In the fall of 2010, curtains rose on Staples Players’ production of “Curtains.”
As always, media teacher Jim Honeycutt was there, to record the comedy, filled with great songs and talented dancers.
And as always, he shared this “nutshell” with our “06880” audience. Click here or below to relive the magic.
Many of the actors have gone on to careers in entertainment. Others have shifted careers. Among them:
Max Samuels(Lieutenant Frank Choffi) is a stage and screen actor known for his roles in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” He also appeared in “George Kaplan,” “Angry Young Man,” “The Winter’s Tale” and “The Brothers Karamazov.”
Eva Hendricks (Carmen Bernstein) is a lead singer in Charley Bliss, a successful New York band. Their current release is “Back There Now.”
Matthew Van Gessel(Christopher Belling, The Director) is an actor, director and writer. He played Isaac Goodenow in the “The Sudbury Devil,” appeared in the film “Bookworm,” was featured as an actor in the project RedDrop, and was cast as Father Rand in “The Vampires of New Orleans.”
Michelle Pauker (Georgia Hendricks) is a singer and actor. She has appeared in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Idaho Shakespeare Festival), “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (Great Lakes Theatre Company), and “Into The Woods (Forestburgh Playhouse).
Charlotte Weber(Niki Harris, The Ingenue) performed in many productions at Connecticut College. She then attended the International Culinary Center, and now works professionally as a pastry chef.
Sofia Ribolla(Niki Harris, The Ingenue) transitioned her focus from theater to to medicine while in college and is an optometrist at Greenwich Ophthalmology Associates in Stamford.
Whitney Andrews (The Stage Manager) is an actress, writer and educator with credits on TV, streaming services and Off-Broadway theater.
Matt Greenberg (Bobby Pepper, The Choreographer) is a tenure track assistant professor of theatre and dance at the University of Wyoming.
Jamie Yarmoff (Babi Berne, The Featured Dancer) is a renewable energy professional and chapter leader for Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy. She founded and established the WRISE Utah Chapter in Salt Lake City.
Madeline Seidman (Jessica Cranshaw, The Leading Lady) is an actor. Her off-Broadway credits include “Garside’s Career,” “Partnership” and “Becomes a Woman.” Regional credits include “Love, Love, Love” (Washington) and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” (Chautauqua, New York). She can be seen in the TV shows “Elsbeth” and “A League of Their Own.”g networks and television channels.
Charlie Greenwald (Harv Fremont) is an actor, voiceover artist, comedian, copywriter and children’s book author. He has appeared in the film “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and the TV special “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.”
A lot of famous people have been honored at the Westport Library’s “Booked for the Evening” event. The list includes Billie Jean King, Martin Scorsese, Patti Smith, Itzhak Perlman, and many others.
This year’s recipient has special “Fame.”
Emmy Award-winning director, choreographer, producer, actress, educator and United States Cultural Ambassador of Dance Debbie Allen will be celebrated October 28.
She is perhaps best known as perhaps best known as dance instructor Lydia Grant in the 1982 series “Fame.” She was also the show’s principal choreographer. (Fun fact: Staples High School graduate Cynthia Gibb starred on that TV show too.)
“Debbie Allen hasn’t just excelled across disciplines — she has used every one of them in service of something larger,” says library director Bill Harmer. “She has consistently asked what art can do for a community and for a culture. We couldn’t be more delighted to honor her and welcome her to the vibrant arts community of Westport.”
“Booked for the Evening” annually honors someone whose work reflects the mission and vision of the Library: to nurture a love of learning, and enhance our understanding of the world.
Allen has earned 3 Emmys, a Golden Globe, 5 NAACP Image Awards, a Drama Desk honor, the first-ever Astaire Award for Best Dancer, 4 honorary doctorates, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
She has choreographed the Academy Awards 10 times, directed and produced episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “A Different World,” and was the creative force behind Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad.”
Appointed by President George W. Bush as a Cultural Ambassador of Dance, Allen spent more than 15 years as an artist-in-residence at the Kennedy Center.
