During the summer, public libraries provide frugal fun for individuals and families. The uncertain economy and unemployment has limited the budgets of many, and the money available for entertainment is often the first to be eliminated. This can further increase tension within financially burdened families as children spend the summer feeling aimless and bored. Utilizing the free resources available at the public library can be a cheap and easy solution for families searching for ideas for summer fun.

Books at the Public Library Offer Fun and Education

Obviously, the public library offers the free use of books for all ages. For adults, summer reading is often a form of escape and relaxation. “Beach reads” and books especially written for women become quite popular as temperatures rise as they provide lazy reads while sitting at the pool or escaping the heat at home. Education is also the goal of many. They will turn to the public library for learning new skills and gaining understanding of a particular topic.

Of course, escape and education are also the goals of teens and children when choosing a book. Reading during the summer will too maintain and improve their reading skills during a time when many children lose much of what they have learned over the previous year.

Various Multimedia Offered by Public Libraries

Adults and children who prefer audio versions of their books will often find them at larger city libraries. Available in tape, compact disc, and other formats, audio books have grown in popularity as they allow readers to multitask, such as cleaning the house while listening to a book.

In addition to audio books, all ages will find other forms of electronic entertainment at the library. Many will be surprised to see movies and sometimes video games on library shelves. While services such as Netflix have become extremely prevalent in recent years, public libraries will often offer the use of their multimedia resources for free, making them a truly frugal choice for families.

Programs at Public Libraries Have Ideas for Summer Fun

Additionally, public libraries make programs and shows free for their patrons. The summer is naturally the time for the Summer Reading Club, a national program that provides incentives for children and teens to read.

Children’s librarians will also hold regular times for reading stories and playacting. This not only provides children with fun but also exposes them to reading at an early age. Adults are not left out during the summers, however. Book clubs and talks will continue, giving them a break from their routines for a short time.

During the summer, families may struggle to find ideas for appropriate and affordable entertainment. Public libraries, though, can provide a frugal solution for all ages. Libraries offer free resources and fun for all ages during a difficult economic time.

© 2010 Krista Schnee

"We at Howard K Hill Funeral Services http://www.hkhfuneralservices.com/ love our community and provide timely information to keep you all educated and motivated to help each other. We hope you enjoy our blog posts and as always "We’re Honored to Server You".

Source: The Public Library Offers Frugal Ideas for Summer Fun

A tornado briefly touched down in Litchfield, Thomaston, the Terryville section of Plymouth and Bristol Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.

The tornado touched down in East Litchfield around Litchfield Road, in Thomaston near D. Welter Way, in Terryville near North Street and in Bristol near Blakeslee and High streets.

As of 9:30 a.m. Friday Connecticut Light & Power was reporting 6,278 customers were still without power, including 3,985 customers in East Hampton.

Tree tops were twisted off and several trees were uprooted. Damage from straight line winds was also detected in the area by NWS weather experts.

In Bristol, the tornado’s path was one and a half miles long and about 25 yards wide. Wind gusts were about 90 mph. The paths in the other three towns were shorter.

But not all of the damage left by a powerful storm — with high winds, hail, rain and lightning — that tore through Connecticut late Wednesday was a result of a tornado.

The weather service determined that damage in southwestern Connecticut and eastern Long Island was not caused by a tornado but was consistent with "straight line winds."

That determination was made after reviewing radar images and talking to local officials in Westport and in eastern Suffolk County, New York.

The findings are preliminary and could change, the NWS said.

Bristol Mayor Art Ward said the town is cleaning up the fallen trees and wires in town. Numerous trees in Rockwell Park came down, were split open or were sheared off during the storm, he said.

A business in the North Main Street business district lost its entire roof, while other businesses had damaged roofs, he said. Blakeslee Street is covered in fallen trees and wires, he said.

"Blakeslee Street is totally devastated, totally impassable," Ward said.

"We lost a lot of trees, probably a good 20 or so were snapped off, uprooted or twisted in half. I’ve never seen so much tree damage there," Parks Superintendent Ed Swicklas said late Thursday afternoon. "But the storm missed our major buildings and equipment."

