Around Town

NEAD’s ‘The Nutcracker’ Opens Friday in New Canaan [Q&A]

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This marks the 40th year of the New England Academy of Dance and New England Dance Theater producing “The Nutcracker” here in New Canaan. 

Shows will run this weekend at 7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday (tickets here). We put some questions to NEAD’s Ginna Ortiz ahead of the show. Here’s our exchange. ***

New Canaanite: For readers who may not know, what are the New England Academy of Dance and New England Dance Theater? Ginna Ortiz: New England Academy of Dance is a pre-professional ballet school for ages 3 thru 18 that focuses on high-quality, disciplined training within a nurturing and elite environment.

Around Town

CinemaLab: Playhouse To Continue Running As Town Seeks New Operator

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The Playhouse on Elm Street will continue to run as the town finds a new operator for the beloved movie theater, officials say. The town-owned Playhouse has been operated since it reopened in June 2024 by New Jersey-based CinemaLab. Yet amid the theater’s financial challenges, the town recently terminated its 10-year lease with the company, and last week issued an RFP for a new operator. CinemaLab will continue to run the movie theater until a successor is in place, officials say. Luke Parker Bowles and Brandon Jones, CinemaLab’s co-founders, issued this statement Sunday: “It has been one of the great honors of our careers to help bring The Playhouse back to life, and to be welcomed so warmly by the Town of New Canaan throughout that journey.

Around Town

Did You Hear … 

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New Canaan Police are investigating three thefts from cars reported Tuesday morning—at 6:23 a.m., 8:39 a.m. and 10:11 a.m.—that may be connected. The larcenies occurred near each other, on Millport Avenue and Avalon Drive West, and a handbag and two wallets were reported stolen. ***

Save the date: The second “New Canaan Sports Trivia Night” will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23 at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society. Tickets here.

Around Town

Coffee’s on for Thursday

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Join fellow residents and NewCanaanite.com editor Michael Dinan for the monthly Community Coffee, to be held 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 4 in the Jim & Dede Bartlett Auditorium at New Canaan Library. The Coffee is presented in partnership with the library, and the brew is supplied by Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee (thank you, Doug). The free, public coffee is a group conversation about what’s happening around town, moderated by Dinan. Topics come from attendees and we spend no more than 10 minutes per subject.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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New Canaan Police at 6:33 p.m. on Nov. 21 received a report of $200 stolen from a purse in the Verizon store on Elm Street. The investigation is ongoing. 

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The Glass House Design Store is open for holiday shopping, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday (and will keep the same hours for Dec. 16 to 22). ***

Here’s the new installment of the “Dance Diaries” in the New Canaan High School student newspaper, The Courant, by Valentina Baldini, a senior who interned at NewCanaanite.com this past summer.