into pg 5 4-20-23
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Libbey Stearns (Baker’s Wife), Alex Zimmer (Jack), Anna Kate Werge (Milky White). Photo by Nicholas Magrey
‘Into the Woods’
coming April 21
PUTNAM — The Theatre of Northeastern Connecticut at the Bradley Playhouse will present Stephen Sondheim’s masterful Into the Woods. Sondheim turns the world of fairy tales topsy-turvy, reminding us that granted wishes often bring complications. The show opens April 21 and runs for three weekends.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 21, 22, 28, 29 and May 5, 6 and at 2 p.m. April 23, 30 and May 7. Tickets are $27 for adults and $24 for seniors, students, veterans and first responders. Please note: Into the Woods focuses on the original versions of our favorite fairy tales so some material may be too intense for younger audiences. Parental discretion is recommended.
Reservations may be made with a major credit card online at www.thebradleyplayhouse.org or by calling 860-928-7887.
Nicholas Magrey directs the TNECT production, with Diane Pollard as music director and Christine Guerin as choreographer. The show stars Natasha Darius as the Witch, Adam Leidemer as the Baker, with Libbey Stearns as the Baker’s Wife. Alex Zimmer plays Jack, with Krissi Forgues as his mother. Cinderella and her Prince are played by Elena Mercier and Nathan Conrow, who also appears as the Wolf. Elle-Jordyn Goslin and Tristan Arnold appear as Rapunzel and her Prince, with Joey Fortune as the precocious Little Red Riding Hood.
Into the Woods is a modern twist on the beloved fairy tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel tied together by a story involving a baker and his wife who wish to have a child. A sinister Witch, who is more than she seems, sets their journey in motion. In Into the Woods, we learn what happens after ‘happily ever after’ may not be all we bargained for.
The Music and Lyrics for Into the Woods were written by Stephen Sondheim, with James Lapine penning the Book. Sondheim, who died in 2021, is considered one of the most influential figures in 20th century musical theater and is credited with reinventing the American musical. His shows include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Sunday in the Park with George. Sondheim won an Academy Award, eight Tonys, eight Grammys, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Kennedy Center Honor, and Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Into the Woods opened on Broadway in 1987, starring Bernadette Peters as the Witch, and won three Tonys for Best Score, Best Book and Best Actress in a Musical for Joanna Gleason, who played the Baker’s Wife. All the plays on our 2023 season are also films, with Into the Woods being no exception. The film was released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2014. The cast included Meryl Streep as the Witch, James Corden as the Baker, Emily Blunt as the Baker’s Wife, Johnny Depp as the Wolf, and Christine Baranski as Cinderella’s Stepmother.
obit pg 6 4-20-23
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PUTNAM — Mary Grace (Scala) Jewell died peacefully Saturday, April 8, 2023, at Davis Place, Danielson. She was predeceased on May 25, 1987, by her husband, Norman F. Jewell, just four days before their 32nd wedding anniversary.
Mary was born May 14, 1927, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the daughter of the late Joseph and Margaret Scala. In addition to her parents and husband, Mary was predeceased by her brother Thomas Scala and his wife Anne, and her five sisters – Josephine Scala, Anna Scala, Anne (Scala) Favicchio and her husband Peter, Carmella (Scala) Sposato and her husband Natali, and Rose (Scala) Pizzuto and her husband John.
Mary spent her childhood and young adulthood in Brooklyn, N.Y., graduating with a business degree from the Girls’ Commercial High School in Brooklyn. She treasured her Brooklyn/Italian heritage. She was a proud supporter of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees, and she never tired of hearing Frank Sinatra’s song, “New York, New York.”
During Mary’s time working at the New York location of Belding Heminway, she established a friendship through teletype with Anne Riendeau, who at the time was working at the Putnam location of Belding Heminway. It was through Anne that Mary and Norman were introduced to each other, which lead to Mary and Norman’s romance and eventual marriage. Their home on Underwood Road in Putnam was their pride. It reflected Mary’s attention to detail and Norman’s skill in landscaping.