In one of their quickest meetings ever, the Planning & Zoning Commission postponed last night’s discussion of athletic field lights on the Wakeman and PF Romano Fields until next Monday (June 29).
“06880” reporter Dylan Robbin says that the continuance for both an 8-24 and special permit/site plan came at the request of Parks & Recreation director Erik Barbieri.
He indicated his department was “95% there,” but sought the delay to present something completely ready for a “major decision” by the P&Z.
The 2 projects call for permanent LED lighting, to support both school and community activities.
Monday’s delay also carries procedural implications for the lighting proposals. P&Z members noted that the Municipal Improvement applications must be acted on and issued to the first selectman by June 30. If further continuance is needed by the P&Z, the current Parks & Rec applications must be withdrawn and resubmitted.
Barbieri will submit a finalized presentation to the Planning & Zoning office before next week’s meeting. He says, “the only timeline I have is the proper vetting of the topic, and for the decision makers to have all the information they need. If that requires a bit more time, then so be it.”
PJ Romano Field has temporary lights. A plan for permanent lighting there, and at Wakeman Field, was postponed to next week.
For over 40 years, the Susan Fund has quietly — but generously, and effectively — helped young cancer patients go to college.
Named for Susan Lloyd — a Staples High School graduate who died of bone cancer shortly before attending Colgate University — the organization held its 44th reception on Sunday.
Eighteen college scholarships were awarded to Fairfield County residents who have been diagnosed with cancer.
Westport recipients included former Staples Players Charlie Watson, who attends Montclair University, and Henry Baker, a rising freshman at Pace University.
Since its inception, the Susan Fund has given more than $2.2 million to over 300 people. This year’s ceremony marked a record amount.
To learn more about the Susan Fund — including how to apply for a scholarship, and donate — click here.
Students are using it — sometimes far more than teachers realize. But teachers are using it too.
What’s the future for education? How will youngsters cope — and learn?
Casey Cuny — California’s 2024 Teacher of the Year — explored the topic last night, in a fascinating Westport Library presentation. It was co-sponsored by the Westport Public Schools.
Casey Cuny, at the Westport Library. (Photo/Susan Garment)
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On Sunday morning, Saugatuck Congregational Church sent 10 young people and 5 adults to learn about — and experience — poverty and advocacy in Washington. This includes five adults and 10 youth.
They’re working with local organizations, visiting the offices of Connecticut elected officials, and also sightseeing.
Speaking of teenagers: Circle of Friends has just launched a new program for Fairfield County high school students. Successful participants earn 3 college credits.
The Solomon Leadership Program offers leadership training, community engagement, and mentorship. Students gain experience in decision-making, values-driven leadership and public speaking. To learn more, click here.
Applications are open for high school juniors and seniors. Click here, email westport@solomonprogram.org, or call 203-293-8837. The Instagram is @circlefriendsct.
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Congratulations to the Intensity Racquet Club 14U tennis boys!
On Sunday they won the USTA state championship, in West Hartford.
Four of the champs — Dylan Griffiths, Julian Kerschner and KJ Yu — are from Westport. Caleb Stapleton lives in Fairfield.
It was a long day: 12 hours (including a 30-minute rain delay). Each boy played 8 matches: 4 singles and 4 doubles.
From left: KJ Yu, Dylan Griffiths, Julian Kerschner, Caleb Stapleton.
Jazz drummer Adam Nussbaum grew up in Norwalk. He won a Grammy with Michael Becker, and has played with artists like Gil Evans and Stan Getz.
Fans who “knew him when,” and those who had no idea of his local roots, can all enjoy Nussbaum this Thursday, at Jazz at the Post (June 25, shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner at 7; VFW Post 399).
He’s joined by fellow Norwalk native Rob Aries (piano), plus Dave Santoro (bass), and James “Doc” Halliday and Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall (saxophones). Click here for tickets.
Westport is filled with people who give back. We know and celebrate some family names: Mitchell, Gault, Tauck.
