Zalem Zombies on the Prowl in Salem

Posted by Shelley A. Sackett

Above: Frank Vieira, center, and some of his students reading ‘Zalem, Mass.’ Books, or holding up posters from the series. From left, front row: Helina Almonte, Frank Vieira (me), Richard Morrison; middle row: Mark Savio, Cortney Cook, Julia Chen, Precious Ifeacho; and back row: Olivia Bowers, Angelina Auth./COURTESY PHOTOS

By Shelley A. Sackett

salem@wickedlocal.com

Frank Vieira is not your typical history teacher. By day, the 47-year-old lifelong Salem resident engages Lynn’s Thurgood Marshall Middle School eighth graders with lessons about World History, covering the time period from Ancient Greece until the Enlightenment.

But once he leaves his classroom for the day, the mild-mannered father of five shifts gears and dons his other persona: Frank Vieira, creator and marketer of “Zalem, Mass.”, a comic book series about surviving a Zombie Apocalypse.

“‘Zalem, Mass.’ is not your typical zombie story. It is rich with emotion and quite often brings its readers to tears,” Vieira said, noting he deliberately included actual Salem locations, such as Forest River Pool, Market Basket, Winter Island and Steve’s Quality Market in the action-packed series. “Readers will be hard pressed to not be thinking about seeing zombies no matter where in the city they might go. Using actual geography truly helps to bring the story to life and give it a real feel.”

The cover of ‘Zalem, Mass.’ was designed by Salem artist Christina Robichau and author Frank Vieira.

The zombie craze that is sweeping the globe, and especially the television series, “The Walking Dead,” is the backbone of Vieira’s inspiration to write his comic book series. “This global fascination was no different in my household, where my five kids and I frequently found ourselves having numerous discussions about what we would do if a Zombie Apocalypse ever actually happened,” he said. As the stories and ideas the family tossed around grew in richness and detail, so did Vieira’s motivation to write them down, and “just like that, ‘Zalem, Mass.’ was born.”

Since the story is based on the Vieira family’s brainstorming sessions, the series uses actual people, centering on the Vieira family.

In a nutshell, “Zalem, Mass.” tells the story of a how a normal and unsuspecting family deals with the onset of a Zombie Apocalypse as it approaches their home in Salem. The father takes immediate action to keep his family safe and together, eventually building a sanctuary at Winter Island, which they call “Constantinople.” “Being a history teacher, I based this Safe Zone on the Byzantine capital, now called Istanbul and located in modern day Turkey,” Vieira said.

Originally, he wanted to take his story “on the road” and have the characters travel the countryside for one reason or another, “but Salem is the Witch City. Not only does it have so much spooky history, but it also has become the Halloween Mecca for millions of people,” he said.

Once Vieira decided to set the series in Salem, he came up with the idea of covering the “S” on an “Entering Salem” road sign with a bloody “Z”. He brought the concept to his close friend and local artist, Christina Robichau, and together they designed the final book cover with a bunch of zombie arms reaching for the bloody city.

In May 2013, Vieira started the Zalem, Mass. fan-page on Facebook and invited a few people to the site. After he added the cover image, he received requests for posters and t-shirts. “I literally made everything from coffee mugs to beach bags, to phone covers… Whatever people wanted, I made and sold via the fan-page,” he said.

Friends of friends invited friends of their friends. As soon as Vieira finished writing a chapter, he posted teasers, works-in-progress for some of the artwork, and, eventually, the finished artwork. “With each new image, people wanted new posters and t-shirts, etc.,” he said.

“I also had five or six test readers who I allowed to read my first drafts in order to get feedback. When they began posting how awesome they thought the story was, more and more people continued to look forward to the book’s eventual release date,” he added.

Last year, Vieira ran his first Kickstarter campaign for 30 days, with the goal of raising $5,000. He raised over $6,000, with many fans literally buying their way into the storyline. Larry Harrison, owner of Harrison’s Comics in Salem and a strong supporter of the “Zalem, Mass.” series, pledged $500 to become a character in Vieira’s Book 1:Constantinople and Book 2:Loss, and to have a major scene take place in his store in Book 3. A second Kickstarter this summer raised another $3,000.

Armed with funding, a title and a cover, Vieira began writing Book 1 in earnest. He plumbed Facebook to meet Marvel and DC artists, Thor Mangila and Michael Magallanes, two Philippines residents who created much of the book’s artwork. “I have been reading comic books for the last 40 years and have met many creators by writing letters or chatting on Facebook. Some I met in person at comic conventions, and one [Ed Beard] I met at the King Richard’s Faire,” Vieira said.

With $10,000 from Books 1 and 2 pre-orders, Vieira was able to pay for the artwork, copyright and publishing expenses. After several frustrating experiences with potential publishers, he decided to self-publish with Amazon.com. Currently, “Zalem, Mass.” has more than 13,000 hits on its website (zalemmass.com) and more than 2,100 worldwide fans on its fan-page (facebook.com/zalemmass).

Student Yen-Nhi Chit and author Frank Vieira show a poster of her Book 2 artwork, making her a published artist.

As a teacher, Vieira uses his books to encourage his students to follow their dreams and do whatever makes them happy. He shares the writing process and what publishing a book entails with his students and their families. His classroom is filled with original drawings and paintings by many of his comic artist friends. He was even able to get one of his students, Yen-Nhi Chit, who he discovered was “an amazing artist”, published in “Book 2: Loss” by pairing her with one of the Marvel/DC colorists. “Now she is not only a published artist, but she has also made her first serious contact in the art field. Not too bad for a 14-year-old young lady,” Vieira shared with tremendous pride.

“My central idea is to serve as a role model for my students and their families by being an example and showing them that anything is possible if they dream big, and then chase after their dreams and make them a reality,” Vieira said.

