Connecticut Arts Connection

Quick Hit Theater Review: Next to Normal -- Seven Angels

2013-05-18T12:37:00.003-07:00

Semina De Laurentis and Victor Hernndez. Photo: Paul Roth

Next to Normal
Music by Tom Kitt
Book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Music Director Zachary Ryan
Directed and Choreographed by Janine Molinari; Assistant Director: John T. Lynes; Costumes by Three-J's Stitching
Seven Angels Theatre

What's It All About?
Just a typical American family. Mom Diana (Seven Angels' Atristic Director Semina De Laurentis) makes lunch sandwiches for her loving husband, Dan (Victor Hernandez) and daughter, Natalie (Mandy Thompson) while gazing adoringly at her son, Gabe (Brett Stoelker), but from the first twisted chord of Tom Kitt's music, it's clear that not everything is normal in this suburban home. Diana, in fact, suffers from bipolar disorder, and when she stops taking her meds, her behavior affects everyone around her.

Dan tries to keep things together and pretends everything will be normal. Natalie feels neglected and loses herself in her studies, new boyfriend, Henry (Johnny Newcomb), and drugs while Gabe encourages his mother to stay off her meds. When the drugs don't seem to work, the doctor (Daniel C. Levine) suggests an even harsher treatment: shock therapy.

What are the Highlights?
Kitt's score and Brian Yorgey's book and lyrics combine for one of the deepest and moving shows to hit a Broadway stage. It's not the typical subject matter for a musical (the theater suggests that it is appropriate for children 16 and up), but you should take advantage of an opportunity to see this excellent rock musical, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. That sandwich-making scene in the opening act is terrific as directed by Janine Molinari with De Laurentis skillfully portraying the frenzied breakdown as Diana tries to cope. Later she also belts out a lovely version of "I Miss the Mountains." Hernandez conveys love and confusion (especially in singing the song "He's Not Here.") Thompson lends a full range of vocal ability and Stoelker is spot-on (could have sworn I was watching original Broadway cast member Aaron Tveit) as the boy who pulls his mother deeper into the darkness. He nails "I'm Alive."

Two elderly women bopping to the beat of the exit music.

What are the Lowlights?
Sound (Matthew Martin, design). Voices don't blend well, there is popping in the speakers and everyone is shouting. The tempo is off at times. Lighting (Matt Guminski, design) is too dim. Yes, we get that the lighting reflects Diana's moods, but sometimes she's feeling a little too dark for us to see what's going on in the two levels of the house (Erik D. Diaz, scenic design). Because the house is built out of frames on such a small stage, it looks as though Natalie and Henry are practicing music on top of the roof instead of in a studio.

More information:
Next to Normal runs through June 9 at Seven Angels Theatre, 1 Plank Road, Waterbury. Tickets: http://sevenangelstheatre.org/.

Special events:
Sweet Maria’s Night, May 31
Fascia’s Chocolate Night, June 1
Wine & Martini Night, June 7
Sundaes on Sunday June 9

There will be a talk back session Sunday, June 9 after the performance with a panel facilitated by the Wellmore Group. The discussions will include a Q&A session about mental health and its impact on people and families, and about the mental health issues portrayed in the show.

(No performances Memorial Weekend, May 23-27)

Theater Review: Clybourne Park -- Long Wharf

2013-05-18T11:26:00.001-07:00

Daniel Jenkins, Alice Ripley, Melle Powers, Alex Moggridge, LeRoy McClain, Jimmy Davis and Lucy Owen. Photo: T. Charles Erickson

Racism Takes Up Residence in Clybourne Park, both Past and Present

By Lauren Yarger

Have you heard the one about a little white man thrown in a jail cell with a big black guy? If not, you can catch this, and a few other offensive jokes over at Long Wharf Theatre, where they pepper the dialogue in Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park, the Pulitzer-Prize winning play that explores themes of racism, gentrification and the way Americans relate to each other.

Norris borrows a character from Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun to link stories set in a house in the Clybourne Park section of North Chicago through the decades. In 1959, Russ and Bev (Daniel Jenkins and Tony Award winner Alice Ripley) have sold their home (beautifully designed with bungalow wood trim and detail by Frank Alberino) and are packing for the move. Well, Russ isn’t really doing any of the packing. He’s been sitting around in a funk while Bev supervises her housekeeper, Francine (Melle Powers), who does the work.

Their pastor, tipped off by Bev’s concern about her husband stops by, but Russ isn’t willing to listen to his preaching. He’s still bitter about the death of his son, who committed suicide after his experiences in the Korean War.

The discussion really gets ugly when Hansberry’s character Karl Linder (Alex Moggridge) and his wife, Betsy (Lucy Owen) show up to say the neighborhood association has countered the offer Russ and Bev accepted on their home because the buyers are “colored” (they are, in fact, the Younger family from A Raisin in the Sun).

He tries to elicit the support of Francine and her husband, Albert (Leroy McClain) in making a case that black families really don’t want to live in Clybourne Park. Tempers flare and some unpleasant truths are exposed about the era’s collective prejudice with regards to race, vets returning from war and physical handicaps (Betsy is deaf and references are made to a mentally challenged individual who bags groceries at the local market).

Fast forward to 2009. The home, now a shell of its former self, covered in graffiti, is destined for demolition by the white couple, Lindsey and Steve (Owen and Moggridge) who have just bought it. They arrive with their attorney, Kathy (Ripley) to meet about a petition they have received by neighbors concerned about the height of the proposed new home (and in reality, about the gentrification of the now black neighborhood as whites seek affordable property within commuting distance to the city).

Lena (Powers), the great niece of the home’s first black owner, and her husband, Kevin (McClain) show up with their attorney, Tom (Davis) to try to protect the integrity of the neighborhood, where Kathy also has roots, it turns out.

Once again, an attempt to discuss issues in a civilized fashion is thwarted by underlying prejudice (this is where those ugly jokes get told) and before it’s all over, blacks, whites, women, gays and just about everyone else can consider themselves offended by this group which tries to be oh, so politically correct and polite. In the midst of the confusion, a construction worker (Jenkins) discovers a footlocker linking present with past and proving that while some things have changed in this nation with regards to prejudice, we still have a long way to go.

Clybourne Park won last year’s Tony Award for Best Play as well as the 2011 Pulitzer and Olivier. Despite the accolades, this play can tend toward boring at times, even though it is well written and witty and runs only two hours (it doesn’t seem as sharp as other Pulitzer winners to me, but I’ve never won one, so who am I to judge?) Directed by Eric Ting, there also is something missing in the dynamic between characters, though the dual roles are well done by all of the players. (Ripley, usually a dynamo on stage, seems stilted here to me.) The characters say their lines, but there is no energy fueling the electric nature, or undercurrent of what they are saying.

The conversation will continue off stage, however. Long Wharf Theatre and the New Haven Free Public Library have announced “Stage. Page. Engage,” a series of community conversations taking place in May about the complex issues of race and real estate in the city of New Haven.

Local historians Colin Caplan, Tom Ficklin, and Clifton Graves will discuss the evolution of the particular city neighborhood where the conversation is being held. In addition to the local historians, people from each neighborhood are encouraged to attend and offer their own personal perspectives on the place where they live. Ting will introduce each neighborhood exploration with a scene from Long Wharf Theatre’s production of Clybourne Park, presented by local actors.

