The Week That Was: News and features around Harrisburg

January 24, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Volunteers pose for a picture on cold Patrick Alley in Harrisburg following a cleanup during MLK Day of Service.

The Harrisburg area was caught in the slow melt this week, following last weekend’s snow/sleet/ice storm. This meant a few cold days for our reporters, who were out and about covering important local news stories. In case you missed one, we have all of our coverage warmly recapped below.

Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce & CREDC held its annual House legislators’ forum this past week, with area representatives speaking of Capitol comity, as well as their priorities for the year. Find out what’s on the mind of your statehouse delegate by visiting our news story.

Harrisburg City Council expects to bring up an affordable housing measure later this year, according to the council president. She made that declaration following a hearing on the latest proposal to convert an old office building into downtown apartments.

Harrisburg High School, John Harris Campus, has a new interim principal, the fourth school leader in a year. Our news story offers some background on the new principal, who is slated to remain in place pending a permanent hire.

Michael Hertrich has moved his eponymous gallery from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, opening in the heart of the Midtown business district. Discover what you’ll find in his unique second-story space by checking out our magazine feature story.

MLK Day of Service was a chilly one, but that didn’t stop volunteers from coming out in droves around central PA. We visited a few sites in Harrisburg to find out what was being raked, shoveled and bagged.

Of Monsters and Men are coming to the Harrisburg riverfront this summer for an outdoor concert, Harrisburg University announced. Read our news story to find out how you can get tickets to see the popular Icelandic alt-rock band.

Riverfront Gallery and Susquehanna Art Museum exhibits caught our reviewer’s eye during last week’s 3rd in the Burg. He had a lot to say about the works on display, conveyed in his latest blog post.

Sara Bozich has put away her snow boots temporarily, as the weather has become more favorable to get out and about. Learn what’s on her long list of fun things to do in her weekly blog.

Skincare is an important part of daily hygiene, especially during the winter. That’s why we asked local estheticians for their tips on maintaining healthy and vibrant skin. Read what they had to say.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School students soon no longer will have access to free breakfasts and lunches. School leaders are trying to find a permanent solution, but, in the meantime, are asking the community for support so that the program can continue. Find out how you can help.

Theatre Harrisburg opened its latest production, “The Scarlet Letter,” and our reviewer attended opening night. Discover what she thought of this unique production, which adds music to the American literary classic.

Violet Oakley is a singular figure in the history of art in Pennsylvania. The State Museum now is displaying studies from some of her famous Capitol murals, a story that we featured in our January magazine.

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Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

January 23, 2020 | by Sara Bozich

Happy Weekend!

In a most unusual move (for me, these days), I’m starting off the weekend with dinner with a girlfriend (and no kids).

If you’re looking for some Friday night fun, the PA Auto Show is hosting its first-ever Beer + Wine Garden inside the show on Friday evening (5-9 p.m.) ONLY! Details + Tickets.

On Saturday, it’s a work meeting followed by Microdermabrasion & Mimosas party with The Skincare Coach. I’d love to also go to Ashcombe’s plant propagation workshop, but I fear I can’t ditch the fam that long.

What are you doing this weekend?

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Harrisburg expected to weigh affordable housing ordinance, as more apartments planned for downtown

January 22, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Harristown needs City Council approval to start work converting this brick office building to apartments. It also hopes to build a new office building on the empty lot next door.

Harrisburg City Council expects to take up affordable housing policy this year, legislation that may include set-aside requirements for larger developments.

At a meeting on Tuesday night, council President Wanda Williams said that she wants to begin work on an affordable housing ordinance, with the goal of passing it within six months.

Specifically, Williams said that she is interested in passing an inclusionary zoning ordinance, which would require developers to set aside a certain number of units at lower rents as a part of market-rate projects.

These ordinances, which exist in some other cities, typically require developers to include, for instance, 5 to 10 percent of “affordable” units in a project, as long as the development exceeds a certain size—say, 15 or 20 units in total.

Williams said that she didn’t yet have specifics of her proposal, but that she’s in the information-gathering stage to see what she would like to include.

