A house at 28 Hermit Lane is among nine winners of the Westport Historic District Commission (HDC) 2015 Preservation Awards to be presented in a Town Hall ceremony at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26. The HDC said the award will be presented to Tracey and Thomas Kelly, owners of the house, known as the Fangel-Molyneus House, circa 1900. The HDC cited the owners in recognition of an outstanding preservation effort to a well-proportioned and detailed mid-20th century Colonial Revival House. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

A house at 132 Compo Road South is among nine winners of the Westport Historic District Commission (HDC) 2015 Preservation Awards to be presented in a Town Hall ceremony at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26. The HDC said the award will be presented to Michele Wan and Thorsten Lauterbach, owners of the house, known as the Mabel Gault House, circa 1896. The HDC cited the owners for their restoration efforts, which it said set an example for other historic house owners in Westport. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

By Susan Granger

Master filmmaker Steven Spielberg is fascinated with exploring history: “Schindler’s List,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Munich,” “Amistad,” and “Lincoln.” Now, “Bridge of Spies.”

In New York City in the 1950s, at the height of the simmering Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, painter Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) is captured and accused of being a Russian spy.

Summoned by his boss (Alan Alda), insurance lawyer James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) is told to represent Abel.  A former prosecutor at the Nuremburg trials, Donovan’s known as a wily, pragmatic mediator.

Reluctant at first, Donovan is, nevertheless, determined to defend his client, insisting on “due process of law,” even when the presiding judge and the American public have deemed Abel guilty, and Donovan’s wife (Amy Ryan) and family are harassed in their Brooklyn home.

Some 500 freshmen from Staples High School today attended a special morning student performance of Arthur Miller’s “Broken Glass” at the Westport Country Playhouse. The powerful drama is about New York Jews suffering from afar as they read accounts of atrocities in 1938 Nazi Germany as the winds of war begin to threaten Europe. The 90-minute play was followed by a talk-back with cast members. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Peter Chenot for WestportNow.com

Staples High School freshmen prepare to watch “Broken Glass” by Arthur Miller today in a special student performance at the Westport Country Playhouse. Students read and studied the play prior to attending. Directed by Mark Lamos, the production commemorates playwright Miller’s centennial year. “Broken Glass” takes place at the time of Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, in Nazi Germany, as a Brooklyn Jewish couple’s marriage begins to shatter. The play continues through Oct. 24. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Peter Chenot for WestportNow.com

Among honored guests today at Newman’s Own headquarters in Westport for the official presentation of the Paul Newman U.S. postage stamp were (l-r) A. E. Hotchner, a Westport writer who was co-founder of Newman’s Own with Newman in 1982, Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe, and Rob Forrester, CEO of Newman’s Own. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

In a talk taped by CSPAN, poet and historian Rita Gabis told a Westport Library audience today about her memoir about the journey to unravel dark truths about her grandfather, chief of security police under the Gestapo during World War II. The book is called “In A Guest at the Shooters’ Banquet: My Grandfather’s SS Past, My Jewish Family, a Search for the Truth.” Gabis, the daughter of a Lithuanian Catholic mother and Russian Jewish father, learned that from 1941 to 1943, her grandfather was the chief of security police under the Gestapo in a Lithuanian town where eight thousand Jews were killed over the course of three days. The talk was co-sponsored by the Federation for Jewish Philanthropy of Upper Fairfield County and the Westport Country Playhouse in conjunction with its current production of Arthur Miller’s “Broken Glass.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

CSPAN was at the Westport Library today taping a talk by poet and historian Rita Gabis about her memoir detailing efforts to track down information about her grandfather, chief of security police under the Gestapo during World War II. The book is called “In A Guest at the Shooters’ Banquet: My Grandfather’s SS Past, My Jewish Family, a Search for the Truth.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com