Vieira will be available at Harrison’s Comics at 252 Essex St., Salem, on Saturday October 24 from 1 to 3 p.m. for a book signing to celebrate publication of “Zalem, Mass. Book 2: Loss.” For more information, visit facebook.com/zalemmass and zalem

A Hallowed Time for Witches, Warlocks

Posted by Shelley A. Sackett

Above:Warlocks Brian Cain, left, and Christian Day practice the religion of witchcraft. Here they celebrate their wedding at Hammond Castle. COURTESY PHOTO

By Shelley A. Sackett / salem@wickedlocal.com

SALEM

For practicing Warlocks Christian Day and Brian Cain, Salem’s nickname, “Witch City,” is more than a marketing slogan and Halloween is more than a retail second Christmas.

“Witchcraft is one of the oldest spiritual paths that occurs in cultures throughout the world,” explained Day from the home he shares with Cain in New Orleans. “It’s a time when spirits walk among us. It’s a time when we remember those who have gone before who touched our lives in some way.”

Both Day and Cain stress that witchcraft is a religious faith, a belief system that includes magic, clairvoyance, and male and female deities. “We all see God in different images,” said Cain, who read the book “Raymond Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft” as a 15-year-old interested in the occult. The book was an eye-opener for the teen, who already accepted witchcraft as a source of magic. “It was a new way of looking at God and brought witchcraft into my life as a religion,” he said.

Born in Beverly to a “very Catholic, Democrat, Massachusetts family,” Day moved to Salem at age 4 and became a practicing witch at 18 after discovering Tarot cards the year before. Although his mother was “a little freaked out” at her son’s embracing witchcraft, his family understood that he was not doing anything harmful. Nonetheless, “people in our family will needle anybody about anything,” Day said with a chuckle.

After a traditional career in advertising at the prestigious Arnold firm, Day decided to leave that world in his 30s and practice witchcraft full-time in Salem.

Day became aware of a movement in the city that was trying to rid Salem of its witch identity. In 2003, Destination Salem, the city’s official Office of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, wouldn’t allow Day to join. “They said we didn’t fit their mission statement which, at the time, was devoted solely to ‘arts and culture,'” Day explained. This potential disenfranchisement was the impetus for his founding Festival of the Dead in 2003.

[When Kim Driscoll became Mayor in 2005, Day did join Destination Salem, ending up on the Board of Directors in 2010, a post he left after relocating to New Orleans.]

“Festival of the Dead was created to bring back the concept that Halloween is a sacred time of the year. We don’t want to get rid of the fun of Halloween. But we also want to show it has a spiritual side and that Salem has room for witches and their magic. There’s a place at the table for the magical community of Salem,” Day said.

During the month of October, the Festival hosts the Annual Psychic Fair and Witchcraft Expo at Museum Place Mall at 176 Essex St., Salem. Besides presenting an emporium of “magical gifts”, those interested can have a Tarot card reading, a crystal ball scrying or a private visit with a medium. Nearby, Enchanted Alley “magical marketplace” is chockfull of vendors selling crystals, jewelry, spell kits, voodoo dolls and more.

There are also more serious ticketed events such as “Hekate: Unveiling the Queen of the Dead,” “Speaking to the Dead with Laurie Cabot,” “The Horned God: Lord of Death and Resurrection with Brian Cain” and of course, the “Official Salem Witches’ Halloween Ball” on Oct. 31, featuring the Dragon Ritual Drummers and old-fashioned rituals and magic.

Day and Cain, who met on Facebook over a witchcraft discussion and then connected in New Orleans in person and “really hit it off,” were married at Hammond Castle in Gloucester on Nov. 16, 2014, a night sacred to the Witch Goddess Hekate. The castle was also the location of a music video for the song “Voodoo” by the band Godsmack; the video featured Salem’s Official Witch Laurie Cabot.

The couple owns two witchcraft shops in Salem, Hex and Omen. Day believes stores like theirs help people to understand what witchcraft is and to reconnect to their spirituality. He compares customers who buy a lucky charm or light a wish candle to lapsed Catholics who might visit Vatican City and look up at the Sistine Chapel and feel closer to God.
“They don’t necessarily want to become a priest or a nun, but they want to feel that connection. This is what goes on in Salem,” he said.

“People coming to Salem and going into a witch shop — most of them aren’t witches and they don’t want to be witches. What they want is to believe in magic again,” Day added.
Both Day and Cain turn serious when asked what their favorite Festival of the Dead event is and answer almost in unison: The Dumb Supper: Dinner with the Dead (so named because no one may speak throughout the event). “This is really the most spiritual event we have,” Cain explained. “It’s a time when we connect to our loved ones who have passed on and it’s a very specific experience.”

Day said his favorite thing about the Dumb Supper is that every year they get “the husbands,” those men dragged to the event by their wives. Although they weren’t interested in attending, after the evening they invariably approach Day and Cain with stories about seeing or touching their loved ones and ask the same question: “How is that possible?”

“These are the things that really inspire me. If someone goes in expecting nothing and then they get something, it so reinforces the idea of the spiritual world. It’s the most sacred thing a witch can do,” Day said. “Salem is the place to go if you want to believe in magic again.”

For more information, visit festivalofthedead.com.

Funding Cancer Research: ACS Fights the Good Fight

Posted by Shelley A. Sackett

Above: Aaron Goldman, Ph.D., American Cancer Society pay-if grantee.

By Shelley A. Sackett

This year, 1.6 million Americans will receive a new cancer diagnosis. Yet, federal funding for cancer research is at its lowest ebb in decades, according to American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

“It’s scary what we’re doing nationally with funding,” said Tom Flanagan, Interim Senior Director of the New England Division of the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Tom Flanagan

In 2014, cancer caused 585,720 deaths in the United States, or one fourth of all reported deaths. According to the ACS, the number of new cancer cases is expected to rise by almost forty percent by 2030. Yet, federal funding of medical research has remained flat for more than a decade when adjusted for inflation.

The U.S.’s National Institute of Health (NIH) is the largest source of funding for medical research in the world. Since 2003, however, its inflation-adjusted appropriation is down 23 percent, according to the ASCO. The NIH budget peaked in fiscal year 2010 at $30.9 billion, falling to $30.3 billion for fiscal year 2015.