“I need to look at all aspects of it,” she said, following the meeting. “I’ve reached out to other cities, to see what they’re doing, and I want to try to put something together. I’m working on this as fast as I can.”

Her comments followed a hearing on the latest proposal by Harristown Enterprises to convert an aging downtown office building to residential space.

Harristown CEO Brad Jones told council members that the Harrisburg-based company plans to convert a Market Square building at 17 S. 2nd St., formerly occupied by the Skarlatos Zonarich law firm, to 30 one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Over the past few years, Harristown has similarly converted several other office buildings, most rundown or vacant, to market-rate apartments and, in fact, is currently signing leases for 82 new units in three downtown buildings where renovations are nearly complete.

“We’ve taken about 130,000 square feet of class B and C office buildings that were vacant or partially vacant and reactivated those buildings into new apartment buildings,” he told council, adding that the company’s other completed apartment projects are “100-percent occupied.”

Jones said that he expected units in the proposed Market Square project to rent for about $1,100 to $1,400 a month, depending on size and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

This prompted a lengthy discussion among council members about affordable housing downtown.

“Looking at the rates, that average rent is still above the average rent for the city of Harrisburg,” said Councilman Westburn Majors. “When you’re looking at market rate, are you looking at that or you just making a return for your investors?”

Jones explained that Harristown has found it difficult to attract investors to its Harrisburg projects, as real estate investors typically can get a higher rate of return by building in the suburbs, areas that tend to have lower taxes and construction costs than in the city.

“I know this is of great interest to the council,” Jones said. “Even knocking a couple of hundred bucks off of that (rent), we just couldn’t meet the terms of our investors’ requirements.”

He said that he expects to spend $130,000 to $140,000 per unit to renovate the 30,000-square-foot, 30-unit building.

“It’s a lot of dollars per unit,” he said. “That’s why you don’t see a lot of developers coming before you. We’re trying to reinvigorate the downtown, and these projects are very expensive.”

At the end of the meeting, Councilman Dave Madsen cautioned that council’s job is not to pass judgment on the anticipated rental rates, but to ensure that the project complies with all current city requirements.

“I do think it’s on us, as city government, to draft some regulations or incentive-based programs to incentivize developers to make some below-market, affordable housing,” he said. “What the applicant has put before us now, we have to look at the written rules and regulations as they stand currently and, based on the feedback and questions we’ve had, they are in compliance.”

A council vote on Harristown’s land development plan is expected next week. Jones said that he’d like to begin the project around April and expects a nine-month build-out.

In the meantime, Harristown, Jones said, continues to search for an anchor tenant for a new office building it plans to build at 21 S. 2nd St., next door to the Market Square apartment building. That site once housed a small, fire-damaged building that included the Coronet restaurant on the first floor, but is now an empty lot.

“We plan to do a four to six-story office building there,” he said. “It is a very narrow site, but we’re been trying to find tenants.”

For leasing information on Harristown’s newest apartment projects, visit hbgrealty.net.

Veteran Lancaster educator named interim principal of Harrisburg High School

January 21, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

A long-time Lancaster educator has been named the new interim principal of Harrisburg High School, John Harris Campus, it was announced on Tuesday night.

During the school district’s monthly school board and business meeting, Acting Superintendent Chris Celmer announced the selection of Dr. Jay Vance Butterfield (pictured). Until recently, Butterfield had served as director of secondary education for the Lancaster school district, a post he held for 11 years.

“The school district of Lancaster is similar to Harrisburg school district, and I am confident that we will be able to make great strides together,” Butterfield said, in a statement.

The district is currently conducting a nationwide search for a permanent principal, with Butterfield expected to serve in the position until a replacement is named.

In his Lancaster post, he supervised all secondary principals and oversaw secondary instructional programs, as well as curricular revision, adoption and implementation. He also has served as principal of Wheatland Middle School, focus principal of JP McCaskey Campus, principal of McCaskey East High School, principal of Central York High School and assistant principal of Hempfield High School.

At Harrisburg High, Butterfield replaces Jaimie Foster, who was appointed to the post in June after Dr. Janet Samuels was named receiver of the 6,700-student school district. Foster, whose departure was announced last week, was the third person to serve as school principal over the past year.

