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New and Noteworthy -- November 2009
Playwright Athol Fugard continues his association with Long Wharf Theatre with the world premiere of his newest play Have You Seen Us?, directed by Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein and featuring Sam Waterston, star of TV’s “Law and Order” and countless film and stage appearances. The show will run from Nov. 24 – Dec. 20 on the Mainstage. With his new play, Fugard asks the same questions about America to which for 50 years he has sought answers in South Africa. Why do we hate? Why does racial prejudice persist in our society? How can expressing racial hatred be a means to transcendence? Waterston, who last appeared at Long Wharf Theatre in the 2004-05 season’s hit production of Travesties, by Tom Stoppard, will play the role of Henry Parsons, a South African professor forced by a chance encounter to deal with the demons in his heart. Waterston will be joined in the cast by Liza Colon-Zayas, Sol Frieder and Elaine Kussick.The creative team is composed of Eugene Lee (sets), Jennifer van Mayrhauser (costumes), Steven Strawbridge (lights), Corrine K. Livingston (sound), Anne Erbe (dramaturg), James Calleri (casting), and Jason Kaiser (stage manager).Tickets are $30-$70 with student and senior discounts available. Performances are Tuesdays at 7 pm, Wednesdays, at 2 and 7 pm, Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 3 pm and 8 pm and Sundays at 2 and 7 pm. Call 203-787-4282 or visit www.longwharf.org.
Estelle Parsons reprises the role of Violet in the Connecticut premiere of Tracy Letts’ Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning play August: Osage County playing at The Bushnell Nov. 17-22. Parsons played the family matriarch in the Broadway production from June 2008-May 2009. Directed by 2008 Tony Award-winner Anna D. Shapiro, the creative team for August: Osage County includes Tony Award winner Todd Rosenthal (sets), Ana Kuzmanic (costumes), Ann G. Wrightson (lights), Richard Woodbury (sound) and David Singer (original music). Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2 pm and 8 pm and Sunday at 2pm and 7:30 pm Tickets are $15-$65 and are available online at www.bushnell.org, by calling (860) 987-5900, or at The Bushnell Box Office at 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford.
Hartford Stage goes for laughs this fall with the East Coast premiere of Craig Wright’s new comedy, Mistakes Were Made. The production features Will LeBow (No Exit) and Susan Greenhill, as well as the anthropomorphic antics of Denise the goldfish, brought to life by puppeteer Stefano Brancato. Hartford Stage Associate Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen directs the production which runs through Nov. 22. Wright is an award-winning playwright and television producer/writer. His TV credits include “Six Feet Under” and “Dirty, Sexy Money.” The play features scenic design by Walt Spangler, costumes by Alejo Vietti, lighting by Marcus Doshi and sound design by Obadiah Eaves, making his Hartford Stage debut. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday at 7:30 pm and Friday and Saturday at 8 pm with matinee performances Sundays and selected Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 pm. For a more specific schedule of performances, call the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151 or visit hartfordstage.org.
Yale Repertory Theatre’s ensemble drama Eclipsed by OBIE Award winner Danai Gurira and directed by Liesl Tommy plays through Nov. 14 at the Repertory Theater, 1120 Chapel St. at York. Set in 2003, Eclipsed unearths the wreckage of Liberia’s vicious civil war and celebrates women who navigate the most brutal of circumstances. The “wives” of a rebel commanding officer form a community in a hostile warzone. Their world is transformed by the arrival of two newcomers and the unceremonious return of a former “wife” turned rebel soldier. Each woman finds her own means of survival, but at what cost? Tickets range from $35-67 and are available online at www.yalerep.org, by phone at (203) 432-1234, and in person at the Yale Rep Box Office. Performances are Monday through Saturday at 8 pm, and some Saturdays and Wednesdays at 2 pm. The world premiere of POP!, a new musical with book and lyrics by Maggie-Kate Coleman and music by Anna K. Jacobs, directed by Mark Brokaw will follow this productions Nov. 27-Dec. 19. Opening Night is Thursday, December 3. The cast includes Danny Binstock (Gerard), Randy Harrison (Andy Warhol), Doug Kreeger (Ondine), Leslie Kritzer (Valerie), Cristen Paige (Edie), Brian Charles Rooney (Candy), and Emily Swallow (Viva).POP! will feature choreography by Denis Jones, musical direction and vocal arrangements by Lynne Shankel, sets by Valérie Thérèse Bart, costumes by Ying Song, lighting by Kevin Adams, sound by David Budries, projections by Tal Yarden, orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin, dramaturgy by Catherine Sheehy, and stage management by Jenna Woods. The plot revolves around who shot Andy Warhol. The drag queen Candy Darling hosts a happening whodunit musical in which the famous—and infamous—denizens of Warhol’s legendary Factory all have motives to pull the trigger. But the pop art icon unravels an even bigger mystery as he confronts not only the prime suspects, but also his art and his own greatest creation: himself.
