The Saugatuck Congregational Church, in partnership with the Westport Library, today hosted two steel drum bands, the Jim Royle Drum Studio A Team, and the Silver Steel Band. They delighted the audience with the lively vibe of Caribbean favorites as well as Soca- and Calypso-styled music from Trinidad and Tobago. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

DNR, Fairfield County’s almost all-physician rock band, performed at the Westport Woman’s Club’s Bedford Hall tonight in a fundraiser for need-based college scholarships for Staples High School seniors. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

There was a packed house today at Westport Town Hall for the screening of the documentary film “Letters From Baghad.” As part of the WestportREADS 2018 program, the Westport Library and the Westport Cinema Initiative co-hosted the event. The film tells the story of Gertrude Bell, British spy, explorer and political powerhouse who shaped the modern Middle East after World War I in ways that still reverberate today. After the film, a discussion with the filmmakers was moderated by Westport Library Board of Trustee member Maggie Mudd. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Attending today’s “Letters From Baghdad” documentary film showing at Town Hall were co-directors Zeva Oelbaum (l) and Sabine Krayenbuhl (r) with an executive producer Denise Benmosche. All are New York-based. Benmosche’s son, Ari, and his wife, Clair, are Westport residents. Oelbaum said the documentary has had limited release and had been shown in only 75 U.S. theaters. She said the only other showing in Connecticut was in Hartford. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Playwright Tracey Knight Narang, a longtime Westporter, has been appointed named vice president of the Actors’ Equity Foundation (AEF), it was announced today.

Tracey Knight Narang; named VP. Contributed photo

The foundation administers grants to more than 150 theaters nationwide, including the Westport Country Playhouse and provides financial support to agencies serving the arts community, according to Joan Glazer, AEF managing director. It also honors actors with performance awards.

“It’s an exciting time at the Foundation,” said Narang, a member of The Dramatists Guild, the Theatre Communications Group, and the League of Professional Women.

“I look forward to collaborating with the board, to continue our mission in supporting the theater community at large.”

Fairfield-based Broadway Method Academy (BMA) marked its first appearance tonight at the Westport Country Playhouse with the opening performance of “Evita,” the Tony Award-winning musical. BMA, a resident conservatory of the Playhouse, performs its limited run of “Evita” on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Directed by Connor Deane, who is also BMA co-founder and executive director, the musical was created by Tim Rice (lyrics) and Andrew Lloyd Weber (music.)  The production features four Broadway actors, dancers and over 40 BMA students. The Broadway actors include Samantha Pauly (foreground) (Eva), Yurel Echezarreta (Che), Kyle Barisich (Peron) and Julian Alvarez (Magaldi. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Kelli O’Hara, Tony Award-winning Broadway star and Westport mother, tonight acknowledges audience applause at the “Down Under Cabaret,” a fundraiser for the Staples High School Orphenians’ July trip to Sydney, Australia. She was the highlight of the evening that included performances from current and Staples graduates, including Adam Kaplan, also a Broadway performer. The event was held in Branson Hall at Christ & Holy Trinity Church. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Singing from the Branson Hall balcony, the Staples High School Orphenians tonight joined with Kelli O’Hara, Tony Award-winning actress and Westport mother, in singing “Climb Every Mountain” at the “Down Under Cabaret” fundraiser at Christ & Holy Trinity Church. Funds will go to paying for the Orphenians trip to Australia this summer. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo