2015-12-19 10:30:33
JANUARY 2016
SECRET SELVES
What is your deepest, darkest secret? Frank Warren has spent the last 10 years giving people a safe space to share those secrets — anonymously on the internet. PostSecret was born in 2005 when secret keepers were encouraged to mail in their most private confessions on anonymous, handmade postcards. Some secrets would be posted on the project’s website and compiled into books and museum exhibits.
PostSecret: The Show brings the cathartic experience of sharing your secret to the Bushnell on Jan 28. Warren, who is the recipient of the Mental Health Advocacy Lifetime Achievement Award, shares secrets and stories he’s heard over the last decade and then the floor is opened to anyone who may want to share a secret of their own.
POSTSECRET: THE SHOW JAN. 28 | THE BUSHNELL, HARTFORD (860) 497-5600, bushnell.org
The short list
HONORING THE DREAM The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History will host a two-day family-friendly event honoring the principles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy of Environmental and Social Justice Day will feature hands-on experiments, presentations and musical performances. The New Haven Museum, just down the street, will also get in on the fun by hosting story time for children and being open to the public. Stop by on Jan. 18 and 19. peabody.yale.edu
ALL THAT JAZZ The classic tale of fame, fortune and, of course, heart-pumping jazz, Chicago has all the components that make Broadway shows great—from insatiable characters to show-stopping dance numbers. With six Tony Awards, a Grammy and thousands of standing ovations under its belt, the show has delighted audiences around the world and will do the same at The Shubert Theater in New Haven on Jan. 8 and 9. shubert.com
ICE FISHING Borrow ice fishing equipment and take the family out to Patriot’s Park in Coventry to learn how to ice fish on Jan. 30. Instructors will be on hand to offer on-ice lessons on how to drill a hole, set a tip-up and jigging rod and more. Please remember to dress properly for the weather. ct.gov/deep/care
SWEETS UNDER THE SEA Treat your sweet tooth in the company of sharks, seals, sea turtles and more at the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium on Jan. 31. The Chocolate Expo brings together about 40 of the region’s best chocolatiers and specialty-food vendors for tastings and sales. Try gourmet chocolates, crêpes, waffles, tarts and plenty of non-chocolate sweets. maritimeaquarium.org
QUEEN OF SOUL Musical icon and “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin, who has brought “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” to the masses for more than six decades, comes to Mohegan Sun Resort Casino on Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. Expect her classic hits including “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Chain of Fools,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” “Freeway Of Love” and many more. It’s the perfect way to kick off the New Year. mohegansun.com
Join Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald and Goofy for a colossal party in Disney on Ice presents Let’s Celebrate! Presented by Yo Kids Organic Yogurt at the Webster Bank Arena Jan. 7-10. Alice and the Mad Hatter will be on hand for a Very Merry Unbirthday Party, the Disney Princesses will take part in a Royal Valentines Ball, and a Hawaiian luau with Lilo & Stitch will have you dancing. websterbankarena.com
See January 2016 calendar listings at connecticutmag.com/calendar
Front row
It seems like Trevor Noah is everywhere these days. Since taking over for Jon Stewart on the millennial, satirical news program “The Daily Show” in late September, Noah has been hard at work staying true to what his predecessor built while setting himself apart.
The South African comedian has been making a name for himself since moving to America in 2011. He was the first South African stand-up comic to appear on “The Tonight Show” in 2012 and became a recurring contributor on the show he would eventually host. Despite his grueling schedule on “The Daily Show,” Noah still gets out on the road, and on Jan. 23 he will make a stop at Foxwoods Resort Casino.
How has it been at “The Daily Show” over the last two months?
It’s a whirlwind ride, a roller coaster. Sometimes it feels like I’ve been there a week or it feels like I’ve been there for years because it’s a constant learning experience. [I’m working to] build a relationship between myself and the people watching and myself and the people I work with. Two months seems like a long time but in the length of a late night show, it’s just a speck.
What was it like leading up to the premiere?
It was so crazy because everything was contained in a vacuum. It was so much hard work. I didn’t have time to come up for air. It was a constant grind to get into those first few weeks. It’s a hard job. The jokes part is the easy part, but being factually correct, having an opinion, being fair. If it were just making the jokes, that would be the easiest part.
Why is it important for you to keep doing stand-up while you’re on the show?
Stand-up has always been the place I exist in. Within reason, I pick times that I can get on stage and perform and interact with people on a direct level. On TV, you’re doing your thing and you hope to get some sort of feedback, but it’s not the most instant feedback. It’s almost the same as campaigning for politicians. They have to get out there and meet the people and get a feel for the place. It’s a great excuse for me to see America. I like to see the place I’m living in, not just talking about it from a distant perspective. I can say I know people there. I know what it’s like there. I’m just excited. I’m always eager to meet people at the shows. It’s a totally different experience. It’s a little bit of what you see on TV and it’s a lot of what you haven’t seen. I can’t wait.
