A Weekend to Wonder, Woo, and Wind Down

The final 2 performances of "HeAVEN", the new play by Middletown resident Jenny Lecce, will take place tonight and Saturday night at 8 p.m. in the Hole in the Wall Theater, 116 Main Street in New Britain. The story of 3 unemployed factory workers who enter a contest to win a mobile home and who have to spend Labor Day Weekend living on a billboard resonates loudly in this country's current recession. For more information and reservations, call 860-229-3049.

Tonight at 7:30, The Buttonwood Tree welcomes New London's Total Bolsheviks, a trio of musicians who play what they dub as "Avant Chamber Music" or "noisy art rock." One might compare their efforts to the music of The Soft Machine or Mission of Burma, especially in their experimentations. Composed of Scott MacKenzie, Mark Warren and Brian P. Smith, the trio blends guitars, percussion, "cheap" keyboards and other electronics into an aural stew. Joining them will be Teenage Night Hawks. To hear the headliners before you see them, go to www.myspace.com/thetotalbolsheviks. For more information, call 347-4957.

Saturday night, The Buttonwood presents its annual Valentine's Poetry Night. Curated and hosted by Terri Klein, this year the theme is "Valentine's Secret"and is tied into Greg Dyro's provocative photographic display adorning the walls of the intimate performance space. In addition to a nominal $3 donation, bring a non-perishable food item and do good while having fun. Take heart and take part, the event begins at 6:30.

Sunday morning, "folk crooner" Dave Downs performs at 11 a.m. in Brew Bakers, 169 Main Street. Downs, who accompanies himself on guitar, has fashioned a repertoire on works from the great American composers of the 1930s and 40s as well as his personal observations of the world around him. For more information, call 852-0034.

John Basinger returns to The Buttonwood Tree Sunday at 2 p.m. to begin his journey through John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost." Basinger has committed the work to memory and brings the vivid images to life. For more information, go to www.paradiselostperformances.com/. You'll be amazed.

What Some Folks Would Do to Get Ahead

There is a fine article in The Middletown Press's "W" section today about Middletown resident Jenny Lecce's new play opening this Friday at the Hole in the Wall Theater, 116 Main Street in New Britain. Read what Diane Church has to say about "HeAVEN" by clicking here.

The playwright tells the story of 3 men who enter a contest to win a free mobile home. They have to live on a scaffold in front of a billboard and the one who lasts the longest wins the prize. Set in uncertain economic times, no one gives in and the contest drags on for months. And, although the idea has been germinating in Lecce's mind for some time, the story is prescient. With many people out of work and skilled laborers being especially affected, one knows that people would do anything to help better their situation.

The cast, directed by Ted Guhl, includes JoAnne DeWind, Regina Erpenbeck, Tony Palmieri and, as the 3 contestants, Michael Eck, Steve Kelly and Matthew Pollack. Performances are Friday and Saturdays at 8 p.m. starting January 16 and running through February 14. There are Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on January 25 and February 8. For more information, call 860-229-3049 or go to www.hitw.org.