New Haven October 2010

OCTOBER 2010

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A HOLE IN

THE HEART Losing a parent at a young age

MISSION

OF MERCY

Bringing relief to Haiti changes a life

THE RETURN

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A Yale legend rises from the grave

Documentary filmmaker Ann Johnson Prum takes wing 85 Willow Street New Haven, CT 06511

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New Haven I October 2010

32 Body & Soul

If it flies, documentary filmmaker/ naturalist Ann Johnson Prum wants to shoot it

Fighting fat without surgical intervention

34 Perfect Match

14 A Hole in the Heart

An unusual doubles tennis team plays for peace

Losing a parent in childhood can dramatically alter the course of an entire life

35 Onstage

19 Mission of Mercy Bringing relief to Haiti changes a Branford woman’s life

23 Foote Loose Changing times at New Haven’s prestigious Foote School

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF:

08 ONE2ONE

A Yale Rep new-play incubator yields a world-premier musical

42 Words of Mouth A Yale legend rises from the ashes — Mory’s is back

46 Discovered A little known but spectacular trail at Hammonassett State Park

26 At Home New Haven’s newest and greenest residence, 360 State St. welcomes its first occupants

30 Bibliofiles Raisin’ Cain with Johnny Winter, plus a fun read for cigar aficionados

8 New Haven

| Vol. 3, No. 10 | October 2010

Publisher Mitchell Young, Editor Michael C. Bingham, Design Manager Larissa Philllips, Design Consultant Terry Wells, Contributing Writers Brooks Appelbaum, Duo Dickinson, Liese Klein, Margaret A. Little, Caitlin Marquis, Melissa Nicefaro, Joanna Pettas, Jack Dickey, Mercy Quaye, Makayla Silva, Cindy Simoneau, Chelsea Jacob Tyler, Photographers Steve Blazo, Anthony DeCarlo Senior Publisher’s Representatives Mary W. Beard, Roberta Harris, Ronni Rabin

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October 2010

New Haven is published 8 times annually by Second Wind Media Ltd., which also publishes Business New Haven, with offices at 85 Willow St., New Haven, CT 06511. 203-7813480 (voice), 203-781-3482 (fax). Subscriptions $24.95/ year, $39.95/two years. Send name, 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.

OUR COVER Documentary filmmaker Ann Johnson Prum.

Makeup by Agnes Bradbury.

Photography and cover image by Steve Blazo Cover Design and Typography by Terry Wells.

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IN T E L

Meet Me at the Synchro Summit NEW HAVEN — “Can Synchronicity Reveal Life’s Meaning in Ways Science Can’t Understand? That’s the topic for an October 16 (open to the public) panel discussion at the October 15-17 Synchro Summit at Yale. Hosted by the university’s School of Divinity, the Summit’s one public event will bring together invited authors and scholars from across the country and beyond to discuss with you the nature and purpose of synchronicity and even methodologies for the scientific study of what some of us might call coincidence. So if you’re wondering just why you received a Facebook friend request from an old chum on the same day you were reminiscing about them, head to the summit — you may just find them there.

Visit synchroproject.org.

Money Magnet To be Fueled By Electric Cars HARTFORD — There are 250 million registered motor vehicles in the U.S. Nearly all are

powered by internal combustion engines. Outgoing Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s Electric Vehicles Infrastructure Council would like to change that with its goal of 25,000 electric vehicles in Connecticut by 2020. The group has called for — what else?

— “subsidies and incentives” to support the purchase of vehicles and to develop a “recharging infrastructure.” The council also wants state agencies and colleges to begin buying electric cars. Not as widely discussed is the nature of Connecticut’s

electricity generation, which will power the cars. Nearly a quarter of Connecticut’s electricity come from the “Sooty Six” coal-burning plants and one might say forty percent percent of the vehicles for all intents and purposes will be nuclearpowered.

The council says the electric cars would cost more to purchase, but auto industry claims are they’ll cost approximately onequarter to operate, based on 11 cents per kilowatt or the price of electricity in North Carolina (just more than half what it costs in the Nutmeg State) and of course gasoline prices of $3 per gallon.

New Haven’s Green Parking Garage NEW HAVEN — If you rush right out and buy an electric car, you will be able to charge it up for free at the Chapel Square Garage.

The garage is Connecticut’s first (and second in the nation) to be certified as “green” by the Green Parking Council (GPC). Chapel Square has installed a Level 2 charging station that can charge an electric car in two hours for the low, low, low price of free (for now). Adding to the green effort are new LED (Light Emitting Diodes) lights, said to save 719 barrels of oil, a free tireinflation station, free use of bicycles for patrons and catch-all recycling bins. The United Illimunating Company ponied up a grant of $76,000 for the improvements.

Generous Connecticut The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy released its biannual giving report showing that Connecticut grantmakers distributed $902.7 million in 2008, up 22 percent from 2006. The council’s report uses data from its online database Connecticut Grantmakers Online (CGO). The Nutmeg State has more than 2,780 active

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Eat, Learn, Love NEW HAVEN — Café Vincenzo, a small bistro at Gateway Community College, is open for business again this semester.

The intimate eatery is run by student chefs in GCC’s Culinary Arts program. The café serves up a variety of gourmet, prix fixe meals served Thursday evenings at 6:30 (seating begins at 6:15).

Running through December 9, the 2010 fall dinner series includes three courses with homemade soup, salad, entrée, dessert and coffee. Seating is limited and reservations are a must. For information or reservations, call 203-285-2269 pabrams@gwcc.commnet.edu.

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The Best Goat Cheese On Earth RIDGEFIELD — Investor relations executive Tara Bryson wanted to raise goats on her Ridgefield farm. At least that’s what the state of Connecticut thought when it gave her a grant of $49,000. Bryson’s full-time job is to pitch investors for New Stream Capital, a Connecticutbased hedge fund that has disappointed many investors and attracted the interest of the SEC. Some of the former are

suing. and the SEC is allegedly investigating fraud allegations.

Now Bryson and boyfriend Michael Hearl have been arrested for growing marijuana on the farm. Among the items seized in the arrest were “a large amount of ammunition, two rifles, a shotgun, 200 marijuana plants, motorized track lighting and a variety of hydroponic growing devices including a carbon

dioxide generator.”

Hearl told Forbes magazine that the charges were bogus and that it wasn’t a marijuana farming operation — but can we get some goat cheese, please?

Far East Yale?

NEW HAVEN — Ng Eng Hen, Singapore’s minister for education and second

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minister for defense, visited Yale University last month “to strengthen the warm relationship between Singapore and Yale.”

The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Yale have been in discussions to establish a liberal arts college in Singapore, and the two institutions signed an understanding to work toward the collaboration. “It is timely to consider introducing liberal arts education in Singapore,” said Ng. Added Yale President Richard C. Levin, “It is very exciting to contemplate collaborating with the National University of Singapore to create a new educational model for the 21st century, contextualized especially for Asia.”

Yale would help to create a school of approximately 1,000 students with NUS, and the project would not be funded by Yale. The name and nature of undergraduate accreditation have not been disclosed.

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If it flies, New Haven filmmaker/naturalist Ann Johnson Prum wants to shoot it (with a camera)

By MITCHELL YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHS:

8

October 2010

Steve Blazo

A

nn Johnson Prum is a producer and cinematographer. Her company, Coneflower Productions, produces science and natural history programs for PBS, National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, the Science Channel and TBS. Prum’s Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air first aired in January on PBS/WNET Nature and has become an audience favorite and staple of recent public TV membership drives.

Johnson Prum lives in New Haven with her three children and husband, ornithologist and Yale professor Richard Prum, who himself was featured exactly one year ago in the October 2009 NHM after earning a MacArthur Fellowship (a/k/a ‘Genius Grant’). Recently Johnson Prum was cinematographer for Cuba: The Accidental Eden to air September 26 on PBS’ Nature series.

YYY Let’s talk about Cuba since Cuba: The Accidental Eden is about to air. How is it different from other Caribbean islands?

There is so little industry its effect on the environment is very low. People still use horse and buggy for some transportation.

Is there much eco–tourism?

No, most of the tourists are on the beaches.

You didn’t produce this film. How did you get to shoot it?

The people from Nature said [to the producers] ‘You should have Ann Prum shoot it for you.’ It took three and a half weeks and it was down and dirty.

beaches — sea turtles, that’s it. They don’t want Cuban-Americans from Miami coming in and building hotels everywhere. They feel they’re the ones that have suffered, so if anyone does anything to their island, it’s going to be them.

Why did Nature want to go?

It’s Cuba. People want to know about it.

How did you become a filmmaker?

Out of college, I was always interested in being outside. I wanted to be a biologist. I got a summer job working in the Amazon on a bird project. That’s where I met my husband. I worked monitoring birds out in the rainforest and loved it. While we were there Jacques Cousteau and came to film the Amazon. I spent a couple days with them filming the bird sanctuary.

And I said that’s what I want to do. I went back to college and took every course I could on photography and film.

Why biology?

When I was a kid [in Middlebury] I spent all my time in the forest behind my house — every day after school. Kids don’t do it any more, but that’s what we did. I just wanted a job where I could be outside. I spent a lot of summers out West — I was into rock climbing, mountain climbing. I wanted something that would combine my love of natural history and the outdoors with an educational component.

How did you decide to do a film about hummingbirds?

Do Cubans fear changes coming?

I’m always trolling for ideas. I’m an independent producer, my job is to go the broadcaster and pitch them ideas: ‘I want to do a show on X’; hopefully they say yes. Hummingbirds came about because my husband had a sabbatical. He said, ‘Where do you want to go?’ I said the Andes. When he was in grad school we did a lot of work in the Andes. Ecuador I love. I thought years ago about doing a hummingbirds film, but I thought it would be too hard. Just at that time there was a new camera that came out with high-speed video. I thought I could probably make this film in a way nobody has ever seen hummingbirds before.

There are miles of beautiful, untouched

What is different about the camera?

Were they interested in showing off their ‘nature’?

Half of [the Cubans] were puzzled and half would say you need to go to X, Y and Z [to shoot]. It was one of the most confusing places I ever went. Compared to a lot of Latin America the standard of living wasn’t bad, but [there are] the humanitarian issues and you can’t leave. When I was there ten years ago you couldn’t have a cell phone )now you can). Then the Cubans working with me couldn’t go in the hotel, because of the “corrupting influence”.

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It’s high speed and its tape-less; it’s recording onto RAM. In the field you can see what you shot, whether it is good or not. A lot of times you frame up a shot and the birds are moving so fast there wouldn’t be anything in the shot, it would be empty. Another time a bird would be hitting another bird on the head. But in real time all you see [is the blur of the wings]. But when you slow it down we had shots where one hummingbird is piercing another on the head.

How popular has Hummingbirds been?

It was the highest viewership for a Nature series in the last two and a half years. When I started reading about this new camera, I thought this is going to revolutionize wildlife filmmaking. Every commercial you see now is shot with the Phantom — that’s the name of it.

So you knew you could do it, but you had to convince a broadcaster.

Yes, I had to do it [laughs]. I met with Fred Kaufman, the head of Nature [at WNET in New York, which produces the series].

He said, ‘You think you can make a whole hour on hummingbirds?’

What about filming them surprised you?

How aggressive they were. They are amped up on sugar and they’re really mad. They are so territorial — that’s their lifeline. If another hummingbird comes near their food source, they will just fight them. They will make contact.

Johnson Prum: ‘I am all about natural history and science.’

Is that true across different species?

Yes, some more than others. I thought of hummingbirds as delicate and dainty, and I think most people do, like, ‘little jewels out in the wild.’ But they’re tough.

I found them high up in the Andes at 12,000 feet at the snow line. There are not a lot of birds up there, and there are lots of hummingbirds.

Isn’t nature itself just tough?

Really tough. And to be out there with it you have to be tough, too.

How long were you in Ecuador to shoot?

We spent six months there, in a little village. Our whole family went down.

What did your kids do?

They went to the local school in this little village — dirt streets, chickens running around. They thought it was an adventure, but they missed their friends. It was very off-grid, but their eyes were opened up.

There is [lowers voice] grinding poverty.

What did your children say to you about it?

10

October 2010

We talked about it constantly — ‘Here we are in this place.’ Three years before that we had lived in Brazil and had that experience already. But, immersion: They went right into the school; it was all Spanish-speaking. The kids were village kids; they hadn’t had contact with outsiders. My kids were the outsiders — the strange Americans. They played a lot of soccer. Soccer was the international language and that was the icebreaker that got everybody together.

How did the locals respond ,— an American woman filming hummingbirds in their home?

In a place like Ecuador it really depends.

The local farmers would be kind of puzzled, but they had also had great information. They thought I was just bizarre with my camera in the middle of nowhere. But they would show you places where they have hummingbirds.

They’re already naturalists and great observers. There are a lot of bird-watchers

in Ecuador, so they know about crazy foreigners with binoculars.

Well, filmmaking is kind of an unusual art because it’s usually a singular vision, yet it requires collaboration.

Very collaborative. [But shooting] wildlife you spend a huge amount of time by yourself. I spent a huge amount of time staring at a bush; [hummingbirds] feed in cycles. They come and then they feed and they would be gone. My kids would come out and say, ‘You’re still staring at that bush, Mom?’ Once you came back, you had all this footage. Do they still call it that?

Yeah, I’m a filmmaker. I don’t want to be a ‘content provider.’ I hate that term.

You’re only a ‘content provider’ to the guy who signs the check.

When I came back I still had a lot of other things to film. I was in Ecuador, but that was just the beginning, I went to

Chile, Peru, Dominica, Louisiana. We had different stories to show different aspects of hummingbirds and how amazing they are. Once we finished all our filmmaking in the field, then we had to hone down all these hours of footage. [The raw footageto-on-air ratio is] about 45 to one. It’s a 54-minute film.

So are you a filmmaker or a naturalist? I saw the movie you did with Tom Luckey, the local artist that became a paraplegic as the result of an accident, He’s a person, but I wouldn’t call it natural history.

I am all about natural history and science.

With Tom Luckey I was hired just as a cinematographer; that wasn’t my film. I love to shoot anything that is challenging and interesting. And Tom was a real challenge because it was [cinéma] verité — an embedded documentary. You’d show up the morning and the cameras roll.

As a filmmaker, what has been the biggest challenge to capture?

It was harder early on when I didn’t know as much. I filmed bats and I’m going to do another film on bats for National Geographic. I filmed bats maybe ten years ago and that was really hard. It’s dark, it’s nighttime. There are a lot of physical challenges, too. I did a film in Guatemala

where I had to be up, suspended on the back of these old Mayan temples, hundreds of feet above the ground.

But you had climbed mountains.

I had climbed mountains, but it was still disconcerting. [The rigging] had been built by the guys who work on the temples and I didn’t really know how it was attached. I never got to see the knot at the top. We w ere filming bats in high speed — that was pretty neat. But I think hummingbirds were the hardest thing I ever shot, because they are so small and they move so fast.

I get that an Ecuadorian farmer seeing a woman filming alone might question if this is a good idea. But generally speaking, isn’t nature photography still macho by its — pardon the pun — nature?

