'Parks & Rec' Writers and Cast Friday by Josh Gray
~ Nantucket Arts & Social Calendar Listing Wed - Thu
~ Photo Album: Nantucket Conservation Race for Open Space 7.12.14 (Photos by Lisa Frey)
Donick Cary to Headline Comedy Fest with
'Parks & Rec' Writers and Cast on Friday
Josh Gray
Donick Cary's name is one familiar to many Nantucketers. Born and raised on island, a Nantucket High School graduate and currently the co-executive producer of the NBC comedy hit "Parks and Recreation", the writer and producer has held close his ties to Nantucket over the years.
Now based out of Los Angeles, CA, where he runs the day-to-day in the writers' room at "Parks and Rec", Cary balances his busy work schedule with frequent trips to Nantucket to support the Nantucket Film Festival and the upcoming Nantucket Comedy Festival, and is a board member of both.
Cary will host "A Night of Parks and Recreation" Friday, July 18th at 7 p.m. in the Dreamland Theater (tickets are $95 and available online). This event will feature members of the show's writing staff and actors, including Adam Scott, Joe Mande and Megan Amram, David King and some possible surprise guests.
Adam Scott
"He is an 'A game' producer and writer with such a strong connection to the island," said Kevin Flynn, co-founder and executive producer of the Nantucket Comedy Festival. "I know the stand-up world and all those guys, but Donick knows the guys that hire those guys and some really great comedic actors. He never says no and is taking the red eye here on Friday for the event. I'm just really inspired by how readily available he always is."
Besides these commitments, he also stays connected through a school music charity he began on Nantucket more than a decade ago. MUSACK subsidizes the costs of instruments, lessons, music, cultural exchanges and music scholarships to the students of Nantucket High School, and more recently, underserved students in the metro Los Angeles area.
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"MUSACK is going great," said Cary, just off the set and days before his return to Nantucket for NCF 7. "We have been assessing the whole music scene on Nantucket and are really pleased to see so many programs promoting music in schools," he added, speaking of the upcoming Nantucket Music Festival and others who have promised funds to or supported the school music program in recent years.
Another program Cary hopes to bring to Nantucket is one made for TV and one that has seen interest from major networks in recent years. "Strange Calls" is a supernatural comedy series based on Nantucket, hilariously detailing the life of a recently exiled Boston police officer. He meets a strange cast of locals and an even stranger set of circumstances in the series pilot which was recently performed in a staged reading at the 19
th
Nantucket Film Festival. Featuring performances from film and television heavyweights like Fred Willard, Tom Cavanaugh, Scott Adsit and Rory Culkin, it was well-received by a packed Dreamland theater in late June.
The show was optioned by ABC in early 2012, but never made it to pilot. Cary said this happens quite often in the industry and he is currently open to new arrangements for the show to be produced as the ABC option has recently expired. This involves shopping the script around to networks throughout Hollywood, and creating buzz through events such as the NFF staged reading. Ideally, were the show to be once again optioned and make it to series, he would seek to have production based on Nantucket in the off-season, but due to the added production costs involved, it could end up being filmed on a Hollywood lot.
Donick Cary
The writer, who got his start interning straight out of school, then writing and eventually becoming the head writer for David Letterman, has had many high profile career stops over the years. He spent several seasons with "The Simpsons" and went on to write and produce for the HBO series "Bored To Death" and the Fox comedy "The New Girl", starring Zoey Deschanel.
Moving forward, Cary will continue with "Parks and Recreation" which is currently in production on its final season.
"It was an interesting thing being a part of 'New Girl' with all the growing pains of a new show trying to find a voice and the right schedule, then moving on to a show that is so in sync and knows what is it," said Cary. "Both have been really fun to do and I've worked with a lot of really great and fun people. There is a lot of nostalgia and it's really fun to be on a show that gets to decide its own fate. The writers and cast are like a family and its sad knowing that it is going to break up."
After the series wraps, Cary said he will finish a documentary he has been working on with Ben Stiller's Red Hour Films, in addition to writing a network pilot with Conaco (Conan O'Brien's production company).
In his immediate future, Cary will head back to LA after the comedy fest and soon after put on a fundraising event for MUSACK hosted by comedian John Hodgman ("Bored To Death" and "PC" from the Mac commercial series), featuring musical performances from members of Rancid and Superchunk.
Cary said he is currently looking into options to simulcast the event on Nantucket.
