Jay Harvey Upstage

A company of professional actors active here for seven years has drawn most attention for working  outdoors in the twilight of summer evenings.  But it hasn't been easy to put financial props under the troupe's most popular feature: "Shakespeare on the Canal" in White River State Park . "We've been scraping by since we founded it," admitted Michael Shelton recently of Heartland Actors Repertory Theatre, the professional theater company he helped establish in 2006. Now, however, HART enjoys support simultaneously from major funders of Indianapolis arts: a Central Indiana Community Foundation affiliate (the Indianapolis Foundation) and Lilly Endowment, with a "positive response" to a grant request under consideration by the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation. The synergy has resulted in HART's being assured already of having a 2014 season. "This is indeed the first time we have known this far in advance that the financial support wi...

As IndyFringe bulks up its annual festival — a chief ornament in the increasingly developed Mass Ave Cultural District — and solidifies year-round scheduling at its home on East Ninth Street, some observers wonder if Fringe has gone mainstream. Executive director Pauline Moffat reports the comment (which could reflect anxiety or gratitude, depending on the source) and has a ready response. As Moffat candidly told me, with the judiciousness that has stood her in good stead for nine successive festivals: "We're not quite mainstream —  not as long as the performers make the sole decision as to what to present." That artistic independence, of course, is a watchword of the festival, which this year runs between Aug. 15 and 25 in and around the Cultural District. That, along with the return of all box-office proceeds to the artists, constitutes the foundation of IndyFringe's success. A significant growth area, besides the ninth annual festival's increase to 384 ...

When Steve Allee complimented the audience at the end of his band's first set at the Jazz Kitchen Saturday night, it was more than a formality from a musician who is known for being unfailingly gracious. Veteran pianist-bandleader Steve Allee It actually was a great audience, quite attentive and appreciative in comparison with those at some of the Steve Allee sets I've heard at the Jazz Kitchen. On those occasions, it didn't seem such an accomplished artist and his bandmates should have had to work so hard to get a reasonable level of silence from patrons determined to regard  the performance as background music for conversation. This time, Allee had put together a band whose exact personnel was unprecedented for him, though he's played with all the sidemen in various settings.  They were Dick Sisto, vibraphone; Rob Dixon, tenor saxophone; Nick Tucker, bass, and Kenny Phelps, drums. From the first number, Joe Henderson's "Isotope," on through t...

Julia Goodwin put across "Dream a Little Dream of Me" with mesmerizing intensity and returned in the second set of finalists with  a smoldering "Feeling Good,"  and that sealed it for the 15-year-old from Baldwinsville, N.Y. Julia Goodwin, 15, won top prize in Michael Feinstein's annual contest She received the first-place award in the 2013 Great American Songbook Vocal Academy and Competition , which ended Friday night at the Palladium. ("Feeling Good" is by the Briton Anthony Newley, but that source apparently didn't make it ineligible.) The program, which attracted a crowd that filled nearly every seat in the Center for the Performing Arts flagship, was organized around a series of speeches, solo performances from four of the professional judge/mentors, and ensemble songs with all 10 candidates backing up founder/CPA artistic director Michael Feinstein ("Too Marvelous for Words") and workshop presenter Kathleen Hacker ("Th...

A successful brand can withstand a significant change and still keep the loyalty of its customers. That's what Happy Hour at the Symphony did Thursday night in wrapping up  its 2013-14 season at the Athenaeum Theatre, several blocks to the northeast of its wonted home, the Hilbert Circle Theatre. The acclaim during and after the concert, which featured vocalist-cellist-songwriter Ben Sollee, rose mightily from the tableside seats at the near-capacity theater.  Beforehand, concertgoers got into the spirit milling about in the spacious lobby under lithograph portraits of Schubert and Wagner and consuming food and drink contributed by several providers, from White Castle to Pizzology to the host restaurant Rathskeller. Meanwhile, at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra 's home, the replacement of its 1,600-plus seats goes forward, and is expected to be finished in time for the start of the 2013-14 season. The essential elements of happy hours everywhere established a mood suit...

The 2013 Indy Jazz Fest will be a 10-day affair this September, beginning Sept. 12 with the formidable New Orleans father-figure Allen Toussaint, a pianist-singer-producer in several related genres. It will conclude Sept. 21 with a dozen to-be-announced bands on two stages inside and outside the Jazz Kitchen, 5377 N. College Ave.  For the first time, the festival will have no large outdoor venue as a site for the multi-act culmination of the annual event. The other outdoor concert scheduled features Latin jazz pianist Eddie Palmieri on the Terrace of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 Michigan Road (Sept. 17). Pianist Ramsey Lewis (center) will bring his quintet here. Ramsey Lewis, the veteran Chicago pianist whose  previous Indy Jazz Fest appearances date back to 2001, will play the Madame Walker Theatre, 617 Indiana Ave., on Sept. 13. Other Indy Jazz Fest events at the Jazz Kitchen, owned by director David Allee, are: guitarist Brian Nova, with guests Steve A...

Gary Ginstling, CEO and president of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, is moving into the 2013-14 season with a full complement of top administrators, the latest being Steve Hamilton as vice president of finance, whose appointment was announced July 23. The job involves overseeing the ISO's financial planning as well as managing its information technology and human resources departments. Hamilton, who will start work July 29, comes to the ISO from Redcats USA, a multichannel clothing retailer. Before that, he held senior-level finance positions with Auto Source Inc., Kentucky Fried Chicken and H.J. Wilson Co. His interest in local arts has been expressed through board membership at the Phoenix Theatre, where he was treasurer,  Storytelling Arts of Indiana (president) and Dance Kaleidoscope. Hamilton holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Kentucky.  He is a certified treasury professional (CTP) and a certified public accountant (CPA). His app...