Archive for the ‘Art’ Category

Out and about: Things to see and places to be this weekend

Friday, May 17, 2013 by:Christina Hennessy
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There are other events, of course, too, some of which stretch into the next week.

Aspiring illustrators plan to gather in Westport to enjoy the town library’s first comics convention. Musical fans have several year-end concerts to enjoy, including a performance by the Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic. Christine Lavin will make a return to the Edmond Town Hall in Newtown. Jean-Michel Cousteau will be at the Maritime Aquarium early next week. James McCartney (yes, Paul’s son) will be in New Haven. And, Melissa Ferrick will feature songs from her new record during an appearance in Fairfield.

Like the “American Idol(s)” of today, Jenny Lind captured the attention of America back in 1850, during a tour of the country organized by P.T. Barnum. The singer’s influence continues today with Saturday’s Jenny Lind competition that is part of the Barnum Festival. Meanwhile, Danbury band Standby hopes to attract some attention during a release party at Heirloom Arts Theatre. The Connecticut Choral Society delivers some music, as well.

On stage, A.R. Gurney’s “Black Tie” will receive its Connecticut premiere this weekend in Stratford. And community dancers will take to the stage to raise funds for Curtain Call.

Phew! But, wait …

You can see Pilobolus at the Shubert Theater in New Haven. There will be a full weekend for endangered species at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. A parody of “Harry Potter” comes to Hartford. You can see the stars in Stamford or Danbury. Singer Summer Williams will entertain in Bethel. Westfair Singers will put on a concert in Greenwich. The Travelin’ McCourys and Karla Bonoff will be in Mamaroneck, N.Y. The Capitol Theatre will welcome Iron & Wine and Secret Sisters. Or, perhaps it is a spring doo wop you seek. Motley Crue anyone? Soundgarden? Rave On will be in Westport. And, Connecticut Playmakers will begin two weekends of popular hits.

“Connecticut Inventions and Innovations” will open in Bridgeport. Lidia Bastianich and Faith Middleton will be in Simbsury. And Boothe Memorial Park will mark the beginning of a season in style. You can help the Norwalk Seaport Association open its season on Saturday. You can check out Adopt-A-Dog and Westhill High School’s combined cause. Or, you can walk in support of breast cancer research.

Until next time …

P.S. The Bruce Hornsby show, originally scheduled for Sunday, May 19, at the Ridgefield Playhouse has been postponed because the singer is coping with a “persistent vocal issue,” according to the Playhouse. The show has been rescheduled to Sept. 29. A recent news statement indicated that previously purchased tickets will be honored.

New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast to give Greenwich talk

Monday, May 13, 2013 by:Scott Gargan
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New Yorker cartoonist and Ridgefield resident Roz Chast will give a talk at the Greenwich Library Cole Auditorium on Monday, May 13 at 7 p.m.

Chast will speak about her work in the Flinn Gallery exhibition, “Very Short Stories: Conceptual Illustration,” which will be open that evening. There will be a book signing following the talk.

Chast’s cartoons about neuroses and general angst have been running in The New Yorker since 1978. She lives in Ridgefield with her husband, fiction writer Bill Franzen.

The Flinn Gallery is open Sunday, 1-5 p.m.; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Out and about: Things to see and places to be this weekend

Friday, May 10, 2013 by:Christina Hennessy
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Growing up, Lucie Arnaz did not have far to go to be surrounded by great musicians and great songwriters, she said recently. Early on, this daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz was exposed to the kind of music that teamed winning melodies with moving lyrics.

Arnaz, a Weston resident, is set to appear in Ridgefield on Friday to share some of these classics of the American songbook, but with a twist. She will deliver them with a Latin flavor, honoring her father’s roots. As she noted in a recent article:

He had such a great love of music that all he did was want us to enjoy it with him

Arnaz is not the only musical act set to entertain this weekend. The Fab Faux will be at the Capitol Theatre. Brian LaBlanc will bring out the Diamond on Saturday. Norwalk singer Tangela Smith gives a hometown show on Saturday, which happens to be the same day that Stanwich Congregational Church offers up a spiritual welcome to spring. Barry Manilow can be found at Mohegan Sun.

There’s plenty more music. The Sherman Chamber Ensemble performs Sunday. Nellie McKay comes to the Emelin. Huey Lewis and The News will be in Tarrytown, N.Y., along with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin. The Fairfield County Children’s Choir will share “The Miracle of Singing,” while Musicians from Marlboro will share their talent in Greenwich. There also will be a tribute to Chet Baker in Westport.

Robert Dean, Tom Shillue, Mike Epps, Donnell Rawlings, Nazareth, Lily Tomlin and Jodi Weiner are some of the comics making their way to stages throughout the state. On stage you can find “Cirque Ziva,” “Seascape,” “The Dixie Swim Club,” “30! TAW Celebrates,” “Of Mice and Men,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Showstoppers on Stage” all on area stages.

