Music, music, music!...

The Reet and I are invited to a performance of the play Carnival at the Goodspeed Opera House  Saturday night with Trish n George.

(Per answer.com)- Carnival (1961), a musical play by Michael Stewart (book), Bob Merrill (music, lyrics). [ Imperial Theatre, 719 perf.; NYDCC Award.] The orphan Lili (Anna Maria Alberghetti) joins a French carnival and falls for an egotistical magician (James Mitchell), but she is truly loved by the bitter puppeteer (Jerry Orbach). Yet when he speaks to Lili through his puppets, his true emotions are revealed and she learns to love him back. Notable songs: Love Makes the World Go Round; Grand Imperial Cirque de Paris; Always Always You; Mira. David Merrick produced this enchanting musical tale, based on the 1953 film Lili, which was enhanced by Gower Champion's inventive staging that created a circuslike atmosphere with lights and movement. Bob MERRILL [né Henry Lavan] (1921–98), a native of Atlantic City, first found fame as the author of many pop songs on the charts in the 1950s. His early Broadway scores were for New Girl in Town (1957) and Take Me Along (1959), both based on Eugene O'Neill plays. Merrill provided lyrics for Jules Styne's music in Funny Girl (1964) and Sugar (1972). His other scores include Henry, Sweet Henry (1967) and cult failures Breakfast at Tiffany's (1966) and Prettybelle (1971).

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 If you crave some blue-eyed soul, there are few better than Daryl Hall (hope you've checked out Live at Daryl's House by now), who appears free Friday night at the Hamden Arts Commission's 2010 Summer Concert Series held at Town Center Park at Meadowbrook, 2761 Dixwell Avenue. Concert begins at 7:30 pm with opening act, the Gregg Rolie Band (ex-Santana).

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This weekend's 18th Annual Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz (billed as New England's largest free jazz festival) kicks off tonight at Bushnell Park. The schedule:

Friday July 16th, 2010 (Sponsored by the Evelyn W. Preston Foundation)

6:30 pm - Main Stage- Opening Ceremony

7:00 pm - Main Stage-Christine Spero Group

8:30 pm - Main Stage- Layla Angulo Group
Saturday July 17th, 2010

12:30pm - Friends Of Festival Stage- Hartford Jazz Orchestra with Bobbi Rogers – Music of Chic Cicchetti

2:30 pm - Friends Of Festival Stage- Ricky Alfonso Quartet

10:30 pm - Friends Of Festival Stage- Motown Dance Party with Jus Us

4:00 pm - Main Stage- Ace Livingston

6:00 pm - Main Stage- Elan Trotman

7:30 pm - Main Stage- Doc Gibbs & N' Fusion

9:00 pm - Main Stage- TIZER featuring Lao Tizer, Chieli Minucci, Karen Briggs
Sunday July 18th, 2010

10:00 am - Jazz Mass at Christ Church Cathedral with Ross Tucker's Hot Cat Jazz Band

12:30 pm - Friends Of Festival Stage- Ross Novgrad Latin Jazz Quintet

2:30 pm - Friends Of Festival Stage- Canton High School Jazz Ensemble

4:30 pm - Main Stage- Nobuki Takamen

6:00 pm - Main Stage- Iris Ornig Group

7:30 pm - Main Stage- The Hartford Symphony Orchestra Strings and Jazz Project "Music of Stan Getz" featuring Joel Frahm