It is macho by its nature, and when I first started 25 years ago it was a really macho group — people who could put up with anything that nature threw at them. But that was part of the challenge. I’m as tough as any guy.

What about right now when you walk into a broadcaster?

Now, I have a reputation. I try not to think that [sexism] exists. My generation has spanned that — here we are, and

women can do anything. In my first film, I was in Suriname [in South America]. I graduated from college, and I bought a little camera and went to Suriname by myself. I went to the National Park Office and said, ‘I want to go into the National Park for two months and I want to live back there by myself in the hammock. I want to film this wildlife.’ And they said, ‘There’s no way we’re going to let you do that because you’re going to die. So you have to go with one of our guys.’ I was 23.

So when one of your kids comes to you at 23 and says, ‘I want to go into the jungle in Suriname by myself,’ you’re going to say?

I would let them go. There was nothing my parents could do [to stop me]. I had already traveled a lot and they had already given up trying to corral me.

Was there something in your upbringing that nade you so difficult to corral?

That’s really psychoanalytical [laughs].

Nah, I’m just interested in: Girl goes into the Suriname jungle on her own at 23.

I had big dreams. This is what I wanted.

What were your parents like?

My mom was a stay-at-home mom; she worked at the local nature center. My dad

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worked at my grandfather’s steel company.

What was the Suriname film about?

To break into this business you really have to have something to show. People kept telling me that if you want to break in, you have to show you really want to do this. It was about this bird [film] called Cock of the Rock, where the males all have these elaborate display dances for females and of other ancillary wildlife.

So was it dangerous and a physical challenge?

Just living in the Amazon that long. The biggest challenge is I got lysine meiosis, you get it from the bite of a sand fly. I had hundreds of sores all over my body, it was horrible. [The footage] was never actually made into a film — it wasn’t enough footage and wasn’t broadcast-worthy. But it helped me get my first job.

Can someone be a filmmaker on your level without having some of that same spirit the hummingbirds have?

The genre is so widespread now. We’re not just doing natural history; we’re also doing man-vs.-wild. Television is hard, I think, breaking in. There are more channels [now] but it is still tough. Everyone wants to be a filmmaker.

Do your children?

No, they’re totally uninterested. But

they know a lot about it and they’re great observers.

What do you expect your oldest son [age 17] will do?

I think he’ll do something very singular.

He’s not going to be a naturalist?

No [laughs]. He wants to live in New York. When you spend a lot of time in the natural world, one of the greatest things you learn is how to observe. My kids have really good observational skills. I don’t think they’ll use them to be natural historians. They could be writers, or commentators.

When you look at the natural world of New Haven, what do you see? How long have you lived here?

Six and a half years. My husband’s first job was at the University of Kansas, then we came here to Yale — thank God. I love New Haven. It’s changed so much from when I was kid. We would come for concerts at Toad’s Place and the Coliseum.

New Haven was a very grubby city, it was a place we came in and went out of. When my husband got this job at Yale there was no question we were absolutely going to live in New Haven. I’m such a booster of New Haven now.

Has the fact that your husband won this big MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ of $500,000

changed your life?

Yeah, we can say things like, ‘What do you think — you’re a genius?’ [laughs]. My younger son calls him ‘Rickipedia.’ He knows a tremendous amount and not just about birds. He’s really handy to have around — you don’t have to Google it.

The MacArthur has been really great to give him a little freedom. We’re going to go on sabbatical again.

Is that another film?

Well, I’m doing two films now: one on bats for National Geographic, and another one for Nature on waterfowl — ducks, geese, swans.

Was it a lot easier to get another deal after Hummingbirds?

Yes. Now they said, ‘What do you want to do next?’ The viewership was so big, I think it surprised them. There is a bias against birds in the natural history world from television’s point of view. They want to do tooth and claw, mammals eating things — that’s the default.

Some bats are in trouble — is that the focus?

Huge trouble. We know they have a fungus [white nose syndrome, or WNS]; they think it came over on the boots of cavers. The fungus has always been in Europe. It affects only hibernating

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bats, and the U.S. is one of the biggest hibernacula of bats. We think maybe this happened in Europe a thousand years ago.

I went to this cave in Pennsylvania this winter [and] it was filled with thousands and thousands of bats. Crawling through little holes.

But just imagine: We went back two months later and then you’re crawling over the floor covered with dead bats — there is not a single live bat.

Okay, you’re as tough as any guy!

Connecticut hasn’t been hit yet. We have about five species of bats in New England and it’s the little brown, the classic New England bat [that’s endangered by the fungus]. The white-nose phenomenon is just part of the bat story, but we’re going to explore all kinds of cool things that bats do and why we should appreciate them. They perform a lot of services for us. Some people have this thing: ‘Bats — yecch. They’re dying? Oh — that’s kind of good.’ Many of them are kind of cute.

There are 900 species of bats. When I do a film I want people to say, ‘I learned something I never knew before.’

Well, I don’t think we know too much about ducks.

We don’t, and that’s a hard sell. Even my friends have a hard time with ducks.

The global warmers aren’t going to be happy with you if you show that polar bears are going to adapt.

We should all cheer the polar bears, [but] not every polar bear is going to figure it out. But yes, they are eating the babies because they can’t fly away [yet].

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I guess that’ll tide the bears over until we get it figured out. Bats fly, and hummingbirds and geese — are you in the flying-fast niche now?

I don’t want to have a niche, but you have to have an interest because these things take so much time to do. You want to go to a place you want to be and do. I wouldn’t want to do a film on snakes.

I love birds, and not just because my husband is an ornithologist. It’s a passion we share.

Maybe he’s your husband because you both like birds?

We both like birds. It’s a great resource and I have a lot of insight into the bird world. I feel I have something different to share. When I pitch a story it makes it unique. I think birds are beautiful. That’s why I do what I do. I love to capture beautiful images.

That’s what drives me.Y

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The loss of a parent at an early age is a life-changing trauma for those left behind

By MELISSA NICEFARO

O

ne night when Kathern Starnes was ten years old, she said goodnight to her mother as she lay on the couch, and went to bed. Thirtytwo-year-old Georgia Lucille Martin had been sick and was on bed-rest, pregnant with her eighth child (the seven ranged from 13 years to 16 months).

An ambulance was called during the night to bring Georgia Martin to the hospital to have the baby, but she hemorrhaged and went into cardiac arrest. Starnes never saw her mom again.

“It didn’t really hit me until I was in my teens — on special days like birthdays, graduations and other events,” Starnes says. Even though almost 50 years have passed, she still wonders what it would have been like for her and her five brothers and sisters if her mother hadn’t died. (A brother drowned when he was seven and the baby sister was stillborn.)

Starnes said her family got through it the best they could, as she became the mother figure to the younger children.

“In that day and time, I’m surprised we even survived,” she says now. “I’m surprised I even made it to an adult.”

Today Starnes has one daughter and three grandchildren in Virginia, the state that 14

October 2010

Losing her mother at age ten made Starnes a stronger parent who instills in her daughter never to take any day for granted, since ’Tomorrow may be the last day you see me.’

Photo: Melissa Nicefaro

“Our father was only 34 years old and he got himself into some situations he shouldn’t have. Now I wonder what I’d do if I had six children looking at me with no mother, no help, and I have to work,” says Starnes. “He abandoned us and we almost had to go to a foster home.” Her mother’s mother adopted the children.

As an infant, Louisa Alberino had no way of knowing she wouldn’t make it through her teen years before saying goodbye to her father, Anthony Marotti, forever.

they’re also bringing to the surface the pain of past losses.

In the absence of any counseling, Starnes struggled to get better.

she grew up in before coming to New York and then Connecticut for work.

Losing a parent at a young age made her a stronger parent and made her instill in her daughter to never take any day for granted, since “’Tomorrow may be the last day you see me.’

“I get very mad when I see how some younger kids treat their parents,” says Starnes. “It could be the last time you say something very nasty to your mother and you’ll never get a chance to take it back. You can never get your parents back.

You only get one shot. Everyone thinks it will never happen to them — only to somebody else.”

But there are only so many times it happens to somebody else before it happens to you.

Starnes’ father died in 1991 at age 65.

“That’s when I really felt like an orphan. I was 41,” she says. She meets up with her brothers and sisters and their families in Virginia every Labor Day weekend, not wanting to be one of those families that gets together only at funerals.

Kathern Starnes did the best she could, but still has episodes when she is overcome with grief. Counseling wasn’t an option then, but it is now.

Lisa Irish is chaplain at the Hospital of Saint Raphael, working in pastoral care.

She has run the bereavement program at the hospital for four years. Irish’s strength as a counselor is her expertise, but also her experience. Her father died when she was 11.

While many of the grieving people Irish talks to are dealing with an acute loss,

“As far as ‘getting over it,’ healing from a loss is not about forgetting — it’s about remembering with less pain and more joy,” she says. “You find ways of encountering the pain, living with the pain and re-entering life. It’s a process. If someone has come from a history where there’s an unreliable foundation, it’s hard to do anything. It makes any life tasks a challenge.”

A recent study by Comfort Zone Bereavement Camps and New York Life Foundation shows that the challenges and burdens of losing a parent at young age can remain with a person far into adulthood. According to the survey, each year one in seven Americans lose a parent or sibling before age 20. (To put it in perspective, for every child diagnosed with cancer this year, at least 35 will lose a parent.) Most adults surveyed would trade a year of their life for one more day with their departed parent; 73 percent believe their life would have been “much better” if their parent hadn’t died so young and 69 percent still think about their parent frequently.

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Starnes would like just one more day, though not at the expense of her daughter and grandchildren.

She admits that listening to people complain about having to drive 30 minutes to see their mother irks her.

“I’d walk 30 miles down the road,” she says. “I would probably give up anything I have to have my mom back for a day.

With the exception of my daughter and grandchildren, I’d give up anything material to give me just one more day.”

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Photo: Anthony DeCarlo

In releasing the study’s results, Comfort Zone Camp Founder Lynne Hughes explained: “Childhood bereavement is one of society’s most chronically painful yet rarely examined and most underestimated phenomena. Fearful of burdening their surviving parent — and growing up in a society that is unnerved by death and uneasy with their grief — kids who lose loved ones get the message early on that people are uncomfortable talking about their loss, so they suffer in silence.”

Hughes herself lost both parents before she turned 12.

The result is children with a range of emotional, psychological and behavioral difficulties, which can extend well into adulthood.

The toll is immediate and manifests itself in any number of ways. Two out of five adults who lost a parent as a child said that they frequently pretended to be okay so as not to upset their surviving parent.

That’s exactly how Judy Martone Peluso handled her grief after her mother died from multiple sclerosis when Peluso was 12.

“Every circumstance is different and I think it does make a difference when children — or any person — get help, especially at a young age. My father was supportive, my grandmother was supportive, but they didn’t know how to help me. They had their own grief,” Peluso recalls. “When a person has lost his or her spouse, they’re reeling and trying to help the child, but often are not emotionally available themselves because of their own grief. I used to encourage my father, ‘Daddy, you’ve got to cry.’ He was my first bereavement client.”

Peluso, a North Haven spiritual counselor, minister, justice of the peace and psychotherapist, says there are some losses in life that we never “get over” but, hopefully, we learn to live with them so as to prevent them from controlling our lives.

Losing a parent at a young age is one of those losses.

“There’s no blanket statement about grief,” she allows. “If you had a positive relationship with your mother, it’s a different type of grieving than if you didn’t.

“Grief is very different for each person, but it is enormously important to honor the grieving process,” Peluso adds. “Many people say, ‘Get on with it, get on with your life,’ but it’s not an intellectual process. It’s not something we have a whole lot of control over, and that’s what 16

October 2010

Alberino: “It was hard to know that now he was gone forever. I was full of resentment,”

scares people. You can feel crazy when you’re going through deep grief.”

Right after Louisa Alberino of New Haven heard that her 48-year-old father Anthony Marotti had died of lung cancer, she boarded a Greyhound bus in New Haven and set off for the UConn/Storrs campus to visit her boyfriend at the time.

She was 17 and felt that if she escaped physically she could leave her feelings behind. Her parents had divorced when Alberino was five, and she recalls the feeling of longing when her father died realizing that he’d never know her as an adult and a mother.

at my own children who are cherished, nurtured and loved,” she says. “I didn’t feel mourning for my father until I had my first son. I wanted to be able to say, ‘Here’s your grandson,’ but I couldn’t.

I didn’t know that was brewing and percolating inside me. It was supposed to be a new stage of life for me, but it brought me right back to the loss.”

It still makes her sad that her children will never meet their grandfather — and that he will never meet the mother she became.

“He left a child when he died and I’ve done a lot to be proud of,” she says. “It’s tough to know that he’ll never share my pride.”

“I had already dealt with the abandonment Losing a parent has influenced Alberino’s issue since my parents were divorced, but parenting. it was hard to know that now he was gone forever. I was full of resentment,” she says. “My daughter has a wonderful relationship with her father,” she says. “But because More than 20 years later Alberino still I never had that, I never want him to let feels the hurt. her down. That’s a hard cross to bear. I “It’s almost harder at this age, as I look

have huge expectations of her father, but the expectations I have on my ex-husband when it comes to my teenage sons are different. The boyish/manly relationship is different and I want my daughter to have her knight in shining armor who will always be there.”Alberino didn’t learn how to grieve until she became an adult.

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Emily Aber, a Hamden psychotherapist, says that many grieving people punish themselves for not “getting over it” more quickly.

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“The pain doesn’t go away, but it does shift over time,” she says.

“Even someone whose father left before they were born may feel grief,” Aber says.

“Even though there was no contact, they wished they felt something. I’ve never seen a total non-reaction to a parent’s death.”

The absence of a parent can leave a person with a hole in their life, but there may always be a glimmer of hope that some day the hole will be filled. When an absent parent dies, the child may mourn the hope that they once had.

“Grief is not a ‘one-shoe-fits-all’ situation,” Aber says. “There is a major impact well into adulthood for a person who lost a parent at a young age. The American/ Western attitude is to ‘Get over it — pull yourself up by your bootstraps.’ People can really feel like, ‘What is wrong with me to have these feelings still when everything is about getting on with life?’ There are no built-in rituals for sadness. No matter what age you are, and no matter how prepared you think you are, there is a shock that comes with losing a parent.”

Aber’s grandmother died a few years ago.

And even though she was 104, Aber still was shocked. Shock can also come when children are not told that their parent is going to die.

When Peluso’s mother died, she had never met anyone who had lost a parent.

“My father never got over my mother’s death,” Peluso recalls. “He remarried and had two other children, but he could not talk about my mother, even many years after.”

When she became an adult, Peluso was more curious about what her mother was like, so she’d ask questions of people who had known her.

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was as a person,” Peluso says. “I needed to know because the trauma of finding my mother dead caused me to forget most of my childhood before that,” she says.

Nobody had warned her she was about to lose her mother.

“My father expected that she was going to die, but they don’t tell children because they don’t want to upset them. Children ought to know these things. I was furious when I found out, years later, that my father and other people in my family knew that my mother was going to die, but nobody told me,” says Peluso. “I know that grief is a complex process and it’s a set of feelings, not just one feeling.”

lost a parent at a young age agreed that the experience made them more appreciative of family relationships.

and unique. We all know the experience, but we all know it in our certain way, so our process will be unique.”

