The Westport Community Theatre production of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” opens Friday. Directed by Donna McLaughlin Wyant and produced by Joan Lasprogato, performances go through April 26 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. and Thursday April 16 at 8 p.m. The theater is located at Westport Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Ave. Pictured are (l-r) Johnathan Jacobson, Phil Lorenzo, Matt Catalano, Elayne Mordoff, Nick Kaye, Barry Hatrick, and Carole Kaye. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

TEAM Westport, which stands for “Together Effectively Achieving Multiculturalism,” tonight awarded first prize in its second annual Teen Diversity Essay contest to Jacob Klegar of Westport. It was presented in a ceremony at the Westport Library, which co-sponsored the competition. Klegar, a junior at Choate Rosemary Hall School, won a $1,000 first prize for his essay “Friendship Through a Shared Love of Tennis.” It was based on a relationship in his sophomore year when a Chinese national and a black student from Nigeria decided to room together as best friends through a shared love of tennis. Second prize of $750 went to Brendan Massoud, a Staples High School sophomore. Making the presentations was Harold Bailey, head of TEAM Westport. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

At a ceremony tonight at the Westport Library, TEAM Westport presented awards to the winners of its second annual Team Diversity Essay Contest. Pictured are (l-r) Maxine Bleiweis, director of the Westport Library; Selectman Avi Kaner; Brendan Massoud, second place winner; Jacob Klegar, first place winner;  Harold Bailey, head of TEAM Westport, and Teri Walsh, president of Sachs Walsh Insurance, the event sponsor. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The highly successful first three seasons averaged 1.4 million U.S. viewers every week. The series is now airing its fourth season Saturday mornings on ABC nationwide, and it is now available on Hulu.

The “Born to Explore” production team is locally based, with offices in Westport. Host and Executive Producer Richard Wiese lives in Weston, as does Executive Producer Mercedes Velgot; Co-Executive Producer Andrew Ames lives in Redding.

“We’re a small, collaborative team,” said Wiese. “Every year, we try to challenge ourselves to find new ways to tell stories with heart and humanity. 

“I feel really lucky to work with such talented professionals and to stay in the game alongside other quality productions done with much larger budgets.  We’re deeply grateful for the support of our viewers and for the recognition by our peers.”

When the Ruskins travel to picturesque Venice, chaste Effie rebuffs an ardent Italian; then they’re off to rain-soaked, rural Scotland, where Millais paints Ruskin’s portrait. That still-virginal Effie and sympathetic Millais will wind up together seems inevitable.

(Although it’s not depicted on-screen, Effie and Millais eventually married and had eight children.)

Written by Emma Thompson (“Sense and Sensibility”) and directed by Richard Laxton (BBC’s “Burton and Taylor”), it’s a dreary historical costume drama that never probes into repressed Ruskin’s obviously dysfunctional sexuality, except to indicate that he masturbates in their marital bed.

John Wise (Emma Thompson’s real-life husband) is far too old to play Ruskin, who was only nine years older than Effie. Middle-aged Wise is 23 years older than still child-like Dakota Fanning, who adopts an upper-class British accent although Effie reportedly spoke with a Scottish brogue.

Adding to the intrigue, the film’s release was delayed by lawsuits, alleging that the script was plagiarized from earlier dramatizations of the same story; eventually, Thompson won in court.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Effie Gray” is a stultifying 6. It’s far too timid and tasteful for its own good.

There’s obviously such a thirst for family-friendly animated that even a lackluster diversion like “Home” attracts crowds at the multiplex.

When their planet is threatened by the dreaded Gorg, the Boovs decide to move to Earth. In preparation for this diversionary tactic, Earthlings are vacuumed up by giant Boov spaceships and relocated to a candy-colored theme park in the Australian desert.

But 13-year-old Gratuity Tucci (Rihanna) – a Bahamian immigrant called “Tip” – and her Calico cat were able to avoid capture. Desperate to find her mother (Jennifer Lopez), plucky Tip goes looking for her.