Rockwell had just undergone a multimillion-dollar renovation, but virtually none of the new paths or decorative lights and benches was damaged. Falling trees broke the outfield fence at Muzzy Field and ripped down the netting above the grandstand, but Swicklas predicts that city workers will have Muzzy in shape for a game today. (Friday)

Workers on Thursday put up tape to keep visitors away from a few areas with dangling tree limbs, but otherwise Rockwell was OK, Swicklas said.

"The park is open — the pool, the skate park are all open," Swicklas said.

Page Park and the park along Memorial Boulevard also sustained tree damage, and parks workers spent the day clearing debris. Swicklas predicted the cleanup will continue into next week or later.

Ward said 34,000 CL&P customers were without power Wednesday, but that the number was down to 8,000 by Thursday morning.

Lake Compounce lost power overnight but had it restored by 11:30 a.m. today, said Sara Webb, director of marketing. Most of the rides were functioning Thursday, but many were being tested for safety, she said.

Close to 55,000 Connecticut Light and Power customers were without power at the height of Wednesday’s storms, but the number of outages had dropped to 12,133 by 4 p.m.

In nearby Plainville, officials were forced to close Paderewski Park because of storm damage. Trees were toppled over, some were sheared off, other were left leaning precariously, said Town Manager Robert Lee.

"We just don’t think it’s safe for people to go there," he said.

Four homes in town were damaged by fallen trees, one of them is no longer habitable, he said. Clean up in Plainville will take between two and three weeks, Lee said.

"We at Howard K Hill Funeral Services http://www.hkhfuneralservices.com/ love our community and provide timely information to keep you all educated and motivated to help each other. We hope you enjoy our blog posts and as always "We’re Honored to Server You".

Source: ctnow

When we look at people who are obese, we often assume we’re just seeing people with an eating disorder, but this can be both a superficial and inaccurate assumption. Many times the problems and difficulties that face those living with obesity are much deeper and more personal battles than just food.

As trainers that specialize in assisting the obese with exercise, weight loss, and better health, we know that in addition to diet and exercise, training the obese takes patience, care, gentle hands, and a good ear.

Patience, because of the various setbacks that can occur not only during exercise, but during the course of daily activities… injuries, such as muscle strain, sprains, or joint problems can happen more frequently with the obese. The quality of sleep is also a factor because it can affect physical and mental performance. Weather conditions i.e. wind, heat, cold can cause stiff joints, muscle tightness, trouble breathing, lack of energy, lowered stamina, and extra time for the body to warm up.

These conditions may vary from day to day… and then there are the good days.
Exercise for obese clients is done at a much slower pace. Therefore, there are no instant results. Each day, each week and each month is a valuable step towards their personal goal.

It’s important that we ask our client’s how they’re feeling often. Are you sore? Did you
sleep well? These questions may appear repetitious, but the answers must be known not only to structure the days program and minimize the possibility of injury, but also because as coaches we’re as concerned about how they’re feeling. Losing weight for the obese is a long-term life altering endeavor and compassion goes a long way.

A good ear, because there is a build up of issues, problems, and complaints that may affect the direction of an exercise session. Along with a exercise program, it’s important to give clients undivided attention and support regarding their concerns or insecurities about day to day life.

Gentle hands, because even though an obese person may appear strong, solid and
compact, one still requires care in handling them physically. They are not as flexible and mobile in their movement, therefore programs for obesity must be specially designed to fit specific physical abilities and individual needs.

When an obese person has made the choice to try and lose weight, it’s important that the people around them show understanding and choose their words carefully so as not to discourage. Respond to questions about their progress with encouragement and motivation, because the truth is, if they can keep up the good work, they will get there.

"We at Howard K Hill Funeral Services http://www.hkhfuneralservices.com/ love our community and provide timely information to keep you all educated and motivated to help each other. We hope you enjoy our blog posts and as always "We’re Honored to Server You".

Source: Blitz Basic Training

BRIDGEPORT — —Two firefighters died Saturday afternoon while battling a house fire on Elmwood Avenue.
Lt. Steven Velazquez and firefighter Michel Baik were found lying on the third floor of a three-story home at 41 Elmwood Ave. They were both transported to local hospitals — one to Bridgeport Hospital and another to St. Vincent’s Medical Center — where they were pronounced dead.

