BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – In a departure from Stage 33 Live’s “no covers” rule, Lou Antonucci will perform “You, Me, & Harry,” his newly developed celebration of the story-songs of Harry Chapin – “Cat’s in the Cradle,” “Taxi,” “Story of a Life,” “W.O.L.D.,” “A Better Place to Be,” and many more — on Sunday, Aug. 6, in a 3 p.m. matinee, at Stage 33 Live, 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, Vt. There will be limited seating for this show, and the event will be recorded and filmed.
With a musical career spanning several decades, Antonucci has always been inspired by Chapin’s music and spirit. He created “You, Me, & Harry” with the permission of Harry Chapin Music, and this will be one of the first public run-throughs of the program before booking into larger venues.
In response to Lou’s original song “A Message From Harry,” Vincent J. Kelly – staff writer at Stallman Records, songwriter, and author of “Northern Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road” – said, “I wrote with Harry Chapin the last two years of his life and you did an excellent, and I mean superb, job of making Harry proud.”
Advance-sale tickets for this preview event are a steeply discounted through www.stage33live.com. Tickets will be available at the door for an extra fee. Alternately, admission will be free by donating five non-perishable food items, or three personal-care items, or $10 cash for Our Place Drop-In Center at the door on show day. Our Place offers community meals, a food pantry, and social service resources for the Bellows Falls area. Harry Chapin held a fundamental belief that access to nutritious food is a human right, and that hunger is a solvable problem in a world of abundance. He co-founded the global nonprofit WhyHunger in 1975, to support social movements and grassroots innovations to change the systems, policies, and institutions that perpetuate hunger and poverty in the world.
Masks continue to be optional but welcome at Stage 33 Live events. A pair of high-capacity air purifiers will be running during shows.
Stage 33 Live is a casual and intimate industrial-rustic listening room in a former factory hosting local, regional, and national performances and presentations of original material. No bar or kitchen, the stage is the mission. Coffee, soda, juice, water, and a variety of snacks are available by donation. More info about the nonprofit, all-volunteer project, and this and other upcoming events, online at www.stage33live.com
Stage 33 Live gratefully acknowledges the help of so many individuals without whom none of this would be happening, and institutional support this season from The Island Corporation, the Vermont Arts Council, the Bellows Falls Opera House, the Rockingham Arts & Museum Project, and WOOL-FM, that helped fund improvements and maintenance, and generally smooth out a lot of the rough edges. Stage 33 Live is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and all donations are deductible to the fullest extent. Volunteers run the thing from stem to stern.