LEGACY THEATRE OF BRANFORD CREATES BRAND NEW MUSICAL "SCROOGE AND MARLEY"

Telling the difference between heroes and villains is not always obvious or easy. Just ask Keeley Baisden Knudsen, the Legacy’s Executive Artistic Director, who adapted R. William Bennett’s book “Jacob T. Marley,” a prequel to the classic Dickens’ tale “A Christmas Carol.” What a lovely way to start the holiday season learning about how Ebenezer Scrooge’s and Jacob Marley’s meeting, friendship and long years as partners in the accounting business came to pass. Dan Frye's mean spirited Scrooge and Christopher Lemieux’s money loving Marley are well suited to each other. They have focused their goals on accumulating not family or friends but on the size of their bank accounts.

Until December 14, the Legacy Theatre invites you to experience the long years of their business relationship and the epipancy Jacob experiences when he faces his own death and all the years he had wasted without love or companionship. At this sensitive moment in life, Jacob realizes his foolishness and determines to save Scrooge from his own sad fate. Now at the end of his life, Jacob has chains and money boxes to show for his greediness and avarice.

Settle back in a comfy seat and watch Jacob attempt to convince the Spirits that Ebenezer is worth saving, that he doesn’t need to succumb to the same destiny as Jacob, that redemption is possible, and that Jacob is the man to make it happen. Their cold and profitable relationship was a waste and Ebenezer must see the error of their ways and reform to embrace humanity and make the world a better place. Like clockwork, a trio of ghosts pay visitations to Scrooge: Allison Miller as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Nate Bloom as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Chelsea Dacey as the Spirit Guide.

The past and the present and the future-yet-to-be merge as Scrooge receives memories of Nate Bloom’s Fezziwig, his old boss, the Cratchit family including Allison Miller as mother, Josiah Rowe as his employee Bob, and Fitz Pant as Tiny Tim as well as Josiah Rowe as the narrator, Indiana Weaver as his sister Fan, and Elinor Oliveira as young Fan, Keegan Smith as John Cummings, Lucia Sheehan as his intended Belle,Tom Mullaney as Duffin, and Keegan Smith as his nephew Fred.

With spirited songs like “My Son,” “I’m the Best,” “Scrooge and Marley Code,” jeffand “The Streets are Lovely,” the story sails along while Scrooge reevaluates his choices and realizes he needs to change. Fortunately, he lives many decades more to appreciate what his life needs to be.

For tickets ($36.50-56.50), call the Legacy Theatre, 128 Thimble Island Road, Branford at 203-315-1901 or online at LegacyTheatreCT.org. Performances to this world premiere are Wednesday and Thursday at 2 p.m, and 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Come meet the changed men who realize their mistakes before it is too late, villains who now are heroes. God bless us every one.

IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE WELCOMES CHRISTMAS MUSICALLY WITH "PLAYHOUSE HOLIDAY JAMBOREE"

'Tis the season to be jolly and happy and festive for the holiday of Christmas is just around the corner. Thanks to the Ivoryton Playhouse you can start celebrating early with their entertaining and old-fashioned “Playhouse Holiday Jamboree” created and directed by husband and wife team Ben Hope and Katie Barton. Right up until the threshold of the big day, Sunday, December 21, you are urged to sing along with Margaret Dudasik, Morgan Morse, Elizabeth Nestlerode, Macy Robinson, Sam Sherwood and Larry Tobias as they joyfully welcome winter with unforgetable harmony, good cheer, a cup of egg nog, and the gift of musical magic as they guide us on a spirited sleigh ride right up to the holiday’s golden doors.

Larry serves as the holiday guide expert as the traditional tunes come caroling out in rapid succession, like ”I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Let It Snow,” “Marshmallow World,” and “Bells Will Be Ringing.” Look out for a reading of ’Tis the Night Before Christmas, a yummy recipe for peanut butter candy, a visit from Elvis where his holiday world is blue and a whole lot of great strumming of guitars, violins, and a cello along with trumpet, bass, reeds, and drums. The super musicians include Morgan Morse, Kim Bonsanti, Celeste Cummings, Mark Gehret, Patrick Lombardo, Dakota Singerline, Gavin Tarling and Steven Mustakos.

Don your plaid scarves and woolen mittens for a winter wonderland of frosty fun as you help welcome the holiday season on a lovely set designed by Glenn Bassett with a projection of ornaments that changes with every tune, like a perfect introduction to the glad tidings that abound.

For tickets ($60, seniors $55, students $25, Thursdays at 6 p.m. discount $30 if available), call Ivoryton Playhouse, 3 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at ivorytonplayhouse.org. Be sure to watch for the thousands of dazzling lights that will be on display when December 6 rolls around soon, with Santa from 5:30-8 p.m. when the whole village comes to colorful life.

Start off your holiday celebration in style with a visit to the carolers and musicians tuning up to entertain you and treat you to a royal Christmas concert at the Ivoryton Playhouse.

COME PLAY DETECTIVE AT SEVEN ANGELS WITH "ART OF MURDER"

In the Connecticut countryside, in the woods, a man playfully cocks a gun while his wife silently paints a new picture in her studio. There’s no sign that either one is contemplating murder. On the surface, each is simply awaiting the arrive of Vincent (Tom Simonetti),art dealer.The gunman is artist Jack Brooks (Reid Sinclair) and his wife is Annie (Charlene Hong White). The last member of the household is Kate (Gemma Berg), who is the maid and is having a dalliance with Jack.

For playwright Joe DiPetro, his “Art of Murder” at Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury until Sunday, November 30 is like a fun and involving game of Clue. Is it Annie in the living room with a vial of poison or Vincent in the library with a rope or Kate in the kitchen with a knife or Jack in the jacuzzi by drowning? Come discover for yourself!

Jack has a singular goal in mind: to sell his one masterpiece: “Red Painting #4” for one million dollars and he demands Vincent make it happen. Another of Vincent’s proteges Nicole Erickson has committed suicide and Jack craves the publicity and bump in price tags her art has experienced. Vincent tells Jack he is crazy to try and make this happen and before you can say “Vincent Van Gogh” three times plots are being hatched and secrets are being revealed and emotions are reaching dangerously high levels.

Who is going to die and who will be the murderer? Joe DiPetro keeps you guessing and laughing along the way. The art on the set, designed by Kimberly Jackson, is on loan from the Mattatuck Museum as well as a series of abstract paintings for display and sale by Woodbury resident Lucy C. Pierpont. Travis Kendrick-Castanho directs this funny mystery with a sense of suspense and humor.

For tickets ($35-40), call Seven Angels Theatre, 1 Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4674 or online at tix.com/ticket-sales/ seven angels theatre/6554 Performances are Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Check online for specialty nights before the show. Watch for upcoming holiday delights like “The First Noel: A Christmas Cabaret” on Friday, December 12 and 19 ($50) at 7:30 p.m., “Winter Wonderland-A Family Friendly Experience December 13-21 Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and 2 pm., ($10-20), A Fortier Family Christmas December 17 7:30 p.m. ($30), and December 31 A Stand Up Countdown Comedy Show Wednesday December 31 at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. ($53) with champagne.

Come play detective and see if you can uncover who will still be alive when the curtain falls.

MANDY PATINKIN CHARMS IN CONCERT AT WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE

On stage Mandy Patinkin has hobnobbed with the likes of Che in “Evita,” with Stephen Sondheim’s songs along side Broadway star Patti LuPone, in intriguing television films like “Criminal Minds” and “Chicago Hope,” created vignettes of four decades of married life with intimate insights with wife Kathryn Grody and this is just an inch or three in his star packed resume.

Now you have the unique opportunity to meet the man, his modus operandi and his music on Friday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Westport Country Playhouse in “Jukebox,” with Adam Ben-David on piano. This concert with Mandy Patinkin is a new musical treat featuring the singer’s personally selected classic tunes, presented with his signature interpretation of word and song.

Patinkin’s versatility shines as he takes the concert stage, as a recording artist on television and in films. For more than 35 of those 50 years, he has toured in solo concerts from Australia and New Zealand, from New York City to London’s West End, across North America and both on and off-Broadway. In collaboration with such spectacular stars as Patti LuPone, the opera star Nathan Gunn, with Taylor Mac in “The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville, in “Bridges,” a concert with musicians from various countries in the Middle East, and, most recently, “Mandy Patinkin in Concert: Being Alive.”

In addition to his colorful professional career, Patinkin is involved in a rich bevy of philanthropic activities, including Brady Campaign, PAX, Association to Benefit Children, American Jewish World Service, Search for Common Ground, National Dance Institute and ACLU.

For tickets to this fundraiser($150-175), call Westport Country Playhouse, Route One, Westport at 203-227-4177 or online at https://www.westportplayhouse.org/show/mandy-patinkin-jukebox/

Come bask in the warmth of a talented and charismatic performer whether he is Benjamin Franklin, Papa Smurf, Saul Berenson in “Homeland.” in a Sesame Street film, as Quasimodo, as Inigo Montoya in “The Princess Bride” or as hundreds of other memorable men.

SIGN UP FOR FUNNY GOLF LESSONS AT MTC IN "THE FOX ON THE FAIRWAY"

The early history of golf may have occurred as early as 1297 when the Dutch used a stick and a leather ball to play the game. If you hit the ball with the fewest strokes at the target you won the game. Perhaps when in the 17th century in the Netherlands when you hit a small ball into the ground using a golf club that was the origin. Some called it colf or kolf, the Chinese chulwan, and it is known to have been banned in Scotland in 1457 because it distracted soldiers from practicing their archery.

No matter its origins, golf today is a popular sport in America, mainly for retired businessmen who guard their handicaps like a veritable right of passage and is now played by millions across the globe. Currently follow playwright Ken Ludwig as he leads his minions on to the fairway in pursuit of laughter thanks to Norwalk’s Music Theatre of Connecticut until Sunday, November 23 on a funny farce complete with slamming doors, perfect timing and wacking golf clubs.

The time is ripe for the 43rd Annual competition between the Quail Valley Country Club and its fierce rival the Crouching Squirrel Country Club so hop aboard your trusty golf cart to keep track of the competition. Take your gold clubs, sporty attire and ball and tee on to the greens and place your bets on the outcome. Josh Powell’s Henry Bingham from Quail Valley is all fired up that he has the winning secret weapon to finally defeat Sean Hannon’s Dickie Bell from Crouching Squirrel. The two, both sure of victory, make an outrageous bet on who will win.

Like ancient warriors from Greece and Troy, Henry and Dickie position their anointed heroes against each other until they realize they are both rooting for the same man. Wild flights of fury ensue as club employee Erin M. Williams's Louise pledges her undying love for the club’s newest hire Ted Gibson’s Justin Hicks, Missy Dowse’s Pamela sasays in to add her helpful advice and counsel and Annette Michelle Sanders’s Muriel, Henry’s wife, discovers what her husband Henry has promised Dickie if he wins the wager. All clubs at the ready, the fight is on to the finish and laughter is the winner of this game of hijinks merrily directed by Amy Griffin.

