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A scene from “Kings of Pastry.”
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The Norfolk Library will screen the acclaimed documentary “Kings of Pastry” on Friday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. The film will be introduced by its producer, Salisbury resident Flora Lazar, who will also take part in a Q&A following the screening.
Directed by legendary documentarians D.A. Pennebaker (“Don’t Look Back,” “Monterey Pop”) and Chris Hegedus (“The War Room”), “Kings of Pastry” offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (Best Craftsmen of France) competition, a prestigious national award recognizing mastery across dozens of trades, from pastry to high technology. Pennebaker, who attended The Salisbury School, was a pioneer of cinéma vérité and received an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement.
Established in 1924 and overseen by the French Ministry of Labor, the competition challenges professionals to create a “masterpiece” that demonstrates skill, precision and artistry. Winners receive a lifelong title and medal, presented at a ceremony in Paris attended by the president of France.
In this documentary, 16 pastry chefs spend three grueling days in Lyon crafting delicate chocolates, towering sugar sculptures and exquisite pastries, all in pursuit of perfection — and the honor of being recognized by then-President Nicolas Sarkozy, as one of France’s best craftsmen. The filmmakers were granted exclusive access to capture this intense, emotional and visually stunning event.
Producer Flora Lazar came to filmmaking via an unexpected route. Trained as a historian and psychotherapist, she has had a lifelong love of French pastry, a passion she eventually pursued through formal training at a pastry school in Chicago.
“It was run like a military operation,” she recalled of the school. “You could eat off the floor. Everything had to be meticulous, precise.”
Lazar’s father, a first-generation Harvard graduate who grew up in the Borscht Belt, pushed his children toward high achievements in academia and “looked down on the trades,” Lazar admitted. “I loved French pastry my whole life,” she said. “But my dad wasn’t going to send me to pastry school.”
After her father’s passing — with her children grown and financial responsibilities eased — Lazar finally returned to that early passion.
At the pastry school in Chicago, Lazar met two chefs, one who had won and one competing for the Meilleurs Ouvriers title. Lazar set out to write an article about the competition and what it could mean for American education and industry.
Lazar, who knew Pennebaker and Hegedus from her years in New York, invited them to Chicago to meet the chefs. That meeting sparked the idea of “Kings of Pastry,” which was born.
For Lazar, though, the meaning has always been personal.
“The purpose of the film wasn’t just to show the high level of craftsmanship in French pastry but to illuminate a larger political, economic and educational issue.”
The screening will also serve as a promotion for the Norfolk Historical Society’s 11th Annual Cake Auction, to be held Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. Historical Society president Barry Webber will give a brief introduction to the auction before the film.
And yes, there will be cake.
Register for the event at norfolklibrary.org/events/documentary-
film-kings-of-pastry.
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Kevin May, left, and Mike Lynch of The Guggenheim Grotto.
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On Saturday, Nov. 15, the Stissing Center in Pine Plains will be host to the Hudson Valley premiere of the award-winning music documentary “Coming Home: The Guggenheim Grotto Back in Ireland.” The screening will be followed by an intimate acoustic set from Mick Lynch, one half of the beloved Irish folk duo The Guggenheim Grotto.
The film’s director, Will Chase, is an accomplished and recognizable actor with leading and supporting roles in “Law & Order,” “The Good Wife,” “Rescue Me,” “Nashville,” “The Deuce,” “Stranger Things” and “Dopesick.” After decades of acting on television and on Broadway, Chase decided to take the plunge into directing his own short films and documentaries.
In “Coming Home,” Chase follows one of his favorite bands, The Guggenheim Grotto, on a reunion tour in Ireland. Founding members Mick Lynch and Kevin May have not played together in more than a decade, and the reunion may also serve as a farewell tour for the band. The film captures not just the music, but the friendship and shared history between Lynch and May, set against the homeland that shaped their songs.
“I’m just a huge fan,” Chase said. “It’s a big 45-minute love letter to the guys. They really dive into why they didn’t make it as a band, whatever that means,” noting that many acclaimed musicians struggle to find mainstream recognition. “I look at them and they’re very successful. They were on television shows, they won some awards, but it also makes people go ‘Oh, right. There are other bands out there other than the ones that I just read about.’ There are all these wonderful artists that we don’t necessarily know about.”
Over the years, The Guggenheim Grotto earned major critical acclaim. Their 2005 debut album “Waltzing Alone” was hailed as “one of the most beautiful records of the year” by LA’s KCRW. An Independent Music Award followed in 2007 for best folk song/songwriting. The band grew quite popular in their native Ireland, but Lynch eventually moved to New York while May remained in Ireland. Though the band’s future seemed uncertain, there was always hope for a reunion of some kind.
Reflecting on his collaboration with the band, Chase said, “I was very fortunate and thanked them profusely for being so open and honest in the documentary. No one had done this with them before, and thank God they’re just affable, funny, great guys. They really love the piece. I think it touched them in very different ways.”
