SARATOGA SPRINGS— At 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, the Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College will present the world premiere of “Trill 101,” a groundbreaking multidisciplinary performance by Brooklyn-based composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Melanie Charles and her Make Jazz Trill Again (MJTA) collective. 

The free public concert is the culmination of a year-long artistic collaboration between Charles, her band, and Skidmore students across music, dance, and the humanities. 

The March 1 premiere will feature Charles and her collaborators — Zacchaeus Paul (keys), Rogerst Charles (saxophone), Barry Stephenson (bass), Bendji Allonce (percussion), and Diego Ramirez (drums) — alongside Skidmore student singers, musicians, and dancers. Their collective performance will blend original compositions with a richly layered medley of Afro-diasporic rhythms and Black spirituals, including “Deep River.” 

Adding to the experience, video interludes produced by the Troy-based creative agency Collectiveffort will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process, showcasing the student-driven workshops, jam sessions, and mentorship moments that shaped the project. 

Charles is a Brooklyn-based composer, singer, flutist, and multi-instrumentalist known for her innovative fusion of jazz, soul, and Haitian roots music. Her work reimagines jazz for contemporary audiences while uplifting marginalized voices. Charles first introduced MJTA to Skidmore in February 2024.  Admission to Trill 101 is free and open to the public. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS —For two weekends, starting on Friday, Feb. 28, Home Made Theater will present William Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, Hamlet.

Hamlet is the story of Prince Hamlet, a brooding and contemplative Danish prince tasked by his father’s ghost with avenging his father’s murder at the hands of Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, the new king, who has also married Hamlet’s mother. Plagued by indecision and internal conflict, Hamlet grapples with his duty to act while simultaneously questioning the morality of revenge, leading to a series of complex and often erratic behaviors as he attempts to expose Claudius’s guilt and ultimately enact justice, culminating in a tragic chain of events.

The co-directors of the production are Dianne O’Neill and J. Scala. The cast of Hamlet includes faces both familiar and brand new to Home Made Theater audiences. 

In addition to six public performances, there will be two private matinees for school groups. More than 225 high school students from Ballston Spa, Schuylerville, and other schools will attend a performance followed by a Q & A with the directors, some of the production staff, and the cast.

Performances of Hamlet begin on Friday, Feb. 28 and end on Sunday, March 9. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7 p.m. and Sunday performances are at 2 p.m. The play will be performed in the Saratoga  Music Hall, in the Saratoga Springs City Hall building at 474 Broadway. 

General admission seats are $20 for students (those under 18 and college students with ID), and $25 for all others. Tickets can be purchased on Home Made Theater’s website, www.homemadetheater.org, or by calling 518-587-4427.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announced the eighth-annual Winter/Miller Lecture, to be delivered by the acclaimed artist Nina Chanel Abney at 6 pm on Thursday, Feb. 27. The event is free and open to the public.

Abney, who is known for her bold, graphic paintings, creates stunning works that challenge viewers to confront issues of race, gender, pop culture, and politics. 

Abney’s painting Picnic at Butler is on view at the Tang as part of the exhibition a field of bloom and hum, which opened Feb. 14. Abney’s work can also be seen filling Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall façade in New York City, celebrating the cultural heritage of San Juan Hill, the lost neighborhood where the performing arts venue now stands. Beyond venues of contemporary work, Abney has collaborated with major brands such as Nike’s Jordan, Timberland, and EA Sports. 

ALBANY — The University at Albany’s Theatre Program presents five performances of a musical production of Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show, in the Main Theatre of the Performing Arts Center for Wednesday, March 5 – Sunday, March 9. 

The cult-classic, with Book, Music, and Lyrics by Richard O’Brien, will be performed by UAlbany students and directed by Shaun Patrick Tubbs, Theatre’s Visiting Assistant Professor of Direction, with the Music Program’s Lecturer Michael Lister as Music Director. 

The show will feature a live band and original choreography by Leah Tubbs, Founding Artistic Director of the Harlem-based MODArts Dance Collective, in her inaugural collaboration at UAlbany. The design team includes Theatre Program faculty Nora Marlow Smith, designing sets; and Anne Croteau, designing costumes with an haute couture influence; as well as visiting lighting designer Evan Anderson.

 With this production The Rocky Horror Show—made legendary by its 1975 movie version—returns to its origin as a live rock ‘n’ roll musical, in which sweethearts Brad and Janet get a flat tire during a storm, only to discover themselves in Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s mansion, where all innocence is lost. 

Since the production first premiered in London, Rocky Horror as been performed in 20 different languages and seen by over 30 million people globally, according to the BBC. 

The Rocky Horror Show picks up the sci-fi theme of the Theatre Program’s previous offering of Mary Shelley Meets Frankenstein, and continues its tradition for offering full-scale productions of hit musicals, following recent presentations of RENT and Hair, all on the Main Stage of UAlbany’s PAC.

 Tickets are only available online at: https://www.albany.edu/pac/news/2024-richard-obriens-rocky-horror-show-mar-5-9-2025

Note: at this production audience members are required by the Performing Arts Center to check coats and bags. Food and objects will not be allowed inside the theatre, to maintain the theater space and for the safety of the performers.  

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The focus will be the magic of musical storytelling at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26 when musician/comedian Erin Harkes hosts the Lena Go Round Songwriter Showcase at Caffe Lena. 

Emerging and established songwriters will share their most authentic work in the tradition that has made Caffè Lena a sanctuary for artistic expression for over 60 years. The showcase offers a unique window into the creative soul of the local music community.

For more information, go to: caffelena.org. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A multicultural bonanza of music, dance, and song lands at the Saratoga Springs City Center and other nearby venues on Feb. 14-16, for the 37th Annual Flurry Festival.

Over the course of the weekend, thousands of attendees from near and far will be immersed in dozens of traditional dance and music genres, including swing, blues, contra, square dancing, Cajun, Zydeco, English country, Balkan, Scandinavian, Latin, waltz, Scottish, fusion, hip-hop, international, Irish, balfolk, African, Appalachian, Asian, Crimean, and Haitian.

Friday afternoon begins with pre-festival Intensive workshops in Swing and Latin dance styles, for a few hours of focused classes. The main event kicks off at 6 p.m. Friday evening with this year’s new “Discovery Hour,” an array of 101 classes in which attendees can immerse themselves in learning a new style. 

The weekend continues with nonstop instruction and participatory dancing, including techno contra and fusion dances running into the early morning hours. 

Along with dancing, the festival features jam sessions, concerts, dance demonstrations, sing-a-longs, storytelling, yoga, instrumental and educational workshops, and teen showcases and jams. From medieval instrument demonstrations to hip-hop classes, anyone who enjoys music will find something unique to try out.

Saturday’s family programming will be free and open to the public at the Saratoga Springs Public Library from 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., and will include storytelling, maker activities, world dance, and music-making, with family concerts, singing, dancing, and activities continuing throughout the weekend.

The Flurry welcomes beginners and people of all ages and abilities, and instruction is offered at multiple levels. 

Full or partial weekend tickets can be purchased throughout the weekend at the door. Learn more about the 2025 Flurry Festival and view performers and schedules at www.flurryfestival.org.