By KARYN JESTER
DavidsonNews.net

This week features town meetings as well as entertainment events around the area. Monday night’s regularly scheduled Cornelius Board of Commissioners meeting will include a vote on Catawba Avenue improvements. On Wednesday, United Way of Central Carolinas will give a presentation on recommendations from the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute’s Community Needs Assessment. There’s also a Salsa & Merengue dance workshop at the Davidson public library on Wednesday. Davidson Community Players’ “Ragtime” starts up its second weekend on Thursday and there’s the ’80s Night in the Park in Cornelius’ Bailey Road Park on Saturday that features music from ’80s cover band 80z Enuff.

These events and more below, or in our day-by-day calendar at right. Also, at right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas where “Cars 2” opens, joining “The Hangover Part II,” “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “Green Lantern,” “Super 8,” and “Bridesmaids.” Read the full story

By KARYN JESTER
DavidsonNews.net

There’s a variety of different events to keep you busy this weekend. On Thursday, join the Lake Norman Chamber at Huntersville Family Fitness & Aquatics Center for a chance to network with fellow members and experience food from some of Huntersville’s best area restaurants. Also on Thursday, there’s a celebrity bartending competition at Alton’s Kitchen and Cocktails and Summit Coffee’s Songwriters Showcase, celebrating its one-year anniversary. The musical “Ragtime” starts on Thursday and goes through the weekend. The Charlotte Symphony will be performing at McGuire Nuclear Station on Friday. The Palace in Cornelius will be hosting its Artisan Market and Bazaar on Saturday and the Concert on the Green in Davidson is featuring the Beatles tribute band The Back Beat.

These events and more below, or in our day-by-day calendar at right. Also, at right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas where “Green Lantern” opens, joining “The Hangover Part II,” “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “X-Men: First Class,” “Super 8,” and “Bridesmaids.” Read the full story

-*-

Davidson Community Players will take the road less traveled when it stages the critically acclaimed musical “Ragtime” next month at Davidson College’s Duke Family Performance Hall.

The company says this will be one of the biggest productions in its 46-year history. Since premiering on Broadway and winning Tony Awards 13 years ago, “Ragtime” has toured nationally several times, played London’s West End, and recently has enjoyed a Broadway revival. The show is big in every respect: a cast of 50 men, women and children; an elaborate set; quickly changing scenes; an intriguing storyline; a monumental musical score; and a subject that embraces the indomitable nature of human will.

E.L. Doctorow’s novel comes to life in this song-and-dance show that looks at three New York families just after the turn of the 20th century: a wealthy white couple; a Jewish immigrant father and his motherless daughter; and an African American piano player who teaches them about the interconnections of the human heart, the limitations of justice, and the consequences of letting go of a dream. Historical figures like Harry Houdini, J.P. Morgan and Emma Goldman inhabit the moving epic, but it is the stirring musical score that carries the show, including gospel, marches, cakewalks and — of course — ragtime.

DCP Artistic Director Melissa Ohlman-Roberge directs, with choreography by Felicia Davis, musical direction by John Smith, sets by Anna Sartin, with props by Lisa Altieri. Jamey Varnador has designed the costumes, lighting is by Bruce Auerbach, and sound design is by Ryan Clark.

The cast includes new and old faces. Guest Artist and full-time actor Timothe Bittle plays Coalhouse Walker Jr. Also in the cast: Kevin Roberge (Tateh) and Lisa Smith-Bradley (Mother); Amanda Roberge (Evelyn Nesbitt) and Issac Josephthal (Harry Houdini), along with Kimberly Butler (Sarah), Brianna Smith (Emma Goldman), Erik D’Esterre (Younger Brother), Carranza Pryor (Booker T. Washington); Robert Watson (J.P. Morgan), B.J. Facemire (Henry Ford), Stuart Spencer (Willy Conklin), Robert Nipper (Harry K Thaw), Gino Pietrantoni (Grandfather), Steven Martin (Father) Eliza Robinson (Little Girl), and Zachary Halsey (Little Boy).

Performances are June 16-18, 8pm; June 23-25, 8pm; Sun Jun 19 and Sat Jun 25 at 2pm. Tickets are $22 adults, $20 for seniors (65+) and $12 for students. The show is recommended for ages 13 and over. For tickets, call the box office (704-892-7953) between 9am and 4pm (M-F), or purchase tickets online anytime at www.DavidsonCommunityPlayers.org. Discounted tickets with reserved seats are available for groups of 10 or more.

Playing in the 1-year anniversary of the Songwriter Showcase at Summit Coffee on Thursday are, from left: Etta Lea Kuhlman, host Rob McHale, and E-S Guthrie.

By KARYN JESTER
DavidsonNews.net

Summer reading kicks off at the Davidson public library branch on Wednesday with stories, music and dancing on the Village Green. The Cornelius Outdoor Summer Cinema series opens this week with the movie “Where the Wild Things Are” outside JV Washam Elementary school. The Davidson Community Players will be presenting the play “Ragtime” starting Thursday at the Duke Performance Hall on the Davidson College campus. The Charlotte Symphony plays its “Musical Travels” program at the McGuire Nuclear Station on Friday and there’s a guided walking tour of Cornelius on Saturday. Meanwhile, Davidson’s Concerts on the Green are back Sunday, with the Beatles’ tribute band The Back Beat.

These events and more below, or in our day-by-day calendar at right. At right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas where “Green Lantern” opens, joining “The Hangover Part II,” “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “X-Men: First Class,” “Super 8,” and “Bridesmaids.” Read the full story

Charlotte's Blue Chip Jazz Band plays a Concert on the Green Sunday at 6 p.m. in downtown Davidson.

It’s reunion weekend at Davidson College, and the area is host to a pair of Saturday fund-raisers – the Loopy for a Cause 24-hour run for Batten’s Disease research, on the Davidson Village Green, and the Collier Lilly Ride 4 Life at Davidson College, to raise money and awareness for organ donation.  A new play festival opens this weekend at The Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius, featuring a collection of short plays called “Grave Comedies.” Rural Hill will be celebrating and re-enacting the wedding of the historic site’s founders on Saturday, and there’s a jazz Concert on the Green on Sunday.

These events and more below, or in our day-by-day calendar at right. At right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas where “X-Men: First Class” opens, joining “The Hangover Part II,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Kung Fu Panda 2,” and “Bridesmaids.”

Read the full story

Timothe Bittle (Coalhouse), Lisa Smith Bradley (center, Mother) and Zachary Halsey (Little Boy) star in "Ragtime" at Davidson Community Players.

Davidson Community Players have cast a big collection of familiar faces and newcomers in their upcoming production of Terrence McNally’s musical “Ragtime,” running June 16-25 at Duke Family Performance Hall at Davidson College. Also on the local theater schedule: Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius will stage a series of short plays called “Grave Comedies,” June 2-12. Plus news about youth auditions ahead at Davidson Community Players’ Connie Co. children’s theater.

Read the full story