Meanwhile, there’s this bumbling young Boov named “Oh,” as in “Oh, no” or “Ohhhh.” Oh (Jim Parsons) becomes a fugitive after he inadvertently hit “send all” on a galaxy-wide housewarming party invitation that reveals the terrestrial location of the new Boov habitat.

When Tip and Oh meet in a convenience store, Oh promises to help Tip. Utilizing his advanced technology, he transforms her mother’s car into a Slushy-powered hovercraft – equipped with Rihanna’s Caribbean-infused music tracks.

Off they go – only to discover that the entire threat was caused by a small Gorg rock mounted on the “shusher” scepter belonging to the Boov’s egotistical leader, Captain Smek (Steve Martin), who stole it.

Based on Adam Rex’s popular children’s book, “The True Meaning of Smekday” (2007), it’s adapted for the screen by Tom J. Astie and Matt Ember (“Epic”) and directed by Tim Johnson (“Antz”).

While Tip is the first black protagonist in a DreamWorks Animation feature, the plot bears an uncanny resemblance to “Lilo & Stitch,” which was filled with Polynesian kitsch.

Jim Parsons (a.k.a. Sheldon Cooper on TV’s “The Big Bang Theory”) and pop singer Rihanna make welcome debuts in voiceover animation, but it’s disconcerting is how much the Boov look like blue-hued Minions with stubby tentacles.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Home” is a familiarly fanciful 5, featuring the most benign aliens ever to invade Earth.

Now that the “Taken” series has run its course, Liam Neeson is back with “Run All Night,” the action-packed saga of an aging enforcer for the Brooklyn Mob, a tough guy once known as “The Gravedigger.”

“I’ve done some terrible things in my life,” admits conscience-stricken Jimmy Conlon (Neeson), an alcoholic loner whose estranged son Mike (Joel Kinnaman) is a family man with two daughters and a third child on the way.
Jimmy’s only friend is his ruthless boss, Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris). They grew up together - with Shawn now rich, respectable and ready to retire.

Problem is: Mike’s an innocent bystander when Shawn’s son Danny (Boyd Holbrook) commits a reckless drug-related murder. When Danny’s killed in a shootout, Shawn blames Jimmy, so he and Mike are forced to go on the run from NYPD, Albanian gangsters and a hitman (hip-hop artist Common).

Collaborating again with Spanish filmmaker Jaume Collet-Sera (“Unknown,” “Non-Stop”), Liam Neeson does his best with Brad Ingesby’s contrived, improbable script, which unfolds during one single night.

Filmed on location in New York, the frantically-edited chase goes from Madison Square Garden during a Rangers vs. Devils game through the subway and train system, utilizing tracking and aerial panning.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Run All Night” is a gritty, fast-paced 4 – that’s quickly forgettable.

( Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)

Westport artist Leonard Everett Fisher addressed a packed audience tonight at the Westport Arts Center where his exhibit, “Leonard Everett Fisher: A Retrospective, is on display through April 25. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

The Play with Your Food lunchtime play reading series today began its its final series at Westport’s Toquet Hall. The three short plays drew a full house. Afterwards, the actors engaged in a talk back with the audience Performances continue on Wednesday and Thursday in Westport and .  And in Fairfield on April 7 and in Greenwich on April 8 and 9. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com

The publisher describes the book this way: “A curated collection of 150 recipes drawn from the experience and kitchens of young cooks all over America, ‘FutureChefs’ brings real, cooking-obsessed tweens and teens to the page as relatable characters who span a diverse social and cultural experience. Here, in rich, inspiring detail, is the ethnoculinary America of the future.”

There was a full house at Westport Town Hall today for a performance sponsored by Temple Israel of Westport and Temple Shalom of Norwalk for “Cantor Arik Luck is Moishe Oysher.” Luck, a cantor in Evanston, Ill, starred in the production about the life of Oysher, an unorthodox cantor of the 1930s and ‘40s who played in Yiddish theater and films. He died in 1958 at age 51. Luck appeared with his sister-in-law, Sari Greenberg, who played Oysher’s wife and performance partner. Cantor Dan Sklar of Temple Israel led the accompanying band and marveled at the turnout. “Can you believe we are in Westport Town Hall?,” he asked at the outset. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo