NEW HAVEN magazine March/April 2014 by Second Wind Media Ltd

HIGH-SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL

GREATER NEW HAVEN’S HEALTHCARE HEROES

PAGE 186

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CUBE

GUILFORD ARTIST’S HOME IS ITSELF A WORK OF ART.

STAKE PHOTO MATHEW CARBONE

WAV E

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EDITOR’S L E T T E R INTEL NO HORSE SENSE Horse owners may have reason to rejoice if their equines are officially deemed not “inherently dangerous.”

LETTERS

BROCCOLI VS. KALE: WHO YA GOT? NEW HAVEN — There’s a war being fought on our streets, and in times like these you must ask yourself: Which side are you on? The two sides: broccoli and kale.

Chances are you didn’t know the two were adversaries, but a small group of Yalies, businesses and residents is looking to take a little wind out of the sales of the kale fad and instead promote broccoli to the masses.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is looking to clarify a 2012 appellate court decision that found, as a practical matter, that all horses (including ponies, donkeys and mules) are “wild animals.” Horse owners bucked at that ruling, on the basis that possessing “wild” animals would drastically increase insurance costs or even leave them uninsurable. The Malloy-favored legislation would render cases of injury resulting from a horse mishap examined on a case-by-case basis.

NEW HAVEN — Making music an important part of public education in New Haven has earned former city schools superintendent honors from VH1. Reginald Mayo has earned the “Administrator Award for Distinguished Support of Music Education” by VH1’s Save the Music Foundation for making music education part of the core curriculum in New Haven public schools. Mayo entered a partnership with the foundation in 2005; since then the foundation has awarded $430,000 to the school system for musical instruments.

OU T D OOR S

Editor Michael C. Bingham Design Consultant Terry Wells Contributing Writers Brooks Appelbaum, Nancy Burton, Duo Dickinson, Jessica Giannone, Eliza Hallabeck, Lynn Fredricksen, Mimi Freiman, Liese Klein, John Mordecai, Melissa Nicefaro, Susan E. Cornell, Priscilla Searles, Makayla Silva, Cindy Simoneau, Karen Singer, Tom Violante Photographers Steve Blazo, Dominick Cennotti, Anthony DeCarlo, John Mordecai, Lesley Roy, Chris Volpe

Mistakes like that will be a thing of the past for Hamden’s Spaceland Ballroom, which is now known as the Ballroom at the Outer Space as the result of a legal tangle with L.A. concert promoter Spaceland Productions, which also booked for a now-closed venue there also called Spaceland (it changed its name to the Satellite in 2011).

Steve Rodgers is also proprietor of venues the Space and Outer Space, the latter of which is a 100-seat craft-beer bar and music venue attached to the 300-capacity ballroom, which opened in early 2013 and has hosted more than a hundred concerts since. Sorry for the confusion.

The award, conferred at the American Association of School Administrators nation education conference each year, cites school superintendents or CEOs who illustrate “outstanding commitment” to restoring music education in their districts.

BOD Y & S O U L

The governor will also be looking into a proposed bill to ban plastic shopping bags by Guilford State Sen. Edward Meyer (D-12).

ON S C R E E N

What Malloy doesn’t plan on supporting? A proposed twopercent tax on sugary beverages advocated by new New Haven Mayor Toni Harp.

Advertising Manager Mary W. Beard Senior Publisher’s Representative Roberta Harris Publisher’s Representative Gina Gazvoda Robin Ungaro Gordon Weingarth New Haven is published 8 times annually by Second Wind Media Ltd., which also publishes Business New Haven, with offices at 20 Grand Avenue, New Haven, CT 06513. 203-781-3480 (voice), 203-781-3482 (fax). Subscriptions $24.95/year, $39.95/two years. Send name,

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The broccoli-vs.-kale group is taking out a campaign to put the spotlight back on “the alpha vegetable” and urge people to “eat fad-free,” because apparently broccoli “hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves.” A Kickstarter campaign is even underway to take out billboard advertisements extolling the virtues of broccoli. Local shops and restaurants apparently will be prominently featuring the vegetable.

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address & zip code with payment. Second Wind Media Ltd. d/b/a New Haven shall not be held liable for failure to publish an advertisement or for typographical errors or errors in publication. For more information e-mail: NewHaven@Conntact.com. Please send CALENDAR information to CALENDAR@conntact.com no later than six weeks preceding calendar month of event. Please include date, time, location, event description, cost and contact information. Photographs must be at least 300 dpi resolution and are published at discretion of NEW HAVEN magazine.

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THE WRITING ISSUE

CUABKEE

GUILFORD ARTIST’S HOME IS ITSELF A WORK OF ART.

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Cube House VI, Guilford Architect: Wilfred J. O. Armster PHOTO: MATHEW CARBONE

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YALIES: NOT LONELY, BUT DIRTY? NEW HAVEN — A 2012 study of loneliness by a pair of Yale psychologists ended up raising a few questions about the cleanliness of New Haven’s resident Ivy Leaguers.

data errors that the authors never bothered to correct. “Scholars reading the literature should be informed that they should not place any stock in that first study,” Simons wrote.

As reported by the Ivy Gate blog, psychologists John Bargh and Idit Shalev make a correlation between the length of a student’s hot shower and how lonely they are — the more lonely you are, the longer and warmer your shower (substituting physical warmth for social warmth, apparently). The study also found that of the 52 Yalies questioned, a whopping 46 said they took less than one shower per week (24 also preferred cold showers, while 18 said they were partial to lukewarm showers).

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University of Illinois professor Daniel Simons later tried to replicate the study nine times with 3,000 participants and proceeded to dismiss the Yale study outright, citing what he considered obvious

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The Connecticut The Johnson-Horsfall Agriculture Laboratory, located at the Experiment Station main laboratories, New Haven was established in 1875 at Wesleyan University, but relocated its main facility in New Haven a few years later, and is the oldest state experiment station in the country. It was chartered to examine plants, pests, insects, soil and water for diseases, quality, genetics and for research. The station also investigates mosquitoes and ticks that spread diseases in humans. Research from the station actually has had far-reaching benefits – scientists there helped discover vitamins and hybridized corn, developed different methods of soil study, and identified Lyme disease. The station has facilities in New Haven, Hamden, Windsor and Griswold.

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HER HONOR, THE MAYOR

On January 1 Toni Nathaniel Harp became the 50th mayor of the city of New Haven, and the first female to hold that office. Previously the Democrat was elected to the state senate in 1993 — coincidentally the same year Harp’s predecessor in City Hall, John DeStefano Jr. was elected to the first of his ten terms. The 66-year-old Harp won a hard-fought Democratic primary and general election against political novice Justin Elicker, the latter by a 55-45 percent margin. New Haven Magazine Publisher Mitchell Young talked with Harp about what success as mayor will look like.



What motivated you to enter public in the first place? I always felt that one has a responsibility to help people move forward. I grew up in a workingclass family and I was a Baptist. My father was active in the church we were there all the time. They use to sing, ‘If I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living shall not be in vain.’ I really resonated with that and believed that. I guess I thought it was more important to be helpful than to be worrying about trying to run a business and that sort of thing.

You were born in San Francisco. Did you grow up there? I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Not many Baptists there. We were a minority on multiple levels in Salt Lake City. I was the only African-American child in my junior high school. I already knew what it was like to be a minority: I was a religious minority.

With Harp comes a new era and new vision to City Hall

Did you feel like an outsider in Salt Lake?

Photographs By Jim Anderson

I didn’t really feel like an outsider. [Mormons] are the majority population in Utah, but even though at that particular time when one could not rise in the [Morman] church if you were AfricanAmerican, there was always the outreaching, because [that was] the way they believed you bring people into your church. It was a new Christian church; they went around and recruited members. So all of my friends wanted me to come; they were always inviting me to come.

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You grew up in the ‘stay positive’ world of Baptism and Mormonism. When you entered state politics and went to Hartford, at the Capitol it is not an always a ‘stay positive’ world. How did you address that? One of the things I believe about people is we all want pretty much the same thing. We might go about getting it differently, oftentimes what we’re fighting about is the way we achieve goals, not the goal [itself]. What I try to do is focus on the goal and try to understand that the person who wants to get there from a different road than I might want to travel to get there is not the enemy. What brings us together is what we both want to accomplish. And that gives us an opportunity to compromise. I’m not a person for whom compromise is a dirty word.

How did you get from Salt Lake City to New Haven? I went to college in Chicago. While I was in college I got a job working for the American Society of Planning Officials, the trade association for zoning and planning officials across the country. It was there that I became very interested in how cities developed, and what makes some cities more economically viable than others. It was really fascinating for me. I wanted to get an advanced degree in city planning or environmental design. I came here at about the time they were eliminating the city planning department at Yale and got a degree in environmental design.

So what makes a city great? I think it is the people inside of the city — the kinds of goals and aspirations they have for themselves, the economic viability and the interchange between all of the people in the city. There are some physical things that make cities great: For example, New Haven is right on a [harbor] and it is the largest and most active port

in our state and probably has always been. That gives us an economic edge. I think a city that is laid out well [is another advantage], and there have to be opportunities to entice development so people can have jobs.

A lot of folks don’t like it when I say New Haven has an ‘egghead economy.’ But that economy hasn’t always spilled over to a lot of the citizens of New Haven. We were probably one of the first communities to actually have a knowledge-based economy, which is another way of saying that.

A nicer way. I don’t know that all of our town was actually prepared to participate in that economy. But if you look at where the new growth is, because we lost a lot of our manufacturing. First it went south, and then it went overseas. Where we are seeing growth [in the U.S.] is where there are the research universities. We have one of the great research universities in the world, so it’s a knowledge-based economy. You move up based upon what you know, rather than even how much you necessarily earn. Our school system wasn’t really wasn’t prepared to provide workers for that economy. And we’re just beginning to see how we’ve got to make changes. We’re beginning to make the changes that we need to assure that the students who are here [in New Haven public schools] are prepared. We should have known that ahead of time.

What does that modern education look like? I think you have to have solid abilities in core subjects, and those solid abilities have to give you analytical skills and sometimes even technical skills. You have to be able to read; you have to be able to write and have good math skills and some sense of science, and have the ability to think

things through. You have to have the basic skills and the ability to actually grow in your job, so over time you can develop more [knowledge].

I’ve heard people say there isn’t enough community buy-in on the New Haven Promise initiative, which provides free college tuition to students who meet academic requirements. There seems to be so much fighting about what we all should agree on. We all agree on the goal, as I said before. We don’t all agree on what the problems are that are keeping us from getting there. In New Haven for the past 30 years, the overall educational outcome for a large number of folks makes it difficult for them to enter into the next level, whether it be a technical or a college opportunity. It’s not just New Haven; it’s the whole region. Sixty percent of Gateway Community College students need [remedial education]. So something is not happening in our public school system [to prepare students] for college or for some sort of certificate program.

Unlike New York City’s new mayor, you have supported charter schools? I’ve always supported charter schools. The reason my family ended up in Utah was that in Utah no matter who you were, you had access to a free public education — and it was a good education. My father, who was much older, [worked for] the Santa Fe Railroad as a Pullman porter. He came to Utah so he could go to college — there were no quota systems. In our family, the whole idea of education and having an education would move you forward as a family was really important.

New Haven has a premier educational institution — and yet it doesn’t feel like New Haven’s No. 1 mission is educating its own citizens.

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I think [city government has] been looking at doing other things. We’ve been looking at development [for example]. I think it took us a long time to realize we weren’t going to get manufacturing back here to a large extent. It took a long time for the powers that be here to see where we were going economically as a country and state — where we would fit in, and where knowledge and education fit in.

If you came home with bad grades, I would imagine the Pullman porter wouldn’t be too happy. My father wanted us to study and do well. I was the youngest, so I grew up by myself even though there were a lot of [siblings]. Whenever we were having trouble my father and mother always tried to help, [or] they would get someone to help. My father went to college for a while and ending up working for the federal government. My mother worked for the Greyhound bus station. She did janitorial work.

What was their expectations? They expected me to get a college education and to do better than they did. My mother was still alive by the time I got my master’s degree, so she was able to see that.

Since you started out in urban planning, I now have the answer to one question. But I’ll ask it anyway: Why did you want to become mayor? For ten of my 21 years [in the state senate], I was the Appropriation [Committee] chair. You look at the numbers in New Haven, the number of poor people, the number of unemployed. As an appropriations chair I know how much money is coming into New Haven — to the city, to our public schools, to our not-for-profit agencies. And I don’t see things getting better.

That’s how a lot of us feel. I thought there was an opportunity to try from a different level of government to at least make things better. I really believe we have to have a result in our mind and measure [progress toward the objective] and be flexible enough

to change the course if we are not getting there. I didn’t think we had the tools in our city to bring us forward. That is the other thing I thought I brought [to City Hall], and we’re not nimble enough for whatever reason to correct the course. You have to have at the leadership level people who are goal-oriented and [committed] to forcing the change. I thought there would be an opportunity [as mayor] to work with the legislative branch [in] achieving goals.

So if New Haven does a better job managing, won’t Hartford send less money down here? No. Well, yes. But we may need less. The reality is it is going to take a while. We have to fix our school system and I’m hoping we can make the case that we can keep the [same level of state funding] so we can continue to progress.

What will you use as a measurement that progress is being made, rather than just test scores? I think we can look at some indicators: Are kids actually going to school to a greater degree? Are there fewer children suspended or expelled [than previously]? Am I getting complaints that there aren’t the resources in the schools? Once we look at that and test the climate, then we’ll know that we’re making progress and then later we’ll have the test scores [that validate that progress]. I think for the last 30 years we didn’t have a school system that understands the family of today. We have a school system for the family of the 1950s. In my classroom, my mother was the only mother who worked. Now most moms work.

So how are school systems supposed to react to that? Ultimately you have to have a school system that responds to the needs of our families. In a lot of our households, if they are on TANF [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families], they have to work. Oftentimes they can’t find a full-time job, so they have two part-time jobs in order to get their subsidies. And they have to have children that are school age. That is not something that works on behalf

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of communities, [where] mom is not home and mom is the only parent in the household. We have schools that dismiss children sometimes as early as one, two o’clock in the afternoon. We don’t have supports for these families in terms of their children being in a safe, nurturing place that maybe provides a different level of educational support. Then we have a lot of disorganization on our streets, and I think we see that. We have one of these in the state: The Six to Six Interdistrict Magnet school [in Trumbull]. You can take your child [to school] before work and depending on what time you get off pick your child up [after work]. And that’s what you see in charter schools — they have a little bit more flexibility. We have to build some of that same flexibility into our city public schools. It’s hard, but that is one of the things I’m pushing for.

Where does adult education fit in? Our adult education system serves 2,000 students, and a lot of are between 16 and 20. They are kids who for one reason or another have been pushed out of public schools and are now going to adult ed and are sort of pushing out the [older] adults. We are really dealing with late adolescents who probably should have stayed in high school.

IAt the conclusion of your time in City Hall, is there one particular change you would

As a state senator we can set policy; we can fund the policy. But we don’t execute; [others do]. Sometimes they do a better job than we contemplated; sometimes they don’t do it at all and sometimes they do a really lousy job. As mayor — as an executor — the buck stops here. If I want it done, I have to get it done.

Does that conflict with your personality. Someone told me this was going to be a tough interview because you’re so shy and nice. Are you tough enough? You don’t have to be mean to get people to do what is in the best interests of the city. I think you lead: You set goals and you make people accountable for what you expect them to do. You can do it with a smile on your face; but the reality is people have to know that you want it done.

’I always felt that one has a responsibility to help people move forward.’ like to see have happened? I want at every grade level more than 60 percent of our kids at goal [on state mastery tests]. It is something you can use here in New Haven, you can take it wherever you go. You own it.

How have you seen this job as different than the one you had as state senator?

In New Haven there is a Greek chorus constantly chirping away. Where do you think your place in that refrain is today? I think there are those who don’t want to move the city forward if it is going to cost them more. I am going to challenge them and say, ‘We have to have the ability to provide the services you’re going to criticize us for it we don’t have them.’ I have a responsibility to be as good an organizer as those that organize against [progress].

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Is that politics, or is that management? It is both. You have to have the support of the city to move it forward. I think most people love New Haven; we have to [harness] that feeling and commitment and use it use it to move the city forward. I want to give our management teams and [aldermen] some resources so they can do some things they want to do in their community.

As a state senator you had to think regionally. You represented constituents from two cities, and you also had to convince representatives from Cheshire or Madison or Glastonbury. What is your message to build regional support for the city of New Haven? I recognize that the issues of the city and the opportunities for the city don’t stop at the border. Just yesterday I sat with three other woman mayors in our region and talked about what we could do together.. We are the economic engine of the whole region, and we also provide the services in need in the region — our big hospitals, our homeless shelters. We’re really in this together. I’m going to work with them. We’re partners.

If there are doubters, there are not so many in New Haven as in the region. I think there will be opportunities for us to do things together — for example, Exit 59 on Route 15 [which suffers from high accident rates and rush-hour congestion]. I am going to work with the folks in Woodbridge and Bethany and we’re going to find money from the state Department of Transportation to do something more quickly.

Why does everyone in New Haven hate the DOT?

In two years you will have to ask voters for their support all again. What will you have to show that says, ‘Give me more time’? Hopefully we would have improved our education system, and done something about disengaged youth. We will hopefully have two ‘Six to Six’ schools [and] we will be on the path to better outcomes for young people in our school system. We will have broken ground for development on Route 34 and the LiveWorkPlay [mixed-use development on the former Veterans Memorial Coliseum site]. We will be seeing more and more employers coming in here. We’re building Alexion [new downtown headquarters

We have to do more. One of the reasons I hired Doug Hausladen [former alderman who is now the city’s director of transportation, traffic and parking] is that he is steeped in that culture. He’s really smart; we’re going to work on actually accomplishing those goals. We don’t have [enough] parking downtown — that has been an issue from when I came here 40 years ago. If people bicycled it, or if they can walk, it wouldn’t be as much of a problem. That means we have to do something with our bus system and other transportation systems, too.

Folks who have known you for a long time and call you Toni: What do they say they want to see happen? People that come up and call me Toni, they want jobs and they want a safe city and next is education. 

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[laughs] It’s not just New Haven — that’s a regional issue. You talk about the power in principalities; We used to call it in Hartford the ‘Principality of DOT.’ They’re thinking in terms of decades instead of years, and that makes it difficult for communities.

On a smaller scale there is a fervent group in New Haven that wants a more bicycleand pedestrian-friendly city and they don’t think enough has been done.

of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, which is relocating from Cheshire]; hopefully there will be some spinoffs. We’re looking at a Connecticut Main Street program to build upon some of our small business. We’re a small-business state we want to be able to develop those businesses. A lot of the [small-business] resources are scattered and people can’t really access them.

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THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING In many ways an improbable survivor of a bygone era, New Haven’s Shubert celebrates a centennial By MELISSA NICEFARO

f the walls of the Shubert could talk, the theater would spring to life with the unmistakable (and unforgettable) voices of Julie Andrews, Humphrey Bogart, Liza Minnelli, Marlon Brando, Katharine Hepburn and John Travolta, just to name a few. As the College Street theater prepares for its 100th anniversary season, we take a look back at a community fixture that created the face of Broadway, paving the way for countless shining stars — and put New Haven on the theater arts map. Two years after opening their first Shubert Theater in New York City, the Shubert brothers, J.J. and Lee, built a theater on Temple Street in New Haven. The playhouse was named the Sam S. Shubert Theater after the founder of the Shubert organization, who died in a train accident in 1905. Designed by New York architect

Albert Swazey, the theater was built by the H. E. Murdock construction company of New Haven. The Elm City’s Shubert Theater opened on Friday evening, December 11, 1914 with a performance of The Belle of Bond Street. Tickets for the opening engagement were priced from 25 cents to $1.50. Reviewers were impressed with the “beautiful, ultra-modern playhouse,” and the theater quickly became a choice spot for the greatest stars, producers and writers of the theater, who would preview new productions before opening them on the Great White Way. The choice was easy, given the beauty and efficiency of the theater, the venue’s proximity to New York, the avid support that area residents gave to the theater, and many other bonuses, ranging from

Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews premiered My Fair Lady at the Shubert in 1956

the presence of Yale University to the marvelous array of shops and restaurants in downtown New Haven. Over the ensuing century, the theater has strengthened those ties to the community.

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“The relationships we have in the community are vital to our mission,” Shubert Executive Director John Fisher says. “The Shubert is more than a tryout house or a place to hold performances. We’re bringing world-class events right here to New Haven. We are the future of the arts for the next generations.”

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Since 2001, the theater has been working tirelessly on strengthening community ties and partnering with theater groups at Yale, Sacred Heart University, New Haven Ballet, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and other local organizations. “We also have extensive agreements with the New Haven Board of Education to work with the Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School and the Magnet Schools,” Fisher says. The Shubert also manages a performing arts space at the city’s Co-op High School under the guidance of two full-time theater employees. Located virtually next-door to the theater, the high school is used by show promoters, corporations and civic and community organizations for performances as well as business and social functions. Management of the school spaces also fall under theater owner the Connecticut Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA), which has managed the Shubert since 2001 and assumed ownership from the city in December. From its very first season, the Shubert Theater has been a performing arts center presenting plays, musicals, opera, dance, classical music recitals and concerts, vaudeville, jazz artists, big bands, burlesque and a variety of solo performances. Since opening in 1914, the Shubert has played host to more than 600 pre-Broadway tryouts, including more than 300 world premieres and 50 American premieres. The totals are double that of any theater in New York City or any of the other historic tryout cities such as Boston, Philadelphia or Washington, D.C. The Shubert brothers operated the theater from 1914 through the 1940-41 season. In the autumn of 1941 Maurice H. Bailey assumed ownership of the theater and for the next 35 years continued to burnish the Shubert’s enviable reputation as a preeminent performance venue. Under his stewardship the theater became known as the “Birthplace of the Nation’s Greatest Hits” for the wealth of long-run productions that first came to life on the Shubert stage.

