In a decision that was widely anticipated, the Westport Country Playhouse has named Mark Shanahan as artistic director, and Beth Huisking as managing director.
They have served as incoming artistic director and acting managing director, respectively. Today’s announcement makes their new posts official.
Shanahan will continue to curate the Playhouse’s Script in Hand play reading series. He is also the creator and curator of Westport Country Playhouse Radio Theater, in partnership with WSHU Public Radio, and served as writer/director of the Playhouse radio adaptation of “A Merry Little Christmas Carol.”
He is the writer/director of “A Sherlock Carol,” which was produced for the Playhouse’s 2023 holiday season, and has played annually in London and New York.
As an actor, Shanahan appeared at the Playhouse in several shows and numerous Script In Hand readings, as well as on and off Broadway. He is a graduate of Brown University, and earned a master’s degree at Fordham University.
Mark Shanahan and Beth Huisking (Photo/Mark Smith)
Huisking joined the Playhouse in 2005 as marketing associate. She has experience there as associate director of marketing and general manager.
“We are thrilled to have Mark and Beth at the helm,” says Athena T. Adamson, Playhouse board of trustees chair.
“They both have a deep knowledge of and respect for this treasured theater, while still keeping an enthusiasm for the future and all that the Playhouse can become. The board is grateful to have such strong leadership as the Playhouse moves forward with its plan to become a year-round center for the performing arts while continuing with its proud tradition of producing world-class plays.”
Shanahan says, “As we usher in a new chapter for the Playhouse, I’m excited to work alongside our incredible, devoted staff and board members and contribute to the ongoing legacy of this cherished theatre.
“In recent months we’ve felt a groundswell of support from the audience we serve. I look forward to building on that trust and enthusiasm as we program more innovative, year-round events and plan a new season of outstanding productions beginning in the fall.”
The 93-year-old Westport Country Playhouse
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As pressure mounts on young athletes to be more competitive than ever, Sebastian Little says: Enough!
The leadership coach — who works with clients in MLB, the NBA and NHL, and is in his 3rd year as Yale University football’s performance coach — will speak on a Westport Public Schools and Westport Together panel called “For the Love of the Game: How Parents Can Promote Successful Athletes on and Off the Field.”
The session — for parents and coaches — will offer insights and strategies into “balancing competition with compassion and growth with enjoyment.”
The event is on Tuesday, March 5 (7 p.m., Bedford Middle School auditorium). Click here to register.
Speaking of sports: The Staples boys basketball team is in the FCIAC (league) final for the 2nd time in 2 years tonight.
The #4-seed Wreckers — fresh off Tuesday’s huge upset over #1 Ridgefield — are playing for the championship for the 2nd straight year. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Wilton High, against Trumbull.
Staples fell to Danbury in last year’s title match (and then went on a great run, to the state Division II final).
But it’s been a while since the Westporters last won the FCIAC crown. 61 years, in fact. Their first — and only — league championship came in 1963.
Charlie Scott — Staples’ talented senior video producer/WWPT-FM announcer — has created another superb pump-up video. Click below to see:
Last night’s winds knocked out power in a few areas of Westport and Weston.
Trees and wires were down at 15 Partrick Road, 119 Hillandale Road and 30 Prospect Road.
Outages affected the Greens Farms and Wilton Road neighborhoods.
At 8:30 a.m., 78 Westport customers (0.61%) were without power. There were 105 outages (2.66%) in Weston. The total number statewide was 3,399 (0.26%).
Wires down at South Morningside Drive and Hillandale Road. At 8:30 a.m., crews were on the scene. (Photo/Bob Weingarten)
Dara Horn forcefully addressed the recent rise of antisemitism last night, at Chabad of Westport.
Dara Horn — author of “People Love Dead Jews” — headlined the event, part of Chabad’s Critical Conversations series. Nearly 200 people attended.
“People ask: Are Jews a race, a religion, or a nationality? she said.
“Jews existed before these structures existed. What is clear is Jewish civilization is indigenous to the land of Israel. It’s not a political statement. It’s fact.