“I look forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with this community to help make John Harris Campus a center of learning and a beacon of hope for the future of Harrisburg,” Butterfield said.

He said that he expects a “safe and orderly environment, where students are in class, learning, each and every period of each school day.”

Riverfront Park sets the stage for Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men

January 21, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

Of Monsters and Men is slated to perform in Riverfront Park in June.

With the weekend’s snow still lingering, one can only dream of the warmer months ahead. Harrisburg University has given us another summer dream to look forward to.

As part of its concert series, HU announced on Tuesday that the alternative band Of Monsters and Men is coming to the city, with an outdoor show in Riverfront Park in June.

The Icelandic band is touring in the wake of their recently released third album, “Fever Dream.” It will be the second Riverfront Park concert in the HU series, following Death Cab for Cutie, which performed last June.

Of Monsters and Men formed in 2010 and put out their first EP, but really arrived in the alternative music scene in 2011. With their single “Little Talks,” the band received radio plays and reached the top 10 on most music charts. Their debut album, “My Head Is an Animal,” went multi-platinum.

Band members include lead singers Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Þórhallsson, as well as guitarist Brynjar Leifsson, bassist Kristján Páll Kristjánsson and drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson.

Of Monsters and Men was the first Icelandic band to hit 1 billion streams on Spotify, and they were featured in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” in 2016.

In addition to Of Monsters and Men, Harrisburg University concert series will bring big names such as MisterWives, Young the Giant and the Revivalists in the coming months.

Of Monsters and Men will play June 4 at Riverfront Park, Harrisburg. Tickets will go on sale 10 a.m. on Jan. 24. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the concert series’ website.

Area legislators outline their priorities at annual Harrisburg Chamber forum

January 21, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC CEO David Black, left, introduces the panel of state representatives.

“We always try to have a bipartisan panel,” said David Black, CEO of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and CREDC, at the start of this year’s PA Legislators’ Forum.

In central Pennsylvania, however, that can be a tall task, as most of the members of the PA General Assembly from Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties are Republicans.

Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise that Tuesday morning’s discussion, an annual breakfast event at the Hilton Harrisburg sponsored by the Chamber & CREDC, centered around conservative priorities and positions.

Panelists included Rep. Sheryl Delozier (R-88), Rep. Torren Ecker (R-193), Rep. Barb Gleim (R-199), Rep. Sue Helm (R-104), Rep. Dawn Keefer (R-92), Rep. Mark Keller (R-86), Rep. Andrew Lewis (R-105), Rep. Tom Mehaffie (R-106) and Rep. Greg Rothman (R-87).

The Harrisburg area’s sole Democrat in the House, Rep. Patty Kim (D-103), wasn’t in attendance to offer her take on the many issues discussed.

Although only Republicans sat at the table, some of the conversation revolved around political civility between parties.

“The first question I get a lot being new in office is, ‘what surprised you about Harrisburg?” Ecker said. “What I tell people all the time is how well people get along in Harrisburg.”

Panelists mentioned hostility, disrespect and social media feuds as key proponents of political polarization. However, most agreed the state legislature doesn’t struggle with this.

“There’s a lot more collaboration and work that goes on that’s bipartisan, but that’s not what really catches the news’ eye,” Keefer said.

Rothman brought up the Harrisburg school district. He’s co-sponsoring HB 1800, a bill that would provide tuition vouchers so that district students could attend alternative public or private schools.

“I’m going to work on helping to improve the Harrisburg schools by giving more options and choices to those kids,” Rothman said. “It’s not right that there are certain people who can afford to rescue their kids and pull them out of those schools and other people who can’t.”

The school district vehemently opposes this bill, with school officials saying that it would further devastate the already fragile school district financially, to the detriment of the students who remained within it.

Another discussion topic was Pennsylvania’s minimum wage. Most panelists said they opposed raising the minimum wage.

“Minimum wage is a number, that’s it,” Keller said. “That’s something we should leave up to the business community not the government.”

Overall, panelists advocated for regulatory reduction and promoting small businesses and agriculture.

