Sarah LaDuke

    Love them or love to hate them, embrace the glitter (however scratchy it may be) or deny the lure of those toe-tapping tunes - movie musicals have a storied - and serenaded - place in American popular culture.

Richard Barrios worked in the music and film industries before turning to film history with his award-winning book, A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film. His encore to that book is the new book, Dangerous Rhythm: Why Movie Musicals Matter.

    Founded in 1998, ETHEL is a New York City based string quartet acclaimed as “indefatigable and eclectic” by The New York Times and “vital and brilliant” by The New Yorker. Theirs is a quest for a common creative expression that is forged in the celebration of community - the group brings its collaborative discoveries to audiences through multi-dimensional musical repertoire and community engagement. Over the past four years, ETHEL has premiered 55+ new works by 20th- and 21st-century composers.

ETHEL will perform a program entitled “Grace” at The Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, MA on Saturday, June 21st at 8pm. Ralph Farris is the founding violist of ETHEL.

    Designer Russel Wright (1904 to 1976) revolutionized the American home through his contribution of inexpensive, mass produced dinnerware, furniture, appliances, and textiles.

  His home, studio, and woodland garden - collectively called Manitoga - are located in Garrison, NY. Manitoga is a National Historic Landmark, an Affiliate Site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and a World Monuments Watch Site. It is one of the few 20th century modern homes open to the public in New York State.

Here we speak with Allison Cross, the Executive Director of Manitoga.

    Barrington Stage Company the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA kicks off their 20th Anniversary Season with Kiss Me, Kate - with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Sam and Bella Spewack.

We are joined at The Linda by the production’s director, Joe Calarco, musical director, Darren Cohen and cast members Elizabeth Stanley, Paul Anthony Stewart, Mara Davi, Carlos Lopez, and Michael Dean Morgan.

    For twenty-two years, under Founding Conductor and Artistic Director Anna Dubrova, Ne'imah Jewish Community Chorus has served as the voice of Jewish choral music in the Capital District, exploring a rich musical heritage ranging from original works written by contemporary American and Israeli composers to choral arrangements of existing Jewish folk and liturgical music.

For the last few years their annual concert has taken place at The Linda in Albany, NY. This year’s concert is entitled "Songs of Freedom" and will feature guest artist, Peri Smilow. Peri has been touring the world for over twenty years, emphasizing music that promotes social progress and breaks down social barriers. She joins us now to tell us more about her music and her career.

  This Sunday, June 1st the High Meadow School, located in Stone Ridge, New York, will hold its 8th Annual Ride The Ridge Bike Challenge to raise funds to benefit the new High Meadow Performing Arts Center.

Bicycling Magazine has identified Ride the Ridge to its nationwide readership as one of the best cycling events in the month of June!

All bike routes go through Ulster County in the beautiful Hudson Valley beginning and ending at the High Meadow Performing Arts Center located on Rt. 209 in Stone Ridge, New York.

Here to tell us more are Michelle Hughes, Director of High Meadow School and Paul Rakov, Chairman of the Ride the Ridge Bike Challenge.

    The narrative feature, Fort Tilden, will screen twice at The Berkshire International Film Festival this weekend. Tomorrow at 9pm at The Triplex in Great Barrington and Saturday at 2pm at The Beacon in Pittsfield.

The film is the full-length feature debut co-written and co-directed by Sarah Violet Bliss and Charles Rodgers.

    Blue Gold: American Jeans is a feature-length documentary about how one unlikely garment ended up connecting us all. Following vintage jeans hunter Eric Schrader around the world, Blue Gold searches for the reason we all wear blue mining pants from the late 1800s.

An ambassador of Americana, Eric trades in the history, myth, and intrinsic values that have made blue jeans the most expensive and fetishized piece of vintage clothing on the planet. From fashion history and subculture aspiration to the lost tradition of American manufacturing, Blue Gold explores Americana in our globalized world, where cultural exchange and social responsibility demand greater transparency and inspire innovation.

Blue Gold: American Jeans will have its festival premiere at The Berkshire International Film Festival this weekend -- screening at 11:30am on Saturday at The Beacon in Pittsfield and again at 11:30am on Sunday at The Triplex in Great Barrington.

Filmmaker Christian Bruun joins us.

    Cherien Dabis is a Palestinian American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. When her debut feature-length film, Amreeka, was released in 2009, she was named one of Variety magazine's "10 Directors to Watch."

Her new feature, May in the Summer, is a culture clash drama-comedy and is tonight’s opening night film at the 9th Annual Berkshire International Film Festival.

In the film, May Brennan (played by Dabis) returns from New York City to her childhood home of Amman, Jordan for her wedding. Shortly after reuniting with her sisters and their long-since divorced parents, myriad familial and cultural conflicts lead May to question the big step she is about to take.

Cherien Dabis is in The Berkshires ready for the screening at BIFF tonight and she joins us, now.

  Formed in 2008, Red Baraat is a pioneering eight-piece band from Brooklyn, New York. Conceived by dhol player, drummer and composer Sunny Jain, the group has drawn worldwide praise for its singular sound -- a merging of hard driving North Indian bhangra rhythms with elements of jazz, go-go, brass funk, and hip-hop.

Red Baraat will play MASS MoCA’s 15th Anniversary Party this Saturday in North Adams, MA and Sunny Jain joins us to talk about the show, the band, and his upcoming NPR Music/Make Music New York event in June.