The cause was possibly smoke inhalation, said Bridgeport Fire Capt. Ed McCann. The men were not burned.

"They might have run out of air up there. We’re not sure yet," McCann said.

• • Chief: Loss Of Bridgeport Firefighters "Our Worst Nightmare"

Both men lived in Bridgeport, said Elaine Ficarra, a spokeswoman for Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch. Baik, 49, had been with the department for two years, she said. Velazquez, 40, was a 16 year veteran promoted to lieutenant in February.

"Bridgeport is mourning the loss of two of its bravest," Finch said in a statement Saturday. "I urge you all to pray for the firefighters and their families during this most trying time."

Governor Rell ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff until funerals are held for the firefighters. Memorial services have not yet been scheduled for the men.

Three other firefighters suffered non-life-threatening injuries, McCann said. All of them were treated and released from local hospitals, he said.

Investigators were on the scene into the evening. Firefighters received a call about the fire shortly before 4 p.m., McCann said.

Firefighters from Bridgeport’s Engine 3 were first on the scene and were later joined by Engines 1, 4 and 7, Ladders 5 and 11, Rescue 5 and the battalion chief.

The fire appears to have started on the second floor, McCann said. Three families were displaced. None of the residents were injured.

Members of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross were on hand to provide support. A mental health professional was brought in to speak with families and emergency responders.

"This is a tragedy," said Mario Bruno, chief operating officer of the Red Cross’ Connecticut chapter. "We view firefighters and other first responders as true heroes who put their lives on the line. This is a great loss for the community and our thoughts are with the firefighters’ families and all who are affected by this terrible fire."

Lt. Velazquez leaves behind a wife and two children. Firefighter Baik was also married, and a father of three. Both were assigned to the department’s Ladder 11.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office.

"We at Howard K Hill Funeral Services (http://www.hkhfuneralservices.com/) love our community and provide timely information to keep you all educated and motivated to help each other. We hope you enjoy our blog posts and as always "We’re Honored to Server You".

Source: ctnow.com

It’s that time of year again — Taste of Hartford time.

The 2010 "taste," which features three-course dinners for $20.10 at a variety of city restaurants, begins Monday and continues through Aug. 8.

"The nice thing about Taste of Hartford is that it gives chefs an easier way to show off in their own kitchens," says Katherine Gill of the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the event sponsor. The restaurant promotion, which began several years ago, replaced the former Taste of Hartford weekend event that was held for many years on Constitution Plaza.

Gill says restaurants are still signing up to participate in the event, which includes such well-known eateries as Max Downtown, Bin 228, Salute, Morton’s, Carbone’s, TrumbullKitchen, Barça, Black-eyed Sally’s, O’Porto, Damon’s Tavern and Dish Bar and Grill.

"Summer is a slow time for restaurants, and this is a great way to get more people in," says Steve Abram of Max Downtown. "It also brings traffic to downtown and gets people from the suburbs to come into Hartford."

And then there’s the meal deal.

"Depending on what you pick from our Taste of Hartford menu, diners will pay $20.10 for meals that would otherwise cost up to $52 " Abram says.

Gill notes that dining out is just part of the appeal of Taste of Hartford; other attractions, including museums, theater and special events, can be add-ons when coming into the city to eat.
While the arts council does receive a stipend from each meal sold, Gill says the event is not intended as a fundraiser.

"We just want people to know they can be safe and have fun in Hartford," says the arts council’s cultural promotions and marketing manager. "It’s just a great opportunity for residents and visitors to take advantage of affordable prices and to get out and about during summer."

A complete listing of participating restaurants and menus is available at http://www.letsgoarts.org.

Small Bites

Prudence Sloane’s Hartford City Food Tours will host an Asian-themed event on July 31. Participants will tour A Dong Asian Supermarket in West Hartford, following by a cooking class and lunch at the Thai Room in West Hartford. Cost is $75 a person. Call 860-409-9038, or visit http://www.prudencecloane.com.