Here are some of the priorities this session for area legislators:

Sheryl Delozier (R-88)—Criminal justice reform, re-entry programs
Torren Ecker (R-193)—Recruiting junior firefighters
Barb Gleim (R-199)—House Bill 1746, equalizing apprenticeship ratios between unions and non-unions, adding career and technical education certifications to high school transcripts
Sue Helm (R-104)—House Bill 1578, updating homeowners association rules and regulations; House Bill 21, licensing home inspectors
Dawn Keefer (R-92)—Regulatory reform, “Taxpayer Protection Act”
Mark Keller (R-86)—Election reform, filing campaign reports electronically
Andrew Lewis (R-105)—“Fighting Chance Act,” regulatory reduction
Tom Mehaffie (R-106)—House Bill 1900, House Bill 1802, providing for scope of practice of licensed dietitian nutritionists
Greg Rothman (R-87)—House Bill 1800, starting a school voucher pilot program in the Harrisburg school district

The Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC continues its Legislator’s Forum on Feb. 20, featuring a panel of state senators. For more information, visit www.harrisburgregionalchamber.org.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School scrambles for solution as access to free breakfast, lunch program ends

January 21, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Free breakfast and lunch programs are in danger at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School is appealing for community support after learning that funding soon will end for its free breakfast and lunch program.

The school recently lost its “at risk” status due to changes in federal regulations, said Head of School Ellen Hartman.

“We’re truly an inclusive school, where you can attend regardless of your socioeconomic status,” she said. “That’s why we deal with issues that so many other private schools don’t have. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution here.”

Of the 145 students who attend the pre-K-8 school, about 40 children are in the breakfast program and 60 children in the lunch program, she said. As of Jan. 31, those programs will end, as the federal government continues to tighten regulations for its food programs, including the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program.

St. Stephen’s has been participating in that program since January 2018 after entering into a partnership with South Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, which began providing students with a healthy breakfast and a hot lunch daily. In early January, after two years, the food bank notified the school that it no longer qualified to participate in the program.

“We didn’t meet the requirements the food bank needed for the food to continue to come here,” Hartman said. “There needs to be a certain percentage of students who need to meet a certain income level.”

Under the most current rules, 65 percent of student families must be below a certain income level, a level that the school didn’t meet, Hartman said. In addition, the “eligibility number kept fluctuating,” she said.

St. Stephen’s draws from throughout the Harrisburg area, but many students live in impoverished areas of the city, Hartman said. About one-third of students qualify for tuition assistance.

“When I came here in 2017, I observed things that didn’t settle well with me,” she said. “I observed a lot of children coming to school with plastic bags filled with random food. Sometimes, kids would come in with nothing but a pack of crackers.”

Therefore, it was welcome news when David Lloyd, the youth programs manager of the Central PA Food Bank, informed her that St. Stephen’s qualified for the free breakfast and lunch program. The food bank then began to provide the meals, she said.

Now, that program access is ending, sending school officials scrambling for a solution. Thus far, the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation has stepped up, contributing enough money so that the school can continue the program through February, Hartman said.

According to the school, the cost to feed all students is $315 a day or $5,670 a month.

After February, Hartman isn’t sure what will happen. She hopes that the community will donate enough so that, at the least, the school will be able to get through the remainder of the current academic year. This will give school officials some time to come up with a more permanent solution for next year.

“I hope the donations will cover everyone in our food program right now,” she said. “So many of these kids really need it.”

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School is located at 215 N. Front St., Harrisburg, PA, 17101. To donate, please mail a check to the school or contribute online at www.sseschool.org/donate. The school’s phone number is 717-238-8590.

Bob’s Art Blog: Art and About for 3rd in the Burg

January 20, 2020 | by Bob MacGinnes

“Kildalton Cross Sheep, Islay” by Carrie Wissler-Thomas, at the Riverfront Gallery

Editor’s Note: Our fine arts writer was out and about on Friday night during 3rd in the Burg. Here’s what he found.

