A First Look at the Arts This Week (Tuesday & Wednesday)

I'm in my typical post-production mode, basically laying about in a warm coat and "pass the remote." Thanks to all who came out to see "Juno & The Paycock" this past weekend, thanks for you responses and donations, most of which will go to Congregation Adath Israel and Oddfellows Playhouse (after we pay the production fees and for the refreshments - thanks again for the donation of Guinness Stout from the Claddagh House.)

November 17:
Tonight, the Free At Last Players return to The Buttonwood Tree for a 7 p.m. show. The group/troupe, now in its 20th season, blends skits, poetry and the occasional song into a enjoyable and educational show. As their mission statement claims, the FALP is "a not-for-profit theater group dedicated to dispelling the myths and misconceptions that surround mental illness." They do it with humor, humility, grace and talent. To find out more, go to www.freeatlastplayers.org. For reservations, call 860-347-4957.

November 18:
The final event in the "Soul of a People" project takes place at 7 p.m. in the Library of Middlesex Community College, Training Hill Road. Anne Paluck will lead a discussion of Zora Neale Hurston's groundbreaking book "Their Eyes Were Watching God" with special guest Lucy Anne Hurston, local educator and author of "Speak, So You Can Speak Again: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston." She is also the elder Hurston's niece. For more information, call 860-343-5830.

The Theater Department at Wesleyan presents Caryl Churchill's "The Skriker", a 1994 play in which the playwright creates a shape-shifting monster who, along with a group of creatures, pursues a pair of young women to London. The story is fascinating and disturbing in the way it combines English folk tales with modern urban life in a physically and verbally stunning creation. Performances are 8 p.m through Saturday and 7 p.m. on Sunday, all taking place in the CFA Theater. For tickets, call 860-685-3355.

There's more going on and I hope to get to it later on.