Comedy Show to Benefit Spooner House

Youth CONNection's 'Les Mis' on Shelton High stage this weekend

Sharing a note from Youth CONNection alum Marc Garofalo:


I want to personally invite you to come and see The Youth CONNection Players' production of Les Miserables this weekend.
A group of highly talented young adults, under the direction of Gary and Francesca Scarpa, have delivered a quality piece of live theater in our own community.

Check it out by clicking on this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI214SHGGTE


Performances are at Shelton High School at 8 p.m. Friday, and at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets are $20 per person for adults - $10 per person for children.

You can order tickets by calling the Center Stage Box Office at 203-225-6079 or by visiting www.centerstageshelton.org.

The people who saw the show this past weekend have been raving about its quality and its emotion.
Let’s support this 30 year old mid-summer tradition here in the Valley.


Hope to see you there!



Sincerely,


Marc Garofalo

Youth CONNection Alumnus

1985-1992


Note: Garofalo is the former mayor of Derby.

Valley Shakespeare Festival to stage 'Much Ado About Nothing' in Shelton

Shows slated at veterans' park

It’s late 1945 and World War II has just ended.  Europe is awash with soldiers from all over the world making their ways back home.   

A small town in Italy is excitedly preparing to welcome their returning heroes.  Now that they are no longer preoccupied with fighting, the soldiers’ minds turn toward…love!

But does that mean all their battles are over?

Find out the answer by attending Valley Shakespeare Festival’s free summer performances of William Shakespeare’s poignant comedy, Much Ado About Nothing.   

Join audiences from across the Valley at 8 p.m. July 10, 11, and 12 in Shelton’s Veterans’ Memorial Park for a unique theater experience under the stars.

Join Colin Ryan (Broadway: Waiting for Godot, No Man’s Land) as Benedick; Megan Emery Gaffney (Yale Rep Hangar Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre) as Beatrice; Jess Breda (VSF: Luciana in The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare in the Bar-Macbeth) as Hero; and Travis Czap (VSF: Shakespeare in the Bar-Macbeth) as Claudio and the rest of the cast as they navigate the crazy road to love and romance in Shakespeare’s  surprising comedy.

Come early, bring the family, spread out your blanket and enjoy a picnic  then at 8 p.m., sit back, hold on tight, and watch Beatrice, Benedick, Hero and Claudio as they ride the roller-coaster of love while fighting the perennial battle of the sexes.  “That’s amore!”

For a sneak preview of the play and a special opportunity to meet and mingle with the cast, Valley Shakespeare Festival will hold a “Meet and Greet” from 5-9 p.m. July 2 at the Twisted Vine Restaurant, 285 Main St., Derby. 

Admission is $15 per person by June 30, $20 at the door. Price includes an appetizer buffet from 5:30-7:30 p.m. followed by live entertainment by the cast.   

Tickets and more information are available by visiting www.vsfestival.org or by calling 203-513-9446.

“Much Ado About Nothing” is presented with support generously provided by the Valley Community Foundation.

This post is taken from a press release from Valley Shakespeare Festival, a non-profit free theater company fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas serving the communities of the lower Naugatuck Valley.

Dine at Derby restaurant, support local troupe

Valley Shakespeare Festival, a Shelton-based nonprofit organization, was founded earlier this year.

Derby 'speakeasy' sets stage for Shakespeare festival fundraiser

Event featured Roaring '20s theme 

DERBY - I attended a fun fund-raising dinner Thursday at Twisted Vine restaurant for the Valley Shakespeare Festival. 
The basement of the 19th-century building that once housed the Birmingham National Bank was packed with enthusiastic supporters of the fledgling acting troupe. 

Jeremy Funke and Jessica Breda perform a scene from Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors" Thursday at the Twisted Vine restaurant.

Here Funke listens to a rather stressed Steve Mazzoccone.

Funke and Mazzoccone hold Megan McGarvey during yet another scene.  