Part I: “Scottish Landscapes” at St. Stephen’s Riverfront Gallery

Back in late summer of 2018, congregant and art enthusiast Lindsay Gottwald and a faithful few hatched the idea of a full-scale art gallery at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cathedral. In its brief existence, the Riverfront Gallery already has made quite a name for itself in the local art community.

In September, it brought “Icons in Transformation,” contemporary religious iconography, to its cathedral walls for a three-month run as part of its national tour across the United States then back to Europe. Art, viewed out of its normal setting of a gallery or museum, becomes a brand-new experience within the cathedral’s cloister.

Following a world-class exhibit like “Icons” could prove to be a daunting task for a gallery and an artist to follow. St. Stephen’s deemed it fitting for an exhibit featuring the work of Carrie Wissler-Thomas, CEO of the Art Association of Harrisburg, who is showing her collection of oils of sacred sites from Scotland.

Wissler-Thomas’s paintings showcase the Holy Isle of Islay and other historical landmarks dating back to Neolithic days. In all, a score of sumptuous oils painted over the course of a decade from annual trips to Scotland capture an eternal beauty of well-known locales forming the Scottish countryside. Scotland’s nooks and crannies come alive in Wissler-Thomas’s power of place studies highlighting lochs, burns and tors. With a fluid continuity, they provide the perfect backdrop for textured tableaux of treasures unchanged by time.

In her palette, Wissler-Thomas took full advantage of the color-rich vegetation of Scotland, from the lavender-colored heather to the vibrantly irrepressible shades of gorse growing with wild abandon. Umber shades burst forth from the golden collars of the sheep, their wool mixed with specks of black-like peat in “Kildalton Cross Sheep, Islay.” Languid landscapes linger in the minds eye while the aires of ancient times lend accompaniment to a soundtrack playing in the artist’s head.

Scotland, for Wissler-Thomas, is akin to being transported to her own isle of enchantment, rich in history and meaning. She pays homage to Druidic days with her painting of sacred stones in “Callanish II, Isle of Lewes.” The upright tablets are captured right before dawn or at dusk as the sky turns ambiguous shades of marled oatmeal like flecks of tweed. Firing the imagination is a sea-swept scene in “Loch Fynne, Lowering Sky.” In tramping among the becks and rills over craggy terrain to find the perfect pitch to set her canvas aright (metaphorically speaking), Wissler-Thomas makes her annual pilgrimage worthy for those who follow.

“Callanish II, Isle of Lewes”

Wissler-Thomas paints with eyes wide open, seeing shades and sunsets, catching the sky as it changes quickly and quietly. Her canvases speak to a love that grows deeper with each year and visit—of Scotland wild and woolly and the siren call the wee shores make, beckoning her to paint those halcyon days of yore. The bucolic rural life lends itself to vagabonds and dreamers, to poets and painters. In the end, the sacred and the secular blend in their own perfect symmetry, creating a harmony found somewhere between the unfettered fields of heather and heaven.

“Scottish Landscapes” runs through Feb. 28 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cathedral’s Riverfront Gallery, 221 N. Front St., Harrisburg.

Part II: “Shift” at Susquehanna Art Museum

Usually when you hear the phrase, “There is a glitch occurring,” it’s a bad thing. In art, that may not the case. In fact, just the opposite might be true.

At the Susquehanna Art Museum, two artists, painters both, employ and amplify technology, twisting it just so to meet their needs. A show entitled “Shift,” in the Lobby Gallery, offers distortion and drama in just the right amount. The end results are highly stylized, individualistic paintings that use technology as the backdrop to a new manner of looking at things familiar, yet different.

Tiffany Calvert’s oil paintings, layered atop digitally formatted glitch aesthetic Dutch floral still lifes, spring alive on their black backgrounds. The thickly applied textural touches of taupes and mauves, added to the flowers natural hues, pop off the canvas, creating a genre entirely its own. Alex Kanevsky’s oil-on-panel paintings distort time and its impermanence. The double-edged sword of memory and its unreliable nature, paired with how man views his meaning in a world where nothing remains constant, is a narrative purely his own.

