Country Playhouse Opens their Doors on 90th Anniversary for One Night Only Comedy Show Screening
Westport Country Playhouse opens its Jason Robards Theatre for a one-night only screening of a virtual production on its 90th anniversary, June 29. Contributed photo. Westport Country Playhouse Press ReleaseWestport Country Playhouse, closed since March 2020 due to the pandemic, will kick-off its 90th anniversary year by bringing patrons back into its Jason Robards Theatre for a one-night-only virtual production of the new comedy, “Tiny House,” projected on a big screen mounted above the stage. The in-person screening will be on Tuesday, June 29, at 7 p.m. The virtual production will also be available on-demand, from June 29 through July 18. “Tiny House” was filmed using digital technology during early spring when pandemic safety concerns and social distancing prevented producing a live show.
Exactly 90 years ago to the day, the Playhouse first opened its doors when Weston residents Lawrence Langner and his wife Armina Marshall founded the historic theater on June 29, 1931. Since then, the Playhouse has produced over 800 plays, some of which have transferred to Broadway.
Tickets for the in-person screening on June 29 are $20; general admission, seating on a first-come, first-served basis. All in-person patrons will attest to being fully vaccinated against Covid-19, or willing to provide a negative PCR test result time stamped within 36 hours of the performance time. Covid-19 health and safety protocols, including capacity restrictions and mask-wearing, will be observed.
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Current virtual performance ticketholders who want to instead attend the in-person screening may exchange their tickets by calling the Playhouse box office at 203-227-4177.
In “Tiny House,” fireworks fly when family, friends, and quirky neighbors come together for a Fourth of July barbecue at the off-the-grid, isolated mountain paradise of a young, urban couple. The comedy is written by Michael Gotch and directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director.
“Tiny House” running time is approximately 100 minutes, including an intermission between the two acts. Appropriate for ages 14 and up. More information on “Tiny House” at: https://www.westportplayhouse.org/show/tinyhouse/
The Playhouse’s 2021 Season continues with “Doubt: A Parable,” the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning drama written by John Patrick Shanley and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, playing November 2 through November 21. Two HD video productions from the Playhouse archives will stream on-demand, beginning with the musical, “Man of La Mancha” (2018), from August 23 through September 5, and another TBA, from September 13 - 26. Script in Hand playreadings will play October 19 – 24, and December 14 – 19; titles to be announced. All 2021 Playhouse events are listed at: https://www.westportplayhouse.org/whats-on/
2021 Season Sponsor is the Eunice and David Bigelow Foundation. Production Sponsor is Barbara Samuelson. 2021 Season Media Sponsors are Moffly Media and WSHU Public Radio.
All play titles, artists, dates, and formats are subject to change.
To purchase tickets, visit westportplayhouse.org, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or email boxoffice@westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to the Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), and on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse).
New Neighbors: La Fenice Caffé and Gelateria Opens on Main Street This Morning
Owner/Operators Simona Silvestri, Salvatore Scuro, and Ricardo Galati stand in front of the counter at La Fenice. After four months of renovations to the former Lucky Brand Jeans storefront, La Fenice celebrates their opening today as the 49 Main Street doors unlock at 8:00 AM - hot espresso, flaky pastries, and fresh gelato waiting beyond it.
La Fenice, Westport is the third storefront for Simona Silvestri, her husband Salvatore Scuro, and their son Ricardo Galati - a dream that’s been years in the making. “We tried to come to Westport seven years ago” sai Silvestri, “but it was too expensive, and there was no space.” After the Lucky Brand Jeans store closed last year, Silvestri stumbled upon the papered-up windows while out for a walk and realized “this was it.” They’ve run La Fenice is both the Greenwich and Rye, New York communities.
With a soft opening last night, crowds of Italians - friends and family of Silvestri - exploded through the front doors of the new downtown shoppe with flowers, exclamations of “Auguri!”, “congratulations”, and wide eyes while looking over the pastries and gelato.
Evident by the lively italian conversations buzzing around the room, everything is proudly imported from Italy. “Everything” Silvestri explained, “except the fruits - those are freshly grown in the United States.”
Coffee? Italian import. Cookies? Italian technique. Gelato? Secret Italian recipe. The freezer? Shipped directly from Italy. The owners? First generation Italian immigrants.
