• Captain America actor Chris Evans returned to his native Massachusetts over the weekend to help dedicate the new home of a youth theater company where as a child he honed his acting skills. Evans, wearing a Boston Red Sox hat, helped cut the ribbon Saturday at the Concord Youth Theatre's new permanent home. Evans, who grew up in nearby Sudbury, acted in Concord Youth Theatre productions starting when he was 9 years old. His mother, Lisa Evans, is the theater's director. Chris Evans said the theater was "a place to feel safe and take risks and explore what would ultimately be my career." The new building has seating for more than 200 people. The Concord Youth Theatre will debut its new space with Godspell this week.
• Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence got married over the weekend in Rhode Island, holding a ceremony and reception studded with Hollywood stars. The Hunger Games star tied the knot with New York art dealer Cooke Maroney on Saturday at a Newport, R.I., mansion. Lawrence's publicist confirmed that the wedding took place but did not provide additional details. People.com reported that Emma Stone, Kris Jenner and Amy Schumer were among the 150 guests at Belcourt Castle, which is owned by Carolyn Rafaelian, owner and founder of the jewelry company Alex and Ani. The Newport Daily News reported that about 100 fans stood outside the mansion, hoping to catch a glimpse of a celebrity.
• Ken Burns is inaugurating an annual prize for makers of historical films with a $200,000 grant to the people behind an upcoming movie about the late Georgia writer Flannery O'Connor. The movie Flannery shows the influence behind the novelist and short-story writer's work, as she lived in a rural Southern town and struggled with lupus. The author of A Good Man is Hard to Find died in 1964 at age 39. Burns, the noted documentarian, said he knows from experience the expense involved in getting projects like these done. The film by Elizabeth Coffman and Mark Bosco "made me go out and buy [O'Connor's] books," he said. Burns' nonprofit Better Angels Society is collaborating with philanthropists Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine and the Library of Congress in funding the award. Judges sifted through some 80 entrants, Burns said. A $50,000 grant is being given to the makers of Mae West: Dirty Blonde, the award's runner-up, with four $25,000 grants given to other finalists. The annual prize will recognize a documentary-maker who uses original research and a compelling narrative to tell stories that touch on some aspect of American history.
A Section on 10/21/2019