Tag Archives: Daryl Wein

Roundup: Holiday Movies, Holiday Animals …

Posted on December 18, 2022 | 5 comments

Two of the Top 10 most streamed movies last weekend were holiday films.

And both have strong Westport connections.

“Spirited” (Apple TV+) ranked 7th overall for the weekend. The musical comedy retelling of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds (also shown in theaters) was written in part by 2003 Staples High School graduate Justin Paul, and his songwriting partner Benj Pasek (“Dear Evan Hansen,” “La La Land,” “The Greatest Showman”). Justin also served as an executive producer.

Right behind “Spirited,” in 8th place, was “Something From Tiffany’s” (Amazon Prime Video). The rom-com is directed by 2002 Staples grad Daryl Wein (and produced by Reese Witherspoon).

Justin and Daryl were good friends at Staples. They were in Orphenians and Staples Players together — and 20 years ago this weekend, shared the stage for the annual Candlelight Concert. (Hat tip: Kerry Long)

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The Greens Farms train station COVID testing site — run since last January by Progressive Diagnostics — closed on Thursday. The move was made to accommodate normal station operations and concessions.

Progressive’s same-day COVID, flu and RSV tests remain available at their Norwalk and Wilton sites. Clients can schedule appointments online, or walk in.

Progressive Diagnostics’ Covid PCR tests detect the presence of viruses even before symptoms begin. Results are delivered the same day. The company also offers  telehealth, connecting patients with professionals who can discuss symptoms and provide orders for flu and/or RSV tests.

PS: As Bob Weingarten notes, free COVID tests are available online from the US government. Click here for details.

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The ever-changing Winslow Park Animal Hospital front lawn has gone whole hog for the holidays.

Their decorations are a welcome treat for anyone — and by that, I mean “everyone” who waits at the Post Road light between the Westport Country Playhouse and Playhouse Square.

(Photo/Molly Alger)

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Meanwhile, Jolantha — Weston’s favorite pig — is ready for Christmas too.

She enjoys everything about the holiday.

Except the traditional ham dinner.

(Photo/Hans Wilhelm)

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Speaking of animals … Mary Hoffman writes from the Compo Beach neighborhood:

This morning we woke up to a very clean, meatless deer leg …

 

… and a very large wolf looking at us. It is bigger than a typical German shepherd.  Dog owners beware!”

The wolf, with deer bone in its mouth. (Photo and screenshot/Mary Hoffman)

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Longtime Westporter Dick Rauh is 97 years old.

But you’re never too old to have a Westport Library exhibit.

His botanical paintings are featured in the Sheffer Gallery, from now through February 28. An artist talk and reception, with Rauh and Miggs Burroughs, is set for January 29 (2 p.m.).

“06880” reader Larry Bartimer urges everyone to see the exhibit.

“What an amazing man!” Larry says. “He is the most alert and intelligent 97-year-0ld man I have ever met. He should be celebrated. He kept us captivated at his Library show.”

Dick Rauh (Photo/Larry Bartimer)

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Hundreds of singers, and orchestra and band members, were the stars of this weekend’s Candlelight Concert at Staples High School.

In a supporting — but very important — role: dozens of red and white poinsettias.

The holiday plants enriched an already wonderful show. Lynn Untermeyer Miller captured a small part of the array, for our “Westport … Naturally” feature.

(Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)

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And finally … Dino Danelli — one of the greatest drummers in rock history — died Thursday in New York. He was 78, and had been in ill health for several years.

Inspired by Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa, he helped make the Rascals one of the first American bands to capitalize on the success of the British Invasion.

The New York Times says Danelli “merged percussive virtuosity with a rock sensibility. Like Ringo Starr of the Beatles, he set the template for the rock drummer archetype: disciplined and precise, but with a flair that drew the crowd’s eye.”

When the Rascals were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, Steven Van Zandt — who played with Danelli — called him  “the greatest rock drummer of all time.” Click here for a full obituary.

(“People everywhere just got to be free.” But “06880” isn’t free to produce. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog. Thank you!)

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Roundup: Holiday Stroll Is On Tonight; World Cup Is On Today, 10 am @ The Library ….

Posted on December 3, 2022 | Comments Off on Roundup: Holiday Stroll Is On Tonight; World Cup Is On Today, 10 am @ The Library ….

Important note: Today’s Holiday Stroll is on — rain or shine!