 One of the first legendary productions to world premiere on the Shubert stage, 1916’s Robinson Crusoe Jr., starred Al Jolson, who became the

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greatest musical comedy performer of his day. He was followed through the 1920s and ‘30s by the entertainment industry’s most luminous stars — Ethel, John and Lionel Barrymore, Will Rogers, W.C. Fields, Marie Dressler, George M. Cohan, Sara Bernhardt, Eddie Cantor, the Marx Brothers, Lunt and Fontanne — with the greatest hits such as The Desert Song, Of Thee I Sing, Blithe Spirit, Room Service, Dead End, The Children’s Hour, Street Scene, Seventh Heaven, A Connecticut Yankee, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Sherlock Holmes and Dulcy.

Hammerstein fame) including Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music, had their world premieres on College Street. Shortly after the war, in 1947 Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire premiered at the Shubert, introducing the world to a new star, Marlon Brando.

The 1950s and ‘60s were among the most exciting days in the Shubert’s history with premieres of The Cain Mutiny Court Martial starring Henry Fonda and Lloyd Nolan, Teahouse of the August Moon with John Forsythe and David Wayne, World War II brought a slackening in the number The Desperate Hours with Paul Newman and of productions during the 1940s. Nevertheless, Karl Malden, My Fair Lady with Rex Harrison throughout the US. in 1943 Locations New Haven audiences went CT wildand over an and Julie Andrews, Call Me Madam with Ethel unlikelyHAMDEN musical comedy about cowboys entitled Merman, Dylan with Alec Guinness, and Eugene 2300 Dixwell Avenue Away We Go, later to be renamed Oklahoma! In the Hamden Mart 7 Days:Day’s M-F 9am-10pm, Satinto 9am-6pm, O’Neill’sOpen A Long Journey the Night once it (203) hit Broadway. In all, 11 musicals by Sun 10am-6pm 281-3689 starring Frederic March and Jason Robards. composer Richard Rodgers (of Rodgers and

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Many of the world’s best and most popular actors received their first professional accolades at the Shubert, which featured newcomers such as Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Clark Gable, Mary Martin and Gene Kelly. In more recent years, the talents of Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Shirley MacLaine, Andy Griffith, Jane Fonda, Sidney Poitier, James Garner, Dyan Cannon, James Earl Jones, Liza Minnelli, Ken Howard, Robert Guillaume, John Travolta and even future First Lady Nancy Reagan trod the Shubert boards.

vvv Although the Shubert is best known for musical and straight theater, it has also played host to the greatest artists of the ballet, opera, classical and popular music. The theater’s success naturally has come with challenges. In 1976, threatened with demolition, the Shubert shut down, but through the efforts of many over a period of seven years, the theater was reborn by virtue of a restoration that paid faithful attention to historical accuracy, incorporating the original ivory, ecru and gold leaf of the original 1914 playhouse. At that time, the razing of the old Adams Hotel on College Street provided space for an expansive new theater lobby and plaza. The Shubert reopened in December 1983 and continued its evolution from its original mission as a Broadway tryout house into a not-for-profit community resource that has become known as the heartbeat of the region’s cultural life. That mission has evolved radically in some ways, according to Fisher, but has remained steadfast in others: “It has morphed and changed with the times and as a business, what started as a tryout house for theaters in Boston, Philadelphia and New York has become a standalone vital part of New Haven’s community,” he says.

In the last 20 years, the Shubert has become a performing arts center, serving not only as a venue for Broadway offerings and performances of dance, cabaret, popular music and family entertainment, but in addition the Shubert has introduced comprehensive education and outreach programs — including a summer camp — making the best of the performing arts available to the people in and around New Haven. In the past 10 years, Fisher says, the theater has evolved even further, from offering pre-Broadway performances to teach versions of national tours of shows such as Jersey Boys and more recently Bring it On.

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“It’s great for the economy,” Fisher says. “When Jersey Boys was here, it brought 100 people who needed to eat and sleep here in New Haven in addition to the local crew.” He estimates $250,000 is spent in New Haven for lodging, meals and other when such productions visit the Elm City.

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In mid-January, members of the Bring it On design team stopped next door at the Co-op High School to talk to students in the technical theater program, while two cast members taught the sophomore dance class the choreography to “Welcome to Jackson,” a number in the show.

Rodgers and Hammerstein opened The Sound of Music in 1959 at the Shubert before taking it to Broadway.

The Shubert Theater sits dark in July and August, this year in anticipation for a season of centennial celebrations. In the meantime, the theater will undergo an extensive renovation project, according to Fisher. “The renovation mostly includes ‘non-sexy’ updates to the HVAC system and behind-the-scenes modernization,” he explains. Work will also include the renovation of two spaces for community events, meetings, concerts and smaller theatrical productions. The existing hospitality suite and the mezzanine lobby will be transformed to function as individual spaces, Fisher adds. The new space will allow for smaller gatherings, and yet another opportunity for the community to take advantage of the theater’s offerings. Fisher says he also expects to continue working closely with the city’s Board of Aldermen on fundraising and community events. “The community connection is vital,” he says.

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L O O H C S H G HI CONFIDENTIAL

The Write Stuff By SOPHIA O’BRIEN-UDRY

lorence was fat with July heat, but when it rained the steam seeped in through the windows and clogged up the kitchen in a way I never minded. I was there for the summer to speak Italian, so taking cooking lessons had been an afterthought. My instructor, Willy, was a hairy Texan who moved to Florence 30 years ago to pursue a career as a sculptor, and got sidetracked by mozzarella and gnocchi. He passed me a plate dirtied with burnt tomato sauce. I scrubbed away the crisps and watched as the dish suds pinwheeled into the garbage disposal’s teeth. At home, the extent of my cooking had been cutting slits into the plastic of microwavable lasagna. On my nights to make dinner, I’d plunge a few handfuls of bowtie pasta into a pot, and my lunches consisted of PB&J and vegetarian pseudo-chicken nuggets. Here in Florence, though, I watched as Willy sliced bell peppers on a butcher’s block into discs, then cubes. Then, he spiraled a knife around the curves of an orange, its rind shedding off into a perfect curl. Just before my cooking classes, I’d shop for ingredients at a nearby marketplace, owned by a benign old man who smelled of cured pork. His name was Umberto, and we’d speak together as I watched him cleave cheeses into wedges. Buongiorno and come stai, words I’d originally traveled to Italy to learn, now came to me

easily. In that shop, though, I realized how much I was learning from the unexpected lessons — how to steam artichokes just right, and how to cut an onion from the root without tearing up. Back home and a summer later, it was my time to be the instructor. Instead of learning how to bake the crust of focaccia bread, I taught a boy how letters fit together. Albert was one of those eight-year-old kids who always had a bit of food leftover around his mouth — sometimes a white sugary powder, other times a

smudge of jelly smeared beneath his lip. Albert had moved to New Haven three years earlier from Korea and I’d volunteered to help him with his English. Every Wednesday, I sat him down with stacks of books and a pencil at a free tutoring site for children, New Haven Reads. Albert loved Sudoku, Legos and doodling little cities on his left palm. He hated suffixes. On our afternoons together, we made lists: “-ness” words to the left, “-less” words to the right, “-ly” words in the center. I would give him a phrase: “Martha smooth_ spreads butter onto her bagel,” and he’d fill in the blank and erase and fill it in again until he got the adverb just right. I worked with him until he was able to pick up letters and mold them together into a sound mosaic, just as I had pressed folds of dough together with my fingertips the summer before, forming tight raviolis. During the school year, I board a noontime city bus to the Educational Center for the Arts, where I spend my time writing, and rewriting, and editing my classmates’ writing, until all of our drafts fit into sharp, clean works of poetry or fiction or memoir. Here, I am the student as I pound my sentences into something that takes the shape of a balanced story. Here, I am the instructor as I ink critiques into the margins of my peers’ papers, sometimes trimming out extraneous adjectives, other times suggesting an alternate ending. Now, there is a seamlessness to my giving and receiving knowledge, a blend that will continue to fuel me in what lies ahead. Sophia O’Brien-Udry of New Haven is a senior at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven.

Uptown Girl By PRECIOUS MUSA

I’

ll have chicken and waffles with a side of macaroni and cheese, and some collard greens please.” The waitress smiles down at me knowingly, and I smile back as she picks up the menu. As she takes it, I gaze upon the logo, “Amy Ruth’s Restaurant,” and remember that initial feeling of falling in love with the menu’s wide pages, remember running my fingers over the many pictures of historical figures that create the menu’s blackand-white background. My attention shifts to the drawings on the walls: Mohammad Ali, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and, slightly above all of them, President Obama. History mixed with the present lines the walls of this restaurant just as it lines the sidewalks of Harlem. “I’ve become a part of its present,” I think to myself. A subtle familiarity hits me when I step into Harlem; it’s my home away from home now, my place of pure content. This is my Harlem.

cardboard sign hanging from the neck of a short man. As I walked by, he started to converse with me, and I stopped to be polite, but was only hearing him instead of truly listening to his words. His words, once I began listening, changed the way I saw Harlem. He went into detail about the culture of Harlem, gentrification’s impact, and how he was happy to be seeing new faces such as mine. “You seem like the right kind of person to be here. Harlem welcomes you, sister,” he said, and I remember so badly wanting to give him a hug, a thankyou for his thoughts. But instead I smiled widely and walked away. He struck a chord. In that moment when he welcomed me, I felt a pressure released from my chest. His words clutched my apprehensive bubble and popped it. “The way we choose to see the world creates the world we see,” said Barry Neil Kaufman, and I had still been choosing to see a Harlem that was painted in the wrong light rather than creating my own version of the portrait.

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Despite my love for it now, Harlem wasn’t always this type of place for me. It was the dark, uncharted territory in which I shouldn’t and wouldn’t dwell. It was where all of the crime and violence happened; there was no reason for me to go there. But a program I attended in New York lifted the veil from Harlem’s unseen treasures. When I went for the first time, I tried to suspend the preconceived judgments that were placed on Harlem and were in my mind, and allowed myself to create my own opinions, my own thoughts on the place. My only hope was that my own wouldn’t Brompton · Jamis be the same· as the rest of society’s.

From that moment, how I viewed Harlem changed. Each time I went, and with every step I took there, I felt that I was walking into my version of the real Harlem. Because of this, when I’m there now, I feel the peace I need in order to contemplate and work out problems, think clearly, and above all, talk and listen to my people of Harlem.

I may be talking and listening to “strangers,” but since I’ve built this unspoken relationship with Harlem and its inhabitants, to me it feels like an overdue conversation, one that has been waiting to happen rather than a random talk. As I pass the familiar street vendors and wave, I can feel the support of the people; can almost imagine their uplifting hands guiding me. Their positive spirit soaks the sidewalks, · Bianchi consequently leaking in through my feet, filling every part of my body, making each BMC · BEST Salsa · Colnago “VERIZON· WIRELESS. CELL· Linusfootstep stronger. PHONE DEAL.” I was walking Precious Musa of West Haven is a senior at through Harlem for my third time when the Hopkins School in New Haven. I caught sight of this message on a

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A Whole New Perspective

Agee’s personal essay, there is a great deal of fresh language to describe the sights and sounds. He writes, “All my people are larger bodies than mine, with voices gentle and meaningless like the voices of sleeping birds. The dry and exalted noise of the locusts from all the air at once enchants my eardrums. People go by; things go by. A horse drawing a buggy, breaking his hollow iron music on the asphalt.” Rather than simply telling the reader what a typical summer’s night is like, Agee describes it in depth using rich detail that inspires the reader to read on.

By LIAM O’REILLY

y passion for writing on various topics all started during my junior year when I began writing for Soundings, Fairfield Prep’s school newspaper. It’s one thing to write essays for a grade in English class; however, to write for an audience is a whole different task. The articles that I’ve written cover sports and extracurricular activities at my school. Taking a senior writing elective has enhanced my all-around writing skills. My awareness of the talents of the writers we study has made an immense difference in my enjoyment of writing. In my writing course, we’ve read several personal essays and magazine articles that have improved my writing skills in various ways. One of the many essential ideas that I have taken away from reading magazine articles and personal essays is that the ultimate goal in the end is to leave the reader uncertain about what will happen next. The way to do that is by using elements of craft that grab the reader’s attention from the beginning to the end of the story.

Though it was very difficult to emulate the works of James Agee, I try my best to incorporate elements of craft into my own writing and it makes a significant difference when I write for the school newspaper. I like trying not simply to tell a story, but rather to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. Before my senior writing elective, I often told the story chronologically, without thinking about the possibility of scenes. Imagery, fresh language and the use of simile are the elements of craft that I frequently admire in the works I’ve studied this year. In writing for Soundings, and thinking more about what we study in my senior writing elective, I’m acquiring a whole new perspective of writing beyond the same old five-paragraph format. As I prepare to attend college next year, I hope I can keep growing as a writer. For example, James Agee’s essay, “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” comes to mind when reflecting about incorporating elements of craft into my writing. Within

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Liam O’Reilly of Westport is a senior at Fairfield College Preparatory School.

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The Loudest Mind By GEMA GUEVARA

could claim I’m unique, shout it to the seven seas, or whisper it to the wind, but I would be doing my fellow classmates a disservice. Isn’t everybody unique? I think so. The problem is that very few aspects of our individuality are cultivated by our education. Schools breed monotony. Some may reject such a statement, but I speak from experience. Schools operate under strict rules, and the pressure to vie with hundreds of other schools for the coveted No. 1 position. It is not surprising that originality plays such a slight role in the academic odyssey. There is nothing unique about a student with a 4.0 GPA, high test scores or Ivy League acceptances; it merely proves an unending dedication to school and a superior ability to recall information. Is this admirable? By all means. Does it show uniqueness? I think not. I’m not unique because I’m a good student; I’m not unique because I attend a vocational school; I’m not unique because I’m bilingual; I’m not unique because I applied to an Ivy League school (I didn’t). I’m unique because I’m not hardwired to think like a robot. Schools feed their students the ambrosia of conformity, which in turn inhibits their creativity. Few are those who have the courage to speak up. Most of us would rather nod our heads and blink unknowingly than confront these forces. Unique is the individual who refuses to boast of his or her talents, but rather utilizes them to inspire a generation of future leaders. Anyone can list her/ his lifelong accomplishments and stake a claim to the title of uniqueness, but not many can say, “My talents are suppressed in an academic setting.” Well, I must confess that my talents are suppressed in academic environs. With the core curriculum hovering over our heads, there is insufficient room for creativity. Although some situations

invite us to think “outside the box,” students are still encouraged to adhere to an established norm of thinking. We are puppets whose actions are controlled by an invisible string. I took a snip at the string and am now free. It is a liberating experience, indeed, to be able to say, “I don’t follow — and I don’t expect anyone to follow me.” In November I applied to a high school senior program that would have allowed me to take spring courses — free of charge — at a private university. However, one of the prerequisites was an interview. I prepared myself well. The day of the interview arrived, and I had never felt more confident. The interviewer, whom I imagined to be intimidating, asked me questions that seemed both silly and irrelevant. Things were going smoothly, I thought, but one look at my SAT scores and I saw all hope disappeared. The interviewer didn’t bother to ask for my résumé (which I’d bothered to bring) or cared that I had bared my soul to a stranger. She was planning to select the student with the highest GPA and test scores. I did not qualify. When I received the news that I hadn’t been accepted, I wasn’t taken aback. In fact I was relieved, for I managed to find clarity amid anger. The unique student, from an academic standpoint, is he who is able to maintain a 4.0 GPA and attend an Ivy League school in the fall. One word to describe this perfect specimen is predictable. So, why am I unique? Here’s why: I am not predictable. I am a puzzle that cannot be deciphered. I am unique because, regardless of my quiet demeanor, I have the loudest mind. My mind refuses to remain quiet. It yells at the top of its lungs and says the things I would never allow myself to say aloud. I’m unique because I’m not a puppet who strives to be a carbon copy of the “perfect” specimen. I’m unique simply because I’m perfectly flawed — both academically and personally — and I wouldn’t change anything about it. Gema Guevara of New Haven is a senior at the Sound School in New Haven.

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You Gotta Have Faith

When asked what I did over the weekend, I no longer told my peers that I had gone to shul on shabbos, but said instead that I had gone to synagogue on the Sabbath. “Gesundheit” became “Bless you”; tchochkes became garden gnomes — and I was terrified ever to utter any variation of “oy.” “Oy,” after all, was the chief offender, the Yiddishism of choice for the sleepdeprived journalist 20 minutes ahead of a deadline.

By JONATHAN GELERNTER

Eventually, however, it seemed to me that I had started to sound like an Episcopalian. Don’t get me wrong: I love deviled eggs, firm handshakes and gazebos. But I’m proud to be a Jew. It’s hard work, but somebody has to do it.

chmutz, in Yiddish, means a little speck of dirt or ball of lint — something to be brushed off of a lapel. Schmuck, on the other hand, means, literally, “an adornment;” but it refers to a specific adornment that, put delicately, is related to the Y chromosome. In fourth grade, at my Jewish day school, I had a nonJewish teacher, Mrs. Carol, who would confuse these two. “Jonathan,” she’d tell me, “you’ve got a schmuck on your shirt.”

And so I resolved to speak more naturally. The next time someone asked me what that thing I wore on my head was, I’d tell them it was a yarmulke, not a skullcap; and the next time I was spotted eating matzah in school I’d explain that it was Pesach, not Passover. The way I saw it, language could be used to trivialize me and my heritage, or I could take ownership of it myself. Using Yiddish expressions didn’t make me a caricature; it made me honest.

Years later I started to notice Yiddish used not inaccurately but lazily in the newspaper. Sentences like “Oy vey, what a great production of Fiddler on the Roof !” and “Standing in line at the Jewish museum is a real pain in the tuchus!” and “Feh! Triple homicide in the Jewish part of Detroit!” began to bother me. As I entered public school at age 14, I started to worry about my own use of language — not vulgarity (which I have embraced wholeheartedly) but rather the few Yiddish colloquialisms that persisted in my day-to-day speech. As the only student in my high school to wear a yarmulke, I was already visibly different from my classmates. Would the way I talked give me away as some kind of alien — or, perhaps more problematically, as a Jew?

I’d rather be a Yiddish-speaking American Jew who isn’t taken all that seriously, I realized, than someone else — even someone who was taken seriously — because I’d wiped away my past like that old schmuck on my shirt.

For the first time, I became self-conscious about the way I spoke. Being an avid reader since elementary school had made me fairly confident in my ability to articulate my thoughts. But Yiddish, I saw, had been hijacked, transformed into a cartoon. I was sure if I used Yiddish I wouldn’t be taken seriously, so I decided to clean up my act.

Jonathan Gelernter of Woodbridge is a senior at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven.

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22 M ARCH /A PRIL 2014

Executive MBA Fire Science Forensic Psychology Forensic Science Geographical Information Systems Health Care Administration Human Nutrition Industrial Engineering Industrial/Organizational Psychology Instructional Technologies and Digital Media Literacy, Sixth Year Certificate

Labor Relations Lean-Six Sigma Management of Sports Industries* Mechanical Engineering National Security Network Systems Professional Education Public Administration Taxation ®

*Also available online

UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN 300 Boston Post Road West Haven, CT 06516 www.newhaven.edu/grad

NEWHAVENMAGAZINE.COM

An Artist of Body & Mind

the bus and enters the girls’ locker room. This Claudia runs for miles and miles, is vocal and goofy with her coaches, and lifts her long red hair into a ponytail like a flag. Her loud voice calls encouragement to her teammates, and she relishes the exhausted elation that follows a long run.

By CLAUDIA SCHATZ

The more my Co-op classmates and track teammates remark on this double life, the more it occurs to me that not everyone lives this way. At Co-op, I’m one of the few serious athletes in the school; on the track, serious writers are equally rare.

ere I am again in the back seat of the car, exchanging boots and braids and an unobtrusive, studious demeanor for sneakers and ponytails and tough, boisterous determination. As a student and artist at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School, I spend every day surrounded by fellow creative thinkers. Co-op is the perfect place for an aspiring writer to put down roots, but it doesn’t offer any varsity sports. That’s why every day after school, I have to take off for another city high school that does offer sports. I’ve rushed from cross-country championships, medal clanking around my neck, to the fall creative writing department showcase; from writing class to the statewide track-and-field meet; from practice on the track to the school musical at Co-op; from an afterschool playwriting workshop to a sprint workout across town. It’s all part of being a Co-op student-artist with a need for speed. Co-op affords students a strong sense of artistic identity. It’s easy to pick out the writers and visual artists, who band together for earnest conversation; with considerably less ease, you can dodge the clumps of dancers who congregate in festive roadblocks in the hallway. Before first period, you’re bound to hear strains of song or chords on a musician’s guitar, and it’s not

Most of my artistic friends at Co-op speak of my running with a mixture of curiosity and polite distaste. To them, track seems like an unusual and unlikely hobby for the kind of creative mind that the school attracts. Each student at Co-op has a healthy devotion to his or her art, but I love that I share in that devotion while simultaneously pursuing my half-secret life as a dedicated athlete. I’m happy to keep shrugging off the jokes about how all of us at Co-op are athletically challenged because of our artistic inclinations. I continue to chuckle at my teammates’ good-hearted teasing of my Co-op logo sweats and my friends’ shouts of “Wrong school!” across the hallway when I wear my track team hoodie to Co-op.

uncommon to see the star of the current play poring over pages of highlighted lines. I spend my mornings looking forward to 90 precious minutes of creative writing class. There, I’m known as an easily excitable thinker who celebrates new ideas as if they were holidays. Claudia at Co-op is soft-spoken but thoughtful, ready to offer advice but equally pleased to be left alone with her words for long stretches of time.

While my two worlds seem as different as could be to everyone else, I know that they can work beautifully in tandem — as long as I can make it to practice on time and finish that fourth short-story draft by tomorrow!

When the final bell of the day rings, however, a transformation takes place. It’s a new girl who steps off

Claudia Schatz of New Haven is a junior at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School in New Haven.

Hamden Hall

Sacred Heart Academy

Country Day School

STRO N G VALUES . S TR O N G A C A DE M I C S . S T R O N G L E A D E R S HI P

Educating Students in PreSchool through Grade 12. Early reading initiative honed at Yale University's Haskins Laboratories. World language program starting with Mandarin Chinese in PreSchool. Early childhood program for 3- and 4-year-olds. Mystic Seaport partnership. Small class sizes.

EXPLORE. DISCOVER. CREATE. SUCCEED.

