Be Prepared to feel old

When I joined Cub Scouts in the third grade, the Boy Scouts of America were celebrating their 50th anniversary.

And now the organization is celebrating its centennial. The Red Mill Museum Village in Clinton is helping to celebrate the occasion with a special exhibit, “100 Years of Boy Scouts by Area Boy Scouts.” It will be up through Oct. 3.

Although I grew up in Connecticut, I have a New Jersey Boy Scout connection. In 1963, my Tenderfoot year in Boy Scouts proper, my troop made a camping trip to Gettysburg and Valley Forge. On the way back, we made a stop at the Boy Scouts' National Headquarters, which was then located in North Brunswick. The headquarters has since moved to Texas, but I believe part of the site is now a park.

The Red Mill Museum Village is located at 56 Main St., Clinton. Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun. (April-Oct.), 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun. (Nov. 1-Dec. 21). theredmill.org or (908) 735-4101.

Pretty Darned Funny

My wife, Karen, and I are huge P.D.Q. Bach fans.

"P.D.Q. Bach" is sort of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" of classical music in that it has sort of a cult following. The famously untalented illegitimate son of Johann Sebastian Bach, P.D.Q. is the creation of Prof. Peter Schickele, who brings his latest classical parody, "What's Your Sign?" to Princeton's McCarter Theatre Center Tuesday evening.

When we lived in New York City, Karen and I went to Schickele's Christmas concert at Carnegie Hall every year.

One year, however, for some reason we couldn't go on any of the dates he was performing in NYC, so we went down to Trenton to see him at the War Memorial.

Now if you're a true P.D.Q. Bach fan, you know you're supposed to hiss when the stage manager comes out in his godawful purple plaid sports jacket and announces that Prof. Schickele will be late. And if you go to a concert in New York, everyone in the audience is in on the gag. That wasn't the case in Trenton. When the stage manager came out and Karen and I started hissing, the people next to us looked at us as if we came from another planet and asked us why we were hissing!

One year Schickele's program included "Oedipus Tex," a Western takeoff on Oedipus Rex. In this piece, right after Oedipus gouges out his eyes, he sings "I kinda wish I hadn't done that." We knew one of the soloists in the performance, and when we met her backstage after the concert, we asked her "How do you keep from cracking up?" She groaned and said, "You have no idea." She said when they came to the aforementioned line, everyone glanced at each other and almost lost it.

We lived in Hackensack for 15 years, so Schickele's "O Little Town of Hackensack" is close to our hearts. Also, when our son Doug was in the Select Chorus at River Dell High School, one year their holiday concert included "Good King Kong Looked Out."

Anita Donovan offers more background on Schickele's classical spoofs in her column in this week's Good Times. She also gives us a heads-up about the Westminster Jubilee Singers' 15th anniversary concert Sunday at Bristol Chapel on the Westminster Choir College campus in Princeton.

The cover story this week is Ted Otten's interview with "Saturday Night Live" alumna Rachel Dratch, who is appearing in A.R. Gurney's "Sylvia." Dratch plays the title character, who just happens to be a dog who wins the heart of Greg, played by Tony Award-winner Boyd Gaines.

Also of note is Janet Purcell's review of the "Focus on Sculpture" exhibition at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton. I've blogged about this show before because it includes a photo by my cousin, Susan Mills. Jan has nice things to say about Susan's picture of the MLK Fountain on the Princeton campus, and a copy of Susan's photo appears with the column.

In Backbeat, Lisa Rich tells us about Mission Hill, who performs Friday evening at the Triumph Brewing Company in Princeton.

Susan Yeske reviews the recently reopened National Hotel in Frenchtown, and gives the food a solid thumbs-up.

This doesn't appear to be a good week for new movies. Steve Whitty gave a so-so review of "Date Night," although he praised Dratch's "SNL" cast mate, Tina Fey, and "The Office" star Steve Carell for their performances. As for "The Black Waters of Echo's Pond," Steve advises you to skip this one and catch up with one of the older releases this weekend.

So this is another week with lots going on in Trenton Times Land. Enjoy!