Starnes “got through” childhood, but it wasn’t until she was in her late 20s that she began to accept her mother’s death.

She advises grieving people to find meaning, love and hope in the new identity one assumes following the loss of a loved one.

“I compare my age each year to her,” Starnes says. She was just a kid. The year I turned 32 [the age at which her mother died] wasn’t a good one. All of the milestones are hard. My mother would have had ten grandchildren and 20 greatgrandchildren, and I’m sad she missed that.”

Peluso agrees that milestones are especially difficult. A former client recently returned to Peluso for therapy because she has turned the age her mother was when she died. Though the client has done a lot of work on her grief since she lost her mother at age 12, it still hit her hard when the day came.

One way kids survive childhood loss is by “toughing it out.” In fact, results of Comfort Zone survey say that individuals who endure childhood loss may be better able to deal with life’s challenges — or at least think they can. Better than eight in ten of those who lost a parent at a young age say they are equally or more resilient than other adults, and 59 percent said they became stronger as a result of their loss.

Healing is different for everyone and can be a long process, but there is a point where a grieving person does feel better.

Says Irish: “It’s a process, not a recipe. It’s a journey with its twists and turns and ups and downs. Grief is both universal

The experience of losing a parent can also sharpen one’s own appreciation for family.

Almost three-quarters of respondents who

“It happened to me and it happened to other people I know. It is possible to return to life and to love again,” she says.

Irish’s father was diabetic and he died from cardiac complications.

“I was pretty numb,” she recalls. “I’d had an earlier tragedy when I was two and learned to move along even then. When he died, I had the same reaction — just to get through it. It’s a gradual process.”

Irish advises those left behind to embrace life, keeping in mind that it could end at any time without warning. She calls the early death of parents “a transcendent mystical kick in the butt to make us face fears and challenges and to embrace life.”

“To be able at this stage in my life to have gratitude for the tragedies is nuts, but it’s true,” Irish says. “It’s shaped the person that I am.” Y

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M

y journey has begun. I have waited for years for this day, and it is finally here. I am on a plane with all but one stranger headed into a strange, unknown land. I am going to the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere. I am going to Haiti.

On n a relieff so sojo sojourn jour urn n to H aiti a Branford Bra ranf nfor ord d woman woma wo ma an Haiti, piece of h e ssoul er oull ou finds a pi her Byy ELIZA B ZA HALLABECK HAL ALLA LABE BECK

Wh While Cindy Carlson wrote, somewhere betw t between John F. Kennedy International Ai Airport in New York and Port Au Prince, o May 21, her journey was steered Haiti, on for her by pilots through the carefully crafted iti itinerary devised by Merrillyn fo Garcia, founder of Make a Difference Worldwid Worldwide in Guilford.

I can’t pinp pinpoint the exact moment in my life that I kne knew I wanted to go and experience life — not life as I know it in the confines of the United States or in some resort casino in Mexico or the Caribbean — but different life.

I’v I’ve thought about going into tribes in need in Afr Africa.

I didn’t become serious about fulfilling my dream until now. When the tsunami hit Th Thailand, I wanted to go. 9/11: I wanted to go go. Katrina: I really wanted to go. But for w whatever reason, the timing just wasn’t right in my life, or maybe I put up the obstacles in my mind to make it not right.

Well, that is behind me now. As I am thousands of feet in the air, there is no turning back. Already my journey is well underway.

Already, I am the minority — the exception, not the rule.

Two months after returning from Haiti on May 29, Carlson still smiles while looking through photos of people she met — such as Davidson, a young boy living in a tent camp community where the Make a Difference Worldwide volunteers helped survivors of the calamitous January 12 earthquake build better lives.

Carlson learned about Make a Difference Worldwide from a friend who had posted information about working with the nonprofit on her Facebook account.

Now in her early 20s, Michelle (left) has lived in the Port-au-Prince orphanage since she was a baby. She and 11-yearold Anna helped the Make a Difference volunteers throughout the week they were these, smiling the entire time.

Make a Difference Worldwide was founded by Garcia, who lives in Guilford.

Its mission is to send volunteers and aid around the world to help in areas impacted by disasters natural or manmade.

During her Haitian sojourn, Carlson says she witnessed children willing to work to rebuild what was lost in the quake, families living in tents instead of their homes, people whose resilience seemed at times superhuman, in areas where relief efforts are stalling even as there is much left to be rebuilt.

new haven

19

programs before diving into the Make a Difference Worldwide project, and says many of those efforts were undertaken with her three children, Meghan, Alec and Michael.

Planning the Haitian trip, Carlson recalls, took as much psychological and emotional preparation as logistical planning. Still not quite herself after a rough divorce five years ago, she says planning the trip also had selfish reasons behind it. Now she says she gained much more out of it than she ever expected.

For this effort, each Make A Difference Worldwide volunteer paid for her or his airfare and raised $250 to fund supplies.

With the money, a new wall was built, rooms were painted, latrines developed, rubble cleared and more, explains Carlson.

Carlson spreading the love and a Connecticut connection with Davidson.

““When the earthquake hit in January,” Carlson recalls, “that was when I really started to think about Haiti.”

She had participated in local volunteer

Sitting on her sofa in her Branford home recently, Carlson thought back to her initial impressions as she journeyed from the airport in Port-au-Prince to the hotel where the volunteers were staying.

“We’re not in Kansas anymore,” she remembers thinking.

The airport was tiny and primitive, people seemed unfriendly and rubble

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was everywhere. The smell of decay was inescapable.

Getting on the bus was wild, she wrote after the ride. We were packed like sardines.

The bus passed streets of houses with tents set up outside for residents still afraid to enter homes that collapsed in January. Complete buildings are still down.

At the hotel, Carlson shared a room with four other women.

It could be worse. I could be across the street in a tent. It is wicked hot. I am sweating like a pig, but, so far, I am loving it.

Later Carlson learned the collapsed building across from the orphanage, known as Foyer Des Anfants de Demain, had been a five-story apartment complex.

She says 45 people are still missing from inside the building, and during the week the Make a Difference Worldwide volunteers were staying there, a human skull was retrieved from the building remains.

Their first night in the capital, the group’s driver, Naz, invited the volunteers to dinner at his home. Carlson later noted in her journal that the women in the family had gone all-out for the volunteers. Linens

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on entering the tent for his dinner, before taking a bite, he asked Carlson if he could share the dinner with one friend.

The night after she had first come to the tent camp, Carlson wrote in her journal that there were more than 300 children living in the tent camp.

We dug a large area, and transported by wheelbarrow a ton of rubble to make a makeshift floor. They want a “building” so their children can attend school. I dug for a while, transported blocks for a while, but then I was on water distribution. I had to basically determine who gets it, and who does not.

The Haitians are incredibly hard workers, so the ones working with us got H2O priority. For the most part the kids were patient, and I gave them water when I could.

She also mentioned her new friend, Davidson, who could speak some broken English, in the entry.

Carlson wrote that the spirit of the Haitian children are revealed to us in photos like this one.

were spread on plastic tables, everyone was as friendly as could be and the children were so adorable Carlson took many photos.

The volunteers spent the next morning, May 22, removing rubble from around the orphanage.

Before leaving for Haiti, the Make a Difference Worldwide organization had asked the two women who run the orphanage, a mother and daughter named Soray and Claudine Bernard, what their priorities were for the facility. This helped the nonprofit group bring the right supplies and tools. One area the two women said the orphanage needed help with was replacing a wall that had collapsed in January.

“When the earthquake came, the children had no more privacy,” says Carlson.

Children in the orphanage ranged in age from two to 22, Carlson says. The older ones “were there since they were babies, and now they help out.”

While volunteers toiled, Carlson says children added their touch to each project.

She saw orphans lift cinder blocks, and more. Carlson describes it as a truly unforgettable sight.

Later that night, she noted in her journal, The kids sleep on rough blankets on the ground, but they have an amazing spirit. They are resilient. They take care of each other, and they rarely fight.

Even the fights she witnessed, Carlson says, were nothing compared to the typical fights American children get into.

Whether working on the orphanage or helping to clear rubble at the tent camp near the volunteers’ hotel, Carlson, who speaks neither Creole nor French, quickly learned to take her communications skills to a whole new level of creativity.

“I played charades all week,” she says.

Through smiles and waves, Carlson says she befriended multiple local children.

She bonded with three children in particular during her stay in Haiti: Ruth and Davidson, both 12, and ten-year-old Anna. Both Ruth and Anna were from the orphanage, while Davidson lives in a tent camp.

All week long Davidson complained to Carlson of being hungry. On her last night in Haiti Carlson says she witnessed the most heart-wrenching experience of her entire week.

Each time she came back to the tent camp, she brought lollypops to share with the children, but on the last night she wanted to share something special with Davidson.

The boy had been told to not bring anyone

with him, which would likely cause commotion with other children in the camp. Carlson cleared it with the guard to bring a dinner back for Davidson, but

I learned his mother died in the earthquake.

He “lives” with his father and brother and some relatives. Approximately from what I could tell, eight people in the cement building, no bigger than Michael’s room.

The room had large holes and gaps everywhere.

So when the rains come, mostly every night, they get about of foot of water.

Later in the day, while walking with Davidson, a woman waved for her to enter the building.

I was a little nervous. It was the first time I was out on my own, though the group was right around the corner.

The group of volunteers was also taken to visit downtown Port-au-Prince, where Carlson discovered a sprawling tent city.

The night before leaving to return home, Carlson wrote in her journal of her sadness and hesitation at the thought of returning to life — life without the smell of urine and human feces. She found she did not feel sad for the children, as she assumed she would, but instead found in them a source of inspiration. At first, she says, she found the Haitian people to be standoffish, but as she built relationships, smiles started to spread around her.

By the end of the week, Carlson was ready to interview orphanage co-director Claudine Bernard. The sound of children laughing surrounded the women as they spoke.

Carlson began by asking Bernard what changed at the orphanage since the earthquake.

“We have to sleep outside,” Bernard replied,

new haven

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describing the fear the residents and children in the orphanage still feel about being inside homes and other buildings — fear that another tremor might send walls and ceilings tumbling down upon them anew.

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Another challenge since the earthquake, Bernard told Carlson, is the scarcity and expense of potable water. “Before the earthquake we could use water [from a city pipe],” Bernard told Carlson. “We can use it, but after the earthquake it is not really safe.”

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For some of the children, Bernard said, it is better to be in the orphanage than to live in the tent camps. Carlson affirms that the conditions she witnessed in the tent camps were, by American standards, abominable.

Before the earthquake there were more schools for children to attend, but now, Bernard told Carlson, the principal “school” that neighborhood children could attend was the orphanage itself, which was why the Make a Difference Worldwide volunteers helped to enliven the atmosphere by painting walls in the buildings different colors.

Before she left them to return to Connecticut, Carlson says she told the children if they learn English, they will always have a place to visit in the United States.

Organizations like Make a Difference Worldwide, she says, is what is going to truly make the difference in Haiti now that the number of relief workers has begun to dwindle and the world’s attention shifts elsewhere.

“Wow. What an amazing experience, Carlson wrote on the plane home. She had made lasting friends during her time in Haiti and impacted the lives of children by adding her hands to reconstruction efforts.

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Now, two months after her return, Carlson checks her e-mail for news from Bernard and the children, and keeps up with posts on Facebook, while her memories of the trip are preserved forever in her olive green- and white-flowered journal. Y

Foote Loose

New head of school Maoz helps Foote third-graders with kite-making.

A period of trial and turmoil seemingly behind it, East Rock’s Foote School enjoys a ‘rebirth’

By JACK DICKEY

T

here’s a peculiar air to the Foote School campus in sweltering late July. Situated on 17.8 acres in New Haven’s East Rock neighborhood, Foote looks, even in the summer, perfunctorily picturesque, green and lush. Yet at the end of its summer program and well before back to school (Foote’s first day is September 1) Foote operates on a much smaller scale. Many classrooms sit empty, unlit, while putative occupants frolic on a muddy playground. By one p.m., two hours before Foote’s school-year dismissal bell, nearly all campers have departed.

The school, in summer, assumes a

skeleton form.

This cycle — in which Foote dismisses its students for the summer in early June, offers a six-week summer program, and then readies itself for the next year — recurs each year. Yet there’s a greater spirit of renewal pervading Foote this time around, thanks to an ongoing physical expansion and second-year Head of School Carol Maoz.

Though Foote officials take great care not to refer to its recent progress as a “new era,” there’s something undeniably new and different in the school naming only its eighth head in 94 years of history and

expanding its campus for the first time since 1972. And that Foote would add the land and building in the throes of a recession, there is sense of renaissance.

Last October, Foote purchased nearly four acres of land — Highland Street separates the property from Foote’s main campus — from the St. Francis Home for Children.

Though St. Francis, a charity under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Hartford, still hosts its Girls’ Youth Center for Assessment, Respite and Enrichment on a chunk of the Prospect Street property, Foote now controls much of the charity’s former campus. new haven

23

“St. Francis had really scaled back its program in recent years,” says Charlotte Murphy, Foote’s director of communications. Foote’s new land acquisition held approximately 60,000 square feet of unoccupied space in dormitory-style buildings constructed during the 1950s and ‘60s, according to Leland Torrence, a contractor and Foote alumnus who supervised the building demolition and preparation of the site.

Torrence oversaw an aggressive and innovative demolition and recycling program — which recycled onsite 98 percent of the buildings’ non-hazardous material. According to Torrence, the onsite recycling program kept “on the order of 250 large trucks” from visiting the site. Foote donated some nonrecyclable material, such as heating and air

Says Maoz: “We’ve needed a science building for a long time. But we had nowhere to put it.”

involve Foote in a web-conferencing-based program to partner with schools across the globe.

Foote, which currently has a student body of 470, has taken great steps to explain its non-expansion expansion to the East Rock community. Foote expanded gradually from 1976 through the mid1990s, its student body growing from 357 to its present size over that period. Most of Foote’s classroom buildings were constructed in the 1960s, with its North Building (completed 1986), gymnasium/ theater building and art and music facilities (completed 2001) the notable exceptions.

Three eighth-grade classrooms, one ninthgrade classroom, an outdoor classroom and a Middle School computer lab round out the proposed facility’s additions to the school. The building will be named for Jonathan Milikowsky, who graduated from Foote in 1998 and passed away in 2006.

The new building, a 12,000-square-foot science- and technology-oriented space, will replace the ‘60s-era science classrooms

“We’ve desperately needed more space for a while,” says Murphy. “Even just storage space — teachers were shuffling things from place to place and running out of room.”

Foote, however, does not know when it will be able to break ground on the building, as the school has yet to raise

Interim head of school Dunham (left) binded with students by handing out ‘smart’ pills

conditioning units, to other organizations in New Haven.

The former St. Francis site has become playing fields, with a Foote faculty garden consuming a small strip of the land. St. Francis accepted Foote’s bid — which was not the charity’s most lucrative offer — in large part because Foote, unlike the other bidders, would not build on the property, Murphy says.

Yet Foote’s no-build plan unfolds in context — the school sees the property as a gateway to new opportunities in science and technology education on the other side of Highland Street.

