Special Programs: Upcoming Community and Cultural Programs

The wait is almost over for the picture book that originally inspired William Joyce’s Academy Award-winning short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.  Bill Beckett talks with William Joyce about the release of the BOOK and a new iPhone and iPad AP for the book. A Book signing will take place tonight at 6:00 p.m.

Airs Monday, June 18 at 8:00 p.m.  This hour, we dive into the messy mystery in the middle of us. What's going on down there? We stick our hand in a cow stomach, get a window into our core through the story of a human science experiment, listen in on the surprising back-and-forth between our gut and our brain, and talk to a man who kind of went out of his mind when a medical procedure left him (for a little while) gutless.

Airs Monday, June 18 at 11:00 a.m.  The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival has a long history of bringing world-class music to the charming town of Norfolk, Connecticut. Ellen Battell, generous benefactor and wife of a man with family ties to Yale School of Music, left her estate to a private trust that ensures that it be used for Yale University’s summer music school. The festival has grown since its humble beginnings in the 1930s and now features 30 concerts in just nine weeks. True to its roots, the festival employs the best professional musicians and offers a chance for young musicians to learn and practice their craft.

Airs Saturday, June 16 at 12:00 noon. This spectacular new production marshals the choral and orchestral forces of our world-renowned company to present Show Boat in all its glory! Created in 1927, this seminal masterpiece gave American musical theater and opera a new voice — one with powerful subject matter, astonishing musical variety and an unmistakably American atmosphere. Moving from 1890s Mississippi to Chicago to “Roaring 20s” Broadway, Show Boat follows the lives of a company of theater folk — deeply involving us in their triumphs and sorrows, while illuminating the racial and social changes that were shaping the country. You’ll love every character: Julie, Joe, Queenie…and especially Magnolia and Ravenal. She’s an aspiring young actress; he’s an irresistible, gambling cad who leaves her when his luck runs out. But Magnolia moves on with her life — eventually becoming a major star. Unforgettable songs, dazzling choreography, and an epic story that moves us with its humanity — Show Boat is both great entertainment and great art.

Airs Sunday, June 17 at 10:00 a.m.
Join the renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir for a Celebration of Fathers with music including As the Dew from Heaven Distilling, Hallelujah, from Christ on the Mount of Olives, Home Is a Special Kind of Feeling, from The Wind in the Willows, He's Got the Whole World in His Hands, God Be with You 'Till We Meet Again, Gently Raise the Sacred Strain, Guide Us O Thou Great Jehovah, Awake and Arise, All Ye Children of Light, In the Learning of My Father, Sunrise, Sunset, from Fiddler on the Roof, and more.