Bravo! A Century of Theatre in Fairfield County at the Fairfield Museum and History Center


Photo Caption: Katharine Hepburn as Portia in Merchant of Venice American Shakespeare Festival Theatre, Stratford. Photo Credit: Friedman-Abeles Courtesy, ASFTA Archives

When the curtain rises on Bravo! A Century of Theatre in Fairfield County, Fairfield Museum and History Center expects the crowds to be standing room only!

The six-month exhibition will begin with a special gala fundraising preview that will honor actor Christopher Plummer; playwright A.J. Gurney; director Mark Lamos; and costume designer Jane Greenwood on Saturday, September 24th at the Museum.

The honorary event chair is distinguished actor Joanne Woodward and the gala event chairs are Mary Jane Berrien, Lisa Callahan and Caroline Owens Crawford, all of Fairfield.

According to Director of Exhibitions and Programs for the Museum, Kathleen Bennewitz, Bravo! opens to the public on Sunday, September 25th and will run through Sunday, March 18th, 2012. “It will be the largest, first-of-a-kind exhibition the Museum has undertaken and will focus on the legacy of Fairfield County’s regional theatres, highlighting the Westport Country Playhouse, the White Barn Theatre and the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre and Academy,” she said.

Photo Caption: From left…Actors Maggie Lacey, Paul Newman and Ben Fox in the 2002 Westport Country Playhouse production of Our Town.

The Fairfield Museum and History Center is working in partnership with Martha S. LoMonaco, PhD, Professor of Visual and Performing Arts at Fairfield University, who is guest curating this exhibition. The Fairfield Museum has chosen this topic because Fairfield County holds a unique place in the history of American theatre and is rich with vibrant stories. “One of Connecticut’s important roles in the performing arts has been as an ‘incubator’ of emerging talent, providing a place where playwrights, actors and designers have had the freedom to experiment with groundbreaking ideas,” Bennewitz noted. “Over the past century, regional theatres have provided opportunities for internationally known artists to ‘try out’ their craft on a regional stage to allow audiences to experience the best in classical, popular and innovative dramatic art in a different setting outside New York. “Collectively, the productions have comprised a who’s who of stage artists like Katharine Hepburn, Alfred Drake, Morris Carnovsky, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Christopher Plummer, James Earl Jones, June Havoc, Robert Ryan and Bert Lahr, to mention only a few.

Bravo! will offer visitors a unique opportunity to hear the fascinating stories behind those actors and some of their landmark performances,” Bennewitz added. Bennewitz explained that interactive stations will provide a window to “behind the scenes” stage production and a colorful array of costumes, props, photographs and manuscripts will combine to illustrate Fairfield County’s theatrical history.

Photo Caption: The internationally famous and glamorous producer, Lucille Lortel, popularly known as the “Queen of Off-Broadway”, opened the White Barn Theatre in 1947 on her Westport estate in a former horse barn.

The Museum will also offer a slate of public education programs, related to Bravo!, where visitors may participate in activities, presentations and performances at the Museum and at partnering institutions. These programs will provide the experience of live theatre while inspiring the artists and audiences of tomorrow.”Another of the very exciting aspects of Bravo! is the partnerships we have established with more than 60 performing arts organizations throughout Fairfield County that will co-promote the exhibition and its related educational programs and performances,” Bennewitz said. “These partnerships will help make the exhibition and their own performances appealing.”

For more information on Bravo! A Century of Theatre in Fairfield County, its programs and the opening gala, visit http://www.fairfieldhistory.org or call 203-259-1598.

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6th Annual Watertown CT House Tour Saturday September 24th

The 6th Annual Watertown House Tour will take place on Saturday September 24th from 11am to 3pm, rain or shine. Five fabulous homes will be featured in this year’s tour including The Hickcox House at 235 Main Street, The Woodward House at 126 North Street, The Long House at 241 Woodbury Road, The Guernsey Davis House at 141 Merriam Lane, and Trillium at 2579 Litchfield Road. The Watertown Historical Society Museum and the Nova Scotia Schoolhouse at 22 DeForest Street will also be open for viewing.

The Watertown House Tour is a benefit for the Watertown Historical Society Museum. The Watertown Historical Society is a private, nonprofit, all volunteer organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing Watertown and Oakville’s history through the Museum.

Advance tickets are $25 per person, and will be $30 the day of the tour. Tickets for this self-guided house tour are non-refundable & can be purchased by mailing a check or money order to: Watertown House Tour, c/o 107 Vaill Road, Watertown, CT 06795.Checks should be made payable to the “Watertown Historical Society”. Tickets can also be purchased online with a credit card at: http://www.watertownhistoricalsociety.org

All tickets and maps will be mailed to those that purchase advance tickets, starting at the beginning of September. Advance orders must be received no later than Friday September 16th. Requests for tickets after this date will be held for pick-up on the day of the tour at the Museum.