All talks are free and open to the public:

Saturday, May 18, 1 pm at the Stetson Library, 200 Dixwell Ave. 203-946-8119, with Ficklin and Graves.
Monday, May 20, 6 pm at the Mitchell Library, 37 Harrison St., 203-946-8117, with Ficklin and Caplan.
Tuesday, May 28, 6 pm at the Wilson Library, 303 Washington Ave., 203-946-2228, with Caplan.
Saturday, June, 1 p.m. at the Fair Haven Library, 182 Grand Ave., 203-946-8115, with Ficklin and Caplan.

Clybourne Park runs through June 2 on the Mainstage at Long wharf Theatre, 222 Sargent Drive,
New Haven. Tickets are $40-$70: 203-787-4282: www.longwharf.org. See a video trailer for the show here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0kH26YKcTo.

Theater Review: The Dining Room -- Westport

2013-05-14T12:23:00.002-07:00

Jennifer VanDyck and Jake Robards. Photo: Carol Rosegg

The Dining Room
By A.R. Gurney
Directed by Mark Lamos
Westport Country Playhouse

What's It All About?
A poignant and funny look at generations of folks whose lives made stops or overlapped in an opulent dining room. The actors (a fine ensemble of Heidi Armbruster, Chris Henry Coffey, Jake Robards, Charles Socarides and Jennifer Van Dyck) play various owners and servants in the home over the years, often portraying the same characters at different ages (including juveniles). It's a look back at different times and a sobering realization that some things don't change.

What are the highlights?
Director Mark Lamos coaxes compelling performances from the ensemble and maintains a brisk pace which keeps the quiet piece (less laugh-out-loud than some of Gurney's other works) from inducing yawns (which this play can trigger i the wrong hands).

Scenic Director Michael Yeargan paints everything in a blue gray color -- the walls, furniture, floors and all -- in a stroke of genius that allows the lives of the room' inhabitants to be the real color the house offers.

What are the Lowlights?
A tad confusing from time to time to figure out who's who and what year we're in, but not enough to throw us off for long.

More information:
This is the season opener (the 83rd) for Westport Country Playhouse. An extra performance has been added on Sunday, May 19, at 3 pm Performances are Tuesday at 8 pm, Wednesday at 2 and 8 pm, Thursday and Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 3 and 8 pm and Sunday at 3. Ticket prices start at $30: (203) 227-4177,1-888-927-7529, Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport, www.westportplayhouse.org.

Mandy Patinkin to Appear at Long Wharf

2013-05-14T10:34:00.004-07:00

A special ONE NIGHT ONLY engagement
Friday, June 7
8:00 p.m. performance
Tickets: $125
(includes complimentary pre-show cocktail)

LONG WHARF THEATRE
BOX OFFICE: 203-787-4282 | WWW.LONGWHARF.ORG

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center Offers Salon Program on Mental Health

2013-05-14T10:27:00.002-07:00

Salons at Stowe Mental Health:
Stigmas, Stereotypes & Solutions

May 16 5-7 p.m.
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

How prevalent is mental illness in our community?
Is mental health treatment accessible to all?
How can we support individuals and families struggling with mental health issues?

Join the discussion with
Harold I. Schwartz, M.D.,
Hartford Hospital Institute of Living and
Sara Frankel, J.D.
National Alliance on Mental Illness Connecticut.

Click here for more information

RSVP or 860-522-9258, ext. 317.

77 Forest St., Hartford, CT 06105

HarrietBeecherStowe.org

860-522-9258

Arts Week

2013-05-14T10:17:00.001-07:00

Next Long Wharf Season Offers Two Premieres

2013-05-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

Long Wharf Theatre has announced the slate of shows for its 49th season.

The season will begin with a farce, The Underpants, by Steve Martin, directed by Long Whar's Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein in co-production with Hartford Stage. Martin’s play is based on Carl Sternheim’s play Die Hose, which was banned in Germany in 1911 for its risqué content. Then, Phylicia Rashad will make her Long Wharf Theatre directorial debut with Fences, the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic by August Wilson

Heidi Schreck, known for her brilliant career as both an actor and a playwright, will debut her newest work, The Consultant, on Stage II in January. The Consultant deals with the financial meltdown, the absurd world of the modern workplace and the unlikely relationships formed there. Kip Fagan, who recently directed Jesse Eisenberg and Vanessa Redgrave in The Revisionist at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in NewYorl.

Amy Herzog's 4000 Miles plays the Mainstage in late February. It's a very honest look at the unsteady relationship between a grandmother and grandson who are worlds apart generationally

Athol Fugard makes his first appearance on stage in over a decade in the world premiere of his most recent work The Shadow of the Hummingbird. This sensitive portrayal of an 80-year-old man giving advice to his young grandson will take place on Stage II in April. “This is a great work by a late master about living and dying, and how to live one’s life” Edelstein said. “It is written by and starring one of the most important voices in the world theatre in the last fifty years. We are honored that Athol has chosen to give us his newest play.”

The season will conclude with the musical The Last Five Years, taking place in May on the Mainstage.The heartbreaking romance from Jason Robert Brown is a portrait of a marriage.

Subscriptions are currently on sale. Single tickets for the 2013-14 Season will go on sale Thursday, Aug. 1. For more information about the 2013-14 season, or to purchase tickets, visit www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.

Theater Review: Looped -- The Bushnell

2013-05-10T03:58:00.003-07:00

Stefanie Powers. Photo: Ian Ibbetson

It’s a Recording Session from Hell When the Star Gets Looped
By Lauren Yarger
A single line of dialogue is the catalyst for Matthew Lombardo’s multi-layered and laugh-filled play Looped making a tour stop this week at The Bushnell in Hartford.

It seems the sound is garbled on one important line of dialogue in the 1965 film “Die, Die My Darling,” so star Tallulah Bankhead (Stefanie Powers), who has returned to films after a 12-year hiatus, is summoned to re-record (or “loop”) the line in sync with the film. Sounds uncomplicated, but when the larger-than-life actress known for her outrageous language and behavior gets a little looped herself on alcohol and cocaine, the recording session is anything but simple for film’s editor Danny (Brian Hutchison, who played the role on Broadway) and sound engineer Steve (Matthew Montelongo).

Throwing off her fur coat and strutting about in a dark-blue evening dress (William Ivey Long, design), Tallulah makes repeated attempts to record the line “And so Patricia, as I was telling you, that deluded rector has, in literal effect, closed the church to me.”

Danny’s frustration grows with each unsuccessful attempt. Steve keeps his distance up in the second-story booth, offering only a few words while a growing battle of words and will ensues between Tallulah and Danny. (Adrian W. Jones designs the set; Michael Gilliam designs the lighting to include the look of the film being shown).

At one point Steve leaves to get another film reel and the conversation turns personal. Tallulah intuitively senses that Danny’s angst about the recording session really is a manifestation of a deeper frustration in his personal life. He hides behind his work, she tells him.

He counters with an accusation that Tallulah’s outrageous behavior is a cover for inability to deal with reality. Her reality, it turns out, is a bit harder to deal with than he might have imagined. Dark secrets are shared and the two form a bond of tentative friendship.

It’s funny and poignant, as directed by Rob Ruggiero, with complexities for the stage that keep that “And so Patricia” line from sounding repetitive. Montelongo manages to turn a few one-word responses into a developed character. Powers simply becomes Tallulah Bankhead. The perky jet-setting, mystery-solving character from the TV series Hart to Hart is nowhere to be found.

There are some drawbacks, however. The intimate show is ill-placed in the cavernous Mortensen Hall (which had a small house on opening night) and the sound (Michael Hooker, design) has an echo quality, as though the voices are muffled in a large space.

