Bits And Pieces 04.19.12

Primo Levi Tribute

    The Montauk Library will offer a free presentation of “But When We Started Singing . . .” on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

    Robert Spiotto, the artistic director of community arts programs at Hofstra University, will be the sole performer in this tribute to Primo Levi, an Italian-Jewish author who died in 1987. Levi was a novelist, essayist, and poet who was best known for his recountings of his imprisonment at Auschwitz during World War II. The event will commemorate the 25th anniversary of his death and International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

‘Tempest’ Fund-Raiser

    The Green Theatre Collective is in the process of raising money for its outdoor production of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” at Quail Hill Farm in July. The theater company’s goal is to raise $10,000 by May 1 through Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping arts groups raise money for their projects. Raising money through the Fractured Atlas site allows for contributions to the group to be tax-deductible.

    The collective’s goal is to present theater productions in outdoor spaces with a minimal ecological footprint. Its fund-raising Web site is fracturedatlas.org/s/ campaign/600.

Bay Street Benefit

    Liza Minelli will give a special performance as part of the Bay Street Theatre’s first Honors Benefit at 6 p.m. on April 30 at the Manhattan Penthouse on lower Fifth Avenue in New York City. The proceeds will support the theater’s programs.

    Joy Behar, Adrianne Cohen, and John Downing will be honored. Susie Essman from the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” television series and Richard Kind, a Bay Street board member, will be presenters.

     Tickets can be purchased through Mary Ellen DiPrisco at the theater.

Political Documentary

    On Saturday at 8 p.m., the Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival will screen “Patriocracy,” an hourlong film about partisanship run amok in Washington, D.C., and why it has brought lawmaking to a standstill.

    Those interviewed for the piece include senators, representatives, journalists, pundits, and academics. They will describe the problems and offer some solutions.

    A discussion led by Ken Rudin, NPR’s political editor (who appears in the film), and Brian Malone, the producer and director, will follow the screening. The presentation coincides with the New York State presidential primaries on Tuesday. A $15 donation will be requested at the door.

Chamber Players

    The Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players and their director, Eduardo Leandro, will play at the Southampton Cultural Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. as part of the center’s chamber music series.

    The program will explore European and American contemporary music of the last 50 years and will include a selection of works from the 2011-12 season by composers such as Luciano Berio, Steve Reich, Pierre Boulez, and more.

    Tickets cost $20, or $10 for students, and will be sold online at scc-arts.org and at the door.

Rooftop Vegetables

    On Sunday, Christian Duvernois and Jacob Lange of CD Gardens will present “From Versailles to the New York City Rooftop: A Vegetable Garden Odyssey,” from 1 to 3 p.m. at Bridge Gardens in Bridgehampton.

    The two are working on a history of the kitchen garden and will examine the cultural and political history of kitchen gardens.

    The lecture is $15 and is free for Bridge Garden members. Reservations are required by calling the Peconic Land Trust office or e-mailing [email protected]. The gardens will also be open that day.

Parrish Spring Fling

    Parrish Art Museum’s annual Spring Fling celebration and fund-raiser will be held on Saturday evening from 7:30 to 11.

    The event, co-chaired by Susan Davis and Nancy Hardy, will include live entertainment by Todd Barrie Music, and hors d’oeuvres donated by Sant Ambroeus. Guests have been invited to enjoy an open bar with Glacier Potato Vodka martinis, wines from Niche Import Company, and Southampton Publick House ales.

    Luxury items up for bid during a silent auction include such things as a cocktail party for 100 guests, golf play at the Bridgehampton Golf Club and the National Golf Links in Tuckahoe, V.I.P. passes to the Hampton Classic horse show, designer handbags and jewelry, and gift certificates, among other things. The museum is also offering a raffle for two dinner tickets to its July Midsummer Party, a $2,000 value. Anyone can enter the raffle, whether they plan to attend the Spring Fling or not; the $50 raffle tickets can be purchased by phone or online at parrishart.org.

    Tickets for the Spring Fling are $150 or $100 for museum members. All tickets will increase to $175 at the door. The money raised will help support the museum, its exhibitions, lectures, films, performances, concerts, and classes, as well as its new 34,500-square-foot facility, expected to open this fall.