The Silas Bronson Library is pleased to announce the launch of the Philip V. Benevento Fund for Cultural Programs for Adults at the library. The public is invited to attend the inaugural program on Thursday, June 8 at 6 p.m., featuring a special performance by the cast of Trav’lin: The 1930s Harlem Musical, arranged for the library by Semina DeLaurentis, Artistic Director of Seven Angels Theatre. The program is free; refreshments will be served.
Trav’lin, which is currently running at Seven Angels Theatre through June 11, is a high-octane, jazzy-soul fest that takes you back to Harlem in the 1930s when the music was swinging, big bands ruled, and the Harlem Renaissance was in high gear.
Trav’lin rediscovers the music of Harlem Renaissance composer J. C. Johnson. Johnson wrote Bessie Smith’s signature song “Empty Bed Blues” and collaborated with such artists as Fats Waller, Chick Webb, and George Whiting. His songs were recorded by such icons as Billie Holliday, Ethel Waters, Ella Fitzgerald, Louie Armstrong, Fred Astaire, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. The Broadway musicals Me and Bessie, and Ain’t Misbehavin’ reprised his music for a new generation.
The Philip V. Benevento Fund for Cultural Programs for Adults at the Silas Bronson Library was established in 2016 through the generosity of MacDermid Performance Solutions and their C.O.O., Frank Monteiro, in honor of Waterbury’s City Historian and former Silas Bronson Library Board member Philip V. Benevento.
The Benevento Fund continues to grow through individual donations made to the Friends of the Silas Bronson Library, ensuring that the library will be able to offer high quality cultural programs for adults for years to come. Contributions to the fund can be made by check to the Friends of the Silas Bronson Library, P.O. Box 2853, Waterbury, CT 06723.