Ragtime revue to open Arcady summer season

BANGOR – A turn-of-the-century vaudeville show will roll into Bangor, Dover-Foxcroft, Bucksport and Skowhegan this week as part of Arcady Music Festival’s summer season.

Performances will take place at 7 p.m. Monday at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bangor; 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Congregational Church in Dover-Foxcroft; 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport; and 7 p.m. Thursday at Centenary Methodist Church in Skowhegan. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $7.50 for ages 18 and under.

While Arcady is known primarily for its chamber concerts, the Ragtime Revue is an eagerly awaited annual tradition. It usually takes place in the middle of the summer performance season, but this year, the directors decided to kick off the season with ragtime.

“There are people who count on this every year,” Gordon Lutz, a member of Arcady’s board of directors, said Friday. “We have a very loyal ragtime following.”

Ragtime regulars should expect something a little different this year, however.

The performance usually includes music by a full ragtime orchestra. This summer, artistic director Masanobu Ikemiya has followed his own passion and focused on piano music.

Pianists Glenn Jenks of Maine and Scott Kirby of Idaho will tickle the ivories with Ikemiya, while Mimi Blais of Montreal will provide vocal and piano accompaniment. Returning favorite Gene Nichols will round out the mix with his vaudeville act.

In addition to the performance, a lecture and demonstration of ragtime history will take place an hour before each show. A full ragtime program sponsored by Arcady started Friday night in Bar Harbor and continues through the weekend.

A highlight of the Bar Harbor Ragtime Weekend is a silent film with live musical accompaniment. In years past, the silent film has been part of the traveling show, as well, but this year it isn’t. Even without the film, Lutz says, the Ragtime Revue promises to be serious fun.

“The emphasis on these ragtime concerts is No. 1, first-rate, top quality musical performances,” Lutz said. “These are very serious musicians involved. It’s not casual from the standpoint of musicality, but it is enormously entertaining and fun for people of all ages.

“It’s very light-hearted. It’s fast, it’s energetic, and it’s just plain fun.”

Tickets are available at the door or at Patrick’s Hallmark, Lippincott Books and BookMarc’s in Bangor; The Pretty Woman in Orono; Mr. Paperback in Dover-Foxcroft; Premier Home Video and Tillson’s True Value Hardware in Dexter; Heart’s Desire in Guilford; and Russikoff’s Jewelry and the Chamber of Commerce in Skowhegan.