Sunday FOMO: Judy Collins
A curated look at what’s happening across the Capital Region — worth your time, attention, or curiosity.
Judy Collins didn’t find “Send in the Clowns,” not in the way songwriters sometimes romanticize the astral dance between themselves and their muse. No.
The song most closely associated with the acclaimed singer-songwriter is not hers. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Stephen Sondheim wrote the ballad for the 1973 musical “A Little Night Music.” By the time a cast recording reached Collins soon after, she had already established herself with an ethereal voice and a career that moved fluidly between folk standards and contemporary songwriters.
Her biggest commercial success was behind her. An a cappella rendition of “Amazing Grace,” from her 1971 album “Whales and Nightingales,” had become a defining recording. Her voice cuts through the silence in the opening verses with remarkable clarity. When joined by a choir, it continues to rise above. The Library of Congress later preserved the recording as “aesthetically significant.”
Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra presents Judy Collins: Wildflowers in Concert — Feb. 22
A legacy folk figure revisits her 1967 album Wildflowers in an orchestral setting, pairing early original work with catalog staples. Seated, nostalgia-forward programming with PBS-scale recognition and symphonic backing.
Collins had also aligned herself with the political and cultural movements of the 1960s. A self-proclaimed hippie, she recorded Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides, Now,” earning a Grammy Award in 1969. That same year, she sang Pete Seeger’s “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” from the witness stand during the Chicago Seven trial.
But by the early 1970s, she was in need of the right song.
It came through a friend.
“I was in my apartment, and my friend Nancy Bacal … called me up and said, ‘OK, I’m sending over this record of this cast album,’” Collins shared with Colorado Public Radio’s Ryan Warner on Colorado Matters in 2011.
“‘And, I want you to play this song,’” she said.
Bacal had built a career in journalism with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation before turning to teaching. From her Los Angeles home, she hosted weekly writing gatherings and later led workshops at the Esalen Institute. There, she guided writers through what she called “The Writers Way,” a discipline rooted in listening, reflection, and craft.
“Over the past years, I’ve worked with hundreds of writers, coaxed them into territories beneath the surface of the obvious,” Bacal said, according to her 2023 obituary. “I assured them if they dared to write beyond shame, beyond the constraints of someone else’s sense of propriety, they would discover a universe of creative adventure equal to any exploration on the earth’s surface.”
Her own life had moved through the “intoxication of events” in England and New York during the 1960s. As a journalist, she interviewed figures such as Ravi Shankar and Nelson Mandela. She later produced the documentary Raga about Shankar and edited “Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs” by Leonard Cohen, who had introduced her to Collins.
It was Bacal who sent the Sondheim recording.
“I had no idea who Sondheim was, I didn’t know what ‘A Little Night Music’ was,” Collins said. “[Bacal] sent it over, and I put the needle on the cut, and I played ‘Send in the Clowns.’ And I said, ‘Oh, well. This is it.’”
Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s “Smiles of a Summer Night”, “A Little Night Music” unfolds as a romantic comedy of miscalculation. Set in turn-of-the-century Sweden, it traces a web of relationships defined less by passion than by poor timing.
At its center is Fredrik Egerman, a middle-aged lawyer married to Anne, a young bride who has yet to fully enter the marriage. His son Henrik, studying for the ministry, harbors feelings for Anne. Fredrik, meanwhile, rekindles a connection with his former lover, the actress Desirée Armfeldt, who is herself entangled with the jealous Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm. The Count’s wife, Charlotte, sees more than she lets on.
Written almost entirely in waltz time, the musical moves in circles, mirroring its characters’ patterns of pursuit and retreat. By its conclusion, there is no grand tragedy. Only recognition. As Desirée sings “Send in the Clowns,” she reflects on love misjudged and timing gone awry. It is a meditation on regret and irony, its title a plea for distraction from romantic folly.
Collins recognized something immediate in it.
Tune in to On The List every Thursday at 6 p.m. on WVCR and iHeartRadio for an hour of music made in the 518 and conversations with the musicians behind it. Each week also includes three hand-picked suggestions to help shape your weekend plans.
“I was shaken to my very toes, weeping and laughing at the same time because this song said everything,” she wrote in a tribute to Sondheim published in The Nation in 2021. “Here on my turntable was the answer to my prayers.”
Producer Hal Prince cautioned her that more than 200 artists, including Frank Sinatra, had already recorded it. She persisted. Her version became a major hit, reaching the Top 10, twice.
“And the rest is history,” Collins said. “It was an awfully good song.”
—Michael
FOMO Fodder
Fodder
🎭 Arts & Culture
The Roommate — Albany Civic Theater | Feb. 21–Mar. 1
A contemporary two-hander staged in an intimate community theater setting. Character-driven, small-cast, performance-forward.
The Crucible — Saratoga Music Hall | Feb. 21–Mar. 1
A revival of Miller’s moral allegory mounted by a regional company. Larger ensemble, period staging, audience familiarity baked in.