Diminished resources have had immediate effects. For example, patient enrollment in NIH’s clinical trials network decreased from 29,000 patients in 2009 to 20,000 in 2013. Clinical trials are a critical step in bringing potential new therapies to the marketplace.

Next to the federal government, the ACS is the largest private funder of cancer research, subsidizing 809 research grants in the U.S. worth $438 million in 2015. Of that national total, $47.5 million, or over ten percent, is earmarked to fund 96 Massachusetts grants.

In addition, the ACS’s multi-disciplinary review panel sometimes approves applications that are beyond that year’s funding resources. Called “pay-if” grants, individual donors who wish to support research that would not otherwise be funded subsidize the work. In 2014, these individual donors stepped up to contribute more than $8.8 million in funding, financing 46 additional “pay-if” grants.

One pay-if grantee is Aaron Goldman, Ph.D., an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who was a fellow with ACS for three years, until this past July. He received a $150,000 research grant to study the biological mechanism that makes some breast cancer cells resistant to cancer therapy. His goal was to develop a drug that would attack this mechanism.

“The focus of our work is not just to keep testing and playing with pathways and molecules, but to really make something come to fruition. There is a huge unmet need, particularly when it comes to cancer cells’ resistance to chemotherapy,” he said. In fact, he and his team have developed drugs that they know are working. “We got a lot of great research accomplished in just three years,” he said proudly.

Goldman and his team are currently seeking private funding to expand these drugs into a full-fledged company so they can study and license them. With the right funding, these new therapies could be market-ready within a year-and-a-half, Goldman estimates, improving a cancer patient’s overall therapeutic outcome and preventing relapse.

Over the course of his 15-year involvement in cancer research, which started as an undergraduate and then graduate student at the University of Arizona, he has had a lot of experience with foundation and government grants. ACS is unique among funders.

“ACS brings you in as family. You’re interacting with the actual funders and the patient population. All the work I’m doing gets communicated throughout the community of administrators and the grant committee,” he said. By contrast, NIH is more anonymous and diffuse. “You feel a little more detached from the population that you’re trying to help – the people suffering from cancer.”

Goldman’s main takeaway from his experience with medical research and securing funding is that foundation grants are crucial in the current fiscal environment that has created even fiercer competition for federal grants, making it very difficult for a young investigator to even qualify for one.

“It’s the old paradigm of applying for a job without the experience but you need the job to get the experience. These foundation grants, like ACS, have been fantastic in filling those gaps,” he said.

ACS is trying to get Congress to refill NIH cancer research funding gaps by increasing appropriations. In 2001, it created ACS Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) to amplify the organization’s work in the public policy arena. As the nation’s leading nonprofit, nonpartisan cancer advocacy organization, ACS CAN promotes its agenda of fighting cancer at the state and federal levels. ACS provides 92 percent of ACS CAN’s 2015’s budget of $35.9 million. The other 8 percent is donated by individuals, health systems and companies.

“We hold candidates as well as lawmakers accountable for their stance on public policies that we know will make a positive impact on fighting cancer,” said Shalini Vallabhan, ACS CAN Vice President of Government Relation in New England. With one million volunteers nationwide, trained volunteers in every congressional district and a lobbyist and grass roots manager in every state, the group is a political force to be reckoned with.

“We all know the level of partisanship that is taking place in Washington, D.C. Increasing funding for medical research is an area we see strong bipartisan support for,” Vallabhan said, pointing out that on July 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Bill 6, “The 21^st Century Cures Act” (congress.gov/bill/114-congress/house-bill/6) which provides for dedicated funding for NIH for the next five years at $1.75 million per year, or $8.75 million total.

The bill must next pass in the Senate before President Obama can sign it into law. Later this month, over 700 volunteers and ACS CAN staff will travel to Washington, D.C. to lobby lawmakers from all 435 congressional districts.

ACS would not receive any of this increased funding. “This is for the public good. We have to get the story out because it’s such an exciting time in life sciences and cancer treatment and if we continue to decrease funding from the federal government, it will have a ripple effect for decades in terms of research and science in these areas,” Vallabhan said.

Since its first cancer prevention study in the 1950’s linked smoking and lung cancer, ACS has funded long-term prospective studies on large groups of people to help researchers identify cancer risk factors. Currently, 300,000 people across the country are involved in a study that looks at lifestyle, medical history and changes in medical history, trying to uncover the next big link that can help in the fight to prevent cancer.

“We know that cancer will cost our economy over $200 billion in medical costs and lost productivity this year. We also know that 50 percent of cancer is preventable either through preventing tobacco use or ensuring good nutrition and proper physical activity, “Vallabhan said, pausing. “It’s common sense that it’s better both from a cost perspective and certainly in terms of impact on families and communities if we’re preventing the disease,” she added.

ACS CAN Outreach

June 2015 ACS CAN Research Breakfast, standing from left to right are: Shalini Vallabhan (Vice President of Government Relations, ACS CAN), Mike Ruggiero (Vice President of Government Relations, EMD Serono), Governor Baker, Paris Panayiotopoulos (President and Managing Director, EMD Serono), and Paul Guzzi (then – President, The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce).

Each year, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network brings together leaders from the life sciences ecosystem, health care systems, non-profit sector and businesses. The annual Research Breakfast highlights new breakthroughs in federal funding for cancer research and calls on policymakers to commit to increases in federal funding for the National Institute of Health and National Cancer Institute.

In June 2015, the 8^th annual event featured Governor Charlie Baker, Mayor Marty Walsh and Paul Guzzi from the Boston Chamber of Commerce as guest speakers. More than 80 percent of federal funding for the NIH and NCI (National Cancer Institute) is spent on biomedical research projects at research facilities across the country. In FY 2015, researchers in Massachusetts received $2 billion in NIH funding, which supported more than 32,800 jobs across the state.

ACS CAN also launched the OneDegree project this year in partnership with Stand Up to Cancer to push for increased funding at the federal level. ASC CAN asks everyone to sign the petition at www.onedegreeproject.org. A two-minute video about the OneDegree campaign is at: facebook.com/video.php?v=10152839454796378&set=vb.6355071377&type=2&theater.