For tickets ($45-60). call MTC, 509 Westport Avenue, Norwalk at 203-454-3883 or online at musictheatreofct.com. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

What starts off as a friendly wager quickly escalates into a major marriage mixup as the stakes go flying down the fairway toward disaster and laughter.

"HAMILTON" AN HISTORICAL MUSICAL MARVEL AT THE BUSHNELL

History is coming vividly alive at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford until Sunday, November 16 as the red carpet is rolled majestically out for “Hamilton” now celebrating its tenth year as a blockbuster musical.

Alexander Hamilton was born out of wedlock in the Caribbean and sought his fortunes in a new land, America, achieving great successes as well as attracting powerful enemies. His complicated story will be brilliantly told as “Hamilton,” an epic musical crafted by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Beginning life as a poor orphan with Scottish blood, Hamilton comes to the land of opportunity, America, to become an original Founding Father, a financial wizard, an astute stratagist in war, a powerful writer and orator and the right hand man for the first President George Washington. Tyler Fauntleroy’s Hamilton manages to rise from poverty with a goal of making a difference, of becoming a man of significance, a scholar, a lawyer, a statesman, a man who defiantly believes “I am not throwing away my shot.”

Early on in America, he meets and is befriended by Jimmie “JJ” Jeter’s Aaron Burr, a man who soon exhibits signs of jealousy, trapped by a competition he knows he cannot win. As a Founding Father along side Washington (A.D. Weaver) Thomas Jefferson (Christian Magby) and James Madison (Kai Thomani Tshikosi), Hamilton is quickly swept up in a revolution against Britain’s entertaining King George III(Matt Bittner), helping to plan the siege of Yorktown. He finds time to marry Eliza Schuyler (Lauren Mariasoosay), often choosing his dedication to his country over his family.

As a co-author of the Federalist Papers and his selection as Secretary of the Treasury to the new nation, he engages in an affair that will later be used as ammunition to bring down his star. His ideas incur the wrath of many of his cohorts and ultimately lead to his death in a duel with Aaron Burr. This historical epic will cement Alexander Hamilton’s importance in the story of our heritage, originally taken from a novel penned by Ron Chernow that Miranda read while on vacation in the Caribbean in 2004, on his honeymoon.

The show incorporates statesmen, suitors, sisters, sacred trusts, scandal, successes, shots, slaves, subjects, strategy, surprises, service, skirmishes, seduction, scoundrels and a stunning story. Clearly Hamilton is the tale of America’s complicated history. A cast of cultural diversity with constant movement on stage rules the day. Incorporating hip hop, rhythm and blues, Broadway show tunes, jazz and soul, “Hamilton” enjoys a grand set created by David Korins, period costumes designed by Paul Tazewell, illumination by Howell Binkley, sound mastered by Nevin Steinberg, orchestration by Alex Lacamoire, clever choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and superb direction by Thomas Kail.

“Hamilton” has won an impressive number of awards: Grammys, Tonys, Drama Desk and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A ticket lottery for $10 is held every day for 40 lucky recipients. Go to http://hamiltonmusical.com/app to register. Also check bushnell.com regularly for late release seats. Try to be one of the 45,000 patrons who will see this production at the Bushnell over its 2 week run. It is not a show to be missed.

For tickets ($85 and up), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at bushnell.org. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Come early to sing along with the favorite Hamiltunes Karaoke. Contribute to Rise Up neighbors for Hands On Hartford with food and toiletries for Community Pantry, with full size items, no glass please.

Come be caught up in the dramatic magic of the cultural and political tale that weaves our country’s history with the fate of one of its original heroes, Alexander Hamilton. Be there in the room where it happens.

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO BE EARNEST? WESTPORT PLAYHOUSE ENTHUSIASTICALLY SAYS YES!

If you treat all things trivial with seriousness and all things serious with triviality and eat a mountain of cucumber sandwiches in the process, you'll be in the proper frame of mind for Oscar Wilde's comedy of postures and manners "The Importance of Being Earnest." Set in Victorian London and environs, it will be poised in all its polite prettiness, and a little pettiness, at the Westport Country Playhouse until Saturday, November 15.

Deceptions run amok with delightfully dire consequences when the utterly respectable Jack Worthing (Michael Raver) resides in the country at his estate in Hertfordshire. Adopted as a mere babe, he commands a responsible role as a guardian to Cecily Cardew (Kristen Hahn), the sweetly fair of face granddaughter of the late Thomas Cardew. As a landowner of note, Jack must maintain an attitude of modesty and propriety.

When this guise of proper gentleman threatens to choke him, Jack uses an imaginary and disreputable brother Ernest as an alibi to flee the constraints of the countryside and abscond to London for a little scandalous behavior, claiming it is "Ernest" who is at fault.

Jack's best friend Algernon (Anthony Michael Martinez) knows him as Ernest and does not discern the "double life" Jack/Ernest is leading. He, in fact, has his own deceitful character, an invalid named Bunbury, who conveniently calls him to his deathbed whenever a pesky social obligation needs to be excised. When Jack confides in Algernon that he is about to propose to the lovely Gwendolen (Katy Tang), Algernon's cousin, he finds a wall of resistance from Algie as well as from Gwen's mama, the formidable and opinionated Lady Bracknell (Christine Pedl).

Complications tumble out of control when Algernon decides to invade his friend's country home in order to make the acquaintance of the sweet as sugar Cecily, a maiden who forces him to fall madly and instantly in love. Miss Prism (Jan Neuberger) as Cecily's governess and Mr. Chasuble (Triney Sandoval) as the community religious leader entertain their own romantic allusions, while the proper English butler (Mark Silence) serves tea and sandwiches. Love letters, diaries, a cigarette case, a large black pocketbook and adorable fascinators (hats) pop up to add to the merry mix ups that abound. Melissa Rain Anderson directs this thoroughly entertaining foray into Oscar Wilde's zany world, with a sturdy troupe of skilled performers, georgeous set by James J. Fenton, lovely costumes by Annie J. Le, lighting designer by Alexander Fetchko and sound and original music by John Gromada.

For tickets ($50 and up), call Westport Country Playhouse, Route 25, Westport at 203-227-4177, or online at boxoffice@westportplayhouse.org. Performances are Tuesday at 7 p.m.,Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.,Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m.,and Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Discover for yourself the importance of being earnest, when two young gentlemen become romantically entangled with two determined ladies who categorically refuse to marry anyone whose name is not Ernest.

MEET THE NEW VERSION OF "ALMOST FAMOUS" COURTESY OF A.C.T. OF CT

A groupie is a devoted fan who seeks a one-on-one personal interaction or an intimate relationship with a particular band member or singer. A groupie attends all tours and personal appearances desiring a closeness with their musical idol. They can also be referred to as homies, posse, tagalongs, hanger-ons, underlings, minions, sidekicks, wannabes, peeps , disciples or sheepies, not always in a positive light.

Now imagine you’re a teenager, a lover of the 1970’s rock music world and a journalist just getting your toes in that genre and you get tapped to go on tour with your favorite band. Can heaven be any better than this gig? Come meet William Miller in this great semi-autobigraphical musical created by Cameron Crowe, with music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Crowe and Kitt and a book by Crowe. Thanks to Ridgefield’s A.C.T.’s artistic director Daniel C. Levine, the musical is getting a new spirit and shine, a revised book and score, with Levine and both Kitt and Crowe. “Almost Famous: The Musical” will play at A.C.T. of CT until Sunday, November 23. This new version will be licensed all over the world. Wow, what a creative trio and exciting show!

With a fictional rock band Stillwater, Miller travels on a ticket punched by Rolling Stone magazine, on an odyssey he can’t even begin to imagine. Here is a fan with a capital F who is on a journey of self-discovery, jumping feet first into the frenzied world of rock and roll to discover his own voice in a once in a lifetime assignment that is guaranteed to change his future forever. The chaos is overwhelming and invigorating as you get a back stage pass to all the action and intimacy, the energy and entertainment, the poetry and the passion.

Come meet Michael Fabisch as the invigoration driven William Miller and Tess Marshall as his tour guide Penny Lane. Penny calls her groupie friends her band-aids. The production will be directed by Daniel C. Levine, music direction by Nicholas Connors, choreography by Jessica Chen, scenic design by David Goldstein, costumes by Leslie Bernstein, video designer Camilla Tassi, and music supervision by Bryan Perri. This bold new version is rated PG-13. Songs like “Tiny Dancer,” “Lost in New York City,” “Morocco,” and “Elaine’s Lecture” fuel the action.

For tickets ($88-122), call A.C.T. of CT, 36 Old Quarry Road, Ridgefield at 475-215-5497 or online at actofct.org. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Follow a naive 15 year old novice writer, referred to as the enemy by the band mates, as he tours with a on the verge of famous rock band, joins up with a more experienced groupie Penny Lane and tries to listen to his protective mother Elaine, Anika Larsen, as he learns first hand about love, loyalty and life and coming of age.

TINA TURNER MUSICAL RAISES THE RAFTERS AT WATERBURY'S PALACE THEATER

In 1939, Anna Mae Bullock was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, the youngest of three daughters. Initially she lived with her grandmother after her parents separated. Her life was often lonely and difficult and marked by poverty but her love of singing in the community church gave her great comfort, serving her well early on in her turbulent life. Anna Mae was destined to become the incomparable Tina Turner.

When as a teenager, she met the domineering Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm Band, one of the best and worst segments of what would become a truly adventurous journey began. Come learn about her career and how meeting a young singer Ike Turner would change her life forever, at the Palace Theater in Waterbury in “TINA - THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL” written by Tony Award nominee and Pulitzer Prize winner Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins.

From Saturday, November 1 at 8 p.m. to Sunday, November 2 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., come meet the woman crowned with the title “The Queen of Rock and Roll.” Jayna Elise will embody the role of playing this fiery icon, along with the violent and abusive Ike Turner, her mother Zelma Bullock, her grandmother Gran Georgeanna and Ike Turner’s manager and later Tina’s manager, Rhonda. This show, with the blessing of Tina Turner herself, has won 12 Grammy Awards and received the same amount of Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. With its world premiere in London in April of 2018, it opened on Broadway in November of 2019 and reopened in October 2021 after being closed for the pandemic.

Being inducted in 1991 with Ike Turner to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she is only one of three women in the institution’s history to be inducted twice. The second time was in October of 2021 when she was 81. Come hear her music raise the rafters with her signature songs like “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “Proud Mary," “Private Dancer,” “River Deep-Mountain High,” ”A Fool in Love,” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” two dozen in all. Under the direction of internationally acclaimed Phyllida Lloyd, Tina’s songs and story are sure to ignite your heart and soul in a triumphant comeback tale like no other.