Others do it quietly, year after year. They seldom receive recognition.
For more than 4 decades, Bill Evans has been a quiet pillar of our community.
A Westport resident for over 40 years, he is best known locally as the founder in 1981 of WM Evans Painting. He’s earned praise and respect for the work he does with homes and businesses.
Bill Evans
But beyond his profession, Bill has dedicated himself to humanitarian work. He has touched countless lives, far beyond Fairfield County.
Since 2008 he has been president of Connecticut Quest for Peace. The nonprofit supports vulnerable communities, locally and internationally.
Bill has always preferred action over attention. The organization grew through word of mouth, powered by volunteers, generosity and trust.
Now, as he transitions more of his time and energy toward this mission, it’s time to spread the word. More people in Westport should know this work exists, and that it makes a life-changing difference.
Connecticut Quest for Peace focuses on humanitarian support, education and long-term sustainability. Its work spans local outreach (in places like Bridgeport), and national (Appalachia) and international aid (Nicaragua and Paraguay).
Offering reduced price — or free — clothes in Bridgeport.
Their efforts include:
Education initiatives and scholarships
Healthcare access and medical support
School food programs
Community pharmacies
Distribution of essential supplies and humanitarian aid
Rather than short-term relief alone, the organization prioritizes programs that empower communities and create lasting change.
CT Quest for Peace works closely with area organizations like the National Charity League, Staples Service League of Boys, BuildOn, the Coleytown Middle School Foreign Language Department, and many others.
Among its successes, Bill and the organization have provided ongoing aid and support for Bridgeport residents and families through a community closet.
It is open Saturdays and Mondays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Seasonal clothing items are sold at affordable prices, or at no cost to those most in need. All proceeds support the funding and shipment of containers to Latin America.
So far, more than 60 shipments have been made. Internationally, over a million pieces of clothing have been distributed.
Shipment to Paraguay.
CT Quest for Peace has also provided educational support for more than 50 college students, and worked with healthcare services, food programs and community pharmacies, serving thousands.
Those numbers, the organization says, are more than statistics. They represent dignity, opportunity, and stability for families who need it most.
Individual stories stand out. A student in rural Nicaragua who received a scholarship studied agronomy. He graduated, and returned home to give back.
Today he volunteers in local schools, teaching children how to grow food using organic, closed-loop farming techniques with natural fertilizers.
Each grade maintains its own garden. Families gain access to sustainable food sources. Children learn skills that last a lifetime.
CT Quest for Peace impacts countless lives.
Westporters can help Bill, and CT Quest for Peace. Most-needed items include clothing, and medical equipment (walkers, crutches, wheelchairs, diabetic supplies). Click here for a full list.
Donations may be left any time at Bill’s garage (11 Westfair Drive), or Saturdays and Mondays (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) at the warehouse (394 Main Street, Bridgeport). Pick-up is available for larger donations.
Individuals and businesses can help too, by donating materials, volunteering to help pack shipments, or contributing financially to scholarships and school food programs. Checks can be sent to Connecticut Quest for Peace, PO Box 356, Georgetown, CT 06829.
Bill is happy to chat with anyone about the mission, and how Westporters can help. He hopes you’ll call: 203-216-2115.
Rabbi Yehuda Kantor is the spiritual head of Chabad of Westport.
Located in the former Three Bears Inn on Newtown Turnpike at Wilton Road, Chabad blends traditional values with modern technique. It offers a home to hundreds of families, and programming for all ages.
The other day, I chatted with Rabbi Kantor about all things Chabad — and much more. Click here or below, to watch and listen.
The word is out: The VFW is Westport’s new hot place for entertainment.
From tribute bands to comedy, the club on at the Riverside/Saugatuck avenue fork — with a killer view of the Saugatuck River — is a great spot to chill with friends, have a drink and some bar food, and do it all without breaking the bank.
This Saturday (June 27; 6:30 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m.) you can do it with a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.
Mark Naftalin — the Paul Butterfield Blues Band’s keyboardist, and a longtime Westport resident — plays piano.
