Leisure - WCCT

Celebrate Connecticut Historic Gardens Day This Sunday

By Alison Geisler — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:25:00 EDT

Sunday marks the 10th annual Connecticut Historic Gardens Day. Fourteen lush and floral outdoor spots count themselves as members, and quite a few of them fall in our neck of the woods. Contact each site directly for more info about any special events taking place during the day. Florence Griswold Museum (pictured), 96 Lyme St., Old Lyme, (860) 434-5542, flogris.org; Glebe House Museum and The Gertrude Jekyll Garden, 49 Hollow Rd., Woodbury, (203) 263-2855, theglebehouse.org; Harkness Memorial State Park, 275 Great Neck Rd., Waterford, (860) 443-5725, ct.gov/dep; New London County Historical Society and Shaw Mansion, 11 Blinman St., New London, (860) 443-1209, newlondonhistory.org; Osborne Homestead Museum and Kellogg Environmental Center, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 500 Hawthorne Ave., Derby, (203) 734-2513, ct.gov/dep/kellogg; Thankful Arnold House Museum, 14 Hayden Hill Rd., Haddam, (860) 345-2400, haddamhistory.org.

"Tornado Alley" Playing at The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk

By Mike Sembos — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:20:00 EDT

Tornadoes are no joke, and an EF5 twister that destroyed much of Moore, Oklahoma and killed 24 a few weeks back was a harsh reminder. The new IMAX movie Tornado Alley opens Friday at the Maritime Aquarium, and the six-story-high screen will take you closer to some fantastic funnels than you'd ever care to be in real life. It runs through the summer, and it'll offer some insight into formation and evolution of one of nature's most terrifying surprises.

Harry Connick Jr. Performs in Simsbury on June 22

By Christopher Arnott — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:20:00 EDT

Everything old is new again on local stages

You can satisfy your musical theater jones, your jazz itch and your pop-idol crush all with one concert this week: Harry Connick Jr. is performing 8 p.m. June 22 at Simsbury Meadows (22 Iron Horse Boulevard, Simsbury). Connick's a skilled pianist who can slide easily from stride to classical to swing. He's led big bands. He's starred in two Broadway revivals ( The Pajama Game and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever ), the 2001 TV version of South Pacific and was nominated for a Tony for composing the Broadway show Thou Shalt Not . He had millions swooning to his renditions of pop classics on the soundtrack of the romance movie classic When Harry Met Sally... The son of a judge and a district attorney, Connick played an Assistant D.A. in several episodes of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit." He's also made his mark on sitcoms (as Grace's husband on "Will & Grace") and suspense thrillers (as a serial killer in "Copycat").

"The Source Family" Shows the Strange Life and Afterlife of a California Hippie Cult From the Early '70s

By John Adamian — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:55:00 EDT

Our Picks: Lend a Hand (or Paw)

By Alison Geisler — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:20:00 EDT

3rd Annual Pawsitively Purr-fect Summer Re-sale: June 22, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; June 23, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. New and gently used pet items for sale, to raise funds for the Animal Welfare League of New London County. Boilermakers Lodge 614, 33 Sacred Heart Dr., Groton, (860) 445-0280.

SNL's Seth Meyers Performs at MGM Grand at Foxwoods This Saturday

By Alison Geisler — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:15:00 EDT

Seth Meyers was a familiar face around Saturday Night Live for many years. He took over for Tina Fey as head writer in 2006 and has been the primary news source for some of us as the Weekend Update anchor for just as long. This past season was his last, however, because in 2014, he'll replace Jimmy Fallon as the host of "Late Night" when Fallon invades "The Tonight Show." This weekend, you can catch him at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods for one show.

"The Producers" Playing at Trinity-on-Main in New Britain

By Michael Hamad — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:30:00 EDT

It's springtime for Hitler and Germany — and New Britain — as Mel Brooks' guffaw-rich musical The Producers heads to Trinity-on-Main, where devious impresario Max Bialystock (New Britain's Jason Ferrandino, far right) teams with ingenue Leo Bloom (Taylor Hopkins of South Windsor, right) to try to produce an all-out flop. Of course, it's a runaway success, leading to mayhem and temptation (Jen Augeri of Portland, left, plays the alluring Ulla). The original musical won 12 Tony awards, including Best Musical and Original Score.

One Last Extravaganza at La Paloma Sabanera in Hartford

By Michael Hamad — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:25:00 EDT

News broke last week that Capitol Ave. coffeehouse La Paloma Sabanera (pictured), often referred to as "Hartford's Living Room," is shutting its doors on June 27. An event soon popped up on Facebook inviting folks to one final throw-down: dubbed "One Last La Paloma Extravaganza: A Night for Virginia" (referring to owner Virginia Iacobucci), it's billed as "a super-mash-up of all the great events we've had at La Paloma over the past few years." Event and participants include The Ear Cave; Other People's Stories; Syllable: The Reading Series; The Connecticut Improv Mixer; Sea Tea Improv; The Hartford Hot Several; Rabbit Ears Media; String Theorie; tuba player Ben Klein; Brian Cook Designs; "Official Live Doodler" Constanza Segovia; and something mysterious called "HaThaYoWriMo." Festivities begin at 6 p.m. and last until everyone leaves.

"Not What Happened" Playing at the Silvermine Arts Center in New Canaan

By Mike Sembos — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:25:00 EDT

In Not What Happened, a period historical re-enactor has an impossible meeting with the figure from history she is re-enacting. The audience members are tourists visiting a run-down historic site, and they're led on a tour by the re-enactor. Images of the countryside by photographer and historian Forrest Holzapfel are projected, adding a pleasant visual element to the show. See it this Saturday and Sunday at the Silvermine Arts Center, followed by a discussion by playwright Ain Gordon and Holzapfel.

The William Benton Museum of Art's "20/21" Exhibit Features Modern and Contemporary Art

By Michael Hamad — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:20:00 EDT

Summer's a great time to get yourself to an air-conditioned museum, to cool off, free of crowds, and bask in the fruits of someone's creativity. At the Benton in Storrs, you can catch 20/21 , an exhibit of some of the museum's latest acquisitions, including photographs, paintings and mixed-media works by contemporary artists Mike Bayne and Keun Young Park and established names like Willem De Kooning, Dieter Roth (his "Daheim (At Home)" is pictured above) and Richard Diebenkorn. The museum welcomes your feedback, so let 'em know what you thought before you leave.