For more information or to donate to the American Cancer Society, visit http://www.cancer.org; for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, visit www.acscan.org, and for the One Degree project, visit http://action.acscan.org/site/PageNavigator/OneDegree_Microsite_Petition_Page.html.

Bakers Island Lighthouse Has 1,017 Visitors During its First Season

Posted by Shelley A. Sackett

Above: Former lighthouse keepers Lorraine and Randall Anderson with 2015 keepers Mary Hillery and Greg Guckenburg. /COURTESY PHOTOS

By Shelley A. Sackett / salem@wickedlocal.com
On Labor Day, the Naumkeag departed from the Salem Ferry dock at 10 Blaney St. and travelled the five miles to Bakers Island for the last time of the 2015 season. It carried the island’s 1,017th visitor this summer.

Passengers board The Naumkeag at Bakers Island.

It was just about a year ago when 40 people took the same trip, their landing at Bakers Island’s rocky coast symbolic of the rocky start of the relationship between the fiercely private summer island residents and the Essex National Heritage Commission.

The 2014 visitors included a uniformed Coast Guard rear admiral, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and Annie Harris, chief executive of Essex Heritage. They were aboard to celebrate the official handover of the Bakers Island Light Station from the Coast Guard to Essex Heritage, a nonprofit management organization for the hundreds of historic, cultural and natural places in Essex County.

Bakers Island is a 60-acre island in Salem Sound with a fiercely private summer colony of about 55 cottages. Its 100 or so residents tried for years to win control of the masonry lighthouse — and the 10-acre property where it sits alongside two keeper’s houses — from the federal government, which has owned and operated it since 1798.

The residents lost their battle and on Aug. 27, 2014, the deed was transferred to Essex Heritage. The organization got right to work raising money to fund restoration of the lighthouse, keeper’s houses, and the lantern and oil buildings.

“We obtained a substantial $10,000 grant from the Daughters of the American Revolution which gave us the initial ‘boost’ to take on the renovation of the lighthouse tower,” said Harris. Essex Heritage also started a Kickstarter campaign, which, owing to the generosity of the many “Bakers Backers,” exceeded its $30,000 fundraising goal and gave the project great visibility.

“Thanks to mason Marty Nally and his crew, the lighthouse project was completed on time and on budget,” said Harris.

Restoration of the lighthouse was extensive and labor intensive. Essex Heritage also made substantial progress on the renovations of the assistant keeper’s house and restored some of the original pathways on the west side of the property, cutting through bittersweet and sumac to open up some good water views.

Visitors check out the lighthouse on Bakers Island.

The renovated lighthouse had a constant flow of visitors this summer, at $35 a ticket. Annie Harris was pleased. “The summer went extremely well,” she said. “Our volunteer couple Greg Guckenburg and Mary Hillery – and their black lab Mitch – were super. Not only did they accomplish a lot of work on both the exterior grounds and interior renovation of the assistant keeper’s house, they also were very hospitable and welcoming to the visitors. Mary studied the history of the light station and was a very gracious and enthusiastic hostess. She greeted every boat tour.”

Peter Golden, president of the Bakers Island Wharf Company, which functions as the residents’ association, echoed Harris’ assessment of how the island’s first summer being open to the public went. “Overall we were very pleased at how smoothly the tours went this summer, and we look forward to continued cooperation with Essex Heritage,” he said.

There is a lot to do to “put the property to bed” for the winter and then gear up again in the spring. The plumbing needs to be drained, boats put away and equipment stored. Harris has identified an energetic volunteer couple for next summer and will work with them over the winter to create the work plan for next summer.

Essex Heritage plans to apply for another grant soon. There will not be another Kickstarter campaign just yet, even though the first one was so successful financially. “It was a great experience – not only because of the money we raised, but also because of the excellent publicity and lots of new friends who support the Bakers Light Station,” Harris said.

For now, she is delighted to have been instrumental in gaining access to an Essex County treasure for the 1,017 visitors. “I’ve seen the light,” she said with a twinkle in her voice. “Have you?”

It’s Blue Collar versus Blue Blood in “Gloucester Blue”

Posted by Shelley A. Sackett

By Shelley A. Sackett

Latham (Robert Walsh) closes in on Lexi (Esme Allen).
All photos by Gary Ng

If the purpose of theater is to entertain, Israel Horovitz has hit the nail squarely on the head in Gloucester Stage’s New England premiere of his latest Gloucester-based play, “Gloucester Blue”. The founding artistic director of Gloucester Stage, who directs this production, introduced his new play last Saturday evening to a packed house that greeted him with affection and applause.

“Let’s see how you feel after the play,” he said, chuckling.

The internationally honored and acclaimed playwright need not have worried. His black comedy with more twists and turns than Route 127 left the audience cheering amid thunderous clapping.

Latham and Stumpy (Francisco Solorzano) get to know each other.

In a nutshell, a young super wealthy couple (Lexi Carrington and Bradford Ellis IV, aka “Bummy”) is restoring an abandoned former fishing cannery in Gloucester’s Fort area as their summer home and display space for their collection of antique cars. They hire local housepainter, Stumpy, to do the renovation. He in turn hires a friend-of-a-friend, Latham, when the couple wants the house in move-in condition earlier than they originally planned. Both workmen are from solid blue-collar backgrounds and grew up in the working waterfront neighborhood of Eastern Point.

The play opens with Stumpy (Francisco Solorzano) and Latham (the electrifying Robert Walsh, whose performance is worth the price of admission) in the drop cloth-draped attic loft where they get to know each other as they plaster and spackle. Although they are kindred souls geographically, their spirits are anything but.

Stumpy favors National Public Radio and Latham, at least ten years his senior, is an Aerosmith devotee. In one of dozens of laugh-out-loud moments, Latham says, “NPR can make ice cream sound depressing.” First impressions prove deceiving throughout “Gloucester Blue”, and Latham’s unrefined patter belies a keen sense of observation and a razor sharp sense of self-preservation.