The Angry Olive, at 1625 Silas Deane Highway, Rocky Hill, is hosting a "Sips and Smokes for Women" event July 29 at 6 p.m. Guests are invited to wear their highest heels or fanciest flip-flops for the event, which will include appetizers and sweets, seasonal martinis like Key Lime and mango, and flavored and traditional cigars on the restaurant patio. Rain date is Aug. 5. The event also includes a charity auction for dinner with "Tuxedo Tommy. " Tickets are $35 a person. For reservations, call 860-257-8402, or go to http://www.theangryolive.com.

If you have a yen to head to Newport this summer, and you like to cook, a series of new chef-guided walking tours has been launched. The tours, which last about two hours and are led by chef Michael Martini, include a half-dozen restaurant stops along a two-mile route Thursdays at 2 p.m. The tours begin at the Hotel Viking’s One Bellevue restaurant and include behind-the-scenes looks at participating restaurant kitchens, tastings and a session with the chef. Tickets are $45 per person. Go tohttp://www.newportgourmettours.com, or call 1-800-979-3370 for more information and reservations.

If creamed corn and lamb are your idea of a great meal, note that the Crocodile Club, once the nation’s oldest eating club, has been resurrected and will host its traditional luncheon Aug. 31 at Lake Compounce in Bristol. The luncheon, which was an annual tradition and social occasion before it stopped several years ago, is being sponsored as a fundraiser by the New England Carousel Museum. Tickets are $50. Call 860-585-5411, or go tohttp://www.thecarouselmuseum.org for information.

Matthew’s Restaurant, at 55 Mill St., Unionville, is offering half-price wine on Wednesdays. Telephone is 860-673-7373.

Ninety Nine Restaurants are featuring a "Crave-Worthy" summer menu through Sept. 26. Items include hot buttered lobster roll and three $9.99 seasonal entrees featuring shrimp and sirloin.

Tuscany Grill, at 120 College Ave., Middletown, has launched a Culinary Cocktail menu for the summer. Drinks including Sweet Summer Meadow Martini, Mango Ginger Margarita and Cucumber Melon Cooler are among the choices available through Labor Day. For further information, call 860-346-7096.

The New Britain Museum of Modern Art will hold its "The Art of Wine and Food" fundraiser Sept. 14 at 5:30 p.m. Celebrity chef Jacques Pépin will be honorary chairman. The dine-around will feature foods and wines from area restaurants, including Metro Bis, The Mill at 2T, Feng, Copper Beech Inn, Piccolo Arancio and Grants, as well as silent and live auctions. Tickets are $175 a person, or $300 a person for patrons, which includes a Grand Cru tasting. For more, go to http://www.nbmaa.org, or call 860-874-7742.

Well-known area chef Art Bonne has joined Hook & Ladder Restaurant, at 207 Main St., Hartford. Bonee, who has worked at Hot Tomatoes, City Steam and Elements, is introducing a special Summer in the City menu and a $14.95 Pick Your Own Pasta menu: Patrons can pick their pasta, sauce and three ingredients for their each pasta entrée. A glass of house wine is an additional $3, and extra ingredients can be added for 75 cents each. For an additional $2.95, the entree is "all-you-can-eat." Call 860-246-4665 for reservations or information.

The PolytechnicOn20 restaurant is offering three-course $20.10 luncheons on Wednesdays during July. Call 860-722-5161 for reservations.

A retro beer, cigar and steak dinner will be held today at Angelico’s Lakehouse, 81 N. Main St., East Hampton. Cost is $50 a person. Call 860-267-1276 for reservations and information.

New Openings

Bricco Trattoria, Billy Grant’s latest dining endeavor, has opened at 124 Hebron Ave. in Glastonbury, once occupied by the former Sauce restaurant. Telephone is 860-659-0220. Grant also owns Grants and Restaurant Bricco in West Hartford.

Steve Till, formerly with the Hartford Club, and his partners have opened Mezzo Grille at 106 Court St. in Middletown, space formerly occupied by Fishbones. Telephone is 860-346-6000.

Hot Tomatoes on Union Place, Hartford, which closed several months ago, is expected to reopen Sunday. New owner Chris Calvanese, whose family owns the Aqua Turf and the Farmington Club, also owns the New Mill inSouthington.

