The Westport Country Playhouse tonight presented a sneak peek of the 2016 season for subscribers, hosted by artistic director Mark Lamos, director of “Art” and “Red” in Rep, and “Camelot.” Among the speakers were (l-r) Lamos; actor Stephen Rowe (“Red”); scenic designer Allen Moyer (“Art” and “Red” in Rep); playwright Jonathan Tolins (“Buyer & Cellar”);  production stage manager Megan Smith (“Art” and “Red” in Rep, “The Invisible Hand,” “What the Butler Saw”); director John Tillinger (“What the Butler Saw”); and costume designer Wade Laboissonniere (“Camelot.”)  The Playhouse 2016 season begins May 3, with productions of “Art” and “Red” in repertory. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Kat Gloor for WestportNow.com

Two preservation officials visited the Westport Historical Society’s “Window to Westport’s Past and Present, WPA Images of Historic Houses.” They included Chris Wigren (2nd l) of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation and Alec Raday (3rd l )of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Accompanying them were (l-r) Ed Gerber, past WHS president, Bob Weingarten, exhibit curator and WHS house historian, and Bob Mitchell, WHS president. Weingarten provided an explanation of the exhibit and told the visitors that the exhibit has been extended to April 8. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Miggs Burroughs for WestportNow.com

By Susan Granger

Having recently returned from a trip on the Amazon River in South America, I was intrigued by “Embrace of the Serpent,” the Oscar-nominated meditation about the devastation of colonialism on the Cohiuano, one of Colombia’s indigenous tribes, brutally ravaged by the rubber industry and Roman Catholic missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The story focuses on a native shaman named Karamakate, played alternately by Nilbio Torres and Antonio Bolivar Salvador. Angry and grieving, he’s the sole survivor of his people and, over the course of 40 years, develops a relationship with two different scientists.

Filmed primarily in black and white and based on the real-life journals of two explorers who traveled through Amazonia during the last century, it’s been adapted by Colombian writer/director Ciro Guerra and JacquesToulemonde Vidal.

From 1903-1909, Theodor Koch-Grunberg (Jan Bijvoet), an ailing German ethnologist, travels downriver by canoe seeking the sacred, difficult-to-find Yakruna plant, said to have unique healing powers. This miraculously curative hallucinogen is found on rubber trees, according to his native guide Manduca.

The 10th annual Art Dubai art show opened today in the most populous city of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates( U.A.E.). A city of 2.5 million, Dubai has attracted more than 500 artists of 70 nationalities, and 94 gallery operators from 40 countries for the show. Among the visitors is Helen Klisser During, a WestportNow contributing photographer and Westport Arts Center artistic director emeritus. Here is her photo tour of the exhibit and some scenes of the Middle East city known for its luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture, and a lively nightlife as well as Saadiyat Island Cultural District in Abu Dhabi, the U.A.E. capital. Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

Janet (Caroline Didelot, Staples ’16) takes questions from reporters in the Staples Players’ production of “The Drowsy Chaperone.” The show continues this weekend, with performances Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at www.staplesplayers.com. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo by Kerry Long

Ann McDonough (l), who performed tonight in the Westport Country Playhouse Script in Hand reading of playwright A. R. Gurney’s ”The Cocktail Hour,” shows series curator Anne Keefe a circa 1990 photo when McDonough (far right in photo) played the same role in a Playhouse production of “The Cocktail Hour.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The cast of tonight’s Westport Country Playhouse Script in Hand reading of playwright A. R. Gurney’s ”Cocktail Hour” takes a break during a rehearsal today. The play reading, directed by Anne Keefe, curator of the play reading series, is a funny and touching, quasi-autobiographical story about a playwright who writes a new play that presents an unflattering picture of his family. Pictured with Keefe (l) are (from 2nd l) Claire Karpen, Jack Gilpin, Ann McDonough, Jake Robards, Steve Corman, arts patron and Martha Stout, stage directions. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The cover of “The New Yorker in Westport” book.(CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The Westport Historical Society received the Connecticut League of History Organizations’ (CLHO) coveted Award for Merit for it book, “The New Yorker in Westport,” WHS officials announced today.

The award is a recognition of achievement in the preservation and interpretation of Connecticut history. The WHS is one of 12 organizations and individuals to be honored by CLHO at its annual conference set for Monday, June, 6, in Meriden.

The Award of Merit is given to institutions and individuals “who demonstrate the highest of professional standards, and who enhance and further the understanding of Connecticut history,” said Barbara Peck, WHS assistant director.

“The purpose of the Award of Merit program is to recognize the care, thought and effort invested in these contributions and to inspire and encourage others by acknowledging exceptional contributions to state and local history,” she said.

The owners of 38 Evergreen Ave. are the newest recipients of a Westport Historical Society (WHS) historical plaque. The circa 1918 house was once owned by renowned artist Harold von Schmidt (1893-1982) as well as his well-known son and artist, Eric von Schmidt. Bob Weingarten, WHS plaque historian, presented the plaque to Kim and Rob Dolliver, holding Moran, 3. The couple was also the recipients of an Historic District Commission Preservation Award in 2008. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com