THE BEST OF THE CONNECTICUT THEATER WORLD IN 2021

Even though the theater world precariously held its breathe in 2021, as it clung to being “next to normal” as Covid continued to rear its ugly head, there were still many productions that deserve to be mentioned and applauded during this challenging year. Music Theatre of Connecticut offered up a personal portrait of the amazing Dr. Ruth in “Becoming Dr. Ruth” that showcased her start being placed on the Kindertransport as a child and sent alone to a new land, never to see her family again. She is now reflecting, many decades later, on her remarkable life and plotting the new directions she must evaluate. Also looking back on a century of living are the Delany Sisters at the Ivoryton Playhouse, in “Having Our Say: The First 100 Years,” who review their distinctly different experiences as young black women growing up during the Civil Rights Movement and their accomplishments over those years. Looking to the future and beyond is “Walden” at Hartford TheaterWorks, set outdoors for realism, on a parcel of land outside Hartford as two sisters vie for the role of saving the earth and preserving its destiny. Their astronaut father places them on a path that is competitive and challenging. Stepping back in time to the age of Jane Austen is Playhouse on Park’s delightful visit with “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberly” where the youngest Bennet sister Mary finds herself seeking love like her older siblings enjoy and finds herself in the arms of a handsome visitor to her home. The Hartford Stage introduced us to the literary musings of Eugene O’Neill who creates a comic portrait of his youth as he might have wished it to be. “Ah, Wilderness” provided a rare glimpse into a teenage boy who has a loving family to rescue him as he struggles to assert his independence and come of age. An unbelievably different fate awaits a young Chinese girl who at fourteen is plucked from her homeland to come to the United States in 1834 as a curiosity, one who is unfortunately exploited for her cultural differences and made a side show attraction for the curious to come to examine, at Long Wharf Theater. “The Chinese Lady” is based on a true incident. We went “Into the Woods” with a bevy of fairy tale creatures thanks to Playhouse on Park and experienced encounters with giants and golden hens, a baker and his wife who desperately want a child, a wicked witch, a Little Red Ridinghood look-alike and some insincere princes, to name but a few. The moral: Be careful what you wish for. A North Carolina fiddler takes center stage with a plethora of country and bluegrass music in Ivoryton Playhouse’s family tale “The Porch at Windy Hill.” A family reunion uncovers some unexpected long buried secrets. Thanks to Goodspeed Musicals the summer brought us a series of outdoor concerts with “Goodspeed by the River” with Broadway tunes, fiddle music, a little Pearl Bailey and a lot of Nina Simone. The concerts continued in December with evenings with the music of Bing Crosby and Karen Carpenter. Some of the best Christmas shows included the radio show at Hartford Stage, “It’s a Wonderful Life” where George Bailey realizes his worth and Clarence earns his angel wings, The Legacy Theater's production of “A Christmas Carol” with original music, and Music Theatre of Connecticut’s ode to Cindy Lou Who and the Grinch. So armed with masks and fully vaccinated, sitting socially distanced, Connecticut theaters welcomed back live productions and provided entertainment once again. Hopefully 2022 will continue and strengthen this tradition for the foreseeable future. Let the curtains rise again triumphantly.