Royal Ballet Honors Leonard Bernstein's 100th At The River Street Theatre

Jaffrey's River Street Theatre (RST) presents The Royal Ballet's special tribute to Leonard Bernstein in honor of his worldwide centenary celebration. This exclusive Monadnock Region RST Stage2Screen presentation will be shown this weekend, May 11-13, as it was staged in London on March 27, 2018, and captured in high definition.

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was one of the first classical composers in America to achieve both popular and critical acclaim. He was eclectic in his sources - drawing on jazz and modernism, the traditions of Jewish music and the Broadway musical - and many of Bernstein's scores are remarkably well suited to dance. He was particularly associated with Jerome Robbins, their credits together including Fancy Free (1944) and West Side Story (1957). To celebrate the centenary year of the composer's birth, The Royal Ballet has united all three of its associate choreographers to celebrate the dynamic range and danceability of Bernstein's music.

The Bernstein Centenary program includes two world premieres by The Royal Ballet's Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon. McGregor sets his ballet to Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and Wheeldon to Serenade (after Plato's Symposium). At the heart of the program is the first revival of Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett's The Age of Anxiety, created in 2014 to Bernstein's soul-searching Second Symphony. Both symphony and ballet are inspired by W.H. Auden's masterful modernist poem.

Showtimes for The Royal Ballet's Bernstein Centenary are Friday through Sunday, May 11-13 at 7pm each evening. Also, there are 2pm matinees Saturday andSunday, May 12 and 13.

Tickets for all Stage2Screen screenings are $20 each (students and teachers with ID, $15). Due to the intimate size of the River Street Theatre, it is highly recommended that tickets are purchased in advance. Call the Box Office at 603-532-8888 or go to www.riverst.org to purchase tickets with any major credit card.

The River Street Theatre is located in downtown Jaffrey, New Hampshire at 6 River Street. The theatre is only 18 miles from downtown Keene, 40 miles from Manchester and just over 90 minutes from downtown Boston. The River Street Theatre is sponsored by Grove Street Fiduciary, Coca-Cola, the Board of Trustees of the Park Theatre, Janet S. Grant, Betty Locke, Owen Houghton and the James F. & Fernande Kelly Charitable Trust.