‘Tis too the season to submit art for our online gallery (well, always ’tis).
This is your feature. All readers are invited to contribute. Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and (yes) needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world!
Untitled. Photographer Peter Barlow says: “Some birds that eat here look a lot like squirrels.”
“Yesteryear” (June Rose Whittaker)
“Who’s There!” (Mike Hibbard)
“The Coming Singularity- the Dominance of Artificial Intelligence and the Computer.” Artist Steve Stein says, “Computers easily turn our lights on and off, beat us at chess, control our cars, fly our airplanes and kill us at data/number crunching. Computers are planning and fighting our wars by designing the best military strategies. I hope they don’t decide to just turn on us!”
“Burning the Midnight Oil” (Lawrence Weisman)
Tom Doran created this in August, But, he notes, the colors are appropriate for fall too.
For over 60 years, Staples Players have entertained, touched and inspired audiences. Some shows are fun and funny; others, thought-provoking or provocative.
Over the years, we’ve grown to expect spectacular quality: acting, singing, directing, choreography, sets, costumes, lighting, the pit.
We always rave about Players’ productions. But we sometimes take them for granted.
“Guys and Dolls” — the 7th time they’ve put on that musical — closed Saturday night. It built on the tradition of previous versions, and all the other successes.
But it sure wasn’t easy.
Henry Carson — the senior playing Nathan Detroit — was laid out by flu just before the show opened. Freshman Will McCrae stepped spectacularly into the breach. (His late grandfather — Jack Lemmon — would have been very proud.)
Will McCrea as Nathan Detroit, and Jackie Peterson as Adelaide. (Photo/Kerry Long)
The next day, understudies Graham Griffin (also a 9th grader) and junior Finley Chevrier took the stage, in other roles. A spot operator was also out sick.
In the week between opening and closing, nearly 2 dozen of the cast and tech crew caught whatever was going around. By the final performance, all but one had recovered. The show went on — fabulously.
But without its regular pit orchestra conductor.
Staples music teacher Carrie Mascaro was ill. Her colleague Luke Rosenberg — the school’s choral director — stepped up big time. He learned the score, then led 14 musicians in a flawless performance.
Luke Rosenberg took over as pit director last weekend. (Photo/Dan Woog)
The show must go on. And it did.
How about one more standing ovation for:
The understudies who got the call, and quickly responded
Their replacements, who had to instantly adapt too
The costume crew, who did incredible work before the show, then kept working as actors took on new roles
The tech crew, which never gets enough praise — and their creative boss, Jeff Hauser, who made sure set designer Jordan Janota’s imaginative vision was brought to life
“Rockin’ the Boat” — on the great “Guys and Dolls” set. (Photo/Kerry Long)
Choreographer (and expectant mom) Rachel MacIsaac Myers, whose wonderful work continued with each new actor
Luke Rosenberg, a true professional who stepped into the big conducting breach with virtually no notice
Directors David Roth and Kerry Long, who solved problem after problem, and weathered storm after storm, by modeling the show biz tradition that everyone involved will remember the rest of their lives.
“Guys and Dolls” — the 1950 show — is all about luck.
“Guys and Dolls” — Staples Players-style — had plenty of bad luck. But every person involved, on stage and off, came through a winner.
Congratulations, guys (and dolls). You’re our “06880” Unsung Heroes of the Week.
PS: Missed the show? check out the highlight reel below. It’s an easy bet: This will be the best 8 minutes you spend today.
(Do you know an Unsung Hero? Let us know! Email 06880blog@gmail.com)
(“06880” entertains — and, hopefully, inspires and provokes — you several times a day. To support your hyper-local blog, please click here.)
A year ago, the Staples girls soccer team won the state championship — and were disappointed.
It was actually a shared title, after a 0-0 draw with Wilton.
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) changed the rule this year, adding penalty kicks if the final was tied after regulation.
The Wreckers had no need for that. Annabel Edwards’ true hat trick — 3 straight goals — in just 6:36 at the start of the 2nd half broke open a 1-0 game yesterday. The blue-and-whites cruised to their 2nd consecutive state “LL” (extra large schools) title, and 3rd in their history, yesterday at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford. The #3-seeded Westporters slammed #1-ranked Cheshire, 4-1.
Staples finishes the season 12-6-4. The loss was the first for the Rams (21-1-1), who got their lone goal with 9 minutes remaining.
