by Jordan Allyn The New Haven independent
The Shubert Theatre plans to bring its “free family workshops” to both the Westville and Dixwell public library branches, thanks to a $12,000 donation from local philanthropist Lindy Lee Gold.
Leaders of the Shubert Theatre announced that expansion of their library event program during a press conference Thursday morning.
Shubert Director of Education & Engagement Kelly Wuzzardo started offering Shubert-performance-related workshops at Dixwell’s Stetson Branch Library eight years ago. Gold, who is the president of the Amour Propre Charitable Fund, donated $6,000 to Shubert’s library workshop program last year. This year, she doubled her givings, allowing the Shubert to expand the workshop series to the Mitchell Branch Library.
“Theater opens up your mind, it connects people, and a lot of people can’t afford that,” said Stetson Branch Manager Diane X Brown.
Each year, Wuzzardo reviews the Shubert Theatre season to find five to six family-friendly shows. She then plans library workshops based on the Shubert performances. “My job is access, so it’s not about selling tickets, but I do try to always connect to what we’re doing back [at the Shubert],” said Wuzzardo.
Events target children ages 3-10 and can include book readings, arts and crafts, and dances. At least four Shubert show tickets are raffled out at each workshop. And Wuzzardo shows off approximately 50 books that coincide with the themes and subject matter of the upcoming Shubert Theatre performance. Wuzzardo joked, “I’m half-Italian, half-Irish, so if I didn’t have enough books, I would die.”
Shubert also partners with the organization Read To Grow to support literacy education and provide free books at the workshops. “Storytime is a performance,” said Suzannah Holsenbeck, executive director of Read to Grow. Through the Book for Kids program, any organization serving children can request books from Read to Grow.
In 2024, the Shubert Theatre produced a puppet show called “Dinosaur World Live.” So Wuzzardo brought members of the Peabody Museum to lead a fossil workshop at Stetson library. Wuzzardo said the event attracted “four-year-old paleontologists.”
Wuzzardo also fondly remembers the Very Hungry Caterpillar workshop. As actors at the Shubert Theatre prepared to present The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Wuzzardo performed a butterfly dance at Stetson. “And it was on the front page of the paper,” recalled Wuzzardo. She even got recognized at the grocery store.
The next workshops will center on Nov. 22’s The Phantom & The Illharmonic Orchestra performance. The Stetson Library workshop will be on Saturday, Nov. 1 from 2-3 p.m. The Mitchell Library workshop will be on Wednesday, Nov. 5 from 4-5 p.m.
At Thursday’s presser, Gold described herself as a “theater junkie.” She said she subscribes to Long Wharf Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, and the Yale Repertory Theater. She said she chose to fund the library workshop program because “theater does more than entertain. It creates empathy. It builds community. It serves as a platform for social commentary and change.” She added, “Hopefully, if we play our cards right and everything works out, next year maybe we’ll be able to expand it to get another library.”