COME HEAR A "HONEY HONEY" OF AN ABBA TRIBUTE SHOW AT WATERBURY'S PALACE THEATER

Who doesn’t love the music of ABBA, that sensational Swedish troupe that has thrilled thousands and thousands and captured hearts with its greatest hits thanks to the movies “Mamma Mia!” and “Mamma Mia! Here She Goes Again.” As far as tribute bands are concerned the Palace Theater in Waterbury is set to deliver one of the best, for one night only, Friday, October 23 at 8 p.m. and you’ll be solidly square if you’re not there!

Come welcome “Mania: the ABBA Tribute ” so you can personally say “Thank You For The Music” and celebrate “Knowing Me Knowing You” as you morph into a delicious “Dancing Queen” or King for one incredible night. This group formerly known as ABBA Mania will present the musical goods so true to the original, you’ll be hard pressed to believe they are not the genuine article.

A parade of ABBA’s greatest hits including your favorites like “Does Your Mother Know,” “Take a Chance,” “SOS,” “The Winner Takes It All,” “Super Trouper,” “Money Money Money,” “Gimme Gimme Gimme” and “Waterloo” will wow you as these incredible four, complete in dazzling costumes, entertain you all the way to the rafters. After all, this group has energized their souls in over 35 countries, almost 120 United States tours alone, to sold out stadiums of up to 50,000 screaming fans, touring every continent in the world, and now you are in for a “Honey Honey” of a treat.

The group was created by producer Garry Lichach and launched its first live show in 2000. It is widely recognized as one of the top three international ABBA tribute attractions and you are guaranteed a spectacular evening of exceptional entertainment. For tickets ($45 and $65), call the Palace Theater, 100 East Main Street, Waterbury at 230-346-2000, or online at palacetheaterct.org.

Let “Mania: The ABBA Tribute” generously lay all their love on you! Come dance and sing along as this high-energy and fun group gets the party going for an atmosphere of great entertainment.

WATERBURY'S PALACE THEATER WELCOMES ANIMAL TRAINER BILL BERLONI OCTOBER 25 AND PET ADOPTION

Fifty years ago the former Artistic Director of Goodspeed Opera House Michael Price gave Bill Berloni $35 to rescue a dog, in this case Sandy, to be in the musical “Annie,” that launched Bill’s career as an animal trainer. Before this significant moment Bill was a new intern at the theater, hoping to be an actor. Price promised Berloni that if he did this successfully, and found and trained a dog rescued from the pound, he would earn his acting certificate for his Actors’ Equity Association card.

That unexpected task set Berloni on a totally different life plan. He has since earned a lifetime achievement in Connecticut theater by the Connecticut Critics Circle for his training of rescue and breeder animals for stage, film, and television. Mr. Berloni trained Sandy for the original production of “Annie" at the Goodspeed Opera House and on Broadway. “Annie" is returning to the Goodspeed now to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

To hear his fascinating life story, gallop to the Palace Theater, 100 East Main Street, Waterbury on Sunday, October 25 at 2 p.m. in the Poli Restaurant. Come early at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for an outdoor pet adoption at the Palace”s loading dock and see if a furry critter is in your future and learn about adoption opportunities.

As part of the Palace’s Upstaged series, for tickets ($25), visit the box office or go online to palacetheater.org.

Come hear Bill Berloni discuss the origins of his career, his work with “Annie," and his unusual and wonderful life as an animal trainer. He and his wife live on a farm in Connecticut where active and retired animals live alongside rescued animals. Maybe he will even bring one of his fuzzy troupe along.

THE BUSHNELL WELCOMES THE JOYFUL MUSICAL "MAMMA MIA!" OCTOBER 20-25

What happens when you travel to a beautiful Greek island, add in the exciting music of the Swedish singing group ABBA and complete the picture with a young bride-to-be who wants her father, one of three candidates, to walk her down the aisle? To find the intriguing answer, dance joyfully over to the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford to catch this lively with a capital L smash hit musical “Mamma Mia!” with music and lyrics by ABBA musicians Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus and book by Catherine Johnson from Tuesday, October 20 to Sunday, October 25.

Set on a mythical Greek island, the show is about a daughter Sophie, who at 20 is about to marry. Her fervent wish is to have her father walk her down the aisle, but there’s one small problem. Her mother Donna, a determined and vivacious woman who runs the island taverna, has never spoken Sophie’s father’s name.

So the industrious and clever Sophie sends wedding invitations to the three candidates for fatherhood as determined by invading the privacy of her mom’s diary of twenty one years previously: an architect Sam, an Australian travel writer Bill and a proper British banker Harry. All three men accept the invitation they believe is from Donna and show up conveniently on the eve of Sophie’s nuptials to Sky.

Fortunately the unsuspecting Donna has the moral grounding of Tanya and Rosie, the members of her old singing group, who literally and figuratively support her when the sparks of mistrust and accusations start to fly. The great ABBA songs like “Dancing Queen,” “The Name of the Game,” “S.O.S.,” “Thank You for the Music,” “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do,” and “The Winner Takes It All” and more than a dozen more, make this show sparkle with neon lights that spell Amazing, Bouncy, Beautiful, and Alive, in snappy and pulsating style.

For tickets ($50 and up) call the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, 166 Capitol Avenue in Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at bushnell.evenue.net/events/MAMMA. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Come two hours early for a Fall Festival in the courtyard for fall themed food and drinks and outdoor games for fun.

Once upon a time a girl prays to have her father at her side for her wedding day. Is it a blessing or a curse when her prayers are answered three times over? Catch the joy of “Mamma Mia!” and discover for yourself. Wedding gifts are optional.

HARTFORD STAGE READY TO SCARE YOU WITH A NEW "DRACULA"

According to the Guiness Book of World Records, Dracula is the most portrayed literary character ever. Almost two centuries ago the Irish writer Bram Stoker created Dracula who has since become one of the most famous stars of English literature. Stoker even named his personal vampire Dracula because he thought the name meant “devil” in the Romanian language. To celebrate the holiday of Halloween, get your stakes and cloves of garlic ready for a frightening evening of thrills and chills with the American premiere of “Dracula” at the Hartford Stage until Sunday, November 1. This new psychological drama is the challenging work of Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, one exciting new one of the more than 800 adaptations penned over the years. She loves horror stories and considers hers "a powerful and rich story.” For director Jackson Gay, her introduction to this tale began when she was ten years old and played Lucy, one of the main characters, in a community production in Sugar Land, Texas. She loves "creating something both deeply unsettling and thrilling for an audience.”

