Arts & Entertainment
Woodland Theatre presents ‘Little Shop of Horrors’
BEACON FALLS — Woodland Regional High School’s theatre company hopes to scare up some laughs with its latest production. The theatre is putting on three performances of “Little Shop of Horrors,” by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, next weekend. The play is a dark comedy about a florist’s assistant that helps grow... »
Ripping up the runway
NAUGATUCK — When it comes to the runway, Naugatuck High School knows how to rip it up. More than 100 students and faculty from the school took to the stage in the Davis Auditorium for the NHS DECA Club’s 4th Annual Rip the Runway Fashion Show March 14. DECA is an international association of... »
Phoenix Stage Company presents ‘Kill Me Deadly’
NAUGATUCK — Phoenix Stage Company will present seven performances of “Kill Me Deadly” by Bill Robens beginning Saturday. The play follows the character of Charlie Nickels, a gumshoe in the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles as he investigates the murder of a client and the theft of her 300 karat diamond. This detective noir... »
Borough man to lead St. Patrick’s Day parade
WATERBURY — One day, while helping his father fix televisions and radios, a young John MacDonald picked up his dad’s handmade soldering iron and began using it like a pen to burn a picture into some scrap wood. And just like that, he realized a talent he had never known he had. “He let... »
Model wants to show beauty comes in all sizes
NAUGATUCK — Jenise Durant wants America to see her beauty and confidence as a full figured model and beauty pageant winner. Durant, 26 of Naugatuck, won the title of Miss Northeast Full Figured at the Miss Northeast Pageant & Expo on Dec. 1. The pageant, held at the Sheraton Hartford Hotel, was not only... »
Journal writings become tale of hope
BEACON FALLS — What started out as one woman’s journal to help deal with the emotions of multiple miscarriages is now a published book. In October Ann Pasko, a Beacon Falls resident for the past 38 years, self published “Against All Odds,” a book that documented her eight miscarriages between 1979 and 1986 and... »
A midsummer night in December
BEACON FALLS — Woodland Regional High School actors will transport the audience from the holiday season to a midsummer’s night. Woodland Theatre will present William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for two shows next weekend. “I chose it because I knew it had a lot of diverse roles, and it’s a classic,” said fine... »
Naugatuck native doesn’t let disease stand in his way
On the first glance, it’s not apparent Joseph Torello suffers from an unusual disease that affects the nerves that stimulate movement. That’s critical for Torello, a 31-year-old dancer, actor and vocalist who was born in Waterbury and raised in Naugatuck. Torello dove into community theater around the same time he received his diagnosis. He... »
Beacon Falls artist’s work rolling into museum
BEACON FALLS — From Archie Comics to classic cars, one Beacon Falls resident has drawn it all. Joseph Pepitone has been interested in cars since he was a young boy. “There was a television show called Eliot Ness and the Untouchables on about 1959. There were these old gangster cars, and I always loved... »
Metal band with borough guitarist wins award
NAUGATUCK — Winning awards one day. Touring another day. Dead by Wednesday. Dead by Wednesday, a heavy metal band based out of New Haven, has won the first Connecticut Music Award for Best Heavy Metal Band. For Naugatuck native and guitarist Ross Ragusa, the award is a step in the right direction for the... »






