Open Cockpit Sundays at the Air Museum; Spanish guitar at Jorgensen; Art Exhibit Opening in Windsor and More This Weekend

Is Storrs sexy? More specifically, is it sexy enough to handle the Fabio of flamenco, the Latin Michael Flatley, the Spanish pied piper, and his dancers in rather skimpy, albeit Emmy Award-winning, costumes? That’s just one question surrounding the two-night run of Benise: The Spanish Guitar at Jorgensen this Friday and Saturday, March 18-19.

Roni Benise’s shows are music-and-dance spectacles a la Riverdance and Celtic Women, darkly lit, colorful and likely to put untold numbers of viewers into heat. This production got so hot, in fact, that it was closed down midway at Jaipur Palace (The Pink City) in India during the “Bamboleo” number, and the band and dancers were escorted offstage. Ironically, those costumes were awarded an Emmy in an earlier Benise production on PBS.

Benise is actually a Nebraska-born farm boy who fell in love with the guitar and went to LA to become a street musician before he developed a reputation as the Latino Josh Groban. His shows tour all over and have been featured on PBS. You may have seen him last season on “Dancing With the Stars.” Although not from Latin roots himself, his entourage includes a Cuban lead singer, performers steeped in the Spanish dances and band members with rock and video pedigrees.

The Spanish Guitar transports the audience to exotic locales in 10 countries on a quest for lost passion. The show starts at 8 p.m., but doors open at 7 for cash-only food and drink in Jorgensen’s cabaret setting.

Call 860-486-4226, or order tickets ($34, $38, $45) online at jorgensen.uconn.edu. Free parking across the street in the North Garage.

Open Cockpit Sunday at New England Air Museum

Ever wondered what it was like to pilot a World War II-era airplane? Or to fly a helicopter, a DC-3 airliner, or a F-100 Super Sabre? On March 20, you can sit behind the controls or experience simulated flight at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks. The museum's Open Cockpit Sundays allow visitors to climb into the pilot's seat of up to 12 vintage aircraft, a full-motion flight simulator, and two static flight simulators. Aircraft included in the adventure include the famous Vought Corsair of World War II, the North American F-100 Super Sabre, a DC-3 airliner, several helicopters, and more.

Open cockpit hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.neam.org or call 860-623-3305. The New England Air Museum is at 36 Perimeter Road in Windsor Locks.

Sea Chanteys and More

The Navy Band Sea Chanters, the official chorus of the U.S. Navy, will perform traditional patriotic fare and, yes, sea chanteys at their stop on Tuesday, March 22, at Manchester High School. But this 55-year-old group also draws from opera, Broadway and contemporary music.

Making their home in Washington, D.C., the Chanters are commonly featured at inaugurations, wreath layings, foreign visits, military affairs and shuttle launches. In their free time, they go on national tours. Once an all-male group, the Sea Chanters began admitting women in 1980, and are directed by Senior Chief Musician Georgina L. Todd, an alto.

The Sea Chanters will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Manchester High School. Admission is free. For information, call 860-647-3521 or visit http://mhsweb.ci.manchester.ct.us.

‘Guys & Dolls’ a Safe Bet at Tolland High

Even if your kid isn’t in Tolland High School’s “Guys & Dolls” this weekend, March 18-19, think about going. The Frank Loesser musical favorite, based on Damon Runyon’s stories, affords hilarity, romance and, yes, even conflict, as all bets are off when love unfolds between a sweet missionary and a rakish gambler. But it’s the tunes that delight: “Adelaide’s Lament” (a person could develop a cold), “Luck Be a Lady,” “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” and the wonderful standard, “If I Were a Bell.”

The students are directed by Patricia Micari, with vocal coaching by veteran actress/singer Linda Tracy. Romantic leads Sarah Brown and Sky Masterson are played by Kat Blair and Toby Bobey. Comic romantic leads Nathan Detroit and Hot Box headliner Miss Adelaide are played by Alex Noonan and Lindsay Cabaniss. Nicely Nicely, who gets to tell everyone to sit down, is portrayed by Nick DeCrosta.

Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets –  $10 generally, $8 for students and seniors – can be bought at the door or through a student. The school is at 1 Eagle Hill Drive.

St. Patrick’s Day Thievery

Early in the morning, the day after St. Patrick’s Day in 1990, crooks disguised as police officers made their way into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and perpetrated the largest art heist in modern history. Vermeer’s “The Concert” was one of 13 priceless artworks that have never been recovered. That piece was one of only 35 of his surviving works. On Friday, March 18, the Benton Film Series presents a free showing of "Stolen," the 2005 documentary about the crime that rocked the art world 21 years ago to the day.