24

October 2010

with three labs devoted respectively to physics, chemistry and biology.

“Foote has to keep moving with the times,” Murphy says. Foote plans to install Smart Boards – interactive whiteboards that detect user input – in many of the new classrooms. “Computers are not ends in themselves,” she added, “but they’ve been very helpful in our mission of educating students to be lifelong learners.”

“Technology can enrich us in two ways,” Maoz says. “Not only will it enrich our normal programming, but we can make the school more global.” Maoz, who taught overseas for 11 years, hopes to

the money to fund the project. Foote has enjoyed recent success with its annual fund donations, boasting a banner year for total money raised in 2007-08, with $511,000, and setting a record last year for parental participation. Yet the annual fund money goes to fund Foote’s yearly budget — not its endowment. In the midst of a capital campaign, Foote has secured several lead gifts, Murphy says, yet not enough to set a date for the building’s construction.

“Every nonprofit is having some difficulty fundraising,” Maoz acknowledges. “Most people don’t have the same resources that they did four or five years ago. But people

have responded very well to the campaign.”

School officials hope to have the building finished by 2012, which would end Foote’s fiveyear odyssey to incorporate the St. Francis property and with it a new science facility.

To trace the project’s beginning, one must return to the middle of the decade – when David Feldman was head of school. Feldman, who left the University of Chicago Laboratory School after 12 years, moved to New Haven to take the Foote job in 2004.

“I was initially on the St. Francis Board of Trustees,” Feldman says. “I resigned from the board so we could begin some preliminary discussions about the purchase when they thought about putting it up for sale.”

“That property was a huge part of our long-term plan,” he adds. Yet Feldman and Foote were not part of each other’s long-term plans — in 2007, he and the school reached “a mutual agreement to go our separate ways,” he says.

“Of course I wish my tenure at Foote had been longer,” Feldman says. “But it was a great experience for me as a head. I don’t regret a thing.”

Murphy, who came to Foote in 2005, declines to comment on Feldman’s departure. She says, though, that the school decided it needed to complete a thorough search process for a new head — despite having completed a similar process three years prior. To allow sufficient time for such a search, the school decided it wanted an interim head.

Enter C. Dary Dunham.

“I’m a sort of ‘schoolwhisperer,’” said Dunham, who from 1992 to 2006 served as headmaster at Lakeville’s Indian Mountain School, a co-ed pre-K-9 school of 252

students with boarders in grades six through nine. Since departing Foote in July 2009, he has taken a position in the college counseling office at the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Mass.

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Dunham said took the Foote job in part because of his relationship with Perrine, the legendary headmaster. “I’ve always adored Frank Perrine — even though he had been gone for 16 years, he was still the quintessence of that school,” he says.

Although Murphy says that the school seamlessly transitioned from Feldman to Dunham, several challenges faced Dunham when he assumed the interim position.

“Mr. Feldman didn’t turn out to be a good choice. He might have been in over his head,” Dunham says. “When I came in, the toughest challenge was getting the faculty — a loyal, long-serving faculty — to accept me. The trustees were on edge, too, since this had happened on their watch.”

Yet Dunham says he felt little stress — as interim head, he could focus on doing what he really loved to do.

“I told the faculty their job was to teach. The trustees’ job was to be the stewards of the school. I would take care of the other things,” Dunham says.

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Dunham — in whose name Foote has now established a school spirit fund — had an unusual method for winning over Foote’s student constituency.

“I wondered how I was going to forge bonds with these students — there’s quite a breadth of personality styles and intellects among them,” recalls Dunham. “I found the boy who seemed to be the alpha male of the seventh grade, and I called him into my office after recess. He was awfully worried, because he had a test later. I told him I Continued on 33

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AT H O M E

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t the peak of the housing bubble in 2006, nearly 70 percent of Americans owned the place where they lived. Home ownership was not only a traditional American aspiration, conventional wisdom — and the federal government’s economic policies — made renting seem stupid.

People thought they were creating wealth by going into debt to own their own home, and money spent on paying rent was tantamount to using your hard-earned

cash to ignite the barbecue.

How times have changed. The crash in value of millions of homes has vaporized the life savings of their occupants — at best on paper alone; at worst forcing bankruptcy. Now close to 40 percent of American households are projected to rent their accommodations, with millions of homes in foreclosure limbo.

But college towns teeming with transient and low- or no-income students have

Shiny new 360 State Street changes the face of downtown New Haven living

By Duo Dickinson

360 State’s aesthetic is modern, clean and ‘semi-Ikea-esque’ — just like Fontana’s furnishings.

26

October 2010

always had a high proportion of renters.

New Haven is no exception — but student rentals are often thought of as rat-trap rabbit warrens barely above tenement living.

But that perception has changed.

The Crown Tower apartments built in the 1960s and last decade’s conversion of the old Taft Hotel to accommodate the thousands of Yale-affiliated residents who want a nice place for a year (or six)

illustrated that not buying did not mean people did not care where they lived.

Upping that ante is the huge investment of 360 State by Becker + Becker, an audacious effort to fulfill the potential of a new rental-based community in downtown New Haven, trail-blazed by the Ninth Square development of the 1990s.

Five hundred apartments with common spaces, parking and “green” amenities are cleanly set at the intersection of Chapel and State streets.

It’s the second-tallest building

in New Haven and one of its largest structures. But it is, in the end, an assemblage of little constructions — people-scaled homes set next to one another with out-scaled windows having unobstructed views of Yale’s gravitas, the new Q Bridge’s construction chaos, the parking lot where the Coliseum once stood and the open box of Marcel Breuer’s Pirelli building emptied by Ikea.

Into these new little homes have now marched a hardy band of urban pioneers, the vanguard of 100 or so renters

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Careful color and materials choices make the bones of both the interiors and exterior facades unexpectedly expressive.

who started moving in this summer as the building was going through its last construction phase: completing the streetlevel commercial space facing Chapel Street.

Elevators can be pokey, the never-ending line of U-Hauls pulling up to the lobby’s front door across the unfinished State Street terrace can seem a bit ad hoc, and the sounds and mess of construction all can be annoying — but it’s also invigorating and redolent of hope. It mirrors the hope of a city government that awarded Becker + Becker the privilege of building this structure via a $1 site cost.

One of these new residents is Catherine Fontana. A vital 24-year-old Yale graduate student in microbial ecology researching the effect of climate change on what lives in our soil, she is as fresh and focused as the building she chose to occupy.

Three Sixty State and Fontana walk the talk of “green.” The building has all the techno-bells and whistles (even a fuel cell) to lower energy use, but the ethic goes deeper. Bicycles, for example, occupy a privileged place — not only their storage, but the über-cool Devil’s Gear bike shop will relocate there to facilitate non-carbon-powered transport. Many of the surfaces are proudly fabricated from 28

October 2010

recycled products, and the State Street rail station directly across the street almost begs resident to use the train, and eschew fossil-fueled auto transport.

Catherine Fontana is the human face of the building’s earth-friendly ethos. “I’ve already made several steps to lessen my impact on the planet, from becoming vegan to biking more,” she says. “Even as an environmental scientist, living in 360 State Street has significantly heightened my consciousness of every daily green decision I make.”

Fontana has the guileless intellectual clarity born of a Michigan upbringing in combined with a stellar undergrad career at local Albion College rewarded by a year on an “Irish Rhodes” Mitchell Scholarship in Dublin. “I’ve never considered myself a city girl until I moved from the bustling city center of Dublin, Ireland to the subdued suburbs of New Haven last August,” Fontana says. “After a year, I knew my surroundings needed to change — both visually and environmentally.”

Another illustration of her intellectual firepower was obtaining funding for her research work that made the $1,892 monthly rent (not including utilities) for her one-bedroom unit affordable. But the net-net cost compared to her previous

digs in New Haven’s suburbs (a classic, funky mold-infested grad student rental) was not as extreme, as those utility costs (including Internet) of about $130 per month are much lower in her new home.

She pays an additional $100 a month to house her car, but that’s just about the cost of a month’s parking tickets in the City of Parking Meter Time-Out Zero Tolerance.

Three Sixty State was the perfect reflection of Fontana’s stage in life and outlook — she hopes to live there until she completes her graduate studies, which will take at least five years. Her life is quite full beyond academic pursuits — she is vegan and a local food critic with her omnivore boyfriend, as well as producing a website (veganvore.wordpress.com). She volunteers at the Yale Peabody Museum and is a McDougal Fellow working to engage New Haven students in scientific public outreach.

Three Sixty State has similarly ambitious pretensions: opening a “localvore” naturalfoods market, common amenities such as gathering rooms, an exercise facility, rooftop pool and integration with New Haven’s cultural and civic efforts. The building is even pet-friendly.

The units range from studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, to three-

Even as an environmental scientist,’ explains the 24-year-old Fontana, living in 360 State Street has significantly heightened my consciousness of every daily green decision I make

bedroom penthouses, a few with oversized and rewarding life’s voyage, Fontana has terraces. The aesthetic is modern, clean a sense of context of her surroundings: and semi-Ikea-esque — just like Fontana’s “Don’t let their clean lines deceive you,” furnishings. Huge glass openings force she cautions. “These apartments are attention beyond the tight interior teeming with the past use of all the dimensions. Careful color and materials different materials in each carpet square choices make the bones of both the and every inch of the countertops.” It may interiors and exterior facades unexpectedly be hip to be green — but it’s also more expressive. interesting.

For someone embarking on such a rich

hovel, for sure. But rude, environmentally brain-dead accommodations cost their residents more than money — they drain pride and energy in their buzz-killing thoughtlessness. As those who spent money to make money in the now-popped housing bubble discovered, it’s not always about the cash. It’s also about value — and, ultimately, values. Y

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B IBL IO F I L E S

Johnny Winter in a publicity shot for the 1969 release of his eponymous Columbia debut, with drummer Uncle John Turner (left) and bassist Tommy Shannon.

Fire and Smoke Area authors muse on hot music and cool Maduros

By Michael C. Bingham Raisin’ Cain: The Wild & Raucous Story of Johnny Winter, by Mary Lou Sullivan (2010).

Backbeat Books, 400 pps., $24.99 (soft).

I

n 2003, Rolling Stone magazine published a list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.” On that list Johnny Winter rated No. 74, which is an utter travesty of justice — he belongs in the top 25, at least.

The albino Texas bluesman, who now lives in Fairfield County (author Mary Lou Sullivan, a former freelance writer for the Hartford Advocate, lives in Coventry), is a true rock ‘n’ roll original.

The cascading shock of white hair. The banshee wail. The wraith-like figure.

And above all, that stinging, seemingly effortless guitar playing.

And despite having few hit singles (how 30

October 2010

many can you think of beyond “Rock ‘n’ Roll Hoochie Koo”?) and only one gold record (1971’s Live/Johnny Winter And…), Winter’s influence has far exceeded his commercial success. And the guitar player has had quite a career. For one thing, he’s played with absolutely everyone — from seminal influences like blues legends Muddy Waters, James Cotton and Texas guitarist Clarence Garlow — to THE guitar giants of the second half of the 20th century — Hendrix, Clapton, Allman. In case those rock ‘n’ roll bona fides don’t suffice, Winter had an affair with Janis Joplin, for heaven’s sake.

But for all his incontrovertible talent, Winter the person comes across as a bit of a low-life lout. He is serially unfaithful to the women in his life, even while demanding they remain faithful to him.

He plunges headlong and heedlessly into heroin addition. He treats longtime bandmates as interchangeable parts to be tossed heedlessly on the scrap heap.

That’s okay with author Sullivan, who first met Winter in 1984 and spent the next two decades trying to earn his trust enough to okay her becoming his official biographer. Over the next seven years Sullivan spent hundreds of hours in one-

on-one interviews with Winter, notably many Saturday-night sessions winding into the wee hours.

The author justified Winter’s trust, as she has produced an affectionate (one tries to circumnavigate the word “fawning”) biography that celebrates its subject’s triumphs while rationalizing many of Winter’s human failings. He became addicted to heroin because he was lonely.

He was unfaithful to the women in his life because they tolerated his infidelity.

Another shortcoming of Sullivan’s work is that she never really attempts to describe what Winter’s guitar playing and music actually sound like. Well, this longtime Winter listener can at least come up with some descriptive adjectives: Fiery.

Relentless. Thrilling. Endlessly inventive — you get the sense Winter could solo for days without repeating himself.

Winter is still out there playing, though not the 300 dates a year of yore. A lifetime of self-abuse and more recent health issues now force him to play sitting down. But he can still bring it, as they say. Just don’t ask him to play “Rock ‘n Roll Hoochie Koo.” Johnny Winter is an old bluesman now. Actually, he kind of always was.

The Cigar Lover’s Compendium: Everything You Need To Light Up & Leave Me Alone, by Lawrence Dorfman (2010). Lyon Press, 208 pps., $14.95 (soft).

W

ithout a doubt, Johnny Winter has ingested plenty of smoke in his 66 years. But I doubt I’d peg him as a cigar man. Too labor-intensive, for one thing.

Can’t say the same about Hamden’s Lawrence Dorfman (whom I’d like to fancy is brother to Animal House’s Kent, a/k/a Flounder), described by his publisher as “a discerning cigar smoker for 30 years” and an admitted habitué of New Haven’s hoary Owl Shop on Temple Street, the Mecca for area cigar and pipe aficionados.

The Cigar Lover’s Compendium isn’t a “book” in the sense of words, sentences and paragraphs adding up to some form of story. Instead it’s a collection of anecdotes, jokes,

poems, annotated lists (Top Cigar Cities, Best Drinks to Accompany Cigars).

It’s frothy fare intended to make for a fun gift book for the aspired cigar connoisseur in your life. Anna Karenina, it’s not — but it probably goes down agreeably with a Camacho and a VSOP cognac.

You could probably guess the principal members of Dorfman’s Cigar Smoker Hall of Fame, but the author adds value by including each member’s favorite smoke (when known): Winston Churchill (Romeo Y Julieta), George Burns (El Producto), Red Auerbach (Hoyo de Monterrey), Groucho Marx (“Smoked anything he could get his hands on for as little money as possible,” the author explains, “the cheaper the cigar, the better he liked it”) and Sigmund Freud, who reminded us that, sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar. Y

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B OD Y & S O UL

Zap That Fat! A new laser treatment removes unwanted inches and ‘contours’ the body — without surgery

By ELIZA HALLABECK

W

ith the warmth of summer fading into the recesses of memory, the luxury of exercising outdoors seems to be slipping away as each leaf falls from its tree. For anyone wishing those sweaty summer jogs had helped trim just one or two more inches of fat from a midsection, thigh, or a smaller target area, like the neck, local doctors have some treatments in their arsenal.

“It is about inch loss and body contouring,” says Jeffrey Gold, MD, of Hamden, whose practice, Laser Body Solutions, offers Zerona, a noninvasive body-contouring treatment. Other medical practices in Connecticut offer Zerona, including Connecticut Disc & Laser Therapy Centers in Shelton and the Langdon Center for Laser & Cosmetic Surgery in Guilford.

According to Gold, Zerona is a low-level laser procedure that removes fat and

32

October 2010

reduces inches without invasive surgery.