Stumpy and Lexi brazenly flirt in front of the dumbfounded Latham.

The boisterous banter changes the instant Lexi (played by Esme Allen with a perfect, nasal Brahmin clenched jaw) shows up with paint samples. She is a knockout blond patrician clad head to heel in clothes that cost more than Latham and Stumpy’s week’s paychecks combined. From the get go, it is clear there is more than an employer-employee between her and Stumpy.

As Lexi complains to Stumpy about being sexually harassed earlier in the week, Latham relishes insulting Lexi as he mocks Stumpy. “I remember when harass was two words,” he says, clearly enjoying watching them squirm. Stumpy and Lexi get the upper hand when they ignore Latham and dash into the bedroom to “discuss renovation details.”

Latham continues to work, doing a slow burn that glows hotter with each passing minute. When Lexi’s husband, Bummy (played as a defeatist milquetoast by Lewis D. Wheeler) arrives, you can almost smell Latham’s scheming brain start to work overtime.

In addition to adultery, the noir-ish play brings in humor, a choreographed fight, blackmail, murder and betrayal. The plot coils and curls as secrets are spilled and transformed into lies and mayhem.

Bummy (Lewis D. Wheeler) gets a pointer from Latham.

The first half of the first act drags a bit as Stumpy and Latham establish their characters and stake their ground. Part of the problem is Solorzano’s flat and un-nuanced performance as Stumpy. Fortunately, Walsh is up to the task of taking up the slack. He brings physicality, impeccable timing and a believable delivery to Latham. Likewise, the choreographed fight between the two Gloucester workmen overstays its welcome.

Act two is another story, meandering into ridiculous plot twists and comedic staging. At times, it feels like we have wandered into a completely different play, one that resembles “Fractured Fairy Tales” form the “Rocky and Bullwinkle Show” more than a philosophical observation of class warfare between the 99- and 1-percenters.

“Gloucester Blue” is full of introspection, clever dialogue and inventive story lines. Most importantly, however, it is exceptionally entertaining. No doubt, its run in its home town will be as rousting a success as its previous runs in theaters in New York, Washington and Florida.

“Gloucester Blue” runs through October 3 at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 E. Main St., Gloucester, Wednesday through Sunday. Following the 2 p.m. performances Sunday, Sept. 20 and 27, audiences are invited to free post show discussions with the artists. For tickets go to gloucesterstage.com or call 978-281-4433.

“Strandbeests” on the Loose at PEM’s Groundbreaking New Exhibit

Posted by Shelley A. Sackett

By Shelley A. Sackett / salem@wickedlocal.com

Americus Umericus, Scheveningen beach, Netherlands (2009). Courtesy of Theo Jansen. Photo by Loek van der Klis.

SALEM

When the Peabody Essex Museum’s Trevor Smith encountered Dutch artist Theo Jansen’s jaw-dropping Strandbeests (“beach animals”), he knew he had to bring them to PEM. Like most people, Smith first saw them on the Internet, “walking” sideways on Scheveningen Beach in The Hague. He was hooked on the spot.

“I wanted to show what makes perpetual motion possible and that there is great inspiration in the world,” Smith said. “We all have ideas; we all have creativity. Theo is the poster child for Present Tense Initiative. He is the personification of the blending of the arts.”

The PEM’s Present Tense Initiative, curated by Smith, celebrates the central role that creative expression plays in shaping the world today, and pushes the boundaries of what a museum experience can be.

Four years in the making, “Strandbeest: The Dream Machines of Theo Jansen” opens on Saturday, Sept. 19 and is the first large-scale presentation of Jansen’s Strandbeests in the U.S. With its multi-sensory approach that invites touching and playing, it is a must-see exhibit for all ages.

“I wanted an exhibit that would be hands on and contemplative with zones of the intellectual and experiential, which I hope will translate to our audience,” said Smith. With multi-media displays, large-scale kinetic sculptures, artist sketches, immersive video and photography by Lena Herzog, the Russian photographer who spent more than seven years documenting the Strandbeests’ evolution, Smith’s goal is exceeded.

Trevor Smith (left), PEM Curator of the Present Tense, and Theo Jansen, creator of Strandbeests. (Shelley A. Sackett)

Jansen defies pigeonholing. He is a magician, a physicist, an artist, an engineer, a philosopher, a theologian, and a choreographer, and he calls on all these personae to create his kinetic universe where pistons, crankshafts and complex leg systems transform inert plastic tubing into living beings that dance at the ocean’s edge.

Using lightweight PVC, which is common in Dutch households, and zip ties, Jansen has invented a new species that he describes as “migration animals that have a lot of patience.” Visitors marvel and empathize with these fragile, skeletal creatures that capture imaginations and pull at heartstrings.

Twenty-five years ago, Jansen, wearing his physicist’s hat, set out to design a machine that could pile sand onto the Dutch eroding coastline. The utilitarian project was meant to take one year. Instead, his Strandbeests hit a very deep chord in Jansen’s psyche, reminding him of the origins of life and inspiring him to create an entire new species, complete with life cycles, evolutionary adaptations, fossil records and, despite their Star Wars appearance, deep roots in reality.

The author with one of the many hands-on exhibits (John Andrews/Social Palates (socialpalatesphotography.com)

“I dreamed that I would give a new specimen to the world,” Jansen told members of the press at a preview of his exhibit. Normally, evolution takes millions of years to occur, but Jansen recently decided to share the genetic algorithm (the Strandbeest’s DNA, which he refers to as his “holy numbers”) that he created on his Atari computer in order to speed up and enrich the process.

“Thousands of students have been making Strandbeests since I published the DNA on the website. That’s how Strandbeests reproduce and survive the wind; they are sitting on students’ shelves,” Jansen said with the seriousness of a biology professor. “These mutants that are created by students might reproduce faster than mine, discovering a solution to survival on the beach.” He estimates that over the next 20 years, the animals will evolve to a point where they can exist on their own.

