This Weekend

Written by Sally Sanders
Thursday, 19 November 2009 00:00

A busy weekend with music, crafts, art exhibits and play openings and the premieres of two locally shot films.

One-of-a-kind art

Monothon 2009, the Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk  fund-raiser, began with artists’ printing sessions early in the month. Now their work is on display at the center, in Mathews Park, 299 West Avenue, Norwalk, from 9 to 5 daily through Saturday, in advance of the live auction and party on Saturday night, Nov. 21.

The auction and party start at 5 with a champagne preview and silent auction bidding starts at 6; the live auction will take place from 8 to 9, led by Guy Bennett, former head of Impressionist and Modern Art at Christie’s, New York. In addition to prints the auction will include select non-art items. Tickets for the auction are $25 per person; for the champagne preview, $100. For more information, visit contemprints.org or call 203-899-7999.

The Curious Savage

Darien High School Theatre 308 will present The Curious Savage by John Patrick, directed by Nancy A. Herman, Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 19-21, at 8 at the high school auditorium. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.

The school is at 80 High School Lane off Middlesex Road; for more information, call 203-655-3981.

Festive Home

The Ridgefield Guild of Artists will open Festive Home: Objects for Living & Giving with a preview party on Friday, Nov. 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Guild galleries on Halpin Lane. The show featuring apparel, gifts, jewelry, as well as items for the home by area artisans and crafters will remain on view through Dec. 20.

Extended gallery hours for the season will be Tuesday through Sunday, 10-5; the gallery will be closed Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 25-26. For more information, call 203-438-8863 or visit rgoa.org.

Film premiere

The Westport Youth Film Festival and the Westport arts Center will present the premiere of a film by Weston High School junior Alex Fjellberg Swerdlowe, The Complex, which was filmed at the abandoned Gilbert & Bennett factory in Georgetown. The premiere will take place Friday evening, Nov. 20, at 7 at the arts center, 51 Riverside Avenue.

The young director sees parallels between his film, set following the Great Depression, and the current economic climate. Space is limited to 75 people for the premiere; for information, call 203-222-7070.

Jazz at Twain’s

The Beauiles Jazz Society, a group of Redding friends who’ve been playing jazz together for nearly five years at the home of horn player Julian Barry, will perform at the Mark Twain Library, Route 53 and Diamond Hill Road, Redding, on Friday, Nov. 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. Suggested donation is $10 per person and there will be complementary light hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer.

In addition to Mr. Barry, the group includes Harvey Kulawitz, Kathy Anderson and Mark Hinkley on keyboard, Kenny Goldstein on drums, Eddie Chervanski on guitar and Joe Mato on acoustic bas. For reservations, call 203-938-2545.

The Gift

Kathleen Deignan, CND, and pianist Rob Silvan, with a group of musicians, will perform music from their new recording, The Gift, on Friday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 in the Chapel of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, 345 Belden Hill Road, Wilton.

The music, composed and arranged by Sr. Deignan, draws on the poetry of saints, sages, psalmists and contemporary poets. Tickets are $30 and will benefit Schola Ministries; they’re available at scholaconcert.org.

Playwrights Festival

Theatre Artists Workshop will present an evening of new one-act plays all written, acted and directed by Workshop members on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 20-22, at the workshop, 5 Gregory Boulevard, East Norwalk. The plays include Beds, Katherine’s Island, Loving Cup, Old Friends, The Geezer, The Pope, The Committee and Vinny’s Vision.

Performances will be at 8 Friday and Saturday and at 3 on Sunday; tickets are $15 and may be reserved by calling 203-854-6830. For more information, visit taworkshop.org.

Proof in Westport

The Unitarian Church in Westport will stage David Auburn’s drama, Proof, on Friday and Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 3 at the church, 10 Lyons Plains Road. The cast, directed by Jim Luongo, includes Sarah Bell, the Rev. Frank Hall, Candace Clinger and Perry Montrose.

There is a suggested donation of $15; for information and reservations, call 203-222-7190.

A Christmas Carol

The Town Players of Newtown will open a production of A Christmas Carol, a play written by Christopher Schario, based on the classic book by Charles Dickens, on Friday, Nov. 20, at the Little Theater, Orchard Hill Road. The show features six actors, a fiddler and a live, onstage sound effects person.

Performances continue through Dec. 6 with shows at 8 on Fridays and Saturdays and Sunday matinees on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 at 2 (Dec. 6 is a benefit, sold-out). Tickets are $18 for evenings and $15 for the matinee. For reservations, call 203-270-9144.