Settle back and take a deep breathe as Sara Gutierrez’s Mina orchestrates this terribly disturbing tale stuffed with frights and delights for your listening pleasure. As the creeping dread of night surrounds you, you will be trapped in the horror at your own risk. Mina fancies herself the heroine as she is the only one alive at the conclusion and it is her words that reign supreme. She is betrothed to Jonathan who helps tell the tale, a willing Lucas Dixon, who is honored to be chosen to be her co-conspirator. Jonathan travels to Transylvania to help Count Dracula with purchasing a new house in London. Also central to the narrative is Mina’s good friend Lucy, portrayed by Scout Backus. Others with various roles in the tale include Caitlin Elizabeth Clouthier, Anney Giobbe, and Pauli.>/p>

Be prepared for lots of fangs and blood as the tale unravels, as Mina ratchets up the horror to a screaming feast, all the while snipets of laughter lessens the tension. How perfect to celebrate the spirit of the holiday!

For tickets ($10-120), call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or boxoffice@hartfordstage.org. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Recommended for ages 14 and up. Every 2 seconds someone needs blood. Blood drives will be held at Hartford Stage October 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and at Hartford Health Care, 560 Hudson Street, Hartford on October 28 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You will receive a special gift from Hartford Stage.

Just in time for your personal Halloween thrills and chills, let Hartford Stage unveil this new reimagined psychological suspenseful tale for you. This gothic classic has taken on a different spin and point of view and you are guaranteed to gain a suspenseful appreciation of monsters that just may scare you silly.

INVOLVING FAMILY DRAMA "LITTLE BEAR RIDGE ROAD" AT TWH

We don’t have much control over the family we are born into. We can hope for a loving and supportive environment, with parents and siblings who nurture and protect. What happens when these people nearest and dearest to us also fail us and the trauma that ensues? What happens when a child has a father who is a drug addict? What further damage occurs when that child, only ten years of age, appeals to his aunt to take him in to her home to raise him, only to be refused? Come meet Mishka Yarovoy’s Ethan and Denise Cormier’s Sarah.

Let TheaterWorks Hartford introduce you to Samuel D. Hunter’s disturbing family drama “Little Bear Ridge Road” until Sunday, November 8. You will soon be enmeshed in their story as the last two members of their family, when Ethen reluctantly returns to his Idaho home, after his father’s death, to sell his house and hopefully get enough money to help himself get on the right path of life. He is a writer who cannot seem to write, with a Master’s degree but no job. He seeks sanctuary with his aunt Sarah and she is no more ready to help him now than when he was ten.

Can they finally make a connection? Can he forgive and forget what happened in the past? Will he be able to put his life on a better keel? Will his meeting with Travis Anderson's James at a gay bar enable Ethan to find the love he so desperately craves? Will his independent and opinionated aunt reveal the secret she is hiding? It is only with the appearance and explanation of Janelle Anne Robinson’s Paulette that a final resolution and truths are revealed. Rob Ruggiero directs this involving family drama with sensitivity and compassion, a play he calls “a really great story.”

For tickets ($20-80 ), call TheaterWorks Hartford, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford at 860-527-7838 or online at twhartford.org. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

For Sarah and Ethan, their lives are like the Reality TV shows they are addicted to watching, with each scene bizarre and unbelievable, yet a science fiction story about aliens that appeals to their senses.

"MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM" INTRIGUIES AT THE YALE REP

The prolific playwright August Wilson immortalizes his Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania hometown in an epic American Century Cycle that contains ten productions, one for each decade of the 20th century. Yale Rep at 222 York Street in New Haven is bringing to vibrant life a play, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” that enjoyed its world premiere way back in 1984 and you are invited to experience its complex joys again until Saturday, October 24.

For the decade of the 1920s, August Wilson sets his masterpiece in the steaming heat of a Chicago recording studio (not Pittsburgh this time around) as the two white entrepreneurs Neal Lerner’s Sturdyvant and Jeff Parker’s Irvin anxiously await the arrival of Maiesha McQueen, a difficult and opinionated star in their corral of talent. As a successful and legendary Black artist, Ma Rainey has earned the title “Mother of the Blues” and she exercises her control over her band and her music. It’s 1 p.m. and her faithful and devoted band members are ready to rehearse for the record they are creating, Terence Archie’s Cutler, Dion Graham’s Toledo, and Ray Anthony Thomas’s Slow Drag. Also ready to jive is the band’s newest member, Jimmie J. J, Jeter’s Levee Green who has his own original ideas about how the songs should be played, especially his own version of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” that differs dramatically from the way Ma Rainey wants it orchestrated.

When Ma Rainey breezes in, quite late and demanding three bottles of Coca Cola, accompanied by her nephew Mark Yarde’s Sylvester and Brittany Antoinette Davis’s Dussie Mae, the stage has been set for an explosion of fireworks. Levee is not about to backdown on his demands and neither is Ma Rainey. She wants Sylvester to announce the opening of her rendition of the lead song, even though he stutters. As a young ambitious trumpeter, Levee confronts Ma head-on asserting he knows more than she does and tries to fast talk her into surrender. As Ma is trying her hardest to survive and even thrive in a world that is not welcoming, their confrontation is doomed to occur. Come learn how a pair of $11 shoes sets off the ultimate tragedy.

Timothy Douglas has directed every play in August Wilson’s Century Cycle and he was an understudy when it witnessed its world premiere in 1984. Now as director, Douglas is responsible for the tension and temperaments that make this play so dramatic.

For tickets ($20-65), call the Yale Rep, 222 York Street, New Haven at 203-432-1234 or online at yalerep.org. Performances are Tuesday 8 p.m., Wednesday 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.

According to Timothy Douglas, “A key focus in Ma Rainey is on the fineness and nooks and crannies of the individual characters" and the intricacies of their interactions, their fortitude and their struggles. Come learn how music is life’s way of talking.

PANTOCHINO PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS "THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SLEEPY HOLLOW" THIS HALLOWEEN SEASON

You’ve surely heard of the successful television series featuring “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, California and New York City and Atlantic City and many more, but are you acquainted with the newest group in town “The Real Housewives of Sleepy Hollow?” Thanks to Pantochino Productions and the clever writing talents and lyric rhyming of Bert Bernardi, the enchanting notes of music by Justin Rugg and the spectacular sewing skills of Jimmy Johansmeyer, you are in for a special adult treat as you view this brand new offering at the Milford Arts Council, The MAC, 40 Railroad Avenue, Milford weekends until the eve of Halloween Saturday, October 30.

The chills and thrills begin with a quartet of lovely ladies, all rich and beautiful, who run Sleepy Hollow with their whims and wantings, all while singing and drinking to their successes, with a rousing rendition of “I’m Not the Enemy.” Clad in spectacular gowns, they boast of their triumphs, with shots of tequila, living in McMansions, and enjoying their best lives. All that is suddenly challenged when Katrina Van Tassel arrives on the scene. Before her unwelcome appearance, they were busy being entertained by the local hunk Brom Bones, the desirable Killian Meehan. Now their status as the Queens of Sleepy Hollow, Rachelle Ianniello’s Catherina, Shelley Marsh Poggio’s Gerda, Maria Berte’s Heide and Mary Mannix’s Johanna is threatened by Chelsea Dacey’s Katrina and they must plot to rid her from their midst.

Surely Katrina’s protective father, Justin Rugg, and the newest village resident, the music teacher, Jimmy Johansmeyer’s intriguing Ichabod Crane will unite to save her. But what is the mysterious role of Valerie Loomis’s Miss Sally? You’ll have to bring your snacks and drinks and pull up a chair at the fun cabaret that Pantochino Productions has made available for you. Will the Headless Horseman make a scary appearance? Will Katrina be saved by her new courtly companion Ichabod? Come discover for yourself…if you dare.

For tickets ($37), go to www.pantochino.com. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

For pretensions and pranksters, gossip and gallantry, secrets and silliness, come to Sleepy Hollow for a night of candles and witchcraft and surprising shenanigans.

IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE OFFERS UP "A PIECE OF MY HEART" WITH COMPASSION

The history of war in the world is tragic and horrific and too often senseless. We also don’t seem to learn its lessons and keep repeating the same mistakes. Ivoryton Playhouse is offering a different perspective on wartime by introducing the audience to six nurses who all volunteered to go to Vietnam and patriotically and selflessly put themselves in harm’s way to serve the soldiers who were risking their lives to keep us safe. Taken from the true testimonies and experiences by twenty six nurses, you will find yourself caught in their stories as you watch “A Piece of My Heart” by Shirley Lauro and learn about their courage and bravery as they willingly put themselves on the battle field. Until Sunday, October 25, you can feel their emotional roller coaster as they struggle to serve, save lives and help a cause that was unpopular and misunderstood.

Come meet and empathize with Mandy Evans’ Whitney, Olivia Fenton’s Sissy, Angela Hall’s Steele, Alicia Kaori’s Leeann, Allie Seidbold’s Mary Jo, Autumn Eliza Sheffy’s Martha and Galen Donovan who portrayed all the American men. Like a Pandora’s box opening, these brave females faced great obstacles in a raw and reality based world, one they were poorly prepared or trained to survive. Faced with severely wounded soldiers who had lost limbs, with death imminent, they had to heal and hold hands if humanly possible. They endured rapes, drinking and drugs, and souvenirs like Agent Orange which they were told didn’t exist.

They wanted to make a real contribution to their country and yet when they finally came home it was not to be given the gratitude and respect they deserved. It would be a long time before The Vietnam Women’s Memorial would be erected as a tribute to their achievements. Today about 227,000 women are serving in active military service and if you add the reserves and National Guard the total rises to about 396,000 women. In countries like Israel, women are required to serve in the Army. Jacqueline Hubbard directs this moving and emotionally charged play that casts war and the men and women who fought it in a new and courageous light.

Songs like “Proud Mary,” “Down by the Riverside.” “Wild Blue Yonder,” “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” and “America, the Beautiful” light up the sky.

For tickets ( $60, seniors $55, $25 students, military discount $30 if currently serving), call the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at ivorytonplayhouse.org. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday at 2 p.m.

Come watch this dedicated and devoted sisterhood of females take their place in history, willing to sacrifice their lives for the cause of freedom. Amen, as we thank all the military men and women for their selfless service. A piece of our hearts goes out to each and every one of them.

THE CRESCENT PLAYERS TRY TO PROVE LIFE IS A "CABARET"

The Southern Connecticut State University Theatre in collaboration with the Crescent Players is advancing the opinion that "Life is a cabaret" and it is determined to prove it. From Friday, October 9 to Saturday, October 17, you are invited to the proof in the pudding, Come to the Lyman Center Mainstage for this classic musical about Berlin in the1930’s and how people tried to escape reality by dancing and drinking their troubles away.

The ostrich was known for sticking its head in the sand and ignoring the world around it. The same could be argued for the citizens of Berlin when they kept themselves busy partying and dancing and drinking, faster and faster, so they were oblivious to the dangers swirling around them outside the night club doors. In this case it is the Kit Kat Klub and you are invited inside to witness the insidious changes that the party goers are blind to seeing and acknowledging.

Watch as the talented Crescent Players recreates the frantic and frenetic times created so masterfully by Joe Masteroff’s book, John Kander’s music and Fred Ebb’s lyrics in “Cabaret,” based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood.

The welcome mat is securely laid out by the seductive and most accommodating Emcee, Jade McGovern, who urges you to leave all your troubles outside and have a good time, especially with her bevy of Kit Kat Girls to entertain you. Headlining the show is the sparkling singer from Mayfair, England, Miss Sally Bowles, Aliza Clark, with stars in her eyes, who is busy breezing through life seemingly without a care. She dangles men like so much jewelry, using them to accommodate her needs, like the club owner Max and the newcomer to Berlin, the American writer Cliff Bradshaw, Trey Griggs, both naive and trusting.

