What’s happening
Ghent Playhouse opens new season with ‘The 39 Steps’
WHAT: Play, “The 39 Steps” WHEN: From Oct. 7 to 23, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. WHERE: The Ghent Playhouse, 6 Town Hall Place, Ghent
DETAILS: The Ghent Playhouse opens its 42nd season with a production of “The 39 Steps.” This fast-paced melodrama is based on the novel by John Buchan and the 1935 movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theater. A man with a boring life meets a mysterious woman with a thick accent who tells him she is a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called “The 39 Steps” is hot on the man’s trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale. Tickets are $20, $17 for playhouse members and $10 for students with ID.
CONTACT: Call (800) 838-3006 or visit ghentplayhouse.org to reserve tickets.
Columbia-Greene hosts College Night and Fall Open House
WHAT: College Night and Fall Open House
WHEN: Oct. 18 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Gymnasium at Columbia-Greene Community College, 4400 state Route 23, Greenport
DETAILS: The college will host its annual College Night and Fall Open House. Representatives from more than 70 colleges and universities are scheduled to be on hand to talk about admissions procedures and financial aid. At the same time, Columbia-Greene faculty and staff will be available to discuss academic programs available at the Greenport campus. There will be representatives from State University of New York colleges, as well as private colleges. All are welcome.
CONTACT: Call the Columbia-Greene admissions office at (518) 828-4181, ext. 5513, or send an email to info@sunycgcc.edu for more information.
Library program looks at Gorbachev Years in USSR
WHAT: Program, “The Gorbachev Years in the USSR: Views from the U.S. Embassy 1986-1989 WHEN: Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Starr Library, 68 W. Market St., Rhinebeck
DETAILS: Carol Urban and Richard Gilbert were Foreign Service officers assigned by the United States Information Agency to Moscow during the years of glasnost and perestroika, the Mikhail Gorbachev policies that brought dramatic change to Soviet society and foreshadowed the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. From their unique vantage inside the U.S. Embassy, Urban and Gilbert witnessed abrupt shifts in the relationship between the U.S. and the USSR and the consequences, many unanticipated, for the embassy’s public information work. The program is free and open to all.
CONTACT: Visit starrlibrary. org or call (845) 876-4030 to register.
Bakers sought for Cupcake-a-Palooza in Newburgh
WHAT: Bakers sought for Cupcake-a-Palooza
WHEN: Event takes place Oct. 22 from 1 to 4 p.m.
WHEN: Lobby at The Ritz, 107 Broadway, Newburgh
DETAILS: Safe Harbors of the Hudson is seeking professional and amateur bakers for its annual Cupcake-a-Palooza. There is a nominal $10 charge for bakers. Judging categories include Best Overall Professional, Best Overall Amateur, Child Baker (18 & under), Most Beautiful-Professional, Most Beautiful-Amateur, Most Original Flavor, Best Gluten Free and Public Favorite. Admission is $5 and includes tastings, beverages and a vote for public favorite.
CONTACT: Visit safeharbors.org to download the baker application and review the rules and frequently asked questions. Call June Henley at (845) 784-1110 or jhenley@safe-harbors.org to reserve a participant spot or for more information.
Actor Cumming will talk about book, life at Bard
WHAT: “An Afternoon with Alan Cumming” WHEN: Oct. 16 at 3 p.m. WHERE: Sosnoff Theater at The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Bard College, 30 Campus Road, Annandale-on-Hudson
DETAILS: Legendary performer Alan Cumming, whose credits include the television series “The Good Wife,” will talk with WAMC’s Joe Donahue about his new collection of photographs accompanied by autobiographical essays in his book “You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams: My Life in Stories and Picture,” in which the actor, singer, writer and man-about-town shares wildly entertaining real-life stories of late-night parties, backstage anecdotes, life in L.A. and New York, cross-country road trips with his beloved dog, Honey, and poignant memories of his life, loves, family, fellow actors and friends. Tickets are $37 and include a copy of Cumming’s book.
CONTACT: Call the box office at (845) 758-7900 or visit fishercenter.bard.edu for tickets or more information.