The thrill of Broadway Cabaret comes to New Canaan Library when students of CT State College, Naugatuck Valley, delight the audience with songs and scenes from beloved musicals. Under the direction of Professor Gil Harel, this theater troupe has performed in venues across New England. Their dynamic acts have been a hit with audiences of all musical interests and listening preferences. This set will include songs from shows such as Rent, Dear Evan Hansen, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as close-harmony original arrangements of songs from the canon. Gil Harel (PhD, Brandeis University) is an award-winning musicologist and composer whose interests include styles ranging from western art music to contemporary musical theater.
Friday afternoon films! New Canaan Library presents a free screening of the science fiction blockbuster Dune, Part 1. A 6-time Oscar winner for cinematography, editing, score, visual effects, production design and sound, Dune, Part 1 revolves around the character Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence, only those who can conquer their own fear will survive. Runtime 155 minutes.
The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. Beyond the pristine sliding glass doors, boundless shelves of books and sunlit cafe, the New Canaan Library offers more: community creativity.
This spring, the library hosted a seven-week drawing workshop for adults called “Art of Drawing.” The workshop was led by retired New Canaan High School art teacher Jeanne McDonagh, an educator here for 32 years. Held on the third floor of the library in the Tate Room, participants received a comprehensive foundation in drawing catered to both beginners and those who wished to enhance their drawing skills further. They learned the vocabulary of drawing and how to work with composition, proportion, perspective, line, gesture, value, and texture.
Students also learned how to use and explore these concepts to create original works of art. “I would base each week on a skill that would build to the next skill,” McDonagh said.
This workshop is the perfect setting for theater lovers and budding thespians to discuss – and try their hand at performing- Shakespeare’s best-known play. Those who appreciate the abundance of memorable quotes found in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet can enjoy meeting other theater lovers to talk about favorite scenes and passages. If the stage beckons, attendees can also try their hand at reading, performing and unpacking some of the many great speeches in the play. This lively workshop will be led by Shakespeare on the Sound’s board member and Shakespeare teacher John Love, in celebration of the company’s summer performance of Romeo & Juliet, running June 12-30th at Rowayton’s Pinkney Park.
When summer temperatures soar, who wants to turn on the oven or fire up the stove? Chef Caryn Antonini shows how to keep it cool with fabulous no-heat recipes! At this fun evening event Caryn will demonstrate several mouth-watering dishes in New Canaan Library’s state-of-the-art kitchen, from a fresh, home-made hummus to a chopped Mexican summer salad with honey-lime vinaigrette, topped off with a frozen meringue key lime pie! Caryn Antonini is at the forefront of lifestyle advice and guidance. Cooking, decorating tips, wellness and overall good living are just some of the topics Caryn discusses on television and in interviews across the country.