Impelled by Christ’s Love

Founded in 1946, Sacred Heart Academy is an independent, Catholic preparatory day school for qualified young women in grades nine through twelve.

265 Benham Street, Hamden CT | 203.288.2309 sacredhea r t ha mden.org

Explore Our Halls

Lower School & Summer Programs Open House Admissions Coffee and Campus Tours

1108 Whitney Ave. Hamden, CT 06517

Thursday, April 10 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 17 9-10:30 a.m.

203.752.2610 www.hamdenhall.org new haven

Fly Like an Eagle By ZACHARY GRAPPONE

or my entire high school career I have thought about what I was going to discuss in my college essay. I always figured it would be about my friends and how I helped them through tough times and how in turn that made me a stronger person. Instead, I sit at my computer writing about the thing I have hated for years, a part of me I was always embarrassed about, one thing I was always reluctant to reveal. This part of my identity is my membership in the Boy Scouts of America. Ever since I was in lower school I was taunted and jeered at for being a Boy Scout. Whenever someone needed something tied together or saw an interesting unknown plant they would look to me and sarcastically ask, “What’s this, Zach? You’re the Boy Scout!” These experiences pushed me to the point where I would immediately rip off my uniform and throw it into the back seat of my father’s car after each scout meeting. I would even lie about going to meetings and campouts. But after years of bitterness and resentment, my attitude finally changed when I became an Eagle Scout. I have been preparing to become an Eagle Scout my entire life. I always admired the scouts who received the proud title and always dreamed of becoming one

myself. My day finally came on Sunday, May 19, 2013. I had completed all requirements, filled out all the paperwork, and was officially ready to receive my new rank. At the time the sensation had not fully sunk in. I was sitting in the crowd at the assembly with my fellow scouts waiting to begin and I did not feel any differently than the way I had before. This feeling immediately vanished when the announcer called my name.

newest Eagle Scouts!” The crowd rose and the applause lasted for what seemed like a lifetime. The feelings and emotions that were swirling around inside of me cannot be described with words. It was and still is the proudest moment of my life. It took all my strength to hold back the smile that was concealed behind my outwardly modest face. I was no longer ashamed to be in scouting. I was no longer afraid to wear my uniform in public. I was proud to tell people I was an Eagle Scout because I knew that I had worked with persistence and determination and truly deserved the rank.

While standing before all of my friends and family, reciting the Eagle Scout pledge, a transformation took place. I recited each line and began to reflect on the eight years I had spent in scouting — how I had developed into a mature leader for the younger scouts and a respected peer among the older scouts. I began to feel a sense of happiness, a sense of accomplishment, a sense of pride. I had worked for years to reach the highest point in scouting and I was finally there. These feelings I experienced while reciting the pledge were nothing compared to what I was about to feel however. As I finished reciting the final line of the pledge the announcer proclaimed, “I now give you our

Following the ceremony my family and I went out to dinner at a small pizzeria. At the restaurant I showed that this event truly had changed me. For the first time I proudly wore my uniform in public. I showed that I was proud to be an Eagle Scout and I was proud of all the work I had done as a scout. I no longer resented scouting and the experience that came with it. Instead I now embrace that part of my life and truly cherish it. I can truly say that I know how important it is to be proud of yourself and who you are. I am now and forever will be a proud Eagle Scout. Zachary Grappone of Watertown is a senior at Chase Collegiate School in Waterbury.

Chase Collegiate School Open House S C H O O L

Family Night at Hopkins

Fun with Math & Science Wed., April 30, 4:45–6:30 pm

Hopkins invites 3rd to 6th graders and their families to an event to open young minds to the thrills of math and science.

PreK – Grade 12

April 6th, 2014 • 1-3pm SCAN TO REGISTER

FREE: hands-on family experiment, friendly competition, pizza dinner, fun prizes.

Lead a balanced life

Academic excellence • Fine & performing arts Competitive sports environment www.chasecollegiate.org admissions@chasemail.org • 203-236-9560

C O U R A G E • C O N F I D E N C E • C O M PA S S I O N

RSVP: admission@hopkins.edu or 203-397-1001 x211 A coed, college preparatory day school for grades 7–12 986 Forest Road, New Haven, CT 06515 • www.hopkins.edu

Manual Labor By JESSICA VENABLES

s the gears of the car groaned in opposition, I could feel my father’s legacy of car expertise crumbling. The gene that enables one to be car-savvy can most definitely skip a generation. My dad augmented my anxiety by sharing his brief, enjoyable experience in teaching my brother how to drive the very car in which I was then sitting. I knew that somewhere, the car gods were shaking their heads at my inability to master a manual transmission. All I wanted to do was sit in the comfort of my bedroom with books scattered about. But first, I’d have to drive there. I reassured myself that at some point in history this was the only way people could operate cars. How lucky was I to be given the option between standard and automatic transmission; how unlucky was I to be given a father who adamantly insisted that I learn both. Confronting my fears with a healthy dose of self-confidence I approached the situation cheerfully, anticipating a lesson lasting no longer than half an hour. Well, several hours later the car was practically begging me to get out and walk home. To the car’s dismay, my father kept me in the driver’s seat. From the quizzical glances interspersed with horror from the grounds crew working near the school parking lot, no one could doubt my failure. Every time I rushed the clutch and the car jarred to a stop, my discouragement grew. Yet I struggled on. The concept had seemed easy enough, and I had previously succeeded in trying many other things that required strict focus and coordination. In my 17 years, I’ve fearlessly jumped into various situations where I might not have known exactly what I was doing. My willingness to accept diverse challenges developed early on as I learned how to ski the mountains of Vermont, master sailing, perform at piano recitals, weave

an off-road motorcycle among trees, and perfect my ballet technique. I had also overcome mental challenges, including the responsibility of planning and leading a retreat on self-esteem for more than 90 students from diverse high schools. So, when my dad calmly ordered that I drive us back home on a main road, my hands shook and my heart raced, but I accepted the challenge. This drive was unlike any I had ever experienced before. It seemed as though the entire population of our town waited impatiently behind our slow-moving vehicle. The conversation with my dad consisted entirely of exclamations, all while traveling 15 miles per hour below the speed limit. Despite the slightly sweaty shifter and ruined fuel economy, the clutch and I were relieved to finally be done with our lesson. I learned that mastering this skill, like so many others, was primarily a function of my personal determination. Even relatively minor failures provide learning opportunities. In addition, I learned not only to trust my ability, but also trust the confidence my dad placed in me. Sometimes others can see greater capabilities in a person, and a little encouragement can go a long way. I’ve noticed this same principle at work in several of my teacher relationships and have learned to apply this to anyone needing encouragement. In fact, as a member of Peer Connection, I was inspired to initiate a new positive affirmation exercise I call “Positive Bombardment Grams.” It’s clearer to me than ever before that navigating through new situations and failures tests and builds character. I find myself looking forward to the challenge of unfamiliar settings, as they teach me about myself and expand my capabilities. Although slightly rattled from my parking-lot failures, I was proud of the courage I gathered in order to take my father on that first Sunday-afternoon cruise home. Having overcome my original difficulty, I’m now able to effortlessly glide through the gears. The family car and I couldn’t be happier. Jessica Venables of Monroe is a senior at Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden.

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The Individual Twin By SARA HANEY

sit in the library at a wooden table, my coat off, my backpack’s zippers pulled apart exposing the enormous textbooks and binders I lug around with me. My math book is open on the wooden counter with my homework problems circled, my notebook open copying the problems down. It is a typical free period. I am trying to finish as much homework as possible to avoid bringing all of my textbooks home. I feel a tap on my shoulder, and raise my head. A friend of mine stands next to the table, scanning the room. “Hey, what’s up?” I ask, hoping his question is short so I can finish the homework I’m working on. “Do you know where Richard is?” he replies, scanning the room for my brother.

“No,” I reply quickly and after a twosecond pause continue, “Wait, hold on, let me check my radar.” He turns to give me a look while I proceed to make submarine beeping noises, circling in my chair. “Nope, can’t find him.” My friend laughs, and thanks me sarcastically for proving to him he wasn’t in this room, and that I wasn’t much of a help. I have had that type of conversation on a daily basis. The notion that my brother and I are inextricably bound because we were born on the same day is something that follows me everywhere I go. Backtrack over the last 16 years of my life and you will see a lesson my mother continuously has taught me — to be an individual. She has always tried to get me to be independent, and not let others compare how I do in school or socially to other people. I always figured it was one of those lessons that all parents teach their kids. But I am not like most other kids. I don’t have just a brother; I have a twin brother. Over the years I have learned the reason my mother tried so hard to instill individualism into me was because she knew that my brother and I would be compared by friends, by teachers, by other parents and the rest of the world.

you are invited to

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Grade 6 & 7 Girls

and their Parents are welcome sunday, april 6 1:00–3:30 pm

registration deadline is friday, march 21 203.878.3333 LauraltonHall.org 200 High Street Milford

Lauralton Hall

Connecticut’s First Catholic College-Prep School for Girls academy of our lady of mercy

26 M ARCH /A PRIL 2014

And, believe it or not, my mother was right. My parents decided when I was four to send my brother and me to a small private school called Hamden Hall. Twelve years later and I’m still at the same school — and still with my brother. I can’t say it’s always been easy being at the same, small school for so long. Don’t get me wrong: I love the community it has to offer, and knowing all the teachers. However, when it came to finding out who I really was, knowing everyone and having everyone know me since I was four made it difficult. Not to mention everyone also knew my twin brother. At first, going through K-6 grades, Richard and I were separated every year. I would have one homeroom teacher in one classroom and Richard would always be with the other teacher in the other class. Once we hit middle and upper school, and our homeroom teachers turned into advisors, it was impossible to keep us entirely separate because we signed up for the same classes. One thing that my parents always warned me about was making sure our teachers didn’t compare us. It’s become one of my biggest pet peeves. I might be just another student to some teachers, but comparing me to my brother is not okay. We are different people — we have different interests, different styles, and just because we were born on the same day doesn’t mean we should be compared to each other. As much as I love my brother, it has been hard in a close-knit community to become known as more than just Richard’s twin. Although some elements of our character are comparable, in other aspects we are complete opposites. For one, we are what you would call “mirror twins” (at least physically), meaning he’s all left-handed and left-sided and I’m all right-sided. Richard’s also really good at just knowing facts. He is a very onpoint thinker and he’s very good at being concise and getting to the point. I’m not so good at knowing facts. I need to study really hard to learn something — I don’t just pick it up in two seconds. Over time I’ve learned that if I want to be known for more than just being Richard’s twin, I need to make myself known, and stand out in my small community. Something I’ve done to differentiate myself is working hard in all my classes so if a teacher brings up my name, they have good things to say about me. I’ve become involved in clubs at my school.

Although I’m not the president of any clubs, I participate and show a passion for the clubs I join. There is a plus side to being a twin: I’m never alone. Whether in school or out, I always have someone by my side — my brother. Another benefit is I can always ask for help. Richard is really good at just knowing stuff and when relearning everything for exams, this becomes quite helpful. Lastly, I always have someone to talk to; I can trust Richard with anything and everything. Richard gives logical advice that sometimes my friends might not give me because they don’t think like him. Plus, Richard knows me better than anyone else. Being a twin is more than just having to compete with someone constantly; it’s having someone be there for you, understand you and help you when no one else can. Being a twin is having an unconditional love for the other and knowing the person better than anyone else. In the end I love being a twin and going to a small school. Although at first it was a challenge, having the shadow of my brother over me, it’s taught me that I have to assert my individuality. Being compared to someone constantly has given me courage to stand out. All my life I have been trying to define myself as “different” from my brother — and I’m sure he’s been trying to be known as more than just Sara’s brother as well. I know that being comfortable with standing out can only benefit me, and I know I’ll always have my brother there for support. Sara Haney of North Haven is a junior at Hamden Hall Country Day School.

NEWHAVENMAGAZINE.COM

Lights, Camera… Personality! By SAMUEL NICEFARO

uring my freshmen and sophomore years of high school I was a painfully shy child. I didn’t have many friends, and I was one of those kids you could pass by in the hallway without a second glance. But that all changed my junior year because of three things: Hamden High’s Main Stage Ensemble, the Sacred Heart Academy theater department, and the Hamden High School news show HHS Insider. During my junior year of high school my mom received a message from a friend of hers who directs the musicals at Sacred Heart Academy asking if I would audition for the show because they needed soldiers for White Christmas. I decided I would audition. I’d often worked stage crew for musicals with the Whitney Players, a local theater company in my hometown, because I was too nervous and shy to be out on the stage. I was still able to be close to my family and friends and learn a lot about the stage and how a show is run. After I auditioned I found out that I did not receive the role of an anonymous soldier, but instead was cast as Ezekiel Foster, the handyman at the inn. I was very nervous all throughout the rehearsal process and even during the first performance, when I went out onstage to do my little singing and tap dancing solo, which I thought would be horrible. Instead, I received a huge laugh from the audience and everyone was cheering and laughing — it brought a huge smile to my face and people finally started to notice me. I made a great group of friends while doing the show.

Later in my junior year Hamden High’s theater department announced that they were going to be doing a backstage ensemble show, which means the show was directed, produced and basically put together entirely by the students involved in the HHS theater department. I decided that I was going to audition for the show, which consisted of four oneact plays by Anton Chekov. I was cast in three different roles for the performance. I played a cranky old innkeeper, a trial judge, and an incredibly nervous bank delegate. I knew I had really come out of my shell when I got up in front of my family, friends and total strangers and danced to the Tiny Tim song “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” in a powdered wig. The third thing that helped me come out of my shell is my involvement in Hamden High’s student news program, HHS Insider. My junior year I co-hosted a segment called “Sam and Chris’s Pop Culture Madness Minute.” In the segment we reviewed and recommended various movies and videogames. Later in my junior year I become the co-anchor of HHS Insider. I also had other responsibilities at the program, including writing scripts for segments and anchor spots. Today, as I walk through the halls of Hamden High School I am no longer the shy freshman that I was three years ago. Teachers, administrators and other students stop me in the hall to comment on the latest broadcast of HHS Insider. As my senior year draws to a close I am looking forward to furthering my education in media studies and further developing my love of the theater. Samuel Nicefaro of Hamden is a senior at Hamden High School.

C he s hir e Ac a de m y

The Student-Centered School • Coeducational, College Preparatory School • Day & Boarding for Grades 7-12 & Postgraduate • International Baccalaureate® Degree Programme • Roxbury Academic Support Program • Athletics, Arts and Community Service

Learn more about Cheshire Academy 203-439-7250 • admission@cheshireacademy.org

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New Haven Magazine 4 x 5_14_CatholicTrans_5.87x7 3/14/14 12:46 PM Page 1

Spring shadow days are now available! Notre Dame is currently accepting applications for the 2014-15 academic year. Create an Online Admissions Account www.notredamehs.com/admissions

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new haven

Finding Oneself by Getting Lost By ZOË LOEWENBERG

ACES congratulates Sophia O’Brien-Udry and Jonathan Gelernter whose personal essays, created in the ACES Educational Center for the Arts Creative Writing Department, have just been published in this issue of New Haven Magazine. ACES also congratulates the ACES Educational Center for the Arts writers for winning 44 writing commendations from the Scholastic Writing Awards.

203-498-6800 | www.aces.org

Area Cooperative Educational Services

Parents: You Have A Choice

Interdistrict Magnet Schools & Open Choice Can Help Thomas Edison Middle School | Grades 6-8 1355 North Broad Street, Meriden CT 06450

203-639-8403 | www.aces.org/tems

Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School | Grades K-8 670 Wintergreen Ave, Hamden CT 06514

203-281-9668 | www.aces.org/wims

ACES Open Choice Program

Academic achievement through student diversity and increased educational opportunities 203-498-6843 | www.aces.org

I N N OVAT O R S I N E D U C AT I O N 28 M ARCH /A PRIL 2014

y friends and I clamber up the treacherous rock. We creep toward the precipice, warily approaching the edge. Beyond the golden hills and scraggly bushes, Albuquerque sprawls toward the desert. In the soft orange haze, past the flat-roofed strip malls, the Rio Grande looks like a scribble across the landscape with hot air balloons drifting lazily above. The cotton-candy pink and clementine bottoms of clouds announce the sun’s arrival. Illuminated by the sharp flares of the rising red ball, the mountains behind us are a rosy hue. I understand why they’re called “Sandia,” Spanish for watermelon. How did I get here? I struggle to make sense of the journey. I lift my eyes from the road to glance at my two best friends gripping their jumbo coffees as if the mugs were oxygen tanks. The full moon illuminates our path. I realize how rare this is: three teenagers up before dawn on a weekend — by choice, even! Although I’m typically the girl who requires deafening air-horn alarms, I’m alert now. Illuminated by the neon vacancy signs of lonely motels, Tramway Boulevard leads us out of town toward our destination: Santa Fe. Suddenly, an unmarked gravel road beckons me. Its path, basked in moonlight, winds around the mountains like a silver snake constricting its prey. I swerve onto it, ignoring the nagging GPS, “Turn around when possible.” The mystery is too enticing, even if it will lead us in the wrong direction. As a newcomer to the Southwest, I find that the little things, like tumbleweeds and adobe walls, excite me. My local friends just don’t understand. The car jolts onto the unpaved road and startles my zombie passengers. I toss them breakfast burritos, a sure way to pacify their anxiety and prolong their patience.

Twenty minutes later, they groan out of boredom and I worry: what if nothing lies ahead? But I can read the signs. The cacti on either side of the road, their arms thrusting upward, seem to cheer us on. I’m determined. I recognize this sensation: the excitement of exploration interwoven with anxiety. The seed of this feeling sprouted when my dad announced midway through my freshman year that he would take a sabbatical in Albuquerque the following fall. I had the option of going with him for a year or staying behind with my mom in my same-old hometown in Connecticut. Freshman year was like a trip on a whisper-smooth blacktop highway, with sophomore year gradually coming into view. I was comfortable. I was adamant. I would not go. My stubbornness gradually evaporated in the following months. A debate waged in my brain. Curiosity asked, “What’s it like to have 320 sunny days per year?” Common Sense furrowed her eyebrows and retorted, “You love your friends and school here; don’t take a chance. Also, perhaps there’s a reason Breaking Bad is set in Albuquerque.” Curiosity argued, “It’ll be an adventure. You don’t know what you’ll find or who you’ll meet.” Curiosity ultimately won. So I swerved off the highway of freshman year and onto a new path. Now, as I drive my friends along this sinuous road, I have the same sensation brought by the prospect of the crosscountry move: eagerness shadowed by self-doubt that I’ve made the wrong decision. However, around the next bend, we discover the perfect spot for watching the sunrise over Albuquerque. This spot became our own, and our return visits became traditions. After months apart, with thousands of miles between us, the three of us return and feel the same kinship that we felt that first morning. Above all, this spot is iconic of my year in New Mexico. Every time I stand above the bustling city of Albuquerque, I am reminded of the rewards that come from taking a detour without a pre-determined destination, and I am re-inspired to be self-directed by my curiosities, not governed by a GPS. Zoë Loewenberg of New Haven is a senior at the Hopkins School in New Haven. NEWHAVENMAGAZINE.COM

A Genius of Strokes

I’ve been a member of the band since elementary school until last year, but I’m not an official “band geek” because I was never in the marching band. Swimming took up too much time. When it comes time for the play, I will attend it. When it comes time for the final band concert, I will go. I will cheer enthusiastically, I will genuinely applaud, but I will not be a part of it.

By HOLLAND DRISCOLL

During lunch I’ll sit with the nerds and engage in enthusiastic conversations about the latest Sherlock season or Doctor Who episode, lamenting the newest turn of events, questioning the universe and why time and space can’t seem to work out for our tragically heroic Time Lord. But when lunch ends, we will go our separate ways.

any mornings before school, I walk into the building with soaking wet hair. But not because I got out late from the shower, which is evident from the powerful scent of chlorine that trails me down the hallway. I’m a swimmer.

Swimming, quite literally, sets me apart at my school by keeping me apart. The commitment it demands makes me the peripheral person, an electron that bounces around outer orbitals between different elements.

Many days, practice starts at 4:30 in the morning before school. Sometimes during cold January mornings, I’m blessed with the privilege of having my hair freeze into solid ice chunks between the walk from my car into the building. As it thaws during my first class, I swear I can hear tinkling sounds of ice falling from my hair and shattering on the floor, forming a chlorinated puddle. As the day drags on, the lack of sleep will catch up to me, and I can be seen with a vacant expression directed in the general direction of the white board. I know that in a few hours after school ends, I’ll be back in the pool for my second swim practice of the day. I’ve been swimming full-time, all year-round since I was six — it consumes my life. My friends know this. Many have stopped asking to hang out because they know I will either be at a meet or practicing for one. But I love swimming. My teammates go to schools all around Connecticut — they are my outside family. But in my school I am still not a jock. My school doesn’t even have a pool.

I’m not a jock. I’m not a nerd. I’m not an official band kid. I’m not involved in the world of theater. I’m not even in a clique with the brainiacs, although I take many AP classes. Who am I, then? What am I?

During AP biology I’ll sit next to my friend Sarah and talk excitedly about the plans for this year’s play. I’m not in the play. Swimming takes up too much time. But I still know all the words to the songs. I have a passion for musicals and Broadway shows, and next period in band class I’ll share my new musical obsessions with my friends who appreciate music as I do.

I am none of these things, yet I am all of them. I am not passionate about one thing, but everything. My friends do not hold a common interest, but every interest. I’ve made the choice to be who I am — to be many things and nothing at the same time, a part of every clique, and yet truly belonging nowhere. You may not see me on the stage, on the field, in the concert ensemble, but I am always there. You’ll know it’s me when you catch a waft of chlorine. Holland Driscoll of Wallingford is a junior at Lyman Hall High School in Wallingford. And a swimmer.