When Mary relocated from Brooklyn to Putnam, she first worked at the Putnam location of Belding-Heminway and then later spent many years working as a legal assistant to local attorneys. A number of years after Norman’s passing, she decided to retire in order to take trips with the Putnam Travelers Club and attend luncheon meals with the Putnam Senior Citizens. She often enjoyed watching daily Masses, making crossword puzzles, and listening to WINY radio. She loved the challenge of trying to answer “Jeopardy” questions.
She leaves nieces and nephews and their families, as well as special friends. She was especially appreciative of the attentive care given to her by Michael and Joanne Coderre. A Funeral Service was April 14 in Gilman Funeral Home and Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam with burial following in St. Mary Cemetery. Donations: PAWS Cat Shelter CT, 240 Route 171, Woodstock, CT 06281.
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boys pg 7 4-20-23
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Senior Jacob Jurnovoy (14) makes a move against the Enfield defense. Photo by Marc Allard.
Things were not looking so good at the beginning of the season.
The Woodstock Academy boys’ lacrosse team suffered a one-sided loss to East Lyme and then was nipped by Waterford to open the season.
Fortunately, things have changed.
Woodstock won its third in a row last Thursday with a 14-1 decision over Enfield.
“It’s a long season,” said Centaurs coach Jason Tata. “It’s resilience. These guys could have easily rolled over, died and quit on the season after a tough game at East Lyme and a tough game here against Waterford. But we bounced back.”
That rebound began with a 13-3 win over the Norwich Tech/Windham Tech co-op, followed by a 16-5 win over E.O. Smith and then the victory over the Eagles.
Senior Zach Gessner had a lot to do with the three victories.
Gessner plays the “X”, the quarterback of the team if you will, operating behind the opponent’s net on offense and he has been an integral part of the Centaurs’ resurgence.
He assisted on nine goals in the win over the Warriors, followed that up with a pair against the Panthers and had seven more in the latest win over the Eagles.
But it’s not all fun and games behind the opponent’s net.
“It’s difficult and you get hit a lot more I feel like because I’m working close to the net, but it allows me to set my teammates up. This year, being a senior, it allows me to facilitate to the best of my ability,” Gessner said.
He’s been doing his job pretty well.
“He’s settling in,” Tata said. “He’s picking up where he left off from last year. He’s the quarterback back there, sees everything, and takes advantage when the defense starts focusing on him. Defense starts to pinch down on him a little, they see him try to attack from X, what does he do? Instead of trying to force anything, he looks up, finds his teammates up at the top. Assists, goals, he doesn’t care, he just wants the point.”
Not that he can’t score. He proved that against the Eagles when he made a move from behind the net and earned his teammates’ admiration when he sent the ball into the net with a backhand shot behind his back.
“I was planning it for the first couple of quarters,” Gessner said. “I saw myself coming across the crease and I was kind of wide open when my teammates were good. I just thought ‘I’m already coming across the crease, if I just increase the angle, I can go behind the back.’”
Jacob Jurnovoy was the biggest recipient of Gessner’s largesse as the fellow senior scored four times against Enfield, three of them were assisted by Gessner.
Lucas Theriaque added three goals and an assist while Jared Nielsen had two goals and an assist.
“All of our goals were great (versus Enfield). It was 1-2-3, extra pass, easy goal. We’re moving the ball really well, it’s not a one guy show, spreading the ball around beautifully,” Tata said.
In part, that could be because the chemistry is starting to come together.
The veterans of the team, like Gessner, went out on the recruitment trail before the season.
“We have a mix,” the senior said. “I’ve been playing with some of the guys for three or four years but some are brand new. I’m pretty good friends with all of them because we recruited them. This was the first year that we had to make cuts in my time here at Woodstock. It allowed for a more competitive atmosphere.”
