Attendees at today’s Westport Historical Society memorial service for Ed Vebell react to one of many light-hearted stories speakers expressed of their memories of him. The renowned illustrator died Feb. 9 at age 96. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

An exhibit titled “Transforming the Library” will have its opening reception Friday, March 2, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Westport Library’s Great Hall and will run through May, library officials announced today.

Work underway today on the Westport Library’s transformation project.. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The exhibit will showcase architectural renderings of the library’s current transformation designed by Henry Myerberg’s New York-based design firm, HMA2.

The designs will be paired with Westport photographer Richard Frank’s pictures of current construction on the library’s first floor.

Planned for more than a decade, the Westport Library’s major renovation began in September and will continue into 2019.

Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman share a Valentine poem during the performance of “Come Be My Love. . .Love Spoken Here” at the Westport Country Playhouse on Feb. 10, 2007. A cast that included Woodward, Newman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eartha Kitt, Charles Grodin, Joanna Gleason, and Chris Sarandon read classic and contemporary love poems as a benefit for the Playhouse’s education fund. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Kerry Long/Westport Country Playhouse photo

Alec Baldwin and Kelli O’Hara will star in the Westport Country Playhouse’s Spring Gala performance of A. R. Gurney’s play, “Love Letters,” on Thursday, April 12, at 7 p.m., it was announced today.

Alec Baldwin and Kelli O’Hara: Playhouse Spring Gala stars. Contributed photos

The one-night-only, $250 per ticket fundraising event will honor the memory of playwright A. R. “Pete” Gurney, who was a consistent contributor to the Playhouse stage, with 21 works produced there from 1980 through 2016. Gurney died last June at age 86.

The production will be helmed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director.

“’Love Letters’ shows Pete Gurney - the single most produced playwright at WCP - at the top of his form,” said Lamos.

The Westport Library will host a five-day series of FLEX innovative programs in March designed to showcase the future flexibility and innovation coming to the new Westport Library.

It kicks off Wednesday, March 21 and runs through Sunday, March 25, library officials announced.

From hosting small, quiet study groups one afternoon to large events for hundreds of people, the new space completed next year is designed to respond to community needs. The March FLEX experiences are designed to give the community a sneak preview, officials said.

From art, cinema, music, dance, food and authors, the events are free-of-charge, while others are fundraisers to support the Library Transformation Project.

The Westport Country Playhouse is renaming its entire campus after Weston resident Howard J. Aibel who donated $3 million for theater operations and to establish an endowment, it was announced today.

Howard J. Aibel: “a rich and grand experience.” Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The campus will now be called The Howard J. Aibel Theater Center at Westport Country Playhouse.

“His generosity of spirit and his deep understanding of the needs of non-profit sustainability are now evident in the tremendous generosity of this extraordinary gift,” said Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director.

“This is not only financial sustenance; it is spiritual sustainability, his belief now enabling us to create the highest level of work,” he added.

By Susan Granger

Annette Bening delivers a powerhouse performance as sultry Gloria Grahame in “Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool.” Yet to fully appreciate it, you should know a bit about who this enigmatic actress was.

Back in 1940s and ‘50s film noir, Grahame starred in “Crossfire,” “Sudden Fear,” “The Big Heat,” “In a Lonely Place” and “The Bad and the Beautiful,” for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Fans also remember her from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “The Greatest Show on Earth” and “Oklahoma!”

Obsessed with her appearance, Grahame underwent extensive plastic surgery, habitually fixing nonexistent flaws. Her volatile temperament alienated even the most admiring directors, and she courted scandalous gossip with four disastrous marriages — one to the son of an ex-husband.

The day after divorcing actor Stanley Clements, she married director Nicholas Ray. That ended disastrously after Ray found Gloria in bed with Tony, his 13-year-old son by a previous marriage. She then married and divorced producer Cy Howard before marrying her stepson, 23-year-old Tony Ray.