Soup Kitchen, Shelter Leaders Join HBO Filmmaker Monday Night For Screening, Talk

OPEN to the COMMUNITY

Monday, April 7th

the Center for Film Studies

301 Washington Terrace

Click for Directions & Parking 

5pm Refreshments/6pm Film 

presented by Wesleyan-Middletown Relations Committee

Harry Gantz will be coming to Wesleyan's Center for Film Studies on April 7th at 6 pm to share his film "American Winter". Join us for a screening of this powerful documentary and a panel talk, including Ron Krom, Executive Director of the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen, and Mackenzie Tyson, Program Manager at the Eddy Shelter, following the film. Light refreshments will be served before the film at 5:00. The event is free of charge.

Produced and directed by Emmy award-winning filmmakers, Joe and Harry Gantz, American Winter is a documentary feature film that follows the personal stories of families struggling in the aftermath of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Preview below:

Filmmaker To Screen & Discuss Documentary "American Winter" in Middletown

OPEN to the COMMUNITY

Monday, April 7th

the Center for Film Studies

301 Washington Terrace

Click for Directions & Parking 

5pm Refreshments/6pm Film 

presented by Wesleyan-Middletown Relations Committee

Produced and directed by Emmy award-winning filmmakers, Joe and Harry Gantz, American Winter is a documentary feature film that follows the personal stories of families struggling in the aftermath of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Harry Gantz will be coming to Wesleyan's Center for Film Studies on April 7th at 6 pm to share his film and speak with students and the Middletown community. Join us for a screening of this powerful documentary and a panel talk, including Ron Krom, Executive Director of the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen, and Mackenzie Tyson, Program Manager at the Eddy Shelter, following the film. Light refreshments will be served before the film at 5:00. The event is free of charge.

Busy Nights in July (part 1)

Neely Bruce is a fine pianist, intrepid interpreter of the music of Charles Ives and quite a composer. He's been friends with fellow composer William Duckworth for over 4 decades; in fact, he debuted Duckworth's "The Time Curve Preludes"  in a solo piano recital at Wesleyan in 1979.  The "Preludes" have been called one of the most impressive works of "Post-Minimalism."

This Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m.,  Professor Bruce revisits the program once more, a concert that will also include a performance of the "Thoreau" movement of Ives' "Concord Sonata" (in honor of Henry David Thoreau's birthday on 7/12) and "Duckworth's "Walden Variations."  The concert is free and takes place in Crowell Concert Hall. 

Perhaps, you'd rather take in a classic flick - head over to the Goldsmith Family Cinema at Wesleyan (Washington Terrace) for week #2 of "Bogie & Bacall."  This week, it's the 1944 Howard Hawks' adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not."  The screen writers include William Faulkner and Jules Furthman who work hard to tell the story of an American expatriate Humphrey Bogart) hired to bring a Free France Resistance Fighter and his wife to Martinique (Cuba in the book.)  He is also friends with the beautiful singer (Lauren Bacall) and her piano player (Hoagy Carmichael) and does his best to avoid a slew of bad guys.  Lots of adventure, cigarette smoke and the occasional kiss plus the snappy dialogue make this a great piece of "escapist cinema."  This was the first time the couple met; they married a year later and stayed together until Bogart's death in 1957.

The screening is free and open to the public.

Mid-July Goings-On (Part 1)

Tuesday July 13:

The Wesleyan Center for the Arts "CFA Days" series presents Bill Sherman (class of '02) at 12:10 p.m. in the CFA Hall (formerly the CFA Cinema.)  Sherman, a composer who created the orchestrations for classmate Lin Miranda's award-winning "In The Heights", also serves as music director for "Sesame Street."  His latest work, "Barrio Grrrl", was commissioned by the Kennedy Center and has been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award. The title of his talk is "From Vine Street to Sesame Street - A Musical Journey."  The event is free and open to the public. 

The Summer Sounds series, sponsored by the Middletown Commission on the Arts, continues this week on the South Green with Bange's Jazz Jents, a local musical ensemble that plays music from the classic "Big Band" era. The small yet powerful aggregation commences playing at 7 p.m.  In case of rain, the free event moves into South Church. 