On the train into Berlin, Cliff meets the dangerously single minded Ernst Ludwig, focused on the Nazi cause, who helps Cliff secure a room at the boarding house of Fraulein Schneider, a hard working and sincere elderly matron. She is busy keeping track of her tenants like the overly friendly to sailors Fraulein Kost, a convincingly enterprising woman,and the greengrocer Herr Schultz, who wants to make Fraulein Schneider his wife. The fact that he is Jewish and she is not becomes an obstacle of elephantine proportions.

Light hearted fun in songs like “Don’t Tell Mama” segue in alarming ways to the themes of “Tomorrow BelongsTo Me,” as it echoes the Nazi message, and the hidden in plain sight discrimination of “If You Could See Her,” as the Emcee dances with her monkey friend. Meanwhile dark clouds obscure the sun, foreshadowing the storm to come, as Larry Nye directs and choreographs this musical with hidden fangs in a decidedly wicked and “wunderbar” way with musical direction by Jill Brunell.

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For tickets($25 and free for SCSU students and children under 12), go to the Lyman Center, 501 Crescent Street, New Haven or online at LymanCenter.org. Performances are Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Scrap off the glitter on the surface of the Kit Kat Klub and discover that all is not beautiful, no matter how hard the Emcee tries to make you believe it is so.

TAKE A SLICE OF HEAVENLY PIZZA AT THE PALACE THEATER WITH "MYSTIC PIZZA"

What could be better than a slice of thin crust pizza loaded with mushrooms and onions and peppers, hot enough to burn the roof of your mouth, but well worth the momentary pain.

Life is not as predictable, unfortunately, as the pleasure of devouring a pizza layered with pepperoni. The passage from awkward and uncertain adolescence to the independence and certainty of adulthood can be a rocky road, especially for a trio of young waitresses trying to forge a future for themselves at a pizza parlor in Mystic,Connecticut. We all remember Julia Roberts as the adorable Daisy in the 1988 MGM movie, written about our state by Amy Holden Jones while she was summering here and frequented the small hometown pizzeria of the same name. Enjoy the tunes like “Mad About You,” “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” “True Colors,” and “Take My Breath Away,” and a dozen others.

Kudos to the Palace Theater for offering up this sizzling and spicy treat until Sunday, October 4 for our just past summertime fun and musical pleasure as we become acquainted with Jojo who may or may not be ready to commit herself to marrying her boyfriend Bill Montijo, even when it’s her actual wedding day, Kat Arujo who is willing and able to work a multitude of jobs so she can earn her way to college but hits a major roadblock when she is intrigued by the married architect Tim Travers and lastly Daisy who falls under the spell of the sophisticated and well-to-do Charles Gordon Windsor, Jr., an artist who has already flunked out of law school.

No one promised young love was a bouquet of orange blossoms and each girl discovers the promise and the heartbreak coming her way. The pizzeria’s owner Leona Silvia has her own set of decisions to make but is the caring mother hen to her tender chicks. The sisters Daisy and Kat and their best friend Jojo all want something more from life and are willing to sacrifice and work hard to achieve it.

For tickets ($49-89), call the Palace Theater, 100 East Main Street, Waterbury at 203-346-2000 or online at palacetheaterct.org. Performances are tonight at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. On Saturday, October 3rd at noon come to the Poli Restaurant upstairs for a festive gourmet pizza party, with salad and gelato provided by LaTavola Pizza Truck for $50. Call Denise at the box office at 203-346-2010 for reservations.

Show all your true colors as the power of love takes all your breath away as nothing is gonna stop us now. Come experience a delicious slice of heaven.

PLAYHOUSE ON PARK INTRODUCES YOU TO "THE HAPPIEST MAN ON EARTH"

At the age of 100, one year before his death, Eddie Jaku, a German-Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, had his unique memoir, unforgettable and inspiring, published by Pan Macmillan Australia. Born in Leipzig, Germany, he grew up in a Jewish family in peace until as a teenager that idyllic world exploded. During the terrifying Night of Broken Glass known as Kristallnacht, November 9, 1938 when Eddie endured a severe beating by Nazi youth, he was arrested and sent by train to a concentration camp Buchenwald and later Auschwitz, along with thousands of other German Jews and “undesirable” people according to Hitler’s master plan of extinction.

To hear a wonderful Robert Resnikoff relate Eddie’s incredible story, fly to Playhouse on Park in West Hartford before Sunday, October 18 for a moving and emotional lesson in hope and happiness, compassion and caring, and his refusal to surrender to hatred despite a thousand reasons to do so. Webster’s Dictionary when describing a term like “resilience” should have a picture of Eddie next to that word. Mark St. Germain has adapted Eddie’s tale of survival into a significant and must see play “The Happiest Man on Earth” that has been sensitively and beautiful directed by Sasha Bratt, the theater’s new co-artistic director, for lessons in how to live your life with meaning and mission.

For seven long years as a captive, watching his family and friends torn away from him, Eddie used his talents and his education as an engineer to save his own life. Despite the starvation and the daily horrors, he was deemed "economically indispensible” as he could make and repair the machinery like the crematoriums that the Nazis depended upon to carry out their terrifying mission. His friendship with a fellow prisoner Kurt helped both men to save each others’ lives.

After the war finally ended in 1945, Eddie learned his entire family had been killed but he chanced to meet Flore and they married. Until the moment he held his new born son however, he was still suffering from his past. The birth of his son snapped the fog he was trapped in and he determined at that moment to choose to be happy and call his life “beautiful.” Focusing on joy, gratitude and kindness rather than sadness, depression and personal tragedy, Eddie knew everyone suffered from daily issue and determined to help people benefit from his lessons and learn how to live their best possible life.

Eddie Jaku vowed to smile, to value a good wife and friends, knowing we are strong together, and that it provides more pleasure to give than to take. He recommended calling your mother now to tell her you love her, and that extends to your children, family and friends. Hugs work too. He believed if you are healthy and happy, you are a millionaire and that happiness doubles every time you share it.

For tickets ($46-58.50), call Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road. West Hartford at 860-523-5900 ext. 10 or online at playhouseonpark.org. Performances are Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday. A talkback follows the Sunday matinee.

For Eddie Jaku, it was okay to dislike but not hate. He felt the greatest thing you will ever do is to love someone and tell them so. Unbelievably in 2020, nearly 80,000,000 people were forced to leave their homes and become refugees. Remember Eddie's story and find your way to your home from darkness to light.

