Suffield Player’s “Enchanted April” an Italian getaway

SUFFIELD — It’s “Sex and the City” meets All’Italia in the marvelous romantic comedy, “Enchanted April” at the Suffield Players.
The show, which had it’s world premier a decade ago at our own Hartford Stage Company, was written by Matthew Barber based on the novel by Elizabeth von Arnim.
It is the story of four very different English women in post-World War II who decide to rent a coastal villa in Italy for the month of April.
The first half of the play finds flighty but somewhat psychic Lottie, who is the mastermind behind the plan to get away with just women for a holiday, rounding up the other vacationers.
Lottie meets Rose and they decide to get two other women to split the cost of renting the villa by placing an advertisement in the newspaper.
Rose is the sad Madonna who has a secret sorrow. They find the wealthy and beautiful Lady Catherine and the elderly sourpuss Mrs. Graves to join their initially less than merry band.
Lottie, who narrates the show, is just as perky as can be, with enthusiasm to spare, played by Vanda Doyle who seems to have been born just to play this part.
Rose is played by Amy Rucci whose husband Brian Rucci plays her stage husband Frederick Arnott, a famous novelist who uses a female pen name to assuage his conscience for writing such scandalous stories. Actually, he doesn’t seem troubled about his novels, but his rigid wife is not too pleased.
Lottie has a drip of a husband in the solicitor Mellersh, played with precision by Dana T. Rucci. Lottie says her husband says the her “mind is like a hummingbird — always fluttering about but seldom lands.”
The lovely Karen Balaska plays Lady Catherine Bramble with just the right amount of ennui and world-weariness.
Anna Marie Johansen comes in like a lion as Mrs. Graves, swinging her walking stick like a weapon, and cracking walnuts within an inch of their lives.
Rounding out the cast is the easy-going artistic landlord Antony Wilding, played by Joshua Guenter, and the expressive Italian housemaid Costanza, played by the amusing Karen Sidel.
The first act is all grays and dark colors, with a fantastical surrealistic London backdrop designed and painted by the talented Christopher Berrien. It is really terrific.
While all the characters are polished and posh, and their English accents for the most part are spot-on, the real star of this show is the fabulous set, designed by Konrad Rogowski, who truly outdid himself, along with his 37-member crew.
From the dreary, stormy England in Act I the set magically transforms in Act II into a glorious garden villa, complete with wisteria, that is theatrically unveiled to accentuate the glorious transformation.
Kudos too to the fine sound and light work, with sound designed by director Dustin Sleight and light design by Jerry Zalewski, and crew, who do an amazing job timing the numerous lightening and thunder sequences in Act I, making them extremely realistic.
If you find that a trip to an Italian villa for a month is just not in your budget this year, do the next best thing this weekend and take a trip to Mapleton Hall in Suffield to see “Enchanted April.”

ENCHANTED APRIL

3½ Stars
Location: Mapleton Hall, 1305 Mapleton Ave. Suffield.
Production: Written by Matthew Barber from the novel by Elizabeth von Arnim. Direction and sound design by Dustin Sleight. Stage manager Dorrie Mitchell. Technical direction and lighting design by Jerry Zalewski. Set design by Konrad Rogowski. Costume design by Dawn McKay and Rebecca Murray.
Running time: 2 hours, plus a 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. through May 22.
Tickets: $17, $15 for seniors and students. Call 800-289-6148 or visit their website at www.suffieldplayers.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Vanda Doyle … Lotty Wilton
Amy Rucci … Rose Arnott
Dana T. Ring … Mellersh Wilton
Brian Rucci … Frederick Arnott
Karen Balaska … Lady Caroline Bramble
Anna Marie Johansen … Mrs. Graves
Joshua Guenter … Antony Wilding
Karen Sidel … Costanza

“The Secret Garden” at the Opera House Players a lyrical musical

EAST WINDSOR — Tucked away in the little hamlet of Broad Brook is a bit of Broadway in the Opera House Players lyrical production of “The Secret Garden.”
While the supporting cast is important in any show, the success of this musical rests squarely on the small shoulders of the actress playing the lead role — a little girl named Mary Lennox.
A daunting burden for some, but not so for Hollis Long who plays 10-year-old Mary. Long, who has an impressive resume for one so young, belts out her numbers with pizzazz and supreme confidence of a little pro.
The show written and with lyrics by Marsha Norman, is faithfully based on the beloved English novel, “The Secret Garden,” by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Set in the Victorian England and India during British rule, it follows the life of Mary, whose father and mother die suddenly from a cholera epidemic in India. She is sent back to England to live with her deceased Aunt Lily’s husband, her Uncle Archibald Craven.
Craven, played with heart by the excellent Carl Calhoun, is a hunchback who has lost all interest in life, and hands the day to day management of his estate to his bitter brother, Dr. Neville Craven, played by the stoic and stolid Keith Johnson.
Both Calhoun and Johnson have strong and melodic voices, as does Erica Romeo who plays the ghost of Mary’s mother, Rose, and Melissa Dupont who plays Lily.
In fact, the singing is the thing in this show, and everyone is impressive. There are an assortment of duets, trios, and quartets, along with the solo performances, and they are all topnotch.
The secret garden is a walled off garden that has been neglected since Rose died. It is up to Mary to bring it back to life, and make a choice between embracing life and the future, or wallowing in the past with the dreams of the dead.
Director Sharon FitzHenry makes sure her cast wastes no time between the numerous scenes, giving this show its zippy pace.
The set designed by FitzHenry and master carpenter George Fields is okay, but feels cramped. It would be nice to have a real bed for Craven’s sickly son, Colin, played by Kenny Bell III, he of the angelic soprano voice, rather than a bench.
The 3-person orchestra led by musical director Bill Martin, along with husband and wife team Peter and Abby Thomson, are fantastic. They seem like many more than just three, and never overpower the vocalists.
The elegant costumes, designed by Moonyean Field and Solveig Pflueger are detailed and pretty, and Mary’s dresses and that lovely pink overcoat are precious.
Dead people dominate the stage in this show, from Mary’s parents to her aunt and sundry others, but it is life that wins out in the end.
As Dickon the country lad, played by the fine Scott Gilbert, says of the secret garden, “a lot of this is looks dead is just biding it’s time,” and “the strongest roses thrive on being neglected.”
Come to Broadway — I mean Broad Brook — and embrace life at the Opera House Players’ production of “The Secret Garden,” running through May 23.

THE SECRET GARDEN

Three Stars
Theater: Opera House Players
Location: 107 Main Street, Broad Brook
Production: Book and lyrics by Marsha Norman. Music by Lucy Simon. Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Directed by Sharon FitzHenry. Musical direction by Bill Martin. Set design by FitzHenry and George Fields. Lighting design by FitzHenry. Costume designers Moonyean Field and Solveig Pflueger.
Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. through May 23.
Tickets: $20, seniors over 60 and youth under 12 pay $16. Call 860-292-6068 or visit their website at www.operahouseplayers.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Hollis Long … Mary Lennox
Carl Calhoun … Archibald Craven
Keith Johnson … Dr. Neville Craven
Kenny Bell III … Colin Craven
Amy Facey … Martha
Scott Gilbert … Dickon
Steven Dombeck … Ben Weatherstaff
Melissa Dupont … Lily
Erica Romeo … Rose
Roger Gove Jr. … Capt. Albert Lennox
Marge Stepansky … Mrs. Medlock
Reva Kleppel … Ayah
Gary Rhone … Fakir
Christopher Berrien … Maj. Holmes
Susan Howland … Claire Holmes
Lyndsay Robyn … Alice
Andrew Hall … Lt. Wright
Dallas Hosmer … Lt. Shaw
Elsa Berrien … Indian servant
Khara C. Hoyer, Erin Maloney,
Moonyean Field … Friends at Rose’s party

There’s no business like “Annie Get Your Gun” at the Goodspeed

EAST HADDAM — Seriously, is there any business like show business? Everything about it is appealing, and so is this wonderfully-realized production of “Annie Get Your Gun,” directed by Rob Ruggiero at the Goodspeed Opera House, whose run has been extended to July 3 by popular demand.
The show is about a travelling show called Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, which travels from town to town on the old vaudeville circuit. While in one of their towns in rural Ohio they come across Annie Oakley, who can’t read or write, but can hit a target with a gun practically blindfolded, and was based on the real life sharp shooter by the same name who “can shoot the fuzz off a peach.”
Annie has a shoot-off with the famous marksman Frank Butler, and wins. In real life Annie did marry Butler and it was a true love affair.
The show begins with that classic theater anthem and Ethel Merman’s signature song “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” which, along with all the other songs in the musical are written by the inimitable Irving Berlin.
Other great songs include “They Say It’s Wonderful,” “You Can’t Get a Man With A Gun,” and “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better.”
The lyrics are snappy, such as in “You Can’t Get A Man With A Gun,” when Annie, played by the scrappy Jenn Gambatese, sings — “You can’t hug a mug with a slug,” and “You can’t shoot a male in the tail with like a quail,” because “they don’t buy pajamas for pistol-packin’ mamas.”
Gambatese is energetic and appealing, which is good, because, like the title of this particular show indicates, it’s all about Annie, and she is in just about every scene.
During the first act the songs drag some, such as the lovely “Moonlight Lullaby” that she sings to her young siblings, played by the cute Joy Rachel Del Valle, Marissa Smoker, and Griffin Birney that practically lulls the post-dinner audience to sleep.
The chemistry between Gambatese and the fine Kevin Earley, who plays her love interest Butler, could not be better. They seem to really enjoy each other’s company, and their mutual attraction is infectious.
The sets are simple, but scenic designer Michael Schweikardt cleverly divides the stage in lengthwise layers, making it seem deeper than it is.
The railroad car is a solid addition to the show, and well used when Winnie and Tommy, the subplot interracial love interest, played by Chelsea Morgan Stock and Andrew Cao, do their tap number on the roof of the car. It is an inspired idea and uses every inch of space available on the tiny stage.
The story brings up the age-old question of what is more important, love or a career, and also the question of whether a woman should diminish her skills and talents so she doesn’t outshine the male egos in her world.
The costumes, from the tight fitting wranglers and custom-made chaps on the guys to the elegant but durably constructed ball gowns on the gals are numerous and flattering, designed by Alejo Vietti.
The supporting cast and ensemble add much to the energy of this show, with smooth and tight choreography by Noah Racey.
In most shows it spoils the moment when an actor looks at the audience, but because this is a show within a show, when the actors sing directly to the crowd, it’s magical.
Riding in the elevator, one of the ushers said that they had over 800 actors audition for this production, so you know they had their pick of the very best.
As they say, love is grand, and so is this sparkling production of “Annie Get Your Gun” at the Goodspeed.

3 ½ Stars
Location: Goodspeed Opera House, Route 82, East Haddam
Production: Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Original book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields as revised by Peter Stone. Directed by Rob Ruggiero. Choreography by Noah Racey. Music direction by Michael O’Flaherty. Scenic design by Michael Schweikardt. Costume design by Alejo Vietti. Lighting design by John Lasiter. Sound by Jay Hilton.
Running time: 2 ½ hours including one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Wednesday, Sunday, and selected Thursday matinees at 2 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Saturday matinees at 3 p.m., and selected Sundays at 6:30 p.m. through July 3.
Tickets: $27.50 - $71. Call the box office at 860-873-8668 or visit their website at www.goodspeed.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Jenn Gambatese … Annie Oakley
Kevin Earley … Frank Butler
Rebecca Watson … Dolly Tate
David McDonald … Buffalo Bill
Chelsea Morgan Stock … Winnie Tate
Andrew Cao … Tommy Keeler
Michael Nichols … Chief Sitting Bull
Bill Nabel … Foster Wilson
James Beaman … Charlie Davenport
Joy Rachel Del Valle … Jessie
Marissa Smoker … Nellie
Griffin Birney … Little Jake
Orville Mendoza … Running Deer
Con O’Shea-Creal … Eagle Feather

Elegant “Proof” at Valley Repertory Company

ENFIELD — A family mystery with unexpected twists and turns are in store for you at the Valley Repertory Company’s thoughtful production of the award-winning “Proof,” playing through May 22.
The story jumps around through time, but follows the life of a brilliant but depressed young woman, Catherine, played by Becky Rodia Shoenfeld, whose mathematically gifted and recently deceased father, Robert, (Bruce Showalter) suffers from what is presumably schizophrenia, an illness she lives in terror of having inherited.
Catherine’s financially successful sister, Claire, played by the cool Monica Ceresa, comes to the house looking to cart her sister from Chicago back to New York City where she can look after her.
Hal is a math graduate student played by Logan Lopez, who comes to the rather dilapidated house, well designed and built by Ken Estvanik and Jason Fregeau and crew.
Hal is going through the notebooks of Robert, hoping to glean some important mathematical tidbits that he hopes the former genius left behind, but his motivations are suspect.
Is he doing the research altruistically, or is he hoping to make his own name in the competitive mathematics circles.
Written by David Auburn, the play was showered with awards including a well-deserved Tony Award for best play and also the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2001, and was later made into a movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
The story unwinds like a mystery novel, with surprises and twists from the start, which open like a flower, or perhaps an elegant math problem, to reveal deeper truths. It is also reminiscent of the film “A Beautiful Mind,” which also explores mental illness — here with Robert suspecting that there is a secret code locked in the library’s Dewey Decimal System.
Shoenfeld perfectly captures the brooding sarcasm and rapier sardonic wit of the edgy, defensive Catherine, but at times she doesn’t appear unsure enough of her own mental stability. There has to be some evident, gnawing doubt in herself about whether she is able to function in the world, and she seems too normal and not frustrated and furious enough to validate her sister’s concern that she be placed in a mental ward.
Lopez’s Hal has just the right combo of geeky nerdiness and intellectual egotism and superiority, with a twitchy hyperness that works exceedingly well.
He is deeply concerned that at 28 years old he is past his mathematical prime and is destined to a life of lowered expectations, teaching at the high school level.
Or as Robert amusingly expounds to him, Hal will be relegated to teaching younger, more annoying versions of himself.
Showalter has a mellifluous voice that is almost too melodic for a crazy mathematician, but he steps it up nicely when he unravels.
As the elegant play evolves there are revelations and discoveries that gave me visceral chills of understanding more than once.
“Proof” is a super play, well-acted and very smart.

PROOF

3½ Stars
Theater: Valley Repertory Company
Location: 100 High Street, Enfield
Production: Written by David Auburn. Directed by Janine Flood. Produced by Celeste Estvanik. Stage manager Jason Fregeau. Dresser Aleeza Hagerty. Set construction foremen Ken Estvanik and Jason Fregeau. Sound by Boyd Wood. Lighting and sound technician Ken Estvanik.
Running time: 2 hours, plus one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. through May 22.
Tickets: $12 — $10 for seniors 60 and older and students 18 and younger. For more information call 860-749-4665 or visit their website at www.valleyrep.com
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Bruce Showalter … Robert
Becky Rodia Schoenfeld … Catherine
Logan Lopez … Hal
Monica Ceresa … Claire

LTM’s “The Man Who Came To Dinner” old-fashioned fun

MANCHESTER — The Little Theatre of Manchester is kicking off their 50th season with some old-fashioned fun in Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman’s comedy “The Man Who Came To Dinner.”
The show, which was a Broadway hit in 1939, revolves around a famous radio personality and theater critic named Sheridan Whiteside, who is in Ohio on the lecture circuit when he visits a family, the Stanleys, slips on some ice and becomes an unexpected and unwelcome guest.
Whiteside, played by the dominating David Moske, is best described as the tart-tongued Simon Cowell of his day.
This man takes insults to a new level, telling the put upon nurse, played by Christy Donahue, “you have the touch of a sex-starved cobra,” and, “by the way, I loved you in ‘Rebecca.’” Pretty esoteric stuff, and the play is loaded with references about the rich and famous of the 1930s.
The character of Whiteside was based on the real-life critic and bon vivant, Alexander Wolcott, whose circle includes Mahatma Ghandi, actors Cary Grant, Zazu Pitts, and Lillian Russell, and the novelist Booth Tarkington.
Some of those names might not come trippingly to the tongue, but they were the Nelson Mandelas, Brad Pitts and Norman Mailers of their day.
Whiteside wastes no time in taking over the house, informing the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, that they have to stay in their rooms. Whiteside threatens them with a lawsuit of $150,000, which was quite a sum back then.
Being a jerk and charming concurrently is no easy combination, but Moske pulls it off with a booming voice and supercilious sneer.
Whiteside is really a big spoiled baby, and his long suffering assistant, Maggie Cutler, played by the excellent Latoya Williams, finally has enough of the good life of travelling in what she refers to as Whiteside’s “small but vicious circle,” and wants to settle down. She meets and falls for small town newspaper owner, Bert Jefferson, played by the solid Jim Power.
The Victorian living room where the entire play takes place, by director Keach-Longo and Fred T. Blish, is period perfect, with many little details, like the entrance way to the dining room and branch stems above the entrance window. The staircase is as solid and fine as any in a real home.
The big band music set the mood well, with sound by Jim Ryan, and the lighting was seamless, by Jared Towler.
The antique wheelchair that Whiteside uses is quite a find and adds much to the believability of the show.
The costumes by Viviana Lamb are beautiful and numerous, including many fancy ties and snazzy smoking jackets for Whiteside and some exquisite gowns and furs for the glamorous actress on the hunt for a rich Englishman, Lorraine Sheldon, played to the hilt by Christine Gill.
Gill is a campy delight when she gets dramatic and upset, and funny when she tries to squeeze out a tear, to no avail.
Anthony Urillo has the triple role of playing the cockroach gift-giving Prof. Metz, suave actor Beverley Carlton, and a wacky Hollywood operator named Banjo.
Urillo isn’t helped by a bald wig that looks like a bathing cap for the professor and a mop of hair that almost hides his eyes for the famous actor. He has his own hair for the Banjo guy, but Urillo has a strange nervous twitch that makes him seem amped up on cocaine, and a voice that is reminiscent of the stand-up comedians Sam Kinison or Gilbert Godfried — okay in small doses, but wearing after a while.
The large cast does a fine job, with special notice going to the star-struck Mrs. Earnest W. Stanley played by the wonderful Marge Patefield, and the endlessly cheerful Dr. Bradley, well played by Dana O’Neal.
There are some fun facts about telephones then and cell phones today, such as when Whiteside calls the operator to contact someone without a number and tells the operator that it is her job to know it, not his. How some things have changed.
Despite some major changes in how we function day to day, people are still people, and behaving egotistically and selfishly and amusingly is something we can all recognize and enjoy.

THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER

Three Stars
Location: Cheney Hall, 177 Hartford Road, Manchester
Production: Written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Directed and produced by Joseph Keach-Longo, with set design by Keach-Longo and Fred T. Blish. Stage managed by Tom Goodin. Sound by Jim Ryan. Light design by Jared Towler. Costumes by Vivanna Lamb.
Running time: 2 ½ hours, including one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. through May 23.
Tickets: $16 — $23. Seniors over 60 and students receive a discount. Call the box office at 860-647-9824, or visit their website at www.cheneyhall.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
David Moske … Sheridan Whiteside
Latoya Williams … Maggie Cutler
Christine Gill … Lorraine Sheldon
Anthony Urillo … Prof. Metz, Beverley Carlton, Banjo
Marge Patefield … Mrs. Earnest W. Stanley
Doug Stoyer … Earnest W. Stanley
Dana O’Neal … Dr. Bradley
Christy Donahue … Miss Preen
Brain Courtemanche … Richard Stanley
Whitney Quaglia … June Stanley
Keith Giard … John
Jennifer Gresh … Sarah
Anne Goodin … Mrs. Dexter
Joyce Hodson … Mrs. Dexter 5/21
Marilyn Rotondo … Mrs. McCutcheon
Pat Covino … Harriet Stanley
Jim Power … Bert Jefferson
Charles Harvey … Michaelson, Radio Tech, Expressman
Gus Keach-Longo … Radio Tech, Convict, Expressman, Deputy
John Louis … Convict
Matthew Rodgers … Sandy, Convict, Deputy
Bob Morrison … Westcott, plainclothesman, guard
Katie Emery, Tim Estremera, Taylor Madison Gray, Jonathan Keach-Longo, Emily Stoyer … Children’s Choir