And he’s bringing along some A-list friends.
Connecticut Blue Hall of Famer Paul Gabriel (guitar and vocals), Connecticut Blues Challenge winner Mark Zaretsky (harmonica and vocals), bassist Paul Opalach, drummer Nick Longo and special guest Washboard Slim (washboard and vocals) will rock the house.
It’s just $20 — cash at the door.
The VFW asks for a 1-drink minimum — “even if it’s only a soda.”
A small price to pay, to hear some legit Hall of Fame sounds.
A yacht anchored near the Compo Beach shore — just a few yards beyond the buoy — has gotten Westporters wondering: Who owns it? And: Why is it there?
(Photo/Amy Schneider)
This is hardly the first yacht to attract attention.
In the 1960s — when he was wooing Westporter Mia Farrow — Frank Sinatra moored offshore.
Eric Clapton was rumored to have dropped anchor there twice, in 2009 and 2010.
In 2021, Rosehearty — Rupert Murdoch’s former 185-foot vessel, which he sold to a Westporter — drew admiring glances (and a few lucky visitors from the mainland).
We’re not sure who owns this yacht. But we hope they enjoy their visit.
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Speaking of yachts: How about this beauty?
Jamie Walsh spotted it yesterday, leaving Ned Dimes Marina.
Speaking of animals: Longtime “06880” reader Anne Guglielmoni recently published a children’s picture book. The Curious Life of Vader: How it Began features a true story.
And it happened at the Fairfield Center train station.
That’s where, a while ago, Anne stumbled across a tiny, helpless black kitten. She rescued him, brought him home, and namied him Vader.
She wrote and illustrated his journey as a simple story for her 2 young nieces. Seeing the excitement on their faces every single time they turned the pages and saw the cat sparked her to share the message of compassion, kindness and courage with other children.
Karl Mergenthaler sends along today’s “Westport … Naturally” images — and the back story:
“My wife and I have been startled a few times this summer by an unexpected guest: a bobcat.
“It looks like a 20-pound tabby cat skulking across our backyard. Our neighbor Liz figured out what it’s doing: Her shed has become the nursery room for 3 kittens.
Female bobcat …
“Although I’ve spent most of my life in and around Westport, I’ve never personally seen a bobcat. Deer (of course), foxes, coyotes, hawks … but this is my first bobcat sighting.
“Apparently, the local bobcat population has exploded. There are now an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 bobcats in Connecticut.
“Are they dangerous? It doesn’t seem so.
“My cursory Internet research suggests that bobcats rarely attack people. I’m pretty sure I’d rather not find out what it would do if it felt threatened, though.
“Bobcats don’t celebrate Father’s Day, apparently. Bobcat fathers do not stay with their babies. Bobcat mothers are single parents and raise their kittens entirely on their own. Male bobcats are solitary animals, and hit the road immediately after mating.”
… and kittens, hanging around the shed. (Photos/Liz Archibald)
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And finally … oops! We missed our Father’s Day song yesterday.
Here it is, a day late:
(Unsure how to celebrate Father’s Day? The first day of summer? Or anything else? Consider a donation to “06880” — your hyper-local blog. Just click here. And thank you!)
Natalie Caine has lived through — and grown from — difficult life transitions. While raising her young daughter, for example, she was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
But nothing could have prepared the 76-year-old for the loss of her home, and the life she had built over decades, in last year’s California wildfires.
Things had been going well. Years ago, when her daughter went to college, Caine created Empty Nest Support Services. She was a sought-after speaker for corporations and high-end resorts.
Natalie Caine
That led to Life in Transition. At disorienting, lonely times when everything changes — a relationship ends, a diagnosis arrives, a loved one dies, whatever — Caine helps people pause, rediscover who they are, and imagine the possibilities ahead.
When her daughter, living in Stamford, had twins during COVID, new grandmother Caine branched out to help grandparents understand their roles, and deal with “unrealistic expectations.”
