The Stephen Sondheim show– about a wrongfully imprisoned barker who returns to London seeking revenge — is dark. The music, which dominates the production, is difficult. Even the English accents are hard to master.
But Staples Players staged it, expertly and excitingly, in the spring of 2015. It was another stunning success for directors David Roth and Kerry Long, and their high school-in-name-only actors.
Media instructor Jim Honeycutt filmed both casts, and created this memorable highlight reel. Click here or below to see:
Many of the actors have since built impressive careers, on stage and off. Among them:
Everett Sussman (Sweeney Todd) is an applied mathematics/computer science graduate of Harvard University. He is now a digital creator. He has acted in regional theater productions, including (again!) “Sweeney Todd.”
Juliet Kimble (Mrs. Lovett) graduated with a BFA from Ithaca College, and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. She performed in “Richard III,” “King Lear” and “Broken Heart” there.
Jack Baylis (Anthony Hope) graduated from Point Park University’s musical theater program. He has performed in “Legally Blonde,” “Jersey Boys,” “Children of Eden,” “Peter and the Starcatcher.”
Caroline Didelot (Johanna) appeared in “Kinky Boots” at Baldwin Wallace University, “42nd Street” at New London Barn Playhouse, and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” for Prime Video.
Emma Ruchefsky (Johanna) performs professionally under the stage name Emma Charles (and occasionally EMMMA).She has toured nationally and released acclaimed singles and EPs. Billboard recognized her as a Best Emerging Artist. She continues to write, record and tour.
Jack Bowman (Tobias) earned a BFA in musical theatre from Pennsylvania State University. He worked on stage and screen in New York. Because of COVID, his focus shifted to digital art. Jack is now an animator with a focus in 2D and 3D design, illustration and animation.
Joe Badion (Tobias) is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. He teaches upper school music at the Town School in New York.
Noa Wind (Beggar Woman) is a vocalist and performer who has appeared as a supporting chorus member and soloist in high-profile concert events with The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall.
Jacob Leaf(Judge Turpin) is a professional actor. He has appeared in “Mamma Mia!,” “Gypsy,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Eurydice” and more.
Nick Massoud (Judge Turpin) is a professional actor. He has appeared in “Mamma Mia!,” “Gypsy,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Eurydice” and more.
Keanan Pucci (The Beadle) graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, contributing to virtual production pipelines and visual development for projects like Netflix’s “Escape from Hat.” His film credits include “An Inconsistent Story in Stealing. Click here for a showcase of his interactive and 3D work.
Mackenzie Lavoie (Fogg, Ensemble) earned a bachelor of science in arts administration, combined arts and a minor in film and media studies at Wagner College. She is a communications and PR professional specializing in strategic storytelling, media relations and brand positioning.
Christian Melhuish (Quintet) is a singer, actor and dancer in New York. After graduating from Temple University with a BFA in musical theater, Christian has performed regionally around the country. Credits include Jesus (“Godspell”), Romeo (“Romeo & Juliet”) and Bob Gaudio (“Jersey Boys”). He has also performed Off-Broadway and in cabarets and staged readings.
Remy Laifer (Quintet) is a New York-based actor and musician. A graduate of Northwestern University’s theatre program, he has appeared on television in NBC’s “New Amsterdam.” His film work includes “Escape from Myrtle Broadway” and “3 Worlds, 1 Modern Romance.”
Bailey Claffey(Ensemble) graduated from Wagner College’s Theater and Speech Department. She has performed regionally, and sang the national anthem before a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden.
Avery Mendillo (Ensemble, Soloist) is a New York–based actor and singer with roots in musical theatre, and a career in film and TV. She recently filmed her first feature film.
Jackie Rhoads (Ensemble) is a filmmaker, actor, writer and producer, who studied film at Vanderbilt University. She creates and stars in videos on her YouTube channel, which has over 20,000 subscribers, and supports the development team at Fivestone Studios, a production company based in Nashville.