“People want to erase Jewish culture, but instead that is exactly what needs to be explained and taught to ensure its survival.”
Dara Horn, at Chabad of Westport. (Photo and hat tip/Matthew Mandell)
Her fans know here as Jean Louisa Kelly. Her Westport neighbors and friends call her Jean Pitaro.
Whatever name she goes by, Jean is featured at the Westport Country Playhouse’s first Mic in Hand of 2024. She takes the stage April 4 (7 p.m.).
Jean’s stage and screen credits include the original Broadway cast of “Into the Woods,: and the movies “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” “Uncle Buck” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Her uplifting show will be a journey through her life in and out of show business, with songs from “Gypsy,” “The Fantasticks,” “Next to Normal” and “Company.”
All tickets are $40. Click here to purchase, and learn more. Proceeds benefit education programming at the Playhouse.
Also new at the Playhouse: the first Barnstormer event.
It’s “Ann Talman: Elizabeth Taylor and the Shadow of Her Smile” (April 21, 7 p.m.).
Broadway veteran Talman portrayed Taylor’s daughter on Broadway in “The Little Foxes,” beginning a lifelong friendship.
This show is an evening of story and song about Ann and Elizabeth’s bond.
All tickets are $20. Click here to purchase, and learn more.
Called “Jewels of Westport,” they visit the hidden — or at least lesser-known — gems of our town.
On Tuesday they toured Westport Public Art Collections’ Town Hall display.
Overall, WestPAC’s collection includes over 2,000 artistic treasures. Many are in schools, where they are enjoyed by students and staff, yet often unseen by the public.
But how many of us walk by all the art on the Town Hall walls, without giving it a second glance?
The Y’s Women Town Hall tour was led by WestPAC co-president Anne Boberski. It was “eye-opening,” for sure.
Anne Boberski leads the Y’s Women Westport Permanent Art Collections tour in Town Hall.
Westport Police made 6 custodial arrests between February 21 and 28.
One — reported earlier — was for larceny, in connection with the theft of 5 Israel flag yard signs in December.
One was for larceny, illegal use of a credit card, identity theft, criminal impersonation and forgery, following a February 7 complaint that a mailed check was stolen, altered from $830 to $18,300 and deposited.
A woman was arrested for criminal attempt at larceny, identity theft and forgery, after a complaint in April 2022 that a check had been stolen from a US Postal Service box on Myrtle Avenue, altered from $250 to $4,300, and attempted to be cashed.
Another woman was arrested for criminal attempt at larceny, larceny and identity theft, following a complaint in January that a check had been stolen, altered and cashed.
A man was arrested after he and a juvenile shoplifted $492 worth of groceries from Stop & Shop. They were found with the bags at the HomeGoods bus stop. The man was charged with larceny, criminal impersonation and failure to appear. The juvenile was issued a summons and released.
One woman was arrested for failure to appear.
Police also issued these citations:
Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 5 citations
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 3
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 3
Traveling unreasonably fast: 2
Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 2
Kicking + Screening is a film festival dedicated solely to soccer. (Now do you get the clever name?)
It returns next month for its 15th year in New York. But it’s very much a Westport production.
Current Westport resident Rachel Markus co-founded Kicking + Screening in 2009, with former professional player Greg Lalas.
Always an avid fan (and a ruthless striker), Rachel studied film at New York University. She has worked in the film industry for over 2 decades.
The other local connection: This year’s festival will be held at Football Cafe, the Lower East Side “soccer cultural center” founded by Kyle Martino.
He’s the 1999 Staples graduate — and former Gatorade National High School Player of the Year, MLS Rookie of the Year, US men’s national team player and NBC Sports Premier League broadcaster. Kyle is now a soccer analyst with Warner Brothers Discovery Sports.
The 2024 festival lineup — 11 features and shorts, plus panels, special guests and more from March 14 to 16 — includes Eric Cantona’s Manchester United biography, “The United Way.” Click here for more information, and tickets.
