News Briefs Oct. 14, 2011

• American History will be brought to new life when Pushcart Players presents Let Freedom Ring at the Palace Theater inWaterbury, on Tuesday, November 15, at 9:30am and 11:30am. Tickets are $10 for individuals, $8 for groups of ten or more, and on sale now at the Palace Theater Box Office,100 East Main Street inWaterbury. Administrators and teachers interested in booking a field trip can call the Group Sales Hotline at 203-346-2011. Individual tickets can be purchase by phone at 203-346-2000.
• Cabaret group Cabaret Lulu, direct from the heart of New York City, will present "Big City Country Music Jamboree" at The Mark Twain House & Museum on November 2, featuring your favorite songs from great Broadway shows like Annie Get Your Gun, Paint Your Wagon and Oklahoma. Also included are songs by beloved country performers like Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley. The event will take place Wednesday, November 2, with lunch served at 11:00 a.m. and the show at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $45, and groups are welcome, with discount packages available for parties of 10 or more. For information, reservations and group discounts, call (212) 308-8050 or 1-866-LULU-USA (585-8872).
• Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) will present The Miser, Oct. 27 – Nov. 6, in the Studio Theatre on the Storrs campus. For tickets and information, call 860-486-4226 or visit www.crt.uconn.edu.
• In a departure from the usual Nook Farm Book Talks format, the monthly session of the free book club at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Visitor Center on Thursday, November 3, will examine nine speeches of two great Americans and their meaning for history -- and for us today."The Lincoln and Douglass Speeches" will explore the works of President Abraham Lincoln and his contemporary, author, activist and statesman Frederick Douglass. The talk will be facilitated by noted Trinity Professor Eugene Leach, who has made a special study of the two men's works. Come for refreshments at 5 pm in the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center at 77 Forest St. The discussion begins at 5:30. Reservations are recommended: info@stowecenter.org or 860-522-9258, Ext. 317. Free.
• Theatre Fairfield, Fairfield University’s resident production company, opens its 2011-2012 season Oct. 26-30 with the classic musical comedy Once Upon a Mattress, with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer. The role of Winnifred is played by Casey Grambo, Queen Aggaravain, the overbearing queen, is played by Ashley Ruggiero, the mute King Sextinus is Joseph Plouffe, and the timid Prince Dauntless is Michael Maio. The cast also includes a court full of knights and ladies: Nancy Laskowski, Luke Paulino, Josh Matteo, Lauren Sippin, Owen Corey, Maria Mazzaro, Kate Hoffman, Margaret Greene, Austin Begin, Kelan McDonnell, Tom Martorano, Kathryn Dennen, Katie Premus, and Brendan Freeman. The production team is headed by Fairfield University graduates Ryan McKinney, ’97, who is director/choreographer, and Gregory Horton, ’68, who is musical director. The design team includes costume designer Julie Leavitt, lighting designer Lynne Chase, and scenic designer Evan Hill. The show is stage managed by Grace Janiszewski and assisted by Katie Gillette. For further information and directions, call 203- 254-4010 or 1-877-278-7396, or visit www.quickcenter.com