Zoe Samuels (Ensemble) is an associate strategy director at Edelman. She graduated with a degree in theater and Chinese from Middlebury College.
Amy Shapiro’s 3 young sons are athletes: basketball football, soccer and lacrosse.
While coaches focused on skill and technique, they seldom gave advice on moving well, recovering properly and caring for their bodies.
Tight muscles, limited mobility, nagging aches and minor injuries were the norm for her sons, and their teammates.
Amy encouraged her kids to stretch. But like many young athletes, they did not always listen.
Amy — who has always exercised, and tried to get her boys to join her when she stretched did yoga and foam rolled (they were bored) — had an idea. What if young athletes stretched, and cross trained, as a team?
“The LAB” was born.
Rather than emphasizing sport-specific skills, its comprehensive approach combines performance training, mobility, recovery and mindset development.
Specifically, the “Grind LAB” focuses on speed and agility, footwork and coordination, explosive power, and athletic movement patterns.
The “Mind LAB” combines movement, mobility, stretching, mindfulness, breathwork and recovery techniques. Participants improve flexibility, reduce injury risk, manage stress, and develop mental toughness.
The LAB offers program for 1st grade through high school. Offerings include private training, small group sessions, weekly classes, specialty clinics and seasonal programs.
Classes start at $35. They’re held throughout Westport, including at Forme Barre next to Party Harty, Compo Beach, and private homes and yards.
Instructors include a former Staples High School football captain and pro player, and a woman who has taught over 5,000 hours of movement and mindfulness to children and families.
For more information, email TheLABSportsCT@gmail.com. The Instagram is @TheLabSportsCT.
13-year-old basketball players work on flexibility with a LAB coach.
Speaking of students: Our “06880 Students Speak” feature is gearing up for another school year.
Any youngster in a Westport school, public or private; any Westport student who goes to school outside town, and anyone who is home-schooled is welcome to contribute.
We’re looking for insights into any aspect of your life. Is your school a place of excitement or joy? Or do you hate it? Fear it?
Do you use AI to learn, or about yourself, or because you’re lonely, or to cheat?
Have you overcome body image issues? Were you bullied — or unfairly called a bully?
The goal of “Students Speak” is to give young people a voice. Our readers want to know what and how you feel. You deserve to be heard.
Posts can be anonymous, if desired. What’s important are your insights, your honesty, and the power of your words.
Unsure about your writing skills? We’ll work with you, to make sure it sounds right — while at the same time keeping your voice authentic and true.
To submit a “Students Speak” piece — or to learn more — email 06880blog@gmail.com.
The low-key — but very fun and welcoming — organization has been around since 1963.
It’s a place to socialize, make new friends, discover local treasures, and become more involved in the community. Events include casual gatherings, coffee meetups, book and cooking groups, special events and more.
Neighbors & Newcomers is open to recent arrives, longtime residents and everyone in between.
A $65 annual membership includes invitations to activities, access to the membership directory, a monthly newsletter, entry to the December holiday party and June beach party, and the fun of being connected to town. Click here for more information, and to join.
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All year long, the Westport Farmers’ Market has celebrated its 20th anniversary.
CTbites — Connecticut’s go-to food blog — took note this week. They posted a special video, with insights from a variety of vendors (and longtime director Lori Cochran-Dougall).
Spoiler alert: nearly every interviewee praised the market’s “community spirit.” (And not just customers — many vendors buy from each other, and even hang out together.)
The Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) through mid-November, at the Imperial Avenue parking lot.
Former resident Joseph Zambelli died July 28. He was 91.
The Iona College graduate served in the Navy from 1952 to 1954. He worked at General Foods for 37 years as a financial analyst, financial planning manager, controller, and consultant. He and his family lived in Westport for 27 years.
An expert in efficiency and cost strategy, Joe analyzed potential acquisitions and streamlined business operations across the US, Europe, South America and Asia. He also mentored scores of colleagues.
Joe loved sailing on Long Island Sound and playing golf at Longshore and in Florida, along with big band swing. He was a member of the Florida State Elks Association, and played in the Stonegate Golf Club men’s league.