Norwalk Hospital — once independent, now part of Nuvance Health — may soon become part of a larger group.
Nuvance — owner of 4 Connecticut hospitals, and 3 in New York — plans to merge with Northwell Health. They are New York State’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, with more than 81,000 employees.
Together, the companies will own 28 hospitals, and more than 1,000 other care sites.
In 2019, Ruth Sherman was an “06880” Unsung Hero of the Week.
At 79 years old, she had just returned from a 100-mile spiritual trek in Spain.
We hailed her for her civic work — teaching exercise and fitness at the Westport Weston Family Y, Senior Center and Arthritis Foundation family aquatics program.
We noted that every day for 50 years — in all kinds of weather — Ruth walked from Hillspoint Road to the top of Compo Hill.
She’s now in her mid-80s. And she’s still walking.
Tammy Barry spotted her yesterday. The weather was meh, but there was Ruth, getting in her (many) steps.
Tammy writes: “Ruth walks in rainy, snowy, and sunny weather. What a beautiful woman, on the inside and out!
“She is an inspiration and role model for us all. She told me she wakes up every day and never has a complaint— it’s not allowed. Keep on moving and grooving. Ruth!”
Tammy sent a great photo too.
So — apropos of nothing, and everything — here’s another “06880” to the indefatigable, wonderful Ruth Sherman!
And finally … do you know how hard it is to find a leap year song?!
I’ve spent my February 29 searching the internet. This will have to do.
(“06880” is your hyper-local blog. We cover news, events, businesses, restaurants, sports, trends, history and more — and we do it 24/7/365. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
After 3 years in business, Stephen Kempson was hitting his stride.
The London-born tailor on Post Road West, just over the bridge, had a steady and grateful clientele for bespoke suits, jackets, pants and shirts, plus shoes, ties, cufflinks, ready-to-wear items off the rack, and wardrobe consultation.
Then came COVID.
Kempson closed for 9 weeks. His 2 tailors kept busy by making masks. Fingers that once measured, cut and sewed fabrics to show men at their best now created products that covered their faces.
In June, people began venturing out. But no one headed back to the office. Through August, Kempson had no new orders.
It took another year before customers returned. Still, Kempson figured it would be 2025 before he was where he wanted to be.
Since New Year’s though, business has been roaring.
Both January and February orders tripled what he’d done in those months in 2023.
Suits are back in style.
Stephen Kempson, with the inside fabric of a suit jacket.
When the pandemic first eased, and people began going back to offices a couple of days a week, they had to give up their work-from-home sweat pants and t-shirts.
They did not make the leap to jackets and ties immediately, though. Kempson added items like knitted cotton shirts — not woven — that provided the comfort men had gotten used to.
Now though, many offices are open most of the week. Suits are considered suitable for those days. “It’s about getting back in the business mindset,” Kempson says.
Companies are re-instituting dress codes. “They don’t want you looking like you just walked out of the gym, or off the golf course,” he notes.
Last week, 3 of Kempton’s customers bought more than 3 suits each.
The influx of new Westporters — many in their 30s and 40s — “want to wear nice sport coats,” he says. “They’re really taking care of their wardrobes.”
Formal weddings are back too. Grooms are looking for custom-made tuxedos and suits that will stand out — not flashily, but in a way that shows off their unique personalities.
A Stephen Kempson wedding tux was featured in Tatler magazine. (All photos/Dan Woog)
He made another tux for a man celebrating his 40th birthday with a party at Autostrada. Functions like those were put on hold during COVID, and for months after.
Kempson does not think most customers will ever again spend 5 days a week in the office.
But they are there 3 or 4 days. They want to look — and feel — good when they’re there.
Some things never go out of fashion.
(“06880” covers the Westport business world. And fashion. And much more. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
As the weather warms, Westport heads into gala/benefit/fundraiser season.
Every spring, non-profits host events to fill their coffers. They take many forms — but they nearly always include some kind of auction, and often a program book.
Over and over, year after year, the same folks get asked to help: local merchants.
Time and again, they come through.