Josh Gray has spent more than half his life on the island, and after a couple of years of traveling abroad and pursuing career opportunities in America, he has once again made Nantucket his year round home. An adventure traveler and amateur photographer at heart, Josh spent part of his youth in Mumbai, India, going on to visit nearly 20 foreign counties including Cuba and Turkey, where he resided in the city of Istanbul for a season. A former staff writer and editorial assistant for The Inquirer & Mirror, Josh has covered arts and music on Nantucket for many years and looks forward to reporting for Mahon About Town.
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WEDNESDAY
NANTUCKET COMEDY FESTIVAL Nantucket Comedy Festival Wednesday, July 16 - Saturday, July 19 More than a dozen leading comedians, humorists and commentators to wash ashore for the 7th annual Nantucket Comedy Festival. The four-day festival includes women's night, kids night, Boston-NY Comedy SmACKdown, cast members of NBC series Parks and Recreation and VIP events for pass holders only.
Dick Cavett, Joe Scarborough, Mike O'Malley, Peter Farrelly, Tom Cotter & more...
Proceeds benefit the Stand Up & Learn program for youth, designed to inspire creativity, collaboration and self-confidence in young participants through comedy and performance. Year-round workshops welcome kids from 8-18 to create and collaborate with fellow students then perform their routines for family and friends. NCF's workshops for kids have been held since 2009 in cooperation with public and private schools on Nantucket and elsewhere.
A Stand Up & Learn workshop during the festival week will end with a performance by the students.
"This isn't just about comedy," said Kevin Flynn, founding executive director of the festival. "It's about helping kids tap into their creativity and gain self-confidence."
Support for Nantucket Comedy Festival and Stand Up & Learn comes from Nantucket Golf Club Foundation, Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines, The White Elephant Hotel on Nantucket and other businesses and individuals. ReMain Nantucket is lead sponsor of the 2013-2104 Stand Up & Learn series of Nantucket workshops, which so far has included 80 students.
Nantucket Comedy Festival: Stand Up & Learn Kids Show Wednesday, July 16, 5:00pm: Dreamland Theater Cheer on and laugh along with some of the kids who've "graduated" from Nantucket Comedy Festival's Stand Up & Learn program for youth. Discover what's funny to a kid - which might or might not be what you think it is. Professional comedians provide tips and encouragement on the kid's performance. Free
THEATER NHA & TWN present Orson Welles's Moby-Dick Rehearsed Wednesday, July 16, 7:00pm: Whaling Museum Written by Orson Welles, Moby-Dick Rehearsed celebrates the enduring legacy of Herman Melville's masterpiece of American literature and was first performed in 1955 at the Duke of York Theatre in London. TWN's adaptation of this moving play, directed by and starring TWN Artistic Director John Shea, comes alive under the 46-foot sperm whale skeleton in the Whaling Museum's Gosnell Hall. Featuring an illustrious cast of community actors, the play evokes the essence of the ocean and turbulent life aboard a whaleship, as Ahab follows his obsession to find the great white whale.
After three summers of sold-out July performances, a second theatrical run has been added in August. Moby-Dick Rehearsed will run at the Whaling Museum July 14-17 and August 11-14, 2014. On both closing nights, July 17 and August 14, 2014, attendees will enjoy the performance followed by a cocktail reception and meet & greet with the cast.
$30/ticket July 14-16 & August 11-13 $75/ticket July 17 & August 14 performances (includes reception) Tickets available at www.nha.org or (508) 228-1894
Rodgers & Hammerstein's: Oklahoma! Wednesday, July 16, 6:00pm: Bennett Hall This exuberant, groundbreaking, Pulitzer Prize winning musical tells the love story of Laurey, a spirited farm girl, and Curly, the cowboy who loves her. Oklahoma tackles class issues between farmers and cowmen in the old west as the characters struggle to find hope, love and the fulfillment of the "American Dream." The show contains many popular songs such as O, What a Beautiful Morning, Kansas City and I Can't Say No. Oklahoma is the first collaboration written by composer Richard Rogers and lyricist, Oscar Hammerstein II. It is one of their most popular musicals and is guaranteed to raise the spirits of those who see it.
Directed and Choreographed by TWN's Resident Artistic Director Justin Cerne With orchestrations and musical direction by Chris Meredith and Diane Lehman And a cast of actors from Nantucket, NY, LA, Providence, Boston etc.
Wednesday, August 13, families with children on the Autism Spectrum, or with needs that may make attending live theater difficult, will be admitted free as guests of TWN.