Joe is survived by his wife of 63 years, Barbara Zambelli of Poinciana, Florida; children Bara of Asheville, North Carolina, Jean of Westport, Jay Zambelli (Caryn) of Portland, Oregon, and Carolyn of Darien; grandchildren Emma and Tasha Taggart; Isabel and Georgia Nichoson; Katherine, Thomas and Joseph Cavolo, and Freddy Zambelli; siblings Dolly Orza of Briarcliff Manor, New York, and Alfred Zambelli, of Harrison, New York, and many nieces and nephews. Joe was predeceased by his brother Andrew Zambelli, and sisters Mary Riggio, Rose Goldsmith and Jane Lieto.
A celebration of Joe’s life will be held at a later date.
Joe Zambelli
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Every sunrise is special.
But yesterday’s was extra-special.
Matt Murray captured its glory. It’s perfect for our “Westport … Naturally” feature of the day.
Few topics get our readers’ tongues wagging more than dog stories.
Recent coverage of a text amendment to allow fenced-in areas at town parks drew dozens of comments. We won’t rehash them here.
But one came in after all the others. Most readers missed it.
It was not about whether a dog run is a good idea or not. Nor did it concern safety, aggressive dogs, location or anything else.
It was much more basic. Why, the writer asked, do we need a dog park of any kind? He said:
More than 90% of Westport dwelling units are single family homes. With yards. In all our time there, across 3 homes, all with dogs, not once did we take our dog to the park. We would take our Golden to the beach off season so she could jump in the waves, otherwise they were each pretty happy in their own yards and going on the occasional neighborhood walk.
Winslow Park
Then he doubled down, tossing another town amenity into the mix:
I’ll admit I also don’t understand the draw of the community garden. Each of our 3 homes had gardens, some more successful than others based on the quality of the fencing.
I live on the Upper West Side now so I get the allure of dog parks and community gardens where none of us have yards, but in the 06880 where 90%+ can do this all at home, what’s the need for dedicated public space?
Inadvertently, he answered his own question. A dog park and garden are important for basset hounds and tomatoes, sure.
But they are also about people. About society. About — and the word is right there, in the name of the garden — “community.”
Gardening can be a satisfying, solitary endeavor. But the gardeners formed a real community at Long Lots.
They educated and learned from each other. They admired each other’s plots. They shared the “fruits” of their labors (and vegetables and flowers), socializing together and watching birds and sunsets. They cheered each other’s milestones, and supported each other through personal struggles.
Westport Community Garden (Photo/Lou Weinberg)
Similarly, Winslow Park is a place where dog owners and dogs can gather together.
Humans and canines need companionship (and not just of their own kind — dogs meet other people, and vice versa).
As with the community garden, friendships form across generations. And if you want to be alone — but not feel alone — there’s a place for you.
Some people think a downside of suburbia is that people keep to themselves too much, in their own homes and yards. Community gardens and parks are antidotes to that.
But those are not the only spaces we gather, even if we don’t have to.
Many Westporters have backyard pools. All of us have access to Long Island Sound. Yet we swim at the YMCA and Longshore — sharing lanes and locker rooms.
Aquafit class, at the Westport Weston Family YMCA.
We exercise our bodies, of course. But we also exercise our social muscles.
We can all read or study alone. So why do it at the Westport Library? There is comfort in being surrounded by others — even if we don’t know who they are.
It doesn’t hurt either that — although we can make our own coffee — we can also take a break in the Library Café.
Two of the most popular events “06880” sponsors are the downtown winter and Soundview Avenue summer strolls.
What propels someone to leave a warm home in December, or a backyard pool in July, to walk up and down the street?
Music and food, yes. But the real attraction is other people.
Outdoor dining: more social than eating at home.
I could go on and on. We can worship at home, but we go to a church, synagogue or mosque.
We can eat at home, but we take pride in our many restaurants. And the buzz and vibe that is different — but present — in each.