That competitive atmosphere has led to some better chemistry, not only in the front, but in the back
The defense has also played well for the Centaurs.
In the three-game win streak, Woodstock has allowed only nine goals while the Centaurs offense has produced 43 tallies.
“Our defense is playing out of its minds right now,” Tata said. “There is great chemistry between the guys back there. We’re shifting guys around every day. So (against Enfield Michael) Burns played close for us, (Jacob) Lizotte played up high and it worked out for us. It’s the chemistry. It’s (Evan) Roy being the leader back there, it’s all of them. We’re getting quality minutes across the board.”
Against E.O. Smith Gessner scored four times and did add a couple of assists in the win over the Panthers.
Nielsen had a first half hat trick and also added a pair of assists and Jurnovoy chipped in with a pair of goals and three assists.
Woodstock clung to a slim one goal lead at the end of the first quarter, raised it to a three-goal difference at the half and doubled that by the end of the third quarter. The Centaurs finished it up by outscoring their hosts, 6-1, in the final quarter.
Henry Wotton added two goals for Woodstock. But, like Tata said, it’s a long season and a three-game win streak goes only so far. Fortunately, his players realize that.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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putnam pg 7 4-20-23
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It has not taken long for the Putnam Science Academy baseball team – and program – to prove that it was for real.
There have been some real good wins through the first month of the season, and even the losses have shown that this first-year program is already here. But perhaps Saturday’s outcome – on the road at a multi-million-dollar facility against Austin Prep, the No. 2 team in Massachusetts – officially stamped its arrival.
Elian Torrez’s three-run moonshot of a home run highlighted a five-run first inning of Game 1, and Jacob Hines turned in a complete-game masterpiece in Game 2, sending PSA to an impressive doubleheader sweep with wins of 9-3 and 4-2, and a happy bus ride home.
“We’re confident going into each game because we know our potential as a team and how much work we all put in over the offseason,” said Hines, who allowed just two unearned runs in his seven innings. “We are so close of a group too, so we are playing for more than just ourselves. We also trust each other so when someone is down or having a bad day, we Muazibini Adamuare always going to have guys to pick them up.”
There wasn’t much to be down about Saturday. Omar Burgos hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, and Alberto Cantalini had a big at-bat to deliver the go-ahead run in the fifth to back Hines, who said there was plenty of pressure despite the Game 1 win.
“We beat them pretty good the first game and they definitely wanted to get us back, so we had to piece stuff together as a team to not let that happen,” he said. “Watching (Game 1 starter Harry Roy) pitch, I saw they were good hitters but couldn’t seem to get a big hit or string together a couple hits to score. So going into it, I knew if I never let them get into a groove or get hot, I would be fine.”
Roy was his typical bulldog self in the first game, giving up just three unearned runs as he pitched into the seventh before giving way to Enger Paulino, who slammed the door to seal the win. Roy again battled out of a couple jams, and again convinced coach Bob Hetu that he was good to keep going when Hetu checked on him the fifth (as he did the previous weekend against Winchendon).
PSA jumped Austin Prep’s starter in the first inning, setting the tone for the day. After a strikeout to start the game, six straight batters reached base. Ryan Hines singled, and Paulino was hit by a pitch ahead of an RBI single by Cantalini. Jesus Fermin followed with an RBI double, then scored when Torrez sent one deep over the centerfield fence for a 5-0 lead before the crowd had even settled in. Burgo then walked, and though he was eventually stranded, the damage had been done.
“I am so proud of this team,” Hetu said. “We’ve been on the road since March 20, we continue to grind on the road against elite prep baseball programs. We’re walking onto $2.5-million facilities and will battle with anyone.”
Cantalini finished the game with two hits, two walks, and two RBI. Fermin three hits and two RBI, and Torrez added an RBI single later in the game.
PSA, which suffered a walkoff loss Tuesday at Salisbury (another of those elite New England programs that Hetu referred to) and an 11-7 loss to Paramount Academy Wednesday, improved to 9-4.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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