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Arts & Entertainment

Poetry at Windsor Art Center; 'Shrek the Musical' in Hartford; Aztec Two-Step at Cheney Hall

Enrich your life, Feb. 10 – Feb. 16, 2011

Two award-winning poets read from their works in the season start-up of Poetry on the Line, a series presented by the Windsor Art Center in Windsor. The readings are coordinated by Rennie McQuilkin, co-founder of the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival held annually at Farmington's Hill-Stead Museum. Appearing Feb. 13 at the Windsor Art Center are Polly Brody and Brad Davis. Brody, a biologist, environmental activist and poet who resides in Southbury, is the author of four books including Other Nations, The Burning Bush, At the Flower's Lip, and Stirring Shadows. Davis, a professor and poet who lives in Pomfret, has been widely published in journals including the Paris Review, Poetry, andDoubleTake. Flutist Minta White, a graduate of the Hartt School of Music, will be on hand to play a musical interlude.

Starting time is 2 p.m. The event is followed by tea, conversation and book signing. Admission is free. The Windsor Art Center is at the corner of Central and Mechanic streets in Windsor. For more information, visitwww.windsorartcenter.org or email info@windsorartcenter.org.

Aztec Two-Step Anniversary Concert at Cheney Hall

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Guaranteed to warm the hearts and souls of longtime fans and lovers of folk rock is a 40th anniversary concert by Aztec Two-Step at Manchester's Cheney Hall. The beloved duo, made up of guitarists and songwriters Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman, has produced almost-hits including Baking, The Persecution and Restoration of Dan Moriarty (On the Road)" and Prisoner. The subject of a documentary called No Hit Wonder, Aztec Two-Step has appeared with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, and the Talking Heads. The duo's rich acoustic sound has been described by the Boston Globe as "James Taylor-meets-Simon & Garfunkel." 

The concert is Feb. 12. Concert time is 8 p.m. Tickets cost $30; $40 for VIP seating. For reservations and more information, visit www.cheneyhall.org or call 860-647-9824. Cheney Hall is at 177 Hartford Road, Manchester.

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The Ogre Hits Hartford

What's big and green and about to stomp across stage at Hartford's Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts? (Hint: He is usually pursued by a mouthy donkey.) Yes, it's that heroic tender-hearted ogre Shrek who headlines in the Broadway touring company of Shrek the Musical, which is making its Connecticut premiere this week. Based on the story and characters from William Steig’s book Shrek!, as well as the DreamWorks Animation film Shrek, the first chapter of the movie series, Shrek the Musical features a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire, music by Olivier Award-winner Jeanine Tesori, and is directed by Tony Award nominee Jason Moore and Tony and Emmy Award-winner Rob Ashford. Featured in the touring production are many veterans of the Broadway company. They include Eric Petersen as Shrek, and Haven Burton as Shrek's his lovely Princess Fiona. Also featured in the cast is Alan Mingo as Shrek's fast-talking pal Donkey.

Performances run from Feb. 15 through 20. Ticket prices start at $17. For reservations or more information, visit www.bushnell.org or call 860-987-5900. The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts is at 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford.

A Valentine From Mark Twain

If Adam and Eve had written diaries, what might they have said? Mark Twain asked himself the question, and the results are his touching and humorous accounts of life in Eden. On Feb. 12, veteran actors Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker, best known as the married law partners Ann Kelsey and Stuart Markowitz on TV's L.A. Law, appear in a one-time-only reading billed as The Diaries of Adam & Eve.

The event begins at 8 p.m. in the Museum Center with a champagne and chocolate reception to follow and a signing of Eikenberry and Tucker's latest books. Tickets cost $50; $40 members. To purchase, call 860-280-3130. The Mark Twain House & Museum is at 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford. For more information, visit www.marktwainhouse.org or call 860-247-0998.

High School Students Perform in Homeroom Musical

Homeroom is coming together again at West Hartford's Playhouse on Park. The musical presentation, now in its second year, features a group of real high school students performing in a musical about, what else?, high school. Adolescence can be a difficult, sometimes lonely time. Homeroom's students find that by sharing their feelings about relationships, academic success and failure, and the significance of secrets, lies and lockers, they have more in common than they imagined. The 90-minute show features 15 songs. It is directed by Dawn Loveland with musical direction by Colin Britt.

Homeroom runs from Feb. 11 through 20. Playhouse on Park is at 244 Park Road, West Hartford. For more information, visit www.playhouseonpark.org or call 860-523-5900 x10.

Jazz Vibesman Mike Freeman at Simsbury Library

Vibesman Mike Freeman has performed all over the world – from the United States to Europe, the Caribbean and South America. On Feb. 11, he performs at Simsbury Library as part of the free music series. Freeman, who leads two of his own groups, ZonaVibe and Vibe Caliente, also regularly performs and records with Ray Mantilla's Good Vibrations band, Lucho Cueto's salsa group Black Sugar, and Mark Holen's group Zambomba. Freeman's concerts blend originals and standards as he mixes salsa, Caribbean, African and Brazilian rhythms.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Concert time is 8 p.m. The Simsbury Public Library is at 725 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury. For more information, visitwww.simsburylibrary.info or call 860-658-7663.

Jazz Diva at Infinity Hall

Jane Monheit, the internationally celebrated young jazz vocalist, appears in a Feb. 12 concert at Infinity Hall in West Norfolk. With a voice and styling that has sometimes been compared to the legendary Sarah Vaughn, Monheit is a rarity. She recorded six albums, two of them Grammy nominated, before the age of thirty. She has collaborated with Michael Buble, John Pizzarelli, and Michael Feinstein, among others.

Concert time is 8 p.m. Ticket prices are $5 or $60. For reservations or more information, visit www.infinityhall.com or call 866-666-6306. Infinity Hall is at 20 Greenwoods Road, West Norfolk.

Long Wharf Hosts 'Studio School' for Kids

Got a budding thespian in the house, the kind who might be looking for his or her close-up during school break? New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre is offering a program of Studio School classes from Feb. 21 through 25. Designed for students from elementary school to high school, the classes range from an improv workshop to interpreting the language of William Shakespeare. “Any parent looking for a fun and creative activity for their students during that week away from school should check us out," says Annie DiMartino, the theater's director of education. "We’ll be expanding upon the series of classes we offered in the fall, though you did not need to take those classes to participate in our winter series.  Our classes are fun, safe and an easy way for students of all ages to explore and tap into their hidden acting talents.” 

Classes are limited to 10 students each. Cost is Between $150 and $195. For more information, call Corey Morrison at 203-772-8262 or visitwww.longwharf.org.

Mind Is the Matter

Thoughts, memory, health, science and more are all subjects for discussion when the Connecticut Forum presents The Glorious, Mysterious Brain. Panelists for the forum are: Temple Grandin, renowned autism advocate; Steven Pinker, Harvard professor and author of The Blank Slate and How the Mind Works; and Paul Bloom, Yale professor and cognitive scientist and author of How Pleasure Works. 

The event is Feb. 25. Starting time is 8 p.m. at Hartford's Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets cost $30 to $65. For tickets or more information, visitwww.ctforum.org or call 860-509-0909. The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts is at 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford.

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