Edwards’ selection as Most Valuable Player of the Match was a no-brainer.
She had plenty of help though. Natalie Chudowsky — who missed part of the season with US national U-15 team duty — scored the first goal. Her sister Evelyn assisted on 2 of Edwards’ strikes
Coach Barry Beattie has built a dynasty. And it looks like it will continue: Edwards is just a sophomore. Evelyn Chudowsky is a junior. And Natalie Chudowsky is only a freshman.
Congratulations to all of Staples’ newest state champs!
2022 state champion Staples High School girls soccer team. (Photo/David G. Whitham, courtesy of The Ruden Report)
The Staples girls were not the only soccer champions crowned yesterday.
Greens Farms Academy captured the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council New championship yesterday in their division. The #7 Dragons handed #1-ranked Vermont Academy only their second loss of the season, in Lancaster, Massachusetts.
The match was tied 1-1 after overtime, and went to penalty kicks. Keeper Matt Maged saved 2 shots, clinching the win.
It was an equally dramatic season for coach Chris Mira’s GFA side. Ten games in, they were 4-6. They turned it around, finishing 11-7-2.
Maged is one of 6 Westport players on the championship squad. Others are Jared Buckman, Aidan Spellacy, Aneesh Roy and Oscar Nelson. Andrew Salem is from Weston.
Three ministers — an Episcopalian, a Methodist and a Congregationalist — walk into a high school auditorium to see a play about saving gamblers’ souls …
No, it’s not a joke. It happened Saturday night.
John Betit (Christ & Holy Trinity), Heather Sinclair (United Methodist) and Alison Patton (Saugatuck Church) were all at the final performance of Staples Players’ (fantastic) production of “Guys & Dolls.”
They were not there to see whether the sisters at the Save a Soul Mission succeed. (Spoiler alert: They do.)
The pastors were there for personal — not professional — reasons. All 3 have at least 1 son or daughter in the show.
After final bows, the clergy trio went on stage. They memorialized the show, their kids — and their work — with a classic photo:
From left: Rev. John Betit, Rev. Heather Sinclair, Rev. Alison Patton. (Photo/Kerry Long)
The very moving and very personal memorial service for Arline Gertzoff — the United Nations and Democratic Party activist, Representative Town Meeting member and proud Staples High School graduate who died in September — is now online.
The event was held earlier this month, at Town Hall. Click below to honor Arline. (Hat tip: Sal Liccione)
Noelle Anastasia of Fairfield, formerly of Westport, died unexpectedly last week. She was 32 years old.
Born on on Christmas Day in 1989, she grew up in Westport.
She sang in the Bedford Middle School choir, and was an altar server at Assumption Church. Throughout her life, Noelle kept her faith close to her heart. She also loved to cook.
She studied at Norwalk Community College, and planned to return to school.
Her family says, “Noelle had a kind soul and a deeply loving heart. More than anything, she loved her daughters Isabella, 5, and Ella, 3. They were the lights and loves of her life. She loved her stepson, Jesus, and was proud of all he accomplished. Her family was the cornerstone of her life, but Noelle also cared for those who needed it. She gave freely of herself, of her time and energy, to help when help was needed. This generosity of spirit extend to animals. Noelle took in kittens that needed a home.”
In addition to her children Noelle is survived by her parents, David and Michellel her husband Jesus; sisters Denise and Nicole; brother Steven; nieces Michayla, Dianna, Marissa, Danniella and Briannal nephews Matthew, Tyler and Jace, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.
A Mass of Christian burial is set for tomorrow (Tuesday November 22, 11 a.m., Assumption Church).
And finally … Danny Kalb, a guitarist with the under-appreciated Blues Project band — died Saturday in Brooklyn. He was 80, and had battled cancer for 3 years.
As Mark Smollin notes in his book “The Real Rock & Roll High School,” the Blues Project first played in Westport in 1966. The setting was the Staples High School cafeteria — for the junior prom.
A year later, they were booked for two 50-minute sets in the Staples auditorium. with an intermission. But when they were detained in New York — finishing up a recording session — promoter (and Staples student) Dick Sandhaus talked theier manager, Sid Bernstein (of early Beatles fame) into sending Richie Havens to open the show.