If you plan to go out, there is the Norwalk Regional Tree Festival and art exhibitions up on display at the Glass House grounds. There is a special evening of art and music planned at the site for Friday. Meanwhile, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is hosting a Mother’s Day event (consider this a reminder: Mother’s Day is Sunday.) The Bartlett Arboretum will be hosting a plant sale, too. Or, even if you plan to stay in, you can hear from someone who has his eyes to the outside. Audubon Greenwich will welcome Alvaro Jaramillo, senior biologist at the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, for a talk about birder’s brains.

Dance events include the Center Stage showcase in Stamford, “Dance Across China” in Ridgefield and a performance of “Snow White” in Purchase, N.Y. The visual arts offer up a number of events, as well, including several openings and ongoing shows. These include new shows at the Loft Artists Association, New Canaan Library, Bruce Museum, and Flinn Gallery and Stamford’s Mayor’s Gallery.

If you are looking for a cool day trip, get yourself onto a train into Grand Central to check out the Parade of Trains, just one of many events scheduled this year to honor the terminal’s 100th anniversary.

Until next time …

 

 

A night out amid the art: Two exhibitions host openings May 9

Thursday, May 9, 2013 by:Christina Hennessy
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About 6 miles separate two art openings this evening, meaning, with hustle, you just might be able to catch both.

In Stamford, the Mayor’s Gallery, located on the 10th floor of the Government Center, will host an opening reception for “Visions” an exhibition that features the work of Claudio Altesor, Benjamin Casiano, Rosa Colon, Eddie Nino and Sandra Rossini, who are members of Liber-Art, a one-year-old collective of artists who are looking to foster emerging artists, increase opportunities for display and bring multiple creative disciplines together for events throughout the region.

Rossini, a Stamford artist, offered her thoughts about the group in a recent email:

Creatively, it helps me think outside my comfort zone. I have my favorite style of painting and subjects, but the public exposure has inspired me to explore new methods and be more experimental. …. Professionally, as an artist, I have been able to look at the broader picture, meaning how my art will be viewed in 20-60 years from now. I have been able to recognize styles and change of in my work which have associated with life’s milestones, that has been fun.

When the group gets together for social events, Rossini said it is a time to meet fellow artists and offer them guidance and support. She also meets fellow art enthusiasts who are there for the same reason that she is: “the love of art.”

Rossini will be at the opening and intends to work with the group to keep the community informed on additional upcoming events.

As to the group’s future, she noted:

(I hope) that the building blocks we are setting for artists will someday become the backbone to an influential and positive art movement and channel, within a fast paced modern environment. Advances in technology are wonderful, but creativity is in the core of all individuals.

The reception will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p..m. The show itself will be on display through June 28. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Playground 2Meanwhile, tonight marks the opening reception for ” Very Short Stories: Conceptual Illustration” at the Flinn Gallery at the Greenwich Library. The show features the work of four artists, including Roz Chast, Leslie Giuliani (see “Playground 2, right), Marc Rosenthal and Jackie Welsh. The show will run through June 19.

The reception will run 6 to 8 p.m. in the gallery, which is located on the second floor of the library. Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Wednesday and Friday to Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Early next week will begin a series of artists’ talks associated with the exhibition, beginning with cartoonist and illustrator Roz Chast, Monday, May 13, at 7 p.m. at the Cole Auditorium.

Diana Ross to make a summer stop in Stamford

Friday, May 3, 2013 by:Christina Hennessy
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If you missed Diana Ross’ 2011 sold-out performance at the Stamford Center for the Arts, you will get another chance to hear this Grammy Award winner when she returns this summer to take the Palace Theatre stage.

She is set to perform on Saturday, Aug. 17.

Tickets go on sale to the public today, either through the center’s website, phone at 203-325-4466 or at the center’s box office in downtown Stamford.

The evening will likely include some of her greatest hits from a career that has stretched from the early 1960s, when she was in her teens, to the present day. Starting out as a member of The Supremes, she went on to a successful solo career by the late 1960s. An Academy Award-nominated actress, some of her notable roles include Billie Holiday in the film “Lady Sings the Blues,” the lead in the 1975 film “Mahogany” and Dorothy in the 1978′s “The Wiz.” The Stamford concert also will likely put a spotlight on her glamorous style and fashion sense.

Ross, a longtime Greenwich resident, has performed in the area in the past. In 2004, she took to the stage at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park in Greenwich for a benefit concert for the Arch Street Teen Center.

Dart on over to Audubon Greenwich for special screening

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 by:Christina Hennessy
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As part of the launch of its Hummingbirds At Home science initiative, Audubon Greenwich (613 Riversville Road, Greenwich) will host a special screening Friday of the PBS Nature program, “Hummingbirds: Magic In The Air,” as well as a visit by Geoff LeBaron, the National Director of Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count. (Above, you can see a preview of the show’s original broadcast.)