As it turns out, this tour is poignant in real life as well as on stage. The recording session is based on a true incident. “Die, Die My Darling” turned out to be Tallulah’s last film, and the part of “Patricia” was played by none other than Stefanie Powers. In addition, Powers stepped into the role of Tallulah for Valerie Harper, who had starred on Broadway, but who had to drop out of the tour when she was diagnosed with cancer. (The tour had been scheduled to launch here earlier this year, but with the cast change, the Hartford run was rescheduled to this week).

Looped runs through Sunday at the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. Performances:
Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm; Friday at 8 pm; Saturday at 2 and 8 pm; Sunday at 1 and 6:30 pm. Tickets $35-$60: (860) 987-5900; www.bushnell.org.

Theater Review: In a Year With 13 Moons

2013-05-10T03:47:00.001-07:00

Mickey Solis and Bill Camp. Photo © Richard Termine

Yale Rep’s In a Year With 13 Moons Puzzles Audience – and Critic
By Lauren Yarger
As a critic, my first obligation is to be honest, so my readers will trust me when reporting on my experiences in the theater. After seeing the world premiere of In a Year With 13 Moons at Yale Rep, I have to tell you the truth. I didn’t get it.

I have no idea what is about, really, even with the aid of the script, so if you are looking for expert analysis on this one, I need to refer you to another source who appreciates absurdist, existential theater. This play might be great for those of you who love this type of theater, but it’s completely lost on me.

In an effort to shed some light on the experience, however, I will tell you what I can and offer, in italics, what I was thinking at various points during the presentation. Then I’ll bring you a report of what the ladies in line in the restroom had to say after the show. These comments really are more insightful than any attempt at analysis I could provide.

Commissioned by Yale Rep In a Year With 13 Moons is adapted for the stage by its star, Bill Camp, and Director Robert Woodruff, who previously teamed on Notes From Underground at Yale Rep (the film and screenplay are by Rainer Werner Fassbinder; the literal translation is by Louisa Proske). Set in 1978 Frankfurt, it tells the story of Erwin (Camp) who had an operation in Casablanca and who is now Elvira. “Now, adrift and alone, Elvira resists the people and places of the past, desperately searching for the identity and love she’s never known.” That synopsis is thanks to Yale’s Senior Associate Director of Communications Steven Padia, which I never would have been able to come up with myself. I’ll add that the whole of the action is leading up to Elvira’s suicide and is very depressing.

Lauren’s thoughts: They paid for this?

My brain, you see, had started to shut down (self defense, you know) after the opening scenes in which a man making out with Elvira discovers her breasts and is disgusted. He and a bunch of people beat her up and with her pants down, Elvira crawls around the stage while reciting prose that makes no sense. Meanwhile another woman appears on a platform with her legs up and open for another man’s sexual pleasure. Elvira chokes herself while masturbating. Her abusive lover Christoph (Babs Olusanmokun) beats her and tells her she is repulsive and ugly as a pig. He tells her he is leaving her.

“I’m getting out,” he says.

Lauren’s thoughts: Please take me with you.

There’s a reason why they don’t put intermissions in existential shows like this: given a chance to flee, most of the audience will. The ploy wasn’t enough to stop a number of people from getting up and walking out during the play, however.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, the absurd story started to strike me funny. Elvira used to be a slaughterer, by trade, and hopes to find a job in that field. Suddenly we’re in the slaughterhouse and a man covered in blood walks slowly across the stage carrying a dead pig person (a human in an oversized pig head). As dialogue continues, other blood-covered people carry or drag pig persons across the stage until a blood-covered man carries out a bloody dead man, rather than a pigman (with some sort of great significance, I’m sure).

Lauren’s thoughts: Holding in this burst of laughter is really starting to hurt my sides. If I start, I won’t be able to stop.

All of this action takes place on David Zinn’s dim set (Jennifer Tipton designs the lighting) enhanced by video projections (Peter Nigrini, design) and musical notes, noises and bursts played by composer Michael Attias, who also designs the show’s sound, and one other musician in the pit.

There are a number of people Elvira encounters along the way: Irene and Marie-Ann, his former wife, and their daughter (Jacqueline Kim, who provides a much-needed dose of beauty, and Mariko Nakasone), Anton Saitz (Christopher Innvar), a former lover/Mafioso type for whom Elvira originally had her radical surgery, and Sister Gundrun (Joan MacIntosh), a nun at the orphanage where Erwin was raised. He seeks her out to fill in the blanks from the childhood he can’t remember. She starts with his birth and tells the long story while walking very, very, very very slowly around the perimeter of the stage….

Lauren’s thoughts: My watch must have stopped. There’s no way that we’re only just an hour in (the show is two hours and 10 minutes).

I’ll leave the plot description at that, except to say that there is a suicide (not even Elvira’s), a gruesome bedtime story, a shootout, and a concentration camp theme. And let’s not forget the chorus line (David Neumann, choreography).

Lauren’s thoughts: Please make it stop! Here’s two hours of my life I’m never going to get back.
When the play finally concluded to the softest applause I’ve ever heard, the woman in front of me, with a very troubled expression, turned to her companion and said, “We need to find a place where I can get a drink.” A man behind me asked his companion whether she would like to stay for the talkback taking place.

“Yes. Maybe I’ll find out what it was about.”

As I closed my notebook, I noticed that it was almost completely full of notes, but I still didn’t have a clue what to say in this review. I headed to the restroom. There, conversation centered on the play and I whipped my notebook back out, identifying myself as a critic interested in their thoughts, asking for insight into what I had missed. Women gave up their place in line eager for an opportunity to vent.

“I’m university educated,” said one woman, but I have no idea what that was about.”

“Maybe if we watch the film it will clear things up,” another suggested.

“It made no sense.”

“Very unpleasant to watch.”

“That poor girl under the guy for so long much have been uncomfortable.”

Another woman, a theater educator, praised the efforts of the actors. Another gave Yale kudos for being willing to take risk, “but you have to give the audience something to work with,” she added.

Our favorite: a woman joining the queue who heard us discussing the play who asked, “Was this written by him before he died?”

There was a lot of laughter in the bathroom.

“This is probably better than the talkback taking place upstairs,” said one woman wiping away tears.

Lauren’s thoughts: Marie Antoinette, Dear Elizabeth and Hamlet (presented earlier this season at Yale) were so good, I’ll forgive them for this one.

In a Year With 13 Moons runs at Yale Rep, 1120 Chapel St., New Haven, through May 18. Showtimes vary. Tickets $20-$96 :(203) 432-1234; www.yalerep.org.

Note: Yale warns that the show is for mature audiences and that is contains strong language, sexual situations, nudity and violence. For production footage and a three-part series of short interviews with the cast, visit: http://www.youtube.com/user/YaleRepertoryTheatre.

Apologies. . . We're Back!

2013-05-10T03:44:00.003-07:00

A series of glitches prevented us from being able to post this week. News and Reviews of Connecticut's art and theater news is now back up and running!

Theater Review: Good News -- Goodspeed

2013-05-04T15:17:00.001-07:00

Ross Lekites and coeds. Photo by Diane Sobolewski.

Rah! Rah! An Old-Fashioned Musical for Team Goodspeed
By Lauren Yarger
Goodspeed Musicals kicks off its 50th Anniversary Season on the football field with an old-fashioned musical comedy, Good News, which premiered on Broadway back in 1927.

With music by Ray Henderson, B.G. DeSylva and Lew Brown, and book by Laurence Schwab, Frank Mandel and B.G. DeSylva, the story follows love on the Tait Unversity campus and angst about this weekend’s big football game told with songs like “Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries” “Button Up Your Overcoat,” “Lucky in Love” and “The Best Things in Life Are Free.” Director and Choreographer adds his touch to the newly adapted story (Jeremy Desmond) by moving the large ensemble around the Opera House stage through tap dances and a fun game-day encounter between the two football teams.