After an hour, Havens was running out of material. So Bernstein had Jeremy Steig & the Satyrs drive up — at his own expense — to do a very long set until the Blues Project arrived.
At 11:30 the Blues Project finally took the stage. Half an hour later they were shut down, by a midnight curfew. Click here for a full obituary.
And one of you added all the details the rest of us never knew.
Last week’s image of a sculpture just to the left of the main entrance to Staples High School – hidden partly behind a stone wall, just outside the art classrooms — was correctly noted by Stephen Moskowitz, Andrew Colabella and Diane Bosch.
But it took Ive Covaci to provide the back story. Ive says:
It is titled “Woman’s Head,” dates to circa 1979-1981, and was created by Joseph Goto (1916-1994).
Born in Hawaii, Goto was of Japanese descent, and studied at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago. After WWII, he began sculpting with welded steel, a medium that he was drawn to because of his steel-working experience while serving in the U.S. Army. He taught at University of Michigan, Brandeis, Carnegie-Mellon, and RISD.
Goto writes: “Cutting the steel is like carving, as in the Matisse and Picasso cutouts. It’s not mechanical. It’s not a logical thing that you learn; it comes from long experience…It gives me a good feeling to build things. Click here for more information,
Take a look next time you pass by Staples or online here,
Today’s Photo Challenge is a plaque honoring one man with 2 locally famous names: Burr and Sherwood.
If you know where in Westport it hangs, click “Comments” below.
This week’s Board of Education community conversation was wide-ranging, robust and fruitful. If you missed
It was so successful, the board will schedule another conversation. They’ll begin with the topics they ended with: books in the high school library, and equity action planning.
The next event will be scheduled in the evening. When the date is finalized, “06880” will let you know.
Meanwhile, last night, a couple of hundred people enjoyed dozens of wines (and excellent hors d’oeuvres), at Westport Sunrise Rotary’s annual (but first since COVID) “Uncorked” fundraiser.
The tastings were courtesy of The Fine Wine Company. The dining came courtesy of the host Inn at Longshore.
And the money raised? It all goes to the many worthy program — here and abroad — supported by our excellent Sunrise Rotary Club.
Last night’s “Westport Uncorked,” at the Inn at Longshore. (Photo/Dan Woog)
A reader writes: “The other day I dropped an envelope into a mailbox between the diner and dance studio. I felt something sticky, and realized the envelope was not falling into the box.”
“I called the check’s recipient a few days later. They had not gotten the check. I went to the box to see if I could retrieve it. I couldn’t, so I went to the post office. They gave me a number to call.
“I called, and found out I was scammed. The sticky page catches my envelope. Thieves erase and change all the information they need: signature, amount, routing and account numbers.
“I had to go to the bank, get new account numbers, order new checks, remember all my direct deposits and notify them.
“Why isn’t something posted about this scam? The post office and bank know about it. Why hasn’t he public been alerted?
Since graduating from Staples High School in 2013, and Middlebury College 4 years later, August Laska has done many things.
He worked for Snapchat and Disney. He co-produced an Off-Broadway show. He was a marketer.
Now — after being furloughed in the pandemic — he’s got a new gig. He owns The Old Yew Plant Shop on Horatio Street in the West Village.
It offers plants for all tastes and plant-growing abilities, plus landscaping and installation services, expert advice, and anything else city dwellers need (for their plants, anyway).
August always loved plants. But not until his temporary COVID-induced move back to Westport did he have a chance to indulge in his passion.
Work on his yard led to requests by relatives and friends. When someone asked him to do his work indoors — bingo.
This week, Off the Grid — a Village blog — profiled August and The Old Yew Plant Shop. Click here for a story that’s even livelier than Audrey II.
But August is not sitting around twiddling his (green) thumbs. He’ll open a second Manhattan location soon.
August Laska at The Old Yew Plant Shop. (Photo courtesy of Off the Grid)
Tomorrow’s Green’s Farms Congregational organ rededication — with a concert by renowned improvisationist Justin Bischof, in honor of organist Rick Tripodi, who oversaw the reinstallation but died just before completion — is set for 4 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday, November 20).
But you’re never too old to have a Westport Library exhibit.
His botanical paintings will be featured in the Sheffer Gallery, from December 5 through February 28. An artist talk and reception, with Rauh and Miggs Burroughs, is set for January 20.
