Connecticut
Connecticut Gets Back In The Show
By the BF Employees
From the March/April 2002 Difficulty
Connecticut is again in enterprise. At the least, that’s what officers at AdvanceCT, the New Haven, CT-based non-profit enterprise advocacy group wish to make completely clear to any and all comers who would possibly love the Nutmeg State’s favorable location, extremely educated workforce and an increasingly-clear willingness on the state degree to work with new and present corporations.
“Our state has had a tricky go since across the monetary disaster in 2008,” stated Peter Denious, CEO of AdvanceCT. “We at the moment are two-plus years right into a turnaround that’s paying good-looking dividends for the state, bringing new companies and company headquarters right here in addition to serving to in-state corporations develop or select to remain.”
Denious, who stepped into his present place in September 2019 after a protracted profession in non-public fairness and enterprise capital, says the corporate’s practically two dozen staff performed a number one position in that turnaround. The group is funded partially by the state by contracts with the Connecticut Division of Financial Group Improvement and thru funding from the non-public sector, plus has the robust help of Gov. Ned Lamont. He famous that greater than 30 corporations, most with company headquarters within the state, are concerned with AdvanceCT.
The truth is, AdvanceCT’s board of administrators reads like a Who’s Who of high company executives within the state. They embrace the CEO or presidents of such corporations as Infosys, Black & Decker, Otis Worldwide, Philip Morris Worldwide and Constitution Communications. Margaret Keane, the manager chair of the board of administrators at Synchrony, and Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior affiliate dean, management research at Yale College College of Administration, are co-chairs of the AdvanceCT board. Donald Kendall, principal at New Fork Capital, is vice chair.
“We’re fairly happy with the truth that so many senior company executives have signed on to our workforce and are serving to us to attract extra curiosity to the state. Their expertise and networks have been extraordinarily useful,” Denious stated.
Connecticut actually appears to wish the assistance. Lengthy seen as one of many wealthiest and most educated states within the nation, over the past 20 years the state has developed a status for prime taxes and intense laws that has damage its standing amongst companies seeking to relocate or develop. Lately, the state took it on the chin when plenty of high-profile banks and Wall Avenue corporations, who had moved to the state only a few years earlier, determined to relocate again to close by New York Metropolis. The departure of high-profile Common Electrical, which was headquartered in Fairfield, for Boston, additionally didn’t assist.
Nonetheless, lately issues began turning round and a number of other massive gamers determined to name Connecticut dwelling. Final yr, for instance, Philip Morris moved its headquarters from New York Metropolis to the Stamford space, turning into the fifteenth Fortune 500 firm situated within the state. Fortune 1,000 firm ITT Inc. and Digital Foreign money Group are additionally shifting their headquarters, and bringing 350-plus jobs, to Stamford. Equally, GE Home equipment situated an innovation heart and micro-manufacturing operation within the state.
With a inhabitants of about 3.55 million individuals, Connecticut is dwelling to the second most Fortune 500 corporations per capita.
Denious stated that AdvanceCT is taking part in an enormous position in publicizing the state’s many benefits. “We notice that we’re not a low tax state,” he stated. “We win corporations over with our high-value added components. For instance, in Connecticut, we promote our workforce. It’s all about expertise and the workforce and we now have that, not like many states within the south and southwest who’ve a tough time discovering the workforce to satisfy the wants of the market.”
A gifted workforce is clearly one thing within the state’s favor. With New Haven-based Yale College as its anchor, the state has a well-earned status for its extremely expert workforce. The state’s 38 faculties and universities graduate greater than 150,000 college students per yr and Yale and different universities such because the UCONN public system, Quinnipiac College and even the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London are pumping out extremely gifted graduates longing for difficult jobs throughout many sectors of the financial system.
High quality of life in Connecticut can also be a draw with many stories rating it among the many high 10 states to stay in. With Boston and New York each inside shut driving distance, and far of the state being suburban and even rural, Denious stated the mix of comfort, location and the distinctive New England tradition are key promoting instruments for his workforce. “Entry to each cities is vital to attracting individuals to our space,” he famous.
So, too, is the truth that the state’s many small cities provide a novel tradition and taste. That’s turning into extra vital to many corporations, notably after what has occurred over the past two years with COVID-19. State officers had been lauded for its response to the pandemic, thanks partially to its world-class healthcare system, and it stays some of the extremely vaccinated states within the nation.