The Zerona treatment is relatively new, and the procedure was approved by the FDA just last month.

“There are no needles, no incisions, and no recovery time needed,” according to Gold.

“Zerona works by melting fat, which then releases into the interstitial space. The excess fat then leaves the body via the liver and kidneys during its normal course of detoxification.”

Gold explains that a Zerona regimen is a month-long process, and while the procedure may be new, laser treatments have been around for about 40 years.

According to MyZerona.com, owned by Erchonia Medical, which manufactures laser and cosmetic laser products, Zerona provides patients with a safer alternative to surgical procedures, which for people looking for a quick fix can require significant recovery time.

“There is no need to wear compression garments or bandages with Zerona and since there is no pain,” according to the manufacturer, “there is no need for anesthesia. Unlike other non-invasive approaches, Zerona low-level lasers do not rely on heating tissue, which can cause discomfort. There is no downtime, so patients can resume their normal activities immediately.”

Free consultations take approximately half an hour, and the treatments themselves take roughly 40 minutes, according to Gold. To date some 2,000 people have been treated nationally with the Zerona treatment in the last year, Gold says. At Laser Body Solutions, Gold’s daughter Kim was the very first in line to be treated with the procedure.

While Kim works out routinely and is fit, “She had subcutaneous fat that she just could not get rid of,” explains her father.

Gold reports that the procedure went as planned, and Kim was happy with the results.

Foote

Women tend to carry fat just below the bra line, at the waist and in the thighs, says Gold, while men tend to carry fat on their chest and mid- to lower abdomen. These areas, he says, can be contoured with Zerona.

had a jar of smart pills, and he could have one, but only one, because that was all he would need to do well on his test. By the end of the year, I had so many kids stopping by for smart pills.”

Both Gold and Gary Price, MD of New Haven, agree that cosmetic surgery is not about weight loss. It is about trimming inches where fat gathers, as well as helping smaller areas such as the neck, according to Price.

He says people searching for quick fixes for stubborn areas of fat on the body tend to come to his office for help with shrinking a jaw line, the upper neck area, or so-called celebrity lifts.

Most quick fixes, Price says, are more suited to smaller areas, because they are associated with shorter recovery times.

“Liposuction is good for correcting bulges that stick out from the normal contour of the body,” says Price, who cautions that the procedure is not a good tool to shrink entire limb sections.

When a prospective patient visits his office for a consultation, Price tells her or him, “I want to see an area with some bulge, and I want to be able to pinch at least an inch of fat.”

With some procedures Price says patients could pass the very next day without looking like they had work done. More extensive procedures, he adds, require longer recovery times, but fillers, such as using Botox or Restylane, can leave puffiness for roughly one hour after a procedure.

According to Price, some treatments are quick, but side effects from them can linger. Cosmetic surgery procedures that take fat from one area of the body to fill in another area of the body, he says, can leave swelling in that area for several days.

More information on Price and his practice can be found at drgaryprice. com or by calling 203-453-6635. More information on Gold can be found at laserbody.com. For more information on Zerona visit zerona.com.

Continued from 25

Smart pills? Skittles, Dunham admits.

But they worked.

“Dary was very visible, and people really liked him,” Murphy says, adding that Dunham once finished second in a lookalike contest for NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor.

When economic conditions worsened during his first year at Foote, Dunham amended the budget. “We had an unrealistic budget, one based on 455 students, when our enrollment stayed at 470. We couldn’t have unlimited faculty raises. We had to add a fourth section of sixth grade. But things worked.”

Dunham, whose interim tenure ended in 2009, says he valued many things about Foote. He loved that the school – unlike Indian Mountain School — had no dress code. He admired the relatively low tuition that paid for everything within the Foote program.

“If you’re on financial aid,” Dunham says (21 percent of Foote students are) “you pay your contribution and don’t have to pay more for field trips and sports.”

“I’m really happy for this school — it’s a vibrant, urban, great day school,” Dunham says. “The school’s in a fortunate position, under Carol Maoz.”

Maoz is the new Head of School, Foote’s eighth. She arrived at Foote in July 2009 after 11 years as upper school head at Greenwich Country Day School.

“From the moment I set foot on campus, I felt Foote was entirely the right fit for me, says Maoz.”

“There’s a certain excitement on campus with the new building and the new head of school,” Murphy says.

Mixed in with the sweaty summer air at scaled-down Foote School one finds feelings of relief — Foote has weathered multiple storms — and feelings of excitement – Foote is expanding its footprint for the first time since 1972.

“Foote has a strong commitment to the city,” adds Dunham. “New Haven’s really lucky to have that school.” Y Jack Dickey is a 2005 graduate of the Foote School.

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Playing for peace, and for pride: A finals appearance at the U.S. Open vaulted Qureshi (left) and Bopanna to No. 6 in the world.

SP O R T S

Photo: Lindsay Comer

A Perfect Match Waging peace on the center court of world opinion

By MITCHELL YOUNG

R

ohan Bopanna of India and Aisam-UlHaq Qureshi of Pakistan, both 30, are the No. 6 doubles team in the world.

They were in New Haven in late August for the Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament to play doubles and to wage peace with their personal campaign “Stop War, Start Tennis.” While their doubles team lost in the finals of the tourney (they also made it to the finals of the U.S. Open, where they lost a tense 7-6, 7-6 match to the Bryan brothers) the story of their friendship and unique partnership is winning over a growing number of fans across the world. The Monaco-based organization Peace and Sport (peace-sport.org), founded in 1924, has recognized them as Ambassadors for Peace How did you two team up in the first place?

Qureshi: I’ve known Rohan since the first time I went to India in my junior career. I was the top junior from Pakistan; he was tops in India.

There was even more tension between your countries back then [14 years ago].

Qureshi: We didn’t have that many [juniors] in Pakistan; the closet place for us to play was India. I’ve been going since I was 16.

Bopanna: With sports I don’t think there was ever a conflict, but politics it was always there.

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October 2010

When you decided to become a team, did you think the media would notice?

When did it surface that there was a political dimension to your team effort?

Qureshi: I’ve been playing with Indians ever since juniors. Most of them speak the same language as me. It makes it very easy for me to communicate and hang around. Normally, I’m the only Pakistani that’s on the [ATP] tour for the last 12, 13 years.

Qureshi: Two years ago we won like eight or nine Challengers in a row and we made finals of two [ATP] tour events as well. It was after making an impact on the bigger tournaments.

How big is tennis is your country?

Bopanna: In India, I would say No. 2 or 3 sport — after cricket, of course, which is more a religion than a sport [laughs].

Tennis has grown a lot in India.

How about in Pakistan?

Qureshi: Not big, but that’s why I’m doing my level best to promote this game in Pakistan. The best way for me to promote it is to be in the biggest tournaments.

This year Rohan has been definitely helping me; we have been playing together and we have the rankings. It is promoting tennis in Pakistan — everyone is getting aware of me. Two weeks ago I got the biggest award one can get in sports from the Pakistani government and there are only three people in the history of Pakistan to get one.

Is the politics of you two playing together getting noticed by politicians?

Qureshi: So far I haven’t spoken to any politicians.

Bopanna: I don’t know if they know, unless they are reading the sports page.

Bopanna: There wasn’t that much coverage, but once we won some games in the bigger tournaments and against bigger players [that changed].

Does the attention place more stress on you?

Qureshi: No, for me it has been motivating me and getting our message across. We had an unbelievable experience at Wimbledon we started a campaign of Stop War, Start Tennis — we both got named peace ambassadors [by Peace and Sport]. We are the only tennis players in the world representing that organization.

We noticed a following of Indians and Pakistanis at your matches. Have you been generating similar following everywhere?

Qureshi: The main incident I will tell you is I was playing Davis Cup in Hong Kong, and a handful of Indians came to support me, and after the match they said, ‘We appreciate you are playing with Rohan Bopanna — he is an Indian and we support you.’ It was an unbelievable gesture: I never expected Indians to watch a Pakistani in Hong Kong. Our friendship and partnership is getting across. Y

Jenn Gambatese as Constance and Sean Palmer as Charles in We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Present at the Creation A new Yale Center for New Theatre promises to midwife groundbreaking new work for the stage Photo: Joan Marcus

By BROOKS APPELBAUM

A

s an audience member of the Yale Repertory Theatre, it’s likely you’ve appreciated, what has become a familiar balance between world premieres of Yale-commissioned plays or musicals and interpretations of traditional works. October opens with such a pair. First, the world premiere of We Have Always Lived in the Castle (through October 9, based on Shirley Jackson’s novel), with book and lyrics

by Adam Bock and music and lyrics by Todd Almond. On October 22 it’s Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance, directed by James Bundy, the Rep’s artistic director and dean of the Yale School of Drama.

What audience members may not realize is the extent to which this programming represents both a deeply thought-out mission and a remarkable back story. First, the mission. As Bundy puts it, “Because the Repertory Theatre is obliged to our training program, which is at the heart of the university, it has had an agenda that includes the extant canon of plays — and, to some extent, musicals — but more prominently the production of new plays.”

Bundy adds that over the Rep’s 44 seasons, the theater has produced more than 100 world or regional premieres.

The back story began in 2008, when the Robina Foundation gave the Yale School of Drama and the Yale Rep a $2.85 million

gift to create the Yale Center for New Theatre. The Robina Foundation’s gift made it possible, says Bundy, to “increase the artistic staff by hiring a literary manager, and to expand the number of commissions each year and the amount of work we were able to do before producing a play.” Such work might include readings or workshops or any other kind of development a writer might request. The process is strongly artist-driven.

Clearly, the Yale Center for New Theatre has fulfilled the Robina Foundation’s hopes. This year, the foundation gave the center another $950,000 gift, which was followed by a $1 million gift from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Jennifer Kiger, director of the Center for New Theatre as well as associate artistic director of Yale Rep, describes the importance of the initial Robina Foundation grant in terms of refining what the Rep had been doing all along.

Kiger, Bundy and their staff were able to re-examine all facets of new-play development. That, Kiger explains, “allowed us to make Yale a home for artists from the earliest generation of the idea of a play through production.”

Kiger explains the somewhat murky process of commissioning a work, Yalestyle. “A commission is an institution

— a theater — approaching a writer and asking them to write an original play for the theater,” she says. “It’s a process of many months or years of getting to know a writer’s work, and of recognizing and wanting to support the voice of that artist, as opposed to solely the one work that is being commissioned.

Yale’s commissions range from earlycareer playwrights to mid-career artists to established, Pulitzer Prize-winning writers. But, says Kiger, a commission naturally means something different to each artist.

“It is very difficult to make a living as a playwright, and a lot of times the very talented early-career playwrights are the ones we might lose to other media, to screenwriting or television, or to more stable careers like academia,” Kiger explain. So beyond the recognition a commission represents, it also is an expression of Yale’s belief that “a particular voice belongs on the stage.”

A key element of the initial Robina Foundation grant was a $60,000 production fund that supports other non-profit theaters that are producing world premieres or second or third productions of plays originally commissioned by Yale.

Kiger points out that such theaters often would love to produce this or that new

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ONSTAGE Cabaret

script, but fear doing so would be “too risky.” The center’s production fund can, “mitigate this fear of doing new work” by underwriting Yale-commissioned scripts.

Audiences will remember Bill Camp’s and Robert Woodruff’s Notes from Underground, which premiered at Yale last year. The Robina fund is supporting its current production at La Jolla (Calif.) Playhouse and will support its New York premiere at the Theater for New Audiences in association with Baryshnikov Arts Center.

Finally, the Center for New Theatre commissions more plays than Yale Rep could produce — about eight scripts a year — so the fund helps to ensure these works will be developed and produced elsewhere.

Since maintaining the balance between the Center for New Theatre and Yale Repertory Theater’s commitment to canonical works is paramount, and since Bundy has the double role of artistic director and dean, he seems the perfect director for Albee’s A Delicate Balance. Of Albee’s script, he says that Yale chooses its established works each season because they speak to how we live and feel at that time. We watch as a family misses its chance to know itself, as so many families do. The piece is a dark and delicate one, says Bundy, but there is great excitement in working with six tremendously talented actors: Kathleen Butler, John Carter, Kathleen Chalfant, Edward Herrmann and Keira Naughton.

There certainly is darkness and doubt in many corners of our world these days, but we can hope at least they are fertile soil for the creation of challenging, honest theater. And thanks to Bundy, Kiger, the artists they choose and their supporting foundations, at Yale the future looks bright indeed. Y 36

October 2010

Seven Angels kicks off its 20th anniversary season with the Connecticut premier of Roger Bean’s The Marvelous Wonderettes. Meet Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy, four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts and voices to match. As they unite

Opening Ella: The Musical, by Jeffrey Hatcher. Conceived by Rob Ruggiero. Ella: The Musical weaves myth, memory and music into a stylish and sophisticated journey through the life of Ella Fitzgerald.

September 22-October 17 at Long Wharf Theatre, 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven. $40. 203-787-4282, longwharf.org.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a haunting, lyrical, and darkly humorous new musical based on the 1962 novel by Shirley Jackson, author of The Lottery and The Haunting of Hill House.

Acquitted of a horrible crime six years ago, Constance Blackwood lives with her devoted younger sister Merricat and their uncle Julian in what was once the home of the richest — and most envied — family in a small New England town. A Yale Repertory Theatre production. September 23-October 9 at the University Theatre, 222 York St., New Haven. $85-$10. 203-1234, yalerep.org.

In this hysterical satire of American industry, an ambitious window-washer uses a bit of charm, a lot of flattery and a little self-help manual called How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying to vault upward from mailroom clerk to executive suite boss. A triumph of musical theater (seven Tonys) with a winning and witty score that includes “”The Company Way,” “I Believe in You” and “Brotherhood of Man.” Greg Ganakis directs, with musical direction by Michael O’Flaherty and choreography

by Kelli Barclay. September 24-November 28 at Goodspeed Opera House, 6 Main St., East Haddam. $71-$27.50. 860-873-8668, goodspeed.org.

Ivoryton stages Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy. This graceful, moving drama affectionately chronicles the quarter-century

James & the Giant Peach is a brand, spanking new musical with choreography by the esteemed Pilobolus Dance Co. When James is shipped off to live with his wretched aunts, he longs for a real family and a new home. All seems hopeless until he discovers a magical giant peach filled with a menagerie of fantastical creatures. October 21-November 21 at Norma Terris Theatre, 33 N. Main St., Chester. $42. 860-873-8668, goodspeed.org.

Photo: Joan Marcus

Explains Kiger, who heads the Center for New Theatre, ‘When we commission writers, it really is an investment on Yale’s behalf in the voice and the long-term artistry of that writer.’

Yale Cabaret is back with Vaska Vaska, Glöm: A Tale for Forgetters and Fish, by Stéphanie Hayes. The world of Vaska Vaska, Glöm is dark. From within this darkness, light glows from white aprons and pale faces, and flickers off the ripples of water in a barrel. It’s a world that throbs — with longing, with voices, with music, with memory. Lileana Blain Cruz directs. 8 p.m. September 30, 8 & 11 p.m. October 1-2 at Yale Cabaret, 217 Park St., New Haven. $15 ($10 student). 203-432-1566, yalecabaret.org.

