Hawthorne: Shrouded in Darkness
November 1, 2014 |
LENOX, MA. Performer and scholar Rob Velella will portray the great 19th century New England author in “Hawthorne: Shrouded in Darkness” in celebration of Halloween at Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum on Saturday, November 1. An appropriate Victorian tea for the holiday will be offered after the in-character dramatic reading.
Velella’s portrayal (in costume) brings Nathanial Hawthorne back from the dead – so to speak. The author is a reclusive person who does not enjoy public appearances, prefers reading his own works, in the process avoiding personal attention. As an entrée to Hawthorne, Velella will read a review of the author’s works by his Berkshire friend Herman Melville, focusing on the line: “You may be bewitched by his sunlight… but there is the blackness of darkness beyond; and even his bright gildings but fringe, and play upon the edges of thunder-clouds.”
The audience, Velella confirms, “will have the opportunity both for bewitchings and thunder-clouds.” The stories he will read deal with the apparition of the living person and with the devil himself. Velella claims his audience will be in for some surprises.
Velella states that he “has visited the graves of dozens of deceased authors, as well as their homes.” His portrayals include Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Edgar Allan Poe. Velella has published works on such literary figures as Walt Whitman, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Rufus Griswold, and has lectured at institutions located from Maine to Texas. Recently, he served as guest curator for “Margaret Fuller: Woman of the Nineteenth Century” at Harvard University’s Houghton Library and as research associate for “The Raven in the Frog Pond: Edgar Allan Poe and Boston” for the Boston Public Library.
Admission for the Velella presentation and tea is $25 for advance reservations and $30 day of the reading. Reservations are highly recommended as seating is limited. For reservations call Ventfort Hall at 413-637-3206 or info@gildedage.org. The historic Gilded Age mansion is located at 104 Walker Street.
This program is supported in part by grants from the Lenox Cultural Council, Otis Cultural Council, Washington Cultural Council and West Stockbridge Cultural Council, all local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
An Official Project of Save America’s Treasures program sponsored by The White House, Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum offers tours of the historic mansion, as well as lectures, exhibitions, concerts, teas, theater and other programs. This elegant Jacobean-Revival Berkshire “cottage,” listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is open to the public year-around and is available for private rental. Built in 1893 for George and Sarah Morgan, Ventfort Hall has undergone substantial restoration, which continues.
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Website:
gildedage.org |
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Location Information |
Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum |
Lenox, MA |
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Contact Information |
Email:
info@gildedage.org |
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