New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
The Kate Gala to honor Nyberg
‘Cyrano’ actor bolts for TV, Monkey biz in New Haven
The Kate Summer Gala approaches, featuring a well-known Connecticut musical act and honoring an even better-known state TV personality, longtime anchor Ann Nyberg of WTNH (News 8).
David D.A. Foster and the Shaboo All-Stars (R&B, blues) will perform at the Katharine Hepburn Performing Arts Center’s Summer Gala called “Color Me Kate.” Anchor and Hepburn aficionado Ann Nyberg will receive the 2018 Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award during the evening, slated to start at 6 p.m. Saturday at a sailcloth tent on the Old Saybrook Town Green.
The event, which will highlight Nyberg’s love for Katharine Hepburn and her iconic style, is The Kate’s largest fundraiser, with proceeds supporting 300 cultural events and arts education programs each year. Tickets are $275-$5,000. See thekate.org.
Monkey biz: Connecticut author
1 Katharine Weber’s just-arriving new book, “Still Life With Monkey” (Paul Dry Books), will bring her to R. J. Julia Madison at 7 p.m. Wednesday. This novel is set in New Haven and the bookstore is modeled on R.J. Julia, says a publicist.
The book is about a successful architect paralyzed in an accident and haunted by the death of his young assistant. When his will to live falters, his wife brings home a highly trained helper monkey — a tufted capuchin — to assist with basic tasks. The monkey is charming and comical, but is that enough of a game-changer? 1 How will it end?: Valley Shakespeare Festival, not shy about performing the Bard in a bar, will take a satiric version to a furniture store next month.
VSF is joining up with another Valley nonprofit, TEAM Inc., and Spector Furniture and Mattress Gallery for a fundraising event to benefit VSF and TEAM on Sept. 12-13. The “Spector Spectacular” will feature a performance of the raucous and rowdy comedy adaptation of Shakespeare’s most famous play, called “Romeo & Juliet: Choose Your Own Ending.” There will be foods donated by local restaurants, and an auction.
The doors will open to Spector Spectacular at 6 p.m. both evenings, with the show starting around 7. The event will also feature a silent auction, a raffle and a variety of foods from surrounding restaurants, including sushi and stuffed cookies. Beer and wine will be available for purchase.
Tickets are $45 in advance ($50 at the door) with net proceeds to benefit TEAM Inc. and Valley Shakespeare Festival. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting vsfestival.org.
1 Actor bolts for TV job: Goodspeed Musical’s development production of “Cyrano” has plenty of heat, with Peter Dinklage of “Game of Thrones” in the cast. But it won’t have an extended run at Terris Theatre, a blow to the company. It had extended the run from Sept. 2 to Sept. 9 based on brisk sales, but now will close the show on
Sept. 2.
In a surprising release the other day,
Goodspeed said that
Blake Jenner, who plays
Christian, will be leaving to star in an upcoming TV project, and no replacement was found.
Performances on Aug. 29-30 and Sept. 5-9 have been canceled. Ticket holders are promised a full refund.
“Goodspeed offers a sincere apology for the inconvenience caused by this unforeseen situation,” the release said.
1 Next stop, Wingstop: Foxwoods Resort Casino, which recently opened Caputo Trattoria and Stony
Creek Brewery in Mashantucket, has also opened Wingstop restaurant in the Great Cedar Food Court across from Cedars Steakhouse and Oyster Bar. The wing joint boasts a menu featuring both bone-in and boneless chicken wings all sauced and tossed in 11 flavors.
1 Sovereignty summit: The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center will host the inaugural Intertribal Food Sovereignty Summit Monday through Thursday. The event is produced in conjunction with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Narragansett Indian Tribe, Narragansett Food Sovereignty Initiative, Intertribal Agriculture Council and Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Led by tribal, U.S. government and food sovereignty leaders, attendees will visit indigenous food landscapes from forest to farm to ocean. On- and off-site sessions will cover topics such as forming tribal farm enterprises, cultivating seed banks, managing aquaponics and fish hatcheries, utilizing wild medicinals and improving tribal lands through conservation partnerships. And on Tuesday, a special dinner created by Sean Sherman, The Sioux Chef, will be served at 5 p.m. For summit tickets, go to pequotmuseum.org.