The "Cary Grant & His Leading Ladies" film series continues at the Goldsmith Family Cinema inside the Center for Film Studies, Washington Terrace, with the 1938 screwball comedy classic "Bringing Up Baby."  Grant's co-star is Katharine Hepburn and they share the screen with "Baby", a leopard.  The movie, free and open to the public, is free and open to the public.  If you're one of the few people who have never seen this Howard Hawks production (or you have only seen it once), this is a very comfortable atmosphere to watch a movie.




Wednesday July 14:

The Music at The Mansion Concerts Series presents Ed Fast & Conga-Bop at 6:30 p.m.  The event, free and open to the public, takes place on the back lawn of the Wadsworth Mansion at the Long Hill Estate, Wadsworth Street.  Ed Fast (pictured left), based in Hartford, is a very busy musician.  A list of his gigs include that he was the drummer on the national tour of "Chicago", working with Chita Rivera on the national tour of "A Dancer's Life, in New York City, on Broadway as drummer for  "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", Radio City Music Hall and a sub for "Chicago". He also performed with Broadway touring shows in Moscow, China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan and was Music Director of the Hartford-based youth group, Latin Flavor, at the Havana International Festival of Jazz (Cuba).  Conga-Bop, an ensemble with as many as 8 musicians, lives up to its name with an infectious blend of many different Latin rhythms, not to forget different genres of jazz. 
The grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for those who wish to picnic. In case of rain (we need it but not this week with all the different outdoor arts events), the concert is canceled.  For more information, go to www.wadsworthmansion.com.

Mid-Winter Arts Events (Part 2)

Thursday January 28:

The Ring Family Israeli Film Series at Wesleyan opens its 6-Thursday run tonight at 8 p.m. in the Goldsmith Family Cinema in the Center for Film Studies, Washington Terrace. First up is "Souvenirs", the 2006 documentary from Sharar Cohen and Harir Efrat. The synopsis from the Film Series staff reads as such: Shahar, an unemployed film maker, and his 82-year old Yemenite father, begin a filmed journey in search of his father's "souvenirs," left with local girls during his service in the Jewish Brigade while stationed in Amsterdan during the second World War. During this charming and funny trip--which starts in Israel, continues through Italy and Germany and ends in Holland with an unexpected discovery--some myths of bravery are questioned with compassion and without heartbreak."  The movie won a slew of awards and has been shown at festivals around the world.  Following the screening, film critic Laura Blum will speak about the Jewish Brigades, the only all-Jewish fighting unit in WWII (organized by the British Army.)  The event is free and open to the public.  For more information, go to www.wesleyan.edu/religion/hebrew/events.htm.

Friday January 29:

At 6 p.m., The Green Street Arts Center presents the premiere of "Our Elders, Our Youth", a documentary film that attempts to bridge the gap between the oldest and youngest generations of Middletown residents, while confronting the perceptions each side has about the other. Introducing the film will be former GSAC head Janis Astor del Valle and MxCC Professor of Videography Dan Nocera (both will also lead the post-film discussion.) For more information, call 860-685-7871.

The Buttonwood Tree presents the Homegrown String Band at 7:30 p.m.  Truly a family affair, the quartet features Georgianne (banjo) and Rick Jackofsky (guitar) and their daughters Erica (fiddle) and Annalee (mandolin.)  Everyone plays one or two more instruments, there is singing, dancing and a lot of joy. The family has released 4 CDs in its 10+ years and have venues throughout the United States.  Their blend of bluegrass, country, folk, blues and other rural music is quite entertaining.  To find out more about the family, go to www.homegrownstringband.com. To reserve a seat or 2, call 860-347-4957.

  "Heaven", the latest work from choreographer Morgan Thorson in collaboration with Alan Sparhark and Mimi Parker from the band LOW, can be seen twice this weekend (Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. in the CFA Theater at Wesleyan. This is part of the University's fine Break Ground Dance Series.  For a good description of the performance, click here. To read a review of the show from its New York City performance, go to

www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/arts/dance/27heaven.html.

Boney's Music Lounge presents the Liviu Pop Group featuring Ray Morant at 9 p.m.  Morant, a fine guitarist and vocalist, is the leader of the Ray Morant Soul Syndicate and a native of Hartford.

