T he week starts in black and white and Technicolor, then becomes even more vivid.
Monday, January 29
Marking the film’s 85th anniversary, several regional theaters including Cinemark North Haven, Milford’s CT Post 14 and Madison Cinemas present matinee and/or evening screenings of The Wizard of Oz, both today and Wednesday.
Two days after Holocaust Remembrance Day, an interdisciplinary occasion convenes author/critic Jeremy Eichler and musician/educator Sebastian Ruth for “a book talk with musical performance.” The book is Eichler’s Time’s Echo: The Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance, published in 2023, while the musical program is a surprise.
Tuesday, January 30
At 6 p.m., Two Roads in Stratford offers a decadent tasting event featuring first pours of the brewery’s forthcoming Igor’s Dream imperial stout varietals paired with six desserts from local bakeries and chefs.
At 7 in Yale’s 53 Wall Street Auditorium, a screening of Jackals & Fireflies (2023)—“a lyrical, observational short, shot entirely on mobile phones” that “traverses New York City… through the eyes of a woman who wanders its streets, explores its neighborhoods, overhears conversations, and finds moments of communion”—is joined in person by the film’s acclaimed director, Charlie Kaufman, and its writer, Eva H.D.
Wednesday, January 31
Back at Two Roads, a Connecticut history-themed trivia night starts at 6:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, a five-day, six-show run of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s “groundbreaking” musical Company, directed here by multiple Tony winner Marianne Elliott, begins at 7:30. “It’s Bobbie’s 35th birthday party, and all her friends keep asking, Why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right man and isn’t it time to settle down and start a family? As Bobbie searches for answers, she discovers why being single, being married, and being alive in the 21st-century could drive a person crazy.”
Thursday, February 1
Kicking off Black History Month, the New Haven Museum and state-funded magazine Connecticut Explored gather a six-person panel to celebrate 10 years (or so) since the publication of the 2013 book African American Connecticut Explored. Among the panelists is Elizabeth Normen, “the Founding Publisher, Emeritus, of Connecticut Explored, Inc. and the editor of African American Connecticut Explored.”
Jamaican-born “hard roots” reggae artist Mighty Mystic, who fuses “classic reggae with elements of hip hop and rock,” celebrates Bob Marley’s birthday several days early during an 8 p.m. show at Cafe Nine.
Friday, February 2
At 7:30 p.m. in Yale’s Morse Recital Hall, a quintet of musicians led by upright bassist (and in this case vocalist) Linda May Han Oh perform music from her experimental jazz album The Glass Hours.
At 8, Phoneboy, who sound like The Strokes got together with Vampire Weekend and decided to go for a more polished finish, headline a show at Hamden’s Space Ballroom. The undercard features The Backfires, whose Spotify bio says they’re “a New York City rock band that formed in London,” suggesting a designer scent to go with their distressed denim sound.
Saturday, February 3
At 1, Madison Land Conservation Trust director Bob Kuchta leads a hike along Indian Rock Shelters Trail “look[ing] for tracks and hiding places of groundhogs and other woodland creatures.”
Sunday, February 4
Spades, the card game, gets its day in the sun during the Connecticut Spades Invitational, an all-levels tournament at Jazzy’s Cabaret prefaced by a noontime brunch/registration period before the 1 o’clock tourney.
One set of exhibitions closes and another opens, just not in that order. At 1, ECOCA hosts a reception celebrating the opening of three shows spanning painting and other media as well as archival print materials. At 3, Kehler Liddell Gallery hosts its own reception to mark the closing of Renewal, a juried show featuring works by 45 external artists as well as the gallery collective’s member artists.
Written by Dan Mims. Image 1 features Linda May Han Oh. Image 2 features Company star Britney Coleman (left) with some of her castmates. Image 3 features Stanwyck Cromwell’s textural painting Myths & Taboos, showing soon at ECOCA. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
