Seasons, series and 30 bottles of wine are opened as a notable tenure comes to a close.
Monday, April 29
An advance screening of Sing Sing, followed by a Q&A with actors from the film, plays in Yale’s 53 Wall Street theater at 7 p.m. “Divine G (Colman Domingo), imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men, including wary newcomer (Clarence Maclin), in this stirring true story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art, starring an unforgettable ensemble cast of formerly incarcerated actors.”
Tuesday, April 30
A six-day, eight-show run of the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown descends on the Shubert starting at 7:30 p.m. The play “intertwines two mythic tales—that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone—as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back.”
Wednesday, May 1
The Great Give starts at 8 a.m.
Weather allowing, the opener of the 2024 Movies in the Plaza series gets rolling at 8 p.m. in Pitkin Plaza. The film this week is Baby Driver (2017), a slick, music-infused action movie featuring a leveraged getaway driver named Baby who longs to put his criminal activities in the rear-view.
Thursday, May 2
Barcelona Wine Bar, whose “wine list spans over a hundred regions, hundreds of makers, and around five hundred selections at any given time,” hosts a “Hidden Gems UNCORKED” event offering “30 gems from our bottle list for all ticket holders to peruse and taste alongside passed tapas and paella! This wine experience will give you seemingly endless paths to explore as you move throughout the room, learning about and tasting through the stories of each of these amazing bottles. Ticket holders will be able to taste the wines freely, enjoy anecdotes and tasting notes from our team, and enjoy… diverse and plentiful culinary offerings.”
At 7:30 in Woolsey Hall, Alasdair Neale conducts the finale of his tenure as the New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s music director. The program “pairs Mahler’s First Symphony with two works by American composer Florence Price.”
This year’s Carlotta Festival at Yale’s Geffen School of Drama, presenting four performances each of plays by three emerging writers, begins at 8 with Danielle Stagger’s Rent Free. “Hungry to prove her artistic eye, photographer Kandice Phellan is on the cusp of career-defining success. An upcoming gala holds an opportunity for her to solidify her place among the greats. But her pristinely curated world gets messy when she enlists the babysitting help of her protégée. As her personal and professional life bleed into each other, the magnitude of her sacrifices threatens to ruin her legacy for good.”
Friday, May 3
Hourglass, a thesis exhibition of work by MFA students in photography, enjoys a public reception from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Yale School of Art’s Green Hall Gallery.
Also from 6 to 8, a monthlong concert series on the Branford Green kicks off with an act called Miss Behavin’.
At 7:30 today and tomorrow, “family greed is on full display” as Yale Opera presents Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins.
Joe DeRosa, a comedian whose performance credits include “Inside Amy Schumer, Louie, Bored to Death, Chelsea Lately, Grand Theft Auto V and two half-hour Comedy Central specials”—to go with writing credits for “HBO’s Crashing, Comedy Central’s Jeff and Some Aliens and Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer, as well as The Pete Holmes Show”—comes to Hamden’s Space Ballroom for an 8 o’clock set.
Saturday, May 4
Opening at 10 a.m. today and tomorrow in Hubbard Park, the Meriden Daffodil Festival promises food, drink, arts, crafts, music, kids’ stuff and at 11:30 a.m. today, a parade.
At 10:30, East Haven’s Hagaman Memorial Library celebrates May the Fourth by screening Star Wars: A New Hope, “the 1977 classic that started it all… Fresh Popcorn and other refreshments will be served…”
That’s early enough to be able to finish the movie and get to Armada Brewing in time for Star Wars-themed bingo at 2 p.m., themed trivia at 4 and a crowd-judged lightsaber skills contest at 8.
At 7, a “Freestyle Extravaganza” featuring “multi-platinum singer, songwriter, and producer” Stevie B opens Westville Music Bowl’s 2024 season.
At 7 tonight (and 4 tomorrow), Madison Lyric Stage opens its own 2024 season with Freedom: The Music of George Michael & Elton John. Alongside vocal performances by Marc Deaton and special guests, “pianist Nathaniel Baker leads a band performing hit songs, including ‘Careless Whisper,’ ‘Rocket Man,’ ‘Candle in the Wind,’ ‘Faith,’ ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,’ ‘Crocodile Rock,’ and, of course, ‘Freedom.’”
At 7:30 in Battell Chapel, New Haven-based Orchestra New England, whose “top-flight instrumentalists are individually accomplished as soloists and chamber musicians, and as leading players in Connecticut's major symphony orchestras,” take on Beethoven while also premiering a pair of new works.
Sunday, May 5
Geronimo, Te Amo Tequila and VivaZ—and probably other Mexican restaurants/bars who just haven’t posted details yet—are celebrating Cinco de Mayo. So is Armada Brewing.
Back at Space Ballroom, local genre-bending rapper/vocalist Ceschi; his hard-to-define band Anonymous Inc.; and “forefather of indie-hop” Sage Francis perform an 8 p.m. show “celebrating the life of Michael Anzel, a dear friend and dedicated independent music supporter who suddenly passed away at the end of 2023,” with ticket proceeds going to Anzel’s family.
Written by Dan Mims. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
