'The Scarlet Letter,' Open Cockpit Sunday, Almost Spring Concert and 'Shoah'

New Adaptation of Scarlet Letter at Playhouse

The regional premiere of a new adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic The Scarlet Letter continues in performances at West Hartford's . Set in colonial Massachusetts in the mid-17th century, this tale of adultery, guilt, and revenge is directed by Stuart Vaughan, a Tony Award winner, former artistic director of New York's Shakespeare Festival, and founder of the New Globe Theatre, Inc. Vaughan and three of the show's actors produced this adaptation of The Scarlet Letter to favorable reviews Off-Broadway in 2007. 

Remaining performance dates at Playhouse on Park are March 17 through 20. For tickets and more information, visit www.playhouseonpark.org or call 860-523-5900. Playhouse on Park is at 244 Park Road, West Hartford. 

Theodate's Friends and Colleagues Reinhabit the Hill-Stead

Meet some of the women who were friends and colleagues of Theodate Pope Riddle when Farmington's Hill-Stead Museum presents The Women of Theodate's Circle, part of the series of spring evening theme tours. Costumed interpreters appear as the artist Mary Cassatt, photographer Gertrude Kasebier, and landscape architect Beatrix Farrand, among others.

The event is March 18. The hour-long tours begin every half-hour starting at 5 p.m. The final tour at 6:30 p.m. includes a glass of champagne. Admission costs $12; $6 members. Reservations are required. Phone 860-677-4787 ext. 140. The Hill-Stead is at 35 Mountain Road, Farmington. For more information, visit www.hillstead.org or call 860-677-4787.

Simsbury's Almost Spring Concert

The days are longer and a bit warmer. The snow is almost melted. And the first green shoots are stretching their way toward the sun. The Simsbury Community Band celebrates the arrival of the new season with the Almost Spring Concert on March 20. Music director Ertan Sener conducts.

The concert begins at 2 p.m. at the Covenant Presbyterian Church, 124 Old Farms Road, Simsbury. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.simsburyband.org or call 860-658-9772.

Open Cockpit Sunday at New England Air Museum

Ever wondered what it was like to pilot a World War II-era airplane? Or to fly a helicopter, a DC-3 airliner, or a F-100 Super Sabre? On March 20, you can sit behind the controls or experience simulated flight at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks. The museum's Open Cockpit Sundays allow visitors to climb into the pilot's seat of up to 12 vintage aircraft, a full-motion flight simulator, and two static flight simulators. Aircraft included in the adventure include the famous Vought Corsair of World War II, the North American F-100 Super Sabre, a DC-3 airliner, several helicopters, and more.

Open cockpit hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.neam.org or call 860-623-3305. The New England Air Museum is at 36 Perimeter Road, Windsor Locks.

Focus and Fidelity at Windsor Art Center

Yale graduates and New York artists Beth Livensperger and Andy Lane are both interested in producing images that are cropped, blurred, or fragmented, and which mimic the distracted, confused way we sometimes take in the world. Recent paintings by both artists are on view as part of Focus and Fidelity, a new exhibition that opens March 19 at the Windsor Art Center. Lane works primarily in oil on canvas as well as ink drawing and prints. Livensperger uses oil and gouache.

Focus and Fidelity runs through April 30. An opening reception is March 19 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a members-only preview at 4:30 p.m. The Windsor Art Center is at the corner of Central and Mechanic streets in Windsor. For more information, visit www.windsorartcenter.org or email info@windsorartcenter.org. 

Life as They Know It

Two single adults (Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel) are about as opposite as two people can be, but in Hollywood, that means circumstances shall shortly (and probably forever) bring them together. Director Greg Berlanti's 2010 romantic comedy finds our opposites  forcibly united by a tragedy that kills off their mutual best friends and leaves behind one adorable orphaned toddler who needs parenting. Life As We Know It is this week's free movie offering at the Kent Memorial Library in Suffield. 

Grab a cushioned chair on March 18 at 2 p.m. The film is rated PG-13. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Kent Memorial Library is at 50 North Main St., Suffield. For more information, visit www.suffield-library.org or call 860-668-3896.

Maestro Kuan Debuts as HSO Music Director

Hartford Symphony Orchestra's music director designate Carolyn Kuan leads her first concert as an official member of the band. The event features a program inspired by Kuan's first visit to the city and, in particular, to Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum. “I have selected works for my debut concert that show how music and art inspire, engage, and connect this wonderful community,” she says. Featured in the program is Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, John Adams’ The Chairman Dances, and Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4, as performed by the HSO’s Principal French horn player, Barbara Hill. Kuan is increasingly recognized as one of the most exciting, innovative and outstanding conductors of her generation.

Concerts are March 17 at 7:30 p.m., March 18 and 19 at 8 p.m., and March 20 at 3 p.m. at the Belding Theater in the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. Maestro Kuan leads a pre-concert chat one hour prior to each concert. Tickets range in price from $30 to $65. Student tickets are $10. (Prices do not include applicable fees.) To purchase tickets or for more information, visitwww.hartfordsymphony.org or call (860) 244-2999.

Shoah at Cinestudio

In 1985, Claude Lanzmann's 9 1/2-hour Holocaust documentary Shoah was hailed as an instant classic. None other than Marcel Ophuls, director of The Sorrow and the Pity, called the film "the greatest documentary on contemporary history ever released, bar none, and by far the greatest film I've ever seen about the Holocaust." Shoah was filmed in 14 countries over the course of 11 years, it preserves for all time the eyewitness accounts of survivors, perpetrators, and bystanders.   

This week, Hartford's Cinestudio presents the 25th anniversary re-release of the film. It will be screened in four parts, allowing viewers to attend separate viewings or one marathon session.

Cinestudio is on the campus of Trinity College, 300 Summit St., Hartford. For more information, visit www.cinestudio.org or call 860-297-2463.

Miller-Keller, Film Celebrate LeWitt

On March 17, Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum presents a rare and special treat for art lovers. The work and life of native son Sol LeWitt will be explored first by Andrea Miller-Keller, who is widely regarded as the artist's foremost interpreter,in a guided gallery tour. This is followed by a screening of Ed Howard's film Sol LeWitt: Wall Drawings.

The guided gallery tour begins at 5:30 p.m. with the screening to follow. Howard will introduce his film. The film is screened again on March 19 at 7:30 p.m., and March 20 at 2 p.m. Admission, which includes the tour and the movie on the 17th, costs $9 adults, $8 seniors and students; $7 members; and $3.50 for Atheneum Film Buffs. (Admission cost for the film only on March 19 and 20 was not available at press time.) The Wadsworth Atheneum is at 600 Main St., Hartford. For more information, visit www.wadsworthatheneum.org or call 860-278-2670.