Saturday January 30:

The Riverwood Poetry Series at The Buttonwood Tree presents John Jeffrey and David Leff at 6:30 p.m.  Jeffrey, the editor of the internet-based CT Poet Newsletter, is an engaging reader whose work has been published in numerous journals.  Leff, former Deputy Commissioner with the Connecticut DEP, has written 2 fine non-fiction books, including 2009's "Deep Travel: In Thoreau's Wake on the Concord and Merrimack" (University of Iowa Press) - he's also an accomplished poet and fiction writer.  For more information, call 860-347-4957.

This missive from Professor/composer Neely Bruce: South Congregational Church, 9 Pleasant Street, will present an organ recital at 7:30 p.m by Brian Parks, director of music at the Higganum Congregational Church, and Wesleyan junior Matthew Sellier, to benefit the homeless of Middletown. The concert is part of an effort by ten churches in Middlesex County to call attention to the plight of the homeless and raise community consciousness of their needs. Donations of toiletries, blankets, sheets, towels, jackets, warm clothing and cash will be received.  The duo will perform music by Bach, Liszt, Messiaen, Mendelssohn, and Professor Bruce and by organist Parks. For more information about the concert, call 860-346-5006. For more information about the project to benefit the homeless contact Emily Bjornberg, Deep River Congregational Church at 860-526-5045.

Boney's Music Lounge welcomes back the Melvin Sparks Trio for an evening of incendiary funk, jazz, blues and hot jams.  Guitarist Sparks' unit features Middletown resident Bill Carbone (drums) and organist Matt O.  For more information, call 860-346-6000. 

Weekends are Made for Fun Stuff

Friday December 18:
The big news is that a Middletown resident is a contestant on tonight's edition of"Jeopardy."  Roberta Fulton, wife of Don Ciosek, can be seen on the long-running (and fairly intelligent) quiz show, shown at 7 p.m. on WTNH-Channel 8.  You have to watch to see how she does but it sure is fun to root for a local person.

By now, you must have noticed the "ad" on the EYE for Frank Capra's classic "It's A Wonderful Life" being screened at 7 p.m. in the Goldsmith Family Cinema, Washington Terrace. Money raised from ticket sales goes to help Gilead Community Services of Middletown, an organization whose mission "is to provide a broad range of high quality health care and recovery support services in the home and community to improve mental health, physical well being, independence, and community integration for the individuals we serve."  For more information about the showing, call 860-343-5300 ext. 0.

Big weekend in the Performing Arts Center at Middletown High School, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Edward Cumming, music director, will take the stage at 8 p.m.. on both Friday and Saturday evenings for its "Holiday Spectacular."  The musicians and conductor will not be alone in this musicall endeavor.  Joining them will be the Hartford Chorale and the Connecticut Children's Chorus.  For ticket information, call 860-748-8169.  


The Buttonwood Tree welcomes the New York City-based quartet, The Argyle Effect, for an 8 p.m. show.  The foursome blends rock, pop, blues, and klezmer influences into a raucous mash that's fun and high-spirited.  To find out more about the band, go to www.myspace.com/theargyleeffect.

The final event of the Fall semester at Wesleyan's CFA is the very exciting and colorful West African Drumming & Dance concert, to be held at 8 p.m. in Crowell Concert Hall. Students of choreographer and Artists-in-Residence Iddi Saaka and master Drummer Abraham Adzenyah join their teachers and special guest artists for an evening of excitement and colorful costumes.  For ticket information, call 860-685-3355 or go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.

NuDirexions returns to Boney's Music Lounge, located above Fishbone Cafe, for an evening of jazz-inflected funk and pop music.  They start at 9 p.m.

Saturday December 19:
The final edition of Holiday on Main Street has events for the whole family, starting at 10 a.m. with an Ornament Decorating Workshop conducted by Stephanie Huffaker in The Buttonwood Tree.  The day also includes Hay Rides, a visit from Santa Claus, and Holiday Story Time at Broad Street Books (11:30 a.m.)  For more information, call the Chamber of Commerce at 860-347-6924.

The Buttonwood Tree presents one of Middletown's classic bands, House of Moses.  Join brothers Thomas and Fred as they celebrate Randy's birthday along with guitarist Mick Bolduc, percussionist Ron Edens and several surprise guests.  It'll be a sweet evening of soul and light jazz.  The party begins at 8 p.m.  Call 860-347-4957 for more information.