Moreover, Connecticut is a draw for individuals seeking to be round others with related skilled backgrounds. Hartford continues to be the main space within the nation for insurance coverage and insurtech corporations and the life sciences section is turning into an enormous participant all through the state, with Yale main the way in which in R&D and spin-off companies. Biotech and fintech are additionally turning into main components alongside the Stamford to New Haven Interstate 95 hall, he added.
a turnaround that’s paying good-looking dividends for the state.”
In keeping with Denious, AdvanceCT is targeted on 5 totally different key industries. Along with insurance coverage and life sciences, AdvanceCT is concerned in monetary companies, superior manufacturing, and know-how, together with fintech, cyber securities and biotech. “These are all large sectors in Connecticut, and we now have to do extra to make companies see that and notice what we now have to supply,” he stated.
Whereas the long run is kind of brilliant for the state, Denious stated there may be nonetheless a whole lot of work to be completed for AdvanceCT and its companions. He emphasised that U.S. Census Bureau information exhibits that many younger individuals and younger households are shifting to the state and that new enterprise purposes are rising shortly. He additionally identified that the state’s finances is in fine condition, with a $1 billion surplus this yr and a rainy-day fund of greater than $4 billion resulting in upgrades from credit score rankings corporations corresponding to Moody’s and Customary & Poor’s.
“Our job, working with the state and particular person corporations, is to get the phrase out that Connecticut has an unbelievable upside and companies ought to contemplate us when they’re taking a look at different states like Massachusetts or New Jersey,” he stated. “Our job is to be pro-active and aggressive. We wish to make it clear to all that Connecticut is a good place to stay and a terrific place to do enterprise. Our story is simply getting began.”
Jack O’Brien, a Tony-winning director is photographed in his New Milford home, Oct. 29, 2024.
Carol Kaliff/For Hearst Connecticut MediaIt’s a misty autumn afternoon and along a winding country road in New Milford, a housing development emerges of stately though modestly-scaled homes with manageable lawns and pristine porches.
In one of the dozen or so homes in this quiet mini-village is where theater director Jack O’Brien has lived for the past 10 years.
“I call the style of home ‘Early Ozzie and Harriet,’ ” he said laughing, as he greets his visitors.
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Jack O’Brien, a Tony-winning director has an extensive collection of framed posters from the many productions he was part of.
Carol Kaliff/For Hearst Connecticut MediaLike the avuncular man himself, the two-story house reflects a sense of the classic, the playful and the practical.
Jack O’Brien, a Tony-winning director is photographed in his New Milford home holding the Tony he received for lifetime achievement, Oct. 29, 2024.
Carol Kaliff/For Hearst Connecticut Media
Over a six-decade career in the theater and nearly 50 Broadway credits, O’Brien has earned three Tony Awards and in June received another for lifetime achievement.
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At 85, he’s still achieving plenty.
This fall on Broadway he directed close chums Patti LuPone and Mia Farrow — who live nearby — in the Jen Silverman comedy “The Roommate.” He also launched the national tour of the 2023 Broadway musical “Shucked,” which earned him his seventh nomination. He is readying to cast the musical for its London premiere and for 2025 he will be working on a Broadway-bound revival of “The Sound of Music.”
Jack O’Brien, a Tony-winning director is photographed in his New Milford home, Oct. 29, 2024.
Carol Kaliff/For Hearst Connecticut Media“Let’s go upstairs,” O’Brien eagerly said, leading his guests to a large alcove whose walls are covered with production photos, design sketches and posters of some of the hits (and misses) of his career. To comfortably take it all in there’s a butterscotch-colored leather couch, accented with a colorful variety of textured pillows.
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“Isn’t this fun?,” he said taking a seat, clearly pleased in showing off the room to a theater aficionado. “And this isn’t even everything!”
It’s a theater archivist’s dreamscape: memorabilia that goes back to the start of his career with the APA Phoenix Repertory Company in the ‘60s; the launch of his Broadway career — in the ‘70s with an acclaimed production of “Porgy and Bess;” his years as artistic director of San Diego’s Old Globe and its Broadway transfers in the ‘80s and ‘90s; a string of hit musicals and collaborations with Tom Stoppard in the 2000s; more awards and nominations in the 2010s; and his latest nomination in the 2023 for “Shucked.”