LYRIC HALL IN NEW HAVEN PRESENTS "MR. WONDERFUL" A TRIBUTE TO SAMMY DAVIS JR.

When you hear songs like “Mr. Bojangles” and “The Candy Man,” who comes to mind immediately but the iconic and ground breaking multi-talented entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. His memorable music will echo in our hearts forever and you have the unique opportunity to welcome him back, in all his illuminating glory, for one day only, Saturday, September 26 at 3 p.m and 8 p.m., at Lyric Hall, 827 Whalley Avenue, in the Westville section of New Haven. Back in the day, Lyric Hall was originally, from 1913 to about 1920, a vaudeville and silent film house.

Grab hold of this exciting chance, as if it is the golden ticket on the merry-go-round, to see and hear Solomon Kee, theater performer, singer and dancer, bring Sammy Davis Jr. back to life in his extraordinary original show “A Night with Mr. Wonderful - The Sammy Davis Jr. Spectacular.” In 2011, Solomon Kee was a last minute replacement in a production called “Fly Me to the Moon.” In doing his research for the role, he developed a keen connection with the star, admiring Davis’s artistry, life and resilience, resulting in his personal passion to keep Davis’s memory and legacy alive.

The title of his show refers to a Broadway musical “Mr. Wonderful” in 1956, attributed to Sammy's father and showcases his talents as a comedian, singer, instrumentalist and tap dancer. Now return to the 1960’s and 1970’s and discover how Sammy was an activist breaking down racial barriers all the while becoming a primary member of Frank Sinatra’s legendary Rat Pack as well as earning the coveted title “The Greatest Living Entertainer in the World.”

According to this Waterbury native, "I first developed 'A Night With Mr. Wonderful' back in 2011 to celebrate Sammy's unmatched musicianship, but over the years, the piece evolved into something much deeper. Sammy broke down doors in a divided America while giving audiences pure magic every night. Bringing his full story—the triumphs, the struggles, and the timeless joy of his music—to the stage is my way of keeping his extraordinary legacy alive.”

For tickets ($35 general admission and $50 VIP admission with dinner), go to tixfox.co/e/rTdZ3MTXbX.

Let Solomon Kee invite you to get up close and personal with his good friend Sammy as he takes the stage of Lyric Hall in a brilliant performance and tribute.

"THE ODD COUPLE" PAIRS HUMOROUSLY AT BRANFORD'S LEGACY THEATRE

Can a man who serves his poker buddies a choice of green or brown sandwiches with warm Coke find happiness with a man who trims the crust from his lightly toasted b.l.t. creations, accompanied by a cold beer? The answer is a Duncan Hines Unseal of Approval, but Oscar Madison and Felix Unger, both divorced friends, give it an Olympic try.

Oscar Madison is sloppy and scattered and wallows in a pigpen of an apartment, all eight rooms of it. Felix Unger is fastidious and organized and a fussy compulsive neatnik. What brings both men together under one roof is the genius of Neil Simon and his classic comedy “The Odd Couple.”

Delight in watching the Legacy Theatre of Branford bring this pigpen of humor to the stage, now extended until Sunday, October 11. Turn the clocks back to 1966 and sit down at the poker game where Felix Unger, immaculately portrayed, with buttoned down perfection, by Erik Bloomquist lands on the doorstep of his good friend Oscar Madison, comfortably and casually expressed in a teddy bear persona by Ben Pitts. When Felis announces his wife Frances has asked him to leave home permanently, Oscar proposes he move in to prevent Felix’s suicide threats from becoming real. Both men are clearly having fun with their on stage bantering and so does the audience.

What seems on the surface to be ideal, with Felix sharing 50% of the costs and 100% of the housekeeping duties, so Oscar can finally catch up on his child support payments, soon turns into an ugly war of Pledge and Lysol. All the “improvements” which Felix has wrought turn into “annoyances” for Oscar to find fault with and complain about and become reasons enough to drive each other crazy. When Oscar calls Felix’s ladle a spoon, it’s a cause for a duel at high noon.

The weekly poker game with Speed (Stephen Depasque), Murray (Neil Fuentes), Roy (Max Evans) and Vinnie (Dominic Paolillo) soon bites the dust, if there were any dust. The Pigeon sisters are adorably supportive in the hands of Penny Amara and Desi Amato and give the bachelors new material to argue about with delightful consequences and crying towels. Jamie Burnett’s apartment set is a great location for the domestic quarrels. Eric Santagata directs this fussing, fighting and feuding feast of fun.

For tickets ($41.50-66.50), call the Legacy Theatre, 128 Thimble Island, Branford at 203 -315-1901 or online at LegacyTheatreCT.org. Performances are Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Check in with Oscar and Felix before Felix has a nervous breakdown or Oscar kills him as they drive each other crazy in the name of brotherhood, bachelorhood and friendship.

ENTER THE COURTROOM WITH LONG WHARF'S NEW, POWERFUL "THE FORD/HILL PROJECT"

Like a verbal fisticuffs with words instead of boxing gloves, “The Ford/Hill Project” is a confrontation that can literally and figuratively knock you off your feet. The energy and emotion of MaYaa Boateng’s Anita Hill and Christina Kirk’s Christine Blasey Ford are powerful messengers as these two brave women give up their private lives to go pubic to right a wrong before decisions are put into law.

In a new theatrical production created by Elizabeth Marvel and Lee Sunday Evans, and directed by Lee Sunday Evans, Long Wharf Theatre is presenting a unique opportunity to witness the Supreme Court nominations for approval of Amara James Aja’s Clarence Thomas and Roderick Hill’s Brett Cavanaugh with performances September 19-20 at Quinnipiac University Theater and September 25-27 at Southern CT State University’s Garner Recital Hall. in collaboration with Waterwell and in partnership with Quinnipic University, this documentary also includes a talk back and a Decompression Space, both with staffed mental health experts for the audience’s well being directly after the performance. This coveted space for these austere conversations are now open to you to hear the exact testimonies, told as an interplay of words by all the participants, recreating the tensions and antagonisms that occurred thirty years apart, as two women stood tall to accuse in court the nominees and expose their past behavior that disqualified them for public office on the highest court in the land.