Mulberry musical

New characters, new songs, and new script (thanks to Jeffrey Lodin and William Squier, and Lou Ursone) have transformed the romantic comedy Mulberry Street into A Merry Mulberry Street Musical. The play, written 70 years ago in Stamford by Al Pia, is set in 1944 as the Morello and Baccolini attempt to celebrate the holidays during World War II.

The musical will open Friday, Nov. 20, and run weekends through Dec. 20, Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8 and Sunday afternoons at 2. Tickets are $26 for adults, $18 for seniors and $13 for students and children; reservations may be made by calling 203-461-6358 x36 or online at curtaincallinc.com.

Live Radio Dramas

Keir Dullea and Mia Dillon will perform in the Quick Center for the Arts Live Radio Dramas on Friday, Nov. 20, at 8 and Saturday, Nov. 21, at 3. They will star in “Lights Out,” vintage programs from the 1930s and 1940s radio series, directed by Frank Jacoby. Tickets are available online at quickcenter.com or by calling 1-877-ARTS-396.

Ridgefield craft fair

The Ridgefield Woman’s Club 39th Craft Fair will take place Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 to 4 at East Ridge Middle School, corner of East Ridge and Branchville Road (Route 102). The show, which fills the gym and cafeteria and hallways of the middle school, features local and regional craftspeople and artists.

Holiday Bazaar

The Darien Senior Center will have its Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 to 2 at the center, 30 Edgerton Street. The hand-crafted items will include knits, quilts, jewelry, notecards, birdhouses, paintings, etc. There will be a quilt raffle, a White Elephant table and one vendor of jewelry. For more information, call 203-655-1705.

CraftWestport

Replacing the Westport Young Woman’s League Creative Arts Festival on the weekend before Thanksgiving is CraftWestport, which will take place Nov. 21-22 at Staples High School, 70 North Avenue, Westport. The show, also sponsored by the Westport Young Woman’s League to raise money for charity, will feature 150 American craftspeople and is organized by Artrider Productions.

Show hours are 10 to 6 on Saturday and 10 to 5 on Sunday; admission is $9, $6/seniors and free/children 12 and younger. For more information, call 203-222-1388 or visit wywl.com.

Crafts and gifts

The YWCA of Greenwich will have a Holiday Craft and Gift Show featuring affordable gifts from 25 area artisans and merchants on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 to 4 at the Y, 259 East Putnam Avenue. For more information, call 203-661-0985.

Arts center show

The Rowayton Arts Center, at 145 Rowayton Avenue, will open its 15th Holiday Show of Fine Arts and Crafts on Saturday, Nov. 21. The show continues through Wednesday, Dec. 23; gallery hours are 12 through 5, Tuesday through Saturday, and from 1 to 4 on Sunday. For more information, call 203-866-2744 or visit rowaytonartscenter.org.

Family art workshop

The Carriage Barn Arts Center in Waveny Park, New Canaan, will offer a free family workshop, Dig Dem Bones, on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 2 to 4. The drop-in program, open to children ages 5 and older, accompanied by an adult, will offer a chance to try three different media to explore the shapes of bones. The participants will also have time to see the current exhibition, Dem Bones, Dem Bones, which runs through Dec. 13.

For more information, call 203-972-1895.

Young Persons’ Concert

Prize-winning harpist Bridget Kibbey will perform a free Young Persons’ Concert on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 2 at the Pequot Library, 720 Pequot Avenue, Southport.  The concert is sponsored by Music for Youth and the library and will be followed by harp demonstrations (to register for the demonstrations, call 203-938-3843 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Tellabration!

Several storytelling events are planned in the area on Saturday to mark the traditional weekend-before-Thanksgiving celebration of the art of telling a story. The Danbury Library will feature Carrie Sue Ayvar at 1 p.m.; she is a third generation bilingual storyteller and will be joined at the event by the Crouch quadruplets of Danbury. The library is at the corner of Main and West streets; for more information, call 203-796-0017.

Ann Shapiro and Marcia Hupp from the Connecticut Storytelling Center in New London will visit the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Mathews Park, Norwalk, on Saturday at 2:30. They will share stories about Australia as part of Tellabration. For more information, call 203-899-0606.

On Saturday evening at 8, the Rowayton United Church, 210 Rowayton Avenue, will host an evening storytelling for grown-ups (and for children who can listen as grown-ups). The presenters will be a blend of local and distant tellers as well as musicians. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door; for reservations call 203-966-9394. For more information about Tellabration, visit connstorycenter.org/tellabration.html.

Film premiere

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, based on the book by Rebecca Miller and featuring Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin and Keanu Reeves, was filmed in the greater Danbury area and will have its area premiere in Danbury on Saturday night at the Palace Theater at 165 Main Street. Presented as part of the 2010 Connecticut Film Festival, the premiere will begin with a cocktail reception at 6:30, before the screening at 7:30. Tickets are $10. An after-party is planned at Two Steps Downtown Grille, 5 Ives Street.