Over at TheaterWorks, Hartford, Shakespeare's R&J spins the classic story of history's most famous romance in a modern tale of teenage awakening. The production explores youthful desires, vulnerability and burgeoning sexuality as four schoolboys at a repressive preparatory school discover Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and find themselves suddenly immersed in the tragic story of forbidden love. As the boys assume the roles of all the play's characters, the classic tale begins to blur with the students' own lives and Shakespeare's verse is heard anew. The play, adapted by Joe Calarco, is directed by Rob Ruggiero and features Adam Barry, T.J. Linnard, Ashley Robinson and Paul Terzenbach. It runs Nov. 12-Dec. 20 at City Arts on Pearl, 233 Pearl St. Hartford. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 7:30pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30pm with Saturday matinees beginning Nov. 28. Tickets are $38 except Friday and Saturday nights with are $48 and center reserved seats which are an additional $12. This play is recommended for ages 16 and up due to language and thematic content.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart offers comedy and something for everyone at the Goodspeed through Nov. 29. Ted Pappas, who directed On the Twentieth Century and Promises, Promises at the Opera House, directs and choreographs. Adam Heller heads the cast as Pseudolus. The creative team includes Set Designer, James Noone; Costumes, Martha Bromelmeier; lighting, Kirk Bookman; Music Director, Michael O’Flaherty; Assistant Music Director, William J. Thomas; Orchestrations, Dan DeLange. Performances are Wednesday at 2 pm and 7:30 pm, Thursday at 7:30 pm. (with select performances at 2 pm.), Friday at 8 pm., Saturday at 3 pm and 8 pm., and Sunday at 2 (with select performances at 6:30 pm.). In addition, there is a special schedule around Thanksgiving. For information and tickets, call (860) 873-8668 or visit http://www.goodspeed.org.
A production of Jerry’s Girls, a two-hour musical celebration of the women of Jerry Herman’s musicals completes a run at the Ivoryton Playhouse Nov. 15. Amy D, Forbes, Julia Kiley, Mary Anne Piccolo, Jackie Sidle and Elizabeth Talbot belt out more than 30 tunes from ballads to showstoppers (Sidle’s rendition of "”Before the Parade Passes By”" is the highlight). The belting by some average voices get a little tiresome, but the audience enjoys as trip down Memory Lane (a couple nearby were sharing their experiences about being in the audience for the original production of Mame on Broadway. Standing out in the production are Pam Puente’s nicely crafted and unbelievably numerous costumes (new ones are worn for almost all of the numbers). Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30, Friday and Saturday at 8. Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 pm. Tickets $15 to $35 and are available by calling 860-767-7318 or by visiting www.ivorytonplayhouse.org..
The Palace Theater in Waterbury hosts a number of one-night events in November starting with a special event performance of Bob Newhart Sunday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 pm. Newhart will perform his standards including The Driving Instructor, Sir Walter Raleigh, and The Submarine Commander. Tickets are $37.75-$67.75. Before the performance, the Palace will be offering patrons a 5:30 pm pre-show dinner in the Poli Club, located on the theater’s mezzanine level. Dinner is $40 per member or $50 per non-member (includes tax, gratuity, coffee, tea) and is limited to 30 people. Cash bar is also available. To make reservations, call the Box Office at 203-346-2000.For information in this or other concert events in November, visit www.palacetheaterct.org or call 203-346-2000.
Over at Seven Angels Theater in Waterbury, Song and Dance Man, written and conceived by Jon Peterson, is a tour de force one-man show about one-man shows Nov. 5-29. It is a tribute to the great song and dance men who inspired Peterson: Cohan, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Sammy Davis Jr., Anthony Newley, and Bobby Darin. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, some Thursdays and Sundays at 2 pm. For ticket prices and more information call the box office at 203-757-4676 or visit http://www.sevenangelstheatre.org/.
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