THE HILL-STEAD MUSEUM SHINES ITS THEATRICAL LIGHTS THIS SUMMER

As the sun sets on a warm summer afternoon, when you want to celebrate the season and settle outdoors for an evening of entertainment, when you want to forget the state of the world during the time of Covid, what better place to head

than the lovely pastoral setting at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington.  On such a recent evening, I took my chair, my mask and a friend and we sat on the lawn, on one of the museum’s 152 lush green acres, to enjoy an evening of

Cabaret songs courtesy of the singing group The Falsetti Four.  Under the auspices of West Hartford’s intimate Playhouse on Park, with the generous support of the Hill-Stead Museum, the entire summer has been dotted with many

sparkling opportunities to bring a treasured moment of music or theater to life. This was just such an evening.

Safe in our little pod, with food to nibble and drinks to imbibe, we watched the sun go down as the Falsetti Four gloriously sang show tunes. With a following from their Friday Night performances at BlueBack Square in West Hartford, the troupe included 

Rick Fountain, Amanda Forker, Carolyn Burke, Hillary Ekwall and young, talented high schooler Stephanie Reuning-Scherer whose dad Jonathan was there flashing the keyboards to every number.  Tunes ranged from show biz favorites like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to

cute numbers about the mistake of dying your hair blue only to have it turn green to a one woman birthday party celebration.  Whether sentimental or sassy, the performances were Broadway level enjoyable.

The Hill-Stead is also entertaining benefit dinners on the lawn,”Theodate & Tyler,” as farm-to-table experiences into September  Other events include a Playhouse on Park Dance Party with Darlene Zoller on Wednesday, September 16 and a

 Playwrights Reading Series on Wednesday, September 23.  Other entertainment performances are the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Stage, a Concert Among the Acres, a Painting Class run by the Museum and the Sonia Plumb Dance Company

in September and in October the Hartford Stage and the Farmington Land Trust Raptor Program.  Visit https://www.hillstead.org/ for dates, times and prices.

  The Museum is now open for guided tours from Thursday to Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. Treat yourself to an evening outdoors as the sunshine turns to star shine and you get to remember why you love theater.