When Jansen talks about his creatures, the line blurs between fantasy and reality, invention and nature. His Strandbeests are “like my children. You create them, you nurture them, and then you kick them out of the house to live their own lives,” he said with a hint of a smile. He has created a phylogenetic family tree and evolutionary periods with names like the Strap Period, the Hot Period and the Less Hot Period. If Theodor Seuss Geisel had been an engineer, he might have been team-teaching with Jansen.

At the end of the presentation, Jansen stood in front of one of his Strandbeests and in what was the evening’s greatest understatement said, “You can see that I’ve been working hard the last few years.”

Strandbeest: The Dream Machines of Theo Jansen opens Sept. 19 at the Peabody Essex Museum, 161 Essex St., Salem. The exhibit will run through Jan. 3, after which it will travel to the Chicago Cultural Center and San Francisco’s Exploratorium. For more information, visit pem.org/strandbeest.

PEM Hires National Gallery of Art Curator

Posted by Shelley A. Sackett

By Shelley A. Sackett / salem@wickedlocal.com

Peabody Essex Museum has appointed Sarah Kennel, Ph.D., as its new curator of photography. Kennel joins the PEM this month after a nine-year curatorial tenure at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where she helped oversee the National Gallery’s permanent collection and managed an active exhibition program.

“Sarah’s comprehensive knowledge of the artistic and technological history of the medium, combined with her appetite for the interdisciplinary and photography’s dialogue with multiple art forms, will advance PEM’s reputation as a top-flight cultural destination that provides fascinating, provocative experiences with photography,” said Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, PEM’s James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes Chief Curator, in a press release.

Kennel, who holds a Ph.D. in art history from the University of California in Berkley and an undergraduate degree from Princeton University, is excited by PEM’s vast 800,000-piece photography collection.

“The sheer number of photographs in the collection is both exhilarating and daunting,” Kennel said by e-mail. “I am also intrigued by such a rich and unusual collection that has been formed so early, relative to other photography collections, and yet remains to be fully explored.”

She is particularly interested in the significant collections of 19th-century photographs made in Asia. Although the traditional history of photography centers on France, Britain and, to a lesser extent, America, it was, she pointed out, a global medium that traveled across the world and was adapted in many different ways for different purposes.

“I think the PEM’s collection can illuminate this complex story and also help us understand the widespread appeal and importance of photography from its origins to today — it was, from 1839 on, the most social of media,” she said.

Kennel is known for curating interdisciplinary exhibitions that pair photography with, for example, dance, costumes, textiles, film and music. While her primary focus will be on the photography collection and organizing exciting photography exhibitions, she looks forward to bringing this penchant for interdisciplinary displays to the PEM.

“After all,” she said, “the museum has been a leader in unconventional, exciting, mixed media installations. I think the first order of business will be to collaborate with my colleagues across the museum to integrate photography into mixed-media displays in the galleries, a goal that is already in place, but I am always thinking about how photography interacts and resonates with different forms of visual culture. I am especially interested in the rich relationship between photography, the birth of early film and the historical avant-garde — we’ll see where it goes.”

When Kennel was 4 years old, her father, a physicist, accepted a one-year sabbatical appointment in Paris. She recalled being dazzled by the cultural riches of Paris and its surroundings and is eager to collaborate with colleagues to come up with exhibitions that appeal to a wide range of audiences and offer different points of entry.

“Exhibitions that introduce us to different worlds — that help us enter an imaginative space, a different time, a different mindset — can be very powerful for everyone, but especially young minds as they seek to understand and interpret the world. And integrating a hands-on component somewhere is important — what better way than to learn than by doing? That being said, I didn’t need bells and whistles to fall in love with art when I was 4. I only needed the opportunity and access — so that’s the crucial first step. Every child should have the opportunity to explore and discover great works of art,” she said.

Kennel is excited to join the PEM team at a time when the museum is poised for a major expansion. “I love that the PEM is such a central part of the cultural life of the region, and I can’t wait to be a part of it. As a Los Angeles native, I also welcome tips on surviving the Massachusetts winters,” she said.

Arthur Miller’s “Broken Glass” Launches New Rep Theatre’s 2015-2016 Season

Posted by Shelley A. Sackett

L-R: Anne Gottlieb and Jeremiah Kissel

All photos by Andrew Brilliant / Brilliant Pictures.

New Rep Theatre’s Artistic Director, Jim Petosa, chose Arthur Miller’s infrequently produced “Broken Glass” to open the 2015-2016 season. “The resounding authenticity of playwright Arthur Miller’s voice has left an indelible legacy on the American stage,” Petosa said. “We are proud to bring this Boston are premiere to our stage during the nationwide celebration of his 100^th birthday,”

“Identity” is the theme of this year’s season, and “Broken Glass” certainly fits the bill.

Written in 1994, Miller wrote this play 40-50 years after he had penned his best known and greatest plays (the American classics “All My Sons,” “Death of a Salesman,” “An Enemy of the People,” “The Crucible” and “A View from the Bridge”). During these later years, Miller began exploring his own Jewishness and what it means to be a Jew. His search resounds loud and clear in “Broken Glass.”

The play takes place in Brooklyn in 1938, the day after Kristallnacht (“night of broken glass”), one of the events in the run-up to World War II, in which windows in Jewish stores, buildings and synagogues were smashed. The title may also refer to the traditional breaking of a glass at Jewish weddings.

Sylvia Gellburg (played with clarity and wit by Anne Gottlieb) is obsessed with the plight of her fellow Jews in Europe and distraught by the fact that those around her can’t see the writing on the wall. She pores over the newspaper, returning again and again to the humiliation of a photo of two elderly bearded Jews forced to scour the sidewalk with toothbrushes. She fears that such brutality will somehow reach Brooklyn.

Her feelings of helplessness so overwhelm her that she suffers the actual physical helplessness of paralysis. “Somebody has to do something, or they will murder us all,” she wails.