Do “The Daily Show” and your stand-up inform each other?
I think in time they will start to merge into one and will largely overlap. At this point, they’re still very different. My audiences at the stand-up shows, they have an instant connection with me. There’s no middle man. The theater experience is a unique one. That’s all [the audience] experiences for that evening and then they go home. It’s almost a version of an unplugged performance. They come and see comedy unplugged. There’s nothing else. There’s no videos or anything. I create the world for the audience. It’s like having a really great conversation. We can communicate and interact.
What are you excited about on “The Daily Show”?
We take it one day at a time, but it’s important to take a moment to look at everything from 10,000 feet to see what you’re doing and where you want to go. You need to find the small things that make you who you are in the show. It’s really exciting, what we’re doing with the correspondents, and planning with elements on the show. [I want to] break the format a little bit and explore avenues.
TREVOR NOAH
JAN. 23 | 8 PM FOXWOODS GRAND THEATER | MASHANTUCKET (800) 200-2882, foxwoods.com
Art
Bright Lights
Words have the power to illuminate the imagination. Artist Lauren Booth knows this, and her exhibition, the Illumination Show, which runs at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury through Jan. 17 and throws the words of influential people into bright, neon resonance, aims to illuminate minds.
Booth’s first foray into neon was when she made a sign that said “I love you” as a Valentine’s Day gift for her husband. “flat was the first piece I made and I still have it,” says Booth, who works in her Roxbury studio. “Almost within a month I got another commission, and I was off and rolling. I love the quality of light and how it’s malleable.”
Shortly after crafting that first piece, Booth began the work that would become the Illumination Show. From 2004 to 2008, Booth reached out to leaders in politics, arts and entertainment, asking each to write an inspiring word or phrase that she would then transform into neon. She ultimately acquired 18 phrases from the likes of Paul McCartney, Lance Armstrong, Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama.
“Each was an amazing moment, but the Dalai Lama for me—I practice Buddhism and meditation . . . the crowning achievement is the Dalai Lama,” says Booth.
Despite working on this project for years, Booth says asking dignitaries to participate never got any easier. Each call was nerve-wracking. “Some I had a personal connection with. I knew them through word-of-mouth or friends or family, but some were a random cold call,” she says. “I thought I would get some sort of critical mass as some point, but that never happened. [Each] was just as hard as the next one.”
Once she received each word or phrase, Booth would collaborate with a glass blower to bring the signs to life. She first illuminated the words in white neon, but for The Illumination Show at the Mattatuck Museum, she has reimagined the work in bright colors.
Booth wrapped up the work in 2008 and then put it away until the museum’s curator Cynthia Roznoy expressed interest in displaying the signs. Now everyone will get to see it.
“It’s really exciting,” Booth says. “I had always wanted to be in a museum. [I thought] the people who contributed words were all museum-worthy. When I put it away in 2008 and was waiting, it was because it wasn’t happening the way I thought it deserved.”
Days in a Life
When Sirhan Sirhan fatally shot Sen. Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968, Life magazine photographer Bill Eppridge was right behind the Democratic presidential candidate. Eppridge, who died in 2013 and had lived in New Milford in his later years, began taking pictures.
“One of the first thoughts that came to my mind was that JFK, when he had been shot, there were no still photographic records made of that. I thought, ‘Now you’ve changed your job, you’re a historian,’” Eppridge told Connecticut Magazine during a 2012 interview.
It wasn’t the last time Eppridge captured history in his lens. For 60 years, he was a celebrated photojournalist, snapping photos for Life, National Geographic, Time, Sports Illustrated and covering events like the Vietnam War and the Beatles 1964 visit to America.
It is Eppridge’s photos of the arrival of the Fab Four that are at the center of The Beatles: Six Days That Changed the World, in Danbury at the Western Connecticut State University Art Gallery in the University’s Visual and Performing Arts Center. The exhibition opens Jan. 19 and runs through March 13. An opening reception will be held at 4 p.m. on Jan. 23, in the Art Gallery. The show features more than 50 black-and-white photographs taken by Eppridge during the British rock group’s landmark visit. The images have been selected by Adrienne Aurichio, Eppridge’s editor and wife, from more than 3,000 photos taken. Included are stills of the Beatles’ rehearsals, private moments and performances including their iconic Feb. 9, 1964, “Ed Sullivan Show” appearance.
Gallery curator Melissa Ralston-Jones says part of what makes Eppridge’s photos special was his ability to capture the moment without interfering. “He’s a fly on the wall, he’s an observer,” she says. As a result the photos in this exhibit allow guests to see the Beatles “in a more natural environment.” wcsu.edu/art/gallery.html
Published by New Haven Register formerly 21st Century Media Newspapers . View All Articles.
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