Tickets will soon be available at the beginning of September at the following retail locations: LaBonne’s Market in Watertown, Chubba’s, the Health Complex, The Watertown and Oakville Libraries, Hosking’s Nursery, Depot Square Farm Shoppe, Jimmy’s of Watertown and at the Watertown Fall Festival.

On the day of the tour tickets will be available at all of the businesses, all of the houses and at the Museum, which will be tour headquarters. Call the Museum at 860-274-1050 or view http://www.watertownhistoricalsociety.org for more information.

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New Exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking Sept. 18- Nov. 13

The new exhibition, featuring artist Jack Boul, at The Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP) opens on Sunday, September 18 at 2 pm, and is on view through Sunday, November 13, 2011. This exhibition is a northeast premiere, for an accomplished artist and educator whose idyllic landscapes and scenes of everyday life at home and abroad are well known in the Washington DC area.

On view are over 150 works representing subject matter that has concerned and inspired this artist for decades. His signature cows and dancers appear throughout the Grace Ross Shanley Gallery at CCP, sometimes as printmaker’s monotypes, again as painter’s oils on board, and yet again as sculptor’s bronzes.

At the heart of the exhibition are Jack Boul’s monotypes, depicting dancers and cityscapes, cows and graineries, guitarists, musicians, and wait staff. “For this artist, there is no perceived hierarchy in his studio, where his two etching presses are a few feet away from his easel, always at the ready”, writes Anthony Kirk, curator of the exhibition. At CCP, Artistic Director and Master Printer Anthony Kirk helped the artist translate a number of his monotypes into photopolymer intaglio plates. Several recent editions made from these plates are included in the exhibition.

Jack Boul was born in Brooklyn, in 1927, the son of a Russian émigré father and a Romanian mother. Boul first studied art at the American Artist’s School, and then he studied at the Cornish School of Art, on the GI Bill. He moved to Washington DC, and continued his art studies at American University, where he eventually joined the art faculty, and was a distinguished professor for 15 years. In 1984, Boul was a founding faculty member of the new Washington Studio School, where he taught painting, drawing and monotype for ten years before retiring in 1994, to devote his full time to printmaking and painting. His first museum exhibition was held at the Baltimore Museum of Art, in 1994. The Corcoran Gallery of Art held a career retrospective for the artist, in 2000. The National Gallery of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art own impressions of his monotypes.

Exhibition-related Events

The Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP) is conducting a writing competition, based on the “soulful” works of Jack Boul, in collaboration with Ina Chadwick’s MouseMuse Productions, an arts partnering company located in Westport, CT. Entry deadline for the competition, named “Déjà Vu”, is September 23, 2011 at 5 pm. The winning works will be read by professional actors at a CCP festive awards ceremony and reception, on Sunday, November 13, 2011, at 4 pm. For more information, visit http://www.contemprints.org/writers.

Reception

The public is invited to the opening reception for the new exhibition, Jack Boul: Intimate Scale: Paintings, Sculptures, Monotypes Sunday, September 18, from 2 – 5 pm, at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking. Rumor has it that Jack Boul and his son, David, may be in attendance. Refreshments will be served. Admission is free.

The Center for Contemporary Printmaking

Normal hours are Monday through Saturday 9 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, 12 to 5 pm. The gallery is located at 299 West Ave., in Mathews Park, Norwalk, CT., 203-899-7999, http://www.contemprints.org. Admission is free, and the gallery is handicapped accessible.

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Roxbury Race for Open Space Set for September 17


A 5K “Race for Open Space” will be held in Roxbury on Saturday, September 17, starting at the River Road Preserve on River Road at 8:30 a.m.

Co-sponsored by the Roxbury Land Trust and Roxbury Road Race Series, the race is open to all ages for walking or running. Registration is $5 per person, with children under 10 free.

The race will benefit the stonewall restoration project at the Mine Hill Preserve that was completed this summer.

Work at the historic 19th century iron ore mining complex, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, encompassed reconstruction of massive stonewalls in five areas, as well as much-needed drainage improvements.

The Roxbury Land Trust has preserved 3,400 acres of farmland, woodlands, wildlife habitats, watercourses, wetlands and open space in Roxbury and neighboring communities since it was established in 1970.

The non-profit organization, which is governed by a volunteer board of directors and is supported by membership dues and charitable contributions, now maintains 32 preserves with 30 miles of hiking trails and three active farms, as well as offers a wide range of educational programs.