Over 40 stores and restaurants — plus Santa, face painters, a balloon artist, Staples and Greens Farms Academy singers and other carolers — look forward to seeing you this evening, from 5 to 7 p.m. on Main Street, Church Lane, the Post Road and across the river. The main tent will be outside Cold Fusion.

Dress warmly. Wear reindeer — I mean, rain gear — if needed. Ho ho ho! See you there.

And for more information — including all the participating stores and restaurants — click here.

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USA! USA! USA!

If you can’t be in Qatar this morning (10 a.m. kickoff, our time) cheering the American team on in its World Cup round of 16 match against the Netherlands, go to the next best place.

The Westport Library.

Today’s broadcast begins a series of matches, live on the 18-foot screen. The Trefz Forum will also host the quarterfinals next Friday (December 9), 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.), and the semifinals on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13 and 14 (2 p.m.).

The games will be very exciting. The players will be larger than life. But — hey, this is still a library — fans should bring a mobile device to download the Sennheiser app, and headphones or earbuds to listen.

Christian Pulisic’s pulsating goal powered the US past Iran on Tuesday. The win vaulted the Americans into the knockout round. (Photo/Odd Andersen for AFP)

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Also at the Westport Library: the final evening of the Short Cuts Film Festival.

Five narrative films will be screened on Thursday (December 8, 7 p.m.).

“Pragma” is a British rom-com. “Hallelujah” is a reminder that “trouble won’t last always.” “Lilith & Eve” is a feminist reimagining of Lilith, Adam’s first wife. “Life Remembered” is a hybrid live-action and virtual reality short depiction of a cowboy who leads a double life.”F^cK ‘Em R!GHT B@cK” follows a queer aspiring rapper who accidentally eats an edible. A talk back follows the final film.

Click here for more information on the films, and to purchase tickets ($25, including refreshments).

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One of Westport’s favorite toy drives begins today.

The Westport Police Department and Police Athletic League will again collect gifts for underprivileged children in Fairfield County.

Officers will accept new, unopened and unwrapped toys — plus cash donations — in the ASF Sports & Outdoors parking lot (1560 Post Road East), this weekend and next, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Toy collection boxes are also available at:

  • Westport Police Department, 50 Jesup Road
  • ASF Sports & Outdoors, 1560 Post Road East
  • PAL ice rink, Longshore
  • Awesome Toys & Gifts, 429 Post Road East
  • The Toy Post, 180 Post Road East.

Questions? Contact Officer Craig Bergamo: 203-341-6000; cbergamo@Westportct.gov.

Westport Police toy drive at ASF.

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A couple of hundred kids thronged Wakeman Town Farm yesterday, for the annual Christmas tree lighting.

Over 50 young musicians played carols …

… and 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, with Wakeman relative Tom Constantino, counted down to the lighting up …

1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker (far right), and the Wakeman Town Farm tree. (Photos/Dan Woog)

… and then everyone enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies.

All that was missing was snow.

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Club 203 — the great new social group for adults with disabilities — is planning its biggest event yet.

A holiday party is set for Wakeman Town Farm on Tuesday, December 13 (7:30 to 9 p.m.).

Outdoor and inside activities include a hot cocoa bar, cookies, cider donuts and more. Click here to register.

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The Westport Garden Club has made its annual deliveries of wreaths to non-profit and service organizations around town.

Each year the club organizes a workshop for members. They bring cuttings and natural embellishments from their gardens, making special bows for unique designs.

Among the recipients: Homes with Hope, the Gillespie Center, Wakeman Town Farm, the Westport Museum for History & Culture, the Senior Center, Westport Parks & Recreation Department, the Aspetuck Health District, and Earthplace.

Westport Garden Club wreaths are on sale today at the Westport Museum’s Holly Days Market.

Westport Garden Club members, ready to deliver their holiday wreaths.

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“Something from Tiffany’s” — the romcom produced by Reese Witherspoon — begins streaming on December 9 (Amazon Prime Video).

Westporters should have a special interest in it: The director is 2002 Staples High School graduate Daryl Wein.

The other day, he hung out at the official Los Angeles premiere, with her:

Daryl Wein and Reece Witherspoon

(Hat tip: Fred Cantor)

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Hear ye, hear ye!

Our Local Town Crier has just published its annual Holiday Gift Guide. There are plenty of good ideas and links, plus a comprehensive list of December events. Click here to see.

