A couple of years before Tiny Tim tiptoed through the tulips of America’s oddball garden of novelty singers, Mrs. Elva Miller (1907–1997) of southern California sharpened our appetite for the camp pleasure of the over-warbled, excruciating and off-pitch note. Now in the world-premiere of Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing at the Vineyard Playhouse, Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway director and writer James Lapine brings us the story of the rise and fall of this songstress and, well, the truth must be told: laughingstock.
Wearing matching grey fleeces, the children from the 33rd Watoto Children’s Choir filed out of the pews of the Faith Community Church Sunday, smiling broadly as they approached the altar. Standing side by side in a few short lines, one behind the other, the 17 children — along with four of their adult leaders — were ready to sing. When they did, the smiles on the church members faces matched those of the children.
Irish musicians are melting the membrane that once separated the flute, fiddle and pipes from the driving baselines and hip-swiveling rhythms of modern music — and three free-wheeling members of the band Lunasa will show how it’s done at a concert Saturday, Sept. 6, at 8 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven.
Lagoon Music
Jazz pianist John Alaimo will give a sunset serenade on Sunday, August 31, when Pam and Jim Butterick open their home at 359 Barnes Road for a benefit evening of music on the Lagoon. From 6:30 to 10 p.m., there will be great music and light refreshment and, with luck, a lovely sunset over the lagoon.
A donation of $50 will be taken at the door to benefit the Steeple Fund of the Federated Church in Edgartown. For details, call the church office at 508-627-4421 or the Buttericks at 508-693-6871.
Kenny Lockwood and Red Road are making a rare appearance on the Island at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown, Saturday, August 30, at 8 p.m.
The Aquinnah Public Library will be host to a community celebration on Saturday, August 30, from noon to 3 p.m. The event is free and will be held on the grounds of the library on State Road in Aquinnah. In case of rain, the event will be held inside the old town hall across State Road.
Two musical guests will perform: the Wampanoag tribe’s own Black Brook Drummers will perform at noon and Sol y Canto, a popular Latin music group from Cambridge at 2 p.m.