BSC’s 10 x 10 New Play Festival — Barrington Stage (St. Germain) | Feb. 21–Mar. 15
Ten short works presented in repertory format. Developmental energy, rotating casts, steady audience turnover.
Disney’s Frozen: The Musical — The Arts Center of the Capital District | Feb. 26–28
Youth-centered staging of a contemporary Disney property. Family-scale, recognizable score, short-run engagement.
The DaVinci Code — Curtain Call Theatre | Feb. 26–Mar. 15
Stage adaptation of the bestselling thriller. Plot-driven, mystery-forward, mid-size run.
Peter and the Starcatcher — Theater Institute at Sage (Schacht Fine Arts Center) | Feb. 27–Mar. 5
Prequel adventure to the Peter Pan mythology staged by a collegiate program. Ensemble-heavy, design-driven.
Ride the Cyclone — Charles R. Wood Theater | Feb. 27–Mar. 1
Cult-favorite musical with dark humor and tight cast size. Youth-leaning audience, concentrated weekend run.
The 21st Annual One-Act Festival — Dorset Playhouse | Feb. 27–Mar. 1
A multi-piece short-play format emphasizing variety and experimentation. Festival structure invites repeat attendance.
The Lion in Winter — Albany Masonic Temple | Feb. 27–Mar. 8
Historical family drama mounted in a downtown venue setting. Dialogue-heavy, actor-centered production.
Wanda Webster Theatre Festival: Black to Broadway — Love Albany Center | Feb. 27
Festival programming spotlighting Black theatrical traditions and performance lineage. One-night format, mission-driven.
Wanda Webster Theatre Festival: Soulful-Land — Youth FX | Feb. 28
Second installment in a themed festival series. Community-based venue, culturally centered storytelling.
Wanda Webster Theatre Festival: When We Come Home — Black Chamber of Commerce & Social Club | Mar. 1
Closing festival performance positioned in a civic space. Intentional site selection underscores community focus.
🎶 Music & Live Performance
Music and Movement — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 24 & Feb. 26
Early-childhood rhythm programming emphasizing participation over performance. Structured, short duration.
Arch Stanton Quartet – Shadow and Act: Music Inspired by Invisible Man — Catskill Library (Catskill, NY) | Feb. 24
A jazz quartet presenting music thematically tied to Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, framed as a library recital. Small ensemble, literary tie-in, community venue scale.
Kevin Carey Trio — Lark Street Tavern (Albany, NY) | Feb. 24
A neighborhood jazz trio playing a late-evening set in a local tavern. Bar-room listening scale with an emphasis on regulars and local patrons.
Arch Stanton Trio — Dove + Deer (Albany, NY) | Feb. 25
A pared-down ensemble set in an intimate, nontraditional music space. Jazz trio format signals close listening in a casual environment.
Houston Person & Northampton Jazz Workshop — The Drake (Amherst, MA) | Feb. 25
A seasoned saxophonist paired with workshop participants in a late-evening jazz session. Intergenerational improvisation and pedagogy in a club setting.
Edward Simon Trio — Union College, Taylor Music Center (Schenectady, NY) | Feb. 25
A Venezuelan jazz pianist leads a trio with notable sidemen, performing material from his Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2. Latin jazz exploration meets mainstream jazz tradition in an academic concert hall.
Arturo O’Farrill — Northampton Center for the Arts (Northampton, MA) | Feb. 26
A leading Afro-Latin jazz figure in a formal theater setting. Big-idea jazz programming with cultural lineage.
Marta Sanchez — Northampton Center for the Arts (Northampton, MA) | Feb. 27
An evening concert by a vocalist in a regional performance center. Solo artist focus with mid-size audience expectations.
Arch Stanton Quartet — 9 Maple Ave (Saratoga Springs, NY) | Feb. 27
A late-night jazz set by the same quartet heard earlier in the week. Club format, small scale, dance-floor adjacency.
Arch Stanton Quartet: “Exploring The Sheltering Sky: The Music and Words of Paul Bowles” — Albany Public Library-Pine Hills Branch (Albany, NY) | Feb. 28
A thematic performance linking jazz with Paul Bowles’s The Sheltering Sky. Literary integration in a library recital context.
Concert: New York Dulcimer Orchestra — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 28
An 18-piece dulcimer ensemble in a seated afternoon format. Multigenerational audience, performance-centered, library-scaled.
Wayne Horvitz — Northampton Center for the Arts (Northampton, MA) | Feb. 28
An experimental composer/keyboardist in a community arts venue. Forward-leaning jazz and improvisation space.
The Ed Palermo Big Band — The Falcon Main Stage (Marlboro, NY) | Feb. 28
A New York–based big band known for eclectic arrangements, including Frank Zappa interpretations. Large ensemble jazz with crossover repertoire elements.
Joe Barna Quartet — 9 Maple Ave (Saratoga Springs, NY) | Feb. 28
A classic quartet setting in a regional jazz room. Small ensemble, late evening emphasis.