October 10 & 16, 2 p.m. October 16 at Lyman Center, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St., New Haven. $10 ($5 seniors, SCSU faculty/staff ). 203392-6154, lyman.southernct.edu.

relationship between a wealthy, strongwilled Southern matron and her equally indomitable black chauffeur, Hoke. September 29-October 17 at Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main St., Ivoryton. $38-$15.

860-767-7318, ivorytonplayhouse. org.

Alexandra Socha as Merricat in the world premiere musical We Have Always Lived in the Castle at the Yale Rep (see, page 35

to entertain at their high school prom we’re treated to such classic ‘50s and ‘60s songs as “Dream Lover,” “Mr. Sandman,” “Lipstick on Your Collar,” “It’s In His Kiss” and many more. The harmonies are close, the rivalries are intense and the hair is huge. September 30-October 24 at Seven Angels Theatre, 1 Plank Rd., Waterbury. $48-$32.50. 203-757-4676, sevenangelstheatre.org.

It’s that singular sensation — one of the most successful musicals in Broadway history, a winner of nine Tonys and even a Pulitzer Prize for drama. In an empty theater on a bare stage, casting for a new Broadway musical is almost complete. For 17 dancers, this audition is the chance of a lifetime — to make it onto A Chorus Line. 8 p.m. October 1-2, 2 p.m. October 2-3 at the Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven. $75-$15. 203-5625666, 800-228-6622, shubert.com.

SCSU’s Crescent Players stage the ebullient musical-comedy favorite Bye Bye Birdie, with book by Michael Stewart, lyrics

by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse. Directed and choreographed by Larry Nye. 8 p.m. October 8-9 & 14-15, 3 p.m.

Remember when it was billed as the first “tribal-rock” musical — seems a while ago now, doesn’t it? No matter, the Public Theater’s new Tony-winning production of Hair features some of the bestknown and -loved songs from the Age of Aquarius, including “Let the Sunshine In” and “Good Morning, Starshine.” Dig it! 8 p.m.

October 22-23, 2 p.m. October 23-24 at the Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven. $75-$15. 203-5625666, 800-228-6622, shubert.com.

Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Albee (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?) makes his Yale Rep debut with a new production of his masterpiece, A Delicate Balance. Agnes and Tobias are a well-off, long-married couple who share their home with Agnes’s older sister, Claire, a selfproclaimed “drunk.” The delicate balance of their lives has already begun to teeter when their best friends arrive unexpectedly, asking if they can stay — indefinitely. The next day, their grown daughter shows up, expecting to move home again after the collapse of her fourth marriage. Artistic Director James Bundy (2009’s Death of a Salesman) stages this social comedy about the fragile nature of marriages, families and friendships. October 22-November 13 at Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel St., New Haven. $85-$10.

203-432-1234, yalerep.org.

Je’Caryous Johnson’s Cheaper To Keep Her. When a married couple is ready to call it quits, the female judge gives the wife everything, forcing on the husband the realization it would have been cheaper to keep her. He has two options to prevent him from paying alimony: Kill her or get r married off to someone else. 8 p.m. October 29, 2 & 8 p.m.

October 30 at the Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven. $52.50$40.50. 203-562-5666, 800-228-6622, shubert.com.

ART GALLERY TALKS/TOURS Stories and Art. On the second Sunday of each month, tales of distant times and faraway lands inspire children of all ages to view art in new ways. Yale students and YUAG staff relate folktales and myths from across the globe to works of art in the gallery’s collection. 1 p.m. October 10 Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-0600, artgallery.yale.edu.

Sculptor Carol Bove, a 2010–11 Happy and Bob Doran Artist in Residence at the Yale University Art Gallery presents an artist talk. 5:30 p.m. October 28 at Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven. Free.

203-432-0600, artgallery.yale.edu.

EXHIBITIONS Opening Recent Work: John Harris & Keith Johnson. In his large-scale, Photorealist paintings, Harris isolates and exaggerates forms, colors and sequences found in nature. Johnson photographs environments with the control and excitement of an anthropologist excavating a previously unknown civilization.

September 30-October 31 (opening reception 3-6 p.m.

11/3) at Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whalley Ave., New Haven. Open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends and by appt. 203-389-9555, kehlerliddell.com.

With Needle & Brush: Schoolgirl Embroidery from the Connecticut River Valley. The first indepth exhibition of its kind, With Needle and Brush contributes to the understanding of the traditions of needlework and provides insight into women’s schooling before the advent of widespread public education. October 2-January 30 at the Florence Griswold Museum, 96 Lyme St., Old Lyme. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily except Mon., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $14 ($13 seniors, $12 students, free under 13). 860-434-5542, flogris.org.

Juried by photographer Don Garbera, After Dark is an exhibition of works by area artists in multiple media exploring the light prevailing in the hours between twilight and dawn. October 7-November 4 at Firehouse Art Gallery, 81 Naugatuck Ave., Milford. Open noon-5 p.m. Thurs.-Sun. Free. 203-306-0016, milfordarts.org.

A Privileged View: Paintings by Lockwood de Forest is among the first public exhibitions of both plein air sketches and major easel paintings of Lockwood de Forest (1850-1932). Born in New York to a prominent family, as a young man de Forest traveled extensively, painting and sketching with members of the Hudson River School. He developed a lifelong friendship with renowned American painter Frederic Edwin Church, a distant relative. October 9-November 13 (opening reception 4-8 p.m. 10/9) at the Cooley Gallery, 25 Lyme St., Old Lyme. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Free. 860434-8807, cooleygallery.com.

Notes from the Archive: James Frazer Stirling, Architect and Teacher. The Yale Center for British Art and the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal (CCA), have co-produced the first-ever exhibition of the archive of British architect, Yale School of Architecture professor and Pritzker Prize laureate James Stirling (1924-92), regarded as one of the most important and innovative architects of the twentieth century. October 14-January 2 at Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. Open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily except Mon., noon-5 p.m. Sun. Free. 203-432-2800, ycba.yale.edu.

John La Farge’s Second Paradise: Voyages in the South Seas, 1890-1891. In 1890 John La Farge and his friend the historian Henry Adams embarked on a journey to the islands of the South Pacific Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, Rarotonga and Fiji, among others.

This exhibition showcases many of the most important La Farge oils, watercolors and sketches from that sojourn. October 19-January 2 at Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. (until 8 p.m. Thurs.), 1-6 p.m., Sun. Free. 203-432-0600, artgallery.yale.edu.

at Knights of Columbus Museum, 1 State St., New Haven. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Free. 203-865-0400, kofcmuseum.org.

A Mano: New Works in Paper by Jennifer Davies.

The artist processes Asian fibers to make paper into which Jennifer Davies’ ‘Blue Coral,’ watercolor, 12 X 16 inches. From the exhibition A she includes yarn or Mano: New Works in Paper, opening this month at City Gallery. etchings. Some sheets are patterned by burn marks, ink or clay, and overlaid with translucent paper.

Works by Connecticut artists Megan Craig and October 28-November 21 (opening reception 2-5 p.m.

Will Lustenader. Craig’s work has been exhibited in October 30; artist talk noon-4 p.m. October 31) at City Connecticut, Florida, New York, North Dakota, and Gallery, 994 State St., New Haven. Open noon-4 p.m.

Rhode Island, as well as in Germany. Lustenader’s work has been exhibited at Artspace, Creative Thurs.-Sun. Free. 203-782-2489, city-gallery.org.

Arts Workshop, John Slade Ely House Center for Contemporary Art, Haskins Laboratories and Continuing shoreline Arts Alliance, among others. Through In observance of the centennial of the sainthood December 3 at Gallery 195, 195 Church St. (4th floor), candidate’s birth on August 26, 1910, the Knights of New Haven. 203-772-2788, newhavenarts.org.

Columbus Museum hosts the American premiere of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Through October 4

Ends 5pm. e l Sa at RY! ober 8 R U H Oct y, rida

F

Pick 2 or more concerts for only $19 per ticket!* Best available seats when you purchase

Pick 22or more or concerts more concerts in ANY venue.

For complete concert listings or to order tickets: for only $19 per ticket!* (203) 865-0831 NewHavenSymphony.org *Offer excludes Holiday Extravaganza. Price per ticket for best available seat at time of purchase excluding Gold sections. Not applicable with other offers or prior sale. No handling fees.

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MUSIC Classical Celebrating its 40th anniversary as one of the world’s premier instrumental ensembles is the Tokyo String Quartet.

And you can hear them in your own back yard, courtesy of the Chamber Music Society at Yale. SCHUBERT String Quartet in E-flat major, D. 87; WEBERN Langsamer Satz and Six Bagatelles; MOZART Viola Quintet in C major, K. 515 (with Ettore Causa, viola).

8 p.m. September 28 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. $30-$25 ($15 students). 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu.

one of the world’s most potent musical weapons — Woolsey Hall’s peerless Newberry Organ. 8 p.m. October 14 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven.

Free. 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu.

The Yale Jazz Ensemble performs its fall concert, delighting listeners with charts by Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan and more. Thomas C. Duffy directs.

7:30 p.m. October 15 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-4324158, music.yale.edu.

Yale Concert Band Music Director Thomas C. Duffy crosses the aisle to the realm of strings and things when he guest-conduct the undergrad Yale Symphony Orchestra. The program: DANIEL SCHLOSBERG (Yale College ’10) Corpus Callosum; RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (with

and Ludmilla Overture; KOUSSEVITZKY Double Bass Concerto, Op. 3 (with Woolsey Competition winner Nathaniel Chase); TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5. 8 p.m. October 22 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-4324158, music.yale.edu.

The Yale Glee Club performs its Parents’ Weekend Concert. Jeffrey Douma directs.

7:30 p.m. October 23 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. Free. 203432-4158, music.yale.edu.

Acclaimed tenor Michael Amante will be joined by Connecticut soprano Marissa Famiglietti and the Connecticut Virtuosi Orchestra for a special boundary-bending musical celebration of Italian-American Heritage Month. 8 p.m. October 23 at the Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. $55-$35. 203346-2000, palacetheaterct.org.

Music Haven’s quartet-in-residence, the Haven String Quartet (HSQ), offers a performance of silent horror films with live musical accompaniment, including such classics as Faust, Phantom of the Opera, Dracula and a new hand-drawn film from awardwinning animator Glenda Wharton.

The HSQ and guests will accompany the films with original music by New Haven composers as well as Philip Glass’ String Quartet No. 5. 8:30 & 10 p.m. October 30 at Firehouse 12, 45 Crown St., New Haven. $20. 800-8383006, brownpapertickets.com

The gold standard of instrumental ensembles, the Tokyo String Quartet performs September 28 at Sprague Hall.

Under the baton of Leif Bjaland, the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra opens its 73rd season with an allTCHAIKOVSKY concert, including: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor (with soloist Alex Beyer); Violin Concerto in D Major (Sirena Huang, soloist) and the 1812 Overture (perhaps you’ve heard of it?). 8 p.m. October 2 at Naugatuck Valley Community College Arts Center, 750 Chase Pkwy., Waterbury. $50-$20.

203-574-4283, waterburysymphony.org.

New Music New Haven. Visions and Miracles for string quartet by featured composer Christopher Theofanidis, plus music by Christopher Cerrone, Jacob Cooper, Robert Honstein, Reena Esmail and Adrian Knight. 8 p.m.

October 7 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. Free. 203-432-4158, music.yale.edu.

A rare delight: Eteri Andjaparidze and Boris Berman perform Robert Schumann Piano Duets. A presentation of Yale Horowitz Piano Series. 8 p.m. October 13 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. $22$12 (students $6). 203-432-4158, music. yale.edu.

Having cut his teeth in the unforgiving role of assistant organist and choirmaster at New Haven’s Trinity Church on the Green, promising organist Frederick Teardo performs his Doctor of Music Arts Recital on

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October 2010

pianist Naomi Weiss-Goldman, Yale College ’11); BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D major. 8 p.m. October 16 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. Free.

203-432-4158, music.yale.edu.

The Yale Russian Chorus must be heard to be believed. The group is an a cappella choral ensemble specializing in sacred and secular Slavic choral music. 4 p.m. October 17 at SS. Peter & Paul Orthodox Church, 54 Park Ave., Meriden. $12 ($15 at door). 203-630-3283, 203-484-4071.

The Yale Chamber Music Society presents the Emerson String Quartet performing Mozart, Shostakovich and Debussy. 8 p.m. October 19 at Sprague Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. $35$25 (students $15). 203-432-4158, music. yale.edu.

In celebration of Columbus Day, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra rocks an Italian Flair under the baton of guest conductor Aldo Sisillo. Program: MARTUCCI Nocturne and Novelleta; SCHUMANN Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54; BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73. 7:30 p.m.

October 21 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. $65-$10. 203-865-0831, newhavensymphony.org.

Principal Guest Conductor Peter Oundjian leads the Yale Philharmonia in a performance of: GLINKA Ruslan

In all the world, there’s no spectacle quite like the Yale Symphony Orchestra’s Annual Halloween Concert.

Trust us on this one. 11:59 p.m. October 31 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. Free, but advance tickets only.

203-562-5666.

On Easter Sunday of 1935, the Aeolian Skinner Co.’s state-of-the-art pipe organ, Opus 927, was heard in public for the first time at historic Trinity Church on the Green. Possessing an unusual richness of sonority, wealth of timbral colors and dynamic expressivity across its three manual and 79 ranks, this instrument endures as a monument to its creator — G. Donald Harrison, a seminal figure in the development of the modern “American Classic” pipe organ. In commemoration of its 75th anniversary, Trinity Church presents the Wendell H. Piehler Memorial Organ Series of concerts and talks. For this event former Trinity assistant organists and choirmasters Brian Harlow and Christopher Jennings put the “King of Instruments” through its paces. 7 p.m.

November 6 at Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven. Free. 203-776-2616, trinitynewhaven.org.

Popular Long a critic’s fave, soulful singer/ songwriter Cliff Eberhart rocks the Kate. Lara Herskovitz opens. 8 p.m. September 25 at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook. $25. 877-503-1286, katharinehepburntheater.org.

A dynamic double for lovers of traditional music. Fiddler and singer

Lissa Schneckenburger is a winsome, sweet-voiced vocalist who breathes new life into old ballads and a skillful, dynamic fiddler who captures the driving rhythm and carefree joy of dance tunes old and new. And John Whelan (NHM, December 2007) may be the world’s greatest buttonaccordion practitioner. 8 p.m. October 6 at the Space, 295 Treadwell St., Bldg. H, Hamden. 203-288-6400, thespace.tk.

ZoSo: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience. This tribute band’s musicianship, stage persona and imagery recreate the magic of a true Zep concert. 8 p.m. October 8 at the Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. $35-$25. 203-346-2000, palacetheaterct.org.

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra Pops performs a Big Band Salute, including favorites by Gershwin and Mercer and a special Judy Garland tribute featuring soprano Mara Bonde.

2:30 p.m. October 9 at Hamden Middle School, 2623 Dixwell Ave., Hamden. $45$35. Also, 3 p.m. October 10 at Shelton Intermediate School, 675 Constitution Blvd. N., Shelton. $35. 203-865-0831, newhavensymphony.org.

