Update: 'Love Hurts' Rounds Out Stories on the Green Winter Series

In advance of Valentine's Day, heartfelt stories of breakups, bad dates, and relationship calamities take center stage in MouseMuse Productions' 'Love Hurts,' the final Stories on the Green show of the winter season at the Fairfield Museum and History Center (FMHC). MouseMuse's storytellers take the stage on Feb. 9.The doors open at 7 p.m.

“The Love Hurts theme has been inspired by Valentine’s Day and the role of Cleopatra performed by Katharine Hepburn at the American Shakespeare Theater in Stratford, featured in the Bravo! theatre exhibition,” according to Kathleen Motes Bennewitz, director of exhibitions and programs for the Fairfield Museum and History Center. “Anthony and Cleopatra’s agonizing and calamitous love affair changed history. However, the 'Love Hurts' stories will emphasize true tales of breakups, bad dates, and smaller calamities that get in the way of more mundane folks like us.”

Under the guidance of story master Bill Bosch of Oxford, Conn. and MouseMuse creator Ina Chadwick of Westport, five men between the ages of 30 and 65 will bare their vulnerabilities, insecurities, and missteps in matters of the heart. There will be stories of cheaters who nearly ruined their lives, guys who had no idea how to 'score,' a court delay in the break up of an anniversary-day divorce, and a boxing match over a fantasy girl in high school who didn’t even know her suitors. The women, one of whom is 19, has each had a tryst with aphrodisiacs.

“This is our third event at the Fairfield Museum and the first two, back in October and December were hugely successful,” reported Chadwick. “MouseMuse has been producing storytelling events for a number of years at several locations throughout Fairfield County, and the audience response is always incredible.”

The format offers each storyteller 10 minutes to tell his or her tale. Award-winning storyteller Bill Bosch auditions and coaches potential storytellers throughout the year, and those who make the cut become members of the storytelling troupe. Bosch, a member of MouseMuse’s production team, has been telling stories for years and was a finalist in New York’s fabled storytelling venue The Moth, eventually making it to Grand Slam, a high honor for storytelling in New York City. 

Members of the audience will also have a chance to share their stories. Anyone in attendance can throw his or her name into a hat during intermission. Three names will be chosen to share a three-minute story on the evening's 'Love Hurts' theme. “I’m always amazed at what happens during this part of the show,” Chadwick says. “We’ve asked several of those three-minute storytellers to become full-fledged members of our troupe.”

Storytellers will include Tom Lawlor of Fairfield, Max Westhelle of Rowayton, Jeep Halo of Milford, Arch Currie of Norwalk. Rounding out the roster are Shannon Walsh and Maureen Hallock of Westport.

To purchase tickets, visit http://www.fairfieldhistory.org/event-calendar/ or call 203-259-1598. Reservations are recommended. Food is included in the ticket price, and a cash bar will also be available. $20, $15 for FMHC members