ALBANY — The UAlbany Performing Arts Center will present a free screening of “a love letter to Brian, Lesley, and Michelle,” a film by Hettie Barnhill, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, on the uptown University at Albany campus located at 1400 Washington Ave.  

The event is part of a series of four shining the spotlight on local artists. Others in the series include actors Bianca Stinney and Ben Katigiri who will each perform the experimental play White Rabbit, Red Rabbit (March 26 & 27).  This past fall, guitarist Maria Zemantauski, percussionist Brian Melick and dancer La Nina collaborated in Flamenco Rhythms and the Capital Trio offered two concerts in October.

Described by its creator as “a film, a play, an experience, a concert dance, a work of art, a self-reflection, a protest,” the work is an interactive and experimental commentary that “ideally leaves viewers looking inward, seeking justice from within.” 

The writer/director will engage in a post-screening discussion with audience members. Barnhill is a Broadway actress, director, choreographer and the founder of Create A Space NOW, an interactive social platform that uses performing arts and multimedia to further discussion around #blacklivesmatter and the recent events and race relations in America. 

Admission to the screening is free. No reservations or tickets are required.  For further information, contact the UAlbany Performing Arts Center’s main office at 518-442-3995 or pac@albany.edu. 

ALBANY — The Egg has announced that Darlingside will perform on Thursday, March 9 as part of the 2023 concert series.

Darlingside brings their new “expando-band” to The Egg inviting audiences into a lush, intimate world with exquisitely-arranged, literary-minded, baroque folk-pop and superpower harmonies – as original members – Don Mitchell (guitar), Auyon Mukharji (violin), and Harris Paseltiner (cello) – are joined by bassist Molly Parden and drummer/ banjoist Ben Burns.

 Tickets are $34.50 and currently on sale online at www.theegg.org or by telephone at 518-473-1845, or in person at The Egg Box Office Monday – Friday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.  

ALBANY — The Egg has announced that The Steve Morse Band (Feb. 23), George Winston (March 17) and Al Stewart (March 26) will perform as part of the 2023 concert series.

Steve Morse Band: Reunited and performing together for the first time in over 10 years, the Steve Morse Band  – featuring the band’s namesake and Guitar Player Hall of Famer Steve Morse, songwriter and bandleader of The Dixie Dregs, member of super group Flying Colors, as well as former guitarist of Deep Purple and Kansas – along with bassist Dave LaRue, and drummer Van Romaine. Feb. 23 – $59.50, $49.50, $39.50. 

George Winston: A solo piano concert featuring selections from his seasonal favorites performed in his melodic folk style, as well as some New Orleans R&B, stride piano, and more. George Winston’s music is evocative, offering us all a chance to take a step back from our perpetually busy lives and let our minds adventurously wander. March 17 – $36. 

Al Stewart with The Empty Pockets: Singer/songwriter Al Stewart emerged as part of the British folk revival in the late 1960s and became an international star with his platinum selling songs “Time Passages” and “Year of The Cat” in the mid-‘70s. He has released nearly 20 albums over the years and will be joined onstage by Chicago-based roots-rockers The Empty Pockets. March 26 – $39.50, $34.50. 

Tickets are currently on sale online at www.theegg.org or by telephone at 518-473-1845, or in person at The Egg Box Office Monday–Friday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.  

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Home Made Theater announces open auditions for their June production of The “Sound of Music,” with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. This production will be directed by Dawn Oesch, with musical direction by Richard Cherry, and choreography by Diane Lachtrupp.

The auditions will be held on Sunday, Jan. 22 (children only) starting at 5:30, and Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 23 & 24 (adults, including Liesl and Rolf) starting at 6:30, at Home Made Theater’s headquarters at the Wilton Mall (near JC Penney). Callbacks will be held on Thursday, Jan. 26 starting at 6:30 p.m.

The primary cast consists of five adult men, eight adult women, two boys, and four girls. There will be a small (4-6 person) ensemble. All ethnicities and gender identities are encouraged to attend.

This award winning, family friendly musical is based on the real-life story of the von Trapp Family singers, one of the world’s best-known concert groups in the era immediately preceding World War II. Maria is the tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey who becomes a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, and brings a new love of life and music into the home.

For the audition: adults (including those auditioning for Liesl and Rolf) please prepare 16 bars of a song from the show. Children will be taught part of “My Favorite Things” to perform. Readings will be provided. Bring a current photo (cannot be returned) and a resume. Be prepared to list all potential conflicts from the first rehearsal through closing (with the exception of Tech Week and performances, conflicts can be worked around if known about in advance).

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Jewish Community Arts, in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York and sponsorship of Temple Sinai in Saratoga Springs, have contracted with The Braid, formerly Jewish Women’s Theater, to bring a three-program sequence in 2023 to its SJCA series. Each of The Braid programs will be on Zoom.

The Braid, in its 14th season, empowers artists and audiences to feel pride in Jewish culture while building community and connection between people of all backgrounds.

The first program takes place 7 p.m. Feb. 5; with The Braid is Remembrance of Things Present, true stories from the descendants of Holocaust survivors. The program will be followed by a Q &A session.

Remembrance of Things Present will discover how the son and grandson of Tuvia Bielski contend with the legacy of a hero. Witness a daughter’s struggle as her father’s testimony to the Shoah Project video archive reopens old wounds. Feel inspired as a daughter of a French Resistance fighter is called to her own life of activism. 

To register and receive Zoom access to The Braid programming Remembrance of Things Present, email sjca.sjcf@gmail.com. Registration will be confirmed with an email, and you will be sent the access code two days before the program. Learn more at www.saratogasinai.org or visit www.saratogajewishculturalfestival.org.