When football star Tom Marlowe (Ross LeKites) might not be able to play in the big game because he is flunking an astronomy class, the campus is thrown into a tizzy. His girlfriend, Pat (Lindsay O’Neill) needs him to win so he can propose to her the at the post-game victory ball, just like her father had done with her mother. Third-string geeky player Bobby Randall (Barry Shafrin) might actually have to play!

Assistant Coach Pooch (Max Pearlman) wants Coach Bill Johnson (Mark Zimmerman) to appeal to the astronomy professor, Charlotte Kenyon (Beth Glover), but he is reluctant since their romantic relationship back when they were students at Tait didn’t end well. Sparks still fly between them, however, and Kenyon decides to allow Tom to take a make-up exam. Pat’s cousin, mousy astronomy student Connie Lane (Chelsea Morgan Stock) is recruited to tutor him. Something happens when they are star gazing, however, and Tom must decide whether the future Pat has planned for him is really what he wants. Meanwhile party girl Babe O’Day (Tessa Faye) has her eye set on reluctant Bobby, which isn’t setting well with her former conquest, Beef Saunders (Myles J. NcHale) who is large in physical size, if not in intelligence.

It’s a simple tale, mostly predictable, but somehow perfect for the Goodspeed stage. It’s light, fun and lends itself to big dance numbers and colorful costumes (Tracy Christensen, design), though nothing just smacks of the ‘20s, interestingly.

Lekites has a dreamy singing voice that sounds like it was made for an old-fashioned musical. It blends beautifully with Stock’s lovely soprano. Court Watson has fun with the sets, giving them an almost cartoon quality that doesn’t take things too seriously. Some other solos among the cast are much weaker, however, and Faye comes off looking way too old to be a college coed, perhaps because of makeup and hair selections. Some of the “funny” bits aren’t all that funny and there’s an attempt to try too hard.

Good News runs through June 22 at the Goodspeed Opera House, 6 Main St., East Haddam. Performances are Wednesday at 2 and 7:30 pm; Thursday at 7:30 pm and select matinees at 2 pm; Friday at 8 pm; Saturdays at 3 and 8 pm; Sunday at 2 pm with select performances at 6:30 pm. Tickets $27-$76.50 (860) 873-8668; www.goodspeed.org.

Music Rocks the Waterbury Palace for Next Broadway Series

2013-05-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

Jersey Boys.Photo: Joan Marcus

The Palace Theater in Waterbury's 2013-2014 Broadway season features some of the most iconic songs and biggest names in Rock and Roll history.

The season kicks off Oct. 9-13 with eight performances of Jersey Boys, the Tony Award-winning blockbuster musical about the rise of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

Rock of Ages takes center stage March 21-22, featuring 28 classic '80s songs by artists like Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, Journey and more. Then, May 2-4, Hair, the chart-topping journey through the tumultuous 1960s plays, followed by Million Dollar Quartet, the musical that features four of the world’s greatest rock and roll icons Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash which closes out the season June 6-8.

In addition, the season incudes a holiday treat, Elf the Musical, Nov. 19-21. More info: www.palacetheaterct.org..

HartBeat Ensemble Explores the Word of Sex Trafficking

2013-05-01T08:15:00.001-07:00

Herbert Newsome and Cindy Martinez. Photo: Courtesy of HartBeat Ensemble

HartBeat Ensemble continues the tradition of bringing original investigative theater works to the stage with the premiere of Riding the Turnpike. A visionary theater work, Riding the Turnpike
explores the variations and definitions of trafficked women, survival sex workers, and voluntary sex workers.

The play is HartBeat’s first at its new home theater, the Carriage House Theater at 360 Farmington Ave., Hartford. The production runs through May 18 with performances scheduled Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm. www.hartbeatensemble.orgrt; 860-548-9144.

Set in a strip club on the Connecticut Berlin Turnpike, Riding the Turnpike introduces four women involved in prostitution in different ways and for different reasons. The lines between who is trafficked, who is there of their own free will and who is there for survival, are blurred as we watch the women navigate their own disparate situation, each more complex than the next. The play looks at what makes certain women and girls targets and examines all that one person can and will do to survive and secure their needs.

The work is inspired by the book, "The Berlin Turnpike: A True Story of Human Trafficking in America" by Raymond Bechard.

HartBeat ensemble members Cindy Martinez and Debra Walsh are lead playwrights, Co-Artistic Director Steven Raider-Ginsburg directs, and Co-Artistic Director Julia B. Rosenblatt is dramaturg. The cast is Herbert Newsome, Bryan Swormstedt, Michelle Mount, Caitlin McInerney, Cindy Martinez and Taneisha Duggan.

Founded in 2001 by Raider-Ginsburg, Rosenblatt and Gregory R. Tate (1952-2012), HartBeat Ensemble is a Hartford-based performance company that creates theater productions
based on stories drawn from contemporary life in Connecticut. Through Mainstage Plays and Education Programs.

Theater Review: Hairspray -- CT Repertory

2013-04-29T14:32:00.001-07:00

Tina Fabrique (center) leads the cast. Photo by Gerry Goodstein.

Hello, Baltimore! Great Casting, Great Choreography Push CT Rep’s Hairspray
By Lauren Yarger
Another production of Hairspray. It seems every theater from high school to professional has presented the Marc Shaiman/ Scott Wittman musical more than once over the years, so do we really need to see another production so soon?

If the show is the one closing out the 2013 season at CT Repertory up at UConn, the answer is a resounding yes!

Director Paul Mullins has teased together a terrific cast (the ensemble at 45+ is huge) starring comedian Kevin Meaney as Edna Turnblad, Tina Fabrique (Ella) as Motormouth Mabel and Lena Mary Amato as Tracy, reprising this role for the fifth time (she won the 2012 Syracuse Area Live Theatre Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Tracy at The Merry-Go-Round Playhouse.) Broadway-quality choreography by Gerry McIntyre is executed with enthusiasm and precision by the cast to add to the fun (as do costumes by Maureen Freedman).

And fun it is. The bubbly Tracy is head over heels in love with dashing Link Larkin (Will Haden), the featured dancer on Baltimore’s American Bandstand-like TV show hosted by Corny Collins (a terrific James Jelkin). While teasing her hair to new heights (Bailey Rosenberg provides the laugh-inspiring hair and makeup design for the show), she hopes that one day she and Link might end up together (“I Can Hear the Bells”). Those hopes are dashed like a perm meeting water, however, when Amber Von Tussie (Andrianna Prast), Link’s dance partner and daughter of the show’s producer, Velma (Sarah Wintermeyer), starts flashing his ring.

Undaunted, Tracy cuts school with best friend Penny Pingleton (Kate Zulauf) to audition for the show. Tracy’s cool dance moves, honed during some improv movement sessions with black students like Seaweed J. Stubbs (Colby Lewis) who are doing some different, very hip moves during their frequent detentions after school, earn her a place on the show despite her plump figure. She gets extra hold with sprays of loving support along the way from mother Edna (Meaney) and father Wilbur (Scott Ripley).

Racial relations aren’t all that they should be in 1960s Baltimore, however, and controversy arises when Tracy wants her black friends to be able to dance on the show with her. Currently, they are seen only on “Negro Day” hosted once a month by Stubbs’ mother, Motormouth Mable (Fabrique). Love (Penny and Seaweed discover the heart doesn’t care about race), taking a stand for what’s right and arrests all play out against a contest for the title of Miss Teenage Hairspray.