You — and hopefully the “06880” commenter — get the point.
The question is not whether we “need” a dog park or community garden.
It’s what kind of town, or people, would we be without them?
(“06880” covers every aspect of Westport life — from every angle too. If you enjoy stories like this — or any other feature on this hyper-local blog — please click here to support our work. Thanks!)
Special education has been in the Westport news lately.
And no one talks about it better than Jake Sussman.
The Westport native — diagnosed with a learning disability while in the Westport Public Schools — had both positive and negative experiences in the district.
He went on to found Superpower Mentors, an online platform supporting youth and young adults with dyslexia, ADHD and other learning diffeences.
Jake has earned the “Be the Difference” Award from Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities (awarded only twice in the organization’s 25-year history). He has been featured on NBC News, and spoken at Harvard.
Last week Jake joined me on the Westport Library stage, for a very important episode of our “06880” podcast. Our conversation should be “must” viewing for all our readers — those with learning differences, their family and friends, and everyone else who shares this world with them.
This week, “Then & Now” curator and pre-demolition archivist Dave Matlow takes us from the western end of Westport, all the way to the east. The images are part of a project he worked on from 2004 to 2020.
A reminder: This is a community blog. Our neighbors live here. Some built those new structures; others are the second (or beyond) owners.
If you comment, please be kind. Taste is subjective. Wherever we live, everyone has loves their home.
For the 5th year in a row, retired United Airlines flight attendant Paul Veneto is pushing an airline service cart several hundred miles on foot.
His journey honors the “first first responders” — flight attendants and crew members — on the 4 planes hijacked on September 11, 2001.
He began at the Boston Public Garden 9/11 Memorial on August 15. He’ll end at Ground Zero, for the 25th anniversary commemoration there.
Paul — with his “Paulie’s Push” — plans to be in Westport on Friday (September 4), on the Post Road. He’ll stop at Westport Fire Department headquarters, for a brief ceremony.
Paul Veneto (right), his cart and a supporter, along the route.
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Speaking of 9/11: Hundreds of motorcyclists took part in yesterday’s CT United motorcycle ride.
The event — paying tribute to the victims and first responders of 9/11 — is the largest fundraiser for both fire and law enforcement in the state. It began at Sherwood Island State Park, then roared its way on I-95 to Exit 17, up Riverside Avenue and Wilton Road to Wilton, then on through 7 towns before ending in Bridgeport.
A bomb threat briefly interrupted preparations at Sherwood Island. Plenty of safety officials, from a variety of agencies, were already on hand, and determined there was no danger.
This was the view from Westport Emergency Medical Services ambulance 603 — named “Joy” — before the ride began.
(Photo/Jonathan Alloy)
The riders included Westporters Rhona Lieberson, and granddaughter Carly Curran ride.
Family members and residents of 136 Riverside Avenue cheered them on. They got a big wave too from Westport Corporal Craig Bergamo, who helped out with the event.
Carly Curran and Rhona Lieberson. (Photo/Stacie Curran)
Motorcycle riders (left): From the I-95 Hales Road overpass (Photo/Loretta Hallock)
Speaking still of 9/11: For more than a decade, Westport has had a special relationship with Catch A Lift Fund. The national non-profit provides gym memberships and home gym equipment to help wounded post-9/11 service members heal physically and mentally, through physical fitness.
Westporters have donated funds, welcomed veterans, and joined in workouts at venues like the police station, VFW, beach and Birchwood Country Club. The vets give plenty back in return — as inspiration, and serving as “angels” for children, teens and adults with disabilities through myTeamTriumph.
The 25th anniversary of 9/11 — and 250th birthday of the United States — is a great time for Westporters to continue supporting Catch a Lift.
On September 9 (6:30 p.m., Inn at Longshore), a special fundraiser will benefit the noon-profit.