Jack O’Brien, a Tony-winning director, has an extensive collection of framed posters from the many productions he was part of in his New Milford home.
Carol Kaliff/For Hearst Connecticut MediaFor each piece of the past, there’s inevitably a backstage tale and O’Brien is known to be one of the best theater storytellers in the business, the person you most want to sit next to at dinner. He has authored two anecdote-filled memoirs, the last being “Jack in the Box or, How to Goddamn Direct.”
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The airy second floor is for overnight guests and those who might enjoy looking at his theater collection, he said. For himself, well, O’Brien is just too busy to overindulge in nostalgia, residing on the ground floor.
“I have no rear-view mirror,” said the upbeat director. “I only look forward.”
Connecticut escape
Connecticut — and specifically Litchfield Country — has been O’Brien’s refuge from the demands and chaos of Manhattan for nearly 25 years, initially wooed by theater pals who lived here.
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Jack O’Brien, a Tony-winning director is photographed in his New Milford home, Oct. 29, 2024.
Carol Kaliff/For Hearst Connecticut Media“Lindsay Law, who produced all my television shows (for PBS’ “American Playhouse” in the ‘70s) lived in Roxbury and I would come up to visit every weekend,” he said.
Following the death of his partner, composer James J. Legg Jr., in 2000, O’Brien decided to create new memories in the serene corner of Connecticut. He bought a sprawling homestead which he named “Imaginary Farms,” after the 2002 Broadway play he was directing at the time, “Imaginary Friends.”
”It was the house that ‘Hairspray’ built,” he said, referring to his 2002 hit musical.
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Tony Awards, won by director Jack O’Brien , are photographed in his New Milford home, Oct. 29, 2024.
Carol Kaliff/For Hearst Connecticut Media“It was gorgeous,” he said of that first home, noting its swimming pool, guest house and 20 acres. “We always had loads of friends there. I traditionally cooked Thanksgiving or Christmas for (composer Stephen) Sondheim and all our friends.”
“But several years ago my financial advisor said to me, ‘You can’t keep this house because it takes three staffs of people to run it.’ So I said OK, and I made a video of the place and sent it to all my theater people, most of whom had been guests there at one time or another.’
Ethan Hawke, whom O’Brien directed in Stoppard’s “The Coast of Utopia” trilogy and Shakespeare’s “Henry IV” and “Macbeth,” bought the house “And everything in. He said, ‘We want to live like you live.’ I feel so wonderful about how it all turned out.”
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Jack O’Brien, a Tony-winning director is photographed in his New Milford home, Oct. 29, 2024.
Carol Kaliff/For Hearst Connecticut MediaAfter selling his apartment on Central Park West 10 years ago, he sought a return to Connecticut. He learned that a new development was being built in New Milford, and that he could customize a home to his tastes, which one might call a slightly different kind of directing.
“The entire development looks like the back lot of MGM in 1945,” he said. “And by that I mean quite charming. It’s perfect for me now.”
Long runs for directors
O’Brien leads his guests to his ground-floor bedroom where on display are shelves of his multiple awards — including his Tonys, an armful of Drama Desk trophies, and the Theatre Hall of Fame honor. On the floor there’s a throw rug created by stage designer David Rockwell completely made up of colorful satin bow ties.
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In the living room, he eases into an oversized, wing-chair next to a marble fireplace, as Coda, as if on cue, jumps into his lap.
“I’ve had four Yorkies in my lifetime and Coda (is) the last of a distinguished line,” he said, seemingly a nod to his own age more than his dog’s.
Jack O’Brien, a Tony-winning director is photographed in his New Milford home with Coda, a female Norwich Terrier, Oct. 29, 2024.
Carol Kaliff/For Hearst Connecticut MediaIt is pointed out to him that legendary theater director George Abbott lived to be 107 and continued working until his death in 1995.
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“I met him when he was 105,” he said, referring to the time O’Brien directed a revival of “Damn Yankees” starring Jerry Lewis. Abbott was protective of his original script which O’Brien sought to rewrite. “Those extra two angry years kept him alive,” he said.
“I guess there’s something about theater directors. Twenty years ago, I didn’t know anyone in their 90s. Now I know a lot and many of them are still working. I’m working all the time now, too. It’s ridiculous. I thought it was going to stop — but it didn’t.”