Just like a preacher at a wedding could announce “if you have any reason why these two should not be wed, speak now,” Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford stood up to state their personal cases, refusing to stay silent without giving their testimony. And they were both vilified for their courage as Brett Cavanaugh and Clarence Thomas were approved, their damaging pasts ignored.

Come yourself and judge their credibility, and hear Clarence Thomas call them “lies” and a “travesty” as he denied any charges of sexual harassment, never threatening her job while Brett Cavanaugh confessed to liking his beer but not to almost raping Christine at a party where she feared for her life. Cavanaugh accused her of being false in one thing and false in everything. He called her “evil.” To these men, their accusers were creating a circus, a lynching, a charade, an unethical sham.

For the women, they were righting a wrong, coming forward to encourage other women to do the same, to acknowledge the most difficult experiences of their lives, even if it meant risking their own dignity. These women were pioneers, exposing their personal pain in a privileged world of white powerful men, to inspire the “Me, Too” movement and expose the Jeffrey Epsteins of this world. Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford were noble, calling out the “office wolves” by revealing their personal traumatic experiences.

For tickets ($55, college student $15, K-12 free, limited Pay What You Can ), call the box office at 203-693-1486 or online at longwharf.org.

Stand up and be counted, stand up and vote. Do not stay silent and help to change the world.

WORLD PREMIERE OF "THE SNOW GOOSE" SOARS MAGNIFICENTLY INTO GOODSPEED MUSICALS

If you love animals and musicals, prepare to be amazed by Goodspeed Musicals' latest gift to the theatrical community, a tavern yarn set in England just prior to World War II. Based on a novella by Paul Gallico penned in 1941, “The Snow Goose” tells the bittersweet story of a young girl, a teen named Frith, sensitively portrayed by Ashlyn Maddox, who finds a wounded snow goose imaginatively created by master puppeteer Leah Hofmann and her two “wing" friends. It soars with spirit until Sunday, October 18 and it should not be missed.

Despite her friends Wilf (Charlie Webb), Clara (Ayanna Nicole Thomas) and Farley (Gabriel Marcus Omlor), Frith turns to a disabled and feared artist Philip who lives alone in a lighthouse, cloaked in his own loneliness, and called a freak and a monster by the villagers. Philip, a friendless recluse Eric Raise, initially refuses Frith’s request for help to heal the wounded goose. Ultimately the incredible goose honks her way into his long frozen heart.

The pair name the goose Princess and proceed to heal her while they heal themselves. Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie have created a beautiful story of the redemptive qualities of kindness, friendship and love that is guaranteed to touch your heart. Sam Sherwood is the Bard, the troubadour who sings their story while Amy Hillner Larsen, Ally Bonino and David Aron Damane play Frith’s concerned guardian, choral leader and another villager.

As Princess returns every year from Canada to England’s shores, this folk tale becomes increasingly involving, with their relationship at stake in the midst of an active conflict: war. Marshall Pailet directs this musical with energy and emotion, with choreography by Misha Shields and musical direction by Adam Souza. This project was an act of love for Goodspeed Musical’s Artistic Director Donna Lynn Hilton who oversaw each feather and honk with concern and care, to make this world premiere so special.

For tickets ($35-103), call Goodspeed Musicals, 6 Main Street, East Haddam at 860-873-8668 or online at goodspeed.org. Performances are Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.,Thursday at 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. and 6:30 p.m.

“The Snow Goose” is an unforgettable theatrical triumph. It will fly into your heart and soar into infinity with the power of friendship and love and forgiveness. Learn bravery with each wonderful honk of the snow goose.

SOAR TO SHARON FOR A REDEMPTIVE MUSICAL "COME FROM AWAY"

Welcome to the Rock! Greetings from Gander, Newfoundland, where the river meets the sea, on the edge of the world, at the tip of the North Atlantic. Twenty five years ago, this remote area of Canada, on the ninth day of September, in the year 2001, experienced a strange and frightening peculiarity, when 38 planes from all over the globe landed without ceremony or explanation or apparent cause, with almost 7000 passengers, and surprised the villagers who were clearly not expecting them.

How these Canadians opened their homes and hearts is the story told as a powerful musical in “Come From Away,” a magnificent and redemptive true tale by husband and wife David Hein and Irene Sankoff on the tenth anniversary of its momentous terrorist occurrence. The time around the focus and attention is fixated on five days and some of the worst events in our country’s history, the destruction of towering buildings in New York City and government structures in Washington, D. C. They recorded the amazing story of a humanitarian miracle. Gander had long since been abandoned as planes no longer needed to stop there to refuel.

Without warning or preparation, the good citizens of this small town rushed to help those strangers, providing baby formula, dog food, pillows and blankets, casseroles, a place to sleep and comfort before the tragedy was even revealed. Run to the Sharon Playhouse for a marvelous musical that captures the generosity of this small community until Sunday, September 27. The planes were originally diverted for fear some were also part of the terrorist plot, like the plane that crashed in a Pennsylvania forest. The 11,000 citizens of Gander didn’t stop to ask questions. The striking bus drivers immediately returned to work to ferry the passengers around town. Twelve actors and seven musicians will take you on the journey of generosity, playing the passengers, pilots and people of Gander to musically illustrate the way good folks can respond with hope in the midst of devastating tragedy.

The wonderful cast includes Max Bennett-Parker, Jeffrey Konowitch, Erin Lindsey Krom, Meagan Lewis-Michelson, Cherish Love, Willie Marte, Michael F. McGuirk, Tracy Liz Miller, Sophie Nassiri, Chelsie Nectow, Ricky Oliver and Cameron Sirian. The orchestra led by Eric Thomas Johnson includes Cat Saxofone, Jane Bearden, Steve Siktberg, Mike Lee, Eric Wagner, and Alec Sisco.

Come visit the dog catcher, the mayor, the chief of police, the first female pilot to command a major airline jumbo jet, a woman who fears her fireman son has been lost in the downing of the World Trade Center, a gay couple searching for acceptance, two strangers who find each other and romance and so much more.This is a musical happening, brimming with spirit and patriotism, a tribute to faith and resilience, a gift of compassion in the face of tremendous loss. This wonderful production is directed by Hunter Foster, with energetic choreography by Krystyna Resavy.

