ALBANY — The Theatre Program of the University at Albany’s Department of Music and Theatre will premiere a digital movie musical titled Love & Other Destinations, which explores the triumphs and tragedies of love in all its forms. 

Partnering with Broadway and New York talent and featuring theatre majors and musical theatre minors, Love & Other Destinations is written by composer Brad Ross and lyricist Michael Cooper.  It can be viewed online on April 22 at 8 p.m., April 23 at 3 p.m., April 24 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and April 25 at 2 p.m. Admission is free but virtual seats must be reserved in advance at www.albany.edu/musicandtheatre/theatre-productions.

For further information, contact the Theatre Program office at 518-442-4200 or theatre@albany.edu.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Home Made Theater will hold open auditions this month for their July/August production of New Jerusalem by David Ives, directed by Dianne O’Neill. 

Auditions will be held through Zoom on Sunday, April 18 and Monday, April 19 from 7-9 p.m. All roles are open to actors of all ethnicities and gender identifications.

Baruch de Spinoza is a young merchant and the heir apparent of Saul Mortera, the chief Rabbi of Amsterdam. When the city accuses Spinoza of atheism, he is summoned to the synagogue to defend himself. Spinoza’s best friend, his sister, and the woman he loves are all drawn into the controversy, a historical event that shook up not only the entire Jewish community of Amsterdam, but changed Spinoza’s and Mortera’s lives—and all of Western thought—irrevocably. The play is a re-imagining of the interrogation and eventual excommunication of the young philosopher on July 27, 1656. In this eloquent and masterful drama, David Ives attempts to open the temple doors and let us listen in on a dispute whose philosophical and political echoes still reverberate today.

Production dates are Sunday, July 25 at the Congregation Shaara Tfille in Saratoga Springs, and Sunday Aug. 1 at the Congregation Beth Shalom in Clifton Park. There will be two performances each day. Rehearsals will start on Sunday, June 13 and will run Sunday through Thursday evenings.

Appointments for the Zoom auditions will be required. Excerpts from the play for audition purposes will be provided upon sign-up for a time slot. For a detailed flyer with character descriptions, or to sign up for an audition time, visit Home Made Theater’s website, www.HomeMadeTheater.org. For questions call 518-587-4427.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs Public Library, Saratoga Book Festival, and Home Made Theater present “Mark Harris in Conversation with Audrey Kupferberg,” at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 22. 

In “Mike Nichols: A Life,” author and journalist Mark Harris offers the first full-scale biography of the celebrated film director, stage director, and improv comedian. Harris interviewed over 250 people for this book, including Elaine May, Meryl Streep, Stephen Sondheim, Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Tom Hanks, Candice Bergen, Emma Thompson, Annette Bening, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Lorne Michaels, and Gloria Steinem. In it, he gives an intimate and evenhanded accounting of success and failure alike; the portrait is not always flattering, but its ultimate impact is to present the full story of one of the most interesting, complicated, and consequential figures the worlds of theater and motion pictures have ever seen. He will be joined in conversation by film historian and WAMC commentator, Audrey Kupferberg.

Harris is the author of Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War, and Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, which was named a notable book of the year, by the New York Times and the American Library Association. 

This online program uses the Zoom livestreaming platform. It will require access to a computer, mobile device with the Zoom app installed, and/or a phone for audio-only access. Registration with an email is required in order to receive information on how to connect. The email will be sent three hours prior to the scheduled start time of the program. Register a: sspl.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Showcasing his new full-length album “Blame it on Love,” Jeff Brisbin will stage a formal listening room setting 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 24 at Putnam Place.

The live event, which will include a slew of special guests, will also serve as a benefit fundraiser for BAR PEOPLE, to help support the local music scene affected by the pandemic. 

Capacity is very limited and tickets are $15. Reserve tix in advance at putnamplace.com. For more information about Jeff Brisbin and his music, go to: jeffbrisbin.com. 

Filming for two upcoming HBO series – “The Gilded Age,” and “The White House Plumbers” – will set their sights in the Capital Region over the next few months, and a New York City based casting company is looking for locals to portray various roles as extras.   

“The Gilded Age” will site filming locations in Troy in May and June. For this production, Grant Wilfley Casting is seeking men, women, and children from Troy, Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga Springs to portray various roles as extras in the series.

The story of “The Gilded Age” begins in 1882 against a backdrop of change, during a period of immense economic change, of huge fortunes made and lost, and the rise of disparity between old money and new.

“The Gilded Age,” comes from the creator of Downton Abbey.

Actors Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Carrie Coon (The Leftovers), Morgan Spector (Boardwalk Empire), Denée Benton, Louisa Jacobson, Taissa Farmiga, Blake Ritson, Simon Jones, Harry Richardson, Thomas Cocquerel, Jack Gilpin and Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love) have all signed on to the series.  