“I am extremely fortunate to be granted the ability to continue to function as well as I do as the years pass,” says Rauh, who took up botanical painting in retirement, after a long career in motion pictures special effects.
“Spread along these walls are the results of what I have observed looking closely at flowers over the years. Whether in my quest for the accurate I have managed to bring a personal statement is for you to judge. It is enough for me that you will look at flowers in a way you never have before.”
Rauh won the gold medal and Best in Show awards at the 2006 Royal Horticultural Society Show in London, and his work is in several permanent collections. He has taught in the botanical illustration certificate program at the New York Botanical Gardens since 1994 and was named its Teacher of the Year in 2010. He also teaches widely in senior centers.
Two other exhibits will be featured at the Library too: “Speak to Me” (woven art by Westporter Tina Puckett), and 8 works from the Westport Public Art Collections.
Westport’s Thiel Architecture + Design is known for its office, restaurant, retail and residential projects.
Now they’re known by the Connecticut chapter of the American Institute of Architect too.
Thiel’s design of a Brooklyn office will receive an Excellence in Interior Architecture award. It and 5 other designs are in contention for Connecticut Project of the Year.
The design is for a company that downsized after the pandemic. The new Williamsburg space “functions less as a ‘workhouse’ and more as a ‘clubhouse,’a gathering place where employees come together to re-energize, zoom with remote clients and collaborators, and do intermittent touchdown work.”
Thiel is currently designing the future Weston Town Green, and last year worked with the Westport Farmers’ Market on a concept for a permanent home at the Imperial Avenue lot.
With winter near (despite the Compo swimmers, above), Westporters are stocking up on wood.
James Parisi is one of the few who chops his own.
And probably the only one who takes such a dramatic photo of his work.
Now it will warm him 3 times: Once when he chopped it. Then when he burns it. And now, when he sees it featured as today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo.
And as you scroll through this week’s art gallery, remember to give thanks to all the artists — here in Westport, and in our broader “06880” online community, who share their work with us.
After all: This is your feature. All readers are invited to contribute. Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and (yes) needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world!
Untitled – watercolor and pen (Jude Siegel)
“Here Comes the Sun, In About an Hour” (Jerry Kuyper)
“Autumn” (Linda Doyle)
Untitled (Michael Chait)
“Compo Beach Ornament” — ,mixed media. Artist Peter Barlow explains: “At least 12 of these spires once adorned the brick bathhouses. After this one was knocked over in a 1950 hurricane, the town tore down all of them.”
“Three Modiglianis” (Tom Doran)
Untitled (Ann Chernow)
“The World’s Most Important Job” (Steve Stein)
Untitled (Karen Weingarten)
“Bridgeport Mansion 1891” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Gone But Not Forgotten” (Molly Alger)
“Neighborhood Watch Creature” (Mike Hibbard)
(Enjoying our weekly art galleries? Please consider clicking here, to help support “06880.” Thank you!)
Posted onNovember 16, 2022|Comments Off on Roundup: Candlelight Concert, Mexicue, Poet Laureates …
Don’t say we didn’t tell you.
Staples High School Candlelight Concert tickets go “on sale” to the public — don’t worry, they’re still free! — on December 1.Performances are Friday, December 16 (8 p.m.) and Saturday, December 17 (3 and 8 p.m.).
Spectacular holiday music will be provided by the symphonic orchestra, symphonic band and choral ensembles. The 82-year-old event blends plenty of time-honored traditions, with some 21st-century twists.
If you’ve been to Candlelight, you know what I’m talking about. If you’ve never gone — set that alarm for tickets. You don’t need kids in high school to appreciate what these teenagers (and their teachers) do.
One more tradition: the artwork for this year’s concert comes once again from Staples senior Hugh Kennedy. It’s the third year in a row he’s designed the graphics.
Last February, “06880” announced the imminent arrival of Mexicue.
The restaurant — mixing “street food sensibility” with fine dining — was renovating 38 Main Street, the former site of Bobby Q’s and Onion Alley.
The target for opening was May.
Mexicue missed the mark by 6 months. Opening day is today, at 4 p.m.
From all indications, the wait will be worth it. Westporters who have dined at Mexicue in New York City (Chelsea, NoMad, Midtown), Stamford and Washington say “¡muy bueno!”
Westport resident Aye Aye Thant is one of the our town’s biggest boosters of the United Nations.