AR Gurney's: Black Tie Wednesday, July 16, 7:30pm: Theatre Workshop of Nantucket Centre Stage Father of the groom, Curtis, simply wants to make a memorable toast at his son's rehearsal dinner. But before he is able to raise his glass, he must defend the time-honored ways of his past, including his attire. Cultures clash when a surprise guest is announced, threatening to throw convention out the window. Curtis finds that balancing the standards of his late father and the needs of his future family may prove too messy for a black tie affair.
Starring: Gerald Harris Blum, Samara Neely-Cohen, Ellie Cornell, Wally Marzano-Lesnevich, Geoffrey Wad* Set Design by Eric Schultz. Costumes by Anne Breeding
For the latest complete list of open restaurants and take-out food, as compiled by David Sharpe at Nantucket Visitor Services, with hours, addresses, and phone numbers, click here.
Small World Wednesday, July 16, 7:30pm: White Heron Theatre Company By Frederick Stroppel. Directed by Kate Katcher. This new comedy by Frederick Stroppel is about Walt Disney and Igor Stravinsky, the brilliant Russian composer, who meet to work out their differences in the making of Fantasia.
MOVIES Earth to Echo (PG) Wednesday, July 16, 6:00pm: Dreamland Theater Tuck, Munch and Alex are a trio of inseparable friends whose lives are about to change. Their neighborhood is being destroyed by a highway construction project that is forcing their families to move away. But just two days before they must part ways, the boys begin receiving a strange series of signals on their phones. Convinced something bigger is going on, they team up with another school friend, Emma, and set out to look for the source of their phone signals. What they discover is something beyond their wildest imaginations: a small alien who has become stranded on Earth. In need of their help, the four friends come together to protect the alien and help him find his way home. This journey, full of wonder and adventure, is their story, and their secret.
Cast: Teo Halm, Brian "Astro" Bradley, Reese Hartwig, Ella Linnea Wahlestedt, Jason Gray-Stanford Director: Dave Green
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (PG-13) Wednesday, July 16, 8:00pm: Dreamland Theater A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.
Cast: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell Director: Matt Reeves
Tammy Wednesday, July 16, 8:30pm: Dreamland Theater After losing her job and learning that her husband has been unfaithful, a woman hits the road with her profane, hard-drinking grandmother.
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Dan Aykroyd, Allison Janney, Kathy Bates Director: Ben Falcone, Melissa McCarthy
TALK Author Talk: Lily King, 'Euphoria' Wednesday, July 16, 8:00pm - 9:00pm: Nantucket Atheneum Great Hall King's latest novel, Euphoria, coming out in June, is about three young anthropologists caught in a passionate love triangle that threatens their bonds, careers, and, ultimately, their lives. Lily is the recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship and a Whiting Award. Free.
Movies at the Starlight Wednesday, July 16, 2014 Jersey Boys - 7:00 22 Jump Street - 9:30
OTHER EVENTS Stargazing Night Wednesdays, 9:00pm - 10:30pm: Loines Observatory With professional astronomers for a tour of the sky and for telescopic viewing of the Moon, planets, nebulae, galaxies, and more. Weather permitting. No pre-registration necessary. Members: Free. Non-members: $10
NIGHTLIFE & LIVE MUSIC Boureas Wednesday, July 16, 4:30pm - 7:00pm: Cisco Brewers
Jeff Ross Wednesdays, 6:30pm - 9:00pm: Millie's in Madaket
YellowRed Wednesdays, 8:00pm - 10:00pm: Kitty Murtagh's With half price apps from 8-9.
Anthony Healy, Piano and Sing-a-long Wednesday, July 16, 8:30pm: Club Car
Audio Architechs: Peter Ahern & Billy Desmond Wednesday, July 16, 10:00pm: Corazon del Mar
Collie Buddz Wednesday, July 16, 10:00pm - 1:00am: Chicken Box
Reggae Music Night Wednesdays, 10:00pm - 1:00am: Muse Music by DJ I-Am and DJ Belly Bud
Bold type indicates a current Mahon About Town advertiser. Additional details on these events and the full calendar of arts and social events from 2008 through 2014 are here.
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THURSDAY
NANTUCKET COMEDY FESTIVAL Nantucket Comedy Festival Wednesday, July 16 - Saturday, July 19 More than a dozen leading comedians, humorists and commentators to wash ashore for the 7th annual Nantucket Comedy Festival. The four-day festival includes women's night, kids night, Boston-NY Comedy SmACKdown, cast members of NBC series Parks and Recreation and VIP events for pass holders only.
