PINE PLAINS — While the Pine Plains Wrestling Team is usually found refining their techniques in the library’s basement, they moved upstairs to the Community Room above the Pine Plains Free Library to host a Holiday Movie Night for the community on Saturday, Dec. 4.
The doors to the Community Room opened at 4:30 p.m., welcoming local children clad in their coziest pajamas.
Priced at just $5 per person, tickets included popcorn, cookies and a drink. By 5 p.m., the children who showed up to watch the classic holiday story of “The Polar Express” unfold were finally settled in, their eyes glued to the big screen.
The Community Room was filled with excited students, mostly from the Pine Plains Central School District, who sat among their friends and nibbled on their snacks, ready to watch one of their favorite movies of the winter season while supporting those on the town’s wrestling team raise some much-needed funds to compete during the year.
— Kaitlin Lyle
Graham Corrigan
Jorma Taccone, left, takes part in a Q&A before a screening of "Hot Rod" at Four Brothers Drive-In in Amenia on Aug. 31, 2023.
AMENIA — Four Brothers Drive-In will host a screening of the new dark comedy Over Your Dead Body on Thursday, Aug. 6, with director Jorma Taccone on hand for a pre-screening Q&A as part of a partnership with the Boondocks Film Society.
The film stars Samara Weaving and Jason Segel as a married couple. Each is secretly plotting to kill the other. Taccone, a North Canaan resident and founding member of the comedy troupe The Lonely Island, will discuss the film before the screening.
The event marks the third time Taccone has screened one of his films at Four Brothers, following presentations of Hot Rod and MacGruber. He first discovered the drive-in while passing through Amenia and later reached out to its owners about hosting a screening.
"The Four Brothers Drive-In is a delight on every level,” said Taccone. “I had never been to a drive-in movie theater before attending the screening of Hot Rod at Four Brothers. I will forever pat myself on the back for forcing John and Boondocks Film Society to play the movie there.”
Drive-in movie theaters like Four Brothers are a return to better days when people gathered together to celebrate life, community, art, and miniature golf. I'm a big fan.”
Jeff Palfini, a Boondocks co-founder alongside Cindy Heslin, says the Drive-In has been a perfect partner. Boondocks has hosted 15 events there, by Palfini’s count.
“It’s a well-oiled machine,” Palfini said. “And our audience loves it. They’re always asking when we’re going to do another movie at the Drive-In.”
In their nine years of operation, Boondocks Film Society has become a pillar of the local film community. Screenings have moved beyond the Northwest Corner into the Hudson Valley area, and programming has expanded to include premieres and Q&As, like the Over Your Dead Body event next week in Amenia.
Palfini said the film feels particularly well-matched to its venue. It’s set in the woods and “jump scares and a drive-in go hand-in-hand.”
But it all started in North Canaan.
Palfini said the re-opening of the Colonial Theatre in 2017 inspired their first screening — a little-known '90s film starring Johnny Depp, Faye Dunaway, and Jerry Lewis called Arizona Dream. “We decided early on that the way to get people out was to have the events be in a variety of places,” Palfini said. “Sometimes theatrical settings, and sometimes very non-traditional settings.”
Boondocks has emphasized that uniqueness by finding local food partners to create custom menus that referenced the films. The same goes for the playlists that welcome attendees — the music references the source material in a way that beckons audiences to a deeper understanding of the film.
Thus far, it’s been working. Palfini and his team aren’t looking to change things, despite the recent news that the Colonial Theatre is on the market. Palfini helps to manage the theater, but he says one of Boondocks strengths is their ability to be mobile. “Over the years, I think we made a smart decision in terms of the sustainability of this thing by making it a pop-up. It removes almost all of the financial pressure.”
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D.H. Callahan
Bernie Williams and his Band of Friends at Millbrook Winery in 2025.
Throughout the history of Major League Baseball, precious few greats have been considered five-tool players. New York Yankee Bernie Williams was one of them.
To be considered a five tool player, one must show exceptional proficiency in five categories: hitting for average, hitting for power, running bases, fielding and arm strength. But there’s another tool Williams possesses that didn’t make it to the back of his baseball card: his mastery of jazz guitar.
On Aug. 1 at Millbrook Winery, that elusive sixth tool will take center stage as Williams and his Band of Friends return to the Vineyard for a night of jazz, wine and possibly a baseball reference or two.