National brands, chain stores, the big boys who can more easily afford it — they seldom do.
“It’s against corporate policy,” they say.
Or: “We have to go through headquarters. There’s not enough time.”
Meanwhile, the mom-and-pops — struggling already against those same competitors, and online shops — donate merchandise for auctions and swag bags. They give gift certificates. They write checks for program ads, knowing full well that few folks ever open the booklet.
Savvy + Grace is one of many local merchants that donate whenever they’re asked.
Our local merchants, restaurants and services are hit up for everything.
They say yes for 3 reasons: These are their customers. They want to help. And they feel part of the community.
This week — as we get ready for gala/benefit/fundraiser season — they are our Unsung Heroes of the week.
Be sure to thank them for their generosity.
(Do you know an Unsung Hero? Email 06880blog@gmail.com!)
Westport Police have arrested a 27-year-old Brooklyn man, for the December theft of Israel flag lawn signs.
On December 30, the WPD initiated a larceny investigation after a complaint was made concerning those thefts. A Colony Road resident saw a man walking down the street, hauling a dumpster.
He stopped at a house across the street, with an Israel flag on the lawn. He seemed to check to see if anyone was looking, then stuffed the flag in his dumpster and continued walking.
The resident got in his car, and took a picture:
Worried what would happen if he confronted someone who would do such a thing, he returned home and called the police.
When he went back out a few minutes later, the man “seemed to have disappeared,” the resident said. “Maybe he was picked up by someone.”
A detective quickly arrived.
The neighbor had already replaced her Israel flag. But as the officer and the resident who called were at his front door discussing the incident, a white car with New York plates pulled up across the street.
Someone jumped out, grabbed the new sign, and zoomed away. He did not see the police car — but the detective saw it all.
He tried to pursue them, but was too late.
The police investigation revealed that 5 Israel flag yard signs were stolen.
William Banks
Through law enforcement sharing, the suspect was identified as William Banks.
A warrant was issued. Yesterday, Banks turned himself in to the Westport Police Department.
He was charged with 6th degree larceny, and released after posting a $500 bond.
Beginning March 11, the town will charge drivers at electric vehicle charging stations on town-owned and operated property.
Officials say the plan is competitive with other local charging stations, while also offering “a sustainable and cost-effective option for EV owners.”
Stations at Town Hall, the Westport Library, the Baldwin Lot, Senior Center and Fire Department headquarters will charge 35 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 3 hours.
After a 15-minute grace period, users will be charged an idling fee of $10 an hour. The goal is to discourage drivers from occupying spaces after they have charged their vehicles.
Stations at Saugatuck and Greens Farms railroad stations will also charge 35 cents per kwh. However, there is no idling fee, because vehicle owners use the station for commuting (and pay a railroad parking permit fee as well).
Payment may be made through QR codes on the charging unit, or through a 3rd-party app used for EV charging.
EV charges in the Baldwin lot, after installation last year. They were not yet in use, because they had not been turned on.
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Last night, News12 Connecticut ran an excellent story on tomorrow night’s event “Past, Present and Future Opportunities for Diverse Entrepreneurs” (February 29, 6 p.m., Westport Library).
Sponsored by StartUp Westport and Westport 10 — and coming on the heels of allegations of racism in town, and at the end of Black History Month — the timing is fortuitous.
Jay Norris — a co-founder of both organizations (StartUp Westport is aimed at creating a tech entrepreneurial hub here; Westport 10 is a networking and social group for Black men and their families — told News 12: “The goal is diverse entrepreneurship. We believe we’re all stronger together. We need to acknowledge ech other. We need to support each other’s business.”
He cited martin Luther King’s inspiration — and his focus on a “diverse economic perspective,” which remains unreached.
Tomorrow’s event — moderated by MSNBC host and Westport resident Craig Melvin — will be followed by a cocktail reception. Click here for more information, and to register. Click here for the full News12 story, including video of Norris’ interview.