Boney's Music Lounge presents the Liviu Pop Group. with special guest Toni Lynn Washington for 3 sets of blues music.  Loaded with emotion and a top-notch voice, Ms. Washington (based in Boston) has been singing for 4 decades, bringing jazz and soul influences to her large and varied repertoire.  The band and the chanteuse begin at 9 p.m.  For more information, call Boney's at 860-346-6000.

On a personal note, SEE! HEAR!, my column about music and arts that has been on the Hartford Courant website for the past 4 years, is closing down.  So, I have started a new blog, calling it STEP TEMPEST (named after a song by pianist/composer Herbie Nichols, 1919-1963.)  I'll use that space to review jazz and other music as well as concerts throughout the area. There's some great music being made all over the world and I'm lucky enough to come into contact with a small portion of it.  If you wish to check over and start a conservation, please go to http://steptempest.blogspot.com. 

Much Ado about Everything (12/02-04)

Wednesday December 2:
That's Rita Parisi and she is your hostess for an "Edwardian Christmas Tea" at 12noon in the Hubbard Room of the Russell Library. In her guise as "Mrs. Gordon", she'll transport you back to 1908 and give one and all an appropriate picture of what life was like during the holiday season at the turn of the 20th Century. Ms. Parisi, founder of Waterfall Productions, creates these great shows that highlight her love of theater and costuming. Her presentation is part of the Library's "Lunch & Learn" series so bring a bagged lunch and the Russell staff will provide the dessert and beverages (perhaps tea and crumpets will be the order of the day.) The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 860-347-2528, extension 135.

South Congregational Church, 9 Pleasant Street, welcomes students of Wesleyan University organist Ronald Ebrecht for the first of 4 consecutive Advent Organ Recitals to be held each Wednesday of December (except 12/30) at 12:10 p.m. There is no admission charge but an offering will be taken for the Church's Organ fund. The Wednesday before Christmas, the organ recital will feature Professor Neely Bruce.

Thursday December 3:
The Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies at Wesleyan welcomes Kim Kono, Assistant Professor in the East Asian Languages and Literatures Department of Smith College for a 4:30 p.m. talk titled " Dangerous Companions: Cultural Cross-Dressing in Colonial Manchuria." Here's the department's description of the talk: "How dangerous is it to wear the clothing of another culture? Focusing on Imamura Eiji's short story "Companions" (Dtktsha, 1938), this talk will explore representations of Japanese and colonized subjects in colonial Manchuria attempting to "pass" as cultural others. While each of these characters tries to conceal his cultural identity through clothing, the effects of their cross-dressing differ because of their positions within colonial hierarchy. Kono will argue that these instances of cultural cross-dressing ultimately underscore the destabilizing effects of colonial assimilation policy, reveal the fragility of cultural identity and potentially pose a threat to both its participants and the colonial project." The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 860-685-2330.

The Elia Kazan Centennial Film Series at Wesleyan comes to its logical conclusion with the final movie of the director's long and somewhat controversial career. "The Last Tycoon" (1976), starring Robert De Niro, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Nicholson, and Anjelica Huston, is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's final novel (unfinished at the time of his death) - the screenplay was created by playwright Harold Pinter. De Niro plays a brilliant movie studio executive (based on MGM head Irving Thalberg) who has to deal with many different issues, from stubborn actors to fussy directors. It's a fascinating, if slow, look at Hollywood in the 1930s, unsentimental yet involving. The screening, which takes place at 8 p.m. in the Goldsmith Family Cinema of the Center for Film Studies on Washington Terrace, is free and open to the public. For more information, call 860-685-2220.

The Theater Department at Wesleyan presents "Our Day Will Come" Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Patricelli '92 Theater. The play is based on Seamus Heaney's "The Burial at Thebes", the Irish playwright's retelling of Sophocles' "Antigone." This production, the Senior Thesis Project of Ariela Rotenberg '10, is the culmination of three months of field research exploring music and other genres in the construction of narrative oral tradition in the Irish neighborhoods of Chicago. Heaney's play exemplifies the intersection of Greek drama and Irish oral tradition. David B. Jaffe, Visiting Professor of Theater, is the director. The event is free but one needs a ticket to attend. Call the Box Office at 860-685-3355 for more information.

Friday December 4:
The public is invited to the Mayor's Annual Holiday Celebration in the Foyer of the Council Chambers in City Hall. The event,, which begins at 9:30 a.m., is free and features music by the Joey Milardo Trio.

