High-end entertainment in the Valley as holiday season approaches

Sold out opera in Front Royal, sold out blues, jazz and gospel concert in Winchester, lots of classic stuff going on as we head into the holiday season at this end of the Shenandoah Valley and more planned in the new year.

Two nights of opera arias and duets at the Osteria 510 Italian Kitchen in Front Royal last weekend resulted in wait lists being created for both the Friday and Saturday night shows. In Winchester Friday (Nov. 10) at the Shenandoah University’s Armstrong Concert Hall you cannot buy a ticket for Irma Thomas, the Blind Boys of Alabama & the Preservation Hall Legacy Quintet, who converge for an evening showcasing the heart and soul of the Deep South.

Also being show-cased this weekend (Nov. 10-12) at the university’s Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre is “the funniest farce ever written” (New York Post) titled “Noises Off”, a Tony-award winning Broadway hit of yesteryear. This one I can attest to since it’s not the first time “Noises Off!” has landed in the area. Wayside Theatre performed it a few year’s ago and I could hardly critique it for laughing!  Don’t take young kids, however. What we choose to call “mature language” and even more “mature innuendo” thread their way throughout this play.

Looking ahead at live entertainment on offer in Winchester and Front Royal, there’s a symphony orchestra concert, guest conductor Carlos Izcaray, in the university concert hall on Veteran’s Day (Nov. 11, 8 p.m.).  The American Traditional Ensemble entertains for FREE on Nov. 13 in the Goodson Chapel – Recital Hall, featuring vocals, fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass and more. And in Front Royal the town’s Selah Theater on 8th Street presents “A Little Princess” this weekend and next while the Osteria folks plan another operatic weekend early in 2018, possibly February.

Ah! Another major musical work somewhere in the area, we presume. A special preview of “Jane Eyre the Musical” is advertised online playing Nov. 9, then Nov. 10- 25. Worth seeing, no doubt, but nowhere in the advertisement does it tell where. Since the ad posted a “sold out” sign for this Thursday’s show, somebody knows. But who?

Me, that’s who – our inquiry about the location revealed that it is at the Winchester Little Theatre at 315 Boscawen Street – with a 2 p.m. Saturday Matinee added on November 25.

Enjoy!