Wine Events

Tuscany Grill, at 120 College St., Middletown, and Baci Grill, at 134 Berlin Road, Cromwell, are offering "Wine Flight Specials" during July and August. The 49 flights include three 2-ounce glasses of wine. The special is available Sunday through Wednesday. Go to http://www.tuscany-grill.com or http://www.bacigrill.com for more information.

Send restaurant news at least 10 days before publication to MaryEllen Fillo at fillo@courant.com, 860-241-3717 (phone), 860- 520-6927 (fax) or in care of The Courant, 285 Broad St., Hartford, CT 06115.

"We at Howard K Hill Funeral Services (http://www.hkhfuneralservices.com/) love our community and provide timely information to keep you all educated and motivated to help each other. We hope you enjoy our blog posts and as always "We’re Honored to Server You".

Source: Read MaryEllen Fillo’s story about Taste of Hartford 2010.

WEST HAVEN — —Police on Monday arrested a 40-year-old man who was allegedly involved in two assaults on Sunday, during which police say he yelled racial slurs at the victims.

Stephen Andrews Jr. of 1471 Chapel St., New Haven, was charged with two counts of breach of peace, second-degree assault, third-degree assault, and two counts of intimidation based on bigotry or bias, police said.

At about 4:45 p.m. Sunday, officers responded to a report of an assault at the Stop and Shop at 460 Elm St. An African-American victim told police he was approached by a white male, who police later identified as Andrews.

The victim said his hat was knocked off his head, so he turned around. Andrews was standing behind him, and began yelling racial slurs at him, police said.

The 51-year-old victim walked to his car to get away from Andrews, he told police. When he got there, Andrews approached him again. The victim took a snow brush out of his trunk, and Andrews tried to hit him, police said.

They got into a physical fight. The victim told police Andrews took the snow brush him and hit him with it several times, causing an injury to his head, police said. Andrews then fled.

Officers identified Andrews using surveillance videos and a receipt for his purchases, police said. They checked his last known address and were told he had moved.

Later, at 6:30 p.m., officers responded to a beach parking lot at Ocean Avenue and Waverly Grove. Witnesses said a white male had been throwing mud and yelling at people, police said.

Witnesses told police that the man, later identified as Andrews, had been yelling racial slurs at three Asian men who were fishing for oysters. He swam up to them, yelled the slurs at them and then kicked over the buckets they were putting oysters in, witnesses told police. The men then ran away.

Police found Andrews in the water, and one of the victims, who had bruising on his lip, approached the officers and positively identified Andrews as the man who had assaulted him.

A witness who saw the Stop and Shop incident was brought to the location and identified Andrews as the suspect in that incident, police said. The snow brush from the first assault was found near Andrews in the second incident.

"We at Howard K Hill Funeral Services (http://www.hkhfuneralservices.com/) love our community and provide timely information to keep you all educated and motivated to help each other. We hope you enjoy our blog posts and as always "We’re Honored to Server You".

Source: ctnow.com
Copyright © 2010, The Hartford Courant

Federal stimulus dollars were put to use this week at Howard K. Hill Funeral Home, where Akayla McKinnie learned to adorn a casket with a gold name plate.

Akayla (at left in photo), who’s 14, was one of 60 teens who started work this week as part of a job training program run by the Community Action Agency (CAA). The program, Manage Your Future, was one of several initiatives paid for by $1.5 million in federal stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

CAA has also received another half-million dollars in stimulus money to coordinate an eight-week employment program this summer for 169 teens and 40 adults, the agency announced this week.

A rising high school sophomore, Akayla has long harbored an interest in anatomy. As a kid, she liked to catch lizards. In recent years, she got interested in mortuary science from watching forensic TV shows like CSI Miami. She wants to be a mortician. She was thrilled to land an internship at Howard K. Hill, working under a real-life undertaker for six weeks.

Akayla showed up for work Wednesday at 1287 Chapel St., where Howard Hill has built up a leading funeral parlor in six short years. On her first day, she got a look at the embalming process. On her second day, she set to work on an important task: Making a lasting label for an 82-year-old woman’s final resting place.

Orsella Cooper (at right in photo), the funeral parlor’s administrative manager, guided her through the steps to fashion a name plate for the woman’s casket. She took out a gold plaque. Cooper fished for the letters of the woman’s name. Akayla found the numbers for her year of birth—1, 9, 2, 7—and death—2, 0, 1, 0. Together, they pressed them onto the plaque. Akayla added a sticky backing, so it could later be adhered to the casket.