Requirements for locals interested in working as extras in the series: must be OK working around smoke and have natural-colored hair.

Interested? Email your name, union status (SAG-AFTRA or NonUnion), phone number, height, weight, clothing sizes, and current photos to gildedage@gwcnyc.com. This casting is for paid background/extra work. Visit www.gwciol.com or call 212-685-3168 for more information.

In order to be considered or booked, you must be registered with Grant Wilfey Casting. To register, go to: https://gwci.app/talent/

A second upcoming HBO series, “The White House Plumbers,” will be filming in Hudson Valley starting in May and in Albany in late Summer / early Fall.

Based in part on public records and the book “Integrity,” by Egil “Bud” Krogh and Matthew Krogh, the five-part limited series “The White House Plumbers” will tell the true story of how Nixon’s own political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, accidentally toppled the presidency they were trying to protect.

Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux will star as Hunt and Liddy, respectively.

For this production, Grant Wilfley Casting is seeking Albany locals to portray various roles as extras in the HBO limited series, which takes place in the early 1970s.

Requirements: Anyone interested in working on either project should note the following extra (aka Background) work is PAID; adults must be OK working around atmospheric smoke; men must be ok growing hair out and/or getting a period appropriate hair cut; everyone must attend a costume fitting prior to filming, and mandatory COVID testing will be provided by production.

To be considered, anyone can register for free at https://www.gwci.app/talent/. When registering, be sure to: Select Hudson Valley and/ or Albany as your employment area (you may select multiple employment areas); Upload at least two recent photos (a close up and a full body shot); Fill out ALL required fields and press save; Fill out as many non-required fields as possible.

Grant Wilfley Casting: We strongly encourage people to register. However, anyone who doesn’t want to register can submit via email to locations@gwcnyc.com. When emailing submissions, include: your name, union status (SAG-AFTRA or NonUnion), phone number, age range (actual age for minors), current height, clothing and shoe sizes and current photos. Photos should be recent and please do not submit photos where you are wearing a hat or dark glasses. Please include one that clearly shows your face and a full body photo. Write “Albany Local” in the subject line of your email.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Rochmon Record Club will meet Tuesday, April 20 at Caffe Lena to listen and learn about Hall and Oates – Greatest Hits Part 1 “All Killer, No Filler.” 

There are a limited number of tickets for the in-person event, which will also be livestreamed. 

A Rochmon Record Club Listening Party is meant to inform and deepen our understanding of the history of the individual performers, songs and the stories that went into the making of this classic album. By listening together, we get to hear the music again for the first time.

Daryl Hall and John Oates are one of the most successful writing duos in music history. Rochmon will play, show pictures, and tell stories about 11 Hall & Oates Top 40 Hits staring from 1973’s “She’s Gone.”

The duo arrived in New York City in the early 1970s and hung around the infamous Max’s Kansas City. “Always interesting people, always good music, decent food; it was a very cool place to hang out. We actually played there a bunch of times as well. We even opened for Bruce Springsteen there in 1973,” Oates told journalist Chris Epting, co-writer of Oates’ memoir, in a piece published last week by the website Please Kill Me. 

“Andy (Warhol) would still be there once in a while and we would get to know him really well later on. But it also became another home away from home for the New York Dolls.” Oates recalled “one frigid December late night,” waiting for his date to show up. “She said she would come over and meet me, so I settled in on the sofa and began strumming my acoustic guitar to pass the time. 9 o’clock became 10 o’clock became 11 o’clock. No girl. I had been stood up.” 

He kept strumming. And adding words. “I started singing this folky little refrain: ‘She’s Gone…Oh I better learn how to face it…She’s Gone Oh I…” The disappointment of getting stood up didn’t last long but that simple melody and chord progression was about go on forever.” The very next day, Oates got together with John Hall and his Wurlitzer electric piano. “The song almost wrote itself through our hands. In less than an hour, ‘She’s Gone’ was born and in a way, so were we.” 

For information about how to attend the event or to watch live online, go to: caffelena.org. 

CAMBRIDGE — With a career spanning decades and a dozen albums with Lowen & Navarro, Dan Navarro gets back to touring and performing LIVE shows with a Washington County appearance in Cambridge. 

Navarro’s career started as a songwriter, most often with Eric Lowen, for artists as diverse as Pat Benatar (the Grammy-nominated “We Belong”) The Bangles, Jackson Browne, Dave Edmunds, The Temptations, Dionne Warwick, and others.