The evening, which will run 6 to 8:30 p.m., is a chance to catch the show, which first premiered in 2010. Using high-tech cameras and advanced techniques, the film crew was able to capture a creature that can beat its wings up to 200 times a second. You can see what the crew went through during this “behind-the-scenes” program.  The crew’s techniques also enables viewers to see how these diminutive creatures are able to hover, fly backwards and fly upside down.

For those who want to attract some hummingbirds to their homes, there will be information on this new citizen science program, which will ask individuals to keep track of the hummingbirds that they see. Data that is collected will help further knowledge about the birds and help to develop conservation strategies, according to organizers.

The cost for the evening is $10 adults, $5 youth. A reception is planned prior to the screening. Registration is requested by emailing greenwichcenter@audubon.org or by calling 203-869-5272, Ext. 239.

Out and about: Things to see and places to be this weekend

Friday, April 26, 2013 by:Christina Hennessy
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For fans of the absurd and incongruous, the year 2010 marked a watershed moment. For it was in Madison, Wis., that purveyors of the found and forgotten came together for the first time. On Saturday, in Danbury, the two will come together again.

Heirloom Arts Theatre is hosting an evening of Found Vs. Found, which pits the creators behind the Found Footage Festival with the people behind Found Magazine. Found videos will go up against found notes and the victor will be determined by a jury. Get ready to see unusual clips of exercise videos and listen to missives that range from the mundane to the sublime.

Of course, such a rich stew of human behavior may not be what you are looking for this weekend. If that is the case, your music offerings include visits by country rock pioneer Poco, cornet player Kirk Knuffke, The Fab Faux, Mystic Bowie and Anthem, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Max Creek and Tower of Power. Some classical performances are expected to be turned in, too, including a special concert, “Mozart and Constance: Love Letters” in Greenwich, “LIFE: A Journey Through Time” in Hartford, The Declassfied, and a Festival Chorus. You can even check out some bug music.

On stage, the “Fifty Shades of Grey” book series gets a send-up with “50 Shades! The Musical” in Waterbury. A.R. Gurney’s “The Dining Room” opens in Westport. And a 1978 film “In a Year with 13 Moons” inspires a live stage production at Yale Rep. Indian cultural traditions will take center stage in Stamford, while “Cole” continues in Westport. “The Twin Desperados” roll into Bridgeport and “Alice in Wonderland,” will be staged in Danbury.

Some big festivals are hoping to attract guests, including a women’s expo in Stamford and Meriden’s Daffodil Festival. Meanwhile, the Beardsley Zoo is encouraging families to come by to see what animals are out and about and what is in bloom. A singing duo hopes to draw families with children of all abilities to a concert in New Canaan.

The weekend, as per usual, is a chance to see some art. In New London, Canvases For a Cause will support research for cancer. And in Stamford, the Loft Artists Association is hosting its final open studios at its location on Canal Street.

Whatever you do, make sure to get on out there.

Until next time …

Out and About: Things to see and places to be this weekend

Friday, April 19, 2013 by:Christina Hennessy
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Music will mark this weekend in many ways, from live performances to a national celebration that honors independent record stores. Among the performers coming through the area are Holly Williams, Ian Parker, Jose Andrade, the What Up Funk Band, Jarrod Spector, Alex Moutouzkine, Declan O’Rourke, Marc Anthony, Barbara Cook, Fleetwood Mac, and Scotty McCreery.

In Bridgeport, they will  be honoring Gustav Meier’s 41 years with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony (you can see the group perform in the video above.) In Stamford, the symphony will be presenting “Passion & Majesty.” “Saxofestivus” blasts off in Danbury.

Meanwhile, a number of locations across the state will be commemorating Record Store Day with limited releases and performances, including one by Prester John in Brookfield.

Some Earth Day events have been planned, as well, including a book event at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk with two local authors Jay Walshon and Susan Hood. There will be an event designed to remove an invasive species off the grounds at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center. And the New Canaan Nature Center is having an Earth Day-Pitch in Day. Across the state, there are many events planned to honor the 43rd annual Earth Day.

On stage, “Les Miserables” stops for a few days in New Haven. “Cole” will close the season at the Music Theatre of Connecticut. On Monday, Curtain Call’s Musical Mondays series concludes the season with “Merrilee Mannerly.” In Bridgeport, performers take on the 70s in the musical revue “8-Track: The Sounds of the 70s.” “Guys and Dolls” continues in Elmsford, N.Y.. “The Mountain Top” rises in Hartford. While “The Complete History of America” gets under way in Mamaroneck, N.Y.

Rounding out the weekend will be a Premier Ballroom dance show in Bridgeport, featuring U.S. champions. The “Art of the Northeast” exhibition continues in New Canaan. “What Is It? ” looks at discoveries of the Victorian era in Norwalk. And the Alvarez Gallery will host an affordable art show, which opens on Friday.

The buds are starting to bloom and there is a bit of green and yellow to the trees, so make sure to get on out for a bit this weekend, too

Until next time …

By the way, I know it is not a huge milestone in light of all things, but today marks the 100th “Out and About.” So, I want to thank all the readers who check out this posting each week.

 

 

 

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