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.