CRT’s rock opera “The Who’s Tommy” a psychedelic sensation

STORRS — The Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s multi-media production of “The Who’s Tommy,” melds the best of musical theater with a full-blown rock concert, creating an enticing, living, breathing event.
Directed by Gabriel Barre, who is becoming a CRT favorite, having directed last year’s “HAIR” and the imaginative “Loves Labour’s Lost,” really outdoes himself with this stunning show.
CRT takes the best of all worlds by blending equity actors and directors with students in their graduate and undergraduate program to create an amazing blend of amateur enthusiasm with confident professionalism.
Jon Conver, a professional actor, plays both the narrator and the adult Tommy. There aren’t many who have the over-sized rock star charisma, energy, and talent to pull of this role, but the diminutive and fit Conver does.
Anyone who has turned on the radio in the last 20 years would be familiar with the “Pinball Wizard” and other fabulous pop songs including the celebratory “Sensation,” the moving “See Me, Touch Me, Feel Me,” the exhilarating “I’m Free,” and the epic “Listening to You.”
“Tommy” was originally conceived as an album by The Who’s Pete Townsend based on his not-so fabulous childhood filled with abuse and mistreatment to his spiritual awakening and growth. Some might have seen the 1975 classic film starring The Who’s Roger Daltry with Elton John, Ann Margaret and the stunning Tina Turner as the Acid Queen.
Tommy loses all sense of feeling, seeing, and hearing after witnessing a horrific incident involving his parents, and enters a world of his own where no one can touch him.
How many sensitive abused children choose something like that desperate choice as the only recourse to psychic survival? And what a price they pay for that choice, which is one of the reasons for this show’s universal appeal.
There are no weak links in the show, from the creepy Uncle Ernie, played by the excellent Robert Thompson Jr. to Mrs. Walker played by Laura Beth Wells, to the outstanding Brian Patrick Williams as Capt. Walker.
Also super are the younger versions of Tommy played by brothers J.J. and Aemi Mullin. All dressed in white, as is adult Tommy, they are mesmerizing and give the show its grounding power.
Nastily and enthusiastically bullying and thug-like is Noah Winetraub as Cousin Kevin, while Rachel Leigh Rosado is glorious as the psychedelic Goddess The Acid Queen.
The costumes by the talented designer Arthur Oliver cover the spectrum from The Acid Queen’s wild ribbon infested garb with matching dreadlocks and mile high-heels, to the authentically dressed 1960’s cast, complete with pill-box hats.
The seemingly simple sets by scenic designer Cassandra Ireland Beaver are solid and functional. Especially fine is the rolling two-tier metal mini-stage which is used in a variety of scenes, and to notably fine visual effect when The Acid Queen, et al, saunter up the stairs while the rolling stage is wheeled counter-clockwise.
The choreography by Matthew Neff is a compendium of modern dance angular movements, with the 1960s jerk, along with classic rock kicks that flow.
This production goes beyond the basics and has a companion show of screen projections that add so much, from the live feed interviews of the Walkers, to the remarkably well timed and choreographed Javanese shadow play behind a stage-sized screen. Projection design by David O. Smith.
Inspired and horrific is the shadow scene where they operate on little Tommy and removing and reassembling his limbs. Like a train wreck you can’t look away.
This along with a puppet parade lead by puppet designer Michael Truman Cavanaugh, reminiscent of Julie Taymor’s puppetry.
The only downside to this sensational “The Who’s Tommy” is that so few are going to get the privilege to see the short-running production that closes on Saturday.

TOMMY

4 Stars
Location: Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, Jorgensen Road, Storrs.
Production: Music and lyrics by Pete Townshend. Book by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff. Additional music and lyrics by John Entwistle and Keith Moon. Directed by Gabriel Barre. Choreography by Matthew Neff. Musical direction by Ken Clark. Scenic design by Cassandra Ireland Beaver. Costume design by Arthur Oliver. Lighting design by Mark Novick. Sound design by Stefan Koniarz and Emily Tritsch. Puppet design by Michael Truman Cavanaugh. Projection design by David O. Smith.
Running time: 2 hours with one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Wednesday, and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. through May 1.
Tickets: $13 to $35. Call the box office at 860-486-4266 of visit their website at www.crt.uconn.edu.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Jon Conver … Narrator, Tommy
Capt. Walker … Brian Patrick Williams
Mrs. Walker … Laura Beth Wells
J.J. Mullin … 4-year-old Tommy
Aemi Mullin … 10-year-old Tommy
Robert Thompson Jr. … Uncle Ernie
Noah Weintraub … Cousin Kevin
Zak Kamin … Lover
Rachel Leigh Rosado … The Acid Queen
Michelle Goodman … Sally Simpson
Ryan Guess … Minister
Philip A.J. Smithey … Hawker

TheaterWorks’ “Souvenir” a love song to music

HARTFORD — There’s that old saying that if you are poor and you do something odd, you are crazy, but if you are rich and you do something odd, you’re eccentric.
Certainly that later definition would fit the real life phenomenon that swept the New York imagination for a decade in the 1930s in the remarkable and unique person of society matron Florence Foster Jenkins.
Jenkins considered herself a prima donna opera soprano of the first rank, but actually never met a note she couldn’t massacre. Notes were more of a suggestion in her estimation than the rule, but her lack of rhythm, tempo, and diction were all equally bad.
Still, she became a ‘cause celebre’ in her own right, more for her complete lack of self awareness and delusional single-mindedness that she was as good if not better than the other professional soprano of her day.
The play is narrated from the perspective of her long time and long suffering accompanist, Cosme McMoon, here played by the talented Edwin Cahill, who is both good as a pianist and an actor.
He takes the audience through the journey of his remembrances of his working with Foster Jenkins, from his derision and embarrassment, through to his eventual admiration of and caring for this remarkable woman.
It takes a talented singer to sing as consistently awful as she does, and Neva Rae Powers is up to the challenge. She is so painfully bad that it is similar to watching a train wreck — you want to look away, but just can’t.
Powers is masterful as the optimistic and endlessly resilient and sweet woman who lived her dream. How many people can say they do what makes them most fulfilled and happy?
“What matters most is the music that you hear in your head,” says McMoon. “It is the music that must come before all.”
McMoon says that often, audience members would have to leave the room to gather themselves from sudden fits of convulsive laughter that Foster Jenkins attributed to being seriously moved by her music. “People had tears in their eyes,” McMoon says, well aware of the reason for their crying.
He also says that the seasoned audience members would coach the newcomers on “how to pace themselves,” to get through a performance.
He says that the crowds were like the people you see at boxing matches, “with gasps and shrieks, and doors banging.”
She knew that some derided her, but she chalked that up to ‘professional jealousy,’ and even said that during a recording it was the piano that was out of tune, not her, since she believed she had perfect pitch.
"The piano is not quite with the voice,” she informs the exasperated McMoon.
Her most famous song is her rendition, well beyond her technical ability, of Mozart’s “Queen of the Night,” “The Laughing Song,” from Johann Strauss II “Die Fledermaus,” and more, all the while delighting in her efforts.
Some of the other songs peppered into the show, thankfully sung and played by Cahill’s McMoon, are the jazzy “One for My Baby,” “Violets for Your Furs,” and “Crazy Rhythm.”
There were many fantastic costumes by Theresa Ham in this show, all donned by our diva, culminated in the white winged angel outfit she wears when she singing the show-stopping “Ave Maria,” at an unforgettable performance at Carnegie Hall and recaptured here.
The small, intimate theater at TheaterWorks is well suited to smaller casts such as the two folks in this show, and, with smooth direction by Michael Evan Haney, “Souvenirs” captures the enthusiasm of and gentle joking towards this unique woman.
McMoon says in astonishment, “She was never unhappy and only got happier. I found myself admiring her.”
You will too in this delightful and loving peek into the life of a woman who followed her dream and lived it.

SOUVENIRS

3 Stars
Theater: TheaterWorks
Location: 233 Pearl St. Hartford.
Production: Written by Stephen Temperley. Directed by Michael Evan Haney. Set design by Adrian W. Jones. Lights by Matthew Richards. Sound design by Fitz Patton. Costumes by Theresa Ham.
Running time: 2 hours with one intermission.
Show Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Matinees on Saturdays and Sundays - 2:30 p.m. The show will run through May 23.
Tickets: Unassigned seating is $39; $49 on Friday and Saturday nights. Center reserved seats $12 extra. $12 student rush tickets at showtime with valid ID (subject to availability). Season tickets are $129 for five shows. For tickets call 860-527-7838 or visit their website at www.theaterworkshartford.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Neva Rae Powers … Florence Foster Jenkins
Edwin Cahill … Cosme McMoon

Come Away to the Bushnell’s “South Pacific”

HARTFORD — Has there ever been a better musical than Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s “South Pacific?” It is a show that has just about everything one dreams of in a musical — a compelling story, a secondary love story, strife, death, heartache, second chances, and practically every song in the whole show at hit.
From the glorious “Younger than Springtime,” to the mature and dazzling “Some Enchanted Evening” to the perky “Happy Talkie Talk” to the powerful, “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught,” and more, the show has it all.
Set in the South Pacific during World War II, the show follows the life of Nellie Forbush, she of the cock-eyed optimistic bent, from Arkansas, played by the spunky Carmen Cusack. She could not be better suited for the role of a slightly naïve, hopeful, but confused woman falling in love with an older Frenchman, Emile de Becque, played with stolid authority and a beautiful baritone voice by Rod Gilfry, especially when he sings “This Nearly Was Mine.”
The subplot follows a pair of young lovers, the fresh-faced Lt. Joseph Cable, played with youthful vigor by Anderson Davis and the Tonkanese girl, Liat, played by Sumie Maeda.
Her mother, the opportunistic Bloody Mary, played by the powerful Keala Settle, does what she can to throw her child into the arms of Cable, in an aggressive and slightly creepy manner. Still, the songs are endlessly seductive, like the mesmerizing and hypnotic “Bali-hai.”
Luther Billis is the enterprising wise guy enlisted man with a big heart, played by the rough-and-ready Matthew Saldivar who gets to sing the silly “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame” and the fun “Honey Bun” with Nellie and the crew.
The crew, with a large ensemble cast of male sailors and wacks, give depth and breadth to the music and movement, with dance and incidental music arrangements by Trude Rittmann.
The commanding officer William Harbison is played by Peter Becker a little too much for the laughs from the start, making his nickname of “Old Ironsides” not so amusing as it could be.
The sets, by Michael Yeargan work well, with the slated bamboo-like screens that fill the enormous Bushnell stage completely, and give an exotic and tropical feel.
The period costumes, right down to the women’s bathing suits, have an authentic feel and looked liked they were made for the long haul of a big tour, with costume design by Catherine Zuber.
The background lighting, first of the island and then of the clouds after sunset in the second act, are realistic without being overpowering, with lighting design by David Holder. However, the spot lights, and there were many spots, missed their mark more often than not and need more rehearsing or else a wider light.
This solid and entertaining production of “South Pacific” delivers everything one could hope for in one of the best musicals ever.

