Tag Archives: Matt Van Gessel

Roundup: Long Lots Meeting, Restaurant Week, I-95 Closures …

The Long Lots School Building Committee meets tomorrow (Thursday, October 5, 6 p.m.). In anticipation of a large crowd — and the expectation of a vote on which recommendation to submit to 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker — the session will be held in the Town Hall auditorium.

The agenda includes:

  • Update from committee
  • Public comment and/or questions regarding the feasibility study project (15 minutes)
  • Committee discussion regarding report and recommendation.

Previous meetings of the Long Lots School Building Committee have been held in a small room. Tomorrow’s is set for the Town Hall auditorium. (Photo/Karen Mather)

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With all that’s going on in town– the Slice of Saugatuck, Earthplace and YMCA fundraisers, the Long Lots/Community Gardens kerfuffle, lanternflies — you’re forgiven for not realizing that Restaurant Week started on Sunday.

But foodies: Fear not. This is Westport. We do things differently.

Our Restaurant Week is actually 2. It runs all the way through October 15.

The annual Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce event is part of its ongoing “Eat Local” campaign, to promote area restaurants.

This year Restaurant Week(s) features 21 places, offering prix fixe meals in a variety of cuisines, and for all price points. They cover all of Westport, from Saugatuck to just over the Southport line.

Each restaurant sets its ow prix fixe price. Some offer just lunch, others dinner only; many provide both.

Here are the participating restaurants, with “Lunch” and/or “Dinner” noted. Click each restaurant to see each menu.

Boathouse (L,D)
Capuli  (L,D)
De Tapas (L,D)
Don Memo (L,D)
Gabriele’s (L,D)
Gray Goose (pending)
Harvest (D)
Kawa Ni (L)
La Plage (L,D)
Lomito (L,D)
Match Burger Lobster (L,D)
Mexicue (D)
Rive Bistro (D)
Rizzutos (D)
Romanacci (L,D)
Spotted Horse Tavern (L,D)
Tarantino (D)
The Whelk (L)
Tutti’s Restaurant (L,D)
Via Sforza (L,D)
Zucca (L,D)

Restaurant Week is again sponsored by Castlekeep Advisors, WEBE 108 and WICC 600.

Tutti’s owners Pasquale and Maria Funicello — and their family — are proud partners in Restaurant Week.

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In addition to the occasional, “15-minute only” closures of I-95 between Exits 17 and 18 through October 27, the state Department of Transportation has just announced lengthier, more involved work.

From 8 p.m. on Friday, October 20 through 6 a.m. Monday, October 23, I-95 northbound will be closed, and “traffic will be detoured on the southbound bride, severely restricting traffic flow.”  Traffic will be detoured onto Saugatuck and Riverside Avenue, the Post Road and Sherwood Island connector.

From Friday, November 3 (8 p.m.) until Monday, November 6 (6 a.m.), I-95 southbound will be closed, and “traffic will be detoured on the I-95 NB bridge thus severely restricting traffic flow.” The Saugatuck Avenue detour will also be in place.

Make plans now to avoid the area.

And much of the rest of town.

For more information, click here.

The I-95 “slide” bridge was half-completed last month. As work continues, detours and delays will mount.

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First it was stuffed bears in the Winslow Park trees.

Now it’s artwork.

Mark Mathias spotted this yesterday.

As always, we’d love to know the back story. Click “Comments” if you’ve got a clue.

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From the size of the container at the transfer station, it looks like Westporters are serious about recycling.

And from the type of glass inside, it looks like this is definitely a Westport collection.

Or maybe all that wine came from just one party?

(Photos/Frank Rosen)

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Sure, it’s October.

But the Levitt Pavilion — known for its 60 or so nights of summer entertainment — is still going strong.

On stage this month:

“Max Weinberg’s Jukebox” (tomorrow: Thursday, October 5, 7:30 p.m.): The longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band brings his own group – and 300 songs that the audience can pick from. Click here for tickets ($35, $75 and $125), and more information.

Caleb Caudle (Friday, October 6, 7:30 p.m.): A full band show featuring Americana and folk from the his “Forsythia” album. Click here for free tickets, and more information.

Say She She (October 19, 7:30 p.m.): The female-led 7-piece outfit from London and Brooklyn brings its disco-pop sound to the shores of the Saugatuck River. Click here for free tickets, and more information.

Max Weinberg

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Sure, yesterday’s weather was more like the 4th of July than Halloween.

But this group of women were busy carving pumpkins. At Compo Beach, sure, but can trick-or-treating be far behind?