It’s no wonder. Her father, U Thant, was the third secretary general of the organization. The Burmese leader served from 1961 to 971.
Aye Aye – a longtime Westporter — addressed the Rotary Club yesterday, at Green;s Farms Congregational Church. She reflected on her father’s legacy of diversity and peace, and the role education played in that vision.
U Thant, who died in 1974, was a strong proponent of decolonization and tolerance. His daughter believes he was ahead of his time.
“As a Buddhist, he believed Buddhism was a great religion but he also understood that hundreds of millions disagreed with him,” she said. That realization led her father to espouse a philosophy of peaceful coexistence.
Aye Aye Thant, speaking at yesterday’s Westport Rotary Club meeting. A photo of her father, U Thant, is on the screen behind her. (Photo and hat tip/Dave Matlow)
Sixteen years after headlining the Malloy Lecture in the Arts, former US poet laureate Billy Collins returns to the Westport Library.
He’ll chat with Connecticut poet laureate Antoinette Brim-Bell about his new volume, “Musical Tables.” Those short poems focus on nature, animals, mortality, absurdity and love.
The event is December 9 (7 p.m.). Tickets are $26 (same price for 1 or 2 attendees), and include a signed copy of “Musical Tables.” Click here to purchase and for more information.
Westport’s own poet laureate — Jessica Noyes McEntee — says: “If you know Billy Collins’ work, then I don’t have to encourage you to see him live. If you haven’t explored his oeuvre, this night promises to be delightful. His work has a magical and effortless quality that many of us in the poetry community emulate, and enjoy.”
“Billy Collins is perhaps the most revered poet writing in America today,” says Library executive director Bill Harmer. “Most communities would count themselves fortunate to see him once in a lifetime. To have him back in Westport for a second time is a thrill beyond measure. And to be joined by Antoinette is a true gift.”
The Staples High School boys soccer program has always given back to the community. This year’s initiative: collecting donations for the Cardinal Shehan Center in Bridgeport, and its after-school, vacation and summer camps for low income youth.
All donations will be delivered by players to the Center, in time for their annual holiday party on December 17.
Donations can be made Friday through Sunday, December 2-4, at 1 Baldwin Place (off Bayberry Lane). There will be bins by the garage.
Suggested items include:
Soccer balls, dodgeballs, basketballs
Plastic hockey sticks
Air Hockey Table and supplies
Ping Pong table and supplies
Complete board games with intact boxes and all pieces
Children or family DVDs
Unopened arts & crafts supplies
Unopened toys for holiday gifts
Dolls
Headphones
Gift cards
Hats, scarves and gloves
Swim goggles
Can’t find anything to give? Click here to guy new using the Center’s Amazon Wishlist, and have it delivered directly to the Laskin family, 1 Baldwin Place, Westport, CT 06880.
Can’t drop off during the December 2-4 dates? Email nicolelaskin@icloud.com for alternate arrangements.
Longtime Westporter Ruby Allen died Friday in her sleep. The wife of Winston Allen. she was 87 years old.
Born in Pittsburgh, and one of 8 siblings, she lived here for 48 years.
She graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in finance, and from Baruch College with a master’s in public administration. She also attended Harvard University’ executive program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government..
Ruby served as an assistant vice president of finance for the Health and Hospital Corporation of New York City for 30 years.
She loved traveling the world for pleasure, and as “first lady of the Westport Rotary Foundation,” attending 10 international conferences, She volunteered for humanitarian for months at a time with her husband, in Haiti and South Africa.
In addition to her husband, Ruby is survived by her stepchildren Vaughn and Julie Allen.
Viewing will be at St Paul’s on the Green (60 East Avenue, Norwalk) on Tuesday, November 22 at 10:00 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. service and then a noon gravesite ceremony at Willowbrook Cemetery in Westport. Guests are then welcome at the Allen home (4 Burritts Landing North).
Staples High School’s November Students of the Month are seniors William Lacend Duprey, Marley Brown. Alexander Mussomeli and Jason Capozucca; junior Kimberly Cheng; sophomore Jane Cunningham, and freshmen Sophie Grijns and Gunnar Eklund.
Students of the Month “help make Staples a welcoming place for their peers and teachers alike. They are the ‘glue’ of the school community: the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students who keep Staples together, making it the special place that it is.”