SOUTH PACIFIC

3 ½ Stars
Theater: The William H. Mortensen Hall at the Bushnell Memorial Center
Location: 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford
Production: Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Directed by Bartlett Sher. Music direction by Ted Sperling. Musical staging by Christopher Gattelli. Set by Michael Yeargan. Costumes by Catherine Zuber. Lighten by Donald Holder. Sound by Schott Lehrer. Orchestration by Robert Russell Bennett. Dance and incidental music arrangements by Trude Rittmann.
Running time: 3 hours with one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Thursday, and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinee performances Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., through Sunday.
Tickets: From $15 to $282. Call 860-987-5900 or visit their website at www.bushnell.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Carmen Cusack … Ensign Nellie Forbush
Rod Gilfry … Emile de Becque
Keala Settle … Bloody Mary
Anderson Davis … Lt. Joseph Cable
Matthew Saldivar … Luther Billis
Peter Rini … Cmdr. William Harbison
Gerry Becker … Capt. George Brackett

Ivoryton Playhouse’s “Some Enchanted Evening” a Rodgers and Hammerstein celebration

IVORYTON — It’s a musical-lovers night of “Name that Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Tune” at the Ivoryton Playhouse in their musical review of “Some Enchanted Evening,” with many song you’ll likely recognize from the first few notes, while others might be unfamiliar, except for the most ardent musical buffs.
Some familiar songs include “I Can’t Say No” from “Oklahoma” and “Maria” from “The Sound of Music.”
Other Rodgers and Hammerstein favorites are there too, including many from “South Pacific” like “I Gotta Wash that Man Right Out-A My Hair,” “There is Nothing Like a Dame,” and the melancholy love song, “If I Loved You,” from “Carousel.”
“Some Enchanted Evening” was conceived by Jefferey B. Moss, with solid direction and spiffy choreography by Leslie Unger, and under the musical direction by John Sebastian DeNicola, who also does the heavy-lifting of playing the accompaniment to the entire show.
The performers are youthful and energetic, with strong voices performing some interesting arrangements of the classic tunes, such as the female duet with Jennifer Lauren Brown and Jenna Sisson singing “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” from “The Sound of Music.”
There are also songs from less popular musicals, such as the amusing and unexpectedly bluesy number, “The Gentleman is a Dope,” from “Allegro,” which is sung by the earthy Patryce Williams.
The guys are strong performers, with Allan Snyder singing some powerful show tunes, such as “Lonely Room” from “Oklahoma,” and “Soliloquy” from “Carousel.”
Kyle Metzger gives expressive renditions of the beautiful “South Pacific” tune, “Younger than Springtime,” but his green goofy glasses in Act II along with that cone head knit hat don’t make a lot of sense.
Uncomplimentary and distracting are the projection screen images behind the singers, by Tiffany Hopkins, that abruptly change from song to song, with some weird images, like elephants with spindly stork legs, and hand-painted images that look strange, like bad imitations of impressionism.
At other times a video images of clouds on the move and then waves crashing serve only to distract from the singers.
The stage design by Daniel Nischan is less than inspired too, with a plastic golden bust of a woman on a pedestal, and empty frames on the walls.
Also odd is Sisson’s business with a paintbrush, sticking out of her boot and then her top as it does when she isn’t using it to pretend paint.
There is some unnecessary and thick is the stage smoke that is piped in, too, perhaps meant to give a sense of a night club scene.
It is probably not necessary to tell those who read this, but in addition to turning off cell phones, texting during any performance is definitely and emphatically wrong.
A woman behind me was texting away in the second act, oblivious to the world around her, and had to be asked to stop. She was also guilty of eating candy from a noisy container. It’s amazing how those sounds cut through the air.
The group’s ensemble numbers are imaginatively choreographed and arranged, and the singers all blend beautifully, and are strongest when they perform as a group.
The music is the thing here. It’s 90 minutes of show tunes, from happy to sad, corny to poignant, and all Rodgers and Hammerstein.

SOME ENCHANTED EVENING

3 Stars
Location: Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton, Conn.
Production: Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammertein II. Concept by Jefferey B. Moss. Direction and choreography by Leslie Unger. Musical direction by John Sebastian DeNicola. Scenic design by Daniel Nischan. Lighting by Doug Harry. Costume design by Pam Puente. Projection design by Tiffany Hopkins.
Running time: 90 minutes including one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Wednesday and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. through May 2.
Tickets: $38 for adults, $33 for seniors, $20 for students, and $15 for children 12 and under. Call the box office at 860-767-7318, or visit their website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Allan Snyder … Billy
Kyle Metzger … Will
Jennifer Lauren Brown … Julie
Patryce Williams … Anna
Jenna Sisson … Nellie

Village Players’ “Over the Checkerboard” over-the-top entertainment

SOMERS — It’s progress against preservation in the witty shell game of a farce “Over the Checkerboard” written by Fred Carmichael and produced by the Somers Village Players.
Although set in the fictional town of bucolic River’s Corners, Vermont, this play could easily take place right in the quaint village of Somers.
Here a nasty developer, Benjamin Inchscape, played with oleaginous aggression by Doug Stoyer, plans on tearing down the town and replacing the small family-owned businesses, like the bookstore, the tea shop, and antique shop with franchises and chain outlet stores.
The locals, lead by lawyer John Hyde, played by an energetic Ron Blanchette, dream up an idea of selling the manuscript of a former famous author, Oliver Foxworthy, to a book publisher and buying the land before the developer does.
However, terms of Oliver’s will forbid them to open the sealed envelope containing the manuscript until it is delivered to an editor. They all know that the book is a steamy tale, supposedly based on the town folks’ real lives.
Their plan is to personify the characters in the book so that the editor thinks they really exist, like a real life Peyton Place, thereby guaranteeing them all a huge advance.
In order to read the manuscript, John tells the group that he is going to switch the real copy for another after it is opened, and find out who they are supposed to be.
As a result, no one is who he or she really is. Ida McGuire, played by the flirty Nancy J. Emonds, owns the antique shop, but pretends to be a southern housemaid.
Although dead now, Ida says that when Oliver was alive, “He was a chipper as a moose in mating season.”
Joyce Benson plays the constantly tardy and slightly spacey Molly Wrigley, who owns the bookstore. (Benson looks and acts an awful lot like sweet Georgia Engel from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.”)
Then there’s Sherry Samborski who plays the ditzy Betty Lightfoot who owns the tea shoppe, with a “pe” at the end. Samborski is quirky and funny, especially when she theatrically reveals her character’s supposed secret.
Rounding out the well-rehearsed ensemble cast of town’s folk is John Lepore as the dramatic community theater actor, Albert Swenson.
A New York book publisher, Carlton Press, sends an editor, TT Wilkinson, played with easy and command by Angela Taylor Sonnenreich, to Rivers Corners. Here she meets the group at the makeshift historical society. She brings a new assistant, the sarcastic Mark Lindsey, played by Edwin R. Lewis III, who says he’s related to the famous screenwriter, Roger Foreman.
How they all managed to keep track of the real manuscript is beyond me, because, like the old shell game, each of the townsfolk switches the real manuscript with a fake one.
The costumes by Michelle Tyler, while simple, are thoughtfully color-coordinated for the town’s people, while the city folk are sophisticated by contrast in black.
The set, while small, designed by Franc Aguas, who also designed the décor, is tastefully functional. Lighting and sound, often overlooked, is timely and prompt. Designed by Justin Martin and operated by Ben Bugden. The sound track from the “Newhart” during intermission and before the show, is a nice touch and sets the mood.
At a dinner theatre, unlike a regular theater venue, you get to sit around the table for a couple of hours before the show and socialize. My friend and I had the chance to meet a feisty group of gals who came to see their friend, the excellent Taylor Sonnenreich, perform.
Her biography says that this is Taylor Sonnenreich’s first time back on stage in five years. Here’s hoping she doesn’t take another long hiatus. She is one of the best actresses I have seen on any stage.
Another nice touch at the Valley Players is the raffle they hold for $1 a ticket. The winners get to take home decadent homemade goods and the proceeds go to a Somer’s high school scholarship fund.
The buffet dinner of roast beef with salad, potatoes, vegetable, pasta, dessert, all prepared by Joanne’s Café and Banquet House, is consistently delicious.
For a fun and entertaining evening out, be sure to see “Over the Checkerboard” running through Saturday.

OVER THE CHECKERBOARD

3 stars
Theater: The Somers Village Players, Inc.
Location: Joanne’s Café and Banquet House, 145 Main Street, Somers
Production: Written by Fred Carmichael. Directed by David Crowell. Technical direction, lighting and sound design by Justin Martin. Produced by Diane Preble. Stage manager Sue Moak. Set design and décor by Franc Aguas. Props by Betty Domer. Costumes by Michelle Tyler. Lighting and sound run by Ben Bugden. Stage crew Trish Urso and Sue Moak.
Running time: 2 hours with one intermission.
Show Times: Friday and Saturday through April 24. Social hour starting at 6 p.m. Dinner at 7 p.m. Show at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $33, including dinner, with cash bar. Call 860-749-0245 for reservations.
Actor …. Character
Angela Taylor Sonnenreich … T.T. Wilkinson
Edwin R. Lewis III … Mark Lindsey
Ron Blanchette … John Hyde
Nancy J. Emonds … Ida McGuire
Joyce Benson … Molly Wrigley
Sherry Samborski … Betty Lightfoot
John Lepore … Albert Swenson
Doug Stoyer … Benjamin Inchscape

MMP’s “The Secret Garden” enchanting

MANCHESTER — Springtime is the perfect time of year for the Manchester Musical Players’ production of the musical “The Secret Garden,” just when the cold and seemingly dead earth jumpstarts back into life.
This delightful and fanciful show is based on the cherished Victorian children’s novel written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and it stays very close to the original, which is a blessing, because the story is such a fanciful one.
A young girl, Mary Lennox, (Catherine McElaney) is living in India during British rule, when her parents and just about every adult she knows dies suddenly from cholera. She is shipped back to England to live with her uncle, the widowed Archibald Craven (Michel Baron) in his gothic manor. Craven’s young son, Colin, (Aaron Bogin) is bedridden and treated as if he is going to die by the household led by the dastardly Dr. Neville Craven, Archie’s jealous younger brother, played by John-Michael Whitney.
Visions of ghosts, here called dreamers, from both Mary’s and Archie’s past are ever present and add an otherworldly quality to the production.
Leading this large cast is the feisty McElaney as Mary. Casting is everything in a show like this, and director Jane Cerosky could not have picked a better lead. Outstanding are the consistently fine English accents and dialects, which are often touch-and-go in non-professional productions, but are superior here.
McElaney’s Mary is petulant when she should be, and hits just the right note of indignation at the mistreatment she receives from Dr. Neville Craven (John-Michael Whitney) and the fine, bossy housekeeper Mrs. Medlock, played with rigid propriety by Dawne Robinson Gagnon.
From the moment she meets the spoiled young Colin Craven, both McElaney and Bogin are natural and easy, squabbling and real as kids truly behave. Even to the end when they are wrestling with the secret garden key, they stay in character.
The orchestra, expertly led by musical director Kim Aliczi, is a joy from the first note to the last. However, as sometimes is the case, they are so strong they often overpower the vocalists, who are stronger actors than singers, despite being miked.
The one exception is the Kristin Chabot-Gauld, who plays Archie’s dead wife and Mary’s Aunt Lily. Her voice is simply gorgeous, and is a pleasure to hear each time she sings.
Also riveting and charismatic is Tim Russell as Dickon. Although a bit old to play the young country lad, it’s clear why he is cast in the role. He invests every moment on stage with action, movement, and energy.
Rounding out the solid and large cast is the old gardener Ben Weatherstaff, played by the earthly Art Bradbury, and the kind and knowing chambermaid, Martha, with a spot-on Yorkshire accent, played by Marissa Giglio.
It’s an ambitious production, with many scene changes, cleverly realized with a model of the gothic manor offset stage right, with lighted rooms to indicate where the action on the stage is occurring — set design by Gregg Cerosky.
The numerous and varied period costumes designed by Lisa Ann Steier are all well constructed and beautifully detailed from the sari worn by the Indian servant Ayah played by Sarah Hayes, to the lace collar on Mary’s frocks.
The Manchester Musical Players have much to be pleased about with this winsome, enchanting production of “The Secret Garden.”