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Speaking of gifts: Pop down to a holiday pop-up this Friday (December 9, noon to 4 p.m., Yoga 45 at 201 Main Street).

There’s a great selection of clothing, jewelry and artwork from local businesses — and a portion of the sales benefit A Better Chance of Westport.

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After 3 riveting performances of “The Laramie Project” last month, the Unitarian Church’s UU Players offer an encore.

They’ll repeat the powerful drama about the Wyoming community’s reaction to the 1998 murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard next Saturday (December 10, 7 p.m., Unitarian Church of Westport). There’s a talkback with the director and cast right after the show.

It’s a benefit for Triangle Community Center, Fairfield County’s center for LGBTQ programming and resources.

Click here for tickets ($20 suggested donation; pay what you can) and livestream information.

“Laramie Project” talkback, at the Unitarian Church. (Hat tip and photo/Jill Johnson Mann)

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Sandy Rothenberg notes that the Bayberry Lane bridge — which up until recently announced a completion date of November 30, 2022 — now has nothing listed.

(Photo/Sandy Rothenberg)

Sandy wonders, “Is that a bad sign?”

I’d say yes, it’s a bad sign.

In both senses of the term.

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The Westport Pod of B.I.G. Connecticut — a global women’s empowerment community — hosts a holiday cocktail networking event at the Westport Woman’s Club (December 15, 5:30 p.m.). Local women-owned businesses will be featured.

The public is invited. Tickets are $30, and include wine and appetizers. For more information, email bigconnecticutregion@gmail.com.

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Looking for a non-holiday event?

The Westport Astronomical Society’s free online science lecture series welcomes Dr. Brett Denevi, of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and deputy principal investigator for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera.

She’ll talk about “the moon up close and personal,” including unprecedented mapping of its surface.

The virtual event is December 20 (8 p.m.). Click here for the livestream.


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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo comes from Rick Hochman.

Let’s hope they grow their winter coats soon.

(Photo/Rick Hochman)

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And finally … in honor of tonight’s Big Event (see top story above):

(To help support activities like tonight’s Stroll, please consider a contribution to “06880.” Click here — and thank you!)

 

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Roundup: Super Bowl Raffle, End Of The World, More

Posted on January 24, 2021 | 4 comments

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Each year, hundreds of Westporters enjoy Westport Rotary’s Duck Race and Wine Tasting events. Their support enables the organization to support worthy causes here and abroad.

Both events are COVID-canceled. Yet charities need help more than ever. Fortunately, the Rotarians have a plan.

Their new fundraiser is The Great Rotary Raffle: Super Bowl Edition.

Tickets are $50 each. On February 5 — 2 days before the game — each ticket will be assigned a randomly selected pair of numbers.

Winners will be determined by the scores at the end of each quarter. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarter winners each get a $500 Visa gift card. The winner of the final score snags a $1,000 card.

50% of all ticket sales go to those prizes. The other half goes directly to charities.

Click here to buy raffle tickets.

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At Staples, 2015 grad Rachel Treisman wrote for the school paper Inklings. In college, she became editor-in-chief of the Yale Daily News.

Now Rachel writes for NPR.

Yesterday, she wrote an important, comprehensive piece. Headlined “The Vaccine Rollout Will Take Time. Here’s What The U.S. Can Do Now To Save Lives,” it covers governmental, private and personal responses to the pandemic. Click here for the story.

Rachel Treisman

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There are 72 films at Sundance 2021. According to IndieWire, 15 are “Must-See,” and can be streamed at home.

Among them: “How it Ends.” Written, directed and produced by 2002 Staples High School graduate Daryl Wein and his “partner in work and love” Zoe Lister-Jones, it is “a star-packed comedic rumination on nothing less than the end of the world.”

“Timely, no?” IndieWire adds.

The film stars Olivia Wilde, Fred Armisen, Helen Hunt, Lamorne Morris and Cailee Spaeny.

Daryl Wein

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Don O’Day’s work as chair of the Coleytown Middle School Reopening Committee ended this month. The new school looks beautiful.

As one of his last acts, he hired a new security guard.

(Meme courtesy of Don O’Day)

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And finally … Jimmie Rodgers, the pop/country singer known for “Honeycomb” and other 1950s hits — died Monday in California. He was 87.

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Daryl Wein Is “Consumed” By GMOs

Posted on March 22, 2016 | 10 comments

As a hot young filmmaker, Daryl Wein has made a name by tackling sexy subjects.

“Breaking Upwards” explored non-monogamy, based loosely on his experiences with his writing partner/wife, Zoe Lister-Jones.

“Sex Positive” followed a gay S&M sex worker who promoted safe sex at the height of the AIDS epidemic.

“Lola Versus” showcased a single woman’s journey to find herself, after breaking up with her fiance.

Daryl Wein

Daryl Wein

Wein’s latest film is about a decidedly non-sexy subject: genetically modified organisms.

But it’s as important as anything the Staples graduate has ever done.

After eating up Jim Honeycutt’s high school film and video classes, Wein honed his cinematic chops at NYU’s Tisch School, and in USC’s film and TV programs. Yet it took 7 years for “Consumed” to come to fruition.

When Wein and Lister-Jones first stumbled on the subject of GMOs, they were engrossed. From farmers battling biotech corporations to everyday Americans eating new and novel foods unknowingly, they realized they’d found a deeply interesting and complex web of intriguing ideas, just waiting to be woven into a narrative film.

Wein was stunned to learn that — unlike over 60 countries around the world — the US does not label GMO products. It’s pervasive — yet consumers have no idea (or choice) in whether or not we each such food.

Remembering great thrillers of the 1970s, the pair wanted to revisit a time when filmmakers were not afraid to blend real-world politics with story structure and character development. They wanted to create an entertaining movie — but one that raised questions about a subject that (far too quietly) impacts us all.

A sample of GMO foods.

A sample of GMO foods.

They made “Consumed” through their own production company, Mister Lister Films. “There was no studio or big producer behind us,” Wein says. “We had only ourselves to trust.”

They assembled an “incredible” cast of actors, then shot in rural Illinois. “After years of research, we came face to face with farmers on the frontlines of this battle,” Wein says.

Wein and his cinematographer hope the film looks “as polished, beautiful and authentic” as possible, to accentuate the beauty of rural America.

Though GMOs don’t stimulate most Americans the way marriage, non-monogamy or S&M do, Wein sees a through line between “Consumed” and his previous works. He tries to shed light on untold stories. And, he says, “I’ve always been interested in ideological debate, whether it’s personal, political or the intersection of the two.”

The Westport native calls “Consumed” a “dramatic thriller.” He presents complicated information, while maintaining strong story and character development. He synthesizes multiple story points with complex political subject matter.

Consumed movie poster - Daryl Wein

Erin Brockovich has thrown her support behind the film. Senator Richard Blumenthal screened it for members of Congress. Wein and Lister-Jones are touring the country, showing it to food and environmental safety leaders.

Now Westporters can see it too.

Starting today, the film is available at www.ConsumedTheMovie.com. It’s also available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vimeo and select TV video-on-demand platforms.

Tonight (Tuesday, March 22, 7:30 p.m.), there’s a special showing at Fairfield’s Bullard Square Theater. Click here for details.

You’ll enjoy it, for sure. You learn a lot too.

Just don’t eat the popcorn.

Click below for the “Consumed” trailer:

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Daryl Wein’s Latest Venture: “Lola Versus”

Posted on June 5, 2012 | 5 comments

Daryl Wein started his film directing career at Staples. He went on to Tisch at NYU, and USC’s film and TV school.

Daryl Wein

Daryl honed his craft making indie films like “Sex Positive.” He broke out 2 years ago with “Breaking Upwards.”

Now — just 10 years out of high school — the multi-talented, mischievous director is taking the next big step.

“Lola Versus” is his 1st studio film. In addition to directing, Daryl co-wrote it with his long-time girlfriend, Zoe Lister-Jones. The cast includes Debra Winger, Greta Gerwig and Hamish Linklater.

Fox Searchlight releases “Lola Versus” in New York and Los Angeles this Friday (June 8). The quick synopsis:

Dumped by her boyfriend just 3 weeks before their wedding, Lola enlists her close friends for a series of adventures she hopes will help her come to terms with approaching 30 as a single woman.

The Hollywood Reporter called it “convincing in its depiction of late-20s romantic anxiety (if not of that age bracket’s real estate realities)… broadly appealing without bowing too deeply to formula.”