With choreography by Tony Award nominee Anthony van Laast and set and twenty costume designs by Tony Award nominee Mark Thompson, this show is stuffed with superlatives and resonates with spirit and joy.

For tickets ($49 and up), call the Palace, 100 East Main Street, Waterbury at 203-346-2000 or online at palacetheaterct.org.

Come see and hear for yourself that Tina Turner is and will always be “simply the best."

THE KATE FOCUSES A SPOTLIGHT ON AL HIRSCHFELD AND HIS THEATER ART

Al Hirschfeld lived an artist’s life of almost a century long, an American caricaturist known for his sketches of Broadway stars and celebrities. To be drawn by Hirschfeld was a sure sign you had made it to the top of your career. He loved drawing, first in political cartoons and later of show business stars. In order not to distract or embarrass his subjects, he would keep a small pad and pencil in his pocket and sketch without the benefit of seeing what he drew. He used a genuine crow quill with black ink when he returned to his studio to complete his work. Hirschfeld was considered to be one of the most important artists in his genre, influencing a tremendous number of cartoonists and illustrators.

You have the unique opportunity to experience the man, small in stature but large in personality, a cross between Santa Claus and Moses, with a flowing white beard. The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook will present Hirschfeld's Broadway, a Multi-Media Presentation on Wednesday, October 29 at 7 p.m.

Hirschfeld plied his craft for eight decades and his drawings were so identifiable they are called “the logo of the AmericanTheatre.” David Leopold, Creative Director of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, will share insights and anecdotes on such productions and personalities from Fiddler on the Roof, Barbra Streisand’s audition for her first Broadway show, Hello Dolly!, My Fair Lady, Sweeney Todd, The Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast and Hairspray and many more. He wasn’t called The Line King for nothing.

For tickets ($28), call The Kate, 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook at 860-510-0473 or online at thekate.org/event/hirschfelds-broadway/ The presentation will be followed by an exclusive pop-up gallery of hand signed limited edition prints from the artist's personal collection that are highly collectible. Half of every sale will benefit The Kate.

An extra treat will be learning how Al Hirschfeld hid the name of his daughter Nina in his fascinating work, in a hairdo or a sleeve, and the number of Ninas to the right of his signature. He called them his “harmless insanity.” It began as a gag for his friends but the world discovered them and were furious when he stopped. So he continued, because it was easier to insert them again than to answer all the mail demanding they return.

"ROPE" WILL TIE YOU IN KNOTS AT HARTFORD STAGE

Is there such a thing as a perfect murder? For more than just good friends Lewis and Brandon, long standing companions, they are pretenious enough and sure of themselves and their cleverness, to believe that they can and do have the skills and the intellect to do just that: kill a supposed good friend Ronald and glory is the execution. After all, they have no motive, they’ve left no clues, wiped clean every fingerprint, distanced themselves from the victim, and now they have the gall to invite all of Ronald’s intimates like his father, his fiancee and his friends to a dinner party to celebrate their crowning achievement. What chutzpah! What superiority! What naive arrogance!

Come exercise your detective skills in a delightful effectiveness at the scene of the crime where a Mayfair flat in the late 1920’s is the lovely setting by Riw Rakkulchon. Smugly Lewis and Brandon place the crustless sandwiches and choices of beverage on a chest, into which they have secured the body of the deceased guest of honor. Hartford Stage has taken the play “Rope's End" by Patrick Hamilton penned in 1929, skillfully had it adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher as “Rope” as a world premiere and graced it with Melia Bensussen’s sophisticated direction, until Sunday, November 2 for your excellent entertainment.

Ephraim Birney’s Lewis and Daniel Neale’s Brandon are just too clever and confident for their own good. They enjoy dropping clues about poor Ronald who has yet to appear at their little soiree. Actually he is there, in the chest, but as a private joke only the two provocators can enjoy. Ronald’s dad, James Riordan, catches his wife’s anxiety about their son’s whereabouts after a series of her frantic phone calls. Ronald’s fiancee, Fiona Robberson’s Meriel, is clearly harboring secrets about her relationship. Mark Benninghofen’s Rupert feels he is accumulating clues about Ronald’s disappearance due to his superior intellect and familiarity with mysteries while Nick Saxton’s Kenneth may be aspiring to be Ronald’s lover even though Meriel disdainfully dismisses him as boring.

Will this charming evening unmask the murderers? Is the murder just a joke, a killing for pleasure? Is Rupert as skilled in cloak and dagger tales as his writing of mysteries suggests?

For tickets ($20-115), call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or online at HartfordStage.org. Performances are Tuesday to Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m.and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. There is a 2 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, October 29.

Will this room full of sinners escape the storm and survive the evening without ever learning the truth about the victim and the piece of rope so conveniently handy to squeeze out his love of games? Will logic or lies win the prize?

DISCOVER "SPUNK" AT YALE REP UNTIL OCTOBER 25

The story of how a Harlem Renaissance author Zora Neale Hurston wrote a short story in 1925 about a charismatic drifter and his unusual love affair, that in 1935 became a play stuffed with folklore and hoo voo and local customs of Black Americans is an intriguing mystery all on its own. Miraculously it wasn’t until 1997 or thereabouts that the Library of Congress rediscovered this lost play from the author’s donated works. Now thanks to the Yale Repertory Theatre this parable about life in the South, wrapped around love’s triumph and fate, called “Spunk”, will receive a full production at the University Theatre, 222 York Street, New Haven until Saturday, October 25.

Despite many obstacles, like the loss of $30,000 in funding, Hurston’s work is finally going to get a full staging and an audience, thanks to expressive new songs, arrangements and supervision by Nehemiah Luckett, enthusiastic choreography by nicHi doulgas and inspired direction by Tamilla Woodard.

Come follow J. Quinton Johnson’s assertive Spunk as he glides into town with a mastery of music in his heart. He sets tongues wagging but his sight is fixed on one pair of eyes, Kimber Elayne Sprawl’s Evalina. Spunk ignores the obvious fact that she is married, and taken by the local conjurer’s son or that Kimberly Marable's Ruby adores him. The scene where Spunk is cursed by the ghosts is especially powerful, cloaked as it is in a veil of red.

In honor of this historical treasure, many special events have been planned. A Community Conversation will take place with Yale Rep at the Stetson branch of the New Haven Public Library, 197 Dixwell Avenue, New Haven on Monday, October 20, including a limited number of free tickets to the play. Beinecke Library at 121 Wall Street in New Haven will host an Open House Celebrating Zora Neals Hurston on Sunday, October 26 from 1-4 p.m. including actors and artists from the play, manuscripts donated by the author and light snacks. For tickets ($15-65), call the Yale Rep at 203-432-1234 or online at yalerep.yale.edu. Performances are Tuesday at 8 p.m., occasional Wednesdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Thursday at 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m and 8 p.m. Enter a world conjured up by Zora Neale Hurston and follow Spunk meet his fate as he fights for the love of his life and for his survival.

SIGN UP FOR LESSONS IN "ENGLISH" AT THEATERWORKS HARTFORD

The English language is full of idioms, peculiarities, exceptions, and just plain inexplicable rules and regulations. It may not look as complex as Russian or Chinese, but it is challenging, especially for newcomers to the U. S. A., emigrants and foreigners who come in hope and promise to our shores. Imagine the frustration and challenge you might feel if you were about to leave your country of origin and venture to a new land and the mixture of anticipation and dread you might experience. Thanks to playwright Sanaz Toossi, the winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, you are invited to attend the classes of four Iranian students as they struggle and often succeed in learning “English” at TheaterWorks Hartford until Saturday, November 8.

It is the primary task of teacher Marjan, a dedicated Neagheen Homaifar, to help her students to pass a final exam in English, the TOEFL, so that can gain the proficiency to fill their goals, each different and each so important to their self-esteem. She insists they only speak English in class and not Farsi, their native language. They have Show and Tell, play games naming all the utensils and objects in a kitchen, and even learn by watching movies of romance and comedy from America. Marjan, herself, is someone of mystery because she lived in England for nine years and has returned to Iran, but why?

To each student, learning a new language is a gift, a challenging gift, one that may cause them to grieve leaving their homeland, to disappear, to belong nowhere, to lose their identity, to lose more than they gain. For Sahar Milani’s Elham, it means opening a door to medical school in Australia. To Afsheen Misaghi’s Omid, the only male in the classroom, it is a guarantee he will pass his interview for an American green-card. In the serious ways of Pantea Ommi’s Roya, it means going to move to Canada or at least a way to communicate with her granddaughter, while for Anahita Monfared’s lighthearted young Goli, the lessons are keeping her options open for college. Goli’s recitation of the lyrics to a Ricky Martin CD are humorous and make her feel taller.

When the students speak English, it is haltingly pronounced but when they speak their native Farsi, even though forbidden, it is lyrical and without hesitation. Clearly they are struggling with their identities, in fear of losing more of themselves then they are gaining. Arya Shahi directs this involving journey into personalities willing to change their insides and outside personas in the pursuit of a new identity in 2008 Iran.

For tickets ($43-78 ), call TheaterWorks Hartford, now in its 40th season, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford at 860-527-7838 or online at https://twhartford.org.

Whether you are playing a game naming things that are green, calling out items of clothing, or reciting classroom objects, you are still learning a new language that is promising to change your career, future and life.

IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE EXPOSES "INCIDENT AT OUR LADY OF OUR PERPETUAL HELP" WITH HUMOR

Private family matters occupy the mind of Linda O’Shea as she remembers her chaotic and comic life in 1973 in her close-knit Irish-Catholic home in Boston. As an excellent narrator, Autumn Eliza Sheffy’s Linda shares confidences freely and fondly with the audience candidly as a series of dominoes, poised to fall in an increasingly ill-fated but humorous cascade. Will the O’Shea family’s reputation survive these devastating moments of “Catholic guilt” that is also known as Jewish or Methodist or Baptist guilt?

Settle down at Ivoryton Playhouse until Sunday, October 26 for a hearty helping of the intimacies of Linda’s teenage years in Katie Forgette’s delightfully honest portrayal "Incident at Our Lady of Our Perpetual Help.” It all begins when her mom Jo, Amber Quick, requests Linda take on the task of educating Linda’s spunky, mystery film loving younger sister Becky, Maggie Hamel, on the facts of life, including puberty’s surprises, the dangers boys represent and those pesky birds and bees.

When the parish priest accidentally learns of this private conversation and its overwhelmingly accurate details, he threatens the previously sterling reputation of the O’Sheas. Jo's sister Terri, Rebecca Jones, who has issues of her own to resolve, doesn’t hesitate to jump in the fray. Meanwhile the head of the household, dad Mike, a commanding and demanding Rod Brogan, becomes a triple treat playing himself, a nosy gossiping neighbor Betty and Father Lovett. Unseen upstairs is Mike’s mom who is the queen of complaints. Jacqueline Hubbard directs this initimate and entertaining visit with the O’Sheas.