Everyone thought Ridgefield — the #1 seed in the boys basketball FCIAC tournament), ranked #2 in the state, and unbeaten in league play this year — would roll to their 4th FCIAC championship in 6 years last night.
Everyone except Staples.
The Wreckers got a highlight reel performance from sophomore Sam Clachko — 40 points, including 7 3-pointers and 11 of 12 foul shots — en route to a 73-57 demolition of the Tigers, in last night’s semifinal at Wilton High School.
The 4th-seeded Stapleites advance to tomorrow night’s final. They take on #2 Trumbull at 7 p.m., again at Wilton. It will be the Wreckers’ 2nd straight FCIAC final appearance, under 2nd-year coach Dave Goldshore.
The Westporters dropped a tough 48-46 decision to Ridgefield during the regular season. But they battled evenly in the first half, then pulled away in the second.
Junior Adam Udell added 13 points, in the all-around team effort.
Bill Vornkahl — the Korean War veteran and for over 50 years the organizer and heart of Westport’s Memorial Day parade, who died last month — will be honored this Saturday (March 2, 1:30 p.m.) at VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399.
The Bill Vornkahl Citation of Service will be presented to his family. The public is invited.
The event was coordinated by Westport’s state legislators Dominique Johnson, Jonathan Steinberg and Ceci Mahar, and the Board of Selectwomen.
Bill Vornkahl (Photo/Ted Horowitz)
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The New York Times reports:
A former New York University administrator admitted on Tuesday to spending $80,000 in public money meant for minority- and women-owned businesses on a swimming pool at her Connecticut home as part of a broader $3.5 million fraud she orchestrated, officials said.
The former administrator, Cindy Tappe, made the admission while pleading guilty to second-degree grand larceny, court records show. Under a plea agreement with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, she will be sentenced to five years’ probation and must pay $663,209 in restitution to cover the full sum of money she diverted for personal expenses.
Tappe, 57, lives in Westport, the Times says.
Ms. Tappe’s “fraudulent actions not only threatened to affect the quality of education for students with disabilities and multilingual students, but denied our city’s minority- and women-owned business enterprises a chance to fairly compete for funding,” Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, said in a statement.
Deborah Colson, Ms. Tappe’s lawyer, said in a statement that her client “strongly regrets her misconduct.”
Click here for the full story. (Hat tip: Scott Brodie)
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A few tickets are still available for Bedford Acting Group’s production of “The Lion King Jr.”
The curtain rises at 7 p.m. on March 15. Additional shows are set for March 16 (3 and 7 p.m.), and March 17 (3 p.m.).Click here for tickets, cast lists and more information.
This Sunday (March 3, 4 p.m.), the United Methodist Church of Westport & Weston hosts a chamber music vespers service. It includes a string quartet, poetry and prayer, plus refreshments and conversation. The public is invited.
The church invites donations of non-perishable food items for Summerfield UMC Light on the Hill in Bridgeport.
(Photo/Dan Woog)
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High winds are predicted today.
Will they topple this utility pole on Compo Road South, a few yards from the Post Road?
(Photo/Mark Mathias)
Mark Mathias writes: “This does not look safe. It’s as if someone said, “let’s put this pole in the street and stack it on some 4x4s. What could go wrong?”
It seems, he says, “like a YouTube failure video waiting to happen.”
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The sun may not shine today.
But our “Westport … Naturally” photo — taken yesterday on Myrtle Avenue by Molly Alger — should bring a warm smile to everyone.
And finally … I never heard of Roni Stoneman, or the Stoneman Family. I never watched “Hee Haw,” where she played banjo and (apparently) had her biggest success.
But the former member of the “renowned Appalachian string band” had quite a career. She died Thursday in Tennessee, at 85. Click here for a full obituary.
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Listening to the local and national news — and reading some comments on this blog — the answer seems to be “yes.”
The other day, a Black parent tearfully told the Board of Education that her 2 daughters were victims of racial slurs and harassment, at Bedford Middle and Staples High Schools.
Dr. Carol Felder (right) and her husband Richard Anderson, speaking at a recent Board of Education meeting.