Meaney does a great job portraying the conflicted mother who is protective of her child while wanting to help her achieve her dreams. In fact, Meaney is the only actor playing the role I have seen who doesn’t appear just to be a guy in drag (why the role always is played by a man instead of a talented actress of size is a mystery). He simply becomes Edna. Kudos! And he’s funny. During a touching ballad with Wilbur ("Timeless to Me"), Meaney suddenly improvised some dialogue the night I attended. Watching talented Ripley trying to keep up without losing it was a treat.

Fabrique is lovely to hear and Amato simply is the quintessential big girl with the big hair and big dreams, bringing a terrific singing voice and contagious excitement to the stage. Also giving stellar performances are Zulauf, Lewis and Haden. Standing out in three minor roles is Hannah Kaplan as Penny’s mother, Prudy and as the school gym teacher and the prison matron. She is a hoot and develops three distinct characters.

You Can’t Stop the Beat. Get over to the Harriet S. Jorgenson Theater and see this funny and delightfully fresh “do.” It runs through May 5. Performances are Wednesday, Thursday at 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday at 8 pm; Sunday at 2 pm. Tickets $6-$36 (860) 486-2113; www.crt.uconn.edu.

Playwrights Theresa Rebeck, David Lindsay-Abaire and Nikkole Salter Share Thoughts on Mark Twain House Panel

2013-04-28T05:29:00.001-07:00

Theresa Rebeck, Nikkole Salter, Frank Rizzo and David Lindsay-Abaire

By Lauren Yarger
I enjoyed attending part of the annual Writers' Weekend and Bookfair at the Mark Twain House in Hartford yesterday. The big draw of Saturday's events was the Playwrights Panel, featuring Theresa Rebeck (Seminar, Dead Accounts, The Understudy), Nikkole Salter (In the Continuum, Carnaval) and David Lindsay-Abaire (Pulitzer Prize winner Rabbit Hole, Good People, Fuddy Meers).

Moderated by Hartford Courant arts columnist and theater reviewer Frank Rizzo, the panelists discussed everything from their process for writing to reacting to reviews of their work. The event was informative and lively with Rebeck even taking Rizzo to task for a review of her work.

Here are highlights of what they had to say:

What's the methodology for your writing process; do you focus on one idea or have a bunch going on at once?

Rebeck: She works in different media, so she'll have an idea for a novel working alongside a play and a film or TV show (Rebeck's most recent TV show is "Smash."
Salter: She is more in the beginning of her career, so she doesn't have to juggle projects yet, but kidded that "broke" playwrights can make themselves sound busier by saying "Oh, I am focusing on one thing."
Lindsay-Abaire: 20 ideas might be in his head for many years, then he'll "smoosh" some of them together and see whether they form a play.

What's the process for collaboration?

Salter: Much of the award-winning In the Continuum (co-authored with Danai Gurira) was birthed through improvisation. As a writer, she needs to bounce ideas off other people and to hear the play. She has had the creative team for her plays on board about half way through the process of writing them.
Rebeck: She wrote Bad Dates for Julie White. Sometimes collaboration involves writing for people you have worked with. You know they know how to do it. You won't have to explain. Novels are more lonely.
Lindsay-Abaire: When one of his earlier plays, Fuddy Meers, was being produced, the director and actors spent a lot of time studying and discussing the characters and their actions, but what he was seeing in rehearsal made him wonder why they wouldn't "just do it the way it is in my head." When an audience came in previews, everything clicked. There's a "fine line between giving people their process and knowing what you want," he said. And in the movies, you have less control over the process. It's like being an extra in a film, watching it for yourself and saying, "Oh, there I go."

Are dramaturgs helpful to the process?

Rebeck -- No, if they seem to have their own agenda; yes if you find over time that you trust them. It's "dicey" if they don't know your taste.
Lindsay-Abaire: for historical pieces, a dramaturg can keep you accurate and honest. Who does he trust to read his work? The student writers group that formed when he was a Julliard and which continues. Dan Sullivan "has given me the best dramaturg advice I ever have received" though he has the title director rather than dramaturg. (In case you're wondering, a dramaturg is someone who helps research and shape the story).

Do you care what the critics say?

Salter: Yes and no. She reads reviews, but with a grain of salt. It is, after all, just one opinion. That opinion can make or stop opportunities for the show, though.
Rebeck: Tries not to read them. Sometimes they seem to focus on calling her a man hater, a feminist, a sexist. She seems always to be told that she has some secret agenda when her only agenda was to write a good play. She can't always figure out what triggered anger from the reviewer and feels they sometimes hide behind the excuse that their opinions are justified because their readers want to know.
Lindsay-Abaire: His ideas about critics have changed over the years. Early on, he embraced good reviews and joking that he "slept with them under my pillow." He bristled, however, when critics panned his early, more absurdest works and said, "I could write one of those naturalistic plays if I wanted to. So I wrote Rabbit Hole."
"You're welcome," Rizzo quipped.
Inevitably, criticism continued despite the Pulitzer, with critics saying he sold out by writing a couch play. Ultimately the process caused him to grow.

Do they ever feel they are being categorized?

Rebeck: She gets called a chick playwright. She gets tired of the "woman playwright" category. Being a woman who writes comedy is even more rare and creates a "nervousness."
Salter: They expect black stories and black characters.
Lindsay-Abaire: People want you to re-create the type of thing you wrote before, only you change as a person over time and so does your writing. He can't go back to creating silly plays written by a young man who didn't know what he was doing because he isn't the same person any more.

Can people make a living these days as a playwright? How does one get produced?

Lindsay-Abaire: Hollywood work helps. There's pressure for playwrights to write works that can be produced commercially, rather than to create brilliant plays that might be more expensive to stage or which won't appeal to a larger audience. Submit everywhere you can (his first resource was "The Dramatist's Source Book"). "You never know what line is going to catch a fish."
Salter: "It's like dating." You check meet up with many different producing houses to find the right match.

What have you seen recently that really knocked your socks off?

Rebeck: Once
Salter: Enjoyed being in an appreciative audience for Motown.
Lindsay-Abaire: Was excited to see Clifford Odets' The Big Knife, which he had not seen before and was blown away by some of the performances.

Quick Hit Theater Review: Cole -- Music Theatre of Connecticut

2013-04-26T08:29:00.002-07:00

Philip Chaffin, Blair Alexis Brown, Eric Scott Kincaid and Kathy Calahan. Photo: Marc Porier.

Cole
Based on the words and music of Cole Porter
Devised by Benny Green and Alan Strachan
Original Music and Arrangement by Kenneth Moule
Directed by Kevin Connors
Music Theatre of Connecticut, Westport

What's It All About?
Just what it says -- a lot of songs and information about composer Cole Porter presented in a one-hour-10-minute format by four singers: Blair Alexis Brown, Kathy Calahan, Philip Chaffin and Eric Scott Kincaid. They are accompanied on piano by able Musical Director David Wolfson.

What are the Highlights?
That great Cole Porter music for one! Kathy Calahan's "Love for Sale" is a special treat. A brisk, short show with no intermission.

What are the Lowlights?
There isn't any story, just some bits of information about Porter without real direction or purpose. The songs are "sung" rather than interpreted for the most part. The arrangement of "I Get a Kick Out of You" stood out as unusual. Choreography seems overdone -- maybe a result of Director Kevin Connors trying to compensate for the lack of anything to work with in Green and Strachan's material.