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By LIESE KLEIN

e may spend one day meditating with a Buddhist priest, the next day taking notes at a management seminar for Catholic priests. He may jet to Chicago to record a radio show on Jewish divorce one week — then hunker down in Westville the next to craft a column on the pros and cons of music lessons for kids. Mark Oppenheimer may have the most interesting job in New Haven — writing, thinking and opining on a range of topics for media outlets including the New York Times, National Public Radio and the New Republic magazine. “I’m very interested in theology and ideas,” explains Oppenheimer over tea and sandwiches at Koffee on Audubon Street. “I don’t think I have interesting things to say about big sweeping trends. I’m much better at finding the big trends in particular characters.” The character at the center of a recent attention-getting work is Eido Shimano, the guru accused in sex scandal roiling an upscale New York Buddhist community. In his e-book The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side, Oppenheimer tells Shimano’s story and wades into a debate on how Buddhism is practiced in modern America. “The book is a devastating indictment of [Shimano], filled with hard evidence of the affairs and the cover-ups, the testimony of several victims and occasionally lurid details,” wrote Jay Michaelson, who reviewed the book for the Daily Beast. “Oppenheimer clearly gets right...the way in which power, charisma and authority create anenvironment in which leaders (religious or otherwise) become ‘too big to fail.’” For Oppenheimer, a home base in New Haven has allowed him to pursue stories that really interest him, like the Zen scandal and itsrepercussions. “If I lived in New York I’d have to take a lot more work that I didn’t want to take. I would always be worried about

Finding His Religion Writer Mark Oppenheimer has forged a national writing career from New Haven exploring what interests him most — people’s beliefs the bottom line. Because the cost of living here is cheaper, I’m able to be more selective and do more work that I want,” Oppenheimer explains. One example: A recent e-book on advice columnist Dan Savage. “It was a labor of love. If I were living

in New York I couldn’t do those things.” A native of Springfield, Mass., Oppenheimer grew up in an observant Jewish home but never considered himself a seeker or of an especially spiritual bent. A class he took as a Yale undergraduate on

American religious history kindled his interest in the topic. “You’ve got your Shakers and your Quakers and your Mormons and your Mennonites and they were all fabulous and interesting in their own ways,” Oppenheimer recounts. “It seemed like this incredible untapped vein of stories.” While in graduate school, Oppenheimer also witnessed a resurgence of academic interest in religion after events such as 9/11, Waco and the second Intifada uprising in Israel. “All of sudden liberal, irreligious intellectuals said, ‘Holy cow, maybe religion’s not fading out. Maybe even in modernity people are still religious.’” After writing about religion for the Hartford Courant and a stint as editor of the (now-defunct) New Haven Advocate, Oppenheimer settled down in Westville and started crafting a multi-faceted career. His first book, 2003’s Knocking on Heaven’s Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture, explored how social trends of the 1960s impacted mainstream denominations. National exposure came with Oppenheimer’s gig as author of an every-other-week piece for the New York Times’ “Beliefs” column. Recent subjects include a system of Bible-based justice in evangelical churches, Orthodox Jews at odds with Israeli politics and the radio ratings bonanza that is Christmas music.



But for all of the contentious topics in religion that he covers, Oppenheimer says his parenting columns for the New Republic magazine generate the most reader response. His contrarian takes on such subjects as television viewing, music lessons and talking to young kids about school shootings (don’t do it), have sparked lots of angry comments. “Parenting writing is a minefield — parents are incredibly judgmental about other parents,” he notes. “I get a lot more angry mail about my parenting writing than my religion writing, by far. It’s not even close.”

With four daughters — ages seven, five, three and eight months — parenting is a natural topic, he adds. “How can I not write about it? It’s what I do all the time —— about 19 hours a day.” With his many projects, plus a “day job” as part-time director of the Yale Journalism Initiative, Oppenheimer still takes time to fill in at WNPR radio (90.5 FM) as a guest host. He also recently completed a “This American Life” episode relating to his next book project: The plight of Orthodox Jewish women who can’t obtain religious divorces. Husbands can refuse to agree to divorce in some traditions, resulting in “chained wives” whose lives can be placed on hold for decades. Going forward, Oppenheimer also hopes to extend his work at the cutting edge of nonfiction publishing: article-length e-books like Kindle Singles. The Singles model allows writers to go beyond magazine-article length to explore topics. Readers pay from 99 cents to about $5 per article and can pick from among thousands of subjects and authors. “[Singles] will be a viable model,” Oppenheimer predicts. “Right now that would be a very difficult way to make a living. They haven’t figured out how to make it pay proportionate to the effort.”

Local Talent Great nonfiction writers abound in the New Haven area — watch for the work of these authors: Emily Bazelon, writer for Slate and the New York Times. Author of bestseller Sticks & Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. Joshua Foer, TED talker with focus on science. Author of book Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art & Science of Remembering Everything. Jake Halpern, journalist and radio producer. Radio story “Switched at Birth” was chosen as one of NPR’s This American Life’s top shows of all time.

As his writing career has flourished, Oppenheimer has come to appreciate his home base as a supportive community of writers and a constant source of story ideas. He is one of an array of nonfiction writers right now putting New Haven on the national map as a source for rigorous reporting, thoughtful commentary and paradigm-shifting analysis. Walk through Westville and you might bump into New Haven Independent Editor Paul Bass (most likely on his bicycle) or Amy Chua, Yale law professor and author of the controversial books The Triple Package and Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Shoreline nonfiction luminaries include Guilford resident Carl Zimmer, New York Times science columnist and author of 12 books. Stroll Yale’s campus and you might bump into celebrity scribes like bullying expert Emily Bazelon or New York Times “Diagnosis” column author Lisa Sanders. “I think we have more great writers per capita than maybe anyplace. I feel like I have a lot of colleagues, a lot of support,” Oppenheimer says. “I’m grateful that there’s a community of us but we’re not so saturated and so hungry that we feel like we’re fighting over the same scraps. “I’m also glad that most of my neighbors and close friends are not writers,” he adds. “I don’t think that writers necessarily learn the most from other writers.” 

Jack Hitt, wide-ranging writer for the New York Times. One of his books was adapted These articles have sparked into the movie The Way, the most reader response to directed by Emilio Estévez Mark Oppenheimer’s recent and starring Martin Sheen. work: Annie Murphy Paul, • “Stop Forcing Your Kids to columnist for Time, expert on learning. Upcoming book: Learn a Musical Instrument.” Brilliant: The New Science of New Republic

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Smart. Carl Zimmer, “Matter” columnist for the New York Times, blogger at The Loom. His The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution, is the first textbook about the topic intended for nonmajors.

• “A Gay Catholic Voice against Same-Sex Marriage.” New York Times • “Breaking the Evangelical Mold at a Church with Ethnic Roots,” about a hipster church in Austin, Tex. New York Times • “A Conﬂict of Faith: Devoted to Jewish Observance, but at Odds With Israel.” New York Times –LK

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Connecticut’s King of Vinyl T

Mike Papa and venerable Merle’s Record Rack enjoy the fruits of an improbable renaissance in music retailing

he record store life is just about all Mike Papa knows. He’s owned venerable Connecticut music shop Merle’s Record Rack for 30 years this year and is amazingly still going, even as the bricks-and-mortar record shop business continues its seemingly inevitable march to extinction. Merle’s was first opened in New Haven in 1962 by Merle Shaw, and expanded over the following years to shops in the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford, Wallingford, Derby, Guilford, Middletown, Meriden and East Haven. Today, Merle’s sole remaining location sits at the Boston Post and Racebrook roads in Orange, after relocating from Derby in the early 2000s. At nearly 4,000 square feet, Merle’s is huge by today’s record-store standards, stuffed to the rafters with CDs and vinyl records from across the decades,

used DVDs, rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia, stereo equipment and turntables.

studying economics at Southern Connecticut State University.

Geared more toward the collector than the “average” music buyer, the vast majority of Merle’s stock — from music to movies to electronics — is used. If you’re looking for a Rolling Stones LP with a misspelling on the album sleeve, a Beatles picture disc, limited pressings or rare imports, this is the place for you.

The entrepreneurial bug in him was strong, though: He dropped out of school during his final year, using the balance of the money his mother had set aside for college, as well as a “loan” of inventory from Merle’s owners to open his own franchise in Derby, which he did in 1984, at age 21.

Now 52, Papa started working for the store in 1977 at age 15, manning summer sidewalk sales at the former Connecticut Post Mall location. Soon he was doing a lot of buying — scouring tag sales and flea markets on the weekends for special finds to sell in the store. Merle’s then-Chapel Street location in New Haven served as a hub for its other stores as well as a wholesale outlet for a few other smaller local record shops. Papa worked at the store through his time

“I opened my business with less than $40,000, and for the first 15 years I pumped every last dime back into the business,” he recalls. “I worked 12- to 15hour days, seven days a week. I have kids who are older now than I was when I started. It’s hard [now] to imagine doing it at that age.” Merle’s is a treasure trove of used and vintage records and collectibles. A renewed interest in owning physical records by the younger generations has fueled an uptick in vinyl album sales in recent years.

HEROE EROE

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CONGRATULATIONS A healthy community starts with a healthy commitment. That’s why we applaud Business New Haven’s 2009 Healthcare Heroes. Their vision and leadership improve the quality of life in our community.

Dr. David Rosenblum on being named a Healthcare Hero.

After all, a healthy community is everyone’s responsibility. We believe all of us working together can help to make our community stronger … better … healthier. And we’re just committed to doing our part.

February/March 2014

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eet the Health-Care Heroes Class of 2014. They are doctors, nurses, educators, researchers, administrators, volunteers. They come from many different places and backgrounds, and their work is performed in venues ranging from community health clinics to corporate boardrooms.

Publisher Mitchell Young Editor Michael C. Bingham Advertising Manager Mary W. Beard Senior Publisher’s Representative Roberta Harris Publisher’s Representative Gina Gazvoda Robin Ungaro Gordon Weingarth Contributors Felicia Hunter, John Mordecai Karen Singer, Tom Violante Photography Dominick Cenotti, Tom Violante Healthcare Heroes: Publshed February 2014 in Business New Haven and March New Haven magazine. and at www. conntact.com Business New Haven and New Haven magazine are publications of Second Wind Media, Ltd., with offices at 20 Grand Avenue, New Haven, CT 06513. Telephone (203) 7813480. Fax (203) 781-3482. Second Wind Media, Ltd., d/b/a Business New Haven, New Haven magazine shall not be liable for failure to publish an ad or for typographical errors or errors in publication. email: support@conntact.com

What they have in common is a deep respect for the value of human life, and have devoted not only their careers but their lives to preserving and enhancing it. One of these is Steven Wolfson, the cardiologist and public-health advocate who was instrumental in establishing Project Access-New Haven in his home city. Established in 2010, PA-NH provides quality care to uninsured patients and undocumented workers who otherwise would have to rely solely on hospital emergency-room care in times of medical crisis. In addition PA-NH staff help clients — many of whom have low medical literacy and/or poor grasp of English — to navigate a complex health-care bureaucracy. Speaking of those in need, the Weigh To Live program, a collaboration of Chapel Haven and the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center in New Haven, helps adults with developmental and/or social disabilities to make better diet and lifestyle choices and thereby lead healthier lives. Also doing important work on the education front is Michael Corjulo, coordinator of school health services for Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES), who has been instrumental in helping to bring skilled, compassionate nursing care into area public schools. With this issue, we also say goodbye to a remarkable doctor who passed away recently, and whose like we may not see again. The premature passing of obstetrician Joel Silidker last July has left a whole in the hearts of his many patients who came to rely on his compassionate care, as well as the countless residents and medical students he taught and mentored, earning well-deserved teaching awards literally too numerous to mention. He will be missed. We hoping you enjoy reading the stories of all the 2014 Health-Care Heroes in the pages that follow.

— Michael C. Bingham Editor

CONGRATULATIONS

Dr. David Rosenblum on being named a Healthcare Hero.

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CORPORATE ACHIEVEMENT Visiting Nurse Association of SouthCentral Connecticut John Quinn, CEO

A Core Mission of Caring The Visiting Nurse Association marks a milestone in community service

t’s the kind of community service that could easily be taken for granted. But if the Visiting Nurse Association of South Central Connecticut did not exist, a significant number of people might be left without adequate health care.

“The next level after that is hospice. We are not a hospice,” says Quinn. “But we do provide a lot of services for a person going through a lot of pain management.” Collaborations with some area hospices are a future possibility, he adds.

“I think the need has always been there for home health care,” says John Quinn, CEO of VNASCC. The organization celebrates its 110th anniversary this year. There’s a definite reason for its longevity, says Quinn.

The total VNASCC staff numbers about 170, including some per-diem workers. Included in the total staff are about 50 nurses, 20 home health aides, seven physical therapists and three social workers.

“It’s flourished because it’s kept to its mission, and that’s to serve the community at large,” he explains. Simply, “We provide care of the ill.”

Quinn touts VNASCC’s board of directors, also, as an invaluable resource for the organization. “It’s a good mix of people, and they really understand [VNASCC’s challenges],” he says, “so I’m really appreciative to the board of directors.”

But sometimes it hasn’t been so simple. Take for example when grants are lost or other revenue streams dry up. That happened recently when the United Way of Greater New Haven dropped funding that helped pay for subsidized care, a major VNASCC need, says Quinn. When such incidents occur, some shifting and redistribution of resources have to take place. In the case of funding for subsidized care, the United Way of Milford and the Valley United Way were able to offer support for their respective residents. Many of those subsidized-care dollars are used for senior-care services. “That’s one of our big, big needs, for those 65 and over,” says Quinn. The possible loss of grant funding isn’t the only financial hurdle that VNASCC sometimes must face. There are also systemic impediments with programs such as Medicare, when lowered reimbursement payments or increased senior copays are proposed. A former legislator (he was a Connecticut state representative from 1974 to 1983) Quinn is fully aware of the reasons behind such potential actions. “I can see why. There’s a lot of fraud,” he notes, adding that the jury is still out on what impact the Affordable Care Act will have on the quality, consistency and duration of care for VNASCC’s home-based clients. For example, 4

In addition to providing health care directly to clients, VNASCC staff members contribute to the community in other ways, says Quinn. One nurse, for example, started a grocery-donation program, Pam’s Pantry, after learning that VNASCC staff discovered bare cupboards when visiting patients.

John Quinn, VNA CEO

questions about if and how ACA would offset changes in Medicare have yet to be answered.

VNASCC, a client’s average hospital stay would likely be much longer, Quinn says.

Quinn employs his political experience to advocate for VNASCC and its clients regarding such issues; he is a registered lobbyist on behalf of the agency.

“The first thing we do, for everybody, is to have a very significant needs assessment.” For example, on an initial visit a nurse would evaluate all of the medications a patient is taking and review them for necessity, among other duties.

Founded in 1904, the organization provides home health care to patients who otherwise might have to be admitted to the hospital and/or would suffer from lack of care or post-hospital follow-up. VNASCC’s largest referral source is Yale-New Haven Hospital.

VNASCC nurses are skilled to care for clients with needs stemming from cancer, cardiac recovery, IV infusion, wounds, behavioral disorders, chronic illnesses and more.

“The big goal of Medicare, and all health care, is to reduce the 30-day readmission [rate],” Quinn says, explaining the process to receive VNA services.

“Sometimes people with diabetes, we have to help them give themselves insulin,” say Quinn. Nurses also assist mothers who recently gave birth to care for themselves and their newborns.

“There has to be a doctor’s order through a referral,” he says. Without home health-care services such as

Additional specialized programs include palliative care for advanced illnesses.

“We find a lot of patients don’t have food,” notes Quinn. Over the past year 95 food baskets were given out. Pam’s Pantry also supports a Christmas gift-giving program. Staff members selected a present off of a tree and the gift was delivered to a patient. The relationship between patients and VNASCC staff is such that patients actually become protective of their caregivers — urging them not to come for a scheduled visit in inclement weather, for example. But that is part of the inherent nature of VNASCC, and one of the reasons the organization is so effective, says Quinn. “Our field staff goes out in every weather condition. Snowstorm, hurricane, they go out to their patients,” he notes. “They’re professional, they respect the patient, and they worry about the patient’s pain. These are the truest heroes.” — Felicia Hunter

HEALTHCARE HEROES 2014

The Visiting Nurse Association of South Central Connecticut, Inc. 1904—2014

Happy 110th Anniversary We are honored to receive the Health Care Hero’s Corporate Achievement Award for 2014. We thank our community partners for putting their trust in the professional home care service of the Visiting Nurse Association of South Central CT, Inc. We celebrate with all our current and past patients who receive the best care everyday in everyway!

Ask for us by name Not all VNA’s are the same! Have your doctor call the VNA/SCC when you or a loved one needs home care.

Robert H. Motley Board Chair

Home Health Care Experts

www.VNASCC.org

John R. Quinn

President & CEO

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Man in the Middle Investor/entrepreneur Scheer helps Achillion Pharmaceuticals navigate the brave new world of commercialization

Chairman, Achillion Pharmaceuticals

Theatre for the past 12 years, founded the theater’s Global Health and the Arts series with Yale University.

avid I. Scheer may not be someone with whom many people are familiar. In fact, he has largely (and consciously) avoided the limelight, working behind the scenes to found, co-found, acquire funding for and build some of the region’s biggest and most famous contributors to the Northeast’s bioscience industry. He is president of Scheer & Co. Inc., a firm founded in 1981, with activities in venture capital, corporate strategy and transactional advisory services focused on the life sciences. That’s a modest opener for him because his list of accomplishments is dizzying, to say the least. Scheer is a founder and past member of the boards of directors of ViroPharma Inc., OraPharma Inc. (acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2003), Esperion Therapeutics Inc. (acquired in 2004 by Pfizer), Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Tengion Inc., Axerion Therapeutics and Optherion Inc., all of which he is or has chaired. From 1991 through 1999 Scheer was affiliated with the health-care investing team at Oak Investment Partners and has also led or played significant roles in a series of transactions involving corporate alliances, licensing arrangements, divestitures, acquisitions and mergers in the life sciences. He has served as a member of the Leadership Council of the Harvard School of Public Health and the Advisory Committee to the Harvard Malaria Initiative. He has helped to launch and served as chairman of the Executive Committee for “The Unfinished Agenda in Infectious Diseases,” an initiative at the Harvard School of Public Health focusing on neglected diseases. Scheer has also been a member of the Global Advisory Council for AIDS@30 and an advisor for the Global Task Force for Expanding Cancer Care and Control in the Developing World, both of which are Harvard-affiliated initiatives. He also serves as an advisor to the Rett Syndrome Research Trust. In 2007, he was awarded the Atlas Award for Venture Capital from Connecticut United for Research Excellence (CURE), representing the 6

“What we do each year with Global Health and the Arts is identify a topic in public or global health and convene a high-level symposium at the theater in collaboration with Yale,” Scheer explains. “We bring an array of academic and industrial thought leaders together to discuss the nature of these challenges and some avenues for innovation and solutions.” Previous symposia have covered HIV, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, mental illness and obesity. The 2014 event will focus on tobacco and addiction. “New Haven has something that is extremely important,” says Scheer. “It has a university of great renown in terms of science, engineering, medicine, public health, translational research, business and law. This is an exceptional place to live .”

Photo:Tom Violante

state’s bioscience industry, of which Scheer also serves as a member of the board of directors and its executive committee. In 2009, he received the Venture Capital Leadership Award from the Connecticut Venture Group. In 2013, he received the Yale Science and Engineering Association Award for Distinguished Service to Industry, Commerce and Education. But in New Haven he is best known for his role as non-executive chairman and co-founder of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, located at 300 George Street, one of the original life-sciences firms at the tip of the spear of the Elm City’s entry into the biotechnology industry. “We named it ‘Achillion’ because we wanted to pick up on the notion of the Achilles heel,” explains Scheer, who earned an AB in biochemical sciences from Harvard College, and an MS in cell, molecular and developmental biology from Yale. “We were trying to find the Achilles heel of either bacteria or viruses to develop drugs to treat conditions that resulted from these infectious agents. Find the Achilles heel and, if you can, you can come up with the next generation of really good drugs, in order to get beyond drug resistance in these classes of drugs.”

In 2000, Achillion partnered with the Yale School of Medicine, which had identified assets related to treating viral diseases including HIV, Hepatitis B and Epstein-Barr, among others. He essentially restarted the company with the newly acquired compounds to fight HIV with a drug called Elvucitabine. The drug made it through Phase II testing but got to the market late and will be commercialized by a company in China. After startup chief executive William Rice left Achillion, Michael Kishbauch, who had worked with Scheer as CEO of another company, OraPharma, was recruited as CEO. Although he retired last year, he continues to serve on the company’s board. Milind Deshpande, who had been in charge of the company’s research and development, was recruited from within the company and is its current president and CEO. “Achillion, as a New Haven-based company, has generated high-quality jobs in the area and we’re proud of that,” says Scheer. “Drug development is a very tough field to be in. Even though we’ve had some great success, in some ways, we are still navigating through some interesting challenges. Scheer, who has served as vice chairman of the board of Long Wharf

Scheer describes New Haven as a tractable, accessible community. “You can get to know the right people and, if you want to make a difference, you can — whether it’s in terms of access to people at Yale or in terms of not-for-profit work. There is a cadre of people here [who are] incredibly committed to helping others and keeping our artistic and cultural institutions alive. From a healthcare perspective, we have amazing resources in terms of Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale Medical School.” Scheer notes that New Haven’s biotech industry may not have the same critical mass as some other cities, but will continue to advance with the continued success of its companies, including Achillion, Alexion. “Because, at the end of the day, what any of us aspire to do is to help people, to have the fruits of our work be measured — not necessarily in terms of dollars, but in terms of how we can positively change the lives of people in whatever dimension, whether it’s cultural environment, health care, science or education,” says Scheer. “That’s the legacy that any of us who work as entrepreneurs should aspire to achieve.” – Thomas R. Violante HEALTHCARE HEROES 2014

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EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR Michael Corjulo Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES), North Haven .

A Breath of Fresh Air Bringing skilled, compassionate nursing care into public schools

“I said, yeah, I think I can do this,” he recalls of the experience.

ducation and health care do not necessarily go hand in hand, says Michael Corjulo. There are clinical protocols to consider, not to mention state health-care regulations and individual school guidelines.

Corjulo studied nursing at Southern Connecticut State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1983. ACES maintains a mutual-benefit relationship with Corjulo’s alma mater. Nursing students are part of the rotation one day each week for up to eight weeks.

Corjulo should know. As coordinator of school health services for Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES), Corjulo is responsible for anticipating and addressing the health needs of students on a daily basis.

