Cast members prepare for the Westport Country Playhouse opening offering of the 2018 season with “Flyin’ West,” written by Pearl Cleage and directed by Seret Scott, playing May 29 through June 16.  “’Flyin’ West’ is a magical experience, at once funny, suspenseful, gripping, and then completely, joyously satisfying,” said Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director.
The play is set in 1898 as the Civil War is still a living memory and the all-black town of Nicodemus, Kansas, offers a refuge for many former slaves. At one homestead lives a family of courageous and sharp-witted women determined to make a place for themselves. They overcome tremendous odds in a heroic effort to escape the scars of the past. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

By Susan Granger

Fearless Charlize Theron is a chameleon. Donning a fat suit and unflattering makeup, she won an Oscar as the serial killer in “Monster,” she was totally convincing as the warrior Furiosa in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and she kicked serious butt in “Atomic Blonde.”

For “Tully,” she’s piled on nearly 50 pounds to play Marlo, a bleary, seriously stressed-out, suburban New Jersey mother who, much to the amazement of her uncomprehending husband, Drew (Ron Livingston), hesitantly accepts her wealthy brother Craig’s (Mark Duplass) gift of a “night nanny” after she gives birth to her third child.

That’s a home health care aide who comes in after dark and stays all night, quietly bringing the newborn into the bedroom for breast-feeding, allowing its mother to get some much-needed sleep.

“They’re like ninjas,” Craig explains. “They sneak in and out. You barely know they’re there.”

Guests visited 13 studios of Westport artists today, including Carole McClintock’s studio in Greens Farms (above), as part of a fundraiser for the Westport Artists Collective. The day-long tour was self-directed and offered a peek in how art work is created. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The Westport Artists Collective tonight hosted a preview party at Design Within Reach, 154 Post Road East, in advance of Saturday’s tour of members’ studios. Guests will start the day with a welcome brunch at The ‘Port Restaurant, 2 Post Road West, from 10 a.m. to noon and then visit 13 open art studios until 5 p.m. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

The Westport Library today announced that Westport’s award-winning Broadway and Hollywood luminary Justin Paul as the 2018 BOOKED for the Evening honoree.

Justin Paul: to be honored June 11. Contributed photo

Due to the construction underway at the library for its Transformation Project, this year’s 20th anniversary fundraiser will be held Monday, June 11 at the Rolling Hills Country Club in Wilton at 7 p.m.

“For this 20th anniversary of BOOKED, it is especially meaningful to be able to honor an individual like Justin who not only has such a distinguished career but also has close ties with Westport,” said Bill Harmer, executive director of the Westport Library.

“We are looking forward to celebrating his extraordinary creativity and contributions to the arts and to our community.”

A guest tonight samples A Taste of Westport offering from Pan e Bene, 1620 Post Road East, at the annual event at the Westport Inn to benefit CLASP Homes of Westport. Several hundred guests sampled food, drink, and dessert offerings from area restaurants. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

By Susan Granger

Have you ever bought one of those giant tubs of hot, buttered popcorn? You know how you feel after you’ve gorged yourself? That’s how bloated I felt after nearly three hours of “Avengers: Infinity War,” a massive comic-book spectacle.

The new villain is Titan’s gigantic, galactic warlord Thanos (James Brolin). In the opening scene, Thanos decimates Asgard on his path to cosmic genocide, a task he can only accomplish by stealing six Infinity Stones. When they’re combined in a Gauntlet, Thanos will be able to control time, space and energy, along with altering the laws of physics and reality.

But Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has the blue Space stone. Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has the green Time stone. The Collector (Benicio Del Toro) has the red Reality stone. Vision (Paul Bettany) has the yellow Mind stone embedded in his forehead. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and his space-faring Guardians of the Galaxy (including scene-stealing Groot) have the purple Power stone. And then there’s the elusive, sacrifice-demanding Soul Stone.

So it’s up to 20+ Marvel superheroes to maintain order in the universe, under the leadership of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), who has to postpone festivities with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who is still minus an eye and his hammer.