For tickets ($26-64), call Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at Ivorytonplayhouse.org. Performances are Wednesday at 2 p.m., Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Secrets explode, hopes are unexpectedly endangered, blackmail is threatened, twists and turns are welcomed, as the O’Sheas band together to survive unscathed.

AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MASTERFUL "THE MOUSETRAP" AT SHARON PLAYHOUSE

Ready to sit at the edge of your seat, clutching your playbill as if it will protect you, holding your breathe so you don’t scream, ill prepared for the identity of who will be murdered, and, worse yet, uncertain of who the murderer is. Never fear. If all of the above is true, you are clearly at the Sharon Playhouse watching a performance of the longest running mystery in London’s West End “The Mousetrap,” until Sunday, October 5.

Penned by Agatha Christie, premiering in 1952, marking its 30,000 performances in London in March of this year, the world’s most famous murder mystery starts innocently enough in a snowbound English country guesthouse where newlyweds are entertaining company, Mollie and Giles Ralston (Dana Domenick and Reid Sinclair). Ms. Christie predicted the play would run eight months. It is based on a true story and began life as a radio show, “Three Blind Mice,” and was written for Queen Mary’s birthday. The Guardian has stated “the play and the author are its stars.”

The director Hunter Foster clearly enjoys the cat and mouse game unfolding in this thriller on stage, as the audience gets scared and surprised together. It’s a communal experience to feel like your life is in danger. It is a dark and snowy night in 1947 and the residents of the Monkswell Guest House find themselves trapped by the storm. These strangers, or are they, soon find there may be a murderer in their midst as a woman has been strangled hereby and a Detective Sergeant Trotter (Christopher MClinden) has arrived on skis to warn the guests of imminent danger. The inn’s owners are novices as neither have ever ventured into the bed and breakfast business before.

Plunging through their doors are snow beset travelers Christopher Wren (Will Nash Broyles) a young man who loves exploring and cooking, Mrs. Boyle (Sandy York) who takes criticism to a high art form, Major Metcalf (Dick Terhune) who observes everything as he solemnly smokes his pipe, Miss Casewell (Caroline Kinsolving) who loves to act out with dramatic effect, and Mr. Paravicini (Ricky Oliver) who finds their dangerous situation a hoot as he arrives unexpectedly due to a car accident. What has brought these unique individuals together? Is someone plotting revenge? I am not allowed to tell, as you will be forewarned when you attend. The spooky set by Christopher and Justin Swader and the glorious costuming by Kathleen DeAngelis are worth the price of admission alone, and the talented cast is superb. For tickets ($25-55), call the Sharon Playhouse, 49 Amenia Road, Sharon at 860-364-7469 or online at SharonPlayhouse.org. Performances are Thursday at 2 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Come play Sherlock Holmes and delight in the mystery surrounding Monkswell Manor and its intriguing bevy of occupants, one of whom could well be a murderer, and at least one of them is the quite dead victim.

"THE NOTEBOOK" A WONDERFUL LOVE LETTER AT THE BUSHNELL

Even though Valentine’s Day is months away, the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts is delivering a beautifully sensitive and sincere love letter “The Notebook The Musical” based on Nicholas Sparks’ book, with the play by Ingrid Michaelson and Bekah Brunstetter until Sunday, October 5. Romance is in the air at the carnival in Seabrook Island, South Carolina when Kyle Mangold’s Noah first lays eyes on Chloe Cheers’ Allie. Their connection is instantaneous and sweet as the two teenagers bond. Noah is a poor struggling lumber mill worker while Allie’s family is from a rich social class. It is the 1960’s and the different color of their skin makes an additional challenging path for them to travel.

The audience is witness to their struggles and the forbidding attitude of Allie's parents (Anne Tolpegin and Jerome Harmann-Hardeman) to even consider this inappropriate union. Think of the story as seasons of love as the two are separated by years of differences until Allie reads a newspaper article about Noah completing his dream of restoring a derelict house and goes to see him. For all these years her mother has kept his letters from her and she feels he abandoned their fragile love.

Now we meet the middle Noah, Ken Wulf Clark, who has survived his stint in the war and Allie, now Alysha Deslorieux, who is days away from marrying a lawyer Lon, Jesse Corbin. in a society wedding as her parents have always planned. Their separation quickly disappears and Noah and Allie pledge their forever togetherness.

Time travels fast forward again and the older Noah, Beau Gravitte, is with a frail and sick with Alzheimer's Allie, Sharon Catherine Brown, and their deep connection is still strong and bittersweet. Allie has written the complicated and beautiful story of their love and lives together and now Noah reads from the notebook, hoping to catch sparks that will give Allie the memories, memories, memories to remember the dreams they shared over a lifetime together.

Michael Greif and Schele Williams direct this enchanting and challenging story that touches the heart strings with its humor and strength. For tickets ($43.50-186), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at bushnell.org. Performances are Wednesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Come early to enjoy a festive fall celebration with games and prizes outdoors for two hours.

If only for mere moments, Noah is able to make the words from their lives together clear the clouds that fill Allie's mind and eyes and renew their passion and tenderness. Don’t forget to bring some Kleenex.

"LUCKY STIFF" A FUNNY MUSICAL MYSTERY FARCE AT SEVEN ANGELS

If you’re a very lucky person, even if it is unexpected or undecidedly good fortune where your luck is unremarkable on the surface, one might call you a "lucky stiff.” Additionally there might be an element of green-eyed jealousy or super surprise in the unusual circumstances. You might consider yourself an average Joe, an ordinary guy, even a failure, who suddenly and unexpectedly gets lucky, clearly unworthy of the gifts you get.

Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury is taking a wild and crazy dip into the topic with their current production of “Lucky Stiff,” a comic farce with book by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. The comedy is based on Michael Butterworth’s “The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo” written in 1983.

Be prepared to laugh as you follow our unsuspecting hero, Constantine Pappas as Harry Witherspoon, a modest shoe salesman. Harry discovers that an uncle he never met has died and left him oodles of money in diamonds, like $6 million worth. Before he can buy a Porsche or a yacht, he must take his dead uncle (Rick Fountain) in a wheel chair on an all-expense trip to Monte Carlo for a week and treat him as if the uncle is still alive, hence he’s a lucky stiff.

Beware there is a woman (Molly Model as Annabell Glick) from the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn who is also a rival for the loot and she is hoping Harry will make a mistake and violate the terms of the inheritance so her charity will get the diamonds for her canine cause. They are both being pursued by a money hungry woman with a gun who killed the uncle and will kill again if it allows her to win, Savannah Stevens as Rita LaPorte. Due to her poor eyesight, Rita accidently killed her lover Tony. Or did she?

Confused by this musical comedy mystery yet? Bellhops, maids, corpses in wheelchairs, nightclub singers, nosy landlords, optometrists, lawyers, casino players and flashy Italians all run around slamming doors and searching for a heart shaped box filled with gems. The talented cast also includes Hailey Aviva, Zayaz Da Camera Jonah King, Abby McGough, Paul Rescigno, and Jonathan Zalaski. From the moment the company sings “Something Funny’s Going On,” the hijinks start running out of control, thanks to the zany direction and choreography of Robert Mintz.

For tickets ($40-42, Vets and First Responders $37, students $20), call Seven Angels, 1 Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at sevenangelstheatre.org. Performances are Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Remember many performances have specialty nights with edible treats.

Come discover if anyone wins the diamonds, who is actually the corpse in the wheelchair and whether Monte Carlo proves lucky for anyone willing to risk everything for money or love.

"RENT" A MUSICAL TRIBUTE BY JONATHAN LARSEN AT MTC

“Rent” is the kind of musical that tears your heartstrings, even as it elevates your soul. It is filled with emotions that stir you, trouble you and make you want to make their often tortured lives better. These are artists, young people that want the world to acknowledge them and all they are striving to achieve. There is a beauty in their struggle and a hope in their promise.

Jonathan Larsen literally gave his life to “Rent’s” creation. As composer and playwright, he accumulated a veritable treasure chest of awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book and Best Original Score as well as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical, Book and Lyrics, all for his seminal work “Rent.” Unfortunately, tragically, Larson died the day before the first preview of “Rent” Off-Broadway at the age of only 35 in New York City.

A musical adaptation of Puccini’s opera “La Boheme,” “Rent” shadowed much of Larson’s life as he too lived in a rundown New York apartment with many roommates, including having a love affair on and off with a female dancer. He used an illegal wood-burning stove to combat the building’s lack of heat, with everyone a struggling artist trying to create a bohemian life style. One of Broadway’s longest running shows, you now have the unique opportunity to experience Jonathan Larson’s opus “Rent” at the Music Theater of Connecticut until Sunday, October 12.

In 1989, when Larson was only 29, he began working on the musical “amid poverty, homelessness, spunky gay life, drag queens and punk.” The title “rent” stands for lives “torn apart.” Puccini’s work more than 100 years earlier centers on young wannabe artists and the devastation of tuberculosis while Larson introduced HIV/AIDS, Puccini’s Paris became New York’s East Village, and many of the characters’s names stayed close to the original.

For example, Mimi the seamstress sick with TB is now Mimi (Gabriela Gomez) the exotic dancer with HIV. The poet Rodolfo is now Roger (Jacob Heimer ), a song writer/musician who is HIV positive and Mimi’s boyfriend. Roger’s roommate is Mark (Joe Tolentino) a filmmaker, adapted from Marcello, a painter. The singer Musetta becomes Maureen, (Olivia Fenton) a bisexual performance artist who loves Joanne, (Ladonna Burns) a lesbian lawyer, while the musician Schaunard is now the drag queen Angel. Angel (Cedric Leiba Jr.) is dating Tom Collins,(Darrick Penny) the earnest philosopher Colline who teaches his theories of life at college. The landlord Benoit is now Benny. (Matt Mancuso) who holds the key to their survival.

Larson wrote “Rent” in part to celebrate the achievements of the artists stolen by illness so young and to show how the community copes with a tragedy within its ranks. In “Rent,” we meet Mark the narrator cinematographer who is chronicling the activities of his friends as he adjusts to his ex- girlfriend Maureen’s new relationship with Joanne . Meanwhile his roommate Roger is trying desperately to compose one “glory” song before AIDS takes him. His chance meeting with another AIDS patient Mimi may be just the impetus and candle of inspiration he needs.

The time is Christmas eve and there is no holly and no heat, no mistletoe and no money, but the motley group have gathered to celebrate with the natural exuberance and hope that the youth cling to so promisingly. Sexual gender blurs as this questioning generation musically explores the seasons of love contained in the 525,600 minutes that make up a year, contemplate the death of the soul in “Without You” and do a dance of protest in “Tango: Maureen.”

For tickets ($50-60), call the Music Theatre of Connecticut, 509 Westport Avenue, Norwalk at 203-454-3883 or online at musictheatreofct.com. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. A special performance on Sunday, October 5 at 7 p.m. will benefit the Norwalk High School Theatre Company.