Remember Lennon: Imagine 70.

John Lennon would have turned 70 on October 9, 2010. With one of the greatest John Lennon impersonators in existence, a world-class backing band, and audio-visual accompaniment, the show is a respectful tribute re-

Hailed as the ‘People’s Tenor,’ Michael Amante headlines a musical celebration of Italian-American Heritage Month October 23 at the Palace in Waterbury. creating a concert John may have performed had he still been with us. 7 p.m. October 9 at the Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven. $98-$15.

203-562-5666, 800-228-6622, shubert. com.

Celebrating Queen. Billed as the one band with a vocalist that can recreate the voice of late, great Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury. 8 p.m. October 9 at the Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. $35. 203-346-2000, palacetheaterct.org.

Formed in 1999, the Octopus Project is an experimental electronic band based in Austin, Tex. The band has a unique sound, blending pop and experimental

elements, digital and electronic sounds and noises (including drum machine, keyboard/synthesizers and other strange devices) and analog equipment (including guitars and live drums). 9 p.m. October 9 at Café Nine, 250 State St., New Haven. $8. 203-789-8281, cafénine.com.

The Woggles have marched forth from Georgia like Sherman in reverse, leveling nightclubs with their hipshaking, windshield-steaming garage rock fusillade. The band fuses a whole lot of ‘60s rock ’n’ roll with a fistful of soul, a hip flask of R&B and a splash of surf. 9 p.m. October 14 at Café Nine, 250 State St., New Haven. $8. 203-789-8281, cafénine.com.

Theatreworks USA presents We the People, a topical musical revue that brings American civics lessons to life and makes social studies exciting and accessible for students (recommended grades 4-8). 9:30 & 11:30 a.m. October 15 at the Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. $8. 203-346-2000, palacetheaterct.org.

Nobody hotter on the country/folk scene than Lady Antebellum, whose “Need You Now” tour makes a stop in leafy Wallingford. 7:30 p.m. October 15 at the Oakdale Theatre, 95 S. Turnpike Rd., Wallingford. $51.85-$39.50. 203-2651501, livenation.com.

Known as the “Titan of the Telecaster,” rockabilly guitarist Bill Kirchen crafted the immortal lead on Commander Cody’s “Hot Rod Lincoln.” ‘Nuff said.

8 p.m. October 17 at Café Nine, 250 State St., New Haven. $15. 203-789-8281, cafénine.com.

Rap/hip-hop heavy Drake brings his “Light Dreams & Nightmares” tour to the Oakdale. 8 p.m. October 21 at the Oakdale Theatre, 95 S. Turnpike Rd., Wallingford. $51.85-$39.50. 203-265-1501, livenation.com.

Incognito featuring Maysa Leak. When it released its debut Jazz Funk album in 1981, this British band became a pioneer in the Acid Jazz movement.

Driving rhythms, high-voltage horns and expressive vocalists make for a not-to-be-missed night of jazz at SCSU. 8 p.m. October 22 at Lyman Center, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St., New Haven. $32 ($28 faculty/staff, $15 SCSU students). 203392-6154, lyman.southernct.edu.

Those Sultans of Soul, Tower of Power, rock the Palace. 8 p.m. October 22 at the Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. $75-$40. 203-346-2000, palacetheaterct.org.

An Evening with Tony Joe White. The “King of Swamp Rock” performs an intimate solo show in the “Musicians’ Living Room.” The writer of countless chart-topping hits such as “Rainy Night in Georgia” and “Polk Salad Annie” is not to be missed. 8 p.m. October 22 at Café Nine, 250 State St., New Haven. $15.

203-789-8281, cafénine.com.

Spend An Evening with the Black Crowes, including a 90-minute acoustic set followed by a same-length electric

Sisters Ranjani and Gayatri will perform both violin and vocal carnatic music October 28 at Wesleyan. set featuring the band’s best-loved songs and catalogue picks. 7:30 p.m.

October 26 at the Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. $49.50-$39.50. 203346-2000, palacetheaterct.org.

In support of the just-released Asylum, metal mavens Disturbed rock the Oakdale. 7:30 p.m. October 27 at the Oakdale Theatre, 95 S. Turnpike Rd., Wallingford. $49.70. 203-265-1501, livenation.com.

They’re not exactly girls any more, but Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, better known as the Indigo Girls, bring it better than ever. 8:30 p.m. October 28 at Toad’s Place, 300 York St., New Haven. $40 ($35 advance). 203-624-8623, toadsplace.com.

World Ranjani & Gayatri: Violin & Vocal Carnatic Music. Sisters Ranjani and Gayatri are among the few carnatic musicians who have achieved a high level of success in both violin and vocal music. After more than a decade as successful violinists, the sisters’ foray into vocal music has brought them instant recognition and wide acclaim.

Co-sponsored by the Raga Club of Connecticut. 8 p.m. October 28 at Crowell Concert Hall, Wesleyan University, Middletown. $15 ($12 students, seniors).

860-685-3355, wesleyan.edu/cfa.

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CALENDAR

COMEDY

BELLES LETTRES The Mystery Book Club meets the first Wednesday to discuss a pre-selected book. Books are available for check out prior to the meeting. 3-4 p.m. October 6 at Blackstone Library, 758 Main St., Branford. Free. 203-483-6653, blackstone. lioninc.org/booktalk.htm.

New members are welcomed to the Blackstone Library Second Tuesday Book Club. The group meets on the second Tuesday to discuss a preselected book. Books available for loan in advance of discussion. 6:45-8 p.m. October 12 at Blackstone Library, 758 Main St., Branford. Free. 203-4881441, ext. 318, blackstone.lioninc.org/ booktalk.htm.

Release your inner poet. Time Out for Poetry meets third Thursdays and welcomes those who wish to share an

NBC’s Last Comic Standing tour comes to the Palace. Finalists Felipe Esparza, Myq Kaplan, Mike DeStefano, Roy Wood Jr., and Tommy Johnagin from the summer’s seventh season of the NBC hit show Last Comic Standing perform their comedy routines live. 7:30 p.m. October 3 at the Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. $42-$22. 203-3462000, palacetheaterct.org.

The popular star of Comedy Central’s TOSH.O, funnyman Daniel Tosh comes to the Shubert for two shows. (Mature content.) 7:30 & 10:30 p.m. October 26 at the Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven. $38. 203-562-5666, 800-228-6622, shubert.com.

As part of the school’s LOL Comedy Series, SCSU presents The Nobodies of Comedy. The best “unknown” comedians you’ve never heard of rolled into one side-splitting show. See tomorrow’s comedy stars today. 8 p.m.

October 26 at Lyman Center, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St., New Haven. $10 (free SCSU faculty/ staff ). 392-6154, lyman.southernct.edu.

pasta and parmesan stuffed tomatoes, grilled duck breast with porcini stuffed ravioli in sage butter sauce and apples poached in red wine. Are you hungry yet? 6:30 p.m. October 14 & 21 at Consiglio’s Restaurant, 165 Wooster St., New Haven. $65. Reservations. 203-8654489, consiglios.com.

City Farmers Markets New Haven.

Eat local! Enjoy seasonal fruits, vegetables, and herbs from local farms including seafood, meat, milk, cheese, handcrafted bread and baked goods, honey, more. DOWNTOWN: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesdays through November 24, Church St. at the Green.

WOOSTER SQUARE: 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Saturdays through December 18 at Russo Park, corner Chapel St. and DePalma Ct. FAIR HAVEN: 3-7 p.m. Thursdays through October 28 at Quinnipiac River Park, corner Grand Ave. and Front St. EDGEWOOD PARK: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Sundays through November 21 corner Whalley and West Rock Aves. 203-7733736, cityseed.org.

EXPOSITIONS, FAIR & FESTIVALS The 42 annual Southington Apple Harvest Festival is about so much more than apples. Six days of fun, food, live entertainment, contests, crafts and even fireworks (9 p.m. 10/2). 5-9 p.m. October 1, 8; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. October 2, 9; noon-7 p.m. October 3; noon-5 p.m.

October 10 at Southington Town Green.

Free. 860-276-8461, southington.org. nd

FAMILY EVENTS

The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange explores unusual subject matter — where our food comes from — October 1-2 at Wesleyan. original short poem, recite a stanza or simply to listen. Ogden Nash, Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, Dr. Seuss and even the Burma Shave signs live again. 12:30-2 p.m. October 21 at Scranton Library, 801 Boston Post Rd., Madison. Free. 203-245-7365.

Tune Up. Polish.

Succeed!

College admissions officers receive thousands of essays & applications annually.

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40

October 2010

CULINARY Consiglio’s Cooking Class Club.

Chef Maureen Nuzzo explains and demonstrates how to prepare mouthwatering southern Italian dishes that have been passed down from generation to generation. This month’s menu features cream of tomato soup,

Each Tuesday the Yale Astronomy Department hosts a Planetarium Show. Weather permitting there is also public viewing of planets, nebulae, star clusters and whatever happens to be interesting in the sky. Viewable celestial objects change seasonally. 7 & 8 p.m.

Tuesdays at Leitner Family Observatory, 355 Prospect St., New Haven. Free. cobb@astro.yale.edu, astro.yale.edu.

Riverside Reptiles. Jeepers creepers!

Encounter some creepy-looking creatures at this special live animal program. See and touch (if you dare!) a variety of reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, insects and more.

Recommended age four and older. 2

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p.m. October 2 at Woodbridge Town Library, 10 Newton Rd., Woodbridge.

Free. Registration. 203-389-3439, childrensprograms@lioninc.org.

The Marshmallow Masquers present Sam Case and the Haunted Museum.

Sam and Poochie encounter Dr. Franken Lobotomy at the Haunted Museum on Halloween Night. Can they thwart his evil plans? Recommended ages 5-10. 2 p.m. October 16 at Woodbridge Town Library, 10 Newton Rd., Woodbridge. Free. Registration. 203-3893439, childrensprograms@lioninc.org.

The Connecticut Audubon Society (CAS) “Nature Babies” program features an outdoor discovery walk or live animal presentation, plus stories, songs and crafts. For children ages 3-5 accompanied by adult. Migrating Monarchs. Beautiful Monarch butterflies are migrating south — come find out why. 10:30-11:30 a.m. October 22 at CAS Nature Center at Milford Point, 1 Milford Point Rd., Milford. $10 CAS members (1 adult and child), $15 nonmembers. 203-878-7440, ctaudubon.org.

Popular magician Brian Lizotte of Magic Moments presents An Afternoon of Magic. Event includes face-painting, raffles and of course lot of eye –popping prestidigitation.

Proceeds benefit the Milford Diner restoration. 1 p.m. October 24 at Great River Golf Club, 130 Coram La., Milford. $12 ($7 children). 203-874-0115, themilforddiner.com.

Be among the first to explore Lyman Orchards’ newly designed Corn Maze.

Lyman’s four-acre, craftily carved cornfield maze offers a fun, educational source of entertainment for all ages.

Not everyone you’ll meet in the maze is lost; specially trained “corn cops” are on duty at all times to point you in the right direction. This year’s maze honors the two-time NCAA champion UConn Lady Huskies basketball team. 3-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends through October 31 at Lyman Orchards, 32 Reeds Gap Rd., Middlefield. $9 ($5 ages 4-12, under 4 free). 860-3491793, lymanorchards.com.

LECTURES America’s favorite ghost hunter, Lorraine Warren shares hair-raising

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stories of encounters with the supernatural — just in time for All Soul’s Eve! 8 p.m. October 29 at Lyman Center, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St., New Haven. $10 ($8 SCSU faculty/staff ).

203-392-6154, lyman.southernct.edu.

MIND, BODY & SOUL Led by Nelie Doak, Yoga promotes a deep sense of physical, mental and emotional well-being. Classes are designed to help cultivate breath and body awareness, improve exibility, strengthen and tone muscles, detoxify the body and soothe the spirit. All levels welcome. Bring a yoga mat. 5-6:15 p.m. Fridays at Blackstone Library, 758 Main St., Branford. $10. 203-4881441, ext. 313, yogidoakie@earthlink.net or events@ blackstone.lioninc.org, blackstone.lioninc.org.

NATURAL HISTORY Birding for Beginners. Learn the basics for identifying birds on your own. Instructor and expert birder Frank Gallo will teach participants ID skills as well as how to choose and use ďŹ eld guides and binoculars, and where to ďŹ nd birds locally. Course culminates with a ďŹ eld trip to a local birding hot spot. Bring the Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds. 7-9 p.m. October 12 (classroom), 9-11:30 a.m. October 16 (ďŹ eld trip) at CAS Nature Center at Milford Point, 1 Milford Point Rd., Milford. $75. 203-878-7440, ctaudubon.org.

Photographing for the Online Flora. The New England Wild Flower Society is seeking volunteers to contribute photographs of New England plant species for its forthcoming NSF-funded “Online Flora of New England.� This workshop will prepare participants to take aesthetically-appealing “diagnostic photographs.�

Instructor Arieh Tal, an accomplished botanical photographer, teaches some of the tips and tricks of successful plant photography. Bring a bag lunch, your digital or ďŹ lm camera, and a tripod for the outdoors practicum, which will follow the indoor slide presentation. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. October 23 at Yale Peabody Museum, 170 Whitney Ave., New Haven. $28 members, $34 others. Registration. 508-877-7630, ext 3303, newfs. org.

SPORTS/RECREATION Canoeing Join the Connecticut Audubon Society for a guided Family Canoe Tour of Milford’s 840-acre Charles Wheeler Salt Marsh. Steeped in local history, the marsh offers an abundance of birds and other wildlife, beautiful vistas and a chance to paddle and relax.

Bring water and sunscreen and wear shoes that can get wet. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. September 25 at Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center, 1 Milford Point Rd., Milford. $19 members/$29 others (canoe rental $25/$35 per person, $65/$95 per canoe). 203-878-7440, ctaudubon.org.

walking tour. Families and children are welcome, and comfortable shoes and clothes are recommended.

Steady rain or lightning cancels. 1 p.m. October 17 at Elderslie Preserve, Peck Hill Rd. in Woodbridge. 203-3932384, cpercy@optonline.net.

into two groups based on riders’ speed but no one will be left to ride alone. Lights are essential. 5:30 p.m.

Tuesdays at CafĂŠ Romeo, 534 Orange St., New Haven.

Free. william.v.Kurtz@gmail.com.

Elm City Cycling monthly meeting occurs on the second Monday. ECC is a non-proďŹ t organization of cycling advocates who meet to discuss biking issues in New Haven. Dedicated to making New Haven friendlier and more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians. 7 p.m. October 11 at City Hall Meeting Rm. 2, 165 Church St., New Haven. Free. elmcitycycling.org.

Road Races/Triathlons Up for some off-road action? Then Tommy Sullivan’s seventh annual Run for the Ribbons is for you: a 3.45-mile trail race plus two-mile ďŹ tness walk. 10 a.m.

October 3, at Tommy Sullivan’s CafÊ, 240 N. Main St., Branford. $20 ($15 advance). 203-481-7453, wssac-ct@ juno.com.

