“Hamilton” Tony Award nominee and Grammy Award winner Jonathan Groff has stepped in to headline Westport Country Playhouse’s 2017 Gala on Saturday, Sept. 9, the Playhouse announced today.

Jonathan Groff:  played King George III. Photo by Jeff Vespa/Contour by Getty Images

Groff will replace previously announced Matthew Morrison who is no longer available to perform at this year’s gala due to a scheduling conflict.

Groff ascended to Broadway royalty with his Tony Award-nominated and Grammy Award-winning performance as King George III in “Hamilton.” He is also known for roles in the film “Frozen,“ television’s “Glee,” and his Tony-nominated role in “Spring Awakening.”

Groff last appeared at Westport Country Playhouse in a Script in Hand playreading of “Butterflies Are Free” with Blythe Danner in 2010.

The popular local Mill RIver Band entertained at the Westport Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts tonight. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Audience members dance to the Mill River Band tonight at the Levitt Pavilion. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

The Westport Parks and Recreation Department tonight presented the first of two family movie nights at Compo Beach. Tonight’s film was “Inside Out,” a comedy-adventure set inside the mind of an 11-year old girl produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The next family movie night is Thursday, Aug. 17 and the film is “The Boss Baby,” a 2017 computer-animated comedy. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

By Susan Granger

Not long after President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the historic 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, a crack in Antarctica’s ice shelf caused a 1.1-trillion-ton block of ice to calve, forming a colossal iceberg, which is already breaking into huge chunks.

Couple that with the increasing threat of mega-fires, worsening floods, deeper droughts and worldwide temperatures hitting a record high for the third year in a row. So to call “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” a follow-up to 2006’s Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” timely is an understatement.

Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize-recipient Al Gore updates his observations with advances in climate science, encompassing enlightened global energy policies and the latest in technology.

“Mother Nature is telling us, and people are noticing it,” Gore maintains.

Emmy Award-winning Alex & the Kaleidoskop chased away the clouds tonight at the Levitt Pavilion’s Wednesday night children’s series. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The Trio con Brio Copenhagen performed at the Levitt Pavilion tonight. The chamber music trio is comprised of Korean sisters Soo-Jin Hong and Soo-Kyung Hong and Danish piano wizard Jens Elvekjaer. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

On the heels of a sell-out July 15 screening “The High School That Rocked” documentary, another showing is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 26, at 5 p.m. at the Westport Historical Society (WHS), Barbara Peck, WHS assistant director, announced today.

The documentary showcases the classic rock legends that performed at Staples High School during the 1970s, including the Doors, Cream and the Yardbirds.

The screening will be followed by a talk with the film’s producer Fred Cantor and local filmmaker Douglas Tirola.

The showing is a joint venture of the WHS and the Westport Cinema Initiative.

The Westport Library announced today that the groundbreaking ceremony for its $19.5 million renovation project is set for Thursday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m.

A rendering of the Westport Library’s Great Hall in its forum setup. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed graphic

The work, which will be done in phases to keep the library open, is expected to last between 18 and 21 months, officials said.

“For nearly a decade, the Library has been evaluating plans to transform our existing facility into a reimagined space that better meets the community’s needs,” said Bill Harmer, executive director. “As we prepare to officially break ground on the project, you can feel the excitement.”

The work will be done in three phases, the first being the Riverwalk Level designed to house the permanent adult book collection, to be used as quiet space, and it will feature a newly designed entrance. The work is expected to last eight months.

Scenes from tonight’s Levitt Pavilion performance by James Langton and his New York All-Star Big Band playing “75 Years of Sinatramania.” J.C. Martin for WestportNow.com and WestportNow.com photos