The theatre is inaccessible following a mayoral order to cease volunteer work due to safety concerns. At last night's Town Council meeting, several residents criticized the move. Here's what town officials had to say afterward. Full story to come.
John Zaffis' show 'The Haunted Collector' will debut its second season June 6.
Paranormal investigator John Zaffis of Stratford has spent years collecting artifacts from haunted houses and demon possession cases, and he has used his collection and knowledge of the paranormal as the basis for his reality television show on the SyFy cable channel. According to the entertainment news website TalkTVWorld.com, the second season of his program, 'The Haunted Collector,' is scheduled to debut June 6. The season premiere episode will take Zaffis and his investigators to Kentucky to look into a haunted house near the site of an 1868 steamboat accident that resulted in 60 deaths. The article says Zaffis' team captures "startling footage" at the house.
In this Article:
9:11 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
I wish John would do more places in Stratford. I still think of the episode when they were at that house on King Street, when I drive by it. more ›
'I will not approve taxpayer dollars to be spent on getting the theatre open,' says Mayor Harkins.
Though plans were in motion to stage a production this month at Shakespeare Theatre -- the first in decades -- health and safety inspection findings released today present a big hurdle for that to happen any time soon. It was about a month ago when Mayor John A. Harkins, citing public health problems, ordered all work suspended on the Elm Street theatre and all keys returned to public works. Health and safety inspections followed (the results of which are included below) and now there's an estimated cost to bring the long-shuttered theatre into code compliance for public viewing: $377,000. "There are clearly some significant issues with getting the theatre into operation in the very near term," Harkins said in a statement. "As has been my …
In this Article:
4:09 pm on Saturday, May 19, 2012
The greatest tragedy of the past 30 years in this town is that it has allowed one of the greatest possible resources for theatre arts and education to rot away amid political scatology.The Shakespeare theater could and should be running year round.Not just for theater-goers,but schoolchildren in Jr high and high school to give them an appreciation of an actual live theatre performance of the … more ›
The celebrated children's author was best known for his book 'Where The Wild Things Are.'
Ridgefield's famed children's book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak died Tuesday. The celebrated children's author, best known for his book "Where The Wild Things Are," was "widely considered the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century," The New York Times reports. The Times reports that Sendak died of complications from a recent stroke, according to his longtime editor, Michael di Capua. "Where The Wild Things Are" was published in 1963, and is the story of a little boy named Max who sails into his dreams to have a "wild rumpus" with imaginative, sometimes nightmarish monsters. The Times described his work: "In book after book, Mr. Sendak upended the staid, centuries-old tradition of American children's literature…
The Stratford High School Concert Choir and Jazz Band are in Baltimore for their annual trip. In this video, they sing 'America the Beautiful' to a crowd at Baltimore's Inner Harbor on April 26, 2012.
Consulting group presents possible plans for Stratford's long-shuttered theatre.
The scope of a revived Shakespeare Theatre will rely heavily on an ambitious grassroots fundraising effort, according to the agency hired by the town to draft options for the fabled Stratford theatre. "There would need to be an annual campaign to support this every year," Willem Brans, vice president of Arts Consulting Group (ACG), told residents and Town Council members during a presentation last week at Stratford Town Hall. "This has to be grassroots in order to succeed." ACG presented three options for breathing new life into the theatre, which would function as a not-for-profit institution. The concepts ranged in price from $3.2 million for a "temporary" theatre to $29.6 million for a venue that would be open year-round, put on 192 …
In this Article:
8:12 pm on Monday, May 7, 2012
I've wondered the same thing. Why not approach Yale which is rolling in dough, a very good patron of the arts and a succesful producer of its own theatre-works? . more ›
In a letter to Mayor John A. Harkins, Matt Catalano (R-3) asks why the mayor's office ordered the locks on the theatre be changed, all keys surrendered and all work suspended.
Updated 10:30 a.m. Saturday According to the Connecticut Post, the specific health issue is air quality and the earliest volunteers would be allowed back into the theatre is about three weeks from now. Updated 3 p.m. Friday with the following message from the mayor's office. Dear Councilor Catalano, Thank you for your letter regarding the Shakespeare property. I'd also like to take this opportunity to offer a 'thank you' to all the volunteers who have been working on cleaning up the theatre. It is my duty as Mayor of the Town of Stratford to protect the town's property, and to assure for the public health and safety of our residents. Given the stated potential for the public to be accessing the theatre this summer, it is my duty to have …
8:11 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
Mayor Harkins has never supported the arts as an economic engine and wants the property for his developer buddies. more ›
Stratford police are reportedly investigating the theft that is believed to happen within the last couple days.
Two of the painted steel shields that were bolted to the front of the Shakespeare Theatre's balcony were stolen within the last two days, according to a Festival! Stratford communications committee member who emailed Stratford Patch Friday night. The shields are crests of different Shakespearean characters and were donated by Timex, Ariana Rawls Fine wrote in the email. Fine said Stratford police has been contacted and are expected to head down to the theatre grounds shortly. Councilman Matt Catalano told the Stratford Star one of the crests is red with three gold lions and the other has four quadrants, two blue and two red. Stratford Patch will provide updates to this story as they become available.
In this Article:
12:55 pm on Monday, March 5, 2012
If I were the police detective looking into this, I'd check the garages of some of the very bitter naysayers I see on the Patch who seem to have a very bitter and mindless hatred of the idea of restoring the Shakespeare Theater. more ›
What, if not for show?
This week's theme is: body. -- Showgirl Dear Eve, I am sorry To hear of your untimely Fall. I do so hope you Are recovering. It's a tough world Out there, Eve, darling. There's a whole pack Of girls -- Jezebel, Delilah, Salome, Magdalene -- Who are pretty pissed, and Sure it's you that created their Beautiful mess. They're walking the blame finger Backward down the path of evil And it's winding its wild way Back to you. It's fine, though. This month, when The rent is due and I can't pay, it's fine: I'll Call that "art photographer" I know And he'll be glad to give me work. It's kinda nice, I guess, (I should feel grateful) that in these Last few moments before Age disintegrates me, I'm still Valuable, Eve. I can always be Adam's lovely …
Food is more than fuel.
This week's theme is: body. -- Fat The secret to never-ever falling For the wrong man or the Wrong food is to never Get yourself in the predicament I am exactly in right now, in Which I am desperate and Staring down the Gleaming white plastic Doors of my doom and I can Already taste the salty and The sweet jack-in-the-boxed Together inside that Carton of Friendly's Sundae Xtreme and though I haven't done anything Wrong, after I've had my Fill, I am already Pretty sure that Recurring dream will Swing by again tonight, the One where I'm naked at my Old Catholic grade school And it's time for lunch And I open my brown paper Sack and all mom's packed Is a box of raisins and a plaid Thermos of warm bacon fat. -- Food is the topic of my third …
Rockannand
1:38 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Bingo!! Jez. I am curious though, which sports teams Jim has in mind for his proposed sports complex ... We already have the Bluefish next door ... how about the Toxic RiverWasters?? more ›