Immediately following the screening, Mick Lynch — one half of The Guggenheim Grotto and current Hudson Valley resident — will take the stage for an intimate acoustic set. The documentary, coupled with the live performance, offers a rare chance to see and hear what goes into the making of great music, art, and film.
Tickets are available at thestissingcenter.org
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Ulysses Quartet
Lara St. John
Music Mountain is partnering with Wethersfield Estate & Garden in Amenia to present the acclaimed Ulysses Quartet, joined by clarinetist and Music Mountain artistic director Oskar Espina Ruiz. The performances, on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15 and 16, will open Music Mountain’s Winter Concert Series — an extension of the beloved summer festival into the colder months and more intimate venues.
The program features Seth Grosshandler’s “Dances for String Quartet,” Thomas Adès’s “Alchymia for Clarinet Quintet,” and Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 44, No. 2. Adès’s 2021 composition draws inspiration from Elizabethan London. Each movement is “woven from four threads,” writes the composer with titles that refer to Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” John Dowland’s lute-song “Lachrymae,” variations on the playwright Frank Wedekind’s “Lautenlied” and more.
Praised for their “otherworldly magic” (The Millbrook Independent), the Ulysses Quartet brings a remarkable chemistry to the stage, one honed through years of international accolades and residencies. Espina Ruiz, known for his “tender warmth” and “rhapsodic ease” on clarinet, will join the quartet for Adès’s modern masterwork.
The Carriage House at Wethersfield, with its singular acoustics and historic charm, offers an ideal setting for this blend of heritage and innovation. A reception with the artists will follow each performance.
Tickets are available at wethersfield.org or by calling (845) 373-8037. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Performances at 3 p.m.
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Gabriel Sousa as Jack and Marilyn Olsen as Bridgit in “Death By Design.”
Photo provided
Take your seats in the spacious Nancy Marine Studio Theatre at the Warner Theatre in Torrington to be transported to a cozy 1930s English country manor house, the setting for “Death By Design,” a farcical murder mystery by playwright Rob Urbinati and presented by the resourceful volunteer-run Stage @ The Warner.
A pleasing amalgam of classic drawing room English comedy and Agatha Christie-style murder mystery — with sharp dialogue, eccentric characters, and suspenseful plot twists —the play keeps the audience guessing and laughing until the final curtain.
The premise involves playwright Edward Bennett and his actress wife, Sorel (played by Darrel Cookman and Christiane M. Olson), who withdraw to the country after a particularly disastrous evening. Unexpected guests arrive, much to the dismay of the couple and their staff, and a murder takes place. Their sassy, smart and resourceful Irish housekeeper, Bridgit (Marilyn Olsen), is determined to solve the mystery instead of just reading about them in novels.
Playwright Rob Urbinati has a clear love of his source material and his writing often out-Cowards Noël Coward with witty wordplay (Coward’s famous line from “Private Lives,” “Don’t quibble, Sibyl,” here becomes “Mustn’t quarrel, Sorel”) and other delightful turns of phrase and aperçus. Under Jonathan Zalaski’s able direction, the production’s game cast dives gleefully into their over-the-top characters, including, in addition to those previously mentioned, an inquisitive chauffeur (Gabriel Sousa); a conservative politician (David Macharelli); a bohemian, free-spirited artist (Adriana Medina); a high-strung revolutionary (Ron St. John III); and a nearsighted ingénue (Zazzy Cores).
The creative team includes David Verdosci (set designer), Renee Purdy (costume designer), Chris Lubik (lighting designer), Nicole D’Amico (props master), Alyssa Archambault (production stage manager), Kyla Madore (assistant stage manager), Charlene Speyerer (production manager), Lee Evans (technical director), Marrianne Parks (choreography), Tracy Liz Miller (intimacy coach), Chet Ostroski (fight coordinator), and Melissa “PK” Tonning-Kollwitz (dialect coach).
The cast’s enthusiasm and the play’s inherent wit provide ample laughs and intrigue to keep the audience amused, engaged and guessing until the end. Though not a play, as one character puts it, of “social significance,” “Death By Design” definitely sets its sights, as another character says, on “cocktail and caviar.” It makes for a fun evening of murderous mayhem.
“Death By Design” runs through Nov. 16th, with an ASL-interpreted performance at 2 p.m. on Nov. 16.
Stage @ The Warner is a community theatre program with over 800 volunteers producing Broadway-style shows at the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre, 84 Main St., Torrington. Founded by Jim Fritch and Neil Pagano, the company makes quality theater accessible at reasonable prices. Stage @ The Warner inspires local performers while enriching the community through exceptional theatrical experiences.
Running time for “Death By Design”: Two hours, including a 15-minute intermission. For tickets, go to warnertheatre.org.
Richard Feiner and Annette Stover have worked and taught in the arts, communications, and philanthropy in Berlin, Paris, Tokyo, and New York. Passionate supporters of the arts, they live in Salisbury and Greenwich Village.
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