Pops,” for two performances at Universal Preservation Hall, Dec. 5 and 6.

Concert two of the season brings Hollywood to life with “A Night at the Movies” on the MainStage at Proctors on Sunday, Jan. 23. From love themes to adventure scores, this cinematic celebration showcases the music that defines Hollywood favorites.

A pairing of Opera Saratoga and the SSSO brings concert three, “A Night at the Opera,” to UPH on Saturday, March 27. The program brings the grandeur of the opera house into the intimate setting of the Great Hall with an evening of arias, choruses, and theatrical moments.

The season culminates with concert four, “Resurrection,” on the MainStage at Proctors on Sunday, April 18. Mahler’s “Symphony No. 2,” the monumental “Resurrection,” is a journey from darkness to hope. Featuring soprano and mezzo-soprano soloists and the Octavo Singers, this masterpiece calls for massive orchestral forces and delivers emotional impact.

Subscriptions are now on sale through the Box Office at Proctors in person, via phone at (518) 346-6204 Tuesday-Saturday 12-6 p.m., or online at sssony.org. Groups of 10 or more can get the group advantage by calling (518) 382-3884, ext. 139.

A single-ticket sale date will be announced in August.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Schenectady Poet Laureate Adonis Richards and his Saratoga Springs counterpart, Jay Rogoff, will headline a special Saturday matinee of Caffe Lena’s Open Poetry Mic on April 25, at 2 p.m.

Both will read from their work, and the traditional open mic will follow, hosted by poet Carol Graser. The event is co-sponsored by Caffe Lena Poetry and Rogoff’s Laureate Poetry Series. It is open to the public, with a $5 suggested donation.

Richards, a Union College program coordinator in the Office of Intercultural Affairs, was appointed Schenectady’s first poet laureate in September 2025. “Being a poet laureate,” he said in a news release, “is important and integral to a city with such a rich history. I want to establish a connection with the city and be able to build space for folks to write, to create, to express themselves in healthy and restorative ways.” His events for city residents range from workshop to hip-hop, several of them blending poetry with musical performance.

Rogoff, Saratoga Springs’ poet laureate since January, launched the Laureate Poetry Series, featuring readings by nationally known poets, themed group readings with area published poets, and workshops for adults, teens, and children. Most recently, he convened a dozen local poets for an April Fool’s Night funny-poem reading at Saratoga’s Whitman Brewery, and a dozen more for Poets in the Museum, premiering original poems inspired by works at Skidmore College’s Tang Museum.

Rogoff said that the most important aspects of the laureateship are “bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds to create and listen to poetry,” but also to be “a responsible, engaging poetic voice for the city and the area, finding the intersection of the personal and the public and celebrating Saratoga while also putting our contemporary world under a microscope.”

SCHENECTADY — The Collaborative School of the Arts (CSOA) announced on Tuesday the final nominees for the 10th annual High School Musical Theatre Awards, taking place at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 16 on the MainStage at Proctors. 

The ceremony will celebrate the past 10 years of local high school musical theatre and feature the 25 schools that registered from the Capital Region and surrounding areas this year. The awards will be hosted by Apollo Levine from “MJ the Musical,” a new addition this year.

These students have gone through callbacks, and the CSOA has announced the top 10 students nominated for Outstanding Lead Performers. Each of the two categories will have five nominees. Two of those students will be selected to attend the National High School Theatre Awards/Jimmy Awards in New York City in June.

Top 10 Outstanding Lead Performers

• Karissa Beehm as Princess Winnifred in Schenectady High School’s “Once Upon a Mattress”

• Annon Breault as Dorothy Brock in Whitehall Central School’s “42nd Street”

• Carter Mack as Seymour in Ticonderoga High School’s “Little Shop of Horrors”

• Roman Mangino as Gomez Addams in Ballston Spa High School’s “The Addams Family Musical: School Edition”

• Macklin McGrath as Prince Dauntless in Glens Falls High School’s “Once Upon a Mattress”

• Nicholas Merzig as Uncle Fester in Queensbury High School’s “The Addams Family Musical: School Edition”

• Max Mittler as Jack Kelly in Saratoga Springs High School’s Disney’s “Newsies”

• Paige Rivers as Eurydice in Voorheesville High School’s “Hadestown: Teen Edition”

• Delaney Sano as Wednesday Addams in Queensbury High School’s “The Addams Family Musical: School Edition”

• Lily Sinnott as Natasha in Shenendehowa High School’s “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”