Akayla trimmed the backing in order to fit the plaque into a gold-colored frame.

“Don’t worry,” Cooper encouraged. “Each one is different.”

The plaque clicked in place.

“Your first name plate!” Cooper declared, beaming at her protege.

Akayla, whose face had been serious with concentration, flashed a smile.

“Good girl,” Cooper said. She gave her another name plate—and a few words of advice.

The embalming process gets all the cinematic glory, she said, but the administrative work is the most important part of any funeral.

“The office is the nucleus, baby,” Cooper advised. “We’re the heart.”

“The body can look great,” she said, “but if you screw up their birthday, they’re always going to remember that.”

Akayla is set to continue working at Howard Hill for the next six weeks. The 60 teens in her program, ages 14 to 18, were placed at job sites according to their career aspirations, according to CAA’s Louis Hutcherson, who’s coordinating the program. Teens are shadowing serious professionals, he said, including a physical therapist, an architect, a social worker, and a veterinarian. Several landed spots at Yale. The teens get paid minimum wage, $8.25 per hour, for the 18-hour-per-week jobs..

Employers are encouraged to go beyond a normal internship and serve as a mentor to the kids, Hutcherson said.

The mentoring will build on a baseline of job readiness that the teens have been learning through a 16-week training course. The kids get paid for the hours they spend on the course, too. They started back in March, when they were still in school. They learn how to interview, write a resume, and balance a budget.

CAA partnered with NewAlliance Bank to teach the teens financial literacy. They’re required to open up an Individual Development Account and save $300. They also qualify for up to $500 in matching funds for every dollar they save for college.

The program is aimed at disadvantaged kids: To qualify, they have to be TANIF- eligible, which means their household income is 200 percent of the poverty rate. The program has a waiting list, Hutcherson said.

Now CAA will be able to serve more kids on that wait list: Last Friday, the agency learned that it has received another $500,000 in stimulus money to administer another summer job training program. The 8-week program will provide jobs for 169 teens and 40 adults in New Haven and the lower Naugatuck Valley. CAA is coordinating the program, called the New Haven Employment Achievement Collaborative, along with five not-for-profits: Solar Youth, Youth Rights Media, Higher Heights, CT Children’s Museum, and Team Inc. in Derby.

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven put up $500,000 in matching funds to make the program possible, said CAA CEO Amos Smith (pictured). CAA has already selected the kids who will participate in the program, Smith said. They’ll be placed either at one of the five non-profits, or at another job site.

Smith said the stimulus grant represents a new beginning for his agency, which has long been dragged down by in-fighting, muddled accounting and political favor-giving.

Smith said for the first time in a decade, CAA has balanced its budget. It ended last year with a surplus, he said.

The federal grant is a sign of confidence, he said: “We’re being recognized for the leadership and the work that we’re allowed to bring.”

“We haven’t been leading in the last decade,” Smith said. “It’s a good sign that we’re beginning to lead again.”

Source: newhavenindependent.org
Photo: Melissa Bailey

The last time Tyler Perry brought his touring stage show "Madea’s Big Happy Family" it was a sell-out in Bridgeport’s  Harbor Arena.

Now he’s bringing the back. Reports are that he is also planning on making a film version of the stage show, his first in years which began at the start of the year.

The show will return to Bridgeport Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are on sale Monday at noon. Tickets are $58.75 and $68.75.

Tickets will be available at the Arena Click It or Ticket Box Office, Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets and charge by phone 800.745.3000.

Thoughts?
And be the first to know by following me on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/curtain.

Source: courant.com

Horton Foote’s ‘The Orphans’ Home Cycle’ might hit Broadway in spring

Hartford’s Anika Noni Rose will star opposite Brian d’Arcy Jamesin a revised version — scripted by Peter Parnell — of the musical“On a Clear Day You Can See Forever” in a workshop production at the Powerhouse Theatre next month at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

The production, directed by Michael Mayer, (”Spring Awakening, “American Idiot”), will run July 29 to Aug. 1 and produced by New York Stage & Film.

