Actor Keir Dulllea tells a Westport Town Hall audience today how director Stanley Kubrick selected him for his most famous role as astronaut David Bowman in Kubrick’s 1968 now cult classic “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Asked what it was like working with Kubrick, Dullea said: “You were aware you were in the presence of genius.” He appeared with WestportNow film critic Susan Granger following a screening of the film by Westport Cinema Initiative WestportNow.com video

Westport’s Wakeman Town Farm tonight hosted a community barn dance at the Westport Woman’s Club, 44 Imperial Ave. The event featured contra dance caller Bill Fischer and The Fiddleheads, who provided the music. All proceeds benefit the classroom and kitchen addition to the farm. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Oliver Gaffney for WestportNow.com

The Westport Historical Society (WHS) on Sunday, April 2 kicks off events of American Revolution Month marking the 240th anniversary of the 1777 British raid on Danbury that began with a Compo Beach landing.

The Westport Historical Society exhibit runs through May 29. Contributed graphic

Its new exhibit, “The British Are Coming,” opens with a 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. reception. The exhibit follows the 1777 landing of British troops at Compo Beach and their march north to confiscate or destroy Gen. George Washington’s supplies in Danbury. 

Returning to their ships, the British fought the Battle of Ridgefield, outwitted Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold at Old Hill and battled the Patriots at Compo Hill.

The exhibit will feature maps of British troop movements, accounts of firefights between Redcoats and Patriots, portraits of the principal commanders, and displays of uniforms, weaponry, documents and tents, the WHS said.

By Susan Granger

“Beauty and the Beast” is Bill Condon’s hybrid live action/digital remake of the “tale as old as time” — with sumptuous special effects and enhanced character back stories.

Set in rural France in 1740, it introduces brainy Belle (Emma Watson) whose academic father, Maurice (Kevin Kline), has been imprisoned in the Beast’s labyrinthine castle.

Because he was once a spoiled young Prince, spurning pleas for assistance from an old lady/witch, the ghastly, horned Beast (Dan Stevens) has been cursed until he can find true love.

Eager to escape the confines of her provincial village and unwelcome romantic advances by boorish, boastful Gaston (Luke Evans), Belle offers to exchange places with her beloved father.

The Dec. 14, 2012 Sandy Hook shootings that claimed the lives of 20 children and six educators is the subject of the documentary “Newtown” to be shown on Saturday, April 1, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Westport Woman’s Club.

The screening of the one hour, 25-minute film, hosted by the Westport Library in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Westport, will be followed by a discussion with former Sandy Hook teacher Abbey Clements.

It will be moderated by CNN anchor and Westport resident Alisyn Camerota, according to library officials.

Directed by Kim Snyder and produced by Maria Cuomo Cole, the film chronicles what followed the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting “and never-before-heard testimonies to tell a story of the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting of school children in American history,” the announcement said.

The Westport Library today hosted the Anne Eyes Science Lecture featuring composer and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Evan Ziporyn, who spoke about ethnomusicology and the intersection between science and art. A concert by MIT’s Gamelan Galak Tika was featured followed by a hands-on demonstration of this unique Balinese percussion instrument. The bright, percussive sounds of Indonesian gamelan orchestras reverberate throughout Southeast Asia, especially on the islands of Java and Bali. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The Staples Players cast of” Urinetown, The Musical” takes its curtain call at tonight’s preview. The show opens Friday and runs this weekend and next. Tickets are available at http://www.Staplesplayers.com or 30 minutes prior to curtain, subject to availability. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The Westport Cinema Initiative will host a screening of “2001: A Space Odyssey” on Saturday, March 25.

The film starring Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood and William Sylvester, and directed by Stanley Kubrick, will be shown at 4 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium. Tickets are $10.

It will be followed by a discussion of the film by Keir Dullea and WestportNow film critic Susan Granger.

The film was written by Kubrick with Arthur C. Clarke and was inspired by Clarke’s story “The Sentinel.”