THE SECRET GARDEN

3 Stars
Theater: The Manchester Musical Players, Inc.
Location: Cheney Hall, 177 Hartford Road, Manchester
Production: Directed by Jane Cerosky. Musical direction by Kim Aliczi. Book and lyrics by Marsha Norman. Music by Lucy Simon. Stage manager Heidi Bengraff. Produced by Marge Kelly. Set design by Gregg Cerosky. Costume design by Lisa Ann Steier. Lighting design by Vince Ponce. Props by Linda Lydon.
Running time: 2 1/2 hours, plus one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. through April 18.
Tickets: $20 general admission, $17 for seniors and students. Call the box office at 860-875-1727, or visit their website at www.mmplayers.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Catherine McElaney … Mary Lennox
Kristin Chabot-Gauld … Lily
Michael Baron … Archibald Craven
John-Michael Whitney … Dr. Neville Craven
Dawne Robinson Gagnon … Mrs. Medlock
Marissa Giglio … Martha
Tim Russell … Dickon
Aaron Bogin … Colin Craven
Art Bradbury … Ben Weatherstaff
Jenna R. Levitt … Rose Lennox
Chris Rataic … Capt. Albert Lennox
Ric Plamenco … Fakir
Sarah Hayes … Ayah
Jim Metzler … Lt. Peter Wright
Michael May … Lt. Ian Shaw
Michael Metsack … Major Holmes
Marge Kelly … Claire Holmes
Lisa Garofalo … Alice
Fran Kriegenhofer … Mrs. Winthrop and the nurse
Meg Clifton … Jane the Maid

“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” at HSC classic Twain hijinks

HARTFORD — Good old Tom Sawyer, the perennial “pet of the old and envy of the young” as one of the characters say in this new adaptation by Laura Eason of our own Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” at the Hartford Stage Company running through May 9.
Set in the 1840’s in St. Louis, Missouri, the first thing you are greeted with in this minimalist set by Daniel Ostling, is that famous white picket fence that dear old Aunt Polly (Nancy Lemenager) sets our hero Tom, played with comfortable assuredness by the tousle-headed Tim McKiernan, to white-washing.
There are few surprises here, but why should there be? Who would mess with perfection?
Huckleberry Finn is played with sweet innocence and tons of energy by Casey Predovic, and Louisa Krause’s Becky Thatcher is perky and charming. The three seem to be in their early 20s, which is a touch old for their respective roles, but they all capture the enthusiasm of discovery and adventure of youth.
In what must be one of his first attempts at courtship, Tom flirts with Becky asking her, “Do you like rats?” When she emphatically says no, he says, “I mean dead ones.”
Becky is charmed none-the-less, and lets Tom chew her gum from her mouth for a while — “but you must give it back to me,” she insists.
When she becomes jealous and throws a fit after hearing that he has used his charming ways with another girl, he offers her his prized brass doorknob as appeasement.
Huck is not too pleased with these female interruptions that get in the way of their adventures, but they manage to have a fun anyway, playing pirates and basically treating life like an imaginative, dramatic, never ending adventure.
One of the enchanting aspects of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer, that comes through in this faithful adaptation, is his real heroic nature, taking a beating so Becky won’t suffer is a truly kind act.
Another is that even when his life is at serious risk by the very bad Injun Joe, played with fine menace by Teddy Canez, McKiernan’s Tom doesn’t hate or judge him. He just naturally, unconditionally loves everybody, and has no time or need for holding grudges.
Tom’s nightmare dream sequence at the start of Act II is well-realized and really brings you into his dilemma — should he let Muff Potter, the innocent town drunkard, played by the excellent Erik Lochtefeld, hang for something he didn’t do, and protect himself? Or should he tell the truth of the murder he witnessed by Injun Joe, and risk being murdered himself?
The scene when he and Becky get lost in McDougall’s cave is high adventure at its best, and once again shows what an iconic hero Tom really is.
Even if you’ve read the original, it’s worth seeing this energetic, good-natured production. Be sure to bring the kids to see Tom and company at the Hartford Stage.

THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER

3½ Stars
Location: Hartford Stage Company, 50 Church Street, Hartford.
Production: Adapted for the stage by Laura Eason. Directed by Jeremy B. Cohen. Scenic design by Daniel Ostling. Costume design by Ilona Somogyi. Lighting design by Robert Wierzel. Original music and sound design by Broken Chord Collective.
Running time: 2 ½ hours with one intermission.
Show Times: Selected Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees performances Sundays and selected Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m. through May 9.
Tickets: $23- $66. Call 860-527-5151 or visit their website at www.hartfordstage.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Tim McKiernan … Tom Sawyer
Casey Predovic … Huckleberry Finn
Louisa Krause … Becky Thatcher
Nancy Lemenager … Aunt Polly, Judge, Widow Douglas
Chris Bowyer … Sid Sawyer, Doc Robinson, Lawyer
Joe Paulik … Joe Harper, Lawyer, Accomplice
Teddy Canez … Injun Joe, School Master, Minister
Erik Lochtefeld … Muff Potter, Widow Douglas’ brother

“No Child…” at Long Wharf an original magical education


NEW HAVEN — What a gift to be able to experience the fantastic one-woman play, “No Child…” performed by the incomparable Nilaja Sun, the show’s creator.
Other fine actors have performed this play that originated Off-Broadway in 2006, now running at the Long Wharf Theatre’s Stage II through April 18, but there is nothing like seeing the original.
The story follows Sun’s own experience as a visiting teacher at Malcolm X High School in the Bronx-teaching 27 students to perform a play in six weeks as part of an $8,000 grant.
As she explains, it is a play within a play within a play, with the student’s being asked to perform a real play called “Our Country’s Good,” which is about Australian convicts performing a play dealing with sexuality, punishment and their judicial system.
Sun plays all the characters in this jam-packed 70-minute show, from the wizened old janitor who is the show’s historian and narrator, to the no-nonsense school principal, Mrs. Kennedy, to the South Park-like teacher Miss Tam, to herself as the energetic, positive, at times overwhelmed and discouraged teacher.
Sun imbues the students she plays with a believable and natural coolness and the astounding energy and life force of youth. She remarkably and almost magically morphs from one character to the next before your eyes.
Using nothing more than an accent, movement, body posture, tone, and expression, she embodies the charismatic and confident Shandrika Jones; the unintelligible, mumbling Phillip; the shy sweet Chris; to the students’ natural leader, the intelligent therefore understandably furious Jerome, and many others.
The play was written at the height of the last administration’s cynical attempt to impose unrealistic expectations on the national school system through the unfunded, federally mandated law — “No Child Left Behind.” The result she points out, is an impoverished, hellish, and inequitable education system that successfully oppresses those who are already severely marginalized.
It’s still relevant today, and will continue to be so as long as poverty is tolerated in the richest nation in the world. Her clear agenda is that if you teach solely to the test and eliminate what some consider the “extras” such as the arts, the possibility for real learning and growth is stunted.
What you end up with, as one of her characters aptly observes, in an institution with metal detectors, armed police officers, and bars on the windows, is nothing more than a training camp for future prison inmates.
“We are getting them ready for jail,” she says at one of her low points in the play. “We’ve abandoned them and I’m abandoning them too.”
As Sun says, 79 percent of the students she sees have endured physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. “They need a miracle everyday,” she discouragingly concludes.
And yet, this is a show of bottomless hope and great humor, with humanity and real accomplishments, in which the children and all who are connected with them, grow and change.
Like a true natural teacher, Sun says to Hispanic, doomed Jose, who complains that he is bored, “Boring usually comes from boring people.” She also points out that more than dying, “public speaking is the number one fear of adults.”
She states simple truths that are sometimes forgotten, like “habits are difficult to break.”
True, most in the audience, unlike most the students Sun respectfully and lovingly channels, have seen their fair share of plays, and know that thespians are not gay.
Still, what a terrific way to be reminded of our common humanity, the healing power of forgiveness, and of our responsibility and ability to make a positive difference in this world one person at a time.
“Hush, hush,” the janitor says to the audience. “You could learn a little something.”
And we do.

NO CHILD

three and ½ Stars
Location: 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven
Production: Written and performed Nilaja Sun. Directed by Hal Brooks. Off-Broadway set design by Narelle Sissons. Off-Broadway costume design by Jessica Gaffney. Lighting design by Mark Barton. Off-Broadway sound design by Ron Russell.
Running time: 70 minutes with no intermission.
Show Times: Tuesdays, most Wednesdays, and Sunday March 28 at 7 p.m. Wednesday March 24 at 7:30 p.m. with no matinee that day. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday and most Wednesday matinees at 2 p.m. and Saturday matinees at 3 p.m. through April 18.
Tickets: start at $45. For more information call their box office at 203-787-4282, or visit their website at www.longwharf.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Nilaja Sun as herself

