middletowneye: holidays

Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

VIDEO: Middletown Caroling Flash Mob

For the past three years, members of the Greater Middletown Chorale along with local community friends have gotten together to share some holiday cheer.

The informal group of carolers lead by GMC member Michael O'Herron sang Christmas, Chanukah and other seasonal tunes to the residents of South Green Apartments and Water's Edge in Middletown. Seasoned singers along with amateurs sang their hearts out.

I joined along with my group of friends to carry a tune and sing along to favorites like "Jingle Bells" and "Deck the Halls". It was great to see all the smiling faces lighting up at the recognition of the classic holiday songs. We even sang a variation of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" that included Chanukah and Kwanza references. It was a whole bunch of fun.

Watch this video and share in the join of the holiday season.

~Topher

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Huck Finn This Weekend

Oddfellows Playhouse’s Junior Repertory Company will present Huck Finn by Eric Coble, Adapted from the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

Huck Finn flees the claws of "civilization" for the freedom of the mighty Mississippi, only to find himself running from mobs, getting shot at, stealing gold, digging escape tunnels and dressing as a woman. And perhaps his greatest adventure: unexpectedly finding his own moral compass in a world of corruption and hypocrisy. This highly-theatrical adaptation presented by the Junior Repertory Company and directed by Lorra Webb, is the second of Coble’s work produced at the Playhouse, following 2006’s Gold in the Bones. This classic tale of adventure is great for families and students of all ages.

The production runs Thursday thru Saturday, November 29, 30 and December 1 All performances begin at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 for Adults and $8 for Students/Seniors. Anyone bringing a canned food item for Amazing Grace Food Pantry will receive a $2 discount on their ticket. Tickets are available online at www.oddfellows.org or by calling 860-347-6143.

The production is made possible by major support from CT State Department of Education, Middlesex United Way, The Stare Fund, Pratt & Whitney, the Middletown Commission on the Arts, Eli Cannon’s Tap Room and Daphne Sebolt Culpeper Foundation. Media support provided by Comcast and WESU 88.1FM.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Holiday Season Offerings at Oddfellows

With the holiday season approaching, there are multiple chance to take the family out to see some live theater here in Middletown. So you better start planning!

Huck Finn
by Mark Twain

Adapted by Eric Coble from the novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
November 29, 30 and December 1 - 7:00pm

Oddfellows Playhouse’s Junior Repertory Company will present Huck Finn by Eric Coble, Adapted from the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

Huck Finn flees the claws of "civilization" for the freedom of the mighty Mississippi, only to find himself running from mobs, getting shot at, stealing gold, digging escape tunnels and dressing as a woman. And perhaps his greatest adventure: unexpectedly finding his own moral compass in a world of corruption and hypocrisy. This highly-theatrical adaptation presented by the Junior Repertory Company and directed by Lorra Webb, is the second of Coble’s work produced at the Playhouse, following 2006’s Gold in the Bones. This classic tale of adventure is great for families and students of all ages.

The production runs Thursday thru Saturday, November 29, 30 and December 1 All performances begin at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 for Adults and $8 for Students/Seniors. Anyone brining a canned food item for Amazing Grace Food Pantry will receive a $2 discount on their ticket. Tickets are available online at www.oddfellows.org or by calling 860-347-6143.
A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration
by Paula Vogel, Music by Daryl Waters
December 6,7,8, 14, 15 - 7:30pm

The play, directed by Peter Loffedo, will feature a multigenerational cast of actors from the community, including members of Oddfellows’ Teen Repertory Company and CT Heritage Productions. The Connecticut Humanities Council and Middletown Commission on the Arts is generously helping to fund this production because of its unique combination of historical significance, audience appeal, and educational storytelling.

The play is set is Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve 1864, during the Civil War. President Lincoln has just been reelected and General Sherman is marching troops into battle. Interweaving historical figures with fictional characters, A Civil War Christmas not only entertains but inspires the audience by portraying the real-life struggles that occurred and the human spirit that endured during one of the most difficult times in our history. Moving swiftly from scene to scene, it chronicles many aspects of the period, from something of the private life of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln to the moving story of an African-American soldier whose wife has been cruelly kidnapped. Christmas carols and folk songs are sung throughout by the ensemble, with additional period music performed by a group of instrumentalists.

The production runs December 6, 7, 8, 14, 15 at Oddfellows Playhouse. All performances are at 7:30pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students and seniors. Thursday December 6 is a Pay-What-You-Can Performance. Please bring a non-perishable food item to donate to Amazing Grace Food Pantry. Tickets are available online at ww.oddfellows.org or by calling860-347-6143. The performance is made possible through special funding from the Connecticut Humanities Council, The Middletown Commission on the Arts, and Eli Cannon’s Tap Room.