“We’re a clinical site, a clinical partner with SCSU, so we have a partnership regarding the nursing students,” he notes.

“One of the big challenges is, we’re trying to implement safe and effective health care in an educational model,” Corjulo explains. It could be an uncomfortable fit, he says, noting that “[Health care] is not inherent in an educational model.”

Several years after graduating from SCSU, Corjulo returned to school, this time at Yale, where he earned a master’s degree in nursing in 1998. That decision opened a number of career doors, he says.

However, good health is an important prerequisite for academic success, says Corjulo. “Health affects a student’s ability to learn,” he says. “If you’re trying to look at the big picture, if you’re trying to focus and concentrate,” heath plays a major role. Corjulo supervises a team of nurses that tend to the health needs of students in ACES schools. “We’re a private organization that runs a public school district,” says Corjulo about the collection of magnet and special-education schools that fall under the ACES umbrella. They are located in New Haven, Meriden, Hamden, North Haven and Northford. All ACES schools are staffed by at least one registered nurse during the school day. In delivering nursing care, they adhere to guidelines established by ACES, the National Association of School Nurses, the National League for Nurses and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Sometimes going strictly by the book isn’t enough, however. Corjulo discovered that when he observed the number of children who were asthmatic, but for whom the ACES schools did not have plans from a student’s primary care physician for in-school care. He wanted to increase 8

Photo: Tom Violante

the number of so-called Asthma Action Plans that the school maintained. At the outset of his quest, “We had 12 action plans for 300 kids” from eight physicians, notes Corjulo, explaining why an Asthma Action Plan is important. “By having that, it really empowers the school nurse to be a much more effective member of the student’s school asthma team,” he says. “Then the school nurse has an actual, intelligent health-care plan. You don’t just learn from [only] the student.” By reaching out to the physician, he says, “We’re facilitating health care.” Corjulo made increasing the number of Asthma Action Plans maintained by ACES a priority. He wrote a letter to every provider in the area. Six weeks into the following school year the district had improved from a 3.8 percent Asthma Action Plan participation rate to between 58 and

60 percent. He’s especially proud of Wintergreen School, a K-8 interdistrict magnet school with 640 students, located in Hamden. “There are 90 kids there with asthma. Out of that, we [ended up with] 88 Asthma Action Plans,” he notes. The development demonstrates the need for a strong school-physician partnership, says Corjulo, adding that it lets physicians know that “We’re not just putting on Band-Aids. We’re an extension of your practice.” Coincidentally, Corjulo suffers from asthma himself. But that’s not why he chose health care as a career. Growing up in Rockland County, N.Y., he enjoyed studying the sciences in school. “I did really well in biology,” he recalls. “I was more interested in that type of subject than math.” He later took a part-time job as an orderly at a hospital.

In addition to his work at ACES, Corjulo is a lecturer at the Yale School of Nursing and a clinical educator at Yale-New Haven Hospital. On the legislative level he’s involved with the state’s Person-Centered Medical Home Committee. In addition, he is a primary-care pediatric nurse practitioner for the Children’s Medical Group in Hamden (his subspecialty is asthma education and management) and site director for Community Asthma Integrated Resources. “You can make a case that a lot of kinds spend as much time in school as they do in any other areas of their lives,” Corjulo says. “Some have a chronic condition — asthma, for example — and you need to know that your asthma is well controlled,” he adds regarding the need for good school-based health care. He says it is incumbent upon the nurse to be as aware, direct and efficient as possible when providing health care. “All of that time getting assessed and treated is time that they’re not in the classroom,” Corjulo notes. “That’s a big part [of the situation] that we appreciate from a health-care perspective.” – Felicia Hunter HEALTHCARE HEROES 2014

CONGRATULATIONS MICHAEL CORJULO FROM ALL OF US AT CMG

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• Over 30 years of providing the highest-quality pediatric care to infants, children, and adolescents • Comprehensive asthma management and education • Certified lactation counseling • Cutting-edge technology in concussion management • Adolescent transition (life coach consultations) • Endocrine services on site • Evening and weekend hours for well and sick visits Interested in learning more?

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It’s our privilege to care for your kids! Craig Summers, MD, FAAP Laurie Glassman, MD, FAAP Sharon Kuhn, MD, FAAP Kirsten Baker, MD, FAAP Kristen Wallis, MD, FAAP

Maria DeLucia, DO, FAAP Laleh Ardeshirpour, MD, FAAP Michael Corjulo, APRN Jennifer Searles, APRN

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Area Cooperative Educational Services Proudly Congratulates

Michael Corjulo, CPNP, AE-C

For receiving the Healthcare Heroes Education Award and salutes all of the Business New Haven Healthcare Heroes

I N N OVAT OR S I N E D U C AT IO N

w w w.aces.org 9

COMMUNITY SERVICE Veterans Administration Hospital

Caring for Wounded Warriors VA Hospital’s community-care center helps veterans whose injuries go beyond the physical

he Errera Community Care Center located at the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Haven, part of VA Connecticut, is an oasis of relative calm in the eye of the storm for veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well for as for older veterans who fought in Vietnam and Korea.

Photo:Tom Violante

The hospital provides a full range of patient-care services with state-of-theart technology and a renowned training and research program, according to Pamela R. Redmond, the center’s public-affairs director. VA Connecticut Healthcare System provides primary, secondary and tertiary care in medicine, geriatrics, neurology and psychiatry with an operating bed capacity of 216. The system also provides services for mentally ill veterans, geriatrics rehabilitation and extended care, women’s health care, hospice and respite care, pharmacy services, dental care, psychological treatments, pastoral counseling, psychosocial support services, podiatry, prosthetics, same-day surgery, alcohol and substance abuse treatment, chiropractic treatment, dialysis and specialized services for diabetics. Errera Center Director Laurie Harkness sees the faces of veterans young and old as they struggle to reclaim what most would consider “normal” lives following tours of duty. “We are a community-based recovery center for people who have been struggling with mental illness and substance abuse with homelessness and with other significant psychosocial issues,” explains Harkness. “These issues are caused either by their time in the military or life before or after their military experience.” VA Connecticut provides services at nine locations, with campuses in West Haven and Newington, as well as six clinics in Danbury, New London, Stamford, Waterbury, Willimantic and Winsted. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs also offers combat-readjustment counseling at Vet Centers in Danbury, Rocky Hill, Norwich and West Haven. For 2013 in Connecticut, the medical care budget was $494,529,295. There were 59,023 10

“In December, we opened another 74 units of permanent housing,” adds Harkness. “We’re always looking to give people their own key for their own lease, and therefore their own life. We do outreach with our local universities and colleges to help soldiers be more successful when they try to go to school. The political support that we receive from our Connecticut legislative delegation, who frequently visit the center, is unbelievable. They are great advocates, both for veterans and also to make sure that we get the resources that we need. One of our clients just got a Habitat for Heroes house in Bridgeport, the first time since 2001. She and her three children can now live under the same roof.” Harkness says that the center attracts patients from all over the country and the world seeking recovery-oriented services.

Errera Center Director, Laurie Harkness

unique patients, 2,909 female patients, 727,222 outpatient visits, and 5,430 total admissions with a 75-percent occupancy rate. In 2013, the center treated 4,785 veterans for mental health issues but has only 16 inpatient beds for mental-health patients. “The majority of our veterans are still mostly over 55 and come from the wars in Vietnam and Korea, but a growing percentage are coming from the [1991] Gulf War and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars,” explains Harkness, who is also a clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine. “We’re up to about 15 percent of young soldiers [from Iraq and Afghanistan], more and more of them each day. Our young returning soldiers don’t want to be patients — they want to be living their lives.” Harkness adds that younger veterans, including some in their early 20s, are too proud to ask for help and are simply trying to get on with their lives, including going to school and and/or getting jobs. “We provide all sorts of recoveryoriented services that include counseling, teaching life skills, housing searches, vocational services and case-management services,” says Harkness. The center, which opened

in 1994, is in the process of adding 20,000 additional square feet of space. A recent $10 million grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs will help to pay for augmenting the center’s services for homeless veterans, as well as expanding medical services, vocational services, employment services and life-skills services. “We have 150 on staff, of which over half are veterans themselves,” Harkness explains. “This is very important because, in our country, there is no stronger bond than veteran to veteran.” She adds that in 2013 more than 1,000 homeless veterans came into the center for the first time, including almost 200 who were heads of families as well as 100 young female veterans. “Our job is to get them housed as soon as possible and back to living their dreams, working and going to school,” Harkness explains. “We place our staff social workers out in the courts to work with judges, prosecutors and public defenders so that our young soldiers coming home and getting into trouble can take advantage of our services to get treated rather than incarcerated.”

“We couldn’t do this without volunteers and without community partners,” she says. “They include Columbus House, Homes for the Brave, the Women’s Institute, the New Haven Community Loan Fund, AT&T and Connecticut Heroes Project, which is developing our statewide strategic plan to end homelessness.” “We have some veterans who are 20 and 21,” says Harkness. “When they’re that young, they don’t want to admit that they have a mental illness or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD]. We teach people how to live with their mental illness. We teach them that, in spite of having PTSD or being depressed, you can still live a rich full life like the rest of us. They carry the motivation and we provide the support. Our fleet of 63 vehicles goes out into the community every day to work with veterans where they live, because we want to teach them how to live in their community, not in an institution.” She is proud of the fact that the center is a national model and has been recognized by Congress as a exemplar for the rehabilitation of war-weary veterans. It’s the first time a mentalhealth facility has been so honored. “I love my job,” adds Harkness. “Can you tell?” — Thomas R. Violante

HEALTHCARE HEROES 2014

DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS

Connecticut Health Care Construction Specialists CT Ortho Medical Facility, Branford 16,000 Square Feet, $2,000,000

PDS served in the role as General Contractor for this new multi-story outpatient surgery center. PDS met all department of health & safety standards. The project entailed 3 surgical rooms, recovery rooms, extensive medical gas, plumbing & equipment, complex interior ﬁnishes, secured regulatory approvals, and was a fast track completion.

Veterans Health Care Facility, Rocky Hill 90,000 Square Feet, $ 27,000,000

This Veterans Health Care Facility includes 125 beds, 5 wards and 2 courtyards. The facility is compromised of state of the art medical services along with long term care to veterans with chronic and disabling medical conditions. PDS also installed 50 bathrooms, 5 laundry rooms, automatic sliding doors, 10 handicap suits and keypad front entry. A tunnel was built from the new facility to existing building from each kitchen to accommodate easier access for transporting food and other items. The facility provides hospice care, palliative care and respite care.

PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of

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107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomﬁeld, CT 06002 | | www.pdsec.com | (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 11

PHYSICIAN OF THE YEAR David S. Rosenblum, MD

A Doctor Who Has Your Back Spinal-cord injury specialist David Rosenblum stops at nothing to improve the lives of his patients

Gaylord Specialty Healthcare Wallingford

In 2012, Gaylord became one of 20 facilities in the world where patients can use the exoskeleton.

inned to the bulletin board in the Niantic nursing home room where Cynthia Fiora lives is a photograph of a man who has played a central role in her life.

Research is one of Rosenblum’s priorities. “He been heading up our effort to try to make sure that patient care is the latest and the best,” explains Alan Jette, MD, director of the New England Regional Spinal Cord Center. Rosenblum is a co-principal investigator with the center.

“If I point to the picture or ask Cynthia, ‘Who is that guy at Gaylord we love so much?’ she can’t speak but she will smile,” says Cynthia’s mother, Gloria Litsky. The “guy” is David S. Rosenblum, MD, medical director of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in Wallingford, and director of its spinal-cord injury program. He’s a physiatrist, or medical doctor specializing in physical medicine, rehabilitation medicine and spinalcord injury medicine.

As director the Health & Disability Research Institute at the Boston University School of Public Health, Jette oversees a research program that spans nearly three decades. “We’ve looked at things like pressure ulcers and ways to reduce depression,” Jette says. “Now we’re focused on advocacy, using a computer- based program to help people become stronger advocates with their primary care doctors.”

Fiora, 62, has multiple sclerosis. She met Rosenblum more than two decades ago, when she was a Gaylord outpatient. Over the years he has helped her — and countless others.

The research is federally funded in five-year cycles.

Rosenblum, 52, was an early advocate for the baclofen pump, an implanted device used to deliver medicine to relieve spasticity. “Cynthia got her first baclofen pump in 2000 to help keep her legs from becoming stiff,” Litsky says. In 2006 Gaylord, in collaboration with Boston (University) Medical Center, affiliated with the New England Regional Spinal Cord Center, one of 14 model spinal-cord systems in the U.S. Its research is funded by the federal government. The achievement was the culmination of years of effort by Rosenblum. His pursuit of excellence began early. While growing up in Woodstock, N.Y., Rosenblum had twin passions: medicine and music. His family physician, a family friend, often took him on rounds at a local community hospital. The budding doctor also devoted himself to the flute, which he began playing as a child. When considering colleges, Rosenblum chose the University of 12

Photo:Dominick Cenotti

Albany (N.Y.) as much for its music program as its science curriculum. “I wanted to be able to take lessons and play in chamber ensembles,” he recalls. “Then [following graduation] I went to medical school at the University of Buffalo, and there wasn’t time for music.” A sub-internship in rehabilitation during his final year of medical school set the stage for Rosenblum’s career. “That was it,” he says. “I never looked back. After completing med school in 1987, Rosenblum did an internship in internal medicine at Millard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y. and a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at ColumbiaPresbyterian Medical Center in New York City.

He began working at Gaylord in the early 1990s, where he assumed a proactive approach to finding the best care for his patients. “As soon as the baclofen pump was approved [in 1994 by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration], I went to Boston and spent a lot of time with one of the lead investigators,” says Rosenblum. “Gaylord was one of the first centers to offer it.” Rosenblum also was an early adopter of using botulinum toxin (trade name Botox) to treat spasticity. One of the latest innovations Gaylord has helped to pioneer is the Ekso Bionic Exoskeleton, a robotic suit enabling individuals confined to wheelchairs to stand and learn to walk.

During Gaylord’s first grant cycle, Rosenblum explains, “We worked to create a reliable and valuable measurement tool for spinal-cord injury that may be better than the functional independence measure [on disability and rehabilitation outcomes], which was never designed for use with spinal cord injury. Now in our second cycle, we’re working on computer technology allowing the choice of questions to be narrowed.” Jette says he has “really enjoyed collaborating with Dr. Rosenblum” since 2006. “His compassion as a physician and dedication to the patients is very genuine,” Jette says, “and he’s the kind of person I’d like to work with if I had a spinal-cord injury.” Brian Marshall is glad he did. “His dedication is just unbelievable,” says Marshall, who first met Rosenblum in the intensive care unit at Yale-New Haven Hospital last September, following surgery for an accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. “I was in a coma for HEALTHCARE HEROES 2014

most of two weeks but I did know that he was going to be my physician.”

move around in a wheelchair. He now lives with his mother in Massachusetts.

Marshall was transferred to Gaylord on October 1, 2013. “As I started to gain consciousness and cognitive abilities, that’s when I realized that Dr. Rosenblum is truly one of a kind,” he says. “He answered all my questions, and he would check on me in the morning, and in the evening, depending on what issues arose.”

“I can’t believe how much better and stronger I got so quickly, thanks to PT [physical therapy] and OT [occupational therapy],” Marshall says. “Dr. Rosenblum got me going as quickly as I could, and I would not be where I am without his care.” Litsky characterizes Rosenblum as “very remarkable” in the way he listens to patients, looks at them and talks to them “in this quiet voice.

Even more important to the patient was Rosenblum’s demeanor. “He smiles,” Marshall says. “He’s confident. “After all these years we’ve never lost He exudes enthusiasm, which sets the touch,” she says. “He’s such a gem, tone for his whole team.” and the people who have him are so fortunate.” That enthusiasm was contagious. “I immediately made the decision I was going to work as hard as I can,” says the 50-year-old Marshall, a former sales specialist for Hesco, a Rocky Hillheadquartered industrial-automation solution provider. “I’m paralyzed, but I’m adapting to my spinal-cord injury. “It’s a case of just moving forward. When I woke up and found out my back was broken, I figured I would be in on a ventilator and in rehab for a year,” Marshall adds. Instead, he left Gaylord shortly before Thanksgiving. He was strong enough to sit up and

Looking ahead, Rosenblum envisions further improvements on an ambulatory system for patients with spinal-cord injuries, including home units within the next five years. “Then there’s search for the cure,” he says. “There’s so much going on with research in stem cells and chemicals to inhibit factors that inhibit the growth of nerves. There really isn’t anything practical now, but perhaps in the next decade well be able to capitalize on the fruits of all that research.” – Karen Singer

WVRA & Westville are thrilled for your success and proud of your accomplishments with the“Weigh to Live” program. Congrats on being a Healthcare Hero!

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Healthcare Heroes 2014

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PROGRAM Weigh To Live A joint program of Chapel Haven and the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center

Shedding Pounds of Flesh A new collaborative program helps adults with disabilities make healthier lifestyle choices

iving an independent life means more than having the ability to put a roof over one’s head or clothes on one’s back. It also means being able to make intelligent day-to-day decisions that affect a person’s life and well-being.

That’s what Chapel Haven President Michael Storz had in mind when he introduced “Weigh To Live” to residents. The program teaches good eating choices to help maintain a healthy overall lifestyle. Chapel Haven is a residential facility for adults with developmental and/or social disabilities. “Our goal is to teach adults how to live truly independent lives,” Storz explains. “Within two years a student will graduate and learn how to bank, grocery-shop, live with roommates” and other necessities, he says. “Health and wellness is just as important,” says Storz. “It’s really critical that we each our individuals how to live and maintain an independent lifestyle.” Weigh To Live was developed through a partnership with the Cornell ScottHill Health Center. Jill Meyerhoff, the center’s community-health promotion specialist, designed the program with Storz’ goals in mind. It includes a range of aids and incentives, from weight-loss tips to choosing healthy snacks to weekly weigh-ins. “I wanted to create a program to help Chapel Haven residents maintain healthy weight and healthy lifestyles,” Meyerhoff explains. It worked, according to both Meyerhoff and Storz. “[The program] is showing pretty significant benefits,” Storz says. For example, one student’s triglyceride levels dropped more than 150 points, from 337 to 159, says Storz. Other students experienced notable reductions with triglycerides as well as improvement in other health areas. “Of the 50 students [monitored during the program], 12 lost [a total of ] 52 pounds, 11 had lower blood-pressure readings, six had lowered cholesterol and six lost inches in their waist and hips,” says Meyerhoff.

Photo:Dominick Cenotti

From left to right, Margit Comway a student at Chapel Haven, Einera Beauvaif from Chapel Haven. Christine Solimini-Swift from Cornell Scott, Michael Storz from Chapel Haven, Adam Macleod, Jill Meyerhoff and Brianna Foshay from Cornell Scott.

“Pretty much all students in this program have seen significant reductions,” Storz says. The students achieved these health gains largely by making better food choices, Meyerhoff says. “They ate more fruits and vegetables, more [low-fat foods such as] nonfat yogurt.” A continuum labeled Go-Slow-Low aided their choices. Foods in the “Go” category, such as yogurt, were to be generously consumed. Those in the “Slow” category, such as potato chips, were to be eaten only occasionally. And those in the “Low” category, such as fried foods, were to be consumed only occasionally. Chapel Haven was established in 1972 on Chapel Street with the mission of helping people with special needs lead independent and fulfilling lives. The facility moved to Whalley Avenue in 1976, with expanded programs. Today, programs focus on residential education; supported living, community life, employment and

community-centered initiatives; and recreation. Chapel Haven has a sister facility in Tucson, Az., Chapel Haven West. A Weigh To Live program has been established there too..

Storz wanted to incorporate an emphasis on healthy eating into the Chapel Haven independent-living goals. There is, he notes, a correlation between obesity and being disabled.

Weigh To Live was initiated at Chapel Haven after Storz decided to confront his own weight-loss challenge. He joined Weight Watchers to address it.

For example, “Many of our individuals are on medication, and there’s a lot of medication weight gain,” he explains.

“I was a person certainly struggling with weight issues,” Storz recalls. And, he notes, “I was a guy who thought the last thing I would do was enter a Weight Watchers program. [But] when I went there, I felt surprisingly comfortable.” He learned a lot, he says. “I thought I knew what eating healthy was, but I was making poor choices,” he says. “When I saw how easy it was if you followed [the Weight Watchers Program] like a science,” he was convinced of its effectiveness. Storz lost 50 pounds on the program, and has kept the weight off.

The program has had an extended effect, Storz says. “It’s not only teaching students to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but it’s changed the entire culture of the staff,” he notes. “It’s truly been an amazing partnership with Cornell Scott and incredible things are happening,” says Storz. Chapel Haven is located at 1040 Whalley Avenue. It will host an open house from 10 a.m. to noon February 28. During that time visitors may find out more about Weigh To Live as well as other Chapel Haven programs. To learn more visit the Chapel Haven website at chapelhaven.org. — Felicia Hunter HEALTHCARE HEROES 2014

A UNIQUE INTEGRATION OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION AND INDEPENDENT LIVING

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is proud to be recognized as a Health Care Hero with our partner, Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, continuing to make fitness and health a priority in 2014!

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PROVIDING AN ARRAY OF LIFELONG INDIVIDUALIZED SUPPORT SERVICES FOR ADULTS (18+) SINCE 1972

A community is more than a group of people; it’s a family. Since 1968 we have been part of the Greater New Haven community, providing medical, mental health and dental healthcare to everyone who walks through our doors. We are proud to serve this community and thank you for letting us be a part of your family.

Call: (203) 503-3000 www.cornellscott.org • 15

ADVANCEMENT IN HEALTH CARE Cobalt Therapeutics New Haven

“M

an can alter his life by altering his thinking.”

