This Week in New Haven (February 26 – March 4)

A s February turns to March, we turn to doers and thinkers, madcap theater and cinema old and new. 

Monday, February 26
At 4:30 p.m. in Yale’s Sterling Law Building (127 Wall St, New Haven), labor organizer Ai-jen Poo (pictured above), who “was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2012,” is delivering a Gruber Distinguished Lecture in Women’s Rights. But the topic, offered against the context of an aging, long-living generation of Baby Boomers, sounds like it’ll be broader: “the need to create a care infrastructure for the future, one that assures quality jobs for caregivers and at the same time makes quality care accessible for all who need it.” Free.

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Tuesday, February 27
At 4:30 p.m. in Sterling Memorial Library (120 High St, New Haven), a perennially under-examined country gets a deeper scholarly treatment as Yale history professor Abbas Amanat discusses his new book. Iran: A Modern History (2017) “covers the complex history… of Iran against the background of dynastic changes, revolutions, civil wars, foreign occupation and the rise of the Islamic Republic,” organizers say. Free, with cookies and coffee provided beforehand at 4 p.m. Free.

Wednesday, February 28
“Only a few years ago, the mainstream press was wrestling with whether labeling waterboarding as torture violated important norms of neutrality and objectivity. Now, major American newspapers regularly call the President of the United States a liar. Clearly something has changed as the old rules of ‘balance’ and ‘two sides to every story’ have lost their grip. Is the change for the better? Will it last?” Those are the primary concerns of a live 7 p.m. interview between WSHU reporter Cassandra Bassler and Pulitzer Prize winner Linda Greenhouse, who covered the United States Supreme Court for 30 of her 40 years at the New York Times. Tickets to the event, which happens inside the Study at Yale Hotel (1157 Chapel St, New Haven), cost $15, with copies of Greenhouse’s latest book, Just a Journalist, available for purchase.

Thursday, March 2
Entering previews yesterday, Long Wharf Theater’s latest presentation, Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, takes its source material’s twists and turns and adds a few more. “A wild hellhound prowls the moors of Devonshire, dispatching the male heirs of the Baskerville line one by one,” organizers say, mirroring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902). But unlike the original, Baskerville is a “fast-paced and joyful comedy,” with five actors playing “more than 40 characters.” Tickets to today’s 8 p.m. performance cost between $35.50 and $71.50. 222 Sargent Dr, New Haven. (203) 787-4282.

Friday, March 3
Beginning yesterday but having its opening reception today at 6 p.m., the Whitney Humanities Center (53 Wall St, New Haven; 203-432-0670) hosts Yale’s 14th annual European Film Conference. Titled Borderline: European Cinema 1959, the three-day festival features screenings of films made in ’59, like I’m All Right Jack (UK); I, Black Man (France); The Delinquents (Spain); They Called Him Amigo (Germany); and The Noose (Poland), plus a couple of panel discussions.

Two shows happening at the same time (10 p.m.) on the same block (Crown Street between College and Temple) might justify turning yourself into a human ping pong ball. At Pacific Standard Tavern (212 Crown St, New Haven), the Good Time Boys, a sort of super-group of great local musicians, are “performing two classic Red Hot Chili Peppers albums front to back: Californication and Blood Sugar Sex Magik.” At Stella Blues (204 Crown St, New Haven; 203-752-9764), a three-act bill is headlined by Universal Sigh, a “metamorphic” rock/funk band that likes long songs, guitar solos and musical theatricality.

Saturday, March 4
From noon to 2 p.m. at Wooster Square Coffee (516 Chapel St, New Haven), state senator Martin Looney—the senate’s president pro tempore, or, as his bio puts it, the “highest-ranking legislator in the Connecticut General Assembly”—and state representative Roland Lemar invite you to “share your concerns, suggestions and questions about state issues that are important to you.”

Sunday, March 5
Organized by the New Haven 48 Hour Film Project, Brother Jimmy’s BBQ (196 Crown St, New Haven; 203-823-9780) is hosting a viewing party to watch this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. Festivities commence at about the same time as the red carpet coverage: 7 p.m., which is also when organizers will begin “offering our own running commentary” and “handing out ballots and asking you to guess the winners. The guest with the most correct picks will win a movie prize package!” Free to attend; reservations made directly with the restaurant are “highly recommended.”

Written by Dan Mims. Image, featuring Ai-jen Poo, is credited to the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.

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Dan has worked for a couple of major media companies, but he likes Daily Nutmeg best. As DN’s editor, he writes, photographs, edits and otherwise shepherds ideas into fully realized feature stories.

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