For more information, visit http://www.roxburylandtrust.org or call 860-350-4148.

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Sunset/Moonrise Kayak Paddle Around Norwalk Islands Sept. 12

Experienced and novice kayakers are invited to join Friends of the Norwalk Islands for a sunset/moonrise paddle that coincides with the mid-autumn festival on the Chinese calendar.

A guided Kayak Paddle to the Norwalk Islands will launch at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, September 12, from The Small Boat Shop dock at 144 Water Street. Children (age 10 and above and weighing at least 100 pounds) are welcome to participate. Water safety and basic paddling techniques will be discussed before the tour to the Norwalk Islands begins.

“If you have never seen the sunset from a kayak or paddled beneath the moon, this trip is for you,” says Susan Snider, president, Friends of the Norwalk Islands. “After launching, we’ll head down the Norwalk River into Long Island Sound to enjoy the beauty of the Norwalk Islands and the night sky. We’ll return to the dock by 8:00 p.m.”

The Small Boat Shop is sponsoring several kayak paddles to support the Friends of the Norwalk Islands. The event fee of $85 includes a kayak, paddles, life jacket and $25 donation to Friends of the Norwalk Islands. Reservations are required by calling Friends of the Norwalk Islands (203-849-8341) or The Small Boat Shop (203-854-5223) or visit http://www.TheSmallBoatShop.com/kayaktours2011.html.

Led by Snider, the Friends of the Norwalk Islands has partnered with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to conserve, protect and enhance the environmental, recreational and cultural significance of the Norwalk Islands and to promote the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Norwalk Islands of Chimon, Peach, Goose and Sheffield are part of the Norwalk Islands unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. To learn more, visit the web site at http://www.FriendsoftheNorwalkIslands.org.

Photo Credit: Dick Ramsey

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The Taste of Greater Danbury Connecticut Sept. 10-11

Danbury has always been a place about community and nowhere can the community celebrate with all its citizens, friends and visitors better than downtown. Nothing proves this more than the long awaited popular Taste of Danbury that begins on Saturday, September 10 and ends on Sunday, September 11. In it’s 11th year, the Taste of Danbury promises more food, more fun for the entire family and more music than ever before! This is an event that is not to be missed.

On Saturday, September 10th, the Taste is kicked off with the Regional Y Kid’s Run at 10 am. That is followed by the 3rd Annual Run for Children at 10:30; the Regional Y Awards will be at 12:30 PM. The Official Opening Ceremony and the Walk of Honor takes place from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM. From 1:30 to 2:30 participants will enjoy the YMCA Family Zumba. At 2:45 PM – 3:30 PM Taste goers will enjoy Sherry Winston and at 3:45 PM – 5:00 PM the Quadrasaurus take over. At 5:30, Kicks 105.5 Country Showdown Winner, Bobby Kendall will perform. He is followed by Pete Herger and Friends from 6:45 PM – 7:30 PM. From 8:00 PM to 10 PM taking front and center stage is Bad Company’s former lead singer Brian Howe, the Taste’s premier act.

On Sunday, September 11th the day begins at 11:00 AM with the News Times Community Parade on Rose Street to Boughton Street. The Parade is followed by DJ music from noon until 12:45. Afternoon entertainment includes: Golden Angels Jazz Band from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM; Bad Company’s Former Lead Singer Brian Howe from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM; Tracey DeLucia and Band from 4:30 PM – 5:15 PM; and In Harmony from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM.

The Taste of course is not all about music and entertainment – it is also about Food! This year’s variety of foods include: ceviche, hornados, empanadas, patacones, bubble milk tea, thai fried rice, pad thai, spring rolls, lobster rolls, philly cheese steak sliders, New England clam chowder, cubano sandwiches, bbq chicken, tostones, sausage and peppers, rice balls, stuffed breads, pretzels, pizza, ziti, stuffed eggplant, fried dough, pork and beef shish kebabs, ice cream, hamburger, hotdogs, fajitas, kielbasa, bratwurst, paninis, baked goods, cookies, cotton candy, Italian ice, and specialty sodas

Participating area restaurants include: El Sabor, Thai Awesome, The Blue Dog, Teddy’s at the Holiday Inn, Primo’s Deli, Roma’s Deli, Nick’s Restaurant, Romy’s BBQ, Sprinkles Ice Cream, Two Steps Downtown Grille, Fajita Joes, Curro’s, Mysore, Weenie Lynn’s, Bruegger’s Bagels, Stony Hill Bakery, and O’Delli’s Catering.

For up to the minute information check out http://www.citycenterdanbury.com.

JanetLeave a comment