Connecticut
Officials: CT troopers respond to 108 crashes from midnight Monday to about noon Tuesday
As of noon Tuesday, Connecticut State Police stopped 98 vehicles since the start of the Christmas holiday.
State police responded to 108 vehicle crashes, including 12 in which a person was injured. No fatalities were reported.
Eleven people were arrested for driving under the influence since midnight Monday.
State police responded to 982 calls from motorists seeking assistance on the highway.
A rural town connects beautifully to the miraculous event so long ago.
“O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie,” begins a beloved Christmas carol sung since 1868, paying homage to Jesus’ birthplace.
But have you heard of Bethlehem, Connecticut?
It’s a favorite destination because of its Christmas connection. With approximately 3,400 residents, modest in size like its ancient namesake once was, the rural town of Bethlehem has two places that connect beautifully to that miraculous event of the Nativity.
The Nutmeg State’s Bethlehem is home to Regina Laudis Abbey, a community of cloistered Benedictine nuns founded after World War II. Here, the nuns have a magnificent early-18th-century Neapolitan crèche, displayed in a restored barn nearly as old and donated specifically to house this Nativity scene. Both the crèche and barn received a meticulous four-year restoration completed less than two decades ago by experts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
This is no small Neapolitan crèche. It spans 16 feet wide and 6 feet deep. The Nativity scene takes place before a backdrop mural of an 18th-century seaside and an azure sky.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph are at the heart of the crèche where our Savior’s birth is set vividly in a Neapolitan mountainside village — complete with angels hovering in wonderment and awe and scores of villagers react in different ways to the overwhelming presence of the Holy Family.
Simple peasants close to the Holy Family stand in awe and mingle with the Three Kings. Some villagers stop to contemplate Jesus’ birth. Others go on with everyday life as if nothing unusual or life-changing is happening.
The animated scene’s 68 figures and 20 animals of carved wood, ceramic, metal and plant fiber stand up to 16 inches high. They’re dressed in their original period dress that the Metropolitan Museum specialists also carefully restored to pristine condition.
From all indications and evidence, this crèche was a gift to Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia on his coronation in 1720. In 1948, it was brought to America and then in 1949 the woman who then owned it donated it to the abbey to preserve and display it.
Also on the abbey’s grounds is a simple, life-size Nativity scene of the Holy Family, located in a simple shed, with Joseph dressed in a checked farmer’s jacket. Abbey visitors might even spot a sheep or two.
Later during the Christmas season, you might want to watch the 1949 film Come to the Stable that tells the story of Regina Laudis Abbey and whose main characters, two nuns played by Loretta Young and Celeste Holm, are based on the actual Benedictine nuns who came from France after World War II to establish it. It’s a much neglected classic.
Church Highlights Nativity All Year
In nearly a straight line, less than 3 miles from the abbey and a few yards from the center of town, the Church of the Nativity remembers the birth of Jesus year-round. Now a part of Prince of Peace parish, the church was built in 1992 of fieldstone and wood and specifically designed to suggest or look like a large crèche. The church is topped with a star that is lit at night and directs people to the sacred edifice like the star directed the Magi.
The focal point of the church vestibule is a life-size manger scene. The figures were carved from a single pine tree by a Maine artist.
A panorama of the town of Bethlehem is etched high on the glass behind the Holy Family. Etched on another glass panel are the Three Kings, depicted following the star to adore the Newborn King.
In the nave, the church’s interior of stone, wood and large beams intentionally add to the manger atmosphere — as do the words “O Come All Ye Faithful” that stretch and beckon from high behind the altar.
The Nativity atmosphere continues all year. The Knights of Columbus built a 20-foot crèche on the parish’s front lawn.
Another Major Nativity
A little over 500 feet away is the Bethlehem Post Office, which, of course sees lots of extra traffic at this time of year — people enjoy getting their Christmas cards postmarked from “Bethlehem” and envelopes stamped with a Christmas greeting from the town.
Those who do visit these two Nativity treasures can continue singing Little Town of Bethlehem’s later verses:
How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heaven. No ear may hear His coming, But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive him still, The dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem Descend to us, we pray Cast out our sin and enter in Be born to us today O come to us, abide with us Our Lord Emmanuel!
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Visiting hours for the abbey crèche: Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Winter Closure: Jan. 7-Easter Sunday; free.
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