That observation by philosopher and psychologist William James expresses the fundamental principle of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a therapy that helps patients understand the processes underlying their behaviors. Many regard CBT as especially helpful in the treatment of insomnia, depression, anxiety and addiction. Change the behavior, solve the problem — in contrast to the alltoo-common tactic of throwing prescription pills at any and every disorder. Seth Feuerstein and Benjamin Steve Bunney are keenly aware of these issues. “Treatment guidelines for some of these conditions actually say CBT should be your first option,” says Feuerstein. “If you talk to the sleep experts they will tell you almost universally that if you can get CBT for insomnia you should do it first, because the meds come with all kinds of baggage. “But have you ever met anyone who has had CBT?” he asks rhetorically. A major problem, Feuerstein says, is that there simply aren’t enough CBT practitioners to satisfy the demand. There is virtually a “bottomless” need for them, he explains, even in cities like New Haven that are home to generous medical resources, let alone more remote areas where even fewer resources are available. This is where Cobalt Therapeutics comes in, making Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CCBT) available via the Internet. Both Feuerstein, 41, and Bunney, 75, co-founded Cobalt in 2009 to provide another resource for the rise of CCBT in the United States, following its better established application overseas. The pair became acquainted while Feuerstein was completing his training in psychiatry at Yale; Bunney was chairman of the psychiatry department there for 20 years up to 2007. At Yale Feuerstein observed patients with mild symptoms being given prescription drugs when CBT might 16

Filling a Treatment Void Cobalt makes CBT treatment available to patients online

have been a superior option. “It was really hard, if not impossible, to get them an appointment with a CBT clinician, even though I know a lot of them,” Feuerstein recalls. “There were long waits and a shortage of clinicians.”

Photo: John Mordecai

So the two ultimately researched and traveled the globe in search of programs that addressed some of the most common disorders, assembling a portfolio of programs to address insomnia, depression, anxiety, addiction and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). “Our criteria being that these had to have been developed at academic institutions that had carried out randomized control trials and worked, and had been published in leading journals,” Bunney says. “The data is the difference.” The software is provided to qualified patients through gatekeepers such as insurance companies and clinics, including the Connecticut Mental Health Center in New Haven, the West Haven VA Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury and MidState Medical Center in Meriden. Cobalt does not offer its software directly to consumers yet, stressing that it ultimately is more important to have a clinician (e.g. a doctor, mental health or social worker, nurse) at the helm to coach and assist as necessary. “Maybe we’re overprotective, but what if it’s not working? [The patients] need someone to be in contact with,” Feuerstein says. “It’s human nature. There is data to suggest that if they have someone to reach out to, they’re more likely to stick with” the therapy. The Mental Health Association (MHA) of New York City, which operates the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, offers Cobalt software as an extension of its mental health services, and makes available to patients round-theclock chat online or by phone if needed. Cobalt Vice President and COO Joshua Rubin says the speed of access provided by CCBT programs is key. “This absolutely reduces the barriers to care,” explains Rubin. “You don’t have to take the time off work or tell your boss you’re going to therapy. You

Seth Feuerstein (l) and Benjamin Steve Bunney

don’t have to walk into the clinic in your neighborhood that says ‘Mental Health.’ [CCBT] makes it possible for people who would never have been willing to get help to get help.” Kathryn Salisbury, vice president of programs for the MHA, says CCBT costs one-third to one-quarter as much as a face-to-face visit to a provider. The fact that it can be used in primary care and easily accessed by all is a major selling point as well. “There aren’t enough providers to send people who need behavioral health services,” she says. “This way we can identify people earlier and provide immediate access to care without the long waits or even having to gain access to a clinic.” The MHA recently was awarded a grant from the state of New York to provide CCBT to victims experiencing long-term mental-health effects from Hurricane Sandy.

his or her convenience (it takes only a few minutes per week), without paying for regular doctor visits or time off work. The physicians are able to offload a majority of their face-to-face patients to focus on the most serious cases. The Affordable Care Act mandates mental health coverage. Feuerstein stresses that placing mental health on a par with medical benefits — represents an advancement. “Medical versus behavioral are artificial distinctions to begin with,” Feuerstein asserts, citing the co-morbid conditions that often accompany things like high cholesterol and other behavioral disorders. “The health-care industry splits the two, but one of the things that has helped accelerate our success over the last few months is mental-health parity.” — John Mordecai

One of the principal benefits of CCBT for patient and clinician alike is time and cost. The patient accesses the treatment immediately from home at HEALTHCARE HEROES 2014

RESEARCHER OF THE YEAR Anil R. Diwan NanoViricides Inc. West Haven, Shelton

In Search of Silver Bullets How NanoViricides’ Anil Diwan kept alive a dream that at last nears commercialization

Diwan illustrating his polymer designs on a napkin. Seymour initially held back, telling Diwan he was perhaps too far out “on the edge” (recalling Diwan’s “out of range ideas” at IBI). But Seymour kept researching the approach, as Diwan’s says of Seymour “his curiosity built an interest” as did the potential in attaching desease if Diwan’s approach worked.

nil Diwan may be the least likely bioscience researcher and entrepreneur in greater New Haven today. Diwan grew up in the small Indian town of Kolhapur, then attended the India Institute of Technology in Bombay (now named Mumbai).

He would add to his academic résumé in chemical engineering at Rice University in Houston before accepting a teaching position at the University of Connecticut in the late 1980s. A position at IBI International Biotechnologies Inc. (now a subsidiary of Kodak) brought him to New Haven and Science Park.

By 2005 interest in the type of targeted therapies that Diwan had been pursuing was gaining traction, and Seymour came onboard as CEO. “He [Seymour] had confidence he could raise money,” Diwan explains. “We formed NanoViricides in 2005 and went public by a reverse public shell and merged into it.”

Ideas and simple explanations of complex bioscience concepts flow quickly from Diwan, and a visiting reporter has all he can do to keep up with a flood of scientific lessons and terms. So it’s not surprising that a younger Diwan might have encountered some early resistance, as he did when pitching an idea at IBI. “My boss thought [Diwan’s ideas] were way out of the range and shouldn’t be pursued,” he recalls. For the indefatigable Diwan that disappointment was merely a blip, as he was determined to put his own theories to the test. So in 1992 he formed his own company, Applied Biotech Concepts (ABC), but absent a university affiliation Diwan discovered that financing was not easy to come by. He eventually connected with the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, known for its advanced chemistry department, and was able to garner support for his “proof of concept.” Diwan’s idea was for a way to use a polymer (a large molecule with many repeating parts) to surround and attack viruses or cancer cells within the body. With this institutional support he was able to attract Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and other grants to pursue “his ‘out of range ideas, that shouldn’t be pursued.’” Progress was made and a patent obtained, but along the way Diwan

With Seymour came new business and scientific skills, as well as a network of financial and medical contacts. NanoViricides began to grow, adding employees and lab space in the pursuit of developing and testing its molecules and their efficacy.

learned another important lesson: with major institutions comes major bureaucracy and thorny internal politics. It was not Diwan’s ability to develop polymer chains that can connect to viruses, but a lack of skill at politics that proved to be the undoing of the relationship with UMass. Eventually the breakup would prove to be a blessing in disguise, but not before what looked like the end of his dream. “By 1999, I was completely disheartened and decided I have to do something else and started doing software engineering,” he recounts. The lab continued, however, with just a single employee. “I was making money [from the software] and I would write up my concepts and had an employee whose salary I could pay from that money,” Diwan says. He spent “six months there, six months in the lab” to try to keep his dream alive. Without the work from his collaboration with UMass/Lowell, he

had to reevaluate and chart a path toward a more sustainable approach. The company was located in a large warehouse space in West Haven, hardly a sexy location for today’s high-flying biotechs. But it would be characteristic of the frugal style Diwan has taken, initially designing and often building the company’s own equipment to conserve precious financial resources. After several years of very slow progress, the effort finally began to accelerate in 2004 when he made a business contact who became interested in the company and its technology, and as a result introduced Diwan to Eugene Seymour. Seymour was a physician who had established an HIV-testing laboratory in Los Angeles in 1986 and had been a consultant to the UN on AIDS research and was himself a bioscience entrepreneur. In what was planned as a brief introductory meeting turned into an intense hours-long discussion, with

Today company remains low key in West Haven in a sprawling set of offices and labs , but that is all about to change. The company is building a new facility in Shelton to be able to build and test in volume the polymers it needs to advance to more testing and clinical trials. To be sure there are still doubters of Diwan and whether his effort will yield results. Failure, of course, is the life’s blood of bioscience, but as of now that does not look like the future of either Diwan or NanoViricides. In early February the company filed with the SEC that it “now has approximately $38 million of current assets plus restricted cash in hand,” having raised an additional $20 million this January. The company added that it “estimates that this funding is sufficient to enable [it] to perform initial human clinical trials of our injectable FluCide drug candidate, as well as possibly to advance our DengueCide orphan drug candidate toward initial human clinical trials.” – Mitchell Young

VOLUNTEER(S) Kacey Rose Foundation Glen and Kristina Mitchell Wallingford

Honoring a Brave Little Girl Wallingford’s Kacey Rose Foundation helps families of children with cancer and blood disorders

t’s often seen as sound advice to take whatever negative circumstances life throws our way and turn them into positives. Sometimes that’s all the more important the more severe the circumstances. And Kristina and Glen Mitchell know a thing or two about severe circumstances.

Photo: Dominick Cenotti

The foundation is acutely sensitive to those whose cancers require transplants of bone marrow and stems cells, and promotes the donation of the stem cell-rich umbilical cord blood. The foundation’s website links donors with Florida-based Lifeforce Cryobanks, and thanks to initiatives from State Sen. Len Fasano (R-34), health-care providers in Connecticut must inform patients about public and private cord blood banks.

It was within a week after giving birth to their son Max in January 2007 that the Mitchells’ year-old daughter Kacey Rose was handed a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), type M7 — a rare and fast-spreading disease that starts in the bone marrow and disrupts the production of blood cells. In young children it typically is mortal.

Cord blood was particularly important in the Mitchells’ case. The family had first sought a bone marrow transplant for Kacey while she was in the hospital, but were shocked to find their daughter had no matches in the national bone-marrow registry. The stem cells in cord blood, however, provide another option for those in similar condition.

The year and a half that followed saw Kacey enduring five rounds of chemotherapy — she went into remission after the first round, but relapsed shortly after the fifth — a stem-cell transplant from donated umbilical cord blood, and a second relapse before ultimately succumbing. But the story didn’t end there. The Mitchells used their experience to help the families of others affected by childhood cancers and blood disorders. The Kacey Rose Foundation was created while Kacey was still in the hospital and friends of the Mitchells would pitch in or raise money to help the family with everyday costs. After Kacey’s passing in May 2008, and at the urging of Kristina’s friends, the charity was launched and fundraising events were already being planned. It was as much a means to help others as it was for the family to distract itself from the pain. “Kacey passed away in May, and in June I was already planning our first event, and really we just branched from there to help other people experiencing the hardships we felt when our daughter was sick,” Kristina Mitchell says. “Everybody needs help when they have a sick child, regardless of what their salary is.” The Kacey Rose Foundation raises money through donations and fundraising events throughout the year to help offset all kinds of financial 18

the hospitals and the families are very grateful, so even if it stays this way, it’s still a great success.”

burdens – whether it’s for relatively simple things like gas, groceries or utility bills, to mortgage payments, rent or insurance bills. Kristina Mitchell says they’ve even provided payment of a week’s salary so a parent can spend time with their child in the hospital. In some cases the foundation has helped with the costs of funerals. “I want people to know that they’re not alone in the fight and there are others who understand the burdens — emotional and financial — that come with having a child who is sick,” she says. “I know that when my daughter was sick, I didn’t care about anything around me; who helped or who gave what. But even if it’s just $500 in gas cards, those little things go a long way.” The foundation holds an annual golf outing, a wine-tasting, 5K road race, a motorcycle ride and other events through the year, raising between $50,000 to $100,000 per year. Last year it raised $45,000, which went

to help 44 families. The first event of 2014 is an April 3 wine-tasting at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven. Families are referred to the foundation mainly through social workers at area hospitals, primarily Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) and the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. The foundation takes in donations from the public, some come from former Kacey Rose recipients. She says the donations that come in usually depend on the economy, and the foundation. While Kristina Mitchell would love for the foundation to grow, she’s also more than happy to be helping out in any capacity. “We’re a grassroots organization; we have great supporters and we look to the local community” she says. “I would love to see this grow into something bigger than it is, but I’m extremely proud of myself and everyone who is a part of it. I know

“If you have a loved one with cancer or anemia or sickle cell and their only chance of survival is a bone marrow transplant, and then you find out you don’t have a match, you need another option,” she says. “We make it part of our mission to spread awareness that this umbilical cord is going to be discarded, when it could actually save someone’s life. That’s huge.” Among the other initiatives the foundation has undertaken is Kacey’s Korner, a library of children’s books in the pediatric clinic of the Smilow Cancer Hospital. In addition to public donations, last year the Barnes & Noble bookstore in North Haven made Kacey’s Korner the recipient of its holiday book drive. There is also Kacey’s Kart, a mobile library for the inpatient unit at YNHH and at Yale’s Pediatric Oncology office in Guilford. “When I started the foundation it was to help with the grieving process, but now I don’t envision being able to discontinue the work. I don’t need to do this anymore to help me get through what I’ve been through. I do it because I want to now.” — John Mordecai HEALTHCARE HEROES 2014

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COMMUNITY SERVICE Steven Wolfson, MD YNHH Heart and Vascular Center

Caring for the Neediest Cardiologist and public-health advocate Wolfson has been instrumental in bringing quality health care to the uninsured

It was health-care policy and patient contact that became more important to Wolfson than teaching, so he founded a practice, Cardiology Associates of New Haven, which has grown to 16 physicians in five offices region-wide, (recently sold to YNHH). It also provided training to medical students and housed a research facility for drug trials.

Sometimes real change begins with just a single person saying yes.

When New Haven physician Suzanne Lagarde learned from Peter Ellis, MD, an assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine, about Project Access, a Waterbury program that provided free medical care to uninsured patients, she got into gear.

Having a successful private practice allowed Wolfson to spend time on health-care policy and what he describes as “protecting physicians’ ability to deliver individualized and compassionate care.”

Lagarde became chief executive of the Fair Haven Community Health Center (FHCHC) last July after longtime CEO Katrina Clark retired. But well before assuming the helm at FHCHC, Lagarde was already an experienced do-gooder and public-health advocate. As a physician she traveled to Biloxi, Miss. to help out in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and had been returning returning regularly to provide medical care. Lagarde brought the idea that New Haven needed its own Project Access to the then-president of the Connecticut State Medical Society, Steven Wolfson, MD, a cardiologist and public-health advocate. Wolfson observed an immediate need f in New Haven, with its large population of working poor as well as undocumented immigrants lacking health insurance. Wolfson knew that care was available at both Yale-New Haven and St. Raphael’s hospitals, but it was expensive for the institutions and insufficient for the patients. Wolfson was enthusiastic about Lagarde’s proposal, and he agreed to spearhead Project Access in 2008 — at a time of the recession — to ask doctors and other health-care providers to provide free care and to help finance the effort. Eventually a core group of physicians; Wolfson, Lagarde, Ellis and Stephanie Arlis-Mayor, current president of the Project Access-New Haven board, would craft a program that has bound New Haven’s medical community together and provide more than $5 million in specialty care, tests, equipment, hospital services — all completely free to its clients. What makes Project Access-New Haven unique is participation by as many as 300 specialists and 20

Rhonda Hawes of the Connecticut State Medical Society says of past CSMS president Wolfson, “He is an extraordinary, passionate physician who believes we have a moral obligation to care for one another through our daily lives as well as through medicine.” other health-care providers across disciplines and across the region. Wolfson explains why his group’s efforts have been met with such widespread support. Project Access, he explains, “liberates the good will in the medical community. “Ordinarily if an uninsured person comes to [me], I’m going to spend some time, we identify the problem and then we use a medical tool called ‘begging’ for tests and specialist visits and treatment in the hospital.” “But you have to be pretty sick to be admitted,” Wolfson adds. With the Hill Health Center, FHCHC and Yale-affiliated clinics, quality primary care was relatively available in New Haven. Specialist care, was not. Explains Wolfson, “The problem was once the patient needed specialty care, the wait lists were enormous.” Wolfson’s contacts and understanding of the issues made for rapid progress. Paul Fortgang, MD, then president of New Haven County Medical Association, immediately said, “We have to back this,” recalls Wolfson. “They gave us some staff and some financial backing.” The effort moved on to the hospitals and what some might call enlightened

self-interest brought support from both Yale-New Haven and St. Raphael’s, with both institutions agreeing to provide PA-NH patients free hospital care as needed. Project Access-New Haven opened its doors in autumn 2010. Says Lagarde of Wolfson: “He was likely to be an ally [in helping to get Project Access established]. He already had a reputation for being very sympathetic to the plight of the underserved and had a track record of getting things done.” Wolfson grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., attended Columbia College and the New York University School of Medicine was a fellow at Boston’s Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and a senior resident in medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and two-year hitch as staff cardiologist at the U.S. Air Force’s premier medical facility, Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Tex. He would eventually come to New Haven to teach at the Yale School of Medicine, as director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at the YaleNew Haven Hospital for seven years and served as president of the YNHH medical staff.

For any patient, negotiating the health care-delivery system during a medical crisis can be a difficult challenge. Making the system work for Project Access patients of limited resources includes helping them “navigate” the health-care system, stay on track, communicate, keep appointments and more. Project Access navigators are now a core part of that effort. Initially, Wolfson and his colleagues worked weekly to train navigators and other staff. PA-NH then reached out to Gateway Community College, which responded by developing a certificate program for navigators, who now can find employment in clinics and medical practices. With the expansion of Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act, Project Access is helping many of its patients sign up for Medicaid, but undocumented immigrants remain uninsured and will continue to require free medical care. Wolfson sees the changes brought by health reform as providing more coverage for many PA-NH clients, but he expect a role particularly for Project Access’ navigators because, he says, “Health insurance does not guarantee health care.” — Mitchell Young HEALTHCARE HEROES 2014

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Yale New Haven Hospital & Yale Medical Group Congratulate

Dr. Steven Wolfson

on being chosen a greater New Haven Healthcare Hero, for his work with Project Access Dr. Wolfson is a member of the YNHH Heart and Vascular Center 2 Devine Street, North Haven, a practice with a combination of more than 100 years’ experience in cardiovascular disease.

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1591 Boston Post Road, Guilford | 2 Devine Street, North Haven 325 Boston Post, Suite 1C , Orange | 5 Pequot Park Road Suite 101, Westbrook Vincent DiCola, M.D., F.A.C.C., N.A.S.P.E. Lisa Freed, M.D., F.A.C.C. Jaime Gerber, M.D., F.A.C.C. Eric M. Grubman, M.D., F.A.C.C. Glen A. Henry, M.D., F.A.C.C. Douglas Israel, M.D., F.A.C.C. Steven Jacoby, M.D., F.A.C.C. Nathan Kruger, M.D. Christopher Loscalzo, M.D., F.A.C.C. Sandip Mukherjee, M.D., F.A.C.C.

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ADVANCEMENT OF HEALTH CARE: INDIVIDUAL Alvin Greenberg, MD North Haven

Medicine’s Master Builder The visionary physician whose career has been spent anticipating patients’ needs — and then meeting them

Haven Hospital Shoreline Medical Center, located at 111 Goose Lane in Guilford, in 2003.

lvin Greenberg, MD has played a pivotal role in the evolution of health care in greater New Haven ever since he arrived here in the early 1960s. Born in 1935 in the Bronx, NY, Greenberg graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1956 and earned his MD from the University of Rochester Medical School in 1960.

“I went to [then-hospital president] Joe Zaccagnino at Yale-New Haven Hospital and [told him] that he needed a presence out on the shoreline,” says Greenberg. “We went back and forth on the idea and finally agreed it was the right thing to do.”

Before founding his own practice, Neurosurgical Associates of New Haven, he was a resident in neurosurgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH). A board-certified neurosurgeon, Greenberg is a past president of the Connecticut Neurological Society, the New Haven Medical Association and the New Haven Jewish Federation. He is also a 2006 recipient of the Anti-Defamation League’s Torch of Liberty.

The center began small, with plans for a 40,000-square-foot building, but along the way hospital officials decided to add other services including a full emergency room, which increased the size of the facility to 80,000 square feet. Greenberg believes that the proliferation of hospital satellite centers located between large cities is part of a community outreach trend that will only accelerate because it fills a need for immediate, local care.

Once he had completed his residency, Greenberg was ready for private practice and thought the Elm City was a good place to start. He’s been here ever since. The need for a better way to handle the complicated and time-consuming medical workups that patients had to undergo leading up to surgery had been something Greenberg was analyzing in his mind for some time before he arrived at a conclusion. “I got the idea when I was first here,” he recalls. “Back then, you have to understand that people who needed a diagnostic workup were admitted to the hospital [for the necessary tests]. You could stay up to two weeks in the hospital for this because they had to schedule all your tests. Sometimes you could schedule them the same day and sometimes you couldn’t. Then, after the workup, which was a couple of weeks, they would decide you didn’t need any surgery and they would discharge you. Or if they decided you did need surgery, they would book you for it in the hospital. Maybe two or three days would go by until you were on the schedule for surgery. I thought this was ridiculous.” Instead, Greenberg decided that doctors could work up their patients in an outpatient setting in a centralized location and pool their resources, 22

Photo: Tom Violante

getting the different test and labs done under one roof. “We could buy the finest, state-of-theart equipment, work these patients up as outpatients, save them a fortune because they don’t have to go into the hospital, and, if they do have to go into the hospital, the blood work was already done in our lab and the pre-op X-rays were done,” says Greenberg. “How many times does someone go into the hospital the night before and the doctors find a problem and cancel the case? So we decided we’ll get the diagnostics done before admission and make sure everything is okay.” Greenberg’s idea took physical shape in 1978 in the form of Temple Medical Center at 40 Temple Street. But the human components — in the form of physicians — remained to be determined. “There was a group of specialists in New Haven, whom I respected medically,” Greenberg recalls. “I said, ‘Hey guys, we’re building an outpatient surgicenter.’ And they asked, ‘What’s that?’ Then I explained the whole thing to them and they asked, ‘How much

does it cost?’ I said, ‘Nothing. The bank is going to fund it 100 percent.’ So they said, ‘That’s fine.’” “We all agreed on my concept,” says Greenberg. “We got together and got a general partner [Edmund Fusco of Fusco Construction in New Haven], we didn’t know anything about finances, and we built Temple Medical Center. It was a great boon to greater New Haven. Now it’s been replicated all over the country and it’s routine to work up patients as outpatients. “There were no full-service radiology departments as an outpatient facility in the country back then,” Greenberg adds. “We were the first to do that. We had the first MRI in Connecticut, where patients came by ambulance from all over the state.” Not content with just one project under his belt, Greenberg realized that there was a need to reach out into the surrounding community and establish a hospital satellite along the fast-growing shoreline communities stretching east from New Haven. He conceived the idea and played a key role in establishing the Yale-New

His last project, forming the Recovery Care Center in the New Haven Hotel, grew out of a need to create a continuum of care keeping patients out of the hospital following ambulatory surgery or getting them out of the hospital after surgery there. It is located on the third floor of the New Haven Hotel and is connected by a pedestrian bridge to Temple Medical Center, allowing the transfer of patients from one building to another without the need for an ambulance or even stepping outdoors. “The hotel center is licensed by the state and has its own staff including a doctor as the director,” Greenberg explains. “We have two types of admissions. If we had a place for the patient to sleep overnight, we could do bigger surgeries in the surgicenter that might require 24 to 48 hours of observation [before the patient returns] home.” He says the other admission is as a step-down unit for patients from the hospital, those with more serious conditions, whether surgical or medical, who then became stable but still weren’t ready for discharge. — Thomas R. Violante

HEALTHCARE HEROES 2014

FALLEN HERO Joel Silidker, MD (1953-2013)

‘One in a Million’ The passing of a beloved obstetrician leaves a hole in the hearts of all who knew him

make sure they were all right. He was an excellent surgeon, he loved teaching and he was excellent at that. He was a motivator.”

o matter whom you talk to among those who knew him, the mere mention of Joel Silidker’s name evokes an array of emotions that let you know he was truly loved by all and that his passing deeply affected their lives.