“The Philadelphia Story” at the Ivoryton Playhouse sophisticated romance

IVORYTON — Ah, the life of the idle rich. How we love to spy on the trials and travails of those for whom money is no object, but still manage to be unhappy none-the-less.
“The Philadelphia Story,” playing at the Ivoryton Playhouse, was originally written in 1939 by Philip Barry for Katharine Hepburn, and subsequently made into the classic movie in 1940 starring Hepburn, stands up well under the test of time.
Hepburn, a Hartford native, performed at the lovely Ivoryton Playhouse, making this show feel even more at home here.
A wealthy gal, Tracy Lord, played with delightful coltish determinism by Brenda Withers, arms akimbo, is about to marry for a second time. This go-round she’s hooking up with a man of the people, George Kittredge, played by Geoffrey Murphy, who is spiffy — looking and acting like Ralph Bellamy on caffeine.
Kittredge worked his way up through the ranks and sees Lord as his just desserts. She doesn’t quite see it that way, but is remarrying on the rebound after she split with her true match in social circles, intellect, and heart, C.K. Dexter Haven (Christian Pedersen), because of his drinking.
Haven designs and races sail boats and raises polo ponies, so you know from the get-go what set your dealing with.
Tracy’s father, Seth Lord (Bif Carrington III) is having an illicit and rather public affair with a chorus girl, evidently making the whole family fodder for a gossip magazine.
In comes that same magazine’s reporter, the poetic Macaulay Connor, played with sincerity and swagger by Matthew DeCapua, and photographer, Elizabeth Imbrie, played by the swell Caroline Strong, who seems to have stepped right out of a 1940s film.
A pip of a kid sister, Dinah Lord, played by with wide-eyed charm by Jennifer Leigh Cohen, tries her darndest to ruffle things up, despite her mother’s best efforts — the much put upon but remarkably patient Margaret Lord, played by the elegant Donna Schilke.
Tracy’s brother, Sandy, is played by Thomas Layman, and although his part is key to part of the plot, something about his working as an editor somewhere, his voice was so inarticulate and sing-songy, perhaps in an effort to sound upper-class, that I couldn’t understand most of what he said.
The romantic side of the story comes down pretty hard on our poor heroine, Tracy, somehow making her to blame for her former husband’s alcoholism, played with sardonic wit by Pedersen, and is blamed for her father’s philandering — quite a stretch.
They say it’s because Tracy is the “ice goddess” — holding others to the unattainably high standards she lives by — causing the men around her to crumble.
“She needs trouble to mature her,” Haven says, which is probably what we all need.
Tracy, up to the challenge, counters of her marriage to Dexter — “I thought it was for life, but the nice judge gave me a full pardon.”
Of Kittredge, Haven observes, “He’s no great tower of strength, he’s just a tower,” and in one sentence, succeeds in getting us all to not like Kittredge much.
Of course, none of what happens in the course of the two-hour play is of much consequence, really, but it is so witty and entertaining you can’t help but be willingly swept along by the spectacle of it all.
Solidly directed by Jacqueline Hubbard, with well-tailored costumes by Pam Puente, you do feel like your invited to an exclusive club and enjoy basking in the reflected warmth of wealth.
Set designer Tony Andrea immeasurably helps this show along with a gorgeous and well-appointed set that immediately sweeps you back to that romantic big-band era.
In the end it’s the rich and famous who are meant to win our sympathy, not that opportunistic, narrow-minded, self-serving working class.
Thanks to a fine plot, along with some deliciously witty dialog, it all goes down like a cucumber and cream cheese tea sandwich with champagne — Light, satisfying, with just the right amount of sophisticated insight to make you feel right at home with the fashionable set.

PHILADELPHIA STORY

3 Stars
Location: Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton, CT
Production: Written by Philip Barry. Directed by Jacqueline Hubbard. Scenic design by Tony Andrea. Lighting design by Doug Harry. Stage manager Theresa Stark. Costume design by Pam Puente.
Running time: 2 hours plus one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Wednesday and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. through March 28.
Tickets: $38 for adults, $33 for seniors, $20 for students, and $15 for children 12 and under. Call the box office at 860-767-7318, or visit their website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Brenda Withers … Tracy Lord
Christian Pedersen … C.K. Dexter Haven
Matthew DeCapua … Macaulay (Mike) Connor
Caroline Strong … Elizabeth (Liz) Imbrie
Geoffrey Murphy … George Kittredge
Jennifer Leigh Cohen … Dinah Lord
Donna Schilke … Margaret Lord
Thomas Layman … Alexander (Sandy) Lord
Bif Carrington III … Seth Lord
Norman Rutty … William (Uncle Willy) Tracy
Don Shirer … Thomas

HSC’s “Motherhood Out Loud” has something for everyone

HARTFORD — If you are a mom or were born to one — and let’s face it, who isn’t? — this show is for you. There is something in Hartford Stage Company’s production of “Motherhood Out Loud” for everyone.
The one act show is presented in a rapid-fire succession of individuals and groups of twos and threes, in vignettes and scenes of motherhood and parenthood stories.
The stories, conceived by Joan Stein and Susan Rose and written by 14 different women, covered a whole gamut of relationships in all types of scenarios, from “gaybie” babies, to adoption, to a Muslim mother, in situations ranging from birth, to playground politics, to weddings, and everything in between.
The actors read from three-ring binder scripts off and on, much as “The Vagina Monologues,” with plenty of profanity, particularly at the start.
Sometimes the actors gave monologues, while other times they spoke to each other, and still other times there were two or three talking in cross-sentences about the same subject, from puberty to Thanksgiving.
Gracefully directed by Lisa Paterson, the show has a feeling of the dance of life, or as one character, played by the fine Amy Irving, says when her musical high school son going off to college, “a highway of tears.”
“I’m waiting to stop waiting,” she says vacantly. “It’s taking a while. It seems to be taking a while.”
Irving, Randi Graff, and April Yvette Thompson all complement each other beautifully, and are well cast for this play.
About half way through the 90-minute production, the show starts to drag some despite their best efforts though, and then James Lecesne steps on board, bringing new energy and a male perspective to the proceedings.
Lecesne’s first character is a homosexual man who decides with his partner to have a surrogate carry their child, or as he calls it, a “gaybie.”
He tells the audience that he and his partner have been together for eight years, “which is 56 years in heterosexual time.”
His piece as the divorced man who moves back with his mother, switching roles in the process, and sending her to school, is finely underplayed.
Thompson is funny as the 12-year-old girl interviewing her cantacorous grandmother played by Graff, as well as the young Muslim girl who pokes her head up from behind a low wall at amusing moments, chiming in just like kids do when their parents make incorrect statements.
Graff plays the Muslim mother who inaccurately hurls a plethora of items at her kids, who have cataloged them as “victims of velocity” and complains about their use of “face space.” Her exasperated daughter, (Thompson) clarifies that it is “Facebook” and “My Space,” but mom sticks doggedly to her own term.
In one scene the three gals deal with breasts — one mother, Graff, has a 14-year-old daughter who doesn’t need a bra, but gets her one for the girl’s ego, complaining, “$42 for a bra the size of a postage stamp.”
Another mom, Irving, has a 10-year-old daughter who is bigger than she is, while the third, Thompson, has a son who is getting too chubby and appears to be developing breasts.
Some scenes are heartbreaking, like the nanny living in California taking care of other’s children, while her own son in El Salvador has his birthday without her, played by Thompson.
Thompson also portrays a mother whose son is in Iraq, and deftly brings to life the anxiety of a mother whose son could die any day.
Graff injured her leg last week and reviews were postponed until director Lisa Paterson could re-stage the show to accommodate the handicapped actress, and Wednesday’s performance, with the new staging, went smoothly.
Between quick scenes the lights dim and cool cartoon animated scenes (adorable animation by Emily Hubley) danced on three screens (projection designed by Jan Hartley) while different music, from Dolly Parton to Charlie Brown-like piano tunes, played, with original sound design and music by Jill BC DuBoff.
The blessing of this show is that the divergent characters from dramatically different backgrounds say in many different ways what mothers everywhere have probably always wanted to say to their children.
As one mother says in a beautiful revere of love and amazement to her newborn — “One second you were in there and the next second you were here, and I got to be there.”
“Motherhood Out Loud” is a great big reminder that regardless of your history or religious upbringing, life is a miracle to be cherished daily.

MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD

3½ Stars
Location: Hartford Stage Company, 50 Church Street, Hartford.
Production: Co-conceived by Susan R. Rose and Joan Stein. Directed by Lisa Peterson. Scenic design by Rachel Hauck. Costume design by David C. Woolard. Lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski. Original music and sound design by Jill BC DuBoff. Projection design by Jan Hartley. Animation design by Emily Hubley.
Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
Show Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees performances Sundays and selected Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m. through March 21.
Tickets: $23 — $66. Call 860-527-5151 or visit their website at www.hartfordstage.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Randy Graff
Amy Irving
James Lecesne
April Yvette Thompson

“Bus Stop” at LTM timeless classic

MANCHESTER — Adultery, abduction, pedophilia, alcoholism, and domestic violence without a profane word to be heard can be seen in the timeless classic play “Bus Stop” by William Inge at the Little Theatre of Manchester through Sunday.
This is the first production the Little Theatre of Manchester produced 50 years ago, and, unlike some plays that show their age, this show is still relevant and solid today and a fine community theater production.
Confidently directed by Fred T. Blish, who knows the show well, having played Bo Decker in their original production, this play is set in the 1950s in a Kansas bus stop diner in March during a late winter snowstorm.
As the characters repeatedly and endearingly say, “March sure is coming in like a lion.” There is something comforting and kind about these common colloquialisms which connects the social subconscious of the group of mostly strangers in a strange place.
Those strangers include a ragtag group of bus riders — a lounge singer, a couple of cowboys, and a college professor on the lam. They stumble into period-perfect roadside diner to get out of the cold and have a bite to eat. Their stay is extended due to a snowstorm that is blocking the roads ahead.
Alysa Auriemma plays Cherie, the chanteuse, with wide-eyed bewilderment and lower-class sweetness. She is a young gal in her 20s who has had a rough go of it, coming from a large family in the Ozarks who lost everything in a flood that has left her friendless and penniless in the world.
A naïve but exuberant cowpoke who has just won his first rodeo, Bo Decker, played by Bob Pelletier, “gets familiar” with Cherie and just assumes she is like one of his horses — he wants her and he takes her. He commanders her onto a bus along with his buddy, the older Virgil, with the expectation of marrying her and taking her to live with him on his Montana ranch, whether she wants to or not.
Mike Zizka does a terrific turn playing Virgil the bachelor cowboy who has raised Bo after Bo’s parent’s death when he was 10. There is something so natural and unaffected in Zizka’s expressions and delivery. He’s endlessly compelling and seems like a cantankerous character right out of a Sam Shepard play.
Other characters include the fine Michael Forgetta as the drunken Falstaffian rogue professor, Dr. Gerald Lyman, who has a penchant for underage gals. His “Romeo and Juliet” scene with the high school waitress Elma Duckworth, played with perky intelligence by Trish Urso, is one of the highlights of the show — at once amusing and poignant.
Sara Logan is also natural and real as the sassy down-to-earth diner-owner Grace Hoylard. We learn she is married, but hasn’t seen nor heard from her husband in ages, and is not too upset about that fact. She has a thing for the bus driver, Carl, played with many sly innuendoes by Nick Demetriades.
As Grace explains to Elma, “Every once in a while I gotta have a man or I get grouchy.”
The costumes, by Marge Patefield are age and time appropriate, but why are Bo’s jeans so terribly ill fitting?
As a cowboy and a rodeo dude, those jeans should be tight as tight can be, rather than the strangely baggy, low-inseamed, nondescript jeans he uncomfortably wears. It’s not too late. There are a few shows left. Get that man a pair of tight, sexy wranglers that advertise Bo’s strongest attributes — his animal magnetism and sexual potency — not hide it.

