Bradley pg 7 5-28-15
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caption:
Man Who Came to Dinner
The Bradley Playhouse will present “The Man Who Came to Dinner” starting June 5. Pictured at rehearsal are: Cherie Bonnardi (Sarah), Jim Douglas (Whiteside), Bonnie Theriault (Miss Preen), Diane Pollard (Mrs. Stanley). Courtesy photo.
PUTNAM — The Theatre of Northeastern Connecticut at the Bradley Playhouse will present the great American classic comedy “The Man Who Came to Dinner” by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. The show opens June 5th and runs for three weekends.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. June 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20 and at 2 p.m. June 7, 14 and 21. Tickets are $19 for adults and $15 for seniors and students. The Bradley Playhouse is located at 30 Front Street (Route 44) in Putnam, CT. All seats are reserved. Reservations may be made with a major credit card online at www.thebradleyplayhouse.org or by calling 860-928-7887. Tickets may be purchased at the theater box office, either before the performance or at the door. As always, purchasing your tickets ahead of time is recommended.
The Man Who Came to Dinner, Sheridan Whiteside, is a famous radio personality who, having dined at the home of the Stanley’s in Ohio, slips on their doorstep and breaks his hip. A tumultuous six weeks of confinement follows, during which he monopolizes their home, receives strange gifts from his friends and meddles in the Stanley’s lives. When his secretary, Maggie, falls in love with Bert Jefferson, a local newspaperman, Whiteside will do anything to prevent her from leaving him. The plot thickens when his Hollywood friends arrive – movie star Lorraine Sheldon and lovable characters Beverly Carlton and Banjo.
The TNECT production of The Man Who Came to Dinner is directed by Kathleen Atwood, who is assisted by Robin Lofquist. Jim Douglas appears as the overbearing Sheridan Whiteside and Olivia Hussey is his secretary Maggie. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, his long-suffering hosts, are played by Thomas Moody and Diane Pollard. Local reporter Bert Jefferson is portrayed by Derek Broszeit and Nicole Fitzpatrick plays movie star Lorraine Sheldon. Other visitors from Hollywood are Beverly Carlton played by Nicholas Magrey and Banjo acted by Roy Simmons. Jimmy Weigel and Bonnie Theriault are the medical staff, Dr. Bradley and Nurse Preen.
The Man Who Came to Dinner opened in 1937 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City and ran until 1941. A film version came out in 1942 and featured Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monte Woolley and Jimmy Durante. In 1949, CBS Radio’s “The Hotpoint Holiday Hour” presented an adaptation starring Charles Boyer, Jack Benny, Gene Kelly, Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Rosalind Russell. The 1972 TV version appeared on “Hallmark Hall of Fame” and featured Orson Welles (Whiteside), Lee Remick (Maggie), Joan Collins (Lorraine), Don Knotts (Dr. Bradley) and Marty Feldman (Banjo). There was a 2000 Broadway revival with Nathan Lane as Whiteside and Jean Smart as Lorraine.
Groundbreaking pg 7 5-28-15
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Groundbreaking
Town and school officials broke ground officially for the renovated as new Putnam High School. The project should be finished in about a year. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Beckett.
Obituaries pg 8 5-28-15
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Carol A. Houle
PUTNAM — Carol A. Houle, 63, of Ballou St., died May 20, 2015, at home. Born in 1952 in Putnam, she was the daughter of Marie Houle.
Ms. Houle earned her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Connecticut State University. She worked for the Medical Center of N.E.C.T. in Dayville, and then went on to work in the accounting department for Kochek Co. in Putnam. She enjoyed the outdoors, reading and especially loved her pets. She donated to a number of animal rights causes.
In addition to her mother, she leaves her son, Grant Houle of Putnam; her longtime friend, Alfred Green of Eastford; and many cousins.
Services are private. Donations: Deary Memorial Cancer Fund, P.O. Box 632, Putnam, CT 06260. Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church St., Putnam.
Nancy A. Brien
DANIELSON — Nancy A. Brien, 71, of Danielson, died May 18, 2015, at the William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich.
She was born Feb. 14, 1944, in Putnam, daughter of the late Joseph and Irene (Chabot) Thompson. She married the love of her life Raymond J. Brien on Dec. 29, 1978.
She worked for Anchor Glass Container in Dayville.
She leaves her husband Raymond J. Brien of Danielson. Services will be private. Gagnon and Costello Funeral Home, 33 Reynolds St., Danielson.
Robert J. Thomas,
war veteran
QUINEBAUG — Robert J Thomas, 82, died May 21, 2015, at UMass -University Campus of Worcester after a period of declining health .
Robert was born in Worcester to Irene (Thomas) Halpin.
He attended Worcester Boys Trade School, then joined the U.S. Navy at age 17 for 23 years of service to his country. He served during the Korean Conflict and during the Vietnam war aboard air craft carriers , mine sweepers and supply ships. He retired as a Senior Chief Petty Officer in 1973.