Explore this spirited and high decibel Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning musical, wonderfully staged and choreographed by Chris McNiff, with a sincere and talented cast that explodes to the rafters with a exuberant hunger for love, life and art.

"MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET" A SOLID WINNER AT PLAYHOUSE ON PARK

Are you ready, set, go for an explosive retro concert that signals the explosive rocket ship that is Rock ’n Roll? Can you picture yourself at a time that captures the best of the best before these legends went forth to meet their destinies?

Is your music wedded to the 1950's? Do you identify with swivel hips and wild gyrations? Would you like to return to yesterday for your listening and dancing pleasures? If so, then do I have a musical marathon designed just for you. The date is December 4, 1956 and the sacred place is Memphis, Tennessee at a small recording studio named Sun Records run by Sam Phillips. On that memorable day four icons of the music world wander in and Mr. Phillips, the Father of Rock 'n Roll, realizes the significance of that event.

Playhouse on Park in West Hartford invites you to be front and center at Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux's "Million Dollar Quartet" rocking the rafters until Sunday, October 19 when Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley perform an impromptu jam session, one that was smokin' hot and unforgettable. "Million Dollar Quartet" recreates that one and only legendary day in the history of rock 'n roll.

Think of it as a personal playlist of your favorite hits as these great tunes come tumbling out. Listen to "Great Balls of Fire," "Sixteen Tons," "Blue Suede Shoes," "Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On," "Hound Dog," "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line," "Long Tall Sally" and "See You Later, Alligator,” and many more.

Carl Perkins (Chris Coffey) had come to Sun Records that day with his brother Jay (Joey Nuhfer) and Fluke (Jeffrey Kelly) as back up and Sam Phillips, (John Elliott) the owner of Sun, added Jerry Lee Lewis, (Alex Burnette) a recent acquisition, to the mix as pianist. When Elvis Presley (Brian Steinberg) dropped by with his girlfriend (Paloma D'Auria), he added his voice to the cauldron and it was the final arrival of Johnny Cash (Kendall McShane) that made the magical witch's brew complete.

These guys, all at different stages of music fame, sat down and sang like a group of old friends, without rehearsals or formal plans, and Cowboy Jack Clement, the engineer, was smart enough to record it. There were jealousies and recriminations among the four, but music was the uniting element that made the day so memorable. It happened that day and never again.

Country music, rockabilly and rock 'n roll merge and marry as these fellows sing just for the pure pleasure of the sound. For Sam Phillips, these four men were like his four sons and this show reveals a lot about their relationship, where they came from and where they were going. Sam gave each of them their chance and then promoted them to fame and success. It is a sensational staged recreation of the actual event. Director Alessandro Gian Viviano brings us front and center to the excitement on a versatile studio set designed by Suzu Sakai. Mike Winch's sound rocks, thanks to Chris Coffet’s music direction.

For tickets ($45-55, morning shows at 10:30 a.m. $25, with discounts for students, seniors, military), call the Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford at 860-523-5900, ext. 10 or online at www.playhouseonpark.org. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Tuesday, Saturday and and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Prepare for an explosion and fireworks as this quartet hits all the right notes, with fancy flying fingers on guitars, bass, drums and piano, and voices close to heaven. Come and enjoy every perfect sound and especially the fantastic finale.

'NOISES OFF" A FRANTIC FANFARE OF A FUNNY FARCE AT THE LEGACY THEATRE IN BRANFORD

Ever wonder what happens backstage before a performance? How well do the cast of characters commingle as they run their lines and rehearse? Is their jealousy and green eyed envy lurking behind the ruby curtains? Does the director have to separate the children so they learn to play fairly and share? You are going to be privy to these questions and their surprising answers if and when you attend the classic farce “Noises Off!” by Michael Frayn, a farce to end all farces, that takes you behind the curtain and in front of it as well, thanks to the Legacy Theatre of Branford until Sunday, October 12.

Dedication and discipline, talent and timing are mainstays of the acting profession. A level of spirit, as in" the show must go on," is expected. What happens, you might ask, when the cast of a show, a British flop of a comedy called "Nothing On," allows their personal intrigues to interfere and sabotage their production both in front of and behind the audience? A creative chaos or a hilarious hurricane is the answer.

It’s dress rehearsal and all the last minute details should have long ago been ironed out and resolved. This time is simply the fine tuning before the big opening night. Costumes are worn, props are in place and the performers are letter perfect and flawless in their delivery. Not! To add to the mischievous magic of the performance you get to see James Roday Rodriguez as Lloyd, the long suffering and intense master of the show, taking command of the performance just as he did for so many years as the perceptive detective on “Psych.” Roday is joined on stage by Kurt Fuller who played the coroner on “Psych” now assuming the role of the very thirsty burgler. Joining them is Allison Miller as Dotty who can’t seem to control the plates of sardines, Jimmy Johansmeyer as the romancing and athletic Garry with his paramour Brooke delightfully partially undressed thanks to Jamie Gray Hyder, Michael Trotter as a wounded Frederick with his companion in crime Melanie Martyn as Belinda, and theatrical stage managers Emily Gardt adept as Poppy and Mariah Sage as a trying to be helpful Tim.

Imagine the nightmare that Lloyd, a stalwart director, experiences when plates of sardines go missing, doors either won't close or open, the actor playing the bungling burglar is off getting drunk and half the cast is having an affair with the other half. There's more intrigue going on behind the curtains than in front of it.

Look out for bottles of brandy, bedsheets, bouquets of flowers, boxes, baggage, a baby, bathmats, battle axes and blood, not to mention sheiks, sardines, sex maniacs and slamming doors. Silliness is clearly on parade, in one door and out the other, from the first moment Dotty, a dizzy and determined dame, answers the phone. The cast and crew are off and running, literally and figuratively. Keely Blaisden Knudsen directs this funny bundle of misdirection and missteps with great timing and ease.

For tickets ($40.50), call The Legacy, 128 Thimble Islands Road, Branford at 203-315-1901 or online at LegacyTheatreCT.org. Shows are Wednesday at 7 p.m., Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m.and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. It’s time to celebrate the Legacy’s 5th Anniversary with a Gala on Friday, October 10 from 6-9 p.m. at Branford’s Pine Orchard’s Yacht and Country Club. Get your tickets now.

You may never look at sardines quite the same way ever again after they go flying on stage during the hilarious havoc of "Noises Off!" where a sneak peek backstage may prove hazardous to your health but clearly not to your funny bone.

PUT "AUSTEN'S PRIDE" ON YOUR DANCE CARD AT THE PALACE THEATER IN WATERBURY

All romantic minded people are intrigued by the on again and off again courtship of the charming gentleman caller Fitzwilliam Darcy and an adamantly reluctant Elizabeth Bennet. Preserved for all time in the intriguing chapters of “Pride and Prejudice” penned in 1813 by Jane Austen, you are now cordially invited to a musical reimagining of a tale of the author herself and her own journey of infatuation and love. Can one gain insight into your own heart as you write the words to an imaginary couple of your creation?

Come be fascinated by the beating heart of Olivia Hernandez’s Jane Austen as she creates a bewildering and besotted relationship between her hero played by Dan Hoy's Fitzwilliam Darcy and the reluctantly approachable Elizabeth Bennet portrayed by Delphi Borich. Ms. Austen is known for her depiction of life in the Regency style, during the entire reign of King George IV of England, until 1830. As a novelist, she clearly understood the changeable nature of love gained and love lost and filled her writings with that evidence.

Come to the Palace Theater in Waterbury to experience how her own relationships and courtships influenced those heroines of fiction in “Austen’s Pride” from Friday, September 26 at 8 p.m. to Saturday, September 27 at 2 p.m.and 8 p.m. In her lifetime her writings were mostly anonymous but she did enjoy some success as a writer which renewed her sense of purpose and her need for money. “Pride and Prejudice” was acknowledged as the “fashionable novel” of its season. Her novels were praised for their drawing of her characters, her moral attitude, her domestic realism and her refreshing and entertaining style.

“Austen’s Pride” is a delightful and charming musical of her life and her beloved recreations by Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs. Enter the mind of the author Jane as her publisher is so pleased with the sale of her novel “Sense and Sensibility” that he requests a new manuscript. Unfortunately Jane doesn’t have one at the ready. Luckily her sister Cassandra (Dianica Phelan) is encouraging and urges Jane to open her heart to new ideas. Discover how Jane finds her voice as the story of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam develops its intimate soul. Songs like “Fine Eyes,” “My Poor Nerves.” “When I Fall in Love,” “Not Romantic,” “Darcy’s Letter,” and “I Can’t Resist a Redcoat” are rich in meaning. Director Igor Goldin is a storytelling master of romance.

For tickets ($45-89, with special $30 tickets available with the code FALLINLOVE), call the Palace Theater, 100 East Main Street, Waterbury at 203-346-2000 or online at PALACETHEATERCT.ORG.

Let Jane Austen romance your heartstrings in this delightful tale of love and longing.

"A CHORUS LINE" HIGH STEPPING IT AT GOODSPEED MUSICALS UNTIL NOVEMBER 2

Whether you are a new Fred Astaire or blessed with two left feet, you are primed to get the urge to dance if you waltz or two step your way to Goodspeed Musicals for a healthy and hearty dose of their current dance card offering of “A Chorus Line” in all its super powered splendor for its 50th Anniversary spectacular extended until November 2.

5, 6, 7, 8 and step, kick, kick, touch, pivot, step, combination, and smile. Grab your leggings and leotard and join the group of hopefuls as they audition for a new Broadway musical. With pleas to God to help them "get this job," watch a talented troupe of dancers exuberantly strut their stuff with pride.

If you have ever put your heart on the line, whether it’s to make the cut for a baseball league, earn a part in a high school musical, a spot on the cheer leading squad or a place in the school band, you know the fear and excitement that fills you as your turn in the spotlight comes. If the tryout, interview or audition is for employment, then the stakes are ratcheted up a few hundred notches.

Imagine “So You Think You Can Dance” meeting The Miss America Pageant and you have an idea of the message in “A Chorus Line,” a musical that has garnered nine Tony Awards, five Drama Desks as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This long running musical will be kicking up its classy heels at Goodspeed Musicals and you will want to be there for every passionate step.

Conceived in 1974 by Michael Bennett, with book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban and choreography by Michael Bennett and Bob Avian, “A Chorus Line” takes you directly into the hearts, minds and pits of the stomach of seventeen wannabe Broadway dancers at one of the most important auditions of their young careers.

