December is upon us, bringing yuletide cheer, the annual tree lighting on the Green,
Advent concerts, a Dylan Thomas bio-play, a heartwarming Wally Lamb movie, and the seasonal depression pop of Winterpills. Cool.
Monday, Dec. 1
That Old Time Religion
The http://ism.yale.edu/event/liturgy-symposium-paul-bradshaw has a Liturgy Symposium today, titled “The Changing Face of Early Christian Worship” and overseen by visiting professor of liturgical atudies Paul Bradshaw. 4:30 p.m. at the Institute of Sacred Music’s Great Hall, 409 Prospect St. (203) 432‑5062.
Tuesday, Dec. 2
The Renaissance In Harlem Falls Mainly In The Plain
By George, they think they’ve got it. George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (and its musical offshoot My Fair Lady) is all the rage these days. The new TV sitcom Selfie was inspired by the social dynamic between the main characters Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, switching the environment from early 20th-century London to modern-day America. Likewise, Lawrence Thelen’s play Higgins in Harlem makes Higgins and Doolittle African-American and sets them amid the Harlem Renaissance of the 1930s. Higgins in Harlem, which had its world premiere earlier this year at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford, gets a second Connecticut production this week thanks to the theater department at Southern Connecticut State University. The student-acted show, directed by faculty member Sheila Hickey Garvey, runs tonight through Dec. 7 in the school’s Kendall Drama Lab (on the SCSU campus, 501 Crescent St.), with 8 p.m. performances Tuesday through Saturday plus 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. $10, $5 non-SCSU students and SCSU staff, free for SCSU students.
Wednesday, Dec. 3
Sketchy
The Yale Center for British Art will close soon for a year of renovations. Right now, however, they’re chugging along with their usual heavy slate of lectures, concerts, and other activities. Today, Yale School of Music students perform chamber music in the YCBA’s library court at 12:30 p.m. Then there’s a 5:30 p.m. “Sketching in the Galleries” event led by Assistant Curator of Education Jaime Ursic. It’s just as it sounds — a guided opportunity to draw. Not only does the center provide the inspiration, it provides some of the drawing materials as well. 1080 Chapel St. (203) 432‑2800.
Winter, Sun and Night
The precious chamberpop Americana band Winterpills has been together for a decade, playing its quiet songs of grief and longing. Winterpills plays tonight for free at BAR (254 Crown St.), with the duo The Sun Parade (who like Winterpills hail from Northampton, Mass.) and the Australian-born, Hartford-based Ruby Nightingale opening. All three acts have been in the studio lately: the fifth full-length Winterpills album, the all-obscure covers affair Echolalia, was released last month, Sun Parade has a fresh EP, and Nightingale’s readying the release of her first full-length album.
Thursday, Dec. 4
Lighting the Green Tree
The annual tree lighting on New Haven Green (and simultaneous installation of that big menorah; Hanukkah begins Dec. 16 this year) is an hours-long community event. It invariably involves a carousel, mechanical animal rides, chances to write to Santa Claus and even meet the jolly guy himself, photo opportunities with fake pine trees, live music performances, live TV coverage, hot cider, carriage rides, and other seasonal merriments. Plus they light that huge freakin’ tree. It all happens between 4 & 8 p.m., with the actual tree-lighting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. It’s the unofficial kick-off of the local holiday shopping season, so head down Chapel Street following the tree lighting and stop into some small businesses who are honoring this illuminating evening with special deals, refreshments, or just plain good cheer.
From Llareggub to New Haven
Charles Dickens ain’t the only major literary figure we think of during the Christmas holiday season. Dylan Thomas wrote the classic A Child’s Christmas in Wales. A fellow Welshman, Bob Kingdom, devised a biographical theater based on Thomas, and got Sir Anthony Hopkins to direct it. Kingdom performs Dylan Thomas: Return Journey today at 6 p.m. in the Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St. (203) 432‑2800.
(Horace) Silver Bells
Face it, it’s winter. Educational Center for the Arts’ Winter Concert, 6:30 p.m. in the arts magnet school’s Arts Hall (55 Audubon St., 203 – 777-5451) comes complete with a snow date: tomorrow. The students will play classical compositions by Mendelssohn, Mozart, Handel (a little frozen “Water Music,” anyone?) plus some Horace Silver jazz. Suggested donation is $5, or $20 per “group.”