Critical Mass. Participants meet at the agpole on the New Haven Green on the last Friday for a slow-paced ride throughout New Haven streets. The ride ranges from 30 minutes to over an hour, depending on weather. Critical Mass is not an organization; it’s an “unorganized coincidenceâ€? — a movement of bicycles in the streets as trafďŹ c. After the event, everyone is invited to a potluck dinner at the Devil’s Gear Bike Shop. 5:30 p.m. October 29 at Temple and Chapel streets, New Haven. Free. elmcitycycling.org.

It’s the 20th running of one of the premier four-milers on the running calendar: Trumbull’s Great Pumpkin Classic. Event also features a Fun Run for kids, twomile health walk plus food, folks (typically about 600 to 700 runners) and fun. Bets of all, proceeds beneďŹ t the Trumbull High School Scholarship Foundation and the Trumbull Chamber of Commerce Community Grant Fund. 10 a.m. October 17 at Trumbull High School, 72 Strobel Rd., Trumbull. $25 ($20 advance). greatpumpkinclassic.com.

Hikes

Not for everyone is the Bimbler’s Bluff. Why? It’s a 50K trail race. That’s 31 miles of long, dusty road to you, weenie. 8 a.m. October 24 at Guilford Lakes School, 40 Maupus Rd., Guilford. $55 (advance only). 203-376-2893, mrbimble.com.

Join the Sleeping Giant Park Association for a Geology-of-the-Giant Hike. Wear comfortable shoes and bring snacks and water. Be ready for any kind of weather condition. No pets. 1:30 p.m. September 12 at Sleeping Giant Main Entrance, 200 Mt. Carmel Ave., Hamden. Free. 203-789-7498, sgpa.org.

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.

Join the Sleeping Giant Park Association for an East End Hike. Wear comfortable shoes and bring snacks and water. Be ready for any kind of weather condition.

No pets. 1:30 p.m. October 10 at Sleeping Giant Main Entrance, 200 Mt. Carmel Ave., Hamden. Free. 203-7897498, sgpa.org.

The Woodbridge Conservation Commission will host its annual Fall Trail Walk. All are invited to enjoy this scenic historic wilderness area via a free guided

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Cycling Elm City Cycling organizes Luluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ride, weekly two- to four-hour rides for all levels (17-19 mph average).

Cyclists leave at 10 a.m. from Luluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s European CafĂŠ as a single group; no one is dropped. 10 a.m. Sundays at Luluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s European CafĂŠ, 49 Cottage St., New Haven. Free.

203-773-9288, elmcitycycling.org.

The Little Lulu (LL) is an alternative to the longstanding Sunday morning training ride. The route is usually 20-30 miles in length and the ride is no-drop, meaning that the group waits at hilltops and turns so that no rider is left behind. Sundays at Luluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s European CafĂŠ, 49 Cottage St., New Haven. Free. 203-773-9288, paulproulx@sbcglobal.net, elmcitycycling.org.

Tuesday Night Canal Rides. Medium-paced rides up the Farmington Canal into New Haven. May split

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W OR D S o f M O UT H

By Liese Klein

NEW EATS: Mory’s

Mory’s is back — and so are the Whiffenpoof s in their customary Monday-evening gig.

W

ow, these things are really heavy,” the server said, hefting a big silver chalice filled with Champagne and assorted liquors.

Of similar weight is the tradition that comes with those chalices, also known as Mory’s cups. Mory’s, an eating and drinking club and Yale campus institution for more than a century, recently resumed filling cups — and plates — on York Street after a 20-month hiatus.

Such news wouldn’t be of much interest off campus except for the fact that the new Mory’s has extended membership rights to almost everyone living and working in New Haven.

“It’s meant to be a much more open and democratic place than it was previously,” says Douglas Rae, chairman of the Mory’s Association Board of Governors.

Rae, an eminent Yale professor who has also authored several books about New Haven, was tapped last year to revamp the club after it closed down due to economic woes.

Rae’s first move was to pour more than $3 42

October 2010

Photo: Anthony DeCarlo

million in donations into renovating the century-old structure. “It was a tired old building,” Rae says. Remodeling allowed for the creation of an open bar area in a section that once housed offices: Mory’s had long functioned without a proper bar.

Next up was taking on Mory’s reputation as an ultra-preppy haunt long out of step with modern university life, much less an evolving city. New membership rules, delineated on the club’s website, allow for anyone with any Yale tie to join, plus those who work at major New Haven institutions or support any city cultural events, businesses or nonprofits.

Those just interested in checking out the place can dine and peruse an application with no obligation. Although deed restrictions on the property require that Mory’s remain a Yale club, Rae is optimistic that the newly revamped eatery will have broad appeal.

“There was a perception that [Mory’s] was very exclusive,” he says. “We are trying very hard to change that — we want a more robust membership and to reach out to the larger community.”

So can the new Mory’s compete in the dynamic New Haven dining scene? The restaurant has managed to preserve the building’s signature charm, with lots of wood paneling, faded photos of Eli teams past and tables scarred by student graffiti in the main dining area.

But the renovations have also brought a welcome sense of airiness and modernity to the space, especially in the new Temple Bar. And the old Mory’s signature funk of stale beer has been eradicated (much to this diner’s relief).

The “Harvard rooms” — toilets — have also undergone a stylish facelift.

Pick a table at the bar or the new patio area to watch the parade of campus life: Jocks on their way back from the gym, overdressed freshman or even a group of women in Indian saris on their way to a dance performance.

Diners can choose from an affordable pub menu of snacks in the $5 to $10 range, which includes Mory’s classics like Baker’s soup. This signature dish, a flavorful blend of house-made chicken broth, tomato and curry, serves as a

warming and satisfying starter. Vegetarian onion soup was packed with caramelized vegetables but was a bit too sweet on a recent evening.

Times Style section. The fish was fresh and impeccably fried in an airy batter with crisp, addictive fries, perfect with a dousing of malt vinegar.

Aside from the highly alcoholic cups — meant to serve large groups — Mory’s offers some well chosen beers on tap in addition to a high-tech wine tap system.

The Temple Bar, has at least a dozen varieties of gin, was home to a selection of scholarly types on a recent night.

A yellowfin tuna entrée came rare on a bed of gently cooked spinach with some undistinguished mashed potatoes, satisfying and flavorful. We finished with a creamy rice pudding nicely complemented by the bite of a blood orange sauce.

The revamped menu features a selection of up-to-the-minute offerings like a portobello wrap, seared yellowfin tuna with wakame seaweed and wasabi chips and meatball sliders. Vegetarians will feel at home with lots of options and entrées top out at $29 for a New York steak.

Aside from much improved food and a truly unique atmosphere, the new Mory’s offers diners something few other eateries in the region can match — the chance to take a guest to “my club.”

But a pub classic took the spotlight at our meal — top-notch fish and chips served in a wrapping of the New York

“People like the idea of coming to a club,” Rae explains. “It’s a place where you have a sense of belonging.”

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EDITOR’S PICK: Charli’s Cupcake Factory

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ometimes, a supermarket snack just won’t do. For occasions that call for something a little more impressive, a visit to Charli’s Cupcake Factory on the Post Road in West Haven is in order.

This specialty bakery, open almost a year, offers an array of treats in flavors like red velvet, “Milky Way” and lemon and is keeping busy capitalizing on the area’s craving for cupcakes.

Owner Jennifer Maultsby-Calhoun first got the idea to open her own business after moving back to the area to take care of her ailing mother.

“Milky Way” with caramel and chocolate frosting and more candy on top. Chocolate varieties come with marshmallow and other sugar-packed toppings, so be sure to bring your sweet tooth. Creamy coconut and tart lemon are among the fruitthemed flavors.

Just don’t ask for vegan or gluten-free at Charli’s Cupcake Factory: “You have to have butter and eggs!” say’s MaultsbyCalhoun. “If you want to be fat and happy, come here.”

Charli’s Cupcake Factory, 912 Boston Post Rd., West Haven (203-909-6001).

“In my family there are many, many good bakers, and my mother was one,” Maultsby-Calhoun says. “She gave me the stamp of approval on my sweet potato cake just before she died.”

That sweet potato cake is now a favorite in the form of one of the store’s supersized cupcakes, easily the size equivalent of three standard treats. At $3.75 each, the cupcakes are perfect for sampling and sharing at a celebration.

The sweet potato cupcake boasts a delicate spiciness and shines with the store’s signature sweet buttercream. The red velvet has a rich chocolaty flavor perfectly offset by slightly tart cream cheese frosting.

Candy-themed cupcakes include “Heath Bar,” “Reese’s” (featuring peanut-butter frosting and Reese’s crumbles) and

Photo: Anthony DeCarlo

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October 2010

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JUST A TASTE: Bar Bouchon

O

ur neighbors one on side seemed to be in the middle of a spat and those on the other were loudly declaiming the merits of their children’s private schools.

But all background noise faded away once the plates arrived on a recent event at the new Bar Bouchon in Madison. This tiny new bistro is the latest venture by JeanPierre Vuillermet, executive chef of New Haven’s esteemed Union League Café.

edged with just the right amount of bitter citrus, helped us get in the mood for some serious eating. Beer lovers will also be pleased with the excellent craft and

TABLE READING: puddle of intense lobster sauce. With its chunks of lobster and wine-tinged complexity, this was sauce that begged to be slurped off the plate.

The seafood hits continued with a skate special served with condiment Niçoise, a buttery blend of fennel, capers and other vegetables. The chunky side dish highlighted the dense texture and briny flavor of the fish. It was a dish to remember, even if skate isn’t exactly sustainable.

Vuillermet has Hangar steak opened his eatery also delivered as inside a narrow an entrée, with structure near a beautifully Madison’s town Vuillermet brings the high standards of caramelized center, seeking the Union League Café to a more intimate shoreline setting. crust and to draw diners assertive flavor. in search of a Creamy gratin quality meal in potatoes made up for an intimate atmosphere.

Belgian beers on tap and slightly bland greens Tables are clustered by the bottle, poured in served alongside. An mere inches apart along the correct glassware. intoxicating hit of the length of the dining Vuillermet’s high chocolate-hazelnut room, within a few feet standards are apparent mousse in the form of of the open kitchen from the first basket of a layered pave brought where young staffers bread, with its expansive the meal to a delicious compose each dish with flavors and chewy crust. conclusion.

Zenlike concentration.

The best basket in the You may need to dust Of course that intimacy area, the bread comes off a bit of haute cuisine can have its downside if in an endless profusion French to make sense you’re not interested in seemingly straight from of the menu at Bar hearing up-close about the oven.

Bouchon, but you’re granite countertops or As a starter, Fisher Island likely to go home marina fees. A better bet oysters were on the small satisfied. Prices are more might be the bar area, side but fresh and juicy than reasonable for the where a quirkier crowd and little in need of the quality of the food and seems to gather at lower vinegary sauce served Vuillermet’s attention volumes. alongside. Escargot were to detail. Next time, One could also drown exemplary, perfectly however, we’ll sit at the out the clamor with tender in a sauce bright bar. some of the widewith parsley.

Bar Bouchon, 8 Scotland ranging wines by the Pike quenelles — French Ave., Madison (203-318glass or signature cuisine’s answer to 8004). cocktails. A kaffir lime gefilte fish — were tender, martini, its sweetness light and addictive in a

NEW HAVEN CHEF’S TABLE

W

ho knew that creating an impressive ceviche platter could be so simple?

Marinate some shrimp in lime juice and pile them on a fried tortilla with tomatoes, avocado and a sour cream sauce, and you can wow your guests with something exotic yet easy to prepare. Best of all, the recipe has a pedigree from one of New Haven’s most respected Mexican eateries, Mezcal.

Chef Ricardo Trejo’s recipe is Readers now have the one of dozens recipe forTre Scalin’s Scrod Marechiaro in New Haven Chef’s Table, a new cookbook published to benefit the Connecticut Mental Health Center Foundation. The cookbook gathers recipes from more than two dozen restaurants in greater New Haven.

The cookbook’s strength is its range, from simple preparations like a golden beet salad from Claire Criscuolo to the multipart, extravaganza that is Hyderabad biryani with lamb from Thali’s Prasad Chirnomula.

Also top-quality is the art and design, with lush photos by Amy Etra. Adding to the local flavor are essays on topics like Elm City urban farming, pizzerias, farmer’s markets and neighborhood specialty stores.

Where New Haven Chef’s Table falls short is in representing New Haven’s full food picture, with very little of the Caribbean cuisine and soul food popular outside of the main restaurant districts.

But this is the book for you if you’ve been yearning to capture some of the cheese magic conjured by Jason Sobocinski of Caseus. Try his recipe for poutine, a Québécois favorite that combines cheese curds and French fries. This quality cookbook allows you expand your kitchen re repertoire and h a good cause help at the same time.

N Haven New C Chef’s Table, L Lyons Press, $ $22.95.

new haven

45

The Meig’s Point Trail leads hikers to sweeping panoramic vistas of Long Island Sound.

Photo credit: Bob Cornell

A Magical & Faraway Pathway

By Susan Cornell

C

an you guess how many cars passed through the gates of Hammonasset State Park over Labor Day weekend? 8,624. With an average of 4.5 beachgoers per car, the toll-takers estimate that 38,808 sand and sun seekers visited Connecticut’s largest shoreline park. I was one of them, both on Sunday and Monday of the last official weekend of summer, but not building castles, camping, swimming, picnicking, fishing or boating. Instead, I hiked (more honestly, walked) the trails that are ideal for nature nuts and bird watchers.

Everyone Hammonasset hiker knows Willard’s Island Nature Trail and the shorter (but spectacular) Meig’s Point Trail, but very few know of a hidden away 46

October 2010

magical escape known as Cedar Island Trail. In fact, on the two occasions I walked the trail over the packed weekend, only other two walkers were spotted, far fewer than the number of egrets and nesting osprey which can be observed from the walkway.

The entrance to Cedar Island Trail is found amid the trees, perhaps a tenth of a mile to the right of Willard’s Island Nature Trail as you walk from the parking lot. There is no sign. I even had to call Meig’s Point Nature Center to get a designation as neither the park map show it nor did the toll-taker at the gate have the foggiest idea what I was talking about.

There is a sign, however, indicating that the project is funded by the Long Island Sound Fund License Plate Program, so you’ll know it when you do find it.

According to Russ Miller, director of the Nature Center, the trail used to be a mail road to get to Cedar Island when the first settlers occupied the area in the 1700s.

The trail actually does go to Cedar Island, but you’d have to go through the marsh

(forbidden without a permit).

Once you locate the entrance, the trail is a straight shot of a quarter of a mile (one way) through a quiet, lightly wooded path, crossing over a bridge and overlooking osprey nests. The trail leads to a boardwalk that ends with an observation platform with a 360-degree view of Long Island Sound, Cedar Island (while belongs to the town of Clinton), and the marshes of Hammonasset. You will be elevated (literally and figuratively), and will feel a million miles away from the beach crowds and wherever you came from. It’s a great place to read, reflect or just relax.

The phone doesn’t ring, there are no interruptions, and the panoramic view is breathtaking.

Next time your clan wants to hit the beach but you seek solitude, here’s a place that will please all. (I’m just kind of wondering if I should have shared it.)

Hammonasset Beach State Park, 1288 Boston Post Road, Madison (203-245-2785).

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