(Photo/Cohl Katz)

Cohl Katz — the great hair stylist who was out for a walk in between clients — was so intrigued, she did not ask whether this was an organized group working on a project, or just a random assortment of friends.

Either way: Boo!

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When the Westport Library sponsors a staged reading of “Gentle Hacksaw” — the new drama combining religion, identity and violence (October 21, 8 p.m.; part of Story Fest) — there will be a strong local tie.

Matthew Van Gessel plays one of the lead roles. In Staples Players, the 2011 graduate played some of the most challenging roles seen on a high school stage. (The dentist in “Little Shop of Horrors” was typical.)

Described as “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” meets “God of Carnage,” the psychological thriller follows 2 high-profile gay men in a verbal cat-and-mouse game of utter cruelty when an unpleasant bargain goes awry.

As social graces are discarded and basic human decency is abandoned, both men discover shocking truths about themselves and one another.

A 7 p.m. reception with StoryFest authors precedes the show. A talkback with the playwright and cast, moderated by author Clay Mcleod Chapman, follows it. Click here for tickets.

Matthew Van Gessel

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During World War II, Westporters took turns scanning the skies and waters, looking for Nazi planes and boats.

In the 1950s and ’60s, one Nike site with missiles on North Avenue — and another launch site on Bayberry Lane — were part of the US defense system. The goal was to protect Bridgeport — an important manufacturing city — from a Russian attack

The Norwalk Historical Society on East Avenue has an exhibit on Norden, the Norwalk manufacturer of radar systems and bombsights. The company — located a few yards from the Westport border, and visible from I-95 just before Exit 17 — was later home to Tauck Tours. (Hat tip: Lynn Flint)

A typical Nike site — much like the North Avenue one. Missiles were buried underground.

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Half of the prison population ends up back in jail following release.

In Bridgeport, Homebridge Ventures provides a re-entry program to help break the cycle of recidivism.

Yesterday, the Westport Rotary Club heard from David Stubbs. The co-founder and executive director of the non-profit escribed their programs addressing mental health issues, substance abuse and educational deficiencies, including teaching computer and job skills.

David Stubbs addresses the Westport Rotary Club.

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Art was not the only thing Mark Mathias noticed yesterday on his ramble through Winslow Park (story above).

He also snapped this photo, for our “Westport … Naturally” feature.

(Photo/Mark Mathias)

It’s a dog’s world. We just share it with them.

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And finally … in honor of both Restaurant Week, and the glass recycling container at the transfer station (stories above):

(For the price of a bottle of wine, you can support “06880.” Any vintage is welcome! Please click here — and “merci.”)

Matt Van Gessel’s Mysterious “Willy Wonka”

Lots of people like “Willy Wonka.”

Matt Van Gessel loves “Willy Wonka.”

The 2011 Staples grad — now a rising sophomore at North Carolina School of the Arts — has vast experience playing not-quite-normal characters. (Remember the dentist in “Little Shop of Horrors”?)

This weekend he gets his shot at another. Matt stars as Willy Wonka in Staples Players’ summer production of the same name. The show runs Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., in the high school auditorium.

Matt Van Gessel (Willy Wonka) and Maddy Rozynek (Violet Beauregarde). (Photo/Kerry Long)

Matt knows a lot about the 1971 movie “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” He says that Gene Wilder — Willy — saw it as a movie for adults, not kids.

Wilder “seems whimsical and crazy, but viewed from an adult perspective, we see the creepy resentment he has toward kids,” Matt says. “Every time I watch his performance, I find something new and unusual.”

Matt says that Willy feels “very pleased with himself when each kids gets his comeuppance — like when they turn into blueberries and shrink. Justice has been done. It’s a twisted way of teaching kids lessons.”

Matt adds, “Willy Wonka is an instantly recognizable cultural character, like King Kong. Everyone knows who Willy is, but I’m approaching it with an open mind. I’m not copying Gene Wilder. I’m just using him for inspiration, so I can arrive at my own interpretation.”

Matt has also seen the 2005 movie version, with Johnny Depp.

Using those two actors as inspiration, Matt says, “I think I can bring the arc of a real character.” His Willy is “a bit more accessible as a real human being. He has depth, and soul.”

Matt draws upon the lives of “real life eccentrics,” like Salvador Dali, Howard Hughes and Michael Jackson.