Then, in January 2025, came the Pacific Palisades fire.
Caine fled in her car. Passing burnt homes, with ashes falling from the sky, she sang childhood songs to distract herself.
On the Pacific Coast Highway, she realized she could not turn back. But an enormous plume of smoke prevented her from seeing what was ahead. It was a compelling metaphor. “I had nowhere to go,” Caine says.
Eventually, through 90-mile-an-hour winds, she reached Santa Monica. All the hotels were filled.
California wildfires
Her daughter said, “Get on a plane here.” The next morning, Caine flew to Connecticut.
She ended up at the Delamar Southport. “They were so kind,” Caine recalls. “All I had was a bag with essentials. I was so shaken.”
Though it was winter, and she was shaken, she felt the need to be outside. “I asked if they could watch me, to see if I was okay. They watched all over me.”
Caine spent 5 months in hotel rooms. With the help of a great broker, Emily Gordon of Coldwell Banker, she found a rental: an old home in the Coleytown neighborhood.
She had already fallen in love with Westport.
The town is very similar to Palisades, she says. “It’s friendly, artistic, creative and beautiful. The people are so kind. There is open space. It’s easy to get around.”
Caine has no plans to leave Westport. Her house sustained heavy smoke damage. Full remediation is needed.
She transitioned to a new life, 2,500 miles from her old one.
The Newman Poses Preserve is not far from Natalie Caine’s new home. (Photo/Michael Tomashefsky)
The only people Caine knew in the area were her daughter and her wife, in Stamford. They’re busy with their work and kids.
“I’ll find my way,” Caine promised herself. “I’ll build my community.”
She has.
Caine found the Westport Library (“oh my gosh!”), the YMCA (“amazing, and everyone is so nice”), the Senior Center, and Neighbors & Newcomers. She looks forward to her first Levitt Pavilion concert (“an outdoor show 10 minutes from home — this is definitely not L.A.!”). She hopes to give back to her new community, in any way she can.
This past winter was an eye-opener for the former Californian. She was unprepared for everything. But she figured it all out — what road salt is, and where to get it, for instance — and got through it, herself.
She is exploring the area, as far as Mystic and Rhinebeck. As a photographer, she is delighted at the variety of the area. She has learned to appreciate the train to New York City.
Now, Caine has redoubled her efforts to help people going through transitions.
Natalie Caine
She offers “Grandmother Moon” workshops through the Omega Institute. Through LifeinTransition, she mentors, writes, and delivers keynotes for organizations, retreats, wellness centers, conferences and community groups.
She coaches and consults individually with women navigating life transitions like parenting, empty nest, retirement, relocation, divorce, widowhood, caregiving, illness and more.
“Transitions teach you a lot about yourself,” Caine notes. “They can break you open with grief.
“And yet within then, there can also be growth. You find joy. resilience and unexpected strength. Your life expands in ways you’d never imagine.”
The Palisades fire was a curse. It forced her to move all the way across the country, away from her home, friends, community, work and joy.
But it was also a gift. Without it, she never would have lived near her daughter and grandchildren.
Nor would she ever have discovered Westport.
When people go through unexpected changes — and who doesn’t? — Natalie Caine says, “I’m there for them.”
Because others — including in Westport — were there for her, during her biggest transition of all.
(For more information, email natalie@lifeintransition.org)
(Every Westporter has an interesting back story. If you like discovering them on “06880,” please click here to support our work. We rely on our readers. Thank you!)
The Texaco sign that stood proudly — if a bit faded — for decades near Sunny Daes is gone.
But a proud lion carved into the side of an adjacent building — for many years, Da Pietro’s restaurant — is still there.
That was the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge. (Click here to see.)
Edward Cribari, Jonathan McClure, Dave Eason, Amy Schneider, Sal Liccione, Clark Thiemann, Robert Mitchell, Beth Berkowitz Nell Mullen and Laurie all knew the Riverside Avenue answer.
This week, we move from a lion to a rooster. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.
(Photo/Judith Katz)
(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
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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