It adds:

The script is particularly strong in its last act, avoiding easy fixes and new romance and instead allowing its heroine to act out just enough to finally get tired of herself. Its solitude-is-okay message is hardly novel, but Wein’s comfortable way of reaching that point will resonate with viewers still trying to achieve that particular brand of enlightenment.

The competition is fierce. This is summer blockbuster time.

But with the right promotion — and a few breaks — Daryl’s deft touch could soon reach audiences all across the country.

(Click below for the trailer. Click here for a story on Daryl and Zoe from last Sunday’s New York Post.)

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‘Breaking Upwards’ Breaks Into NPR

Posted on May 13, 2010 | Comments Off on ‘Breaking Upwards’ Breaks Into NPR

“Breaking Upwards” — the breakout film by Westport’s Daryl Wein that’s earned raves across the country — got an impressive shout-out today.

NPR’s “Morning Edition” used it to frame a story that examined a new trend in movies.

“Indies On Demand:  Now The Festival’s At Your Place” began:

Until recently, if you wanted to work on your indie cred by seeing the Next Big Thing in independent film, you had to hop on a plane to Sundance, Toronto or Tribeca.  But a growing number of independent films are also available on cable across the country as video-on-demand rentals — even while they’re playing in theaters and at film festivals.

Case in point:  the much-buzzed-about millennials romantic comedy Breaking Upwards, in which 20-something stars Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones breathe life and humor back into a genre you might have given up for dead.  Even before the film opened on the big screen in New York, you could watch it all over the country on cable TV, as a video-on-demand rental.

Wein explained why video-on-demand is not only not cannibalizing his audience — it’s helping it:

If someone at home rents it for six bucks, that’s something that might be more appealing to them so they don’t have to leave their house and go spend $12 in the theater, and then if they like it, they tell their friend, who may actually prefer to go see it in the theater.  So that right there helps us.

But not even the most indie-friendly 20-something — like Lister-Jones, Wein’s girlfriend, co-star, co-writer and co-producer — is ready to go all-video-on-demand, all the time.

“The ritual is lost,” she admits, comparing watching a movie at home, rather than on a big screen in an actual theater.

(Click here to read and/or listen to the entire NPR “Morning Edition” story.)

Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones -- see them in theaters, and through video on demand. (Photo by Alex Bergman)

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And After The Show, They Went In And Cleaned The Restrooms

Posted on March 28, 2010 | Comments Off on And After The Show, They Went In And Cleaned The Restrooms

Westporters attending this afternoon’s premiere of “Breaking Upwards” at Fairfield’s Community Theatre might have been surprised to see Daryl Wein, Zoe Lister-Jones and Peter Duchan (above, from left) manning the ticket booth.

It was all in a day’s work for the trio, who wrote, acted in, produced, directed, played music for, edited, and God-knows-what-elsed the 85-minute indie film.  Daryl and Peter are long-time Westporters, and Staples graduates.

A sold-out crowd loved the movie, and the Q-and-A session that followed.

Which was held by — of course — Daryl, Zoe and Peter.

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From “06880” To The New York Times

Posted on March 27, 2010 | 3 comments

On Tuesday “06880” previewed “Breaking Upwards,” Westport writer/director/actor/producer Daryl Wein’s new movie that will be shown tomorrow (Sunday, March 28, 2 p.m.) at Fairfield’s Community Theatre.

This weekend, the New York Times joins the buzz.

We’re not talking a mini-review, all agate type and buried at the bottom of a Saturday page no one reads.

Not hardly.  Daryl; his girlfriend/co-writer/co-producer Zoe Lister-Jones; his Staples classmate/co-writer/associate producer Peter Duchan, and the entire cast and crew that helped make this indie film for the astonishingly low cost of $15,000, have scored a full-page feature story in tomorrow’s Sunday Times arts section.

A hugely laudatory story.

With 6 photos.

Including one plastered across the entire top of the page, showing Daryl and Zoe in exactly the type of scene that will be remembered years from now, when they’re accepting Oscars for lifetime achievements.

Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones, looking very movie-like. (Photo by Alex Bergman/Courtesy of the New York Times)

Writer Larry Rohter calls “Breaking Upwards” “almost a tutorial in how a do-it-yourself ethos can overcome the tough economics of the movie business.”

He describes the recruitment of the cast through Craigslist.  The clever use of inheritances and insurance to fund the film.  Daryl’s living room editing on a flat-screen TV.  Guerrilla marketing tactics like chalking the movie title on Manhattan walls and sidewalks.

