Friday, September 29, 2023

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Arts and Leisure

Dancing to “New York, New York”

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Dancing to New York, New YorkӔ today at the Westport Center for Senior Activities was Glenna Rohan, 76, of Bronx, N.Y., a member of The SteppersӔ dance group from New York City. The act was one of many New Years Eve activities sponsored by Westport/Weston First Night 2005. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Getting Ready for “Willy Wonka”

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Westport’s Music Theatre of Connecticut is presenting “Willy Wonka” Jan. 7 and 8 at the Saugatuck Elementary School. Rehearsing for the production are (l-r) Rusty Schindler of Westport as Grandpa Joe, Steven Autore of Fairfield as Willy Wonka, and August Laska of Westport as Charlie. For tickets and information visit www.musictheatreofct.com or call .(203) 454-3883. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed Photo

Restaurant Scene: Fairfield County Weekly Likes Blue Lemon Because Advocate Didnt

This weeks Fairfield County Weekly gives a positive review to WestportҒs Blue Lemon restaurant in Sconset Square, pointedly citing a poor review in The Advocate of Stamford.

Excerpt: Don’t believe what you read. Especially if it’s a restaurant review written by a ӑspecial correspondent for the Stamford Advocate, who shall remain nameless, and who writes as if her palate and food sensibilities were forged by an affliction for tuna casseroles and Chicken a la King.

ҔHowever, a bad reviewer can be a good reverse barometer. Which is what I told my husband and son when they wondered why I wanted to give Blue Lemon a try after the Advocate panned it.

Westport Historical Society’s “A Gathering of Glory!” Film Debuts Today

If you think you know Westport history very well, be prepared to be knocked down a notch or two.

The Westport Historical Society’s “A Gathering of Glory! ,“a Martin West film with music by Paul Alan Levi premiering today at the Westport Public Library, will surprise even the most knowledgeable about their town and neighboring Weston.

Two years in the making, the 58-minute film is a tour de force of the world of art and artists in the community. It was funded by the society as well as private donors.

West, an award-winning film maker who used to act in films and soap operas, neatly avoids a chronological history of the towns by dividing his work into four separate segments.

Sloan Wilson, Author of Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” Dies


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“Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” movie poster. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Sloan Wilson, the Norwalk-born author of the 1955 bestseller “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit,” which was set in Westport and later became a hit film starring Gregory Peck and was partially filmed in Westport, died Sunday after a long illness. He had turned 83 on May 8.

He died in Colonial Beach, Va., and had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, according to The Free-Lance Star in Fredericksburg, Va.

Wilson wrote “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” while working at Time-Life Inc. and was based on his experience with corporate culture at the publishing firm.

The novel portrays young executive Tom Rath’s struggles with his conscience as he tries to get ahead and provide for his social-climbing wife.

Here a Levitt, There a Levitt

Pasadena, Calif., gets a Levitt Pavilion, too.

According to Pasadenastarnews.com, Westporter Mortimer Levitt donated funds to Pasadena to create a Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts.

It’s said to be modeled on Westport’s Levitt Pavilion. The newspaper says similar Levitt Pavilions are planned in Harrisburg, Pa., and Lenox, Mass.

Be interesting to see whether the Westport clones have as much trouble with their benefactor as Westport did. But then again, we seem to have controversy over everything.