Her gloomy, hot-blooded husband, mortgage banker Phillip (played with staccato nervous energy by the stellar and popular Jeremiah Kissel) insists she see their physician and friend, Harry Hyman (Benjamin Evett). After running a series of tests and referring Sylvia to a specialist, he concludes that Sylvia’s ailment appears to be psychosomatic. He likens her condition to soldiers who are so frightened they suffer shell shock.

L-R: Benjamin Evett and Eve Passeltiner

Unlike Sylvia, Phillip is not at peace with his identity. He spends as much time trying to assimilate and shed his Jewish identity as he does bristling at imagined anti-Semitic remarks, caught in that no man’s land of identifying as a Jew and wanting to be anything else. Nonetheless, he isn’t so sure that Sylvia’s reaction to the horrors of Germany isn’t spot-on.

“What if Sylvia is the only one who is awake and her reaction makes sense and if the rest of us were aware of what she is, we’d be paralyzed too?” he asks Dr. Hyman. The doctor, who is Jewish but married to the bubbly non-Jewish Margaret (Eve Passeltiner), is convinced that all the political turmoil will pass. In his estimation, Sylvia’s problem boils down to the fact that she is desperate to be loved.

Against this backdrop of unhappiness, fear and repression, the Gellburg’s marital disintegration soon takes center stage as Sylvia and Phillip verbally spar with the intimate accuracy of two people well versed in each other’s Achilles’ heels. Sylvia, who reluctantly gave up her career for motherhood and Manhattan, resents and regrets ever leaving Brooklyn. “I can’t seem to find myself in my life,” she says. Phillip echoes her disappointment: “I always thought I would have time to get to the bottom of me,” he says. These are two strangers in the strange land of their marriage.

While the cast is superb and the set inventive and effective, the play’s strident tone and length (two-and-a-half hours) eventually wears down even the most ardent theatergoer. “Broken Glass” is a tough slog. Unlike Willy Loman and the characters in Miller’s deservedly more famous plays, these characters are two-dimensional and that two-dimensionality keeps us at arm’s length, sadly making it impossible for us to feel the compassion they so crave.

Through September 27 at the Charles Mosesian Theater, Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St., Watertown. Tickets are $30-$65. Visit newrep.org or call 617-923-8487.

Jim Petosa: Up Close and Personal

Posted by Shelley A. Sackett

Even over the phone, Jim Petosa’s enthusiasm is contagious. The New Repertory Theatre’s Artistic Director since 2012 (he just “re-enlisted” with a second three-year contract) is excited to talk about the New Rep’s upcoming 2015-2016 season and its opening play, Arthur Miller’s “Broken Glass”, which Petosa will direct.

“I’m really happy,” he said, adding, “It’s been great. I’m beginning my fourth year and am feeling my lengthening relationship with the theater.”

Petosa likes to draw an analogy between the way songs relate to each other on a concept LP and the way the artistic notion of a theater company can emerge through individual plays that relate to each other to create a larger mosaic of artistry. For the upcoming season, Petosa chose “Identity” as the “title of the LP” and selected plays that focus on characters who must discover who they are in the contexts in which they find themselves.

“Broken Glass” will to kick off the season both as part of the national celebration of the playwright’s birth and as a way to showcase a play Petosa fell in love with when he first directed it in 1996 while artistic director at Maryland’s Olney Theatre Center for the Arts.

“This is a late play of Miller’s, and I find that as he got older, he became more revelatory and personal in his writing,” Petosa said. “There is an intimacy and an honesty that seems to come more directly out of our own humanity in a very revealing way.”

The Olivier Award-winning and Tony-nominated drama takes place on November 11, 1938, the day after “Kristallnacht” (literally, “Night of Crystal,” referring to the wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms which took place on November 9 and 10,1938, throughout Germany, annexed Austria, and in areas of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia recently occupied by German troops).

Sylvia Gellburg has suddenly lost the ability to walk and her husband, Phillip, desperately seeks a cure. The play ostensibly examines the Gellburgs’ failed marriage, but in the process it also uncovers the inner conflicts of those straddling the worlds of their immigrant parents’ Jewish values and the modern American ideal of assimilation and material success.

“This play speaks to the theme of ‘identity’ so perfectly, but you really have to have a terrific company that’s perfect for the play. You can’t just do it with anybody. It has to be someone who connects to it in a visceral way” said Petosa.

When he got to know Jeremiah Kissel’s work in New Rep’s 2014 production of “Imagining Madoff” (see review at https://shelleysackett.com/2014/01/16/bernie-madoff-jewish-rogue-or-rogue-jew/), he had his Phillip. “Jerry was just born to play this role and I knew Anne Gottlieb would be splendid as Sylvia,” he said.

Also, “Broken Glass” had never been performed in Boston. “We thought, ‘If we’re going to do an Arthur Miller centennial piece, let’s do an area premiere,’ and that became very exciting,” Petosa added.

Wearing his director’s hat, Petosa reflected about which character most resonated with him. “For me, the central character is the marriage,” he said, noting that the Phillip-Sylvia relationship is the most compelling human aspect of the play. “How the other characters impact on the demise of that relationship is the engine of the play.”

Petosa delights in telling about his experience with Mr. Miller when he directed the play in 1996. “This is a great story,” he begins. “I’m always amazed by the times you have in the theatrical world where you get to touch people of significance or real artistic magnitude and by just how generous oft times those people are.”

Mr. Miller was living in Connecticut in 1996. He offered to make himself available everyday after 5 p.m. (he wrote every afternoon until that time) throughout the rehearsal phase. Petosa took him up on his offer many times.

“He sent a telegram on opening night in the old theatrical tradition and spoke so tenderly about what he called ‘the little play.’ You could just feel the affection he had for the characters and the play.

“That has become the experience that defines Arthur Miller for me. It just speaks volumes about the man.” Petosa said.

“Broken Glass” also resonates with Petosa in a personal way, with a message he hopes the audience will take away. For him, the play is about “the whole question of the tragedy of the common man and the potency of self-destruction, of not being comfortable in one’s own skin and of feeling a sense of one’s victimization, of ‘lost-ness’…,” he said, pausing.