Winter Jazz Festival Memorializing Lee Shaw — Van Dyck Music Club (Schenectady, NY) | Mar. 1
A multi-set festival honoring pianist Lee Shaw with large ensemble and trio performances. Extended afternoon/evening format signaling community remembrance and broad participation.
Jazz vespers with Tyler Giroux & Pete Toigo — First Reformed Church of Schenectady (Schenectady, NY) | Mar. 1
A contemplative jazz service set in a sacred space. Intimate listening environment blending music with reflection.
👗 Fashion, Design & Creative Economy
Make-It Monday: Potholder Looms — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 23
A structured children’s craft session built around traditional weaving techniques. Skill-based, contained, registration-scaled.
In Stitches — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 25
An ongoing fiber arts social for teens and adults. Informal mentorship model, repetition builds continuity.
🧠 Talks, Tech & Ideas
Beginner English Language Learning (ELL) — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 24
Foundational language instruction emphasizing communication and literacy. Multi-hour commitment model.
Citizenship Discussion Group — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 24
Civics-focused preparation for naturalization candidates. Substance-first, discussion-driven.
Using Siri and Voice Commands on Your iPhone — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 24
Applied technology instruction aimed at practical daily use. Infrastructure support over theory.
ZOOM: 10 Free Web Tools to Boost Your Productivity — Zoom | Feb. 25
A digital-skills workshop highlighting free online tools for organization and creativity. Remote-access format expands reach.
AI and the Environment — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 26
A teen-and-adult discussion exploring artificial intelligence through an environmental lens. Conversation-driven, registration-based.
Using Google Assistant on Your Android Phone — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 26
Companion workshop to Siri session, focused on voice-command literacy. Platform-specific, adult-scaled.
Treat Your Own Neck & Back Pain — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 26
An interactive wellness workshop emphasizing self-management techniques. Practical, instruction-forward.
📚 Books & Reading
Family Story Time — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 23 & Feb. 26
Recurring early-literacy block structured for caregiver participation. Consistent attendance model.
Winter Reading BINGO — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 23
Adult reading engagement built around light competition and book prizes. Seasonal retention programming.
Paws to Read — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 23
Therapy-dog literacy support for grades K–5. Low-pressure confidence building in short-format sessions.
Tiny Tots — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 24
Infant and toddler literacy block centered on rhythm and repetition. Caregiver participation required.
Virtual Author Talk: Tom Crouch — Zoom | Feb. 24
A Smithsonian Curator Emeritus discusses museum history in a moderated virtual format. Lecture-forward, registration-driven.
ZOOM: PJ Story Time — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 24
Evening virtual literacy session designed for at-home participation. Short-format, routine-driven.
Family Story Time — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 25
A midweek preschool literacy gathering. Consistent format, caregiver-integrated.
Preschool Story Time & Craft — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 25
Story-led early learning paired with hands-on activity. Structured, registration-based.
Preschool Story Time — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 26
A traditional story-led early learning block for ages 2–6. Routine-driven and capacity-aware.
Silent Book Club — MochaLisa’s Caffe & Books | Feb. 26
Off-site gathering blending quiet reading with informal literary conversation. Low-pressure, community-rooted.
Veterans Memorial Park Book Walk — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 28
Outdoor literacy installation pairing a children’s title with a walking path. Passive engagement, family-scaled.
Saturday Story Time — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 28
Weekend literacy option for families seeking a flexible schedule. Short-format, community scaled.
Winter Reading 2026 — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Ongoing
Multi-age seasonal reading challenge designed to incentivize sustained participation through February.
🌱 Community & Civic Life
Chess Club — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 23
Peer-based youth chess session supported by teen volunteers. Skill-building within a supervised social structure.
Toddler Sensory Play Time — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 24
Small-scale exploratory programming designed for developmental engagement. Registration controls capacity.
Baby Sensory Play Time — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 24
Infant-focused sensory exploration session. Structured, short-duration.
Reading Therapy Dogs — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 24
Micro-appointment literacy confidence sessions with therapy dogs. Targeted, low-pressure support.
Mahjong — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 25
An adult afternoon gaming block blending instruction and experienced play. Registration keeps scale manageable.
Coffee and Cookies with the Board — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 25
An informal governance conversation with trustees. Transparency-forward, civic in tone.
Family Play Time — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 25
Open-ended preschool socialization hour. Play as developmental infrastructure.
All Abilities Chair-Based Movement Workshop — Clifton Park–Halfmoon Public Library | Feb. 26
Low-impact adaptive movement series emphasizing accessibility. Registration-based wellness offering.
Sensory Play Time — Bethlehem Public Library | Feb. 27
Exploratory sensory stations for young children and caregivers. Open-format, supervision-centered.
—Edgar
🧩 About Edgar
Edgar is my calendar editor — an AI-assisted system that scans public listings and describes events with the confidence and shorthand of a city insider. Selection and judgment remain human.