BUS STOP

3 Stars
Location: Cheney Hall, 177 Hartford Road, Manchester
Production: Written by William Inge. Directed by Fred T. Blish. Associate direction by Debi Freund. Sound by John Ryan and Michael Forgetta. Set design by Fred T. Blish and shop crew. Lighting design by Lee Hammitt. Costumes by Marge Patefield. Produced by Michael Forgetta. Stage manager Jim Ryan.
Running time: 2 hours, with one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. through March 14.
Tickets: $16 — $23. Seniors over 60 and students receive a discount. Call the box office at 860-647-9824, or visit their website at www.cheneyhall.org

ACTOR…CHARACTER
Alysa Auriemma … Cherie
Bob Pelletier … Bo Decker
Trish Urso … Elma Duckworth
Sara Logan … Grace Hoylard
Michael Forgetta … Dr. Gerald Lyman
Mike Zizka … Virgil Blessing
Dave Walton … Will Masters
Nick Demetriades … Carl

“Spring Awakening” eye-opening coming of age musical at the Bushnell

It is hard to imagine that the musical “Spring Awakening” playing at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts through Sunday, was based on a play written in 1891 about incest, rape, sadism, homosexuality, suicide, and adolescent love.
What a shock it must have been then in Victorian Germany, because it’s still very edgy today, with nudity and some profanity — needless to say, not for the kids.
The original play was written by Frank Wedekind who was born in San Francisco in 1864 to a young actress and singer, and a much older father who was a physician and political radical. The family moved to Germany where Wedekind became a favorite of the bohemian set, writing “Spring Awakening” when he was only 27 years old.
In the musical the story line follows the play closely with melodic, rock, and pop music, written by Duncan Shiek, with the book and fine lyrics by Steven Sater.
The story is set in a German boys’ school where one boy, the delicate Moritz, played by Taylor Trensch (looking very Edward Scissorhand-like in the first act and rather “Eraserheadish” by Act II) is being crushed under the weight of the rigid, school system and the unyielding, heartless society and “parent-ocracy.”
It’s a world of dog-eat-dog, where the boys are forced to conform or die trying, and the girls are kept ignorant of the facts of life, with dire consequences for everyone.
Melchior, played with indignant curiosity by Jake Epstein, in the song “All That’s Known” sings:
“Thought is suspect and money is the idol. And nothing’s okay unless it is scripted in their Bible.”
He also sings, “It’s a bitch of a living. And living in your head.”
He falls in love with naïve Wendia, played by Christy Altomare, who has a lovely, sweet voice.
She says to Melchior, “What serves each of us best serves all of us best.”
The ensemble of actors all have terrific voices, and sing quite well throughout, but their dancing isn’t quite up to the same level, and most don’t live up to the excellent angular modern dance movements by the award-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones.
At one point I thought they were all auditioning for the television show “American Idol,” so I wasn’t too surprised to learn that Isle was played by “Canadian Idol” finalist Steffi D.
Bad boy Hanschen played by Andy Mientus was a slippery operator, seducing the gullible Ernst, played by Ben Fankhauser.
Some of the boy’s hairstyles were asymmetrical, but this musical would have been even better served, and closer to the heart and soul of the original radical play, with some really wild existential costumes in exuberant punk-rock edginess.
The costumes by Susan Helftery are all bland as bland can be, with a couple stockings rolled down here and there.
The boys are fine in their school uniforms, but why is sexy Ilse wearing a baggy oversized man’s shirt in one scene, and then a shapeless green dress three sizes too big? Not too attractive for a character that is supposed to be a bad girl. And all the girls are wearing really dull pedestrian dresses that could have been so much more interesting.
There are tears and heartache on display by the actors, but musicals have a tendency to cause an emotional disconnect from the interaction, because of the break in the action to sing to the audience, and “Spring Awakening” is no exception.
Still, the music is really gorgeous, such as the beautiful “The Word and Your Body,” “I Believe,” and “The Song of Purple Summer,” giving hope that change and love are possible in this bleak and predictable world.

SPRING AWAKENING

3 Stars
Theater: The William H. Mortensen Hall at the Bushnell Memorial Center
Location: 166 Capitol Ave. Hartford
Production: Music by Duncan Shiek. Book and lyrics by Steven Sater. Directed by Michael Mayer. Choreography by Bill T. Jones. Music director Kimberly Grigsby. Set design by Christine Jones. Costume design by Susan Helftery. Lighting design by Kevin Adams. Sound design by Brian Ronan.
Running time: 2 ½ hours including one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinee performances Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., through Sunday Feb. 28.
Tickets: From $15 to $72. Call 860-987-5900 or visit their website at www.bushnell.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Jake Epstein … Melchior
Taylor Trensch … Moritz
Christy Altomare … Wendia
Steffi D … Ilse
Ben Fankhauser … Ernst
Anthony Lee Media … Otto
Andy Mientus … Hanschen
Sarah Hunt … Martha
Gabrielle Garza … Anna
Kimiko Glenn … Thea
Matt Shingledecker … Georg

“Communicating Doors” transporting science fiction play

SUFFIELD — Community theater at it’s best and most raucous can be seen at the Suffield Players in their production of the witty science fiction romp, Alan Ayckbrourn’s “Communicating Doors.”
A little confusing at first, with 20-year time travel for some through a mysterious spinning closet, the play is set in the same London hotel suite in 2024, 2004, and 1984.
In 2024, a dying man, Harold (Brian Rucci) has remorse for the untimely death of his two wives, who previously met their ends by his unscrupulous business partner Julian (Christopher Berrien). In a state of despair, Harold writes a confession and hides it down a drainpipe.
He hires a dominatrix, Phoebe, who goes by the name of Poopay, played by Becky Rodia Schoenfeld, to sign his confession, and tells her the whole sordid tale about his two wives’ untimely deaths — both of whom he learns late in life were murdered by Julian.
When Phoebe asks how he could not have seen a pattern in his partner’s behavior, Harold says they made millions from underhanded business practices, and he chose to ignore the fact that Julian was so evil that he even confessed to murdering his mother.
“I preferred to see the facts as they appeared,” Harold says, and deceives himself that “the version of the truth is the truth itself.”
But now Harold feels guilty on his death bed and wants to make a clean break from his past, writing a confession.
When Phoebe refuses to sign the confession, Harold says in frustration, “My God, an honest whore,” to which she responds, “I am not a whore. I am a specialist sexual consultant!”
Phoebe meets the Julian who learns about his partner’s written confession and does his best to destroy the document and Phoebe.
Unlike many science fiction tales where travelling back in time to change the outcome results in unforeseen dire complications, the manipulations in events here produce positive changes back in the future.
The witty, fast-paced English-accented dialog proceeds at a rapid clip, and the actors are all up to the challenge.
Special notice goes to the excellent Schoenfeld whose Cockney accent could not be better. A previous role elsewhere as Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” was great training for her role in “Communicating Doors.”
Also very fine is Mary Fernandez-Sierra as the second wife, Ruella. The scenes with Fernandez-Sierra and Schoenfeld feel natural and true.
As with any theater production, it is a team effort, but this show is exceptional for it’s creative time-traveling closet that worked every time, with special recognition due to technical director Jerry Zalewski, stage manager Dorrie Mitchell, and production manager Konrad Rogowski, with sound design and operations by Dana T. Ring.
As a side note, the Suffield Players recently had to replace the furnace at their historic Mapleton Hall, incurring unexpectedly large expenses. They are hoping to raise $10,000 to help cover their costs, and are looking donations. For further information visit their website or contact them at 860-668-8037.

COMMUNICATING DOORS

3 Stars
Location: Mapleton Hall, 1305 Mapleton Ave. Suffield.
Production: Written by Alan Ayckbourn. Directed by Dale T. Facey. Assistant direction by Sharon FitzHenry. Stage manager Dorrie Mitchell. Assistant stage manager Bob Williams. Backstage crew Larry Andersen. Technical director and lighting design by Jerry Zalewski. Production manager Konrad Rogowski. Costume design Rebecca Murray. Set design by Christopher Berrien. Sound design and operations by Dana T. Ring.
Running time: 2 ½ hours, plus a 15-minute intermissions.
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. through March 6.
Tickets: $17, $15 for seniors and students. Not recommended for young children, because of some adult situations. Call 860-668-8037 or visit their website at www.suffieldplayers.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Becky Rodia Schoenfeld … Poopay/Phoebe
Mary Fernandez-Sierra … Ruella
Brian Rucci … Harold
Christopher Berrien … Julian
Rayah Martin … Jessica
Allen Nott … Reece

“RENT” rocks at the Broad Brook Opera House


EAST WINDSOR — The Connecticut non-professional premiere of RENT at the Broad Brook Opera House, the award-winning rock opera, is full of energy, passion, intensity, and love, performed by a strong, diverse, and talented cast.
The story is based on the Puccini’s opera “La Boheme” about young bohemian artists living in New York City around 1997 at the height of the AIDS epidemic. A narrator and filmmaker, Mark, played by Thomas Jon Creatore, guides the audience through the complex relationships of his friends, many of who have AIDS.
It’s a bit of a soap opera with lots of relationship twists and turns. Fortunately the show’s program has a helpful flow chart, showing the links between partners. Mark’s roommate Roger is struggling with his girlfriend’s suicide, who killed herself because she had AIDS, which Roger (Tom Knightlee) also contracted presumably from former drug use.
They are freezing in their tenement and can’t afford to pay the rent, hence the title of the musical. They owe rent money to a former roommate, now landlord, Benjamin Coffin III, played by Wayne Crow, who is threatening to evict them all.
Roger’s neighbor, Mimi Marquez (Gia Wright) a dancer and junkie, also suffers from AIDS. Mimi and Roger become a couple eventually, singing the lovely, flirtatious “Light My Candle.”
Mark’s former girlfriend, Maureen Johnson, (Erica Lindblad) a performance artist, has hooked up with a woman, Joanne Jefferson (Nicole R. Giguere) a producer.
Another friend and former roommate who also has AIDS, Tom Collins, (Christopher deJongh) is mugged on the streets of New York. Later he is rescued by a kind street performer and drag queen Angel Dumott Schunard (Giovannie ‘Deseo’ Mendez.)
All the performers are well-cast and excel in their given roles. Wright’s Mimi is a limber, excellent dancer, weaving in and out of the railings, and has a strong piercing singing voice that stands out when she sings “Out Tonight.” Fine choreography by Todd Santa Maria, on a solid set designed by Peggy Messerschmidt.
The lyrics and music by Jonathan Larson are soulful and fine, such as when Mimi sings to Roger “Let’s find a bar so dark we forget who we are.”
Whether he is singing quietly or belting out a tune, Knightlee can always be heard, is articulate, and has a beautiful, emotional voice. Some other performances are difficult to understand at times, which can perhaps be attributed to the uneven sound system, which had some feedback issues Saturday.
Although she had a small role, Melissa Paul’s solo in “Season’s of Love” that kicks off the second act is amazing and powerful, supported by the terrific ensemble cast.
The ensemble really do a super job bringing it all together, and extra nice is the four who play the parents and sing the acappella “Voice Mail #5.”
With profanity, talk about drugs, and simulated sex acts, this show is inappropriate for children.
Mendez, as the drag queen, is fantastic, with energy to spare, jumping on and off tables in remarkably high-heeled shoes and terrific costumes, (costumes by the multi-talented Creatore, who also assisted with the choreography.)
Creatore and Nicole R. Giguere as Joanne Jefferson, Maureen’s new lover do a fine rendition of “The Maureen Tango,” lamenting their shared mistreatment by the darling diva, played with sassy energy by Lindblad, who has her own showstopper with “Over the Moon.”
Director Philip V. DeVito works wonders with a small stage and a large cast of 16 members. At times DeVito has some characters that are not in the action or dialog sitting on stage, which is distracting.
Tickets to the show are selling so well that they have extended their run through March 7.
It seems odd to think of RENT as a dated show. Although AIDS is as serious a health threat as ever, it isn’t what it once was. Still the show has a lot to say about all kinds of love — gay, lesbian, heterosexual, and also about family and finding one’s way in the world.