In the 1990s and 2000s, he and Lowen recorded and toured as the acclaimed acoustic duo Lowen & Navarro until Lowen’s retirement in 2009. Navarro’s first true studio-recorded album, “Shed My Skin” was released in 2019.

His local show takes place 7 p.m. on May 4 at Argyle Brewing, 6 Broad St., Cambridge.  Tickets $25.  Limited seating | Socially Distanced | Food Truck. Call 518-692-2585, email info@argylebrewing.com or visit: www.argylebrewing.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — An eight-week course of classes in mindfulness meditation and stress reduction will take place – in person – at Caffe Lena, starting Saturday, April 10. 

The Saturday Morning Sessions are held 8:30 to 10 a.m. and run April 10 through May 29 and provide instruction in formal mindfulness meditation methods including a body scan, gentle yoga, sitting meditation and walking meditation. 

“We know from research that the eight weeks works well for major changes in people’s mental health and well-being. And we do know it creates lasting traits like tolerance, patience, loving kindness, compassion,” says Pierre Zimmerman, of One Roof holistic health center in Saratoga Springs.   

The practices offer students a means of self-regulation and encourage the cultivation of greater awareness. Students learn to reduce their particular symptoms of psychological and somatic distress as well as to respond to challenges with less reactivity and greater clarity. The course also provides instruction in informal mindfulness meditation practices such as being in nature and eating with awareness.

Midway through the course, students learn about the physiology of stress and how it relates to their individual stress reactivity patterns. Using the latest scientific research, we explore how the act of mindful noticing activates innate internal resources that can change our perception of daily events, including stressful ones. This altered appraisal allows students to use a broader range of both internal and external responses so that they need not remain locked in stress patterns.

The Stress Relief & Management program takes place at Caffe Lena, 47 Phila St. Pre-registration is required. Masks must be worn at all times, and coronavirus safety measures, including distancing, will be practiced.

The complete schedule and fee information are available at: www.oneroofsaratoga.com/saratoga-stress-reduction. To register or for more information, call 518-581-3180 and contact the administrative director at ext. 300 or Dr. Selma Nemer at ext. 307.

LAKE GEORGE — Are you a local artist who would love to show your work in Lake George Village? The Lake George Arts Project is partnering with the Caldwell-Lake George Library to present the work of local artists in their beautiful historic building on Canada Street!

Guidelines: Artists must live and/or work within a 50 mile radius of the Library. Artwork must be two-dimensional and ready to hang. Artwork must be appropriate for viewers of all ages

Easy Call for Artist’s Process: Go to docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeHCZj1jAlgL4LbEewh_3UJgfwZrhYAFZPTbc8ky54_YtRghQ/viewform. Read the requirements. Fill out the application (general information and an artist statement). Email three images of your work to tanya@lakegeorgearts.org

Deadline to Submit: May 1, 2021. Artist Notifications: May 15, 2021

The first exhibition in the partnership will begin on June 1 and will be up for the start of the Lake George summer season. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Proctors new Collaborative Studio, and Tango Fusion Dance Company of Saratoga have worked together on a new dance show that will be broadcast on Thursday nights. 

Tango Fusion Ballroom Dance Show will feature eight episodes at 7 p.m. on Thursday nights through the months of April and May. 

The eight-part series starts with four beginner Salsa Lessons and will be followed by four beginner Swing Lessons.  Each week, Tango Fusion instructors Diane Lachtrupp Martinez and Johnny Martinez will lead a warm-up, review what was taught the week before and add on new steps and techniques. The program will also include some improvisational social dancing as well as a featured fun fact of the day about the dance. 

Viewers do not need to have a partner or experience.  The series would also be a good review for dancers who have danced Salsa and Swing before.  The series is free to viewers but there is an opportunity to donate to the project.

In addition to the lead instructors, Johnny and Diane, the show features additional professional instructors Juan Soler and Jen Cornell, as well as two college students Lucas Martinez and Alanah Cohen-Tigor. 

The goal of the show is to provide entertaining, quality instruction to a new audience of dancers of all ages.

The series will broadcast on the following platforms: Spectrum Cable Channel 1302, Verizon Fios Channel 37, Any Smart TV (just download the Collaborative Studios App), and Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC-2mrbG7kelNj3XOG-ltC9A. 

Diane Lachtrupp Martinez and Johnny Martinez are award-winning Tango, Salsa and Swing dancers. They are co-directors of Tango Fusion Dance Studio in Saratoga that offers group classes and private lessons to both adults and children. They have worked with area organizations such as Capitol Repertory Theater, Park Playhouse, Opera Saratoga, Proctors, UPH, Charles Wood, HMT, SLOC, Fort Salem Theater, Nacre Dance Company and the National Museum of Dance.