Valley Shakespeare Festival founder Tom Simonetti, a Shelton native, said he was pleased with the turnout Thursday.
He publicly thanked Shelton resident Cheryl O'Brien for all of her volunteer efforts in putting together the event.

 

Tom Simonetti, at right, wows the crowd as he talks about his Shakespeare troupe.
 

The free show will be performed Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Veterans' Memorial Park in Shelton.
Stay tuned for a story in Monday's New Haven Register.

Art showcase slated at Oxford Town Hall

OXFORD - The Oxford Cultural Arts Commission has announced The 2013 Gallery of Art Showcase to be held May 24-26.

There will be music, theater, and art demonstrations, art gallery tours and art instruction for children and adults This is a family-oriented, fun event.

A Meet the Artist Reception & Silent Auction will be held from 6-9 p.m. May 24 in the meeting room at Oxford Town Hall, 486 Oxford Road.

Showcase hours: are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 25-26. More than $1,000 in prizes will be distributed.


Those interested in entering works for jury consideration should complete the Gallery of Art Artist Entry Form on our Web Site www.oxfordculturalarts.org.
 
Or download the forms and send entries on a disk with entry form and check made out to
Oxford Cultural Arts Commission. P.O. Box 532, Oxford, 06478 no later than April 26.


Jury fees are non-refundable and are payable via check or via PayPal.

This information is taken from a press release. 

The Sterling shines as a symbol of Derby's vibrant past

DERBY - Preserving the fascinating history of the stately Sterling Opera House should be enough reason to support a major project to renovate its interior.

An ornate balcony railing stands out in this view taken from the first floor.

Built in the Italianate Victorian style in 1889, the opera house graces Elizabeth Street in downtown Derby.  

The exterior has been restored and in 2011 a new cupola, which is illuminated at night, was installed.

The opera house was the first building in Connecticut to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it has an interesting history, for sure. 

Entertainers ranging from John Barrymore and Harry Houdini to Milton Berle, Bob Hope, George Burns and Gracie Allen all appeared there.  

Amelia Earhart spoke at the opera house, and John Phillip Sousa performed on its stage. The structure has what has been described as amazing acoustics.

It was used as a theater from 1889 until 1945. The lower levels housed municipal offices and the city jail for two decades before it was closed in 1965.  

The long-vacant building is filled with energy of the spirit kind. The theater has been investigated by numerous paranormal groups and time and again ghostly entities have made their presence known to visitors.

  

I've been fortunate enough to tour the interior on several occasions, and have witnessed several inexplicable paranormal happenings while there.
Each time I leave filled with enthusiasm about what the opera house could become.

On Monday city officials announced the receipt of $150,000 in federal funds to go toward the renovation of the interior. Cost estimate of the project is between $3 and $4 million.

U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, secured the money. She had also secured $150,000 for the project in 2009. 

We who love the opera house thank DeLauro for her support of a project that will revive the building and bring it back to its former glory.

I took this photo from the Derby Green in August 2010. The cupola was replaced in February 2011.

Elm City troupe to bring invention to life

Pierre Lallement lived in Ansonia when he invented the bicycle

NEW HAVEN - Bike on down Saturday to Westville’s 15th Annual Art Walk as A Broken Umbrella Theatre premieres a new play with music. 
A cast of kid-friendly goofballs will bring the invention of the bicycle to life in an innovative, site-specific play. 

Brimming with original music infused with the spirit of the 1980s and spectacular design complete with spinning bike parts, "Head Over Wheels" celebrates community, cycling, and conquering fear.

Shows are at 2 and 4 p.m. outdoors at 446A Blake St., rain or shine.

General admission price is pay what you can pay. Running time is 40 minutes.

Parking is available in a lot, on-site. Additional street parking is located throughout Westville Village.

 Ansonia Cultural Commission Chairman Judy Nicolari said in an e-mail today: "It's supposed to be a beautiful day, so let's show Ansonia support. New Haven is supporting us with our second annual Pierre Lallement Festival of Bikes on June 3. Spread the word. It will be time well spent."

The above information was taken from a release provided by Judy Nicolari.