He then worked at home centers at Sawyers in Oxford and Moore Lumber of Webster for 30 years. Bob loved to travel especially to Florida. He enjoyed watching the Red Sox ,Patriots and NASCAR races. Robert was a member of Fleet Reserve Association and American Legion Post 58 in Oxford.
Bob leaves his wife Connie of 34 years; stepchildren Douglas Baird (Amy) of Bradenton, Fla., Diana Fishwick (Tom) of Dudley; grandchildren Kelsey Ryan (Nick), Jacob Baird of Bradenton, and Tommy and Kyle Fishwick of Auburn.
He was predeceased by his son, Stephen; his sister Marilyn Luks and his mother Irene Harpin.
A Mass of Christian Burial was May 26 at St. Stephen’s Church, Quinebaug, with burial in St. Joseph Garden of Peace Cemetery, Webster with full military honors. Bartel Funeral Home & Chapel, Dudley.
Viola Therrien
WEBSTER — Viola R. (Champany) Therrien, 90, died May 18, 2015, at the Lanessa Extended Care.
Viola was born Feb. 15, 1925, in E. Bethel, Vt., daughter to the late Alfred and Ella (Corliss) Champany.
She leaves two sons: Albert P. Therrien of Barre, Vt., and Myrton A. Therrien of Brookfield, Vt.; two daughters: Sharon Harris, and Loretta R. Chenevert of Webster; four sisters: Edith O’Brien of Claremont, N.H., Marguerite Kapitulik of N. Grosvenordale, and Evelyn Capen of Webster and Leona Sumner of Thompson; a daughter Theresa Piette (Robert) of Las Vegas; grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband Arthur P. Therrien; a brother Merton Champany and two sisters: Sharon Harris and Loretta Chenevert.
A Celebration of her Life was May 22 at Shaw-Majercik Funeral Home, Webster. Burial will be private in Corbin Cemetery. Donations: American Heart Association.
Ross Service
Margaret Ellen Ross, Esq., 50, of Somerville, died April 9, 2015.
She was the daughter of Irene Ross of Woodstock, and the late John M. Ross.
A Memorial Service for Margaret’s family and friends will be at 3 p.m. May 31 in the First Parish Unitarian Universalist of Arlington, 630 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington, MA. Donations: Judge Ireland Fund c/o Melissa Coury, 10 Hawthorne Road, Londonderry, NH 03053. Smith & Walker Funeral Home, 148 Grove St., Putnam.
Demarest Service
EASTFORD — Doris Demarest, 87, of Eastford, died Feb. 11, 2015. A memorial service in her honor will be held at 2 p.m. May 30 in the South Woodstock Baptist Church, 23 Roseland Park Road, in Woodstock.
Tourtellotte pg 8 5-28-15
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Tourtellotte
Hall of Famer
Chandler dies
unexpectedly
By Ron P. Coderre
Alan Chandler, the former Tourtellotte Memorial High School basketball standout, died unexpectedly March 29, 2015 while visiting family in Fairfield. Chandler was a resident of Herkimer, N.Y., where he pursued a farming career.
Chandler was raised in North Grosvenordale, where like so many of the athletes of his time, he worked on the family farm whenever he wasn’t on the basketball court. Scaling in at six-foot, five inches, Chandler led many vaunted Tourtellotte teams to success in the days of the Quinebaug Valley Conference.
During Chandler’s four years on the Tourtellotte campus he led the Tigers to the QVC championship in his senior year 1965. As a sophomore and junior the Tigers made it to the QVC semifinals. He was also a noted cross country runner. He was the captain of the Tiger harriers in his senior year when they captured the QVC x-country title.
Upon his graduation from Tourtellotte, Chandler moved on to Eastern Connecticut State University where he starred on the hardwood for the Warriors. He continues as one of the top five scorers in the school’s history. But it was his rebounding prowess that’s what made him standout on the court. He holds down the second spot at ECSU for rebound average per game with 17.6, which he set in 1968. He also holds the single game rebound record with 40 in a January 12, 1967 contest.
Although he earned a bachelor’s degree in education and taught social studies for a couple years, his early years on the farm kept calling him, the reason he moved to upstate New York. Chandler also possessed a strong love of family and especially enjoyed attending his grandchildren’s sporting activities.
There was a stretch in the history of Tourtellotte basketball, when it seemed the Tigers always possessed the best big men in the area. The man who set the standard for those great frontcourt performers was Alan Chandler. He was a giant among giants.
The memories of his exploits at Tourtellotte and Eastern Connecticut State University will live on whenever basketball stories are traded in our corner of the state. In death as in life, the giant Alan Chandler will always be remembered as bigger than life, as he was on the basketball court.