Silvestri and her family came to Connecticut from Lecce, Italy in the Puglia region, or the “heel” of Italy’s boot, with their culture and family traditions being carried through their work at La Fenice right here on Main Street.
The store will be mainly managed by Silvestri’s son Ricardo, a Wilton High School graduate and Quinnipiac University Senior. “I grew up helping with the business. Most of the people here tonight remember me as a ten year old working with my parents” he said as his parents looked on.
Galati said that the store will open today from 8:00 AM until 10:00 PM, adding “We’ll see what works, and we’ll look into staying open later if we see we need the flexibility“ he said.
La Fenice is located on the beginning of lower Main Street, at 49 Main Street, and serves savory breakfasts, pressed panini lunches, and sweet gelato desserts. Stop in to say “Ciao” to Westport’s newest neighbors.
Metro North Announces Train Additions to New Haven Line Beginning June 21st
Photo by Marc A. Hermann, MTAMTA Press ReleaseMetro-North Railroad today announced new train schedules taking effect Monday, June 21, that will add 24 new peak trains on its three lines east of the Hudson River, bringing service to 67% of pre-pandemic levels, from the 63% that has been in place for a year. The changes are directed to the peak periods, when ridership is heavier. A more significant service change, which will increase service to 83% of pre-pandemic levels during the week and 70% of pre-COVID levels on the weekends, will take place on Aug. 29, just in time for Labor Day.
The June 21 service increase comes as New York City, the Hudson Valley and Connecticut continue their reopening and Metro-North continues to welcome more riders back to the railroad. On June 1, Metro-North set a pandemic ridership record with approximately 94,923 trips taken, and has had ridership above 90,000 for five of the first nine weekdays in June. With more people riding the trains, Metro-North is extending the hours of operation of Grand Central’s entrances to 46th, 47th and 48th Streets. Effective today, they will be open from 6:30 a.m. through 9:30 p.m. on weekdays. Since last Sept. 28, they had been open only from 6:30 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.
“We are thrilled to see sustained ridership growth as the region comes back to life from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Catherine Rinaldi, President of Metro-North Railroad. “Metro-North is increasing service to meet the demand that we are seeing, and we couldn’t be happier to be welcoming so many of our customers back.”
In a further service benefit for customers, officials also announced the completion of the New Haven Line’s catenary system, the overhead wires that power the trains. Through this project, crews replaced Connecticut’s 217 miles of original 1907 "fixed termination" catenary, which can sag or contract due to temperature changes, with a state-of-the-art “constant tension” system that better accommodates temperature extremes.
Before the replacement, train speeds could be restricted as much as 30 mph if the weather was hotter than 90 degrees or colder than 25 degrees, and train pantographs suffered greater wear-and-tear. The completion of the project will lead to more reliable train service with fewer power-related service disruptions, and fewer congestion-related bottlenecks that were in effect when tracks were taken out of service for the catenary work.
"This is truly a milestone for the Metro-North New Haven Line and the New Canaan Branch," said Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti. "The completion of this work to replace and upgrade a more than 100-year-old critical component of railroad infrastructure signifies not only a new era of improved service reliability, but also an improved customer experience for years to come.”
“This additional service that's being added, both on Monday and in August, is really a terrific sign for commuters and it's a great sign of recovery for our region,” said Lisa Daglian, Executive Director, Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA. “More trains are great for anybody who wants to travel around the region. It's a great sign of our economic return to some sense of normalcy.”
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said: "Increased Metro-North service could not be more important as the economy is reopening and residents are returning to work. I thank Metro-North Railroad for supporting our commuters during the post-pandemic recovery, and taking steps to ensure increased train service is available and easier to access."
“This service expansion is great for customers and is yet another positive sign of our region coming back to life,” said Amy Paulin, Assembly Member and Chair, Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions. “Metro-North is doing a terrific job of responding to the current increase in customer ridership and contributing to the reopening of our economy.”
“It is exciting to see the region’s recovery and Metro-North ridership trending in such positive directions,” said Rhonda Herman, MTA Board Member. “This service increase is a result of the great work done to fight back the pandemic and a major step in riders returning in full to Metro-North.”