And Thinkin’ and Prayin’
They’ve made a movie out of novelist Wally Lamb’s Connecticut-set, Christmas-themed Wishin’ and Hopin’. Check out this cast: Molly RIngwald, Annabella Sciorra, Meat Loaf, Conchata Ferrell, Cheri Oteri, Chevy Chase! The film was written and produced by alumni of Southern Connecticut State University, so the school gets to hold an “exclusive theatrical screening” tonight at 7 p.m. in SCSU’s Lyman Hall with Lamb and producer Andrew Gernhard in attendance. $10, $5 children. A $25 “VIP experience” ticket gets you “premium seating,” an autographed copy of the book, and a “post-show meet-and-greet” with Wally Lamb. At Lyman Center, on the SCSU campus at 501 Crescent St. (203) 392‑6154.
Thinks It’s Interesting That “Cologne” Rhymes With “Alone”
Dry-witted Yale-educated stand-up comedian Demetri Martin returns to the Shubert tonight for an 8 p.m. show. 247 College St. (203) 562‑5666.
Friday, Dec. 5
Deputy Toad
Zach Deputy plays a lot of different instruments and enjoys a lot of different musical styles, from gospel to drum ’n’ bass. He enhances his eclectic original songs with bass loops and other samplings. Deputy hasn’t released an album since 2011, but tours constantly, from blues festivals to acoustic storytelling events. Tonight he deputizes Toad’s Place (300 York St., 203 – 624-TOAD). 9 p.m. $20, $17 in advance.
http://www.toadsplace.com
Defense of Jazz
(media_10}Jonathan Finlayson’s Sicilian Defense is a contemporary jazz quintet of guitar (Miles Okazaki), piano (David Virelles), drums (Damion Reid), bass and electronics (Keith Witty), with bandleader Finlayson blowing trumpet. Several of these musicians have played Firehouse 12 before, in combos led by Steve Lehman, Mary Halvorson, Tomas Fujiwara and Michael Gregory Jackson. They return tonight with their own fresh collective sound. Two sets, at 8:30 p.m,. ($20) and 10 p.m. ($15). 45 Crown St. (203) 785‑0468.
Saturday, Dec. 6
Art in the Family
Capping a wild week of talks and performances, the Yale Center for British Art (1080 Chapel St., 203 – 432-2800) holds a Family Day. It’s actually just a two-hour period, from 10 a.m. to noon, but it’s crammed with activities and artistic enlightenment for all ages.
Rocklen Blocks
Hull’s Art Supply (1144 Chapel St., 203 – 787-0072) is hosting a two-day workshop with printmaker Margot Rocklen, on the Japanese woodblocking craft mokuhanga and other examples of relief printing. To register and get details, contact Katya Vetrov at [email protected].
Scrooge Scholar
Publishing exec Carlo Devito is also an author, and an authority on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. He’s signing his new book Inventing Scrooge 2 p.m. at the Yale Barnes & Noble Bookstore (77 Broadway, 203 – 777-8440).
Winter Tango
’Tis the season for school shows and concerts. The Faculty Concert Series at Neighborhood Music School (100 Audubon St., 203 – 624-5189) offers a 7 p.m. Celebration of Flute and Guitar with Elaine Thomas tootling on the former and Neal Fitzpatrick strumming the latter. They’ll play tunes by Piazzola, Castelnuovo, and Domeniconi.
Bach to the Future
The Yale Camerata’s annual Advent Concert includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Vaughan Williams, Robert Kyr, and Christopher Marshall. That’s a span of several countries and several centuries (mostly 20th and 21st), covering a lot of classical bases. 7 p.m. at Yale’s Battle Chapel, corner of College and Elm streets. Free.
Sunday, Dec. 7
Adventurous Tunes
Bethesda Lutheran Church’s Advent Lessons and Carols concert, 4 p.m. this afternoon, features a choir, readings and instrumental music. 450 Whitney Ave. (203) 787‑2346.