Williams is best known for his legendary career with the Yankees. During his 15 years with the Bronx Bombers, he won four World Series championships, four Gold Glove awards and one Silver Slugger award in 1998, the same year he won the American League batting title, making him the first player in history to win a Gold Glove, a batting title and a World Series in the same year. Oh yeah, he was also an MLB All-Star every year between 1997 through 2001.
But while his work on the field is well known to New Yorkers and the broader baseball world, he almost took the musical route through life.
Williams first picked up a guitar when he was just 8 years old and was immediately taken by the magic of music. He was so passionate about it that he attended a performing arts high school in his hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico. By the time he made it to the big leagues, he was known as the guy with the guitar in the locker room.
That reputation soon reached the Yankees’ fan base, with commentators telling stories of Williams and his outfield teammate Paul O’Neill’s jam sessions. O’Neill set up a drum kit in a paint room at the old Yankee Stadium, and the two would play together through rain delays, sometimes getting visits from New York City’s musical greats while they waited to play ball. MSG Network, which aired Yankees games at the time, even ran a promotional ad featuring the two World Series champions jamming together on a blues riff in their batting practice uniforms.
But unlike O’Neill, whose drumming is a hobby at best, Williams is a serious musician. During an appearance with Paul Simon at a charity event, Simon surprised Williams and his band by playing “Mrs. Robinson,” a song they didn’t know and hadn’t practiced. But just a few lines in, Williams was taking solos and riffing on Simon’s choruses with expert musicianship.
While Williams’ music is the main draw for the event on Saturday, the relationship between the All-Star and the winery goes beyond the performance. The collaboration started in 2021, when Williams visited the vineyards and instantly connected with then-general manager Ian Bearup, bonding over baseball, music and wine. They quickly decided to team up and create a custom variety they call Bernie’s Blend. This year’s bottle, featuring art from Williams’ daughter, Beatriz, is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc and will be released at the performance on Saturday night.
While the VIP ticket levels are all sold out, as of press time, bring-your-own-lawn chair spots are still available. The wine will be available at the vineyard and online throughout the year at millbrookwine.com.
Jennifer Almquist
A brass quintet at the Yale Music Shed at Weekend in Norfolk 2025.
Norfolk bursts with activity in midsummer with Weekend in Norfolk (WIN). An all-volunteer committee transforms the town with free public events for all ages. WIN 2026 begins Thursday, July 30, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 2.
Norfolk sculptor Jon Riedeman, the new head of Norfolk Artists and Friends (NAF), organized the group’s 19th annual art exhibition, featuring paintings, sculpture, photography and jewelry by area artists in the Art Barn on the grounds of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Riedeman expanded the show this year by inviting artists from New Marlborough, Massachusetts, to participate. The exhibit opens with a reception Thursday, July 30, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Music fills the air throughout the weekend. On Thursday night, take in the Emerging Artists Series concert from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Music Shed, featuring the next generation of professional chamber musicians presented by the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Then enjoy Friday Night on the Green, a welcoming party with live performances and free food.
The Bistro at Infinity Music Hall is extending its hours from noon to 9 p.m. throughout Weekend, with live music during the day. Don’t miss the Yale Brass Quintet performing in front of the historic 1833 Opera House. In addition, Norbrook Brewery will host a tap takeover featuring its celebrated local brews.
The Sidewalk Sunday Street Fair fills Station Place and Robertson Plaza with local artists, authors and craftspeople selling directly to visitors. Open Studios invites the public into working galleries and private studios for live demonstrations and artist meet-and-greets. Food trucks will also be available at the street fair.
Guided and self-guided tours showcase Norfolk’s historic estates and Victorian homes, while Tiffany stained-glass tours let visitors view Louis Comfort Tiffany windows in local chapels. The Village Green hosts public weddings and vow renewals as part of the festival.
Choose from five garden tours offered Sunday, Aug. 2, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Outdoors, guided nature walks explore Barbour Woods, with birding treks for wildlife lovers. Great Mountain Forest opens its 90-year-old weather station to the public, and workshops cover fly-fishing and pollinator gardening.
Food traditions include a Blueberry Betty social and an old-fashioned ice cream social. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the IceBox Cafe is offering 50 cents off its signature freshly brewed iced chai. On Saturday, the cafe will serve buttermilk pancakes all day, complete with Great Mountain Forest syrup.
Kids’ programming features movie screenings, yoga on the grass and art workshops.
