Children's Shakespeare Theatre

Gala Features Italian Wine & Cheese;
Hopper Paintings Come to Life in Vignettes

It's a big week for the Children's Shakespeare Theatre in Palisades, New York, as the company heads for an Italian-flavored fund-raising gala on Thursday while its associated adult troupe, the Strange Bedfellows, heads into the mind of painter Edward Hopper at the Edward Hopper House in nearby Nyack o'er the weekend.

To celebrate—and help finance—a season devoted to William Shakespeare's Italian-set plays (at least in part), Diana Green, artistic director of the Children's Shakespeare Theatre (CST), will be hosting an Italian-themed wine and cheese tasting at the CST New Place in Orangeburg on October 26. Joe Printz of the Grape D'Vine in Sparkill and local gastronomy expert Jessica Kesselman will provide the wines and cheeses for a "delicious sensorial journey through the tastes of Italy," according to a company email flyer. "You will learn to distinguish different types of Italian cheeses and which wines to pair them with to impress your friends and captivate your lovers! And all the while you will be supporting some of the most brilliant and talented kids around."

All proceeds will go toward staging the company's 2017–2018 season featuring Julius Caesar in November, Antony and Cleopatra in January, The Merchant of Venice in March, Romeo and Juliet in April, and The Winter's Tale in May. Admission to the gala at CST New Place, 103 S. Greenbush Road, Orangeburg, New York, is $65 for individuals, $120 for a pair.

At the Hopper House, Green and other CST adult members under the guise of Strange Bedfellows will be staging a series of short scenes suggested by some of Hopper's paintings. The vignettes are original works by Green and Dan Hanchow that explore issues of domestic abuse and mental health, as audiences are guided through the Hopper House to view the scenes in different locations of the building. The event is co-sponsored by the Center for Safety and Change and the Rockland County Mental Health Association.

With limited viewership, the program will be conducted in three sittings: Friday, November 27, at 7 and 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, November 29, at 4 p.m. For more information, visit the Edward Hopper House website at www.edwardhopperhouse.org.

October 24, 2017

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