Also featured in the Alan Jay Lerner/Burton Lane musical areDavid Turner, Kerry O’Malley, Colin Hanlon and Sarah Stiles. Information: http://www.powerhouse.vassar.edu.

No Broadway ‘Cycle’ This Fall

I hear that energies now are being directed to finding the wherewithal to do a spring production of Horton Foote’s “The Orphans’ Home Cycle” on Broadway.

Plans for a commercial production to happen on Broadway in the fall are now off.

The Hartford Stage-Signature Theatre Company co-production ended its run last month after about 200 performances and an armful of awards. The tricky proposition of bringing the three-part, nine-hour production to Broadway is a daunting one for commercial producers, but communications are on-going, I hear, except all the talk is now about the possibilities for a spring run.

Meanwhile, the 21-member cast has dispersed for other gigs.

After spending about seven months at the off-Broadway theater playing the central character of Horace in the three-part nine-hour “Cycle,” Bill Heck will now play Joe Pitt, the Mormon lawyer, in the revival of Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America.”

Also cast in this new production are Frank Wood (Hartford Stage’s “Peter & Jerry”), Zoe Kazan, Robin Bartlett(Long Wharf’s “The Singing Forest”), Robin Weigert, Christian Borle, Zachary Quinto and Billy Porter.

The show, directed by Michael Greif, starts Oct. 28.

Music Theater Readings

Darius de Haas, Bob Stillman and Jerry Dixon will be singing out in Waterford next month.

The National Music Theater Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford announced its cast for its three staged readings of new musicals.

Featured in “Buddy’s Tavern” (Kim Oler, music; Alison Hubbard, lyrics; Raymond De Felitta, book) are Alison Briner, de Haas, Jordan Gelber, Michaela Koerner, Jodie Langel, William Parry, Steve Routman and Lindsay Van Winkle. (June 26, 27, 30 and July 2).

Featured in “Clear” (Paul Oakley Stovall, book, music and lyrics with additional music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald; additional music also by Irv Johnson and Stephen Goers) are: Yasmin Alers, Ken Barnett, Clifton Duncan, George Farmer, Ryan Link, Leeya Rideout, Brad Simmons and Stovall. (July 3, 4, 7 and 9).

Featured in “Eden” (Mel Marvin, composer; Jonathan Levi, book and lyrics) are: Angel Desai, Dixon, Celisse Henderson, Janine LaMana, Matthew Scott and Stillman. (July 10, 11, 14 and 16.)

Paulette Haupt is the conference’s longtime artistic director.

Info: 860-443-1238 and http://www.theoneill.org.

New Plays

Most of the casting is now in place for this summer’s National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, which runs July 9-31.

Featured in the staged readings of the plays at the conference, under Wendy C. Goldberg, are:

Mia Barron, Piter Marek, John Preston and Nick Westrate in Kathryn Walat’s “Creation” (July 9 and 10).

Reed Birney, Jessica Cummings, Ben Gunderson, Ben Morrow, Caitlin O’Connell, JD Taylor and LibbyWoodbridge are cast in David West Read’s “The Dream of the Burning Boy” (July 14-15).

Nyahale Allie, Peter Jay Fernandez, Lynda Gravátt, Kelly McCreary, Warner Miller, Amirah Vann, Nick Westrate and Michelle Wilson are in Dominique Morisseau’s “Follow Me to Nellie’s” (July 16-17).

Birney will also appear with Michael Chernus, Jessica Digiovanni, Laila Robins and Libby Woodbridge in Molly Smith Metzler’s “Close Up Space” (July 21-22).

Alison Well will appear in Carrie Barrett’s “The Burden of Not Having a Tail” (July 23-24).

Walter Charles, Gordon Clapp, Scott Drummond, Rebecca Hart, Scott Lowell and David Ross are in Anne Washburn’s “A Devil at Noon” (July 28-29).

James McLindon’s “Comes A Faery” will include Rob Campbell, Ryan King (Hartford Stage’s “Dying City”),Nicole Lowrence (Hartford Stage’s “The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue”), Danielle Slavick and Barbara Walsh(Hartford Stage’s “Falsettos). (July 30-31)

Cook For Stritch

Not a bad substitution, this one.