Visitors can begin their adventure at The Hub, 2 Station Place, where volunteer “WINbassadors” will hand out maps and schedules. Full event details and ticket information are available at weekendinnorfolk.org.
Jack Sheedy
Jen Gleason stood on the stage of The Gary-The Olivia Theater and gestured toward the upstage wall—which wasn’t there. Like the so-called fourth wall separating audience from actors, all walls in this theater are invisible.
“That’s just God’s creation,” Gleason said, pointing to woods and rocks and grass and sky where you might expect a brick wall. “You cannot copy that. That’s the best backdrop you could possibly have.”
Gleason is directing “Babette’s Feast,” the first play to be performed publicly in the covered, open-air theater on the grounds of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut since “Godspell” in 2019. While the curtains closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, theater staff took advantage of the closure to make necessary repairs funded by donations.
Paul Murray, who co-produced “Babette’s Feast” with Sarah Robards, said, “We put up wings on either side, which are more or less permanent, and they allow the openness. From the audience, you see the woods side to side.”
The theater was built not long after famed Hollywood actress Dolores Hart joined the cloistered community of Benedictine nuns in 1963. According to the abbey’s website, “veteran actors James and Dawn Douglas formed a company of actors called the Act Association, which began to offer productions at the Abbey’s summer fair, and continued to do so for decades.”
Patricia Neal and James Douglas drew large crowds in 1999 when they performed A.R. Gurney’s “Love Letters.” Popular musicals have also been produced there, including “Guys and Dolls,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “West Side Story.”
The idea to mount “Babette’s Feast” came from cast member Maurita Gregor, a lay intern at the abbey who previously performed the title role in her home state of Michigan. The play is based on a story by Isak Dinesen and is set in a Norwegian fishing village in the mid-19th century. Martine (portrayed by Cathy Annulli) and Philippa (Gregor) are sisters who lead a small Christian community. One night, a mysterious woman, fleeing political turmoil in France, knocks on their door and asks for asylum. Her letter of introduction states, “Babette can cook.” Babette will be portrayed by Olivia Wadsworth.
The play was conceived and developed by Abigail Killeen and written by Rose Courtney. It was first produced in Portland, Maine, in 2018. The highlight is a lavish feast Babette serves to the community to celebrate the memory of the sect’s original minister. but this production differs in structure from the 1987 Danish film in that no actual food is seen during the feast, Gleason said. Like the theater’s missing walls, the feast itself is invisible.
“There’s no cups. There’s no plates,” Gleason said. “We really don’t have props.”
The minimalist set aligns with the intentions of the play’s creators, who wanted to show the austerity of the religious sect to which Martine and Philippa belong.
Besides the three principals, “there are six players that are playing up to three different roles. So they’re having to shift their characters too, along with telling the story,” Gleason said.
Murray began working at the abbey in the 1970s and then moved to Idaho and taught theater for several years. Since returning in 2008, he has worked on sets for summer musicals at The Gary-The Olivia Theater. In 2025, he wrote and co-produced an original play, “The Princess and the Goblin,” based on a novel by George MacDonald. It was performed in front of a private audience, with Gleason in the lead. It was the first play to be shown at the abbey in six years.
“The point of having a theater at the abbey is to show a slice of life as it is, with an eye toward showing how it relates to the reality beyond the immediate place and time and characters within God’s creation,” Murray said.
“It’s to have a part of creation that refers to the broader creation,” he said.
Gleason spent several years in New York City with La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, The American Theatre Wing and ASCAP. She also worked in Los Angeles, evaluating and developing scripts for a film production company, according to a press release.
Gregor said she applied for an internship at the abbey after reading Mother Dolores Hart’s 2013 memoir, “The Ear of the Heart: An Actress’ Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows.” She said she always loved acting and was attracted as well to the “balanced lifestyle” the cloistered community offers. One of her duties at the abbey is making cheese, a hands-on process that requires patience and a gentle touch.
“I never knew you could learn so much from cheese,” she said.
“Babette’s Feast” will be shown Friday evenings, July 31 and Aug. 7; Saturday evenings, Aug. 1 and 8; and Sunday afternoons, Aug. 2 and 9. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., and matinees begin at 2 p.m. There is no admission charge, but donations are welcome, and reservations are required. The Gary-The Olivia Theater at the Abbey of Regina Laudis is at 249 Flanders Rd., Bethlehem. To reserve seats, call 959-988-6068 or email garyoliviatheater@gmail.com. It is an open-air theater, so dress for the weather.
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