Fletcher notes that Silidker received an award for teaching medical students just prior to his death.

Silidker, a physician in practice with Obstetrics-Gynecology and Infertility Group, PC, with offices located in greater New Haven, died suddenly last July 6 at age 60. He was en route to the hospital in a car driven by Tina, his wife of nearly 37 years, after he experienced chest pains at home. He left behind a legacy that few feel will ever be duplicated. Born in Newark, N.J., Silidker was graduated from George Washington University with a BA in 1974 and the George Washington University Medical School with an MD in 1979. He completed an internship in internal medicine and a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH), where he was awarded the Irving Friedman Award as chief resident, an honor bestowed for his outstanding clinical and humanistic skills. He was a clinical professor in the obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences department at the Yale School of Medicine. He was offered fellowship positions in both reproductive endocrinology and maternal fetal medicine, but turned both down to enter private practice in obstetrics and gynecology. Silidker was one of the first to train and practice advanced operative laparoscopic surgery, pelvic floor and urinary incontinence repairs, as well as robotic-assisted gynecologic surgeries. Silidker was renowned as a teacher and a mentor to countless residents and medical students, garnering virtually every teaching award offered by the department. He served YNHH on its medical board and obstetric practice committee, and authored the departmental newsletter. “When I came to New Haven in 1982 as a young attending [physician in training], Joel, who was chief resident

“He didn’t expect it,” says Fletcher. “He was proud of it. I don’t know anybody who had anything negative to say about him. It was very much a shock when he passed away. He was one of my best friends and he was wellrespected in the community. [Following his death] the patients called here and people were crying. For several months, patients who came in to the office were still devastated by his loss. He was one in a million. I don’t know anybody like him and I don’t think I’ll ever meet any other doctors like him.”

at Yale-New Haven Hospital, took me under his wing and introduced me to everybody and brought me into his circle where I was immediately accepted because of the esteem in which he was held by others,” recalls Norman Ravski, MD of County Obstetrics and Gynecology Group, PC. “Joel and I became friends — but we were really more like brothers and spoke three times a day.” Ravski explains that for 30 years Silidker provided compassionate, evidence-based, care to New Havenarea women. “As a partner in his practice he made everyone he knew feel as if they were his best friend. He offered sage advice to residents and opened his heart and home so that people could feel like a part of his family”, Ravski adds. “He had a presence, an aura about him and he was just fun to be with. And he made sure that every minute you were with him was a fun, memorable moment.”

Silidker established his own tradition for incoming classes of residents at Yale-New Haven. “He would buy them a case of wine with the proviso that they could only drink a bottle of it if at least three out of the six of them were having dinner together,” says Ravski. “He actually did it for them this year because the residents start in June, so it was before he passed away. I intend to continue that tradition for him. He wanted people to enjoy life. His message was, ‘Yes, you work very hard but you also have to enjoy life’.” “Joel was one of the most sincere people I’ve known,” says Kim Fletcher, MD, who was in the same practice as Silidker. “He was someone who not only took care of patients but cared about the patients he took care of. “He would go out of his way in ways that I can’t even imagine how he kept up,” Fletcher adds. “He’d call patients when they had family problems that had nothing to do with their medical issues. He’d check up on them and

“He was such a special person,” says Diane Prunier, office manager of Silidker’s practice. “I’ve worked here for 32 years and he came in here six months after me, so we had a real special relationship. He just made everybody feel so special, whether it was his patients or his staff. Every day he would thank us. He would call me every morning and ask, ‘What can I do for you?’” Prunier says that, even half a year after the fact, Silidker’s patients remain devastated by his loss. “I can’t tell you what we’ve gone through here in the past six months,” says Prunier. “I feel so bad for my staff because they were upset about him passing suddenly. And then, to have to come in here the day after his funeral and pick up the phone and tell the patient that he’s gone, one after another. And the physicians and the midwife who are seeing his patients have a hole in their heart and the patients are crying. He made everyone feel like they were his only patient. We’ll never be the same here. There will never be another Joel.” — Thomas R. Violante

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“People are sitting down and listening to music again,” he says with some excitement. “Back then, music was the only thing you had. If someone came home with a new Beatles album, his friends, his cousins, his neighbors came over — they’d hover around the record player and play it over and over. Maybe that would be a video game today.” The desire to go buy a record, he says, could be due to growing dissatisfaction with the intangibility and often inferior sound quality of digital music formats such as MP3s. “People like a manufactured piece,” Papa says. “You get the cover and some artwork, it gives you an opportunity to hear an artist from beginning to end. There’s more value to that than something you burned or downloaded.” One person’s third-rate pop throwaway will always be another person’s diamond in the rough, though, and as such Papa still gets a few vinyl-hoarders looking to unload their record collections a few times a week. And while he may not be able to buy everything, he says it’s still exciting to see what someone’s looking to part with. Papa even keeps a rolling wish list of items his customers are looking for in the hopes that one day it shows up in his store — perhaps a Beatles Yesterday and Today album with the rare “butcher” cover, or an original pressing of Cheech & Chong’s Big Bambu album that still included the cigarette rolling paper. He even gets visitors from all over the world who plot their record collecting routes up the East Coast from New York City.

days of magnetic audio tape) for a PBS special on polling pioneer George Gallup.

helped bring more people through the doors over the past five years.

Video aficionados can rest easy as well: Papa can likewise digitize at least six different formats of videotape, handy for those with boxes of home movies they can no longer play.

“It’s mostly college kids looking for vinyl. They haven’t experienced it before so it’s still new to them,” she says. “I think they’re more interested in buying physical copies now. They had their time with mp3s, but they’re not that great, just convenient. I think they appreciate sound more now.”

 The very existence of a record store in 2014 seems beyond unlikely. Nearly all have closed their doors over the past 15 years. One of the more notable casualties was New Haven institution Cutler’s Records, which closed in 2012 after 64 years in business. Even in the 1990s independent retailers were under siege from the big-box outlets of the day, which could afford to charge a few dollars less per album. But music sales have been declining across the board since the turn of the 21st century, when illegal digital downloading exploded and turned the record industry’s business model upside down. But a turning point came around 2006 when vinyl record sales saw an unexpected up-tick, mostly from young music fans who weren’t around when LPs were the primary format. Vinyl is now the fastestgrowing segment of album sales in the U.S.: six million discs were sold in 2013, up from 4.5 million the previous year.

Exile has always sold different types of music merchandise – posters, T-shirts, etc. – but Kretkiewicz says her store hasn’t had to alter its business plan over the years. The drop in music sales since the turn of the century led to the closing of its Hamden location in the middle of the last decade, but she says business in Branford has been up steadily each year since about 2007. Wallingford’s Redscroll Records is a relative newcomer, having opened in 2007. Vinyl has always been a big part of its business, and over time visitors to the store may have noticed the CD racks shrinking. The store has managed to keep on truckin’ by keeping a keen ear tuned to what customers want most. “We very much let our customer base steer the direction of what we carry,” explains co-owner Rick Sinkiewicz. “Our personal philosophy is to continuously keep up with whatever is changing, whatever is new. We’re not going to stop carrying CDs if we feel like it; the ones we do carry are the ones people seem to want.”

Most times, with patience, shoppers can get lucky. But some things are just too rare.

Vinyl’s renaissance is widely attributed to dissatisfaction with digital and a new appreciation for the physical object and richer sound quality. Buyers mostly appreciate the large-scale artwork of LP covers, and most new releases include a free digital download anyway.

“Some people have been searching for some things for years — they know it’s impossible, but they’re hoping we have some magic hat we’re going to pull it out of,” he laughs.

It’s still an implausibility, though, considering the near complete eclipse of vinyl by CDs in the 1990s — to the point where LP hoarders would abandon crates of good records at Papa’s door.

“The best thing you can do is listen to what the customers are asking of you,” he says. “That and following where the trends are going; that’s usually where the dollars are going.”

But Merle’s hasn’t only been about selling music. Papa points to one of the key reasons Merle’s has stayed alive and thriving through the turbulent retail climate of the past 15 years: its broad range of audio and video services and repairs.

“There was a point that I questioned, ‘Why do I still hoard these things and devote valuable floor space to all these records? Am I the crazy one?’” he recalls.

While Redscroll is crammed with all sorts of LPs and CDs from independent, underground and downright obscure bands the world over, Sinkiewicz says there are still plenty of people coming in for standards like Led Zeppelin and the Beatles (the classics never seem to go out of fashion).

The rear of Papa’s store is chockablock with used stereo equipment of various vintages — much of it restored in-house for resale. Often customers come in to have their old equipment repaired, because some things just aren’t worth replacing. “A guy brought in a beautiful Sansui power amp he bought in 1975 when he was stationed in Vietnam,” Papa recounts. “It has an issue, but he wasn’t willing to throw it away. Not only is the sound quality superb to what you’d buy today, but it had a lot of memories attached to it.” Papa is a self-taught repairman from an early age; he recalls a school project in his early teens for which he converted a turntable into a strobe light. Another extension of Merle’s services has been audio and video conversions: transferring various analog sources to digital. Papa says he’s transferred all kinds of old formats: standard records, old gramophones recorded by servicemen to send home from foreign wars, old answering machine recordings of deceased loved ones, and he even transferred audio from an old wire recorder (a device that existed before the

In large part it’s young people into their early 20s buying the records today, and they come to the store with the encyclopedic knowledge you’d expect of a consumer in the Internet age. A few years ago, Papa’s younger employees didn’t even know how to play a record on a turntable; these days that’s all they want to put on, he says. And they’ll pay for the nice new records, too. “The kids don’t seem to mind spending $30 on a new piece of vinyl, but if I get an old-timer in here and you put out a double Pink Floyd record for $50, they’ll think you’ve been smoking something in the back! They look at you like you’re crazy,” Papa says. To add some perspective, LP sales still accounted for only two percent of the 289.4 million albums sold in 2013. Compact discs are still king, with 165 million sold (57 percent of the total), and digital downloads accounted for 118 million album sales — nine million fewer than the previous year, due to the surging popularity of streaming music services like Spotify. Paula Kretkiewicz, co-owner of Branford record shop Exile on Main St. since its opening in 1993, says CDs still make up the bulk of the store’s sales and account for 90 percent of its stock. But vinyl has certainly

That’s a sentiment echoed by Papa, who on a busy day takes note of where in the store his shoppers are hanging out.

Papa says that while the future of the music industry is still impossible to predict, his own business at least seems more secure than it’s been in a long time. The digital world and the physical world are each in their own camps, and there doesn’t appear to be any new format on the horizon. “I don’t know what the future is, but I do think people who are into music still like to have a place to go, and hopefully we’ll be here for a while more — at least until I get to retire and put my feet up,” Papa says. And for those who imagine that the record collector’s best friend must himself have a to-die-for collection of music at home, think again. Having worked in a record store for nearly 40 years, listening to music outside of work was never much of a consideration. “I basically listen to what I want all day long,” Papa says. “I listen to music ten to 12 hours a day, six dayseek. When I go home I don’t want to listen to music. I have other hobbies.” Sometimes, he adds, “I just like to sit in the quiet or watch the news.”  new haven

Family CUBED

EDITOR’S LE T T I N TE L

A Guilford artist’s home is itself a work of art

LE TT ERS

AT H OME OF N OT E S 32 M ARCH /A PRIL 2014

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e c n e i r Expe The artist Nicola Armster silk screening her increasingly popular t-shirt designs.

By DUO DICKINSON

only for the architect, but for his client — daughter Nicola.

The Armster family has had more than 40 years of living their values in home creation. Sarah and Wil Armster had five children and the family has worked together in any number of efforts to build domestic bliss as the children pirouetted away from their seminal Guilford homestead. Wil credits Sarah has the designer of a family bond that has led to every Armster home being built with the help of almost every Armster.

omes almost inevitably reflect a family’s values. Those who are happy in the simplest of abodes clearly have more pressing agendas than domestic expression. Those who obsess over every decorative touch find their voice in the place where they hang their hat. Every home embodies a family’s sense of itself, its past and its future. Architect Wilfred Armster has designed buildings all over the United States, including many homes that fulfill his visionary insistence on expressing the essential realities of any built form. Armster quotes the German philosopher Goethe whose last words were reputed to be “More light!” in his seminal desire to let natural-light predominate in everything he creates. “Light changes everything,” he exclaims. Long before it was fashionable in haute architecture to create very expressive abstract shapes Armster knew that “Buildings speak for themselves. Every building should be a piece of sculpture.” A tiny new home in Guilford manifests many of Armster’s legacies: absolute integrity of material expression (in this case raw wood, concrete and steel), dynamic geometry (here a cube) and, of course, light. But more, this latest house Armster designed for one of his children perfectly synthesized the personal and professional — not

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Wil and Sarah were well ahead of the “green” curve as they have owned the recycled and plantation-grown wood mill Wood, Steel & Glas Inc. in Madison for decades. One son, Klaas, has directly followed in that family focus starting several companies specializing in reclaimed or sustainably harvested woods, including WoodPlanet.com. Another son, Sven, designs and builds in Westchester County, N.Y. But this story focuses on their daughter, Nicola Armster. The site Armster fille selected was right next to the family home in Guilford on Mulberry Point. There was a classic garage foundation that served as a defining perimeter: a square, 20-plus feet in each dimension that naturally progressed its two-dimensional promise into a cube. But that should not be a surprise, as this home’s official name is “Cube House VI.” It succeeded homes designed by Armster in

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Steel, wood, color, craft, art and celebrated objects in a double height living space combine the architecture of Wil Armster and the joie de vivreof his daughter Nicola

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NORTH HAVEN - For lease. High quality, newer 26,088 s/f free - standing, high bay, 10 drive - in door ind./whse. facility w/8,880 s/f high quality office space. Built in 2000. Immed. access to I - 91. Stephen Press x123

HAMDEN - Full 2nd flr. office/medical suite w/ elevator in highly accessible loc. in Hamden’s CBD. Very conven. to I - 91 & Wilbur Cross Parkway. $16 s/f NNN. Joel Nesson x131

HAMDEN - Class A office & retail spaces. On - site maint. + free 3 - tier park gar. Walk to restaurants, shops, Town Hall. Easy access I - 91 & Pkwy. Stephen Press x123

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Indiana and for a magazine and, also not surprising, for his other daughter, Heidi. Nicola Armster offers up a straightforward (and few-holds-barred) account of the design of her home: “My pop spent about a year or two delaying a design for my house/studio because he can’t make decisions. Then one fall I got food poisoning pretty badly and ended up in the hospital for a week. On the third or fourth day, my pop came in with a model of my house. I loved it! I fell in love!” Designing a perfectly conceived home was challenging enough, but building it on the budget of an artist proved even more daunting for the artist herself, Nicola. “The design was beautiful but a bit beyond my budget at the time so we split it in half and decided to build the cube studio first and then add one more floor for the bedroom so I could live there, too,” recounts Nicola. Ultimately the entire project came at significantly under $200,000 in total costs.

The small bathroom uses a custom concrete top and vessel sink with wood, windows and art to make intimate space.

The multiyear build-out was mostly done in-house, with brothers Sven and Klaas contributing labor, but just as everything else typically evolves, the artist became an entrepreneur. Nicola Armster’s work creating clothing and objects both useful and beautiful has had an amazing surge of success via direct

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New Haven - Turnbridge Crossing, 1 bedroom Ranch unit in small complex with central air, overlooking Quinnipiac River in the Historic District of Fair Haven Heights, off street parking, minutes to 91/95, Yale and down town. Alternative to renting. 90,000. Diana x 208

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Hamden - 4 bedroom Colonial, hardwood floors through out, living room with fire place, dining room, first floor den or 4th bedroom, large eat in kitchen, lower level finished with ceramic tile, 2 full baths, large master bedroom with great closet space, fenced in yard with new deck. Priced to sell, 211,000. Gena x 203

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marketing in the last year — but last month received worldwide recognition as a featured artisan/ product on the juggernaut website Etsy. In her profile on Etsy, Nicola celebrates the home that started as her studio, factory and shipping facility: “I love to draw cute animals and print them onto clothing for my shop, Nicola and the Newfoundlander,” she wrote. “I also make fun, functional pieces for the home, like clocks, robot planters and switch plates using reclaimed wood that my brother Klaas collects. The house has huge windows so me and my dog Otter watch owls, deer, fox, stray kitties and woodpeckers while I work.” It’s not just Nicola’s work that has received recognition. Last year Cube House VI won an Connecticut AIA Residential Merit Award from the Connecticut chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA/CT). As a piece of architecture, the house is both powerful and subtle. Its tiny (940 square feet) profile is not

only sculpted by Wil Armster’s visionary expertise, but its realization is imbued with the depth of craftsmanship and material expression that takes abstraction into the palm of your hand.

 There are essentially three levels (plus a few sub-areas) in the house. The entry level is accessed walking between a concrete pier and the wall at the cube’s corner and directly accesses the living space, the open mechanical systems (heating, plumbing, etc.) the one bath and the kitchen. A raised dining/sitting platform launches a stair to the fully open studio floor overlooking the lower level, where creating, producing, storage, shipping and display inject urgency into a carefully composed place. Another stair leads to the second “box” which rests atop the first — the cube — and houses the bedroom. This simplest of compositions — box on cube — has its wall opened by massive “cut-out” windows, carefully proportioned double-

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artwork. The exterior’s narrow horizontal cedar slats/battens/clapboards are similarly highlighted by the concrete armatures that support the lofted bedroom box and the ever-changing outdoor environment of green or autumnal foliage or winter snow.

The artist’s workshop occupies the middle level of the home.

The framed, precisely defined glass openings reveal the kinetic interior at night, but more, fulfill Nicola Armster’s deeply personal relationship with the embracing natural harbor of her Cube. “From the very beginning, the house has been a vessel for my work,” she says. “Living kind of fits between the work. When I cook or eat, I am surrounded by drying silkscreens lining the kitchen floor. When I sit down on the couch, I am surrounded by boxes of colorful clothing with my cute animal drawings on them.” The decision to divide the project into a work cube that ultimately supported the bedroom box was not just an economic necessity, it was an acknowledgement that even a driven artist needs relief from focus. height spaces, windowless walls, rampant color and the unabashed materiality of wood, concrete and metal fully present inside and out. Raw wood is everywhere. The framing is reclaimed Western hemlock and decking is reclaimed white cedar. The flooring is a

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“This one space is my escape from work — it’s like waking up in a treehouse,” she says. “I look out onto my yard full of wild birds and squirrels. I’ve seen fox, deer, coyote, raccoons stealing from my bird feeder, osprey carrying fish, woodpeckers killing my big maple, a hawk killing a tiny bird

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and an owl staring me and my bowl of oatmeal down.” As with all projects on a very low budget, Cube House VI benefited from an owner-operator who assume the role of general contractor and did all the shopping. “I went down to the restaurant supply stores in NYC to get my kitchen sink because I need deep sinks to wash out my silkscreens,” the artist explains. “I have about 50 overhead lights in my studio so that it I can work at any hour of the day or night. The floor is made of a soft wood since I’m on my feet when I print.” Just as Nicola Armster spends hours actually producing her art, there was a group of dedicated craftsmen (including a relative or two) who spent many months actually building her father’s dream: “My huge work table is made from the most beautiful pieces of maple I acquired from a small mill in Vermont,” she explains. “It was built by Breakfast Woodworks and Gil Murry. Gil and I worked together on the interior — he spent about eight months on my house. The kitchen came about six months later, which my other brother designed and built, including poured concrete countertops and custom cabinets from red birch. The stairs were made by Bob O’Shea, a longtime employee at my parents’ lumber mill, Wood, Steel & Glas. Each stair tread is a series of strips of hardwood glued together.”