#296, oil on digital inkjet print on canvas, by Tiffany Calvert, based on the painting, “Bouquet of Flowers in a Glass Vase” by Dutch artist P.W. Windtraken

Both artists are modern-day myth manipulators, mining the age-old dictum that art exists only within a certain framework. How does one improve upon art from centuries ago? The end result prods and provokes, which forms the foundation for a new reading. Those notions of the past, in laying a fresh perspective, are now determined detrimental in developing a solid template tempered through technology. This becomes the paradigm itself. “Shift” may change your way of thinking about art and certainly the way you look at it. Isn’t that what great art is meant to do after all?

Alex Kanevsky’s “Lulu in Madrid )Twice,” 2017

“Shift” runs through Feb. 16 at the Susquehanna Art Museum, 1401 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.susquehannaartmuseum.org.

Harrisburg residents bust out the rakes, brooms, shovels on a chilly MLK Day of Service

January 20, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

A volunteer rakes up trash and weeds from Patrick Alley.

A bitter wind swept through a narrow Harrisburg alley on Monday, but Puja Gellerman had springtime firmly in her sights.

Over here, she said, would be some hardy plants; over there, native perennials.

“We want to bring more beauty to this place,” said Gellerman, a master gardener and Midtown Harrisburg resident.

Little-known Patrick Alley, which sits in back of a strip of businesses along the 1300-block of N. 3rd Street, could be called a lot of things—neglected, forlorn—but “beautiful” is typically not among those words.

Today, though, about 35 people took a first step toward reclaiming this patch of land as volunteers from Friends of Midtown, Sprocket Mural Works and the Junior League of Harrisburg took up rakes, shovels and wheelbarrows to clear out the trash, litter and weeds as part of the annual Central Pennsylvania MLK Day of Service.

Throughout the city, hundreds of volunteers similarly spent their day off painting, scrubbing, sweeping and helping others, gathering at sites that ranged broadly from The Bridge’s new home at the former Bishop McDevitt High School to Paxton Ministries on Paxton Street to Gospel Fellowship Church in Uptown Harrisburg to the main gathering point at Commonwealth Charter Academy.

Down 3rd Street, Keisha Ordaz set up a table outside of Gifted Hands Barber Studio with bottles of water, blankets, gloves and other items so that people could stop by and pick up whatever they needed.

Inside the shop, they gave away free and discounted haircuts and served chicken noodle soup donated by the neighboring restaurant, Pastorante. Two doors down, craft ice cream vendor Urban Churn offered delicious hot cocoa for anyone who asked.

“So far, we’ve had a pretty decent turnout, considering it’s so cold and no one is really outside,” Ordaz said.

These businesses were part of a more informal MLK Day effort to combine resources in the neighborhood to help people in need.

Urban Churn owner Adam Brackbill said that he hoped that the businesses on his block would continue their partnership, perhaps holding similar donation events every couple of months.

“Folks have been in and, I think, this afternoon, it will get a little busier,” he said.

Manager Keisha Ordaz and owner Mike Payne stand outside Gifted Hands Barber Studio, where a table was set up with items for those in need.

Back up on cold Patrick Alley, Nate Lotze, co-chair of the Friends of Midtown beautification committee, said that he hoped their cleanup would be a first step in a major transformation of the narrow, usually deserted and unkempt street.

Sprocket Mural Works, along with Friends of Midtown, has approached the city to potentially create a pocket park on Patrick Alley and a small, adjoining section of Sayford Street. If they get the go-ahead, they would like to create a snug urban oasis with a garden, planters, seating and murals.

“No matter what the end project looks like, this is a great start for this space,” he said. “It lays the groundwork for what will come.”

Megan Caruso, Sprocket co-founder, said she was impressed with the turnout, especially given the sub-freezing temperatures and biting wind.

“We have a ton of people who came out,” she said. “It’s all happening very quickly.”

MLK Day of Service volunteers pose on a newly weeded and cleaned Patrick Alley.

Councilman Dave Madsen also was in the thick of it on Patrick Alley, shoveling up dirt and debris as other volunteers raked out the weedy area that, come warmer weather, will become flowerbeds.

“It’s great to see people not just sleeping in but coming out and serving their community on MLK Day,” he said.

Stories on environmental topics are proudly sponsored by LCSWMA.

Theatre Harrisburg transforms literary classic to musical, “powerhouse” production.

January 19, 2020 | by Gina Napoli

If you remember Nathaniel Hawthorne’s bleak novel, “The Scarlet Letter,” from your high school literature class, you probably didn’t imagine it arranged as a musical. But Theatre Harrisburg delivers a compelling musical rendition that both showcases the cast’s lyrical and acting talents while capturing the severity of Puritanical morality.

Theatre Harrisburg’s Executive Director Stosh Snyder noted the “historic occasion–the first time “The Scarlet Letter” has been done as a full-scale, two-act musical production in the U.S.”

According to co-writer Dan Koloski, who saw this rendition for the first time opening night, this musical was first produced in Scotland from 1996 to 2001.

“It’s a joy to see people we don’t know interpreting, bringing this to life,” he said.

The stage’s setting has a life of its own, a rustic simplicity reminiscent of a mystical fairy tale. On the left are the deep woods, green and gray, punctuated by roses red—the symbolic color of sin. On the right are simple chambers grimly lit with blue light. Center stage is an impressionistic backdrop of a town behind a public platform used for hanging and shaming in colonial Massachusetts in 1642.

On this platform, we first meet scorned citizen Hester Prynne (Christine Salazar), holding her infant. Her husband was believed to be lost at sea for over a year, but he surprises Prynne by moving to the colony posing as physician Roger Chillingworth (George H. Diehl). After refusing to name her infant’s father, Prynne is sentenced to wear a scarlet “A” on her monochrome Pilgrim dress as a shameful symbol of her adultery.

Throughout the production, Salazar sincerely expresses Prynne’s inner anguish with glints of joy through her melancholy singing to her daughter Pearl.

Pearl, clad in red and white—sinful innocence—skips around, singing sweetly against a discordant melody coming from the pit orchestra. The gritty, raw music called attention to itself by using obscure percussion instruments in a John Cage-like sequence. Oscillating between dramatic, playful and jarring, the score highlights the juxtaposition of characters strong and weak, the prey of unrelenting judgment.

With Pearl’s parentage secret guarded, Prynne’s quiet existence angers the gossiping townspeople, who endeavor to deliver her daughter to a Christian family. More villains than friends lurk in the colony for Prynne.

Instead of ministering to Prynne, the spineless Reverend Dimmesdale (Tony Barber) shuns her, contrasting sharply with Prynne’s tenacity. Dimmesdale may be weak in character, but Barber’s singing skills are strong, hitting soprano-like notes.

Chillingworth proves to be an even more sinister villain, looming as a pretend friend to the colony, but instead a tyrant with vengeful intentions. Diehl and Salazar ignited the charged dynamic between Chillingworth and Prynne.

When the audience feels sympathy for Prynne in the face of having her child ripped from her, the imposition of morality itself becomes a villain. And another villain is outed when the audience learns who Pearl’s father is.

Together, the cast harmonized in a range of tones that carried through in perfect reverberation, the kind of music that penetrates the skin like a seasoned church choir.

When Director Kristi Ondo workshopped this drama, she provided the framework, allowing the actors the latitude to develop their own interpretations of the characters.

“They need to be part of creating the characters or else it will fall flat,” she said. “It’s a collaborative effort, a vision we work from together.”

Ondo also had the unique opportunity to work with the writers. She knew co-writer Stacey Mancine Koloski from their time together at Susquehanna University.

“This [project] was our courtship,” Dan Koloski said of his co-writer/wife. “This is what we did back in those days for fun.”

Writing a musical about adultery with your life partner? Not the most romantic topic. But all the beguiling elements the writers wove together made the foundation for an enthralling play. Combine that with a surprising score brought to fruition by some of Harrisburg’s most talented dramatic musicians and actors, and you have a can’t-miss powerhouse of a play.

“The Scarlet Letter” runs through Feb. 2 at Theatre Harrisburg, Krevsky Center, 513 Hurlock St., Harrisburg. For more information and tickets, call 717-214-2787 (ARTS) or visit their website.

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