For tickets ($25-55), call the Sharon Playhouse, 49 Amenia Road, Sharon at 860-364-SHOW or online at SharonPlayhousel.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.

This is not a show to be missed. If nothing else, it will restore your faith in the innate goodness of neighbors to reach out and hug you with friendship and love.

HEARTFELT "HARMONY" WITH MUSICAL MESSAGE AT MUSIC THEATRE OF CT

The world does not easily learn the lessons of history and we are often doomed to repeat our mistakes and to not see the realities of what is happening right around us. The signs of evil are evident and we close our eyes to the danger. A new musical with an original score by Barry Manilow and book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman is making its Connecticut Professional Regional Premiere at Norwalk’s intimate Music Theatre of Connecticut in “Harmony" until Sunday, September 27 and it is a powerful and majestic true tale and message we all need to heed as well as enjoy. it has been called “impossible to forget.”

Two Rabbis tell the story, the younger an idealistic Constantine Pappas and the elder a tested and true Frank Mastrone. And what a story it is. It is the late 1920s Berlin and a musical genius named Harry (Jeff Raab) wants to create a unique band like one he admired in America and so he held auditions. He was fortunate to find a doctor who couldn’t stomach blood named Erich ( Cameron Edris), a honky tonk piano player named Irwin who preferred the moniker Chopin (Michael Alonzo), a guy with a resume as a bass comic opera star Bobby (Dominic Pagliaro), an unhappy waiter ready for a challenge Lesh (Christian Libonati) and, finally, Joseph a cantor’s son from Poland studying to be a Rabbi (Constantine Pappas). These six song and dance men soon became "hotter than horseradish.” They were three Jews and three Gentiles, one of whom fell in love with a Jewish activist Ruthie (Michelle Pauker). Calling themselves The Comedian Harmonists, their amazing sound and humor and personalities soon made them an international sensation, making films, touring Europe and even performing at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Their allegiance to their homeland of Germany made them immune to the threatening echoes to their lives. The Rabbi fell in love with Mary (Jazmin Gorsline) who promised to convert to Judaism when they married and Chopin who gave his heart to Ruth. The rise and control of the Nazis shook their world and caused them to question all that they held dear. Suddenly their world was uninviting and filled with dangers. Songs like “And What Do You See?.” and “Every Single Day” took on new meaning as change reared its ugly head and a tune like “This Is Our Time” temporarily rallied their group. The humor of their international conflict surfaced in “Your Son Is Becoming a Singer!” One moment the singers are considered an asset to the Nazi cause as “ambassadors” and the next moment they are called traitors. Are they able to escape before they are arrested, interrogated, punished and deported?

Kevin Connors directs this involving true story that will grab your heart and not let go. Others in this excellent cast include Helen Clare, Quinlyn Kessler, Matt Mancuso, Robert Peterpaul, and Joseph Torello. For years, decades, their story was lost but now you have the incredible opportunity to help bring it into the light and bathe in its illumination again. Don’t miss this chance to grab hope and the love and friendship these men exemplify. For tickets ($51-74 plus fees), call Music Theatre of CT, route 1, 509 Westport Avenue, Norwalk at 203-454-3883 or online at admin@musictheatreofct.com. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Let “Harmony" educate you about this amazing six man vocal sextet who despite one of the darkest periods in the world’s history managed to make their music illuminate the darkness like “Stars In The Night."

WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE OFFERS ONE DAY TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES

The Fab Six is gathering for one night only, Thursday, September 10 at 7 p.m., to pay tribute and salute the music, iconic and incredible, of the Fab Four at Westport Country Playhouse. Get ready for a fun evening of song for Come Together: The Playhouse Sings the Beatles! as their classic tunes light up the stage and you can be there to help them sing up a storm.

Heading the celebratory team is Music Director Drew Wutke leading a sensational live band and some of the playhouse’s top notch favorite performers: Matt DeAngelis, Apollo Levine, Carla R. Stewart, KJ Hipppensteel, and Brooke Jacob. Tunes like “Help!.” ”I Want to Hold Your Hand,” ‘Hey, Jude,” "Something,” and “Let It Be” will fill the air with nostalgic joy, plus so many more memorable hits. In addition to being a well respected musical director, Drew Wutke is a vocal coach and piano accompanist and one of New York’s most in-demand multidisciplinary artists who plays and directs music all over the world.

The Fab Four, the leaders of the “British Invasion,” and The Lads from Liverpool are the epitome of boy bands, even though they had a lot of trouble settling on what to call themselves. In a relatively short time, they tried out The Quarrymen (named after a school two attended), Johnny and the Moon Dogs, Long John and the Silver Beetles, The Black Jacks Skiffle Group (for one week), The Nerk Twins (for two days), The Beat Brothers, The Beatals, The Silver Beats, finally settling on The Beatles, as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets.

Those four lucky and plucky lads from Liverpool are legendary in the world of rock and roll. From the moment John, Paul, George and Ringo took up their guitars and drums, it was magic. Ed Sullivan introduced this famous quartet to the United States on his really big television show and the rest, as they say, is musical history.

Don’t miss this grand opportunity to relive the music that moves mountains of music fans. Maybe your personal favorites like “Yesterday,” “Penny Lane.” “All My Lovin’,” “A Hard Day’s Night.” and "We All Live in a Yellow Submarine” will be on the play list.

For tickets ($50, 55, and 65), call the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport at 203-227-4177 or online at WESTPORTPLAYHOUSE.ORG.

If you’re a Beatlemania fan, then run right over to the Playhouse’s wonderful tribute to those popular performers and icons of rock and roll royalty.

JOHN DENVER TRIBUTE BY TED VIGIL SOARS MUSICALLY AT SEVEN ANGELS THEATRE

When Henry John Deutshendorf Jr. was eleven years old, he received a gift from his grandmother that determined his destiny. His grandmother’s guitar led him to pursue his love of singing by encouraging him to join a boys’ choir and to take guitar lessons. If his grandparent had presented him with a basketball or a set of golf clubs, how different he and his future might have become.

When a career in music presented itself, Henry John Deutshendorf Jr. was advised to change his name because it was too long for a marquee. Heeding that thought, he changed his moniker to the beautiful capitol of his favorite state and became John Denver. If his music and story are important to you, mosey on over to the Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury for two performances on Saturday, August 29 and Sunday, August 30 for the rich and inspiring tribute to John Denver created by Ted Vigil for your listening pleasure.

