Entertainment

PUTNEY, VT—Next Stage Arts will present Buddhadeva, a solo performance by Akaina Ghosh, on Friday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. at 15 Kimball Hill in Putney. Doors open at 6:45 p.m.

Both a love letter and a conjuring, Buddhadeva is Ghosh’s deeply personal work in conversation with their great-grandfather, the prolific Bengali writer and poet Buddhadeva Bose. Set along the Ganga River, the performance moves through poetry, music, ritual, memory, and translation as Ghosh attempts to awaken the presence of an ancestor whose language they cannot speak.

PUTNEY — Next Stage Arts invites the community to celebrate 16 years of programming and the 10th anniversary of the major renovations that transformed its historic Putney church building into the vibrant community and performance center it is today.

Next Stage’s Sweet 16 takes place Friday, October 9, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill in Putney. The free event will feature cake, popcorn and snacks, a live instrumental trio, and a cash bar, followed by an upstairs DJ dance party beginning at 7:30 p.m.

PUTNEY, VT — Next Stage Arts presents a special screening of Harold Lloyd’s classic 1923 silent comedy Safety Last! on Friday, July 17 at 7:00 p.m., featuring a live improvised musical score by acclaimed pianist and composer Peter Tavalin. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill in Putney. Tickets are $10 and available at nextstagearts.org.

Silent films were never truly silent. During the early days of cinema, live musicians accompanied screenings, enhancing the action, emotion, and humor unfolding on screen. Tavalin continues that tradition with a spontaneous score created in real time, making each performance a unique artistic experience.

PUTNEY — The acclaimed 2024 documentary Far Out: Life On & After the Commune, directed and edited by Charles Light, will screen at Next Stage Arts on Friday, June 12, at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.

The screening will take place at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill in Putney. Tickets are $10 general admission and are available at nextstagearts.org.

A Q&A with director Charles Light, commune resident Verandah Porche, and composer and performer Patty Carpenter will follow the screening.

Next Stage Arts will host the Vermont Comedy All Stars Live Stand-up Comedy Showcase on Saturday, June 6, bringing together a lineup of comedians from Vermont, Boston, and New York City for an evening of stand-up comedy in Putney.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. at Next Stage Arts, with doors opening at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.

The showcase features Bitsy Biron, Raoul Biron, Maddie Cross, Kendall Farrell, and Gordon Clark.

PUTNEY, VT — The next installment in the ongoing film series curated by local filmmaker Alan Dater brings audiences deep into the heart of country music history. The Nashville Sound, a rarely screened concert film captured at the height of the genre’s golden era, will be shown on Saturday, May 23 at Next Stage Arts.

Filmed in 1969 at the legendary Ryman Auditorium during the Grand Ole Opry birthday celebration, the film offers an intimate look at performances from some of country music’s most iconic figures, including Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, and Loretta Lynn. With its unfiltered, onstage perspective, the film captures the energy and authenticity of a live Opry performance at a pivotal moment in American music.

Next Stage Arts invites the community to a powerful evening of music, history, and film with a special screening of Sing Sing Thanksgiving on Saturday, May 9 at 7:00 PM. This event is the second in a three-film series presented by acclaimed regional filmmaker Alan Dater.

Produced in 1973, Sing Sing Thanksgiving documents a remarkable live performance at New York’s Sing Sing Prison featuring legendary artists B.B. King, Joan Baez, and others. Filmed at a time when few such events were captured on camera, the concert stands as a moving testament to the power of music to transcend walls and connect people across divides. King himself later described the performance as one of the greatest of his career, while the New York Daily News called it one of the most extraordinary moments in live entertainment.

Next Stage Arts invites you to a rare and powerful evening with one of America’s most iconic artists.

Filmed in 1968, Johnny Cash! The Man, His World, His Music (1h 34m), directed by Robert Elfstrom, captures Johnny Cash at a pivotal moment in his career. Shot in an unvarnished, up-close cinéma vérité style, the film follows Cash on the road and in concert with June Carter, the Carter Family, the Statler Brothers, and Carl Perkins.

The film is also deeply personal. Viewers are taken inside Cash’s home life with June Carter in Hendersonville, Tennessee; introduced to his parents and children in California; and brought back with him to his childhood hometown in Arkansas. One of the film’s most moving sequences was shot at the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, including footage at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre.

The Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) celebrates the Lunar New Year of China, Korea and Vietnam Sunday, February 8, 1:00-3:00. You don’t have to be Asian or know anything about Asia to participate! Join us at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center to usher in the year of the Red Fire Horse ushering in  a year focused on bold moves, exploration ,and potentially transformative change.

Join us for traditional Chinese Performances with Li Fei Osborne and her Mandarin language students, Chinese morning exercises and Qigong led by Cai Xi, and traditional New Year songs and crafts. We end our celebration with a Dragon parade up from the Museum towards Main Street to bring us luck for the coming year. 

If winter cabin fever has your household climbing the walls, Next Stage Arts has the perfect cure. On Saturday, Jan. 24 at 10:00 AM, families are invited to a lively, low-pressure morning event in Putney: Cereal & K-Pop: Cabin Fever Cure!

Held in the Next Stage Arts Community Room (15 Kimball Hill, Putney), this family-friendly gathering is designed to get kids—and adults—out of the house and having fun together. The morning kicks off with a build-your-own cereal bar, followed by about 30 minutes of classic indoor fun: board games, card games, and even Twister to shake off those winter cobwebs.

Next Stage Arts is thrilled to welcome back award-winning comedian and storyteller Adam Strauss for a special two-night engagement, featuring two of his acclaimed solo shows: The Mushroom Cure on Friday, January 9, and Before I Forget on Saturday, January 10.

Tickets are $22 in advance / $25 at the door or take advantage of a special $35 advance package for both nights. Tickets and details are available at nextstagearts.org.