More info:
Cole runs through May 12 at Music Theatre of Connecticut, 246 Post Road East, Westport. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 4 pm and Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets $25-$45 with senior and student discounts available. 203-454-3883; www.musictheatreofct.com.

Theater Review: Other People's Money

2013-04-26T07:36:00.002-07:00

Edward Kassar and Elizabeth Donnelly. Photo: Anne Hudson

How Small Business Gets Eaten in a Shark Attack
By Lauren Yarger
“Shark-eats-little fish” and “shark-eats-shark” set the stage for the underhanded word of corporate takeovers in Jerry Sterner’s play, Other People’s Money over at Ivoryton Playhouse.

New England Wire and Cable has weathered hard economic times through the decades and owner Andrew Jorgenson (Gary Allan Poe) believes carrying on his father’s business practices of not borrowing and making a few sacrifices (like taking a salary cut) will keep the business strong for its loyal shareholders and the local Rhode Island workers who are the backbone of the antiquated company. He also trusts President William Coles (Dennis Fox) who is busy increasing revenues of the corporation’s other, more profitable holdings, which are subsidizing New England Wire and Cable.

Coles’ profits and no debt make the corporation very desirable, however, to Wall Street financier Lawrence Garfinkle (Edward Kassar), who starts to buy up stock. Concerned, Coles warns his boss to take steps to protect the corporation from takeover by “Larry the Liquidator” or the stories “Jorgy” likes to take up his time telling about the grand old days soon will be memories of a company that no longer exists.

When Jorgy and his loyal assistant, Bea Sullivan (Denise Walker) refuse to believe there is any danger, Coles goes to Garfinkle to ask him to postpone his efforts to take over the company until he can secure his own future. After all, Jorgy had promised Coles that he would be his successor, and if Garfinkle’s takeover is successful, there won’t be a company to run.

Garfinkle is only interested in where his next dollar or donut is coming from, however, and continues to buy up stock until he’s challenged by New England Wire & Cable’s secret weapon – Bea’s daughter, Kate (Elizabeth Donnell), a high-powered Wall Street attorney who agrees to take to take the case despite the hurt and resentment she still fees toward Jorgy and her mother, for their love affair which broke up her childhood home.

Smart, quick-witted Kate is not intimidated by Garfinkle and he finds that exciting – that and the fact that the repulsive sexist finds anything in a skirt exciting (Kari Crowther designs the 1990-era fashions). Inexplicably, Kate finds the heavyset, donut-eating, sex talking Garfinkle funny and attractive, and soon the two sharks are swimming in an ocean charged with sexual tension to see who will be the winner and take it all. Caught in the tide, however, is Jorgy, who has to decide whether to buy off Garfinkle or trust that his shareholders will remain loyal to the company and vote for him to continue as owner.

Sterner’s “insider” look into the word of corporate takeovers is interesting, but lacks structure for the stage. Not much happens outside of the negotiations because characters aren’t fully developed. There’s an attempt at backstory, but we simply don’t know these people well enough to understand their motivations or care about them. There is absolutely no reason for Kate to like Garfinkle, for example.

“The man has a certain undeniable charm,” she tells us. We don’t see it, however, and it isn’t believable when she takes him at his word during the negotiations or that she is OK with his sexual remarks. There also is very little evidence that Bea and Jorgy are in love or why she would be willing to give up her marriage, alienate her daughter and offer up her life savings for a guy who seems pretty oblivious to her.

Some direction is particularly noteworthy. When they aren’t speaking directly to each other, characters often are talking to the audience or commenting on other conversations taking place and Director Maggie McGlone Jennings pulls it all together neatly. A phone conversation between Kate and Garfinkle without use of a phone is particularly clever. William Russell Stark's set design and Marcus Abbott's set and lighting design help to separate the elements for us.

Kassar is miscast as the greedy shark, however and Garfinkle’s crudeness doesn’t seem natural. There also isn’t any chemistry between him and Donnelly. The pace of the play (at two hours and 15 minutes with an intermission) also feels very long and draggy. By the time Jorgy addresses the stockholders at New England Wire and Cable's 73rd annual meeting showdown, we’re a little too zoned to appreciate his passionate plea to keep the company intact. His dialogue contains the play’s most thought-provoking lines about the state of our nation’s economy and where it will end up if the only product it creates are lawyers.

Other People's Money runs through May 5 at the Ivoryton Playhouse, 100 Main St. Performances are

Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm. Tickets $40 for adults, $35 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children 860-767-7318; www.ivorytonplayhouse.org.

Direct from Brazil to Hartford: Dinho Nascimento and His Berimbau Orchestra

2013-04-25T10:05:00.002-07:00

Dinho Nascimento and his Berimbau Orchestra. Photo: Courtesy of Trinity

Dinho Nascimento, an innovator in Brazilian music for 40 years, is bringing his Berimbau Orchestra direct from São Paulo for its US debut at Samba Fest. The Brazilian Ministry of Culture is sponsoring their appearance.

Samba Fest is a daylong celebration of music and dance from Brazil, Trinidad, and Puerto Rico. Now in its seventh year, it will take place on Saturday, May 4, from 11 am to 6 pm at Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, 300 Columbus Blvd. Admission is free to this family-friendly event.

The berimbau is now a global symbol of Brazilian national identity. This musical instrument of African origin consists of a long wooden bow, a metal string, and gourd resonator, and its pitch is produced with a small wooden stick and modified with a stone or coin. These sounds are accompanied by a palm-sized basket rattle.

Although the history of the berimbau has strong connections with capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art/dance/game, Dinho Nascimento has expanded the range of sounds produced on this instrument and illuminates shared roots between the berimbau and music of North America.

For general information about Samba Fest: sambafest.com; 860-297-2199. For directions and parking information, visit riverfront.org/parks/mortensen/.

Connecticut Arts Connections You Don't Want to Miss!

2013-04-25T09:39:00.003-07:00

The Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts at Sacred Heart University continues its American Legend Series with A Conversation with Florence Hendersonat at the Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts on the Campus of Sacred Heart University, 5151 Park Ave. in Fairfield Saturday, May 4 at 8 pm. Tickets: $25 - General Public; $15 - Senior Citizens/Faculty/Staff; $10 - Students 203-371-7908 (Mondays through Fridays from noon-4 pm); EdgertonCenter.org.

Wesleyan University’s Theater Department presents Tang Xianzu's "Peony Pavilion," directed by Jeffrey Sichel, from Thursday, April 25 through Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 8 pm in the CFA Theater, located at 271 Washington Terrace on the Wesleyan campus in Middletown. There will also be a 2 pm matinee performance on Saturday, April 27. Tickets: $8 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, and non-Wesleyan students; and $4 for Wesleyan students, http://www.wesleyan.edu/boxoffice; 860-685-3355; Box Office Usdan University Center, 45 Wyllys Ave., Middletown.

In addition, Wesleyan University’s Dance Department will honor Artist in Residence Urip Sri Maeny, and celebrate her retirement following four decades of teaching Javanese dance with free events Thursday, May 2 and Friday, May 3 in World Music Hall, located at 40 Wyllys Ave. http://www.wesleyan.edu/dance

HSO MASTERWORKS SERIES: RHAPSORY IN BLUE
Featuring Carolyn Kuan, conductor; Anderson & Roe Piano Duo – Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe
Thursday, May 9, 2013 │ 7:30 pm
Friday, May 10 │ 8:00 pm
Saturday, May 11 │ 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 12 │ 3:00 pm
Belding Theater │ The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Program: George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue and “I Got Rhythm” Variations for Piano and Orchestra; Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 6 in E minor; plus four hand piano encores including “Ragtime alla Turca,” Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise,” the “Sacrificial Dance” from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, and Piazzolla’s Libertango.