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Kenn Morr brings his songs and band to The Buttonwood Tree for an 8 p.m. show. Morr, whose voice is reminiscent of Greg Brown (less raspy, more melodic), writes little vignettes about daily life, about love, and other contemporary yet timeless themes. Joining him will be Bob Gaspar (drums), Dan Hocott (bass, guitar, vocals) and Tom Hagymasi (fiddle, button accordion.) For more about Morr, go to www.KennMorr.com. To reserve a seat or 2, call 860-347-4957.

Boney's Music Lounge welcomes Autopilot, a quartet based in Chester, who play an infectious blend of blues, Southern Rock, and r'n'b. They'll get going around 9 p.m.

Vote First, Then Make Plans to Attend Area Events

The title of this post is about as political as I get but it's worth noting how many people ignore their right to vote. I'd like to believe most if not all of you care about this community and that there is someone running who you share views with (whether that person is running for the Board of Education, the Common Council, Board of Education or Mayor.)

Alright, remove my feet from the stirrups, off my high horse and on to the arts.

Tuesday November 3:
Reward yourself for doing your civic duty and head down to Broad Street Books tonight at 7 p.m. for a reading featuring poet Rennie McQuilken. McQuilken, founder of Antrim House Poetry books and longtime organizer of the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, is a fine poet and excellent reader whose work has been published in numerous publications. He's also issued 5 books of poetry including his latest "The Weathering." If you want a taste of what the poet will read, he'll be on WESU-88.1FM at 6:15 p.m. Either way, Rennie McQuilken is worth taking your time to discover. For more information, call the Book Store at 685-7323 or go to www.antrimhousebooks.com.

Here's one of his poems, courtesy of Antrim House Books:

THE LIGHTERS

for my mother

In her eighty-ninth year she’s reducing
her inventory—china to the children, mementos
to the trash—but in her boudoir
keeps half a dozen square-shouldered Zippos,

on one her husband’s initials,
the best man’s on another, the rest anyone’s guess.
Dry-chambered, their rusted spark wheels stalled,
they are lined up gravely on a jewelry chest

full of antique gap-toothed keys with elaborate
scrollwork on their hilts, fit to open
high-backed steamer trunks, perhaps the door
to a sunken garden

where every night the dry-bones come
in mothballed flannels and hand-knit sweaters
to roll their own, light up
like fireflies and, sotto voce, remember her.

Wednesday November 4:
The Middle Eastern Studies Program at Wesleyan presents a new Film Series and its inaugural presentation is "The Band's Visit" ("Bikur Ha-Tizmoret"), a 2007 Israeli film that has won nummerous awards. Director and screenwriter Eran Kolirin tells the story of an Egyptian musical ensemble, the fictitious Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, who go to play a concert in an Arab Cultural Center in a small town in the Negev Desert and end up stranded without a place to spend the night. Without overtly discussing Arab-Israeli relations, the movie brilliantly shows how people interact and survive in the midst of conflict. The screening takes place in Wesleyan's Hansel Lecture Hall or PAC 001 - the event is free and open to the public. No contact information has been posted but the movie is well worth seeing.

The Distinguished Writers Program at Wesleyan presents poet and photographer Thomas Sayers Ellis for an 8 p.m. reading in The Russell House 350 High Street. Ellis, a native of Washington D.C. and author of "The Maverick Room" (published in 2005 by Graywolf Press), is an Assistant Professor of Writing at Sarah Lawrence College and is on the faculty of The Lesley University Low Residency M.F.A. program in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Read an excerpt from "The Maverick Room" by clicking here.) The reading is free and open to the public. For more information, call 685-3448.


Thursday November 5:
"Common Ground: The Middletown International Film Festival" presents its 6th and final film at 7 p.m. in the Powell Family Cinema (Room 190) in the Center for Film Studies at Wesleyan, 301 Washington Terrace. "Everything is Illuminated", the 2005 screen adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's 2002 book, tells the fictional story of Jonathan Foer's trip to the Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather during the Holocaust. His guides are a ambitious young man who loves everything American (especially "pop culture"), his crazy border collie and his anti-Semitic grandfather. The movie, directed by Liev Schreiber (who also wrote the screenplay), stars Elijah Wood and Eugene Hutz. The event, hosted by David Laub of the Center for Film Studies, is free and open to the public.