He continued, “… and to fight against that and not be brought down because of a sense of not belonging in some main stream sense of power structure. I think it’s a hugely cautionary tale and one that makes you feel a sense of grief.”

As he begins his fourth season at New Rep Theatre’s artistic helm, Petosa is humble about taking credit for the company’s soaring popularity during his tenure. “We really are trying hard to bring interesting things to our stage,” he said.

Salem Rehabs Abandoned Home, Gets it Back on the Market

Posted by Shelley A. Sackett

Ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrates “win-win” for Salem neighbors and Mayor Driscoll

By Shelley A. Sackett

All photos by Shelley A. Sackett

Salem Gazette

The neighbors of 28 Jackson Street had much to celebrate on August 26 when City of Salem’s Mayor Kimberley Driscoll cut the ribbon to commemorate the completion of the City’s first home rehabilitation undertaken through the Massachusetts’ Attorney General’s Abandoned Housing Initiative (AHI).

“We were all so embarrassed for so many years when this was the first thing people would see when they turned down to our street,” said Carol Michaud who lives on adjacent Francis Street.

“We’re ecstatic,” echoed Mary L’Heureux, who has lived on Francis Street for 46 years. “[Mayor] Kim [Driscoll] came through.”

From left, neighbors Janet Dubois, Mary L’Heureux and Carol Michaud were ecstatic at the results.

When the owner abandoned the foreclosed property, neighbors complained about deteriorating conditions at the property. Because the City was unable to issue citations through normal enforcement efforts (due to lack of an entity that could respond to the Building and Health Department’s citations), the City decided to petition the Northeast Housing Court for an appointment of a receiver under the AHI. The receiver, in turn, would make the necessary repairs to bring the property out of its blighted state, up to Code, and into saleable condition.

The time-line was swift.

The Building Department’s involvement began in 2008. The owner was first cited for failure to remove snow and overgrowth on the property, and instructed to repair the roof. There was no response, and the City went in and removed some of the overgrowth in 2013.

Police received numerous calls regarding rodents and the habitat that the property had created for them. After no response from the record owner or property management company for the bank, the City initiated the receivership process in 2014, filing the receivership petition on July 25, 2014 after the owner failed to exterminate the property as ordered.

In late 2014, the court appointed the Charles Hope Companies of North Andover and Lawrence as the receiver. In fewer than four months of construction, the house has been completely turned around and is scheduled to go onto the real estate market with an asking price of $339,900.

Alan Hope, managing partner of the Charles Hope Company, likened his work to a “mitzvah” (a Hebrew term for a charitable, beneficial act). He pointed out that there is a school nearby and that the property made for unsafe walking conditions for children who walked to school. “We made the house livable. It meets code requirements now,” he said.

He also appreciates that the process is managed by courts where there is a “check and balance which non-receivership projects do not have.” He estimates that Charles Hope Company spent about $120,000 on the rehabilitation.

The City does not have a contractual relationship with the receiver. The Northeast Housing Court appoints the receiver and approves its proposed budget for remedying the violations and bringing the property back to habitable use. The receiver is entitled to place a lien on the property for the amount approved by the court. This lien must be paid before any others that may be secured by the property.

“I am very excited to see 28 Jackson Street’s receivership come to a successful completion,” Mayor Driscoll told the Salem Gazette. “This program is a real benefit to all involved: the City puts a much needed residential property back into serviceable use, on the tax rolls. It is now clean, safe, and attractive.

“The neighbors benefit from the elimination of an abandoned, vacant, and derelict property in their neighborhood. And a family will benefit from being able to move into a great home in our community,” Mayor Driscoll added.

In addition to transforming the blighted property at no expense to the City, Salem stands to recover $1,400 in unpaid taxes and charges owed by the prior owner. According to Mayor Driscoll’s office, the 2015 tax bill on the property will be in the neighborhood of $3,700. This is in addition to the $1,400 in back taxes and fees owed to the City by the previous owner, which will be recovered from the sale proceeds. The 2016 property tax bill may be even higher.

The 28 Jackson Street house is the first of a number of similar “problem properties” the City has targeted for renovation through the AHI. Two other properties in Salem currently have a receiver appointed — 12 Hazel Street and 81 Derby Street — and both are in progress.

A look at the renovated home at 28 Jackson St., Salem.

The 2008 financial crisis resulted in many properties being eligible for receivership because the status of their ownership is in limbo due to abandonment and foreclosure. Other properties that were initially identified for receivership by the City have been sold and are now being rehabilitated privately by the new owners. “Sometimes the pressure of a potential receivership filing can motivate absentee owners to sell or rehab,” Dominick Pangallo, Mayor Driscoll’s Chief of Staff, said.

There are fairly specific requirements in the statute for an abandoned property to be eligible for receivership. If residents want to recommend an abandoned property in Salem to the City’s Problem Properties Task Force for review and consideration for receivership, Pangallo suggests they report it to the Mayor’s office by calling 978-619-5600 or by emailing him at dpangallo@salem.com.

Mayor Driscoll said her office intends to use the AHI program and all the tools at the City’s disposal to address any vacant, abandoned or unsafe properties in the Salem community. “I am looking forward to the successful rehabilitation of 12 Hazel Street and 81 Derby Street next, and I want to thank the team from the Charles Hope Companies for being such good partners in the transformation of this house,” she told The Gazette.

InSights

A Blog by Shelley A. Sackett

Zalem Zombies on the Prowl in Salem

A Hallowed Time for Witches, Warlocks

Funding Cancer Research: ACS Fights the Good Fight

Bakers Island Lighthouse Has 1,017 Visitors During its First Season

It’s Blue Collar versus Blue Blood in “Gloucester Blue”

“Strandbeests” on the Loose at PEM’s Groundbreaking New Exhibit

PEM Hires National Gallery of Art Curator

Arthur Miller’s “Broken Glass” Launches New Rep Theatre’s 2015-2016 Season

Jim Petosa: Up Close and Personal

Salem Rehabs Abandoned Home, Gets it Back on the Market