Three will be 3 weeks in length; the others will be shorter runs. They are:
“Ken Ludwig’s Pride and Prejudice Part 2: Napoleon at Pemberley” (world premiere; October 20-November 7)
“A Sherlock Carol” (written and directed by Shanahan, returning for a 4th season: December 12-20)
“Murder For Two” (musical comedy mystery; March 4-7)
“The Pancake Club” (world premiere; a Script in Hand selection, now staged by popular demand; April 20-May 8)
“The Goldsmith” (another Script in Hand selection; May 19-22)
“The Legend of Georgia McBride” (July 13-31).
For more information on the 2026-27 season, click here.
PS: Subscribers save up to 20% off single ticket prices, get priority seating, and enjoy other perks. Click here for details.
Another option: Flex Passes. They can be purchased now, and redeemed closer to performance time for the best available seats. The $50 per Flex Pass price can save up to $30 a ticket,
Historic seats, on sale tomorrow. (Photo/Robert Benson)
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The weather was wonderful yesterday, for the final Sunday Compo Beach service of the summer.
The Untied Methodist Church of Westport & Weston hosted. Bridgeport’s Pivot Ministries sang stirringly — as they always do.
(Photo/Karen Como)
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Also yesterday: Despite cloudy skies, Westport’s “other” beach — Burying Hill — was packed.
It’s a lot smaller than Compo, or even Old Mill.
Lifeguards are already off duty for the season.
But the quickly eroding spot just east of crowded Sherwood Island State Park attracts a loyal following.
And no other Westport beach has such a great view from a nearby hill.
And … yesterday’s New York Times included an insightful piece by Roger Rosenblatt on the wonders of growing old. Among them:
The wonder of still learning how to do new things. The wonder of writing this sentence. The alchemy of language. The scope and sweep of the imagination. The wonder of the mysteries of the weather. Of wind. Of sound. Of prayer, of faith. Of art. Of gifted people. Emily Dickinson, Fred Astaire, Ella Fitzgerald, Vermeer, Bach, Monk. These things have always brought me joy. Now I have the time to question how they do that. That I have no answers only makes these joys more wondrous.
Rosenblatt concludes with a memory from 1946:
At the age of 6, I was on vacation with my parents in Westport, Conn. The day of our arrival, I went off for a walk by myself. I was always doing that, to my parents’ dismay. And I came upon a large beautiful house with a sun room with glass walls so that I could see a Steinway concert grand in the middle of the floor.
The door was open. I went in and started playing, eventually looking up to see a princess-like woman standing beside the piano and smiling. We chatted. She took me back to the rented house. My mother was appalled, and she apologized for my bold behavior. No need, said the woman. It was a pleasure to see how innocent and unafraid I was. “Yes,” said my mother. “That’s how he is. He thinks the world is a room with a piano in it waiting to be played.”
In fact, it is.
The piece is titled “The World Is a Room With a Piano Waiting to Be Played.”
Where was that piano? We’ll leave that as one of life’s wonders. (Hat tip: Tommy Greenwald)
Illustration for Roger Rosenblatt’s essay. (Ruo-Jia Liang, for the New York Times)
Meanwhile, while you were enjoying the Sunday morning service — or relaxing with coffee and the Times — a group of Westport friends were swimming from Cockenoe to Compo.
Hey, why not?!
Every Sunday for many summers, the group — including several Staples High School Class of 2003 graduates — has swum in Long Island Sound.
Traditionally, on the last August Sunday, they end with a swim from the beach to the island (or, like yesterday, the reverse).
The sun was out. The water was calm and warm.
And when the swimmers arrived on the Compo shore, a mile from where they began, family and friends were there to greet them.
From right to left: Cory Straus, Evan Rutchik, Andrew Zimmerman, Alex Klein (Staples ‘03), Jordan Lert (Staples ‘03), Zach Bilchik, Josh Shapiro (‘03), David Schneidman, Adam Gilbert.
The first car wash of the Staples sports season is this coming Sunday.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on September 6, at 1720 Post Road East (just before Stop & Shop, heading toward Southport), the boys soccer team will be cleaning and scrubbing.
