Westport COVID-19 Cases Up 23; State Positivity Rate 9.99%, Hospitalizations up 6
The State Department of Public Health reported 23 more cases in Westport over the past day. The State’s daily test positivity rate was up to 9.99% while hospitalizations were up 6 patients, with 236 patients currently hospitalized for COVID-19 throughout the State.
Westport total positive or probable cases: 4,506 cases.
Westport total COVID-19 Deaths: 36 deaths
State Daily Test Positivity: 9.99% [up from 8.85%]
State Hospitalizations: 236 patients [+6]
Wheels2U Bus Service Survives Another Budget Season; Budget Restored by RTM Vote
WestportLocal.com photoWestport Transit District: Westport’s Representative Town Meeting voted Monday night 30 to 1 to restore the $133,000 the Board of Finance cut from the 2022-23 fiscal year budget for Wheels2U Westport. Wheels2U Westport, is the Westport Transit District’s on-demand, group ride shuttle service which takes riders directly from their door to the platform at Westport’s two train stations and from the train stations to their jobs and other places in Westport.
Restoring the funding will permit Wheels2U to keep operating through June 30, 2023. Wheels2U provides a convenient, environmentally-friendly way for Westport residents and reverse commuters to travel between the train stations and their homes, employers and downtown. Wheels2U is now an integral part of Westport
Peter Gold, Director of the Westport Transit District, said ”Over the last few weeks the RTM received over 200 letters from all segments of Westport’s population—including residents, commuters, including people commuting to work in Westport, and key local organizations—in support of restoring the funding. I want to thank all those who emailed the RTM to encourage it to restore the funding. It would not have happened without your engagement and support.”
For more information about Wheels2U go to www.wheels2uwestport.com. For more information about the Westport Transit District’s services for the elderly and people with disabilities go to www.WestportTransit.org
Westport Country Playhouse Presents “Straight White Men”
Denver Milord, Nick Westrate, Bill Army, and Richard Kline. Photo by Cynthia AstmannWestport Country Playhouse: Westport Country Playhouse will stage the comic satire, “Straight White Men,” by Young Jean Lee, from May 24 through June 5, directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director. The show’s 2018 Broadway run made Lee the first Asian American female playwright to have a work produced there.
The cast includes Richard Kline, who was a series regular on television’s “Three’s Company” as Larry Dallas. The production reunites Kline and Lamos, who were classmates at Northwestern University. Others in the ensemble are Bill Army, Denver Milord, Nick Westrate, Akiko Akita, and Ashton Muñiz.
“The play is a bold, exuberant, very funny comedy-- and then near the end it builds up to a surprising dramatic punch that proves both powerful and moving,” said Lamos. “I've wanted to bring it to the Playhouse stage since its premiere at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2017.
“Young Jean Lee, the first Asian American female writer in Playhouse history, is one of the most important playwrights working today. No two of her plays are alike, since she's constantly trying new forms. Here she creates the proverbial ‘well-made play,’ and it really rocks.”
In “Straight White Men,” it’s Christmas Eve, and Ed, played by Kline, has invited his three grown sons back home for pranks, Chinese takeout, and gossip. In between the male bonding rituals and conversations about money, work, and love, they are forced to face their own identities in this alternately hilarious and thought-provoking satire.
Playwright Young Jean Lee said, “’Straight White Men’ isn’t about privilege or attempting to reveal anything new about it or solve it. I was more curious about the question, ‘if I woke up tomorrow and I was a straight white man, what would I do’?”
This show contains strong language and mature themes; running time is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. For the Playhouse’s 2022 season only, plays will be consolidated to a two-week performance schedule instead of the usual three-week run.
The six-member ensemble cast includes Richard Kline as Ed (Westport Country Playhouse’s “And a Nightingale Sang” in 2015; television series regular Larry Dallas on “Three’s Company”; Broadway’s “Waitress,” “City of Angels,” “November”; National Company of “Wicked” as The Wizard; www.richardkline.tv); Bill Army as Jake (Broadway’s “The Band’s Visit,” “Act One,” and “Relatively Speaking,” an evening of one-acts by Ethan Coen, Elaine May, and Woody Allen; Off-Broadway’s “The Band’s Visit,” “The Changeling”; Hulu’s “Deadbeat,” YouTube’s “COHAB”); Denver Milord as Matt (Westport Country Playhouse’s “Tiny House” in 2021; Broadway’s “Oklahoma!”; Off-Broadway’s “Terms of Endearment,” “Meaningful Conversation”; regional theater’s “Cabaret”; films “Jack Reacher,” “The Last Witch Hunter”); Nick Westrate as Drew (Westport Country Playhouse’s “Don Juan” in 2019; Broadway’s “Bernhardt/Hamlet,” “Casa Valentina,” “A Moon for the Misbegotten”; Off-Broadway’s “The Boys in the Band” - Drama Desk nomination for featured actor; series regular for three seasons on AMC’s “Turn: Washington’s Spies”); Akiko Akita as Person in Charge (American Academy of Dramatic Arts; theater’s “Dog Sees God,” “Charlie Brown”; television’s “Gossip Girl,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife”); and Ashton Muñiz as Person in Charge (Broadway’s “The Inheritance,” Taylor Mac’s “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music”; Off-Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater; select works at The Guggenheim; dance credits with Marc Jacobs FW 2020, Rihanna; co-founder of Legacy: A Black Queer Production Collective).