RENT

3½ Stars
Theater: Opera House Players
Location: 107 Main Street, Broad Brook
Production: Music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson. Direction by Philip D. Vetro. Musical direction by Angela Klimaytis. Choreography by Todd Santa Maria. Lighting designer Roy Ryzak. Sound design by Avitra, Inc. Costumes and additional choreography by Thomas Jon Creatore. Set designer Peggy Messerschmidt.
Running time: 3 hours, with a 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. through March 7.
Tickets: $20, $16 for seniors over 60. Definitely not recommended for children due to language and adult situations. Call 860-292-6068 or visit their website at www.operahouseplayers.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Thomas Jon Creatore … Mark Cohen
Tom Knightlee … Roger Davis
Gia Wright … Mimi Marquez
Christopher deJongh … Tom Collins
Erica Lindblad … Maureen Johnson
Nicole R. Giguere … Joanne Jefferson
Giovannie ‘Deseo’ Mendez … Angel Dumott Schunard
Wayne Crow … Benjamin Coffin III
Stacy Constantine, Melissa Paul, Jessica Cutino, Aslynn Brown, Joseph J. Martin, Mike King, Stephen Jewell, Dallas Hosmer … ensemble

Phenominal “The Lion King” at the Bushnell

HARTFORD — Pounding rhythms intertwine with one visual feast after another almost overwhelm the senses in the stunning, awe-inspiring, spectacular multi-award winning production of Disney’s “The Lion King,” returning once again to the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts through Valentine’s Day.
Directed, with costumes, masks and puppets by the inimitable Julie Taymor, the creativity of this film-to-play musical is unsurpassed and is an event that defies superlatives.
The colors and variety of tiny, life-sized, and over-sized animal puppets, flamboyant and gorgeous costumes, and huge, glorious sets, by Richard Hudson, are fantastic and breathtaking.
The story, however, is one of the least compelling aspects of the musical. A spoiler alert — don’t read any further if you want to see the ending for yourself.
A lion cub named Simba is born and the heir apparent as the next king of the jungle, (the young Simba played on alternate nights by Elijah Johnson, Jerome Stevens Jr., and the older played by the energetic Andre Jackson).
Simba’s uncle, Scar, (a fantastic Brent Harris) is not happy about the situation, feeling he should be king, rather than his stronger brother, Mufasa, played by Dionne Randolph.
Scar manipulates the young Simba into dangerous situations, once in the Elephant graveyard where he barely escapes being eaten by the nasty hyenas, who are Scar’s henchmen.
The second time Scar says he has a surprise for Simba that is “to die for,” and places him in the midst of a wildebeest stampede, where he once again escapes with his life, but this time his father, Mufasa, does not.
Simba runs away and hooks up with a couple of kooky characters, Timon the meerkat, played by the fine and funny Tyler Murree, and the flatulent warthog, Pumbaa, played by Ben Lipitz.
Simba grows up and returns to his pride, where the evil Scar has made a royal mess of things. The young lion sets things aright once more, and hence the circle of life continues.
A story like this is only as good as the evil protagonist is bad, and Harris is really, really bad, in a very good way. Hopefully he took it as a compliment when during the curtain call Friday he received some boos along with applause.
Scar’s costume was an exaggerated and uniquely stylized Japanese Kabuki-like outfit with an elaborate rope bodice.
Scar and Mufasu’s remarkable moving lion facemasks are a marvel of engineering and innovative in the way that they drop into full view and then retreat, with masks and puppet design by Taymor and Tim Curry.
Taymor brilliantly blends humans with life sized and larger-than-life puppets, in the tradition of 16th century Bunraku Japanese puppetry, which allow for the facial expressions of the human actors with their puppet counterparts.
She also incorporates the shadow puppet traditions of Indonesia, when showing the creatures moving about in the distance.
Songs by the inimitable Elton John and Tim Rice, such as “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?,” “Circle of Life,” and “Hakuna Matata,” while crowd-pleasers, are a bit cliché at this point. The real appeal is the fabulous African music and dancing.
Rafiki, the terrific baboon shaman, played by the riveting and mesmerizing Phindile Mkhize, opens and closes the show with a voice that is striking, unique, and unforgettable.
The real stunner about “The Lion King” is how Taymor and company are able to pull off the sheer magnitude of this production, with 143 cast and crew members, 25 types of puppet animals (including giraffes, zebras, antelopes elephants and a rhino), and 200 puppets, combined with first rate athleticism and graceful choreography. Garth Fagan is the choreographer.
Also astonishing is how the fragile and delicate costumes and creatures seem, yet how functional and durable they are to withstand constant use and movement.
“The Lion King” is perfect pageantry for all ages and is a phenomenon that exceeds all expectations.

THE LION KING

4 Stars
Theater: The William H. Mortensen Hall at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Location: 166 Capitol Ave. Hartford
Production: Directed by Julie Taymor. Choreography by Garth Fagan. Music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice. Scenic design by Richard Hudson. Allers and Irene Mecchi. Costumes by Julie Taymor. Book by Roger Lighting design by Donald Holder. Masks and puppet design by Julie Taymor and Michael Curry. Sound design by Steve Canyon Kennedy.
Running time: 3 hours including one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinee performances Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m., through Feb. 14.
Tickets: From $20.50 to $128. Call 860-987-5900 or visit their website at www.bushnell.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Phindile Mkhize … Rafiki
Dionne Randolph … Mufasa
Brent Harris … Scar
Andre Jackson … Simba
Marja Harmon … Nala
LaShanda Reese-Fletcher … Sarubi
Tony Freeman … Zazu
Tyler Murree … Timon
Ben Lipitz … Pumbaa
Elijah Johnson, Jerome Stevens Jr. … Young Simba
Jamariana Tribble, Madai Monica Williams … Young Nala

“The Lady With All the Answers” is all about connections

HARTFORD — Sometimes plays with just one actor can get tiresome, but this is not the case with the terrific, insightful, and entertaining comedy “The Lady With All the Answers,” about the life and times of columnist Ann Landers, by David Rambo, at TheaterWorks, running through Mar. 7.
Charlotte Booker plays the perky, practical, and down to earth homey woman with forthright directness, and just the right mid-west twang to her speech.
Set in 1975 in Lander’s cozy 1960s furnished living room, with sets by Adrian W. Jones, she invites you to learn all about her fascinating life, from her marriage to Jules, a man she knew for three months before wedding to her eventual divorce. All under the auspices of her simultaneously compiling chapters for her book.
We learn that Ann Landers real name was Esther Pauline Lederer, and her identical twin sister, Pauline Esther Lederer, started her advice column “Dear Abby” about six months after Esther.
Landers says that her sister helped her for a few months with her mail. “She was a quick study,” Landers says, with just enough edge to her voice to let you know she is perturbed, but is too much of a lady and too positive a person to bellyache about it.
We also learn that Hugh Hefner, also from the mid-west, would put on a suit only for his mother and Landers when she would visit the Playboy mansion.
“I’m a square, but I’m no prude,” she says, at one point in her career appearing on a local television show with Linda Lovelace, and spoke of the infamous porn film in direct and graphic terms.
If this play is any indication, Landers was one amazing powerhouse. Having made useful connections in Washington, D.C. early on, she used her rolodex to contact experts, such as getting a supreme court judge to give his opinion on one woman’s question of who owns the walnuts that fall onto one property from the tree on another.
“I always defer to the experts,” Landers says, and through the years, and thousands of letters, she became something of an expert in the American cultural herself.
There are probably as many reasons why we go to plays as there are people who attend shows, but for me, it is all about making connections.
Landers was also all about making connections, and helping others — personally reading and answering every single letter sent to her, whether it was published or not — No small task when she regularly received thousands of letters each week, most of which we learn she read while soaking in a bubble bath.
Booker is simply amazing and top notch with her conversational tone and convincingly, confident, approachable demeanor, assuredly directed by Steve Campo.
Her speech is peppered with amusing and corny sayings, such as: “I needed that like a giraffe needs strep throat.”
When she met her husband-to-be, Jules, a salesman in the bridal section of a department store, who eventually founded Budget Rental Cars, she says: “October 1955 — A date that will live in intimacy.”
We learn that this mid-west “everywoman” became a vocal advocate for abortion rights, gay rights, and was passionately opposed to the Vietnam War.
It’s difficult to imagine today, but before Landers, the word “homosexual” was not printed in newspapers she says.
She was also not into self-aggrandizement. Knowing Hubert Humphrey, who was vice president at the time, she visited military hospitals in Vietnam. There she sat with thousands of wounded men, took down their messages, and when she returned home she made over 2,500 telephone calls to their loved ones. She never publicized her actions, however, saying only “it just didn’t feel right.”
Even when her husband of 36 years left her for a woman younger than her daughter, Landers was dignified, positive, honest, and loving. Not that she was a martyr or a wimp either. Ever the mid-west practical gal, she recognized that perhaps because of their busy lives they lost their connection.
Landers never lost her connection or her concern with her public, though, and it’s fascinating to hear all about it in this marvelous, insightful, endlessly satisfying play.

THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS

4 Stars
Theater: TheaterWorks
Location: 233 Pearl St. Hartford.
Production: Written by David Rambo. Directed by Steve Campo. Sets by Adrian W. Jones. Costumes by Kenneth Mooney. Lighting by Mary Jo Dondlinger. Sound by Mike Lastella.
Running time: 95 minutes with one intermission.
Show Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. through Mar. 7.
Tickets: Unassigned seating is $39; $49 on Friday and Saturday nights. Center reserved seats $12 extra. $12 student rush tickets at show-time with valid identification (subject to availability). For tickets call 860-527-7838 or visit their website at www.theaterworkshartford.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Charlotte Booker … Ann Landers
By Kory Loucks
Journal Inquirer