And the importance of big names like actors Olivia Thirlby, Julie White, Peter Friedman and Andrea Martin to the success of the project.

Rohter likens “Breaking Upwards” to “Paranormal Activity.”  That indie film — also made for the price of a Hyundai Elantra — has grossed more than $100 million so far.  Coincidentally, “Paranormal” stars another Staples graduate:  Micah Sloat.

“06880” is glad the New York Times recognizes Daryl’s talents — and shares them with the rest of the weekend Arts section crowd.  We just hope that — on his way to super-stardom — Daryl doesn’t forget the little people.

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Breaking Upwards With Daryl Wein

Posted on March 23, 2010 | 2 comments

“An uncensored look at young love, lust, and the pangs of co-dependency.”

What more could you want in a film?

That’s the thrust of Daryl Wein’s latest production, “Breaking Upwards.” Theatrical distribution and video on demand start April 2 — but Westporters get a sneak peek at what the Staples graduate has created this Sunday (March 28, 2 p.m.) at Fairfield’s Community Theatre.

Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones. It's a scene from their movie, in which art imitates life.

Following the film, Daryl; his co-writer, association producer and Staples classmate Peter Duchan; Westport actor Toby Burns, and co-writer, co-producer Zoe Lister-Jones — who is also Daryl’s girlfriend and fellow co-dependent — will lead a Q-and-A discussion.

Anyone who knows Daryl — from his Staples Players days, to his groundbreaking “Sex Positive” film about the now-forgotten birth of the safe sex movement — understands that “Breaking Upwards” is quintessentially him.

The film loosely interprets a year in Daryl and Zoe’s lives as they explore alternatives to monogamy, the madness that ensues, and the answer to the eternal question:  “Is it ever possible to grow apart together?”

“Breaking Upwards” — which Daryl directed, co-wrote, acted in, played music for, produced and edited — won the Grand Jury Prize at the Brooklyn International Film Festival, and earned acclaim at SXSW.

It’s been called “an effortlessly hip and funny new indie flick that easily ranks among the best films about relationships.”

The wisdom and insights Daryl gained in Westport underpin the New York sensibility he brings to his work.  Calling him the Woody Allen of his 20-something generation might be a stretch.

But his career is on the rise.  He bears watching.

And Westporters can start watching on Sunday, next door in Fairfield.

(Not sure you want to see the film?  Check out the trailer — it’s very cool.  PS:  The original soundtrack is available on iTunes.)

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Honoring Our Artists

Posted on October 21, 2009 | Comments Off on Honoring Our Artists
Daryl Wein

Daryl Wein

Westport is an arts hotbed.  Not a weekend passes without exhibits, performances and shows.  We attract hgh-powered names; for a small town, we’re a big player.

But 1 of my favorite events is pretty simple.  Each year Westport’s Arts Advisory Committee honors our own.  There are low-key speeches, a slide show, live performances, and heartfelt applause from neighbors and friends.

This year’s 16th annual Arts Awards take place 2 p.m. Sunday (Town Hall).  All Westporters are invited.  You don’t have to be an artist to enjoy it.

Horizon Awards will be presented to 2 rising young artists — both Staples graduates.  Daryl Wein (SHS ’02) is an uber-talented actor/filmmaker.  His documentary “Sex Positive” has won prizes, and been released in 9 countries.  He is an NYU Tisch School and USC Film and Television grad.

Josh Frank (SHS ’00) is a trumpeter, composer and music producer.  He has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera and recorded with the  American Brass Quintet.  He is a Juilliard graduate.

Sally White

Sally White

Champion of the Arts recipients include Howard Aibel (longtime advocate of the arts, as a director, board member and concert sponsor); Suszanne Sherman Propp (singer/songwriter and music teacher extraordinaire), and — a truly inspired choice — Sally White (longtime owner of Sally’s Place, perhaps the last great music store on the planet).

Heritage Awards will be presented posthumously to 3 giants:  Dorothy Bryce (actress); Mel Casson (cartoonist), and Barbara Wilk (artist).

There are many ways to enjoy a Sunday afternoon in Westport.  Honoring our arts heritage — with our own supremely talented artists, musicians and filmmakers — might just be the best.

Dorothy Bryce

Dorothy Bryce

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