Grounds for Enjoyment

I finally got a chance to visit Grounds for Sculpture this weekend, and what a unique gem it is!
Karen and I met up there Sunday with with my cousin, Susan Mills, who has a photo in the current exhibition, "Focus on Sculpture 2010." It's a detail of the Martin Luther King statue on the Princeton campus.
It was gloomy and drizzling when we arrived, but miraculously the sun came out just long enough for us to enjoy a stroll around the grounds. The place is beautifully landscaped, with sculptures arranged in perfect settings. There are surprises around every corner. We particularly enjoyed J. Seward Johnson's three-dimensional recreations of Impressionist paintings, such as "The Boating Party" pictured here.
We also enjoyed Flo Perkins' art glass exhibition,"The Common as Uncommon," with its clever glass sculptures of cactus flowers, and bowling balls arranged so that reflected light made them appear as smiley faces.
As an added treat, one of the many peacocks on the grounds put on a full display for us. We were more impressed than the hen he was trying to attract.
Now I'm looking forward to coming back in the summer when the weather's better.
The one disappointment was Rat's Restaurant. We hoped to have dinner there, and arrived long before it was scheduled to close. However, the hostess told us that since things were slow, they had closed down early and couldn't serve us. Bummer!
On the other hand, Susan came up with a really good alternative: The Alchemist and Barrister in Princeton. The food and service were great. I ordered their chicken pot pie, which turned out to be HUGE! I just finished my doggy bag tonight.
For a late breakfast/early lunch Monday, Karen and I tried Mom's in Ringoes, which Susan Yeske reviewed for Good Times a couple of weeks ago. Good, stick-to-the-ribs food in a homey atmosphere.
Then we stopped in at the Princeton Doll and Toy Museum in Hopewell, which was of particular interest to Karen because she's a school speech pathologist who uses toys and children's books in her work with young children. Director Virginia Aris is there with plenty of entertaining stories.
All in all, a pleasant weekend in Trenton Times Land.
All in all, a great weekend

Go Ask Alice

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that Mama gives you
Don't do anything at all...

Yeah, yeah, I'm dating myself. Jefferson Airplane's classic psychedelic anthem "White Rabbit" came out during the 1967 Summer of Love, which fell between my sophomore and junior years of high school. In her haunting contralto, Grace Slick borrowed images from Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" and put them in the context of a hallucinogenic drug trip.
Tim Burton's new 3D interpretation of "Alice," with Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, arrives in theaters Friday. Critic Roger Moore's review is the cover story in this week's Good Times. He gives the movie a thumbs-up, saying that it's inspired as much by "White Rabbit" as by the original novel. Read the review and decide for yourself.
Elsewhere in Good Times you'll also find reviews of “Brooklyn’s Finest” and “The Ghost Writer.”
Also, Michele Angermiller profiles Jersey boy turned country-western singer Moot Davis, returns to his hometown of Hamilton for a concert Saturday night.
In "Fine Arts," Janet Purcell reviews an exhibition titled "Living Among Giants: Seeing the Forest for the Trees," in which painters and photographers explore the unique character of each tree, at the D&R Canal Land Trust in Princeton.
Susan Sprague Yeske reviews the Za Restaurant in Pennington.
Ted Otten previews the Passage Theatre’s Solo Flights Festival, opening this weekend Mill Hill Playhouse in Trenton with Lauren Weedman's "Bust."
"Backbeat" columnist profiles blues devotee J.B. Kline, who performs with his band Friday night at the Bordentown Record Collector.
And classical music writer Anita Donovan previews the Lenape Chamber
Ensemble's program of Mozart and Shostakovich works this weekend in two Bucks County locations.

Fearsome Fairies

When most people think of fairies, they think of Tinker Bell, the mischievous but harmless little sprite of Disney's "Peter Pan."

But that wasn't always the case. In olden days, before they became Disneyfied, fairies were feared as powerful supernatural beings who could really wreak havoc on the world. That was what Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and populated it with the likes of Puck and especially Oberon, the ferocious King of the Fairies.

My son, Doug, has been cast as Oberon in the upcoming production of "Midsummer" at the College of St. Elizabeth in Madison. I've warned him that he'd better start hitting the gym, because every Oberon I've ever seen has been a muscular, bare-chested athlete.

In this week's column, classical music writer Anita Donovan has observed that fairies are the common theme of two major concerts in the area this weekend. On Friday night at the Trenton War Memorial's Patriots Theatre, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra will present its program "Best of ...Fairy Tales." It will feature Ravel's "Ma Mere L'Oye," or "Mother Goose Suite." Then on Saturday night, the Tchaikovsky Ballet Theatre presents "Sleeping Beauty" at the Matthews Theatre at the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton. The princess is cursed into her lengthy sleep by an evil fairy because she felt snubbed at not being invited to her christening. Believe me, that's no Tinker Bell!

Elsewhere. the cover story in this week's Good Times is Backbeat columnist Lisa Rich's story about fiddler Natalie MacMaster, who brings her energetic, foot-stompin' Cape Breton style of fiddling to McCarter tonight.

Michele Angermiller warns people they need a thick skin to attend Lisa Lampanelli's performance at the War Memorial Saturday. Lampanelli is an equal opportunity offender with an unkind word for just about everybody.

Fine Arts columnist Janet Purcell tells us about a photography show showcasing Tasha O'Neill's unique perspective at Gallery 14 in Hopewell.

Theater columnist Ted Otten interviews playwright Barry Wyner, whose new musical "Calvin Berger," based on the timeless story of Cyrano de Bergerac, is making its debut at New Brunswick's George Street Playhouse.