Funds go to the program. With athletes from all 3 teams — varsity, JV and freshmen — and parents participating, your vehicle will get plenty of attention.
The suggested donation is $20. Of course, you can give more! And to donate to the program without getting your car washed, click here.
Last fall, the Westport Police trusted this car to the Staples soccer team.
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We get lots of deer photos, for our daily “Westport … Naturally” feature.
But this may be the first showing 2 bucks, with their handsome racks.
They’re used to fight rival males, attract mates, and mark territory during the breeding season.
It’s a rite of passage: Young people go off to college.
As the last one does, their parents have their own milestone: They become empty nesters.
Do they celebrate? Mourn? Do both?
“06880” culture correspondent Robin Moyer Chung is one of Westport’s newest empty nesters. She writes:
Last Thursday, I moved my youngest child to the University of Utah, roughly 11 hours door-to-door when factoring in flight delays.
To keep myself occupied, and because misery loves company, I threw myself into an unscientific research project: What is it like to be an empty nester?
Robin Moyer Chung and True Chung at the University of Utah.
Personally, I’m freaked out by the prospect of rattling around my home of 20 years by myself. I rummage through drawers, pulling out kids’ games that haven’t been opened in 12 years and plastic bags full of broken seashells with their names scrawled in black marker.
Everything hits hard now that it’s over.
Unlike so many other life transitions — graduations, birthdays, funerals — there is no ceremony or celebration, no group therapy or organization. It’s just walking into your home and realizing your family is no longer there, a sort of “The most important part of your life is over” meets “Welcome to your twilight years.”
Gail, Kate and John Coykendall at Southern Methodist University.
For a few, it’s sweet liberty. “I embrace it all,” notes one mom. “I think I’m the only one who loved it!” adds another.
For many, however, it’s heartbreaking.
One mom summed it up: “I did not realize how much grief I would feel when my son left for college. We prepare them for this day, but I don’t think moms are prepared enough.”
While seasoned “parentes relicti” assure us the flown will fly back, the biggest question is: Who will they be when they do? Will the kid alighting on the perch be the same one who left?
Well, no.
Mattias and Christina Basler at the US Military Academy.
“The hardest part for me isn’t that they left for college, but knowing the chapter with them ‘growing up’ and living full-time at home has closed,” one mom explains.
While their childhood chapter closes, a lousy chapter often opens for the parents: loneliness.
The kids are gone, along with their social infrastructure. No more seeing parents and kids at soccer games and tournaments, no more grouping with other adults to build sets for musicals, no more raising money for choir concert tours. Happily or not, you’re expunged from the public-school email lists.
Parents celebrate their kids, before prom.
Lisa Stretton started a Facebook group last year, “Westport Moms: Embracingthe Empty Nest,” as a resource for those newly initiated into the fray. “We’re not old enough for the Senior center, there’s really no place for us,” she says. Her page offers entertainment and connection — a welcome diversion from an empty home.
While it stings for almost everyone, stay-at-home moms and single parents seem to feel it more acutely.
A widower admits, “I lost my wife, then my kids went to college. Now I have to reinvent myself.”
A single mother writes of her daughter: “All those years of having her to care for, and then nothing. My purpose was gone. I had a little bit of a breakdown and wanted to die a bit.”
Lila Greifenberger and her roommate, at Indiana University.
Alison Dorfman, founder of The College & Dorm Corner, recently posted a message that went viral: “College drop-off season: when fully functioning adults start crying in completely inappropriate places.”
As for me, a single and, more or less, stay-at-home mom, I feel anxious and untethered. But writing this article has helped keep me busy and focused on something other than my kids.
Which, of course, is the point.
(Your kids may be gone. But “06880” is here for you, 24/7/365. If you appreciate stories like this — or anything else on our hyper-local blog — please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Today’s CT United motorcycle ride — honoring the victims and first responders of 9/11 — roars up Riverside Avenue today. The ride began at Sherwood Island State Park, and continued through 7 towns to Bridgeport. (Photo/Marion Pietrowski)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
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