Many Westporters have enjoyed the Broadway hit “John Proctor is the Villain.”
The show — about rural Georgia high school students studying “The Crucible” during the #MeToo movement — is being adapted for film. Tina Fey and Marc Platt are producing — Britt Hennemuth will oversee the project.
The 2008 Staples High School graduate — and proud Staples Players alum — is Universal Studios’ senior vice president for production development and special projects.
But that’s not the only SHS connection. The epigraph for the show’s published script features lyrics from a Charly Bliss song. Band members (and fellow Players alumni) Eva Hendricks and Dan Shure overlapped with Hennemuth’s Staples years. (Hat tip: Kerry Long)
Britt Hennemuth
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We all know there is no such thing as a free lunch.
In Weston, you can’t buy one either.
The Lunch Box — the town center’s only restaurant — closed Saturday.
It had been a fixture there for 48 years. Current owners Josh and Jessica Tolk bought it in 2014, and expanded the menu.
The Lunch Box (Photo courtesy of TripAdvisor)
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Speaking of Weston: The Financial Times just posted an informative — and only slightly frightening — story headlined “What Happens Once We Spot the Asteroid That Will Hit Earth?”
Buried deep in the details about asteroid 2024 YR4 (spoiler alert: It’s not gonna smash into us) is this nugget:
On a December morning in 1807, eyewitnesses in the town of Weston, Connecticut, saw an explosion in the sky. Rocky fragments littered the woods about town, but the idea that the Weston meteorite, as it was later called (a meteorite is a space rock that has descended through the atmosphere) originated from space, as some scientists at the time were claiming, was ridiculed.
“Gentlemen, I would rather believe that two Yankee professors would lie,” Thomas Jefferson said, “than believe that stones fall from heaven.”
Click here for the full story.
I could have said this was Asteroid 2024 YR4, and you wouldn’t have known it’s not. It’s just a random one, drawn by a random artist. (Courtesy of European Space Agency)
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The public is invited to tomorrow’s promotion ceremony for 3 Westport Police officers. The event is set for 9:30 a.m., at police headquarters on Jesup Road.
The 3 are Detective Sean Doyle, Sergeant James Baker III, and Lieutenant Howard E. Simpson III.
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Lesliie and Andrew Ward’s hometown business continues to work like a charm.
The couple’s 3 sons played football and basketball for Westport youth and Staples High School teams. Each then competed in college.
Every season Leslie and Andrew made bracelets showcasing their uniform numbers or initials, customized for their sport and team colors.
For good luck, they did not take them off all season long.
Some of Bleacher Family’s bracelets, customized by sport, uniform number and school colors.
Family members, friends and fans noticed their bracelets, and asked for ones for their own kids’ teams.
As word spread, the Wards launched a small family-run online business, so people in Westport (and beyond) could order their own personalized/customized bracelets.
They called it Bleacher Family.
To honor a family member who died, the Wards donate a portion of each year’s profits to the American Cancer Society and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Click here to see a great selection of bracelets, plus ordering information. Supporting a local business — and cancer research — is a win/win.
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Next up for the Westport Country Playhouse Family Festivities Series: Ramblin’ Dan & The Freewheelin’ Band.
The high-energy, interactive kids’ concert is set for August 2 (4 p.m.). The show — the album release party for Ramblin’ Dan’s new album — will include a 5-piece band, large props and costumes.
The artist reimagines children’s favorite nursery rhymes to entertain adults just as much as kids, through rock ‘n’ roll, reggae, New Orleans swing, funk, hip hop, jazz, gospel, folk and bluegrass.
Ramblin’ Dan has performed thousands of concerts and parties, and taught well over 10,000 early childhood music classes.
The hour-long show is recommended for ages 0 to 6. Tickets are $30. Click here to purchase, and for more information.
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Tracy Porosoff sends today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo, and writes: “The goldfinch likes the seeds, even though we may think the flower is past its prime.”
(Photo/Tracy Porosoff)
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And finally … Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy metal and reality TV pioneer, died yesterday. He was 76.
He had suffered from Parkinson’s disease, which the New York Times said was exacerbated by “exacerbated by his chronic drug abuse.” Click here for the full obituary.
(Black Sabbath, the Police [Westport, that is], killer asteroids — just another day at “06880.” If you enjoy our daily Roundups, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