Come meet Caroline Kane as Judy, Diego Guevara as Paul, Patrick Higgins as Mark, Alex Drost as Al, Jonah Nash as Richie, Sammy Schechter as Greg, Beatrice Howell as Val, Aaron Patrick Craven as Don, Haley Bjorn as Kristine, Travante S. Baker as Larry, Ryan Mulvaney as Bobby, Lisa Finegold as Bebe, Mikaela Secada as Diana, Mario Rizzi as Mike, Liesie Kelly as Maggie, Emma X. O’Loughlin as Connie, and Scarlett Walker as Sheila.

These hopefuls not only have to prove they can strut and kick, they must also reveal themselves. Brassy or bubbly, insecure or comic, they are asked by the director Zach, a caring and focused Clifton Samuels, to tell all about their background, family, hopes, dreams and fears. The past history between Zach and Karli Dinardo as Cassie, who is begging Zach for a chance, is revealed in all its dramatic splendor. In the process, we learn who they are as the eager seventeen, who have already been hand picked from hundreds, are whittled down to the fortunate eight, the four boys and four girls who will comprise the chorus line of the brand new show. You’ll find yourself rooting for your personal favorites to make the cut. Rob Ruggiero directs this intimate portrait of dancers revealing their souls and their passions, in songs like “I Hope I Get It.” “I Can Do That,” “The Music and the Mirror,” “What I Did For Love” and “One."

For tickets ($47-88), call the Goodspeed Musicals , 6 Main Street, East Haddam at 860-873-8664 or online at Goodspeed.org. Performances are Wednesday at 2 p.m and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m.and select 2 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and select 6:30 p.m.

Join the millions from Sweden to Switzerland to Singapore, Argentina to Australia to Austria, Norway to the Netherlands to New Zealand, who have thrilled at the transformation of a handful of really, really wannabes into “singular sensations."

"LITTLE WOMEN THE MUSICAL" SINGS WITH JOY AT CENTER STAGE IN SHELTON

If your heart told you that you had to be a writer and tell your stories to the world, you might get discouraged when you receive your twenty-second rejection letter from a prospective publisher. But not if your name is Jo Marsh and you feel an obligation to share your tales of love, intrigue, violence and gore with your yet to be found readership.

You are cordially invited to enter the Victorian Age of Literature, courtesy of Louisa May Alcott and Center Stage Theatre of Shelton until Sunday, September 28.

The heartbreak and hope of the Civil War years will be displayed with laughter and tears by Jo Marsh, the writer of the family, who has been advised by her publishers to write about what she knows and to include the stories of her sisters Beth, Meg, and Amy to add realism and romance.

In "Little Women the Musical,” with book by Allen Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and music by Jason Howland, you will find a story based on Alcott’s 1868-69 semi-autobiographical two-volume novel. The play revolves around the traditional minded Meg (Katt Twohill), the hope-to-be-successful novelist Jo (Anna Giordano), the shy and retiring Beth (Joelle Cote) and the romantically inclined Amy (Quinlyn Kessler) and their home in Concord, Massassachusetts that includes their beloved mother Marmee and reflects the sad absence of their father who is serving as a chaplain in the Union Army.

Jo weaves vignettes about her melodramatic sisters into the musical telling of her publishing rejection letters, her original play “An Operatic Tragedy” she wishes to produce for Christmas joy, the difficulties Marnee (Casey Lynne Ortiz) has running the house in wartime, a proposed trip to Europe with Aunt March (Katelyn Botsford Tucker), romantic entanglements for neighbor Laurie (J.R. Resto) and his tutor Mr. Brooke (Daniel Schwartzberg) and Professor Bhaer (Kyle Attanasio) with March sisters, disagreeable situations with Mr. Laurence (Scott Sheldon), a skating race and a dance ball, Beth's tragic death and a new marriage proposal, all set to music.

Director Justin Zenchuk is responsible for this dramatic family production stuffed with dreams, love, kindness, hope and promise for the future, with Katie Ciurleo as music director, with Jacob Marcus ably assisting them both. Special kudos to Anna Giordano for being a magnificent warrior for her family, shining as bright as a new sun, always eager and ready to save the day.

With equal friction and foolishness and fondness, the sisters exhibit a whole plethora of emotions as they grow up in a difficult time for our country, without a father near at hand and with a mother unsure of how to react to the problems of the day, all on a unique and creative set by Scott Sheldon, Melanie Byron, Courtney Chapman and Bob Dellacorte.

For tickets ($20-39), call Center Stage Theatre, 54 Grove Street, Shelton at 203-225-6079 or online at boxoffice@centerstageshelton.org. Performances are Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Come enjoy the acquaintance of a quartet of siblings as they find their voices and proclaim to the world that they are worthy of dreams coming true, discovering the loves of their life and holding out for a much desired promise for tomorrow.

KRISTINA WONG BRINGS COMEDY IN A GROCERY BAG TO FAIRFIELD'S QUICK CENTER

Musicals can be written about any topic under the sun, from ships hit by icebergs to green monsters who dwell in the swamp, people who want to assassinate presidents to yentas who arrange marriages according to cultural traditions. No subject matter is too bizarre or controversial to be ignored.

For a new twist on an old theme, come make the acquaintance of Kristina Wong, an Asian-American entertainer who has personally tackled political issues, cat skeptics, sweatshops, sewing squads, and now she is a self-proclaimed “Food Bank Influencer” plying her important message about food insecurity in a musical at Fairfield University Quick Center on Friday, September 12 at 8 p.m.

Would you believe that one out of eight Connecticut residents wrestles with a lack of nutritional food. Kristina Wong is showcasing this emergency food system, celebrating it with humor and music, highlighting the need to collect and distribute free food. She encourages helping your neighbors and community by sharing produce and giving gift cards to those in need. Personally she uses her energy to go to food banks and then filling a refrigerator in her Korean neighborhood.

Kristina Wong wants to shorten the food line and close the wealth gap, until the need for food banks no longer exists. With enthusiasm, she wants to take away the stigma of needing free poultry and produce. This self-described "nutsy lady” sews her stage sets on a Hello Kitty sewing machine, taking back her power to make a point. Jessica Hanna directs what is clearly the only solo karaoke show of food distribution musical on stage.

For tickets ($35, $25 Quick member, $5 Fairfield University student), call Fairfield University Quick Center,1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield at 203-254-4010 or online at quickcenter.fairfield.edu/2025-26-season-calendar/theatre/kristina-wong.html.

In 2020 she organized 800 Aunties in 33 states to sew 350,000 much needed masks during the pandemic over 504 days utilizing Facebook. A 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist in Drama for her “Sweatshop Overlord” program, Kristina Wong is a unique, one-of-a-kind entertainer with a solo show highlighting her love of food banks and what their generous shelves offer in abundant harvest. You may even get some food to take home.

VISIT THE SHARON PLAYHOUSE FOR COMPANIONSHIP AND COMEDY WITH "SYLVIA"

For companionship and unconditional love, you have to look no further than the furry four legged friend of man, the dog. A puppy can chew a large hole in your heart as well as in your favorite shoe. But not everyone is an animal lover, willing to feed and water, scoop and groom, as Greg discovers when he brings home “Sylvia” to his unsuspecting and unwelcoming wife Kate.

Until September 7, The Sharon Playhouse will be setting out doggy treats and water bowls for this adorable comedy by A. R. Gurney. Jen Cody is affectionate, cuddly and cute, curious and contentious as Sylvia, the dog Greg, Jonathan Walker, chooses to love and wife Kate, Jennifer Van Dyck, resolves to hate. Sylvia, however, elects to ignore the tension and plants her paws firmly on the forbidden and off limits sofa. Be forewarned, Sylvia has a severely challenged potty mouth and says exactly what she feels in four letter to twelve letter statements. Ages 12 and up please.

Greg, enduring problems at the office and suffering from becoming an empty nester, finds comfort and solace in Sylvia’s slobbering displays of adoration. Kate, with a challenging job of teaching Shakespeare to junior high school students, would prefer to relegate Sylvia to her proper place, the pound. Sienna Brann interacts with all three as she plays comic roles as Tom and Leslie, a fellow dog park visitor and a therapist even while she gets up close and personal with Sylvia (much to her dismay) when she visits their apartment.

How Sylvia performs the greatest trick of all, winning over Kate, is revealed in this well acted play, directed with playful and caring touches by Colin Hanlon.

For tickets ($25-55), call The Sharon Playhouse, 49 Amenia Road, Sharon at 860-364-7469 or online at www.Sharonplayhouse.org. Performances are Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.

There’s no need to sit up and beg, for Sylvia is eager to put her head on your knee and please you to pieces. Just be sure to bring along a few doggy bisquits for treats when she does her collection of tricks.

"TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE" A LESSON IN LIVING UNTIL YOU DIE

In 2024 Mark Shanahan, the Artistic Director of the Westport Country Playhouse, saw a production of Jeffrey Hatcher’s “Tuesdays with Morrie.” adapted from Mitch Albom’s masterfully written book of the same name, performed by the Sea Dog Theater in New York City and determined to bring it to Westport. That dedicated decision is now a reality and “Tuesdays with Morrie” will star Len Cariou as Morrie and Christopher J. Domig as Mitch from Thursday, September 4 to Saturday, September 6 and the theater community is in for a most special entertainment treat, one that may change the way you live your life.

To Shanahan, Len Cariou is a force of nature and a powerful storyteller, an actor who enjoys a great comradery with Christopher J. Domig. Cariou originated the role of Sweeney Todd to great acclaim, a legendary Broadway actor who has played Shakespearian roles, musicals like A Little Night Music and tv roles like Henry Reagan in Blue Bloods. Domig is the founder of the award-winning Sea Dog Theater in New York City and has dozens of film and acting credits like Broadway Empire and Law and Order: SVU. Together they are a powerful duo tackling a difficult road map about the twists and turns of life and the stunning relationship they develop on stage. After witnessing their friendship, you may be prompted to reach out to people in your own past who mentored you and changed the course of your life.

The thought is that giving of yourself, your time and talents, to others is rewarding for both the giver and the receiver. Mark Twain is credited with saying: "the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." For Mitch Albom, that realization was brought home to him when he reconnected with a special professor at Brandeis University, Morrie Schwartz, after a sixteen year absence. His sociology teacher had been a mentor to Albom and when Albom graduated he promised to keep in touch. He didn't and the years passed. Now a chance sighting of his old friend on the Ted Koppel television show brings Mitch to Morrie's door to visit him as he battles with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, and makes peace with his impending death.

For a poignant and meaningful conversation, seize this unique opportunity for wonderful theater by listening in on "Tuesdays with Morrie," written by Albom and Jeffrey Hatcher, and being offered at the Westport Country Playhouse. Mitch is our narrator, explaining about how his career as a jazz musician morphed into a profession as a sports writer, now housed in Detroit, and why he is flying every Tuesday to visit Morrie in his Massachusetts home.

This man whom Mitch calls "coach" is still providing life lessons, even though his thirty years as a teacher are over. As Morrie faces death, he wants Mitch to discover the wonders of love, work. aging, family, community, forgiveness and even death. His muscles may be degenerating but his mind is sharp. What starts as a one time visit of an hour quickly changes into a commitment to come every week...until the end.