Ticket Information: $35.50-$70.50. Student tickets are $10. On Saturday, May 11, $25 tickets are available for patrons age 40 and under. 860-244-2999; www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Susanna Salk, right, author of “A Privileged Life: Celebrating WASP Style,” will speak at “Books Worth Talking About,” on Tuesday, May 7, 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the Lucille Lortel White Barn Center at Westport Country Playhouse. David Smith, of Cablevision, will moderate. The literary salon will be followed by an 8 pm performance of the A. R. Gurney’s The Dining Room, a witty and heartfelt observation of life among White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, directed by Mark Lamos, Westport Country Playhouse artistic director. RSVP at marketing@westportplayhouse.org or the Playhouse box office at 203-227-4177.

Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman has selected playwright Jen Silverman as the winner of the 2013 Yale Drama Series for her play Still, chosen from almost 1,100 entries from 30 countries. As winner of the competition, Still will be published by Yale University Press, receive a staged reading at Lincoln Center Theater’s Claire Tow Theater, and Silverman will be presented with the David Charles Horn Prize, a cash award of $10,000.

CT Connections Among Outer Critics Circle Nominations

2013-04-22T15:13:00.001-07:00

From the Long Wharf production: Ari Brand, Melissa Miller and Mark Nelson. Photo: T. Charles Erickson

Michael Wilson, former artistic director of Hartford Stage, is an Outer Critics Circle Nominee for Best Direction of a Play for his work on The Trip to Bountiful this season on Broadway.

In addition, My Name is Asher Lev by Aaron Posner, running Off-Broadway following it's Long Wharf presentation in May, 2012, has been nominated as Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play. It also is a nominee for the John Gassner Award given to an American play, preferably by an new playwright.

For a full listing of the nominees, visit http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/2013/04/pippin-leads-outer-critics-circle.html#.UXW1e6Jwedc.

Comedian Brian Regan Plays the Palace

2013-04-18T12:39:00.000-07:00

Brian Regan plays the Palace Theater in Waterbury on Thursday, May 9 at 7:30 pm.

Regan balances sophisticated writing and physicality. His non-stop theater tour has visited more than 80 cities each year since 2005, and will continue through 2013. He broke the record for the most consecutive shows by a comedian at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City with 10 sold-out shows.

With his first appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman in 1995, Brian solidified a spot on the show, and this year, he made his 25th appearance, the most of any comedian to appear on Letterman. A dorm room favorite, 1997’s Brian Regan Live has sold over 150,000 copies and consistently charts in iTunes Top Ten Comedy Albums. His 2000 Comedy Central Presents special continues to be a top viewer choice and Brian’s independently released 2004 DVD, I Walked on the Moon, is available on his website. On November 25, 2011, his highly anticipated second album, All By Myself, was released on CD available only through his website.

Tickets are $46: 203-346-2000; www.palacetheaterct.org; To learn more about Brian Regan or to purchase any of his comedy releases, visit www.brianregan.com.

Theater Review: Sister Act -- The Bushnell

2013-04-17T05:11:00.002-07:00

The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

Sisterhood Overcomes Evil in Heavenly Comedy
By Lauren Yarger
Sister Act, one of the more successful efforts to convert a blockbuster film to the stage is rocking the rafters over at the Bushnell with a tour stop this week.

Ta’rea Campbell stars as nightclub singer Deloris Van Cartier, the role made famous in the film by Whoopi Goldberg (who is a producer on the show). When Deloris sees her lover, gangster Curtis Jackson (Kingsley Leggs, who originated the role on Broadway), murder a snitch she’s marked for execution and seeks help from the Philadelphia Police. She’s taken into protection by shy, former high school classmate and cop “Sweaty” Eddie Souther, who still harbors a crush for the flamboyant Deloris.

He hides her at the Queen of Angels Church, disguised as a nun, to await Curtis’ murder trial at which she’ll be the star witness. Mother Superior (Hollis Resnik) isn’t happy with hosting the foul-mouthed singer with her sheltered sisters, but agrees when Monsignor O’Hara (Richard Pruitt) reminds her that a donation given by the police will help the financially struggling church which is in danger of being sold off by the diocese.

Deloris trades cigarettes, cheese-steak sandwiches and her glittery blouse over thigh-length boots and blue fur coat for abstinence, mutton and a “penguin suit.” (Lez Brotherston designs the costumes). Even still, the nuns find their new sister from a “more progressive order” glamorous and exciting and want to be more like her. Mother Superior sticks Deloris where she thinks she won’t be able to get into any trouble: the Queen of Angels Choir, which sounds more like a group of singers from hell (the nuns singing poorly, directed by Jerry Zaks, is really funny).

Soon Deloris is charming the blunt-speaking choir director, Mary Lazarus (Diane J. Findlay), and transforms the foul-sounding group into decent singers. Deloris helps postulant Mary Robert (Lael Van Keuren ) find her voice and suddenly, overly bubbly Mary Patrick (a funny Florrie Bagel) isn’t the only one excited about being a nun.

The group is a hit, to the utter disbelief and irritation of Mother Superior, and starts drawing crowds to the church to hear their foot-stomping, hand-clapping brand of inspirational music. The singing nuns also draw the attention of the press, especially when the Pope decides to visit. The publicity leads Curtis and his henchmen, TJ, Joey and Pablo (Charles Barksdale, Todd A. Horman and Ernie Pruneda) right to Deloris and her sisters. (The number where TJ, Joey and Pablo sing about how they will be able to gain access to the convent because of their prowess with women is a hoot).

A fast-paced, humorous book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner with additional material by Douglas Carter Beane combines with catchy music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater to create an entertaining tale. All of the main elements from the movie are there and play out in front of gothic-inspired sets with a huge statue of Mary designed by Klara Zieglerova. Anthony Van Laast’s choreography adds to the laughs.

All of the vocals are good, especially Cornelious, whose voice is dreamy, and Van Keuren, who sang the role on Broadway, and who belts right up to heaven. They are backed by an orchestra directed and conducted by Brent-Alan Huffman. This one would be a sin to miss.

Sister Act runs through April 21 at the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. Performances are Wednesday, Thursday at 7:30 pm; Friday at 8 pm; Saturday at 2 and 8 pm; Sunday 1 and 6 pm. Tickets $20-$92. (860) 987-6000; www.bushnell.org. (Check the Bushnell site for updates about construction on Capitol Avenue).

Hang on to your Quidditch Sticks! Condensed, Tongue-in-Cheek Version of Harry Potter Series Flies in to the Bushnell

2013-04-15T07:09:00.000-07:00

The hit off-Broadway show Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience – A Parody by Dan and Jeff is coming to the Belding Theater at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts for two weekends May 17-19 and May 24-26.

The show received a 2012 Olivier Award nomination for Best Entertainment & Family Show. Written and performed by former BBC Television hosts Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner, the play takes on the ultimate challenge of condensing, or “potting”, all seven Harry Potter books into 70 madcap minutes, aided only by multiple costume changes, brilliant songs, ridiculous props and a generous helping of Hogwarts magic. The show also invites audiences to engage with a real life game of Quidditch, but according to Clarkson and Turner’s unique set of rules.

Whether you camped outside a bookstore for three days awaiting the release of the Deathly Hallows or you don’t know the difference between a horcrux and a Hufflepuff, the comedy, magic and mayhem of Potted Potter makes for an entertaining and hilarious visit to the theatre. Read a review of the Off-Broadway presentation here.

