"The Man in My Head," a new musical by Associate Professor Thomas DeFrantz (book) and Michael Wartofsky (music and lyrics), will receive its first New York City reading by Broadway performer Darius De Haas at 113 Second Ave., on March 20-21 at 7 p.m. The one-man musical, written specifically for De Haas, chronicles the affairs of a 20-something gay African-American man finding his way through the urban minefield of relationships in New York City, circa 2005. Admission is free but advance reservations are required by calling 212-992-9322.
Beth Coleman, assistant professor in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, will present an artist talk with Howard Goldkrand titled, "Electrotectural Now: Recent Work in the Investigation of Invisible Information," at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) on Wednesday, March 30. Coleman began collaborating with Goldkrand in 1995 with the SoundLab Cultural Alchemy project, a nomadic multimedia event. Their work takes on multiple forms and genres, including sound, media sculpture, software, installation, site mappings and text. Their SMFA talk will take place from 6-8 p.m. in Building B B311 (Visual & Critical Studies Lecture Hall).
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), conducted by James Levine, will present the world premiere of "Darkbloom, Overture for an Imagined Opera" by Institute Professor John Harbison at Symphony Hall March 24-26. Harbison based the work on remnants from an opera project he'd chosen not to continue, taking the name from Vivian Darkbloom, a secondary character in Nabokov's "Lolita." "Darkbloom," Harbison says, "effectively conjures up the mood of this overture���[serving] as an emblem or anagram for the complex tragic-comic spirit of the story and its author."
Concerts are on Thursday, March 24, at 8 p.m.; Friday, March 25, at 1:30 p.m.; and Saturday, March 25, at 8 p.m. There will be an open rehearsal of this program on Wednesday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m., with a prerehearsal talk at 6:30 p.m. in Symphony Hall. Tickets range from $27-$105 with rehearsal tickets priced at $16. Tickets can be purchased through SymphonyCharge at (617) 266-1200 or (888) 266-1200, in person at the Symphony Hall box office, or through www.bso.org.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on March 16, 2005 (download PDF).