Morrie poses difficult questions to Mitch: Are you at peace with yourself? Are you as human as you can be? The message is clear that every day is a gift, that's why they call it the present. Morrie posits that, like the Buddhists, there is a little bird on his shoulder that asks him every day if he is ready, ready for death. Mitch learns that the truth that when you learn how to die, that is when you learn how to live. Morrie urges Mitch to go after life and embrace it, a lesson we can all profit from adopting.

Christopher J. Domig is a wonderfully sensitive Mitch, a man who cares deeply and is open to expanding his heart in meaningful ways. Len Cariou is exceptional as the transitional professor facing the most important class in his life, and facing it with wisdom and humor and courage. We literally see his disintegration in front of us, sensing his pain and trying to hold him in a healing hug.

For tickets ($45. to 65.00), call the Westport Country Playhouse at 203-227-4477, or online at westportplayhouse.org. Performances are Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Erwin Maas directs this meaningful production, one that began as a book by Albom to pay for Morrie’s medical expenses.

Come discover, like Mitch, that without love, we're birds with broken wings and we need to forgive everyone for everything. The message is to let go of fear and grief and lead a life of kindness. You may be encouraged to find new priorities, a new path, to become a better you. Also learn what Morrie asks for as extra credit.

MARK TWAIN THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE AT THEATERWORKS HARTFORD

It’s high time you made the acquaintance of Mark Twain again. I'm sure it’s been years or even decades since you smiled in his direction. Here’s your BIG chance.

Humorist, author, lecturer, essayist, social critic and entrepreneur Samuel Clemens was best known by his pen name Mark Twain and was labeled by William Faulkner “the father of American literature.” While born in Florida, Missouri in 1835, he lived long enough in the state of Connecticut, and died here in 1910 at the age of seventy-four, to be considered an honorary Connecticut son and a true state legacy.

Seventy years ago, in 1954, actor Hal Holbrook first donned the traditional white suit that brought to mind Mark Twain. Since that iconic moment, Holbrook's and Twain's names have been synonymous. Holbrook developed his unique one-man stage show while he was in college: "Mark Twain Tonight," for which he won both a Tony and a Drama Desk Award. Ed Sullivan saw one of his early performances and gave him national exposure. He was even sent by the State Department to Europe to perform. Holbrook has done the role well over 2000 times. As he has aged with this role, one advantage was that make-up was considerably less in later days.

His home in Hartford at 351 Farmington Avenue is a tribute to the memory of this man of letters, a house he designed and built and lived in with his family for seventeen years, from 1874-1891. His beloved wife Olivia gave birth to their three daughters there, Susy, Clara and Jean. In 1927, the house was rescued from demolition and is now a fascinating place stuffed with personal memorabilia. It was here he wrote some of his best known works: “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” “The Prince and the Pauper,” “Life on the Mississippi,” “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” The Mark Twain House is open Monday – Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with guided tours available to 4:15 p.m. For more information, call 860-247-0998 or online at www.MarkTwainHouse.org.

Now there is a new Mark Twain in town clad in a new trademark white suit, as Emmy-award winning actor Richard Thomas assumes this masterpiece role, with wit and wisdom, home spun philosophy and international humor, including excerpts from Twain's most memorable books, with an emphasis on the humorous ones, like "Huckleberry Finn.” Come experience the charm of Mark Twain, as he is brought to life by this talented and versatile actor, who is the only one permitted to perform this tribute to Twain.

Twain is so humble he likes to pay himself compliments. His range of conversational topics hopscotch from cannibals to denigrating politicians, lying to good hearts, Noah to Satan, ghost stories to golden arms, slavery to stretching the truth, and don’t forget the French. Twain won’t. All this is done with Thomas’s bushy eyebrows raised and a knowing wink.

Mark Twain began on the lecture circuit in 1866 when he was so nervous about speaking he asked a trio of friends to be plants in the audience to laugh. He was like a Vaudevillian, with brilliant social commentary, defining the American character. His love of theater served him well as he shared his perceptions about the world from his bottomless reservoir. This national tour for the new Mark Twain is happily beginning in Hartford, his adopted home, and will travel for 18 weeks to 48 cities, with Michael Wilson serving as creative consultant.

You will remember Thomas as John-Boy Walton, as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, on Netflix’s Ozark and most recently on Broadway in Our Town. “Mark Twain Tonight” will run at TheaterWorks Hartford, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford until Sunday, August 24. Performances are Tuesday to Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at noon and 5 p.m.,and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. For tickets ($35-55), call TWH at 860-527-7838 or online at twhartford.org. They are truly a hot ticket and selling fast.

Come absorb the down home philosophy and world wide appeal of one of Hartford’s favorite sons as you rediscover why Mark Twain is so beloved and why Richard Thomas is so wonderfully talented in bringing him so delightfully to life. Thomas first saw the production when he was 16. Now he is doing research to make it his own. Come discover for yourself how he hones this fascinating and inspiring persona who enjoyed a “beautifully messy human life:” Mark Twain.

IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE OFFERING A LOVERLY TREAT OF "MY FAIR LADY" UNTIL SEPTEMBER 7

A perfect summertime family treat, a dessert as light and frothy and rich and creamy as a strawberry parfait complete with a cherry on top, is the current magnificent production of Lerner and Loewe's classic musical comedy "My Fair Lady" originally penned more than five decades ago. The Ivoryton Playhouse's offering is perfection in its loverly way and should not be missed. Hurry to Ivoryton by Sunday, September 7 for a delicious summertime surprise.

The transformation of Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who sells violets for a tuppence in Covent Gardens, into a polished princess who is mistaken for Hungarian royalty, is a delightful tale. Claire Marie Spencer’s Eliza is superbly engaging and charming as the irrepressible Eliza, determined to improve herself under the tutelage of the demanding and controlling master of languages, Professor Henry Higgins. Higgins is played by an impressive and arrogant Trevor Martin, who takes Eliza on as a challenge, after his friend and colleague Colonel Pickering, a courtly and admirable Joseph Dellger, bets him he cannot make a lady out of a “guttersnipe."

Higgins proceeds to take this “squashed cabbage leaf” and “prisoner of the gutter” who is “condemned by every syllable she utters” and teach her to speak, act and dress properly, so perfectly that he can pass her off as a Duchess. With her opportunistic rapscallion of a father (Scott Mikita) pushing her from the rear and the professor pulling her from the front, and Eliza’s own inner determination to succeed motivating her from within, the “delicious proposal” seems assured.

Based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” this Lerner-Loewe version is stuffed with wonderful tunes, from “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” to “I Could Have Danced All Night” to “On the Street Where You Live” sung by Eliza’s suitor Freddie (Ben S. Daniel). Eliza’s dad charms us “With a Little Bit of Luck” and “Get Me to the Church on Time” while the professor reveals his chauvinistic tendencies in “I’m an Ordinary Man” and his tenderness in “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”

Also in the outstanding cast are two women who boost Eliza’s spirits with their support, Stacia Fernandez as Henry’s mother who doesn’t approve of her son’s manners or modes of behavior and Johanna Regan Milani as his loyal housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce. Director and choreographer Brian Feehan takes us back to London at the turn of the twentieth century in this highly entertaining musical, with a fashion parade of costumes designed by Elizabeth Saylor.

For tickets ($60 adults, seniors $55, students $25 with discount tickets for $30 if available on Thursdays at the box office) call the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at Ivorytonplayhouse.org. Performances are Wednesday at 2 p.m, Thursday 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Now is the time to make a reservation for the Summer Season AfterParty on September 13 by visiting Ivorytonplayhouse.org.

Cheer for Eliza to pick herself up out of the London gutters and polish her personality until she is the “toast” of the town, with a fine drizzle of orange marmalade on top. Don’t forget to bring her a box of chocolates!

LEGACY THEATRE OF BRANFORD SERVING UP TASTY "SWEENEY TODD" MEAT PIES

Swanson and Pillsbury and Betty Crocker are highly unlikely to be fighting over the rights to use Mrs. Lovett’s secret recipe. Mrs. Lovett’s pie business was once a flaky failure until she teamed up with a certain mad barber in London’s Fleet Street to create a sensational savory of unusual and peculiar flavor.

The Legacyy Theatre in Branford is mixing up a batch of tasty treats as it offers for your culinary and theatrical pleasure the Stephen Sondheim musical, with book by Hugh Wheeler, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" now extended to Sunday, August 31.

The barber becomes a barbarian in this passionate tale of revenge. Sweeney Todd is the alias assumed by a barber who was transported to Australia on trumped up charges almost two decades before. He blames Judge Turpin (Eric Santagata) and his liege The Beadle (Thomas Beebe) for the treachery which led his wife Lucy to kill herself and the Judge to claim their infant daughter Johanna (Ava Broneer) as his ward.

Now Todd, played with a steely determination and macabre manner by Karl Gasteyer, has returned to the scene of the crime to right the wrongs his family has suffered. With the aid of the lusty Mrs. Lovett, played delightfully by Stephanie Stiefel Williams, who runs s failed meat pie shop and a naval man Anthony (Charles Romano) who has saved Todd’s life, Todd sets his diabolical scheme in place.

Complications in the form of an old beggar woman (Sarah Anne Hughes), a blackmailer Pirelli (Amron Salgado) and a wide eyed lad Tobias (Brayden Esler) threaten his plans. Colin Sheehan directs this involving dark tale plagued with the “chill of ghostly shadows.” The musical form features an orchestra of four led by Mark Ceppetelli, magical lighting and set by Jamie Burnett, choreography by Paola Rarick and period costumes designed by Jimmy Johansmeyer. The more than thirty tunes drive the action beautifully, led by the incredible performances of the cast, led by the magical pairing of Gasteyer and Williams.

For tickets ($50.50 and $56.50) call the Legacy Theatre, 128 ThimbleIslands Road, Branford at 203-315-1901 or online at info@legacytheatrect.org or www.LegacyTheatreCT.org. Performances are Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Return to nineteenth century London, if you dare, but be careful to have witnesses if you go to a local barbershop for a trim or a shave or a neighborhood pub for a succulent shepherd’s pie, a savory sweet treat of dubious origin.

"LITTLE WOMEN THE MUSICAL" PRESENTED BY WISP THIS WEEKEND IN EAST HAVEN

You are cordially invited to enter the Victorian Age of Literature, courtesy of Louisa May Alcott and the Old Stone Playhouse from Friday, August 8 to Sunday, August 10. The Old Stone Congregational Church at 251 Main Street in East Haven will be festively attired, air conditioned, with cabaret seating for a meal, wheelchair accessible, with ample parking, perfect to entertain you and your family.

The heartbreak and hope of the Civil War years will be displayed with laughter and tears by Jo Marsh, the writer of the family, who has been advised by her publishers to write about what she knows and to include the stories of her sisters Beth, Meg, and Amy to add realism and romance.