Barely 2 months earlier, a Jewish parent wrote in Newsweek that his middle school son was taunted so badly, he enrolled in a private school.
Both times, some “06880” commenters wondered what our schools are doing to punish the perpetrators of hate speech, and stop it from happening in the first place. (Privacy laws prevent administrators from discussing specific disciplinary measures, like suspensions and expulsions.)
Others noted that children’s attitudes are shaped first in the home. “You’ve got to be carefully taught” to hate, they wrote, echoing lines from “South Pacific.”
Deniers and apologists shared space in the Comments section. Emotions ran the gamut: rage, sadness, frustration — sometimes all in the same response.
But issues of racism and antisemitism are not new. When it comes to acceptance, Westport has a checkered past.
In the 1940s, a Black community thrived at 22 1/2 (now 28) Main Street. It included residents, a grocer, barber shop and church.
In December 1949, members asked the Representative Town Meeting to be considered for new affordable housing planned for Hales Road.
They were rebuffed. A local newspaper predicted “great loss of life” if a fire threatened the “slum housing” on Main Street.
Eight days later, 22 1/2 Main Street burned to the ground. Arson was suspected — but there was no investigation.
Burned out of Westport, the residents moved elsewhere. Soon, they were forgotten.
A 2018 exhibit at the Westport Museum of History & Culture included photos and text about 22 1/2 Main Street.
Two decades later, in the aftermath of Martin Luther King’s murder, Westport’s interfaith clergy joined residents and Staples students to create an Intercommunity Camp.
Youngsters came from Bridgeport and Norwalk to Westport and Weston, for summer fun.
Not all Westporters were pleased. They opposed “busing” in kids from those town — and were even angrier when Project Concern (a program to bring Bridgeport students here) was proposed for the school year.
That controversy led to a recall effort against Board of Ed chair Joan Schine, who promoted the idea. The recall campaign — with antisemitic overtones — eventually failed.
For more than a decade, Project Concern thrived. Some of the friendships made in schools half a century ago continue today.
Walt Melillo teaching a Project Concern student, at Burr Farms School.
A successor of sorts is A Better Chance of Westport. For 2 decades, through a national program, academically gifted and highly motivated young men of color live together in Westport. Supported by host families, drivers and many others — including Black men who act as mentors — they give back as much to our town as they get from it.
For even longer, Westport has participated in Open Choice. The lottery program brings a few Bridgeport students here, beginning in elementary school. Participants have long described a variety of issues, including feeling “different” and ostracized, and — though there is a “late bus” — being unable to participate in after-school activities because of transportation difficulties.
Westport’s checkered past is religious as well as racial.
Stories of homeowners not selling to Jews — and country clubs excluding them — are real.
But after World War II, Westport opened up. The town was known as “not Darien or New Canaan.”
Temple Israel was the first synagogue. Today there are 4. Non-Jewish 13-year-olds go to so many bar mitzvahs, they joke that they know all the prayers.
Yet in late December Colony Road was hit by brazen thefts of lawn signs with the Israel flag, supporting that nation after the terrorist attack by Hamas.
This person put an Israel flag lawn sign in the trash barrel, and wheeled it away.
There are plenty of Jewish families in Westport today.
There are far fewer Black families — though certainly more than when I was at Staples, in the 1970s.
“Hate Has No Home Here” signs — ubiquitous a few years ago — still stand on lawns throughout town.
There is also TEAM Westport (the town’s official multicultural committee), and Westport 10 (a networking and social group for Black men and their families).
Both are important. But neither they — nor any program, or all 4 synagogues, or any other one “thing” — will remove the glare of the media spotlight from our town, or ease the perception that this is a racist, antisemitic place.
The truth is, we are a socioeconomically segregated, relatively homogenous suburb, in a state that, while socioeconomically segregated, mirrors the ethnic diversity of America.
We still have work to do.
We — Westporters of all ages — still must be taught not to hate.
But not “carefully” taught.
Instead: Forcefully. Consistently. And ceaselessly.
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