Proceeds benefit the Stand Up & Learn program for youth, designed to inspire creativity, collaboration and self-confidence in young participants through comedy and performance. Year-round workshops welcome kids from 8-18 to create and collaborate with fellow students then perform their routines for family and friends. NCF's workshops for kids have been held since 2009 in cooperation with public and private schools on Nantucket and elsewhere.
"This isn't just about comedy," said Kevin Flynn, founding executive director of the festival. "It's about helping kids tap into their creativity and gain self-confidence." Nantucket Comedy Festival: Women's Night; Caroline Rhea headlines Thursday, July 17, 6:00pm: Dreamland Theater Caroline Rhea headlines women comics of Nantucket Comedy Festival, who dissect and skewer husbands, lovers, kids, parenting, and careers from a woman's point of view. Tickets $95
NCF: Stand Up & Learn Fundraiser with Dick Cavett & Peter Farrelly Thursday, July 17, 8:00pm: Private Residence An intimate conversation and dinner party in a private Nantucket home to benefit Stand Up & Learn.
Dick Cavett, venerable and sophisticated talk master and creator of memorable television interviews with Groucho Marx, Katherine Hepburn, John Kerry and many others, sits down with Peter Farrelly, director of the upcoming Dumb and Dumber starring Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels.
Accessible to Patrons Pass holders with a limited number of individual tickets available. Tickets $1000
BENEFITS The Event Under the Tent: Small Friends Arts & Artisans Preview Party Thursday, July 17, 6:00pm: Bartlett's Farm Music by Nantucket Cobbletones 6-7pm, Tony Lee Thomas 7-9. Catering by Nantucket Clambake Co. & Spanky's Raw Bar. Libations by Cisco Brewers. Tickets: $125
THEATER Rodgers & Hammerstein's: Oklahoma! Thursday, July 17, 6:00pm: Bennett Hall This Pulitzer Prize winning musical tells the love story of Laurey, a spirited farm girl, and Curly, the cowboy who loves her. Oklahoma tackles class issues between farmers and cowmen in the old west as the characters struggle to find hope, love and the fulfillment of the "American Dream." The show contains many popular songs such as O, What a Beautiful Morning, Kansas City and I Can't Say No. Oklahoma is the first collaboration written by composer Richard Rogers and lyricist, Oscar Hammerstein II. It is one of their most popular musicals and is guaranteed to raise the spirits of those who see it.
Directed and Choreographed by TWN's Resident Artistic Director Justin Cerne With orchestrations and musical direction by Chris Meredith and Diane Lehman And a cast of actors from Nantucket, NY, LA, Providence, Boston etc.
NHA & TWN present Orson Welles's Moby-Dick Rehearsed & Cocktail Reception Thursday, July 17, 7:00pm: Whaling Museum Written by Orson Welles, Moby-Dick Rehearsed celebrates Herman Melville's masterpiece of American literature and was first performed in 1955 at the Duke of York Theatre in London. TWN's adaptation, directed by and starring TWN Artistic Director John Shea, comes alive under the 46-foot sperm whale skeleton in the Whaling Museum's Gosnell Hall. Featuring an illustrious cast of community actors, the play evokes the essence of the ocean and turbulent life aboard a whaleship, as Ahab follows his obsession to find the great white whale.
Moby-Dick Rehearsed will run at the Whaling Museum July 14-17 and August 11-14, 2014. On both closing nights, July 17 and August 14, 2014, attendees will enjoy the performance followed by a cocktail reception and meet & greet with the cast.
$30/ticket July 14-16 & August 11-13 $75/ticket July 17 & August 14 performances (includes reception) Tickets available at www.nha.org or (508) 228-1894
AR Gurney's: Black Tie Thursday, July 17, 7:30pm: Theatre Workshop of Nantucket Centre Stage Father of the groom, Curtis, simply wants to make a memorable toast at his son's rehearsal dinner. But before he is able to raise his glass, he must defend the time-honored ways of his past, including his attire. Cultures clash when a surprise guest is announced, threatening to throw convention out the window. Curtis finds that balancing the standards of his late father and the needs of his future family may prove too messy for a black tie affair.
Set Design by Eric Schultz Costumes by Anne Breeding
Miracle on South Division Street Thursday, July 17, 7:30pm: White Heron Theatre Company By Tom Dudzick, Directed by Lynne Bolton. Meet the Nowaks of Buffalo, N.Y. Clara and her three grown kids have always known they were special, ever since the miraculous night in 1942 when the Virgin Mary appeared to Grandpa in his barbershop. Since then, the neighborhood has looked on the 20-foot commemorative shrine as a centerpiece of the old neighborhood.