The fusion of work and home life is the Armster way. The creative minds of the entire family accrue 42 M ARCH /A PRIL 2014

to an industriousness that means the cobbler’s children do have new shoes — or in this case the architect’s children have finished homes. But the miracle of building dreams is not just about materials, engineering, or even about sweat equity: In the case of homesteading, it’s about the love a family has. Wil and Sarah Armster have created a lasting human legacy that transcends both the tangible value of building and the aesthetic nourishment of art: The commitment of diverse households to come together to create in common purpose — ultimately expressing a close family’s love. It’s hard to design and build anything. It’s far more complicated to design and create with and for your children and siblings than enjoying the professional distance provided by working for strangers. The fact that the Armster family is sustained and survives a wide range of shared endeavors is a reality often overlooked as possible in our culture where people fly off to jobs, wherever they may be. The Armsters live their missions, creative and constructive. That allows their love for one another to keep them in a tight orbit, living within 80 miles of one another at the farthest — or next door, as Nicola is to her parents. At 39, Nicola Armster has come into her own as a business owner, as she is in full flower as an artist. The recognition and success has come from a place of strength and confidence that is clearly a genetic gift from her parents. At the heart NEWHAVENMAGAZINE.COM

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into the background, a single man in a light-colored hoodie walks in the space between them, his body moving forward but his face turned toward the police officers. At first glance, this man in the hoodie seems to suggest a conversation and the possibility of cooperation between police and protesters. But the man appears to be walking steadily onward while the police stand still with no sign of actually moving toward him. In this single image, Jacobson captures the potential for and implausibility of true dialogue. Many of Jacobson’s images deftly illustrate such contradictions. In another, nearby photograph, this one from a 2010 New York City rally against Arizona’s “Papers Please” law, a woman holds a sign that says, simply, “Do I Look ‘ILLEGAL’?” The lower half of her face, though, is obscured by a blurry second protestor in the foreground, evoking the obstacles caused by what Jacobson describes in his gallery essay as “the centuries-long racial history that conjoins the full rights of citizenship with how one ‘looks.’”

Crash Course Photo-documenting societal divisions laid bare by the economic collapse At the Crossroads of Hope and Despair: America Since the Crash, photographs by Matthew Frye Jacobson. At the Whitney Humanities Center, 53 Wall St., New Haven. Open 3-5 p.m. Mon.-Wed. or by appointment. Free. 203-432-0670, yale.edu/whc.

By ELIZABETH WEINBERG

t’s been some six years since the housing bubble burst in the United States, ushering in an era of high unemployment rates and increasingly polar political debate. Things have changed since then: The Occupy movement surged and then receded; Barack Obama’s tenure as president has been both pathbreaking and frustrating (depending on who

46 M ARCH /A PRIL 2014

you ask); Congress has become increasingly partisan and there seems to be little consensus in Washington regarding the best path forward. Not to turn a blind eye to current events, Yale University’s Whitney Humanities Center has mounted a new show in its gallery space that reflects the shifts of the last few years. The exhibition, a series of photographs

by American studies and history professor Matthew Frye Jacobson entitled At the Crossroads of Hope and Despair: American Since the Crash, pairs images and selected quotes to illuminate our nation’s recent history. The photographs themselves are compelling. They are exclusively black-and-white, conjuring what has sometimes appeared as increasing reductionism in public rhetoric. The lack of color has a secondary effect, too, of stripping away some of the “noise” of each scene and inviting the viewer to spend as much time considering the photographs’ content as their composition. Among the most evocative photographs is one taken of an Occupy Wall Street march in New York City in 2011. The image is neatly composed: On the left, protesters in primarily light colors march forward along the sidewalk, looking ahead, while on the street to their right a dozen or so police officers in dark uniforms stand confronting them. In the foreground, the two halves are cleanly split, neither side directly engaging with the other, but as the crowd recedes

This illuminating gallery essay is available as a pamphlet that accompanies the exhibition to explain the context and aims of At the Crossroads of Hope and Despair. But even so, the show feels overwhelmingly lacking in context: walking around the gallery it’s hard to know where the photos were taken and whom they depict. In some cases, this ambiguity is productive. In a series of photographs of buildings with “For Rent” signs, the lack of context suggests the sheer number and disuse of these buildings. But most photos, such as one of a shopkeeper standing in front of bare shelves, are denoted only with a location and date, leaving it up to the viewer to imagine what came before and after the shutter snap. The quotes on placards that accompany each cluster of photographs mitigates this issue to a certain extent. One quote by Zac Fabian, an Occupy activist in Charlottesville, Va. adds crucial texture and context to the surrounding images of Occupy protests: Fabian explains the common criticisms of the Occupy movement and some of the reasons the protests persist. NEWHAVENMAGAZINE.COM

But other quotes raise as many questions as they answer, such as one by Dan Russo (a pseudonym), a New York hedge fund manager who explains that, “It wasn’t one person’s greed; it was the collective greed.” Are we supposed to indict him for being a hedge fund manager and not admitting full culpability? Or should we give him credit for understanding the complexities of the system that led to the recession? So while many of these photographs have ample artistic merit and historical gravity, the show ultimately feels incompletely curated, the end-effect of the conglomeration of images only partially considered. There is, after all, something strange about putting an exhibition about unemployment and poverty in a room decorated with intricate molding and an ornate ceiling, particularly one in a building in a university where, as of 2010, 14 percent of students were employed in investment or finance one year after graduation.

It’s not that this juxtaposition is de facto problematic; Yale has a long and rich history of supporting the arts, and the Whitney Humanities Center does commit resources to considering issues of class and history. But At the Crossroads overlooks prime opportunities to engage with this apparent contradiction. The result is a collection of photographs that is thought-provoking but ultimately concerned with what is most visible, and most obvious. The viewer is presented with images of empty buildings and graffitimarked walls, as well as with images of protests, ranging from Occupy protesters to (though representing far fewer images) right-wing activists calling for Obama’s impeachment. But ultimately, these photographs show the polar, and the public, and the viewer is left to wonder: How did the crash affect Americans when they left their protests and headed home? What about those unable, or unwilling, to take to the streets? 

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L-r: David Wilson Barnes as Ben, James Barry as Pedro, Bryan Fenkart as Claude, James Lloyd Reynolds as Anton and Lucas Papaelias as Balth in the Yale Rep’s wprld premiere of These Paper Bullets. PHOTOGRAPH: Joan Marcus

Mod Squad Channeling both the Beatles and the Bard at the Rep By BROOKS APPELBAUM These Paper Bullets, adapted by Rolin Jones. Songs by Billie Joe Armstrong. Directed by Jackson Gay. March 14-April 5 at Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven. 203-432-1234, yalerep.org.

irst, let’s get a few things straight.

These Paper Bullets, which playwright Rolin Jones calls “a modish rip-off of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing,” contains songs — written by Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, no less — but the play is not a musical. Within the script, these songs are recorded or performed by a four-man, Londonbased 1960s rock band — the Quartos — who have only seven days to cut an album. So when they’re not falling in love, playing pranks or dodging their evil ex-drummer, the Quartos are writing at breakneck speed. Which brings me to the band. In the world of the 48 M ARCH /A PRIL 2014

play, the Quartos have become an international sensation, inspiring mass episodes of screaming hysteria and ecstatic fainting from adoring fans. However, any resemblance to the Beatles is purely a matter of borrowing the energy and playful spirit of the time. Yes, Ben is the swaggering front man; Claude is the sweet-faced lover-boy; quiet Balth contributes balance; and slightly kooky Pedro plays the drums. But we’re talking inspiration here, emphatically not impersonation. Director Jackson Gay and her actors — David Wilson Barnes (Ben), Bryan Fenkart (Claude), Lucas Papaelias (Balth) and James Barry (Pedro) — view the Quartos as wholly unique to this script. So, what was it like to sit down to lunch with these actor-musicians at a New Haven eatery protected, for the moment, from both fans and foes? Easy answer: a delight. Rarely have I witnessed such sparkling chemistry, and rarely have I heard performers speak of and to each other with such affection, admiration and ease. As Fenkart puts it, “We each have egos, but they are good egos: Everyone is on the same team, and that includes the whole cast and the crew. It’s the first time this has happened to me for a long while.” Barnes agrees. “There was an instant click among us. Rolin has extraordinarily good taste in human beings. All of us inspire each other.” Barry says that after only four weeks of rehearsal, he’s getting “pre-emptively depressed at the thought of not seeing everyone every day” once the production closes. Papaelias feels the same, though this warmth is

slightly unexpected. Playwright Jones had been talking with him about the project for years, and he had long wanted to work with these particular actors. However, he traveled to New Haven just 24 hours after leaving a show that he’d been doing offBroadway, and then on Broadway, since 2010. The show: Once. “I arrived here when it was cold and snowing, and I had a little bit of the feeling of, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’” Papaelias recalls. “But as soon as I got in the room with these people, I felt at home. They became not only friends, but like family.” As his experience with Once attests, Papaelias is an experienced actor-musician. In addition to straight plays, his work in Essential Self-Defense at Playwrights Horizons won him a Drama Desk nomination for Best Original Music in a Play, and he has released an album of original music, lpFunk. Fenkart and Barry are likewise gifted actor-musicians with impressive credits. Singer/songwriter Fenkart has cut two albums (Simple & Grey and Imperfect Man) in addition to performing in the Broadway production of the Tony award-winning musical, Memphis, before taking over the lead in the national tour. Barry performed in the off-Broadway and Broadway productions of the acclaimed Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and toured the nation as Carl Perkins in Million Dollar Quartet. Barnes — who has never before performed in a play with music — is, in the words of Papaelias, “one of the best actors ever — he’s a freak of an actor, he’s so good. The modest Barnes says that Rolin Jones NEWHAVENMAGAZINE.COM

“had seen my work and, after listening to me sing ‘Misery’ for my audition, felt that I was appropriate for the role.” He also adds that Jones assured him that he’d “have bandmates who would take care of all the hard parts.” Looking around the table at his friends, he smiles. “It’s great. I don’t have any solos.” Papaelias is playing his main musical instrument, but Fenkart and Barry are not. Nonetheless, Papaelias has nothing but compliments for his comrades. “David [Barnes] has a nice soft touch on the guitar that allows me to play my leads and licks — there’s no musical competition. And I’m so impressed with James [Barry]: Either he’s had way more drumming experience than he’s letting on, or he’s a total savant. He blows me away. And Bryan [Fenkart] is a great pianist, guitarist and singer.” As for the songs themselves, the men explain that Billie Joe Armstrong penned many of them out of affection for old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, knowing they would never be performed by Green Day. The Quartos agree: The music in These Paper Bullets is a “love letter to the 1960s era.”

So where does Much Ado About Nothing come in? Barnes points out that where Shakespeare’s play opens with soldiers returning triumphantly from war, that variety of triumphant return doesn’t happen anymore. So “Rolin thought about the kind of energy and joy a band would generate from returning to home base after a long tour.” These Paper Bullets mainly follows Shakespeare’s plot, but Barry is especially happy to see how Rolin has empowered the female characters and created a world in which fame doesn’t come from “being born into the nobility, but instead from having talent.” The conversation returns to the actors’ enjoyment of one another and the creative process. Barnes describes the writing as “light, fun, inviting and unique.” Adds Fenkart, “If the show never even opened, every moment of these rehearsals would still have been worth it.” Preparing to leave the restaurant, we suddenly stop. “Let It Be” has just begun wafting out over the sound system. Yes, we know the Quartos aren’t the Beatles, but serendipity is serendipity, and we all smile as we walk out onto the street. 

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These Paper Bullets! Meet the Quartos — Ben, Claude, Balth and Pedro. Their fans worship them. Scotland Yard fears them. And their former drummer will stop at nothing to destroy them. Can these fab four from Liverpool find true love in London and cut an album in seven nights? Described as a “modish rip-off of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, it features new songs written by Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. See story page 48. March 14-April 5 at University Theatre, 222 York St., New Haven. $98-$20. 203-432-1234, yalerep.org.

Cabaret An elusive graffiti artist must choose between artistic integrity and appeasing the Establishment. Envisioned as a modern-day Greek tragedy with a spoken-word chorus, We Fight We Die asks: Can there ever be such a thing as government-sanctioned art? This production incorporates collaboration with MFA painters from the Yale School of Art. 8 p.m. March 27, 8 & 11 p.m. March 28-29 at Yale Cabaret, 217 Park St., New Haven. $20. 203-432-1566, yalecabaret.org.

The House That Will Not Stand by poet/playwright Marcus Gardley. Following the mysterious death of her white lover, Beartrice Albans, a free woman of color in New Orleans in 1836, imposes a six-month period of mourning on herself and her three daughters. But as the summer heat intensifies, a handsome bachelor comes calling, a family secret is revealed, and the foundation of her household is rocked to its core. Patricia McGregor directs. March 14-April 5 at Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel St., New Haven. $98-$20. 203-432-1234, yalerep.org.

An older brother has recently discovered a handwritten, 126page novel by his 11-year-old sister. Her fantasy world, scrawled on the pages of a turquoise notebook, comes alive in this piece created by her (real) brother and the ensemble — which will take her imagination as inspiration. A story packed with social media, love triangles and youthful ingenuity, The Mystery Boy is an aggressively honest adaptation about what it means to be young. 8 p.m. April 3, 8 & 11 p.m. April 4-5 at Yale Cabaret, 217 Park St., New Haven. $20. 203-432-1566, yalecabaret.org.

Shout! the Broadway musical that features the sounds that made England swing in the ‘60s. It features new arrangements of such classic tunes as “To Sir With Love,” “Downtown,” “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Goldfinger.” 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Wed. & Sun. March 19-April 6 at Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main St., Ivoryton. $42 ($37 seniors, $20 students, $15 12 & under). 860-767-7318, ivorytonplayhouse.com.

A New Saint for a New World. God feels bad about what happened to Joan of Arc, so he cuts her a deal. She can be reincarnated on Earth, but under one condition: no more revolutions. This world-premiere play, written by a current Yale School of Drama playwright, takes an irreverent look at the current state of human nature, spirituality and the role of faith in a broken world. 8 p.m. April 17, 8 & 11 p.m. April 18-19 at Yale Cabaret, 217 Park St., New Haven. $20. 203-432-1566, yalecabaret.org.

Award-winning playwright Athol Fugard returns to the stage for the first time in 15 years in his newest work, The Shadow of the Hummingbird. When Fugard’s character is visited by his ten-year-old grandson (who is playing hooky from school) the two spend a memorable afternoon together. The boy reminds the old man of his lost sense of wonder, while the child is given a bit of hard-earned wisdom. March 26-April 27 at Long Wharf Theatre, 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven. $64.50. 203-787-4282, longwharf.org.

After Oshoosi is released from prison, his brother offers him a job at his auto-repair shop. Weaving together West African myth with the music and poetry of New Orleans, The Brothers Size is a fierce tale of love, heartbreak and redemption between brothers. Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney while he was a student at Yale School of Drama. 8 p.m. April 24, 8 & 11 p.m. April 25-26 at Yale Cabaret, 217 Park St., New Haven. $20. 203432-1566, yalecabaret.org.

In Romance Language, Penny Morgan, single and 32, concludes that her mom, Kay, widowed and living alone, is letting life pass her by. Things change quickly, though, when Kay agrees to take private Italian lessons with a very charming and attractive teacher. When the lessons blossom into “something more,” Penny, a lawyer who was devoted to her late father, becomes distressed. As in Italian opera, passion, jealousy and perhaps even “vendetta” drive these three characters toward a final big decision. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2

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Inherit the Wind. Two powerhouse lawyers face off in a smalltown with the eyes of an entire nation upon them when a high school teacher is arrested for teaching Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution in his classroom. When the issue goes to trial, the two attorneys must passionately confront questions of faith and science in a heated courtroom. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. March 28-April 10 at Center Stage Theatre, 54 Grove St., Shelton. $25. 203-225-6079, centerstageshelton.com. Vintage Hitchcock is a live radio play by Joe Landry. Spies, murder, love and other Alfred Hitchcock trademarks come to life in the style of a 1940s radio broadcast of the master of suspense’s early films. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. April 5-19 at Phoenix Stage Company, 686 Rubber Ave., Naugatuck. $22 ($18 seniors). 203-632-8546, phoenixstagecompany.com. Vatzlav is a castaway slave in search of a new life and identity. After a tempest leaves him shipwrecked, he washes up on a remote island where he encounters a zany cast of characters including a blind Oedipus and a wealthy bloodsucking couple. This panoramic political farce is a mash-up of 18th-century French philosophical tales like Voltaire’s Candide and the Marquis de Sade’s Justine. In 77 brisk episodic scenes, a bizarre and biting tale unfolds about the absurd mechanisms of power. Dissident Polish playwright Slawomir Mrozek wrote Vatzlav shortly after he sought political asylum in France in 1968, but due to censorship it was not performed in Poland for nearly a decade. 8 p.m. April 10-12 at Wesleyan Center for the Arts, 283 Washington Terr., Middletown. $8. 860-685-3355, wesleyan.edu/cfa. Damn Yankees: The Red Sox Version. Just in time for baseball season comes the muscular musical comedy about a Boston Red Sox superfan who is transformed into a star slugger after he makes a deal with the devil — and his sexy associate, Lola. April 11-June 21 at Goodspeed Opera House, 6 Main St., East Haddam. $78-$35. 860-873-8668, goodspeed.org. Neil Simon’s I Ought To Be in Pictures. Herb, a Hollywood scriptwriter currently “at liberty,” is surprised when his forgotten past reappears in the form of Libby, a teenage daughter who’s trekked from Brooklyn with dreams of movie stardom. With his sometime paramour Steffy by his side, Herb decides to take another stab at fatherhood — and, hopefully, get it right this time. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Thurs., 8 pm. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m.

Call or email for more information 203-781-3480 support@conntact.com

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Of Play

Stomp is the explosive, inventive, provocative, witty and irresistible percussion stage event for all ages. 8 p.m. Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat. 1 & 6:30 p.m. Sun. March 28-30 at Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven. $85-$15. 203-562-5666, shubert.com.

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p.m. Sun. March 27-April 27 at Seven Angels Theatre, 1 Plank Rd., Waterbury. $46-$31. 203-757-4676, sevenangelstheatre.org.

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Today's Clothing

Wed. & Sun. April 23-May 11 at Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main St., Ivoryton. $42 ($37 seniors, $20 students, $15 12 & under). 860-7677318, ivorytonplayhouse.org.

Designer fashion for the woman who does not want cookie-cutter clothing.

We Will Rock You: The Musical features the greatest hits of the British rock group, Queen. Score includes “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “We Are the Champions,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Will Rock You.” 8 p.m. Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat. 1 & 6:30 p.m. Sun. April 25-27 at Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven. $118-$15. 203-5625666, shubert.com.

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Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers is a coming-of-age tale set in 1942 in Yonkers, N.Y. Jay and Arty Kurnitz are about to endure the longest year of their young lives when, following the death of their mother, they are left in the care of their Grandma and Aunt Bella. Grandma Kurnitz runs her family with an iron fist and a battle of wills ensues as the family learns important lessons about duty, love, acceptance and devotion. April 25-27 at Cheshire Community Theater, Thorp Auditorium, Cheshire High School, 525 S. Main St., Cheshire. $15. ($12 seniors). cheshirecommtheater.org.

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MUSIC

major, Op. 64, No. 3, Hob. III: 67; MENDELSSOHN String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44, No. 1; BERNSTEIN “I Fee Pretty” (arr. Steve Mackey); DVOŘÁK Waltz, Op. 54, No. 1; SHOSTAKOVICH “Polka” from Two Pieces for String Quartet; CARTER “Elegy”; IVES Scherzo, “Holding Your Own”. 8 p.m. April 8 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. $30 (students $12). 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu.

Classical The Yale Symphony Orchestra performs, led by guest conductor Jacob Joyce. GRIEG Holberg Suite; DVOŘÁK: Serenade for winds, cello and double bass; BRAHMS Symphony No. 4. 7:30 p.m. March 29 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. $15-$10 (students $6-$3). 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu. If you love choral music don’t miss the annual New Haven High Schools Choral Festival, featuring vocal music both old and new from young singers from throughout the City of Elms. 7 p.m. April 2 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu. Under the baton of guest conductor Peter Oundjian performs the Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale. BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor; SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 5 in D minor; THEOFANIDIS Rainbow Body. 8 p.m. April 4 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu.

Under the baton of the redoubtable Thomas C. Duffy, the Yale Concert Band performs its spring concert. Music by Ives, Krenek, Whitacre, Schmitt and the music director himself. 7:30 p.m. April 11 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu. Among choral masterworks, the Fauré Requiem may be the most beautiful, the Verdi Requiem most spectacular, and the Mozart Requiem most sublime. But many consider the Brahms Requiem the most moving of them all. The composer penned it as a comfort to the living following the loss of his mother and his musical mentor Robert Schumann. The New Haven Symphony Orchestra performs under the baton of Music Director William Boughton. 7:30 p.m. April 24 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. $69-$15. 203-865-0831, newhavensymphony.org.

Popular AModern post-punk outfit DTCV was formed in 2012 in Los Angeles but already has some cred behind it – guitarist and singer James Greer is a former member of indie rockers Guided By Voices. They stop in New Haven for a free show in support of their full-length album However Strange as well as a collection of EP tracks. 9 p.m. March 26 at BAR, 254 Crown St., New Haven. Free. 203-495-8924. barnightclub.com. It may be post-St. Patty’s Day, but the Irish flag will keep flying at Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum in Hamden when the Kerry Boys duo performs Irish ballads and Celtic-style originals, as they have for a quarter-century. Pierce Campbell was Connecticut state troubadour for 2007-08, and Paul Neri is 45-year veteran of bluegrass, jazz and rock ensembles in the area. 5:30 p.m. March 27 at Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University, 3011 Whitney Ave., Hamden. $15. 203-5826500, ighm.org. Marshall Crenshaw is a notable rock ‘n’ roller and songwriter, having written chart-topping singles and famous songs for films over his three-decade career. He even started his career playing the parts of both John Lennon and Buddy Holly on stage. 7:30 p.m. March 28 at the Ballroom at Outer Space, 295

FRESHER.

Yale’s Oneppo Chamber Music Festival presents the Brentano String Quartet. HAYDN String Quartet No. 50 in B-flat

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Yale Institute of Sacred Music Celebrating 40 Years at Yale march 29–may 3, 2014 Music

Worship

Arts

379 Whalley Avenue, New Haven (plenty of free parking)

www.eotwm.com • 787-1055 Mon-Fri 8:30am-7:30pm | Sat 8:30am-6:30pm | Sun 9:00am-6:00pm

performances

Yale Camerata Yale Schola Cantorum Nepathya, special guest artists

exhibitions

Visions of the Sacred George Kordis: Light and Rhythm David Michalek: Slow Dancing

SATURDAY, APRIL 5

8 PM

literature and spirituality Fanny Howe Spencer Reece

Plus film, lectures, and symposia. Full listing at ism.yale.edu/events/40-year-celebration 52 M ARCH /A PRIL 2014