Young Jean Lee is a playwright, writer, director, and filmmaker who has been called "the most adventurous downtown playwright of her generation" by The New York Times and "one of the best experimental playwrights in America" by Time Out New York. She has written and directed 10 shows in New York with Young Jean Lee's Theater Company. Her plays have been performed in more than 80 cities around the world. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, two OBIE Awards, a Prize in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a PEN Literary Award, a United States Artists Fellowship, and the Windham-Campbell Prize.
Director Mark Lamos has helmed many plays at Westport Country Playhouse since 2008, earning Connecticut Critics Circle Awards for his direction of “She Loves Me” (2010), “Into the Woods” (2012), “The Dining Room” (2013), “Man of La Mancha” (2018), and “Mlima’s Tale” (2019). Under Lamos’ artistic direction, the Playhouse was named “Theater Company of the Year” by The Wall Street Journal in 2013. Lamos’ extensive New York credits include “Our Country's Good,” for which he received a Tony Award nomination. A former artistic director at Hartford Stage, he earned the 1989 Tony Award for the theater's body of work. He was awarded the Connecticut Medal for the Arts as well as honorary doctorates from Connecticut College, University of Hartford, and Trinity College. In 2016 he was the recipient of the John Houseman Award.
The creative team includes Kristen Robinson, scenic design; Fabian Fidel Aguilar, costume design; Masha Tsming, lighting design; Michael Keck, sound design; Ali Solomon, choreographer; Michael Rossmy, fight director; Shane Schnetzler, production stage manager; and Tara Rubin Casting, CSA, Clair Burke, CSA, casting.
2022 Season Media Sponsors are Moffly Media and WSHU Public Radio.
Performance schedule is Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at 2 and 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. (No Wed. or Sat. matinees during preview week). Special series include Taste of Tuesday (May 24), LGBT Night Out (May 26), Post-Play Dialogues (May 26, 31), Opening Night (May 28), Sunday Symposium (May 29), Backstage Pass (June 1), Thursday TalkBack (June 2), and Open Captions (June 5).
Single tickets for “Straight White Men” start at $30 during preview performances (May 24-27), and beginning May 28 Opening Night, tickets start at $50 and are subject to change based upon availability. Buy early for best prices. For information on special offers, including discounts for students, senior citizens, educators, military and first responders, Indigenous peoples, professional playwrights, and groups, as well as options for pay-what-you-will and Westport Library pass, visit www.westportplayhouse.org/visit/box-office/.
All play titles, artists, dates, and times are subject to change.
Saul Pollack, 85, Died; Former Staples Wrestling, Football Coach, PE Teacher
Saul Pollack, age 85, of Wilton, CT, passed away on Thursday, April 28, 2022 at Regional Hospice in Danbury, CT. Saul was born in Bridgeport, CT and was the only son of Harry and Betty Pollack. Saul grew up in Fairfield and attended High School at Roger Ludlowe. He spent his summers at the Fairfield beaches working as a lifeguard and teaching swimming. He earned a Bachelor's Degree from Springfield College in 1960 and a Master's Degree from the University of Bridgeport in 1961.
After completing his education, Saul moved to Westport, CT where he taught Physical Education while joining the Army Reserves at that time as well.
During the 1960's and 70's Saul was the head coach of the Staples High School wrestling team, building a program that won several Fairfield County and State of Connecticut championships. He was also an assistant coach for the Staples football team.
While teaching in the Westport School system, Saul met first grade teacher, Anne Gardner who he married in 1965. Saul and Anne moved to Wilton, CT where they had three children: Scott, Kira and David.
In 1978, Saul left teaching and took over his father's package store, Harry's Wine and Liquor, originally opened in 1941. He spent the next 33 years expanding the business that his father had created. It was and remains a vital part of the fabric of the Fairfield community. Saul retired in 2011. In retirement, Saul enjoyed playing golf, vacationing on Cape Cod and Sanibel Island, and visiting with his children and grandchildren.
Saul is survived by his wife, Anne of Wilton, CT, his sons, Scott (Millie) Pollack of Fairfield, CT, David (Alex) Pollack of Fishers Island, NY, his daughter Kira (Douglas) Friedman of New York, NY and his grandchildren; Mia, Anthony, Arlo, and Izzy Pollack, and Edie Friedman.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Kane Funeral Home, Ridgefield. Memorial contributions may be made to Regional Hospice, https://regionalhospicect.org/ or to The Wilton Singers, https://www.wiltonsingers.org/.