In "Little Women the Musical,” with book by Allen Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and music by Jason Howland, you will find a story based on Alcott’s 1868-69 semi-autobiographical two-volume novel. The play revolves around the traditional minded Meg, the hope-to-be-successful novelist Jo, the shy and retiring Beth and the romantically inclined Amy and their home in Concord, Massassachusetts that includes their beloved mother Marmee and reflects the sad absence of their father who is serving as a chaplain in the Union Army.

Jo weaves vignettes about her melodramatic sisters into the musical telling of her publishing rejection letters, her original play “An Operatic Tragedy” she wishes to produce for Christmas joy, the difficulties Marnee has running the house in wartime, a proposed trip to Europe with Aunt March (Michelle Rocheford Johnston), romantic entanglements for Laurie (Jack Vann) and his tutor Mr. Brooke (Luke Soja) with March sisters, situations with Mr. Laurence (George McTyre), a skating race and a dance ball, Beth's tragic death and a new marriage proposal, all set to music.

WISP (Wagner Iovanna Studio Performances) will star McKensie Doebrick as Amy, Denise Wray as Meg, Heather Bazinet as Marmee, Allison Bradshaw as Jo and Lexi Kinniburgh as Beth. Producer Karen Wagner-Iovanna and director Martin Scott Marchitto are responsible for this dramatic family production stuffed with dreams, love, kindness, hope and promise for the future.

With equal friction and foolishness and fondness, the sisters exhibit a whole plethora of emotions as they grow up in a difficult time for our country, without a father near at hand or with a mother unsure of how to react to the problems of the day.

Performances are Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.. Come watch how a quartet of siblings find their voices and proclaim to the world that they are worthy of dreams coming true, finding the loves of their life and holding out for a much desired promise for tomorrow.

FLUNKING SUMMER

Clearly I am flunking summer. While in the winter months I never wear Ugg boots, all summer I don’t wear flip flops. In fact I have never worn flip flops and I am not about to start now at my advanced age.

After a terrible sunburn during my honeymoon in Puerto Rico many moons ago, I learned I am no longer a sun worshipper. You won’t find me under a shade tree or a beach umbrella anytime soon. Cape Cod, Capri and the Cape of Good Hope are no longer, regrettably,on my wish list.

On the fourth of July I couldn’t muster the strength to go to a friend's house in Milford to watch fireworks. My sadness over two different friends'funerals made watching fireworks a colorless occasion. Maybe next year.

As for barbecues, I have not yet been invited to a cookout No hotdogs, hamburgers or ribs on my paper plate. Hold the sauerkraut.

If I were to belly up to the tiki bar, there would be no margaritas or daiquiris in sight, with or without tiny umbrellas or red cherries.

Don’t bring me a beach ball, a frisbee or a pail and shovel. I don’t know anyone with a sail boat, a pontoon or even a canoe. Forget the sand castle contests and wet t-shirts are definitely a no-no.

All in all, I am keeping the cap on my suntan lotion until I reach the safety of Labor Day. Hold on to your revealing bathing suits even under wraps until I lose at least 20 pounds. For now just bring me some sweet corn on the cob with salt and lots of butter and chill the seedless watermelon. They still spell summer to me.

SUMMER CONCERTS GALORE AT SEVEN ANGELS THEATRE IN WATERBURY

Get your calendars out and start writing in the special dates that Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury is serving up on a silver platter for your summer spectacular entertainment. The magic disco ball starts twirling this Friday, August 1 at 8 p.m. when “Little Lies" takes center stage: an eight-piece tribute band celebrating that great British band Fleetwood Mac. Tunes like “Over My Head,” “Little Lies,” “Rhiannon,” “Go Your Own Way,” " The Chain,” and “Don’t Stop” will surely top the charts of this brilliant cover band from Boston, hitting all the high notes. Claim your $35 tickets today.

With a little nostalgia musically The Jam Factory is ready and excited to celebrate the seventies with rock and rhythm, blues and soul, funk and metal and more, with their super seven-piece tribute band. They are ready to party with a parade of priceless hits. All you have to do is show up! The party begins Friday, August 15 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.

Bluegrass more your stye and mojo, then Seven Angels has set aside Sunday, August 17 at 2 p.m. for a hearty dose of Billy Boucher’s Bluegrass Band, a harmonic mix of music and comedy in the image of the Grand Ole Opry. With banjos, washboards and kazoos aplenty, get ready for some fine storytelling, foot-stomping and plain old-fashioned fun. Tickets are $28.

Aching to relive the Woodstock Experience, whether you were there in 1969 or not, then get ready for a reminiscing dose of Back to the Garden on Saturday, August 23 at 8 p.m. They will recreate the atmosphere, the costumes, the characters and the magical mood that was the 1960’s in all its flamboyant flavor. Come relish in the tribute to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Janis Joplin, and so many more! Tickets are $48.

Finish out the summer months with a visit to the Caribbean Islands as PanNeubean Steel brings Jamaica to Waterbury on Saturday, August 30 at 8 p.m. The soft sounds of soca, reggae, calypso, soul, fusion, contemporary and classic music will serenade you, led by musician and artist Jeffrey Clayton who injects his passion for the Caribbean into every tropical note. Tickets are $33.

Seven Angels is proud to proclaim its first Gospel Music Concert ever on Sunday, September 7 at 5:30 p.m. featuring Waterbury native and saxophonist extraordinaire Quinn Mitchell and Friends. Raise a Praise Gospel Concert is sure to raise the rafters with heavenly music. Hallelujah, brothers and sisters! Tickets are $28.

For a change of pace, delight in a visit with those versatile Edward’s Twins who make the stars of Hollywood shine in front of your disbelieving eyes. On Saturday, September 13 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, September 14 at 2 p.m.,these two Seven Angels favorites will impersonate, down to the last eye lash, all your favorites, from Bette to Barbra to Billy Joel, Neil Diamond to Celine Dion, and so many more. Tickets are $58.

For tickets, call Seven Angels Theatre,1 Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at boxoffice@sevenangelstheatre.org. Keep your summer jumping with joy thanks to Seven Angels Theatre’s robust musical offerings.

SPIRITED AND SPIRITUAL "SISTER ACT" AT CENTER STAGE IN SHELTON

If you're unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the definitely worst time and witness a murder, there may not be a good spot to hide. Just ask that wannabe cabaret lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier, spunky in the hands of Milki Ejara, who finds herself in just that dill pickle and predicament. Now her boyfriend Curtis and his gang , Nolan Young, with Harry Rosenay, Marquis Evans and Jose (JR) Resto, is after her and the best place for the police to hide her is just what William Shakespeare might have suggested. Deloris is told to "get thee to a nunnery.”

Until Sunday, July 27, the Youth CONNection of Center Stage in Shelton will be chasing Deloris as she seeks a safe place to hide. The good sisters will have the rosary beads ready for their newest novitiate as "Sister Act" comes to town. Just what Mother Superior (Mia Bekech) thinks of her latest charge is immediately evident. She's suspicious and deeply unhappy about her new uninvited guest. Thankfully Deloris’s old childhood friend Eddie (Larry Williams) is now a policeman and can help her transition to safety.

At the Queen of Angels Church, Deloris has become Sister Mary Clarence and reluctantly gives up her vices like smoking, drinking, dancing and suggestive clothing. With the help of perky and peppy Sister Mary Patrick (Isabella Mercado), Sister Mary Robert (Kate McPadden) and Sister Mary Lazarus (Grace Kennedy), Deloris gets indoctrinated into her new life and uses her previous life as a disco singer to inject the order's anemic sounding choir with new vigor and vitality. Boy, can she make those vocal cords turn heavenly.

This lively musical written by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner and Douglas Carter Beane, with lyrics by Glenn Slater and music by Alan Menken is based on the hit 1992 film comedy of the same name. Of course, eventually the gang traces Deloris down and invades her solemn hiding place. Glorious songs like "Take Me to Heaven," "Spread the Love Around" and "Raise Your Voice" send melodies straight to Cloud 9.

For tickets ($20-39), call Center Stage, 54 Grove Street, Shelton at 203-225-6079 or online at centerstageshelton.org. Performances are Wednesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Kudos to co-director Rob Esposito, co-director and choreographer Katie Wedlock and music director John Morrow for jobs well done. Center Stage theatre features budding actors 12-23 in this their 20th anniversary. Next up is Little Women September 19-28.

Let Deloris and the Good Sisters entertain you with their angelic voices as chaos invades the religious order and friendship and justice are at stake. Hear the rafters ring with joy.

SUNNY SKIES ABOUND AT PLAYHOUSE ON PARK'S DELIGHTFUL "SINGIN' IN THE RAIN"

Snap on your yellow plastic slicker, don your shiny red rain boots, pop on a cute rain bonnet and inflate your sunny umbrella for West Hartford's Playhouse on Park’s truly delightful rain sparkled production of "Singin' in the Rain" until Sunday, August 17.This smash 1952 movie originally starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor was first brought to the stage in 1985 and continues to be a saccharine sweet crowd pleaser. Credits go to Betty Comden and Adolph Green for the screenplay and to Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed for the music.

The time is 1927 and Monumental Pictures has just released another silent movie hit, “The Royal Rascal,” starring that classic romantic couple Don Lockwood, a dashing Daniel Plimpton, and Lina Lamont, a lovely looking Carolyn Burke. But the old-fashioned heyday of silent films is suddenly taking a back seat to the new kid on the block, the talkies. Can Monumental and its two favorites make the transition? Only if Lina Lamont never opens her uncultured and raspy mouth. But who is going to tell her she sounds like a mad cat in heat, on her good days?

Enter the savior of the day in the personage of peppy and pretty, perky and polished Kathy Selden, a darling Lindsay Gloriana Bohon who has a voice song birds would envy. Don Lockwood’s good friend Cosmo, an ever clowning Robert Mintz has a solution lovely Lina never suspects: using Kathy’s voice to dub in all the words and melodies.

The choreography is non stop super, both wet and dry, thanks to the talents of Robert Mintz and the clever footwork of Mintz and Plimpton, The romantic songs like “All I Do Is Dream of You,” and “You Are My Lucky Star” are balanced by cheery ones like “Good Morning” and the silly ones like “Moses Supposes” and “Make ‘Em Laugh,” with the help of music director Melanie Guerin. Evan Hoffmann directs this puddle jumping joy without getting his own feet wet.

For tickets ($45-55), call Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford at 860-523-5900, ext. 10 or online at www.playhouseonpark.org. Performances are Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.,Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m.,and Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Discounted morning performances are $25.00 on Thursday July 31st at 10:30 a.m. and Friday, August 8th at 10:30 a.m.

It’s umbrellas and thumbs way up for “Singin’ in the Rain.” Lucky stars shine in the sky in West Hartford and we’re not “Supposing" anything!