In the same building but in the Goldsmith Family Cinema, the Elia Kazan Centennial Celebration continues with an 8 p.m. screening of the 1955 classic, "East of Eden." Loosely based on John Steinbeck's 1952 novel, the movie features James Dean in his first major role along with Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Burl Ives, and Jo Van Fleet. Set in the Salinas Valley of Central California during World War I, the story revolves around the dysfunctional Trask family and their efforts to make their farm profitable. There is all sorts of intrigue and Dean's performance is often mesmerizing. The movie won several awards including an Oscar for Van Fleet. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 685-2220.

The Dance Department at Wesleyan presents 3 nights of its Fall Senior Thesis Dance Concert Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Patricelli '92 Theater. Choreographer and dancers from the University work closely to create an often compelling program. If you like modern dance, you'll appreciate the work these young people and their teachers put into these presentations. For ticket information, call the Box Office at 685-3355.

FLUX Quartet, Wesleyan's String Quartet-in-residence, presents its annual concert of new works by Wesleyan graduate student composers. This is a great opportunity for the composers to have their works played by a world-class ensemble. The program, free and open to the public, takes place at 8 p.m. in Crowell Concert Hall.

I hope to post Friday through Sunday's event later tomorrow, including looks at the CT Gilbert & Sullivan Society's 3-day presentation of "The Pirates of Penzance" (Friday - Sunday) at the MHS Performing Arts Center (call 1-800-866-1606), Friday's performance of the Grass Routes Blue Grass Band at The Buttonwood Tree, Eilen Jewell & The Sacred Shakers Friday 8 p.m. at Crowell Concert Hall, Amy Crawford Saturday 8 p.m. at Crowell, the Floating Theatre Company's "Craig's List Missed Connections" 7 p.m. Saturday and the Readers Theater/Book Sale 7 p.m. Saturday at Congregation Adath Israel. And more...stay tuned.

Arts This Week: Films, Puppets, Guitars, & Broadway (Part 1)

Much to see and hear this week and one can not be in 2 places at once, so here's a heads-up.

Wednesday October 14:
The Buttonwood Tree presents "Evening Oasis: A Night of Belly Dance" featuring Desideria, Aziz Al-Tawil and Rasa Vitalia at 7:30 p.m. Hosted by Laura Lawton and Kitti Field, the evening is entertaining and educational with performers from throughout the Northeast. For more information, call 347-4957.

The Distinguished Writers Program at Wesleyan presents poet and teacher Bernadette Mayer at 8 p.m. in The Russell House, 350 High Street. The author of over 20 books of poetry, Mayer has been an active poet and editor for 3 decades and writes pieces that have been described as "witty", "untidy" and "highly involving." The event is free and open to the public. A reception follows the reading and gives one the opportunity to meet and chat with the poet.

Here's a short work by Ms. Mayer:

"I was one of the skunks"

i was one of the skunks

that lived in your bungalow

i was beautiful to behold but

you took me to the schodack cemetery

well, it was the nassau animal guy who did

& he was nowhere near as good looking as I

Thursday October 15:
The Russell Library's Film Series, " Gutter to Penthouse", presents "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang", the 1932 Mervyn LeRoy directed movie starring Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell and Helen Vinson.
The story revolves around a soldier who, upon returning from World War I, can't find steady work and accidentally becomes involved in a robbery and is sentenced to 10 years hard labor. He escapes to Chicago and becomes a successful businessman. His girlfriend finds out his secret and blackmails him into marrying her. He does so but falls in love with another woman and, when he asks his wife for a divorce, she turns him into the authorities. The movie has been deemed a classic and is quite an artistic success.
The screening takes place at 12noon in the Hubbard Room and is free and open to the public. For more information, call 347-2528, extension 135.

"Common Ground: The Middletown International Film Festival" continues at 7 p.m. in the Hubbard Room of the Russell Library with "Chungking Express", the 1994 Chinese film directed and written by Wang Kar-wei. The movie tells 2 unconnected stories one right after the other and each revolving around a Hong Kong policeman. The cast includes Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Valerie Chow. The screening is free and open to the public. Call the number in the paragraph above for more information.