Johnny Shea (Grandpa Joe) and Will Haskell (Charlie) in the “Fizzy Lifting Room.” (Photo/Kerry Long)

Directors David Roth and Kerry Long have enjoyed working with a large ensemble. The show features popular songs like “Candy Man” and “Pure Imagination.” It’s got every trademark of a Staples Players production, including spectacular costumes.

Matt is excited about all that. But — as a self-described Willy Wonka “obsessive” — he always comes back to his character.

“I’ve put a large amount of thought into Willy’s objectives, and ulterior motives,” the lead actor explains.

“Some of those ideas I haven’t told to anyone, including Mr. Roth. I like being able to keep Willy Wonka’s secrets. It adds an air of mystery to everything.”

(Click here for ticket information on “Willy Wonka.”)

This Is Not A Broadway Trailer. It’s Better.

Still on the fence about seeing “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” Staples Players’ current Black Box Theater production?

This trailer will push you over that fence, and send you hustling for tickets.

The video gives a great flavor for the show — but it does not include Matt Van Gessel (double-cast as Stanley).  That’s because the talented senior actor also shot and produced the trailer.

Kids these days…

(“Brighton Beach Memoirs” will be performed tomorrow [Sunday, March 6] at 2 p.m., and this coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday [March 10, 11 and 12] at 7: p.m.  Click here to order tickets.)

Doing “The Dumb Waiter”

Back in the day, kids looking for something to do would say, “Let’s put on a show!”

They’d make up a few lines, rummage around for props, and a few hours later they’d stage a play.  Out in the barn.

Here’s the 2010 version.

Recent Staples graduate Adam Bangser and current Staples Player Matt Van Gessel decided to create a piece of theater that’s their own — a 2-man show.

Adam’s uncle Tom Shaner — a former Player, and Tisch School graduate — suggested “The Dumb Waiter.”  Harold Pinter’s play — a dark comedy about two hit men who receive strange messages while waiting in a basement to kill someone — is “short, quick and fantastic,” Adam says.

They booked Toquet Hall, for this weekend (Friday and Saturday, August 13-14; doors open at 7:30 p.m.).

They bought plywood at Home Depot.  With help from a carpenter working on Matt’s house, they build a dumbwaiter.

They painted the set, and procured props.

Matt designed posters; he and Adam put them up around town.

The pair did everything themselves (though the dumbwaiter is operated by Max Samuels, a fellow Player just back from the Yale Summer Drama program).

“This really is our own little 2-man production, with as few outside influences as possible,” Adam says.

Last month, Adam appeared in Players’ spectacular production of “Rent.”  “The Dumb Waiter” is as different from “Rent” as possible.

But it’s all in a summer’s work for today’s theatrical teens.

Facebook Characters

After Staples Players director David Roth casts a show, he makes sure his actors understand their characters.  Last fall, for example, everyone in “Guys and Dolls” wrote biographies, describing their character’s parents, hometown, childhood, economic status and other “personal” details.

Sounds like info you’d find on Facebook? Adam Mirkine thought the same thing.

Adam Mirkine (right) directs Max Samuels. (Photo by Kerry Long)

Adam is just a 9th grader, but this spring he’s co-assistant director of “Book of Days.”  The production — which opens next week — is a challenging look at the clash between theater and religion.  “Getting each person to actually be his character is key,” Adam says.

To help the process along, Adam asked each actor to create a Facebook account for his character — including information like marital status, interests and favorites.

Now anyone on Facebook can find — and friend — people like “Boyd Middleton,” “Ruth Hoch” and “Walt Bates.”

“The script has nothing about their favorite quotations, books, music, movies and TV shows,” Adam says.  “But they know their characters so well, they fill in what they like.”

"Boyd Middleton"'s Facebook photo.

Some actors did even more.  Matt Van Gessel plays director Boyd Middleton, so he took a professional-type picture for his profile.  Jake Yarmoff’s photo of Conroy Atkins — a small-town sheriff — sports a cowboy hat.

“Sheriff Atkins” is particularly good at updating his status.  The other day he wrote:  “Conroy Atkins is alerting the residents of his hometown about the presence of a sex offender in the community.”

The fun project has helped bring the cast together, Adam says.

There’s only 1 problem:  Staples’ internet filter blocks Facebook access.  So any “Book of Days” cast member wishing to add a friend, change a relationship status or post a photo must do it at home.

(“The Book of Days” will be performed in the Staples Black Box Theater on May 13, 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m., and May 16 at 3 p.m.  Tickets are available at www.StaplesPlayers.com, or at the door 30 minutes before curtain.  For more information, call 203-341-1310.)