MOVIES The Fault in Our Stars (PG-13) Thursday, July 17, 7:00pm: Dreamland Theater Hazel and Gus are two extraordinary teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them - and us - on an unforgettable journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that they met and fell in love at a cancer support group.
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Willem Dafoe, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern Director: Josh Boone
For the latest complete list of open restaurants and take-out food, as compiled by David Sharpe at Nantucket Visitor Services, with hours, addresses, and phone numbers, click here.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (PG-13) Thursday, July 17, 9:00pm: Dreamland Theater A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.
Cast: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell Director: Matt Reeves
Movies at the Starlight Thursday, July 17 Earth to Echo - 7:00 Tammy - 9:30
HISTORICAL PRESERVATION Nantucket Preservation Trust Summer Kitchen Tour Thursday, July 17, 10:00am - 3:00pm Each year the NPT opens kitchens in an historic neighborhood in the downtown area to educate about the significance of Nantucket's historic houses and to broaden knowledge about the possibilities that exist in designing new and retaining historic kitchens in old houses.
The 2014 Summer Kitchen Tour will showcase a variety of homes on historic Hussey and Quince Streets. This year tour goers will have the opportunity to purchase a combo ticket, which includes a summer kitchen tour ticket and entry for one to the BBQ from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM by Nantucket's very own Sheriff, Jim Perelman of ACK BBQ.
TALK Q&A with Gary McBournie Thursday, July 17, 4:00pm - 5:00pm: Audrey Sterk Color & Design Studio Gary's interiors are regularly featured in major design publications such as House Beautiful and Traditional Home. A number of his projects as well as several of his own homes have been featured in various design style books. In 2009, Gary McBournie was inducted into the New England Design Hall of Fame. Call to reserve: 508.325.7050
The Florence Higginbotham Story: Her Legacy Lives On! Thursday, July 17, 6:00pm: African Meeting House Meet Florence Higginbotham's daughter-in-law, Angeleen Campra, who will share recollections of "Mother Florence," her late husband Wilhelm, and memories of the Higginbotham family's years on Nantucket.
Not Your Grandfather's Universe Thursday, July 17, 7:00pm - 8:00pm: 33 Washington Street Facility Maria Mitchell Association presents Prof. Katherine Rhode. Free
VISUAL ARTS Lightship Basket Photoshoot Thursday, July 17, 10:00am - 11:00am: Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum Have your photo taken with your lightship basket purse for the "wall of fame."
Artist's Reception Thursday, July 17, 6:00pm - 8:00pm: 'Sconset Gallery
CONCERT Women's Chorus Performance Thursday, July 17, 5:00pm: Unitarian Church Presented by Nantucket Community Music Center. Directed by Barbara Elder. Mix of pop tunes, folk and world music sung by women around the world. $10 at door, $5 Senior, Children Free
Curtis On Tour Concert Thursday, July 17, 7:30pm - 8:45pm: Nantucket Atheneum Great Hall Curtis Institute of Music students and teachers offer an evening of music by Schumann. Free
NIGHTLIFE & LIVE MUSIC Earth Got the Blues Thursdays, 7:30pm - 10:00pm: Rose & Crown Karaoke Thursdays, 10:00pm - 1:00am: Rose & Crown Boureas Thursday, July 17, 4:30pm - 7:00pm: Cisco Brewers
Back Deck Party with DJ Julie Thursday, July 10, 4:00pm - 7:00pm: Muse Throwback "Twisted Tea" Thursdays
Cabaret with Diane & Bob Lehman Thursdays, 8:00pm - 10:00pm: Breeze Bar and Cafe at the Nantucket Hotel
#Balkan Night Thursdays, 10:00pm - 1:00am: Muse
Deep Dive Decompression Chamber with Billy Voss Thursday, July 17, 10:00pm - 1:00am: Corazon del Mar Billy Voss with a set from Afro Cuban to Ethereal House.
Savage Brothers Thursday, July 17, 10:00pm - 1:00am: Chicken Box
Bold type indicates a current Mahon About Town advertiser. Additional details on these events and the full calendar of arts and social events from 2008 through 2014 are here.
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The 5K (3.1 miles) annual Nantucket Conservation Race for Open Space took place on Saturday, July 12, 2014, beginning at The Westmoor Club. The race attracts serious runners, casual joggers, walkers and avid conservation supporters. Proceeds go to the Foundation's Membership Fund which helps preserve and protect the Island's invaluable open spaces. Photos by Lisa Frey. More events atMahonAboutTown.com.
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