Barbara Cook, currently appearing on Broadway in the new revue “Sondheim on Sondheim,” will appear in concert at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Mass. in Aug. 15 at 7 p.m., replacing the previously announced Elaine Stritch.

Stritch scratched her Great Barrington concert date because of her upcoming run in the Broadway revival of “A Little Night Music,” in which she succeeds Angela Lansbury. (Bernadette Peters succeeds Catherine-Zeta Jones).

Trevor Nunn In West Hartford

And speaking of Stritch…

Director Trevor Nunn came up to our area last weekend to work with Stritch while she was here to do her cabaret show devoted to the songs of Stephen Sondheim for Hartford Stage’s SummerStage program atRoberts Theatre at the Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford. Nunn was having some one-on-one time with Stritch for “Night Music,” and riding up with the actress from New York.

Stritch, 85, had been shuttling back and forth from West Hartford to New York all last week because she also was working on individual scenes with Nunn and Peters. Nunn also worked on “Night Music” with Stritch in the late afternoon in the Roberts Theatre for a few hours.

The notable Nunn has staged “Cats,” “Les Miserables,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “The Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby,” “Copenhagen,” “Arcadia,” “Closer” and many others shows on Broadway and London

Jeremy Cohen, associate artistic director of Hartford Stage, says that watching Nunn and Stritch talk about text was like attending a master class on Sondheim. “I was like a kid in a candy shop,” he says. “He’s definitely an actor’s director and listening to them talk about Sondheim was incredible. It’s as if they had been working together for decades because they spoke in the common vocabulary of Sondheim.”

Nunn’s assistant, who will be carrying on when Nunn returns to London after today’s rehearsal with the full cast in Manhattan, is Seth Sklar-Heyn, formerly of West Hartford and Hall High School.

When not rehearsing with Stritch or watching her show that night in West Hartford, Nunn hung out at It’s a Grind in Blue Back Square and had dinner at Max’s Oyster House in West Hartford Center.

Spiegelman At Pilobolus Gala

Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Art Spiegelman and Grammy Award-winning singer-musician Dan Zanes will be honored at the sixth annual gala for Pilobolus Dance Theatre.

The event will be held July 10 in Washington, Conn.

The event will be one of mixed emotions, as it celebrates the beginning of its 40th year since the dance company began and the life of co-founder and one of the artistic directors, Jonathan Wolken. (Wolken died last week at the age of 60, following a long illness.)

It also was announced that the modern dance company will choreograph the workshop production of a new musical “James and the Giant Peach,” based on the Roald Dahl children’s book. The show will be produced this fall at Goodspeed Musical’s Norma Terris Theatre in Chester.

Albert Goes To Court

Stephen J. Albert, who was managing director of Hartford Stage when Mark Lamos was artistic director, will be the new executive director of Chicago’s Court Theatre.

He’ll be in the same city as the man he succeeded at Hartford Stage: David Hawkanson, who is now managing director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

When he left Hartford Stage in the late ’90s, Albert became a founding partner with Tom Hall of Albert Hall and Associates, an arts-consulting firm which was hired by Court for management-consultant service and to help conduct its executive director search.

Albert worked as managing director of the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and as executive director of theAlley Theatre in Houston. He also has been a board member at the Theatre Communications Group, which is meeting in Chicago this week. Charles Newell is the artistic director of the Court, based in Hyde Park.

Newell directed some musicals in the past few years at New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre: “Carousel,” and “Man of La Mancha.”

Free Shakespeare

Connecticut Free Shakespeare presents William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Twelfth Night” outdoors at the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport July 16 to 18, July 21 to 15, and July 28 to 31. All performances are at 8 p.m. The zoo is open for picnics starting at 6:30 p.m.

Bargain alert! Admission is free!

The production then moves to the Guilford Green for shows Aug. 4 to 8 and to the Old Saybrook Town GreenAug. 12, 14 15.

Source:courant.com

Read Frank Rizzo’s blog on theater, the arts and entertainment at http://www.courant.com/curtain. And be the first to know by following me on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/ShowRiz.

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Source:howlifeworks.com

This article sponsored by BuyerZone Copyright Howlifeworks.com 2010