Food maven Susan Yeske reviews Hanami, the reincarnation of the popular Chinese restaurant Sunny Garden in West Windsor.

We also have a heads-up about the Trenton Film Society's annual "Oscar Shorts" screening Saturday at the Mill Hill Playhouse. There will be two showings of all 10 Academy Award-nominated short films, both in the animated and live action categories. Among the animated shorts will be a new Wallace and Gromit cartoon, "A Matter of Loaf and Death."

As for full-length movies, film critic Stephen Whitty gives a thumbs-up to the remake of "The Crazies," but he wasn't so crazy about the Bruce Willis-Tracy Morgan flick "Cop Out."

As always you can read all of these stories on nj.com. Go to The Times of Trenton link and then click on Entertainment.

Rallying for the park

On Christmas Day in 1776, General George Washington and his troops made their famous crossing of the Delaware to attack the Hessians at Trenton, a victory that marked a turning point in the war for independence.

The attack was launched from a site on the Pennsylvania side of the river that is now Washington Crossing State Park.

Now, unfortunately, the park is under attack, not from the Redcoats but from Pennsylvania state parks budget cuts forced by the recession. The cuts could mean the closure of the park.

To stave off this assault, several area artists have created paintings and other works depicting scenes around the park for a special exhibition, "Rallying the Troops," at the Canal Frame-Crafts Gallery in Washington Crossing. Some of the proceeds from the sale of these works will go the the Friends of Washington Crossing State Park, an organization that is attempting to ensure that this historic site stays open to the public.

In this week's Good Times cover story, Fine Arts columnist Janet Purcell writes about the exhibition and some of the beautiful works created especially for it. Several of the works are reproduced in the section, many of them in color. Anyone with an appreciation for either art or history should check out this exhibit.

Elsewhere in the section, theater columnist Ted Otten writes about the new production of George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre in West Windsor. This production transports the story from Victorian London to modern-day New York.

Classical music writer Anita Donovan tells us about the Philadelphia Simfonia, an orchestra composed of talented young musicians, which is giving a concert Sunday afternoon at the Trenton War Memorial.

"Backbeat" columnist Lisa Rich tells us about High Hearts, a band that puts an upbeat spin on life's trials and tribulations, performing Saturday night at Mitchell's Cafe in Lambertville. Oh, and whether due to modesty or journalistic objectivity, Lisa didn't mention that she's opening for the band herself that night!

Susan Yeske reviews Jester's Cafe Restaurant and Bar in Bordentown, and Steve Whitty gives a thumbs-up to the new Leonardo DiCaprio thriller, "Shutter Island."

Check out all the great stuff going on in the Trenton area this weekend in Good Times or by going to nj.com and

Folk Brothers

When we lived in New York City in the mid-'80s, Karen and I used to attend the annual Fast Folk show at the Bottom Line.

Fast Folk was a collective of New York singer-songwriters who published a monthly magazine containing an album of songs written and performed by its members.

Among the artists we got to see at these concerts were Suzanne Vega, before she had her big hit "Luca," and Dave Van Ronk. The emcees were Jack Hardy and the always-hilarious Christine Lavin, and the lineup included David Massengill, Lucy Kaplansky, Rod MacDonald and many others.

Jack Hardy and David Massengill now perform as a duo, billing themselves as the Folk Brothers, and they will be performing Friday night at Christ Congregation Church in Princeton.

Jack is an especially clever songwriter. I recall him telling the story of a meeting of the collective at which each member was assigned to write a song about an elevator for the following week's meeting. Jack returned the following week and performed his song. His colleagues listened and told him it was a good song, but it never mentioned the word "elevator." He replied, "It's an acrostic...the first letters of each line spell the word 'elevator.'"

He added with a wink, "I think I won." He proceded to play the song, and you never saw an audience listen more raptly to a song's lyrics to catch the lines spelling out "E-L-E-V-A-T-O-R!" There were even a few subtle allusions, such as "Endless numbers lit up as she passed/Lifting her spirits like a jet." And each verse ended with the line "Refusing to mention it by name."

David, who has an especially pleasant voice, may be Jack's musical brother, but the story of Jack's real brother is a sad one. At the Fast Folk shows, Jeff Hardy accompanied his brother on bass, and at the end of the concerts, Jack would introduce him as "my bassist, brother and bodyguard." Sadly, Jeff was killed on 9/11 while working at Windows on the World on the top of the World Trade Center.

Jack and David should provide an enjoyable evening. The concert, sponsored by the Princeton Folk Music Society, begins at 8:15 p.m., with doors opening at 7:30. Admission is $15 for society members, $20 for nonmembers and $5 for children under 12. The church is located at 50 Walnut Lane, Princeton.