For information, call CityCenter Danbury at 203-792-1711.

Greenwich Symphony

Famed violinist Aaron Rosand of New Canaan will perform the Bruch Scottish Fantasy with the Greenwich Symphony on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 8 and Sunday, Nov. 22, at 4 at Greenwich High School auditorium, Hillside Road. The program, conducted by David Gilbert, also includes Glinka’s Russlan and Ludmilla Overture and Beethoven’s Third Symphony “Eroica.”

Associate conductor Patricia Handy will give a free pre-concert lecture an hour before each performance. For ticket information, call 203-869-2664.

Steel band sounds

The Blue Flames Steel Band will perform a concert for the benefit of the Darien Arts Center’s Cabaret Theatre on Saturday evening at 8 in the arts center’s Weatherstone Studio, 2 Renshaw Road. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students. For reservations, call 203-655-5414 or visit arts.darien.org.

Westchester Philharmonic

Artistic Director Itzhak Perlman will lead the Westchester Philharmonic in concerts featuring clarinetist Anthony McGill on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 8 and Sunday, Nov. 22, at 3 at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase (N.Y.) College, 735 Anderson Hill Road. Mr. McGill will perform the Mozart Clarinet Concerto; the program will also feature Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Schubert’s “Great” Symphony No. 9.

Single tickets range from $85 to $25. There will also be a free open rehearsal on Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Performing Arts Center Concert Hall. For reservations, call 914-682-3707 x10.

Parade of balloons

The 2009 UBS Parade Spectacular will take place Sunday at noon in downtown Stamford, starting from Summer and Hoyt streets at noon. Among the many new balloons are Cookie Monster, Leonardo and Super Grover; the grand marshals are Connie Chung and Maury Povich and Alan Kalter will be the master of ceremonies.

The parade route proceeds south on Summer, east on Broad, then south on Atlantic Street, ending at Federal Street. On Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m., people are invited to watch the balloons being inflated at Summer and Hoyt streets. For more information, call 203-348-5285.

Norwalk Youth Symphony

The Norwalk Youth Symphony will open its 54th season on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 3 at Norwalk Concert Hall, 125 East Avenue. Performing will be the five tiered orchestras: Prelude, Philharmonia Strings, Philharmonia Winds, Concert and Principal. Tickets will be available at the door and are $15 for adults, $8 for seniors and free for students and music teachers. For more information, call 203-866-4100 or visit norwalkyouthsymphony.org.

Master Chorale

The Connecticut Master Chorale, directed by Tina Johns Heidrich, will present its Holiday Prelude concert on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 3 at St. Mary Church, 46 Dodgingtown Road (Route 302), Bethel. The program includes spirituals, lullabies, multi-cultural numbers and other selections; featured is Christmas Cantata — The Incarnation by K. Lee Scott. The Chorale will be accompanied by Holiday Brass and Joseph Jacovino Jr. on piano, and on a couple of numbers by steel drums. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. For information, call 203-743-0473 or visit cmchorale.org.

Duo-Pianists

The Darien Community Association’s Duo-Pianists will present European Get-A-Way: A Musical Romp through History on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 4 at the DCA, 274 Middlesex Road, Darien. Tickets are $10 for cabaret seating and refreshments; for reservations, call 203-655-9050.

Oratorio society

The Westchester Oratorio Society, led by Benjamin Niemczyk, will be joined by keyboard virtuosi Anthony and Mary Jane Newman for a concert on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 4 at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco, N.J., 605 Millwood Road (Route 133). Mr. Newman will accompany the singers in selections from his Sibley Requiem and Mrs. Newman will accompany them in Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring and Beethoven’s Mass in C.

Tickets are $20 general admission and $40 preferred seating. For tickets or more information, call 914-763-9389 or visit westchesteroratorio.org.

Girlchoir in Westport

Christ & Holy Trinity Church will present the Pennsylvania Girlchoir on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 4 at the church on Church Lane, Westport. The group sings a wide repertoire from classical to contemporary.

Tickets are $25 for reserved seats, $15 for general adult admission and $5 for children under 18, available by calling 203-227-0827. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door.

Stamford Young Artists

The Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic, founded by Salvatore Princiotti, will open its 50th anniversary season on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 7 at the Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic Street, Stamford. Mr. Princiotti will lead the senior orchestra.

Also performing will be the Young People’s Symphony and the Young String Ensemble; violinist Geeta Nazareth, 15, will be the featured soloist. She will play the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Saint-Saëns.

General admission tickets will be available at the door, $20 for adults and $13 for seniors; students and music teachers admitted free. For more information, call 203-532-1278 or visit syap.org.