November Students of the Month (from left): William Lacend Duprey ,Kimberly Cheng, Alexander Mussomeli, Gunnar Eklund, Jason Capozucca, Jane Cunningham, Missing: Marley Brown, Sophie Grijns.
Joe Carpenter offers today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo of his Annabelle hydrangea, and says: “This little girl finally decided she better bloom now before it is too late. Or is she 6 months ahead of everyone else?”
And finally … Dan McCafferty has died, at 76. He suffered from COPD.
You may not know his name. But you know his voice — from, for example, Nazareth’s “Love Hurts.” The New York Times explains:
His rendition — vocally scratchy but belted out behind reverberating guitar lines — became the definitive one. The world-weary lyrics emphasize hard lessons learned from heartbreak, but his passionate delivery made the song sound more like a statement of unvarnished desire.
The song came to seem characteristic of a post-hippie era, when male vitality was at the center of rock but the combativeness of heavy metal and punk had not yet become popular. In the movie “Dazed and Confused” (1993), “Love Hurts” plays at a 1970s junior high party in a neighborhood recreation center, where longhaired teens slow dance and furtively neck.
Yesterday’s Roundup featured a $7.9 million house. It’s being built on one of the most famous spots in Westport: 233 Hillspoint Road, site of the former Positano restaurant.
Diagonally across the street, at 246 Hillspoint, there’s another well-known home. Built in 1930, it’s the last remaining bungalow on the increasingly modern (and pricey) stretch of water-view road.
Of course you know it:
At 695 square feet, with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom on a 3,049-square foot lot, it could have been yours — for a mere $2 million.
But you had to act fast. Offers were due by Sunday
I don’t know a lot about real estate. But I’m guessing the buyer does not plan to live there as is.
So that $2 million is just a starting point. (Hat tip: John Richers)
David Winther graduated from Staples High School in 2006. He went on to a career as a talent agent (focusing on music and arena touring. He works now in Los Angeles at Elite World Group as a director of global partnerships. He also owns Winther Agency, which strikes brand and licensing deals for content creators.
The other day, he was interviewed by ShoutOut LA. Asked who deserved credit for his success, he gave shout-outs to 2 people from his Westport past: his mother Lynn, and his mentor Jack Klinge.
David said:
My 2 sisters and I got to grow up in Westport, CT, an affluent town with great education systems that push kids academically, athletically etc. to excel. She worked 2 fulltime jobs to get us a “slot” in that town. Ma missed a lot of soccer games, football games, lacrosse games, band recitals to afford that town. I think there was a certain teenage angst I had where I didn’t understand it and actually grew distant from her for a while. Now, in my mid-30s I see what she did and what she keeps doing and how much she gave for her kids. I know she would do it again in a second.
Second, Jack Klinge. I didn’t have a father figure at all my entire life. The town of Westport has a great program that mentors kids who may not have the “typical” nuclear family… In my case I was a latchkey kid in a rich town. Jack and I met when I was in 2nd grade and we started off our first day by going outside and playing soccer against each other. The relationship was great. He became more like a grandfather figure who would give me sage advice and be at my games. He would be proud. I know he is proud, even though I thoroughly believe he still doesn’t understand what I do, haha!
Thank you Mom. Thank you Jack.
In a follow-up conversation, David told “06880”:
I owe everything I am as a person and a professional to my upbringing and my roots. My roots will always be with Westport. Without the strong leaders like Cathy Schager, Jack Klinge, John Dodig, David Roth and many many more, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
To any parent reading this: Please trust in Westport. There is a special love and care for its community to succeed in whatever they want to do in life.
Rick Tripodi was the beloved music director and organist at Green’s Farms Congregational Church.
That organ was close to Rick’s heart. As a teenager in 1965, he attended its dedication.
Classically trained, with a master’s degree in organ performance from Juilliard, Rick designed the refurbishment of the Peragallo/Walker organ during the church’s recent renovation project.
Sadly, he died just 2 days before the instrument was reinstalled.
The organ will be re-dedicated this Sunday (November 20, 4 p.m.). Justin Bischof — known internationally for his improvisations — will play. His program will include themes submitted by the audience.
Pianist Brian Marsella returns to “Jazz at the Post” this Thursday (November 17; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner from 6:30 p.m.; VFW Post 399, 465 Riverside Avenue).