The Elia Kazan Centennial Celebration continues at the Wesleyan Center for Film Studies with an 8 p.m. screening of one of the director's most celebrated films, "On The Waterfront." Starring Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, and Eva Marie Saint, the 1954 classic was filmed on location in Hoboken, New Jersey, and blends social commentary with a "gangster story" plot line. Brando, in one of his most famous roles, plays an ex-boxer ("I coulda been a contender") who takes a "dive" in the ring and ends up working for a union boss. With the help of a priest (Malden) and his girlfriend (Saint), the boxer decides to take on the union.
The screening takes place in the Goldsmith Family Cinema, Washington Terrace, and is free & open to the public. For more information, call 685-2220.

Yet one more film on this crowded day of cinema events is the 2009 documentary "Disfarmer: A Portrait of America" to be shown at 8 p.m. in the CFA Hall, formerly the CFA Cinema. Released earlier this year, the film, written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Martin Lavut, features people from Heber Springs, Arkansas, (where portrait photographer Mike Disfarmer settled and worked) and the gallery owners and photography experts who brought Disfarmer's work to the rest of the world. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.

Later this week, we'll look at "Disfarmer", the puppet theater play that can be seen this Friday and Saturday in the CFA Theater as well as the first show in the Greater Middletown Concert Association's 2009-10 series ("Broadway Live!" on Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at Middletown High School), live music at The Buttonwood (Katie Pearlman/Rupert Wates on Friday, guitarist Sinan Bakir on Saturday) and the Crowell Concert Series presentation of Cuban pianist Omar Sosa & his Afreecanos Quartet (Saturday.) And more - stay tuned!

"Got Those Apolitical Blues" - Arts Events 9/16 - 18)

Listening to Little Feat is where the header for this posting came from and has nothing to do with that group appearing in town this week (they're not, but the intense political posturing of the past week is affecting my senses.)

Wednesday Sept. 16:
The Buttonwood Tree hosts its monthly Open Theatrical Improvisation on this night at 7:30 p.m. The concentration is on improvised scene work and ensemble performance. For more information, email topher@the diversion.com.

Thursday Sept. 17:
Ah, it's Movie Day in town. Start your cinema adventures at 12 noon in the Hubbard Room of The Russell Library as the "Gutter to Penthouse Film Discussion Series" begins with the 1931 classic "Little Caesar." Starring Edward G. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., the movie is loosley based on the life and exploits of Al Capone and is considered by many film buffs as the movie that sparked this country's ongoing interest in "gangster movies." Scott Higgins, Assistant Professor of Film Studies at Wesleyan,, will lead the discussion following the screening. Bring your lunch and the library staff will provide the beverages (legal, of course.) For more information, call 347-2528, extension 135.

At 8 p.m., the Wesleyan University Film Studies' Elia Kazan Centennial celebration continues with a screening of his 1945 "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." The movie stars Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, James Dunn, Peggy Ann Garner, and Lloyd Nolan and is the coming-of-age story of its main character, Francie Nolan (played by McGuire), in the tenements of Brooklyn, New York, in the early decades of the 20th Century. Lisa Dombrowski, Associate Professor of Film Studies at Wesleyan, will introduce the film, no doubt talking about how Kazan was able to transform a very popular book into an equally successful film. For more information about the Elia Kazan Centennial, go to www.wesleyan.edu/filmstudies/specialevents.html.
Both this showing and the Russell Library event above are free and open to the public.

Friday Sept. 18:
Vange Durst & EV 3 returns to The Buttonwood Tree for a 7:30 p.m. show on this evening. Blending rock, blues, folk and touches of "world music", this ensemble (Durst on guitar & lead vocals, Michael Kurjan on keyboards, and Deb Piccolo on drums & percussion) is melodic and rhythmical with some fine original material. For more information, go to www.myspace.com/vangedurst.

Put on your dancing shoes and head up to Wesleyan as the 2009-10 Crowell Concert Series begins with the rollicking Cajun sounds of Balfa Toujours. Led by Christine Balfa, daughter of the great fiddler Dewey Balfa, this quartet blends accordion, guitar, bass and fiddle into a danceable mix of traditional songs and new music. Voices blend in pretty as well as gritty harmonies but it's the exciting rhythms that will get your heart pumping. For ticket information, call 860-685-3355 or go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.

Most of us know how tough it is to dance in Crowell Hall so, after the concert, there's a dance in Fayerweather Beckham Hall (across the street from the Concert Hall.) The party begins at 10:30 and is free and open to the public.