Perfromances: Friday at 7 pm; Saturday and Sunday 2 and 7 pm. Tickets: www.bushnell.org; 860-987-5900. starting at $49.75.

Theater Review: Abundance -- Hartford Stage

2013-04-12T06:22:00.001-07:00

Brenda Withers and Monique Vukovic. Photo:

T. Charles Erickson

A Tale as Tall as the Sky is Wide Sweeps Across the Stage
By Lauren Yarger
Abundance, Beth Henley’s tale of two mail order brides out west in the last part of the 19th century, packs in everything you’d expect from a tall tale of life on the American frontier – and much more. Maybe too much.

Hardships of trying to homestead amidst drought and blizzards, an abduction by Native Americans, enduring friendship and a love triangle all come to life under the expansive skies of Wyoming over at Hartford Stage (thanks to some sweeping, brooding rough-edged set backgrounds designed by William Chin in front of a revolving stage.)

Bess (Monique Vokovic) and Macon (Brenda Withers) first meet in the 1860s when they are waiting to meet the men to whom they have traveled to be mail-order brides. Macon is vivacious, excited about the possibilities of a new start and consumed by a burning desire to see what’s out west.

“I’d rip the wings off an angel if I thought they’d help me fly,” she says.

(Henley’s dialogue and Withers’ portrayal both are brilliant).

She befriends the shy, compliant, almost simple-minded Bess who has been waiting for days – without any food – for her intended, who wrote about the size of the western sky and with whom she hopes to have a fairytale romance.

His brother, rude and crude Jack (James Knight), arrives instead, however, to inform her that his brother has died in an accident and that he’ll be marrying her instead. She goes off with him planning to be a good wife. His cruelty – he forbids her to sing or cry among other things -- soon makes it clear that a happy ending isn’t coming for their story.

“You out west now,” he tells her. “Things are different here.”

Macon’s fiancé, boring William (Kevin Kelly), isn’t exactly what she was hoping for either. He forgot to mention a few things in his correspondence, like the fact that he was married before to a wife he loved very much and the fact that he’s missing an eye, lost in a mining accident. Macon marries a man she feels “allergic to” and tries to make the best of things while helping to manage their growing ranch.

“Even if he had another eye,” Macon tells Bess, “I might find him repulsive.”

While enduring their loveless marriages, the women take strength from their friendship and Macon proves a lifeline for Bess after she loses a baby. Never-do-well Jack is scammed when he buys a worthless gold mine. He steals firewood from their friends and Bess searches for straw in her bed mattress to keep from starving. When Jack burns down their home, he and Bess move in with William and Macon.

“Temporary living arrangements” turn permanent, however, and tensions mount as Jack shows no intention of working or showing any gratitude for his good fortune. William is tired of Jack eating all of their food; Bess wants Macon to leave her prospering ranch and the men behind to go further out west like they had talked about when they first met. Jack, however, wants something more: Macon herself.

When Native Americans abduct Bess and her scalp turns up for sale, Macon can’t contain her passion for Jack any longer. Year later, Bess turns up and the story of her years in captivity makes her a celebrity, thanks to Elmore (John Leonard Thompson), a professor who puts her story into a bestselling book and manages her speaking engagements. Suddenly a more confident – and rich-- Bess starts looking and sounding more like the old Macon, who feels left out – and suddenly Jack thinks his wife might not be so bad after all.

Jenn Thompson gets good performances from her ensemble and uses subtle technique to enhance the humor in Henley’s tale, which is well crafted to bring plot points full circle as roles and the couples’ fortunes change (the playwright won the Pulitzer Prize for Crimes of the Heart.) The plot can seem broad and almost unbelievable in places, however, like a yarn being told around a campfire. Dramaturg Elizabeth William’s program information reminds us, however, that details about Bess’ abduction parallel those of a real-life victim named Olive Oatman and that most of the situations encountered by the women during the settling of the western frontier through 1890 were indeed real and not the stuff of fiction.

Some parts of the play are just hard to swallow, though. Why anyone wouldn’t just put sleazy Jack out for the wolves’ dinner is hard to fathom, yet the other three put up with – and in the case of the two women – have feelings for him. The audience even gasps at his harshness at times.

Why didn’t Macon help her friend before she was in such desperate circumstances? Were there no other people in the expanding territory who could have helped and taken the couple in during the two years they stay with William and Macon (Jack stays another seven after Bess is kidnapped)?

A number of these “but why?” questions come up throughout the play. Combined with the far-reaching plot points, the play has an uneven feel, like an "abundance" of too many pieces crammed into the two-hour-10-minute play with none being explored as thoroughly as we’d like. The sweeping tale still is engrossing, however, and enjoyable – especially the humorous parts.

Abundance stakes its claim at Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford, through April 28. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday at 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday at 8 pm; Matinee schedule varies on select Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets $26.50-$93.50: 860-527-5151; www.hartfordstage.org.

Quick Hit Theater Review: The Immigrant -- Seven Angels

2013-04-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

Paula Blankenship, Max Bisanz, Rita Markova and Sarah Knapp. Photo: Paul Roth

The Immigrant
Book By Mark Harelik
Lyrics by Sarah Knapp
Music by Steven M. Alper
Directed by Semina De Laurentis
Seven Angels Theatre

What's it All About?
Subtitled "An American Musical," it is in the truest sense the story of striving for the American Dream. Haskell (Max Bisantz) arrives in the small town of Hamilton, in Central Texas, shortly after the turn of the century, pushing a banana cart and unable to speak English. Wary at first of the stranger, who also turns out to be a Jew, Milton and Ima (Paul Blankenship and Sarah Knapp) take him in. Milton, the town's banker, partners with Haskell to help build his business, which eventually turns into a dry goods store. When Haskell finally saves enough to bring his wife, Leah (Rita Markova), over from Russia, the friendship is tested, however. Haskell no longer is the observant Jew she married. The new country has changed him. He doesn't wear his hat, keep a Kosher home or observe the Sabbath any more.

Leah tries to adjust, but doesn't "want a life where I can't be me" and ultimately finds an unlikely friend in Ima. The women find they have a lot in common despite their many differences. Ima, a staunch Baptist, laments the fact that Milton doesn't go to church and has never been baptised. The friendship between the couples and Haskell and Leah's children grows over the years until some harsh words threaten the relationships. Eventually roles switch and the the bonds of love and friendship prove strong enough to hold.

What are the highlights?
Director Semina De Laurentis brings together a wonderful ensemble, including Lyricist Knapp as Sarah and her real-life husband, Composer Steven M. Alper, who serves as Musical Director. Vocals are good across the boards with Basantz' cantor-like voice doing justice to Alper's ethnic-laced. pleasant sounding score played by a four-member band. Mark Harelik's play, based on the story of his grandparents, young Russian Jews fleeing persecution in Czarist Russia in 1909, is sad and sweet and is storytelling at its best. Knapp remarkably portrays the aging of her character from 1909 to 1942. The set designed by Erik D. Diaz, easily switches out to create several locations.

What are the low lights?
Nothing worth mentioning. An absorbing, touching two and a half hours at the theater.

More information:
The Immigrant runs through April 21 at Seven Angels Theatre, 1 Plank Road, Waterbury. Tickets and information: (203) 757-4676; http://sevenangelstheatre.org/.
Special Nights-
Friday, April 12 Sweet Maria’s Night
Saturday, April 13 Fascia’s Chocolate Night
Friday, April 19Wine & Martini Night
Sundaes on Sunday April 21