Don’t go to the Benton, however. The free film series has been moved to the CUE Building, Room 134, for the season. The film starts at 12:15 p.m. Friday, followed by a discussion with Benton docent Amy De Flumere. For information, visit http://www.thebenton.org/.

Focus and Fidelity at Windsor Art Center

Yale graduates and New York artists Beth Livensperger and Andy Lane are both interested in producing images that are cropped, blurred, or fragmented, and which mimic the distracted, confused way we sometimes take in the world. Recent paintings by both artists are on view as part of Focus and Fidelity, a new exhibition that opens March 19 at the Windsor Art Center. Lane works primarily in oil on canvas as well as ink drawing and prints. Livensperger uses oil and gouache.

Focus and Fidelity runs through April 30. An opening reception will be held on March 19 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a members-only preview at 4:30 p.m. The Windsor Art Center is at the corner of Central and Mechanic streets in Windsor. For more information, visit www.windsorartcenter.org or email info@windsorartcenter.org. 

New Adaptation of The Scarlet Letter at Playhouse

The regional premiere of a new adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic The Scarlet Letter continues in performances at West Hartford's Playhouse on Park. Set in colonial Massachusetts in the mid-17th century, this tale of adultery, guilt, and revenge is directed by Stuart Vaughan, a Tony Award winner, former artistic director of New York's Shakespeare Festival, and founder of the New Globe Theatre, Inc. Vaughan and three of the show's actors produced this adaptation of The Scarlet Letter to favorable reviews Off-Broadway in 2007. 

Remaining performance dates at Playhouse on Park are March 17 through 20. For tickets and more information, visit www.playhouseonpark.org or call 860-523-5900. Playhouse on Park is at 244 Park Road, West Hartford. 

Maestro Kuan Debuts as HSO Music Director

Hartford Symphony Orchestra's music director designate Carolyn Kuan leads her first concert as an official member of the band. The event features a program inspired by Kuan's first visit to the city and, in particular, to Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum. “I have selected works for my debut concert that show how music and art inspire, engage, and connect this wonderful community,” she says. Featured in the program is Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, John Adams’ The Chairman Dances, and Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4, as performed by the HSO’s Principal French horn player, Barbara Hill. Kuan is increasingly recognized as one of the most exciting, innovative and outstanding conductors of her generation.

Concerts are March 17 at 7:30 p.m., March 18 and 19 at 8 p.m., and March 20 at 3 p.m. Maestro Kuan leads a pre-concert chat one hour prior to each concert. Tickets range in price from $30 to $65. Student tickets are $10. (Prices do not include applicable fees.) To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.hartfordsymphony.org or call 860-244-2999.

Shoah at Cinestudio

In 1985, Claude Lanzmann's 9 1/2-hour Holocaust documentary Shoah was hailed as an instant classic. None other than Marcel Ophuls, director of The Sorrow and the Pity, called the film "the greatest documentary on contemporary history ever released, bar none, and by far the greatest film I've ever seen about the Holocaust." Shoah was filmed in 14 countries over the course of 11 years, it preserves for all time the eyewitness accounts of survivors, perpetrators, and bystanders.   

This week, Hartford's Cinestudio presents the 25th anniversary re-release of the film. It will be screened in four parts, allowing viewers to attend separate viewings or one marathon session. Cinestudio is on the campus of Trinity College, 300 Summit St., Hartford. For more information, visit www.cinestudio.org or call 860-297-2463.

Miller-Keller, Film Celebrate LeWitt

On March 17, Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum presents a rare and special treat for art lovers. The work and life of native son Sol LeWitt will be explored first by Andrea Miller-Keller, who is widely regarded as the artist's foremost interpreter,in a guided gallery tour. This is followed by a screening of Ed Howard's film Sol LeWitt: Wall Drawings.

The guided gallery tour begins at 5:30 p.m. with the screening to follow. Howard will introduce his film. The film is screened again on March 19 at 7:30 p.m., and March 20 at 2 p.m. Admission, which includes the tour and the movie on the 17th, costs $9 adults, $8 seniors and students; $7 members. and $3.50 Atheneum Film Buffs. (Admission cost for the film only on March 19 and 20 was not available at press time.) The Wadsworth Atheneum is at 600 Main St., Hartford. For more information, visit www.wadsworthatheneum.org or call 860-278-2670.