In another related event, there will be a showing of "Dewey Balfa: Tribute Concert", the 1994 film co-produced and directed by EYE editor & contributor Ed McKeon, at 4 p.m. on Saturday (9/19) in the CFA Hall, formerly the CFA Cinema. This event is also free and open to all.

Also on Friday, Boney's Music Lounge welcomes back Sweet Daddy Cool Breeze for an 8:30 p.m. The quartet plays blues, mostly in the Chicago-style, meaning strong guitar playing anf fine blues harmonica. Call 346-6000 for more information.

July Goes Out Like a Lion (Arts-wise)

Tuesday July 28:
That's guitarist and vocalist Mark DeAngelis (a member of the faculty of UCONN teaching business law) who performs with the Gallant Sons of Erin, an ensemble that performs music and stories dealing with Irish immigrant soldiers and their experiences in the American Civil War. Joined by his brother Dave (banjo, vocals) and Todd Bryda (vocals, bodhran), he'll be on the South Green at 7 p.m. in a free concert co-sponsored by the Middlesex County Historical Society and the Middletown Commission on the Arts. The band, which (on occasion) also includes other DeAngelis family members and friends, bases its repertoire on the research members have done on Company K of the Irish Brigade's 28th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. In case of rain, the concert moves indoors to South Congregational Church.

"Cinefare in Middletown" comes to the end of its 4-Tuesday run with the last in the series of "Frank Capra Directs Hollywood's Leading Men" at 7:30 p.m. in the Goldsmith Family Cinema in the Center for Flm Studies at Wesleyan. Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Eleanor Parker, Carolyn Jones, Keenan Wynn and the ever sardonic Thelma Ritter star in "Hole in the Head", the 1959 Capra comedy about a Miami Beach hotelier (Sinatra) whose wealthy older brother (Robinson) is tired of helping him through his financial and personal issues. There's a subplot about development of a theme park (virtually unheard of in Florida in the days before DisneyWorld) and other issues but, mostly, this is a light comedy and will have you whistling the tune "High Hopes" as you head home. Tom Santopietro, author of "Sinatra in Hollywood", will introduce the movie and also will be available for a Q & A following the screening. For more information about the movie and restaurant discounts/transportation before the showing, go to www.wesleyan.edu/filmstudies/summerfilmseries.html.

Wednesday July 29:
Celebrate the work created the children attending the 2009 Kids Arts programs from 5 - 7 p.m. in The Buttonwood Tree. The different presenters include members of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" class and "Artists of the Future" as well as the staff of Kid Current, the summer newspaper. It's impressive what these young people create during the 5-week daily program. The event is free and open to the public.

The "Music at the Mansion" series, held on the back lawn of the Wadsworth Mansion at the Long Hill Estate concludes with its opening show (originally scheduled for July 1 and postponed due to rain.) Eight to the Bar, the Connecticut-based "swing & blues" sextet, is known for its exciting "live" shows and impeccable musicianship. The grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for those who wish to stake out a good spot and have a leisurely picnic supper. The band "hits" at 6:30 - for more information, call 347-1064. To check out the band, go to www.eighttothebar.com.

Thursday July 30:
North End Nights concludes its July run with a breakdancing class taught by Byran Giles at 5:30 p.m. in the Green Street Arts Center followed by a 6:45 concert featuring guitarist's Melvin Sparks Trio with Bill Carbone (drums) and Matthew O. (organ) in the Luis Lopez Herb Garden. To find out more about these free events and "discount passes to North End businesses, go to www.neatmiddletown.org.

Middletown Teen Theater, a 4-week "theater camp" experience, comes to an exciting conclusion with a production of Disney's "Beauty & The Beast" Thursday through Sunday August 2 in the Auditorium of the Performing Arts at Middletown High School, LaRosa Lane. Staff members include Marco Gaylord (executive director), Ali Brandt (artistic and program director), Aaron Sinicrope (music director), Stella Demand (choreographer), Spencer Bazzano (assistant director), Jeanine Westbrook (vocal coach), Michael Gosselin (technical director), Larry Gaechter (set designer), Kim Everson (assistant technical director) and Tomas Viragdula (junior counselor.) Cast members range in age from 9 to 17 and, as you will see, there's a whole slew of them (73 children signed on for the summer.) Performances are 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. The final dress rehearsal is open to the public as a "freeview" on Wednesday night. For ticket information, go to www.middletownteentheater.com.