Words speak with power and promise this week in New Haven.
Monday, February 3
At 7 p.m. in the aldermanic chambers at City Hall (165 Church St, New Haven), new mayor Justin Elicker delivers his first State of the City Address, “highlighting what is going on in City Hall and the strategy of the Elicker Administration to enact his vision for the Elm City.” Open to the public.
Blocks away in Yale’s University Theatre (222 York St, New Haven; 203-432-1234), Alice, staging at 8 tonight (and every night through Friday), is not for the faint of heart. “Charles Dodgson likes to take pictures of young girls,” producers say. “His intended bride, 11-year old Alice Liddell, is strapped into braces so that she will sit still for her portrait. The child cannot move, but she may yet escape the grip of her suitor—to a place where Hell is above, Heaven below, and the mad ones sing in the language of nonsense: Dreamland.” Which makes it all the more surprising that the play is a musical, even if the co-writer of its music is the notorious lover of society’s underbellies Tom Waits. $25, with discounts available for students and Yale employees.
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Tuesday, February 4
Nodding to Valentine’s Day next week, the latest installment of Local Lit @ Lotta—as in Lotta Studio (911 Whalley Ave, New Haven)—starts at 7 p.m. and features local authors Bethany J. Miller and Tara L. Roí reading “excerpts from their forthcoming romance novels.” Attendees can expect “a night of literature, critique, conversation, and refreshments,” with donations of $5 or $10 encouraged.
Wednesday, February 5
“Pre-eminent journal of literature and ideas” The Yale Review celebrates its 200th anniversary with three days of events. The first, happening at 6 p.m. in Branford College’s common room (near the dormitory’s York Street entrance), is “Critics: Who Needs Them?”, a discussion between New York Times book critic Parul Sehgal and New Yorker poetry critic Dan Chiasson. All events—including a “master class” on innovative writing with critical darling Sheila Heti—are free and open to the public.
Thursday, February 6
The Shops at Yale’s latest “A Taste of Chapel” event is billed as a Valentine’s Day edition. That’s why the main locus of the occasion is jeweler Derek Simpson Goldsmith (1094 Chapel St, New Haven), where nearby businesses Basta Trattoria (red velvet cheesecake), Pacifico (wine) and B Natural Kitchen (hard cider and kombucha) are set to provide complimentary tastings from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Organizers also promise a “spectacular Valentine’s Day-themed ice carving” outside Wave Gallery (1046 Chapel St, New Haven), which, by the way, sells holiday-appropriate gifts including cards, chocolates and jewelry. RSVP requested.
At 7 p.m. at RJ Julia (768 Boston Post Rd, Madison; 203-245-3959), New Havener and Southern Connecticut State alum Ryan Leigh Dostie discusses (and signs copies of) her recent book, Formation: A Woman’s Memoir of Stepping Out of Line. The acclaimed debut chronicles her trials as a soldier in the United States Army during the early days of the Iraq War, when a fellow soldier raped her—and her commanders failed to act. Free to attend.
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Friday, February 7
At 5:30 p.m., you can watch Isaac Julien’s “poetic and haunting” The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats) (2007)—an 18-minute film that “explores the movement of people across the Mediterranean Sea, specifically African refugees making the treacherous crossing by boat to reach Europe to escape war and famine”—at the Yale Center for British Art (1080 Chapel St, New Haven; 203-432-2800). Then stick around for a discussion with the filmmaker as well as Courtney J. Martin, the Center’s director. Free.
Retired professional wrestler Mick Foley, “one of the cornerstones of WWE’s meteoric rise in the late 1990s” who’s “known for his ability to absorb seemingly inhuman punishment,” comes to The State House (310 State St, New Haven) for a very different kind of performance: “a spoken-word stage-show” timed for the 20th anniversary of Have a Nice Day, his bestselling memoir. Regular tickets cost $25, while a VIP option—including “priority seating, a photo-op with Mick and TWO signed items,” at least one of which you’ll have to bring yourself during the hour before doors open at 7 p.m.—costs $50.
Saturday, February 8
Lunarfest, the Yale-China Association’s annual “celebration of the Lunar New Year and Chinese culture,” starts at 10 a.m. with a lion and dragon dance parade beginning at Church and Elm Streets. The itinerary, which finishes at 4 p.m., also includes exhibits, performances and workshops and classes covering topics from calligraphy and traditional dance to shadow puppetry and kung fu.
Sunday, February 9
Local artist Michael Angelis is leading a screen printing (a.k.a. silkscreening, a.k.a. serigraphy) workshop from 10 a.m to 2 p.m., and aside from a working knowledge of the basics of the process as well as whatever they print, attendees will leave with a self-designed screen they can use to print away on their own time. Registration, which includes inks and paper along with instruction and access to printing equipment, costs $60. A word to the wise: If you want to print onto a T-shirt, you’ll have to bring your own, and it apparently has to be a cotton blend.
Attention will then turn from Mr. Angelis to Los Angeles, where coverage of the Oscars, more formally dubbed the 92nd Academy Awards, commences at 8 p.m. our time on ABC. The local chapter of the 48 Hour Film Project’s annual Oscar Viewing Party starts an hour earlier at The Regal Beagle (17 Whitney Ave, New Haven), where you can indulge in film talk and awards speculation for hours on end.
Written by Dan Mims. Image photographed by Brendan Woo for the Yale-China Association. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.