He’s joined by bassist Reid Taylor, drummer Brian Floody and the “Jazz Rabbi,” saxophonist Greg Wall.
The cover charge is $15. Reservations are highly recommended: JazzatthePost@gmail.com.
For a few years now, 233 Hillspoint Road has sat half-finished. Swaddled in blue, with a chain link fence and weeds, it demolishes the beauty of the Old Mill neighborhood.
But one day, it will look like this:
And — from the beach — like this:
The property is listed for sale.
What would you get for $7.9 million? (Or $4.9 million, unfinished?)
The listing says:
233 Hillspoint Rd. is an exciting, sleek and sophisticated new construction waterfront home. A truly open floor plan that is drenched in sunlight through walls of glass that frame the water from every room. This stunning, beautifully designed, four bedroom all ensuite home, will be finished with high-end, understated elegance by noted architect, Lucien Vita.
The primary suite, with a true cathedral ceiling and private balcony, is next-level. The roof-top deck is beyond cool. Soak up the sun and fresh air while entertaining and watching the fireworks and sailboats on the horizon. Walk barefoot on the champagne sands, through the-beach level covered terrace to your personal elevator that will whisk you from the garage to where your life is lived with clarity, at a pace dictated by nature, the sun, the tides and the rhythm of the waves.
Only a handful of Westport homes have this incredible, panoramic view with a sandy beach. You’re home. And your home is on the beach with crazy gorgeous views.
David Roth and Kerry Long — co-directors of Staples Players — missed the opening night of “Guys and Dolls” in 2009. Kerry gave birth to their daughter Lucy, just 17 minutes before the curtain rose.
Henry Carson missed opening night of the same show on Friday. His absence was at least as significant.
The senior plays Nathan Detroit. But he caught the flu, and — with very little warning — his understudy had to go on.
His freshman understudy.
Will McCrea stepped up big time. He delivered an almost flawless performance, earning a huge hand from the sellout crowd.
That may not have been surprising. Will is Jack Lemmon’s grandson.
Will McCrea as Nathan Detroit, and Jackie Peterson as Adelaide. (Photo/Kerry Long)
The rest of the cast came through too — big time as well. The acting, singing, dancing, sets, lighting and pit make this one of Players’ best shows ever. And that’s saying something.
On Saturday, 2 more actors fell ill. Freshman Graham Griffin took over as Big Jule from senior Charles Watson. Junior Finley Chevrier went on too.
Both Will and Graham’s Players debuts were impressive. Of course, they’ve been trained well: They shared the role of Daddy Warbucks in last year’s Bedford Middle School production of “Annie.”
Graham Griffin as Big Jule. (Photo/Kerry Long)
“Guys and Dolls” continues this weekend, with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday (November 18 and 19), and a Saturday matinee at 3 p.m. Click here for tickets, and more information.
The League of Women Voters of Westport invites voters (and everyone else) to a “Post-Election Coffee.” It’s Wednesday (November 16, 10 a.m., VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399, 465 Riverside Avenue).
Westport’s registrars of voters Deborah Greenberg and Maria Signore will discuss the election, and what happens now the Connecticut’s early ballot initiative has passed.
Caroline Hendley and her husband rode to Saugatuck Shores this weekend.
She sent this image for “Westport … Naturally.” Check out the Buddha on the far right. Caroline thought that its head, resting on a dock, suggests that it can calm the waters.
“06880” readers love Rowene Weems’ photos. She has a keen eye for the beauty of our town. Flowers, sunsets, the Levitt Pavilion— her camera and composition make those scenes come alive in special and compelling ways.
Rowene also has a great eye for people. As she travels around town, she captures some of the men and women who work — mostly unseen — to make Westport what it is.
She does not know their back stories. She tries not to interrupt too much. A woman once chastised Rowene for taking photos of workers on her property. “Time is money!” she said.
Last spring, “06880” featured some of those images. They’re part of a book she’s creating about workers everywhere, from her travels around the US and world.
It’s time for another look, at more of the men and women who make our town all that it is. Today, let’s appreciate them anew.
Anthony, in his truck …
… and digging a gas line.
Janine, a delightful server at La Plage.
Wood working on Jesup Road.
A friendly, efficient team of Optimum workers …
… starting a job …
… with plenty of cable …
… and time for a quick break …
,,, before finishing up (All photos/Rowene Weems)
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