"Adding trains during peak hours on all three Metro-North lines is great news for commuters -- and it's a great sign of recovery for our region,” said Randy Glucksman, MTA Board Member and Chair, Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council. “We know that more and more people are riding trains and ensuring that they feel comfortable will help bring even more back on board. As we approach the next phases of reopening, the sense of normalcy of riding the rails is something that many of us look forward to."
Customers will see the following changes take effect on June 21:
New Haven Line
On the New Haven Line, both morning and afternoon peak-period service will increase from 22 trains to 26.
Two Stamford to Grand Central local trains are being added. The first train will operate from Stamford to Greenwich, make all stops to Larchmont and then operate express to Harlem-125th St and Grand Central. A second Grand Central-bound train will operate from Harrison to Grand Central stopping at Mamaroneck, Larchmont and Harlem-125th St.
Another change in the June 21 timetables is the 7:20 a.m. Grand Central-bound local train from Stamford, which will make additional stops at Old Greenwich, Riverside and Cos Cob, while bypassing stops at Harrison, Mamaroneck and Larchmont, which will be served by one of the added trains.
In the afternoon, two Stamford-bound departures are being added from Grand Central, stopping at Harlem-125th St, then express to New Rochelle before making all stops to Stamford.
Two trains from New Haven to Grand Central are being added in weekday mornings, stopping at all stations between New Haven and Fairfield, then express to Stamford, Harlem-125th St and Grand Central.
In the afternoon, two New Haven-bound trains are being added from Grand Central, stopping at Harlem-125th St, then express to Stamford, then all stops to New Haven.
Harlem Line
On the Harlem Line, both morning and afternoon peak-period service will increase to 25 trains, from 21.
In the morning, two new southbound trains stop at all stations between Crestwood and Mt Vernon West, then Fordham, Harlem-125th St and Grand Central. In the afternoon, a new northbound train will stop at Harlem-125th St and make all stops between Mt. Vernon West and Crestwood. A second northbound train will stop at Harlem-125th St, then will operate express to Crestwood, Scarsdale, Hartsdale, White Plains and North White Plains.
In addition, four trains are being added between Southeast and Grand Central. In the morning, two southbound trains will make all station stops between Southeast and Mt. Kisco, then operate express to Harlem-125th St and Grand Central. In the afternoon, two northbound trains will stop at Harlem-125th St then operate express to White Plains and make all local stops to Southeast.
Hudson Line
On the Hudson Line, morning peak-period service will increase to 22 trains from 18, while afternoon peak-period service increases to 21 trains from 17.
Two round-trips are being added between Croton-Harmon and Grand Central. These trains will make all stops between Croton-Harmon and Hastings-on-Hudson, then Yonkers, Harlem-125th St and Grand Central.
Two round-trip trains between Poughkeepsie and Grand Central will be added. These trains will make all stops between Poughkeepsie and Croton-Harmon before operating express to Harlem-125th St and Grand Central.
The Breakneck Ridge station remains temporarily closed for station safety improvements.
These service increases build on the April 12 timetable that added New Haven Line trains and restored weekend service to Wassaic.
New Neighbors: Romanacci Transforms the former Commuter Coffee on Railroad Place
Romanacci Italian Restaurant has moved - and grown - next door, celebrating a larger space with more options at the historic 46 Railroad Place storefront.
Romanacci Manager Maciej RoginskiThe train station neighborhood was alive late last night as the last customers of the evening left, and manager Maciej Roginski and his crew began to prepare for today’s crowds. The restaurant - owned by Graziano and Maurizio Ricci - opened on Thursday, adding a large italian eatery to the area with a full service dining room, bar, and outdoor seating.
The Ricci’s made the decision to move to the larger space next door to expand their italian menu and create a permanent option for local diners. The space was transformed from the former Commuter Coffee eatery, which closed in June of 2018 after over four decades of service. The Commuter’s former windowside pink booths and large corner counter have been replaced with natural woods, exposed lighting, and natural accents - with a full bar overlooking the kitchen, and outdoor seating available on the deck over Railroad Place.
The restaurant is known for their italian specialties and pizzas, and now adds a larger food locale in the heart of the ever-changing Railroad Place community. They’re open Sunday - Thursday from 11AM until 10PM, and Fridays-Sundays from 11AM until 11PM. Roginski described the new opportunities the larger space gives them, with a future of live music and continued success in the area all within view.
More information can be found on their website, romanacci.com