John Denver has been called “among the most beloved entertainers of his era.” He brought a special signature to folk music, recording almost 300 songs, about 200 of which he wrote himself. Professionally, he was a gifted American songwriter, singer, guitarist, actor, activist and humanitarian, focusing his efforts on world hunger and the environment. Calling Colorado his home for much of his life, in 1974 he was named poet laureate of the state.

An unhappy childhood as part of a military family that relocated frequently, his stern father did not encourage his musical aspirations. Hits like “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “Take Me Home Country Roads,” “Rocky Mountain High,” “Thank God I’m a Country Boy, “Annie’s Song,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders” and “Calypso,” mark some of his musical genius.

Seven Angels will present this special tribute with singer, songwriter and tribute artist Ted Vigil. Vigil, who looks and sounds like John Denver, has performed with Denver’s lead guitarist Steve Wiesberg who stated “Apparently the audience thinks they all look and sound like John. I don’t see it. I see it with Ted. A very strong physical resemblance…Uncanny!

Ted Vigil was born in Seattle and raised in the Olympia area. Performing since the age of ten, he has competed in talent contests nationally, been recognizing for how amazingingly he looks and sounds like his musical icon, cruised the Caribbean as his hero, played twice for the John Denver fundraiser “Windstar Foundation” in Aspen, Colorado and won a bucket full of country western accolades.

For tickets ($30 and up), call Seven Angels Theatre, Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at SevenAngelsTheatre.org.

John Denver died in a plane crash, in a light plane he had recently purchased and was piloting in 1997 at the age of 53. Let Ted Vigil “convince you that John Denver never died! His look and sounds," according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “ are scary!” Scary good that is! Since 2006 Ted Vigil has paid tribute and faithfully embodied John Denver in a unique and sentimental singalong that audiences cherish. Thank God he’s a Country Boy!

COME LEARN THE LESSONS OF HOPE, HEART AND HUMANITY OF "COME FROM AWAY" AT IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE

The world changed forever on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Today 25 years later the effects of that tragic day are still echoing in our history. it is our duty and responsibility to remember that day and learn the lessons it taught us. The Ivoryton Playhouse is giving us that unique opportunity and I urge you to take advantage of this gift by attending a performance of "Come From Away."

This incredible musical focuses its attention on five days of our past and some of the worst events in our country’s history, the destruction of towering buildings in New York City and government structures in Washington, D. C. on 9/11/2001. Ten years later husband and wife David Hein and Irene Sankoff traveled to Gander, Newfoundland to record the amazing story of a humanitarian miracle. Without warning on that fateful day, 38 planes from all over the world were diverted to Gander, once a major stop for refueling for international flights, but long since abandoned as planes no longer needed to stop for more gas.

The almost 6700 passengers on the planes, the pilots and the people of Gander had no idea what was happening. Without warning or preparation, the good citizens of the small town rushed to open their homes and hearts to those strangers, providing baby formula, dog food, pillows and blankets, casseroles, a place to sleep and comfort before the tragedy was even revealed.

Run to the Ivoryton Playhouse for a marvelous musical that captures the generosity of this small community of Canadians until Sunday, September 6 as “Come From Away” soars on magical wings into Connecticut.

The planes were originally diverted for fear some were also part of the terrorist plot, like the plane that crashed in a Pennsylvania forest. The 11,000 citizens of Gander didn’t stop to ask questions. The striking bus drivers immediately returned to work to ferry the passengers around town. Twelve incredible actors-Mimi Bessette, Patrick Steven Bovo, Dana Costello, Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin, Joseph Dellger, Stacia Fernandez, Miles Hanna, Logan Marks, Jason Ivan Rodriguez, Autumn Eliza Sheffy, Billy Clark Taylor and Vicki Wepler- and eight inspired musicians-Angie Benson, Mark Gehret, Israel Corona, Austin Tewksbury, Dakota Singerline, Tara McGurk, Em Squatrito and Sam Moffet- will take you on the journey of generosity, playing the passengers, pilots and people of Gander to musically illustrate the way good folks can respond with hope in the midst of devastating tragedy.

Come visit the dog catcher, the mayor, the chief of police, the first female pilot to command a major airline jumbo jet, a woman who fears her fireman son has been lost in the downing of the World Trade Center, a gay couple searching for acceptance, two strangers who find each other and romance and so much more.

This is a musical happening, brimming with spirit and patriotism, a tribute to faith and resilience, a gift of compassion in the face of tremendous loss. I was fortunate enough to see the birth of “Come From Away” for the first time at the Goodspeed’s Festival of New Musicals when the initial staged reading took place and also attend the Broadway production the day Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brought 500 of his people to see the show in New York on Canada’s 150th birthday.

Stirring songs like “WELCOME TO THE ROCK,” “ON THE EDGE,” “ME AND THE SKY,” and “38 PLANES” embrace the action. Todd L. Underwood beautifully directs and choreographs this amazing true tale. For tickets ($65, seniors $60, students $25), call the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at ivorytonplayhouse.org.

This is not a show to be missed. If nothing else, it will restore your faith in the innate goodness of neighbors to reach out and hug you with friendship and love.

ENTER THE SOUTHERN CHARM OF "OLD OAK RIDGE" WITH SOUND AND STAGE THEATER COMPANY

For a quartet of years, The Sound and Stage Theater Company, a non-profit enterprise, has taken a unique turn in their entertainment offerings: they have written their shows in house in a totally original style. Dawn Taubl takes full credit for the innovative writing and direction not to mention choreography while Carol Taubl is responsible for the inspired music and lyrics and what a team they make. Put on your dancing shoes because tonight Sunday, August 9 at 7 p.m., at Congregation B’Nai Jacob in Woodbridge, their large cast of teens and adults is prepared to razzle dazzle you with a musical comedy “Old Oak Ridge.” that will delight you in a delicious bittersweet way.

Prepare yourself for a visit to Old Oak Ridge, a Southern community about to celebrate two major events for their town: the 350th Birthday of the town and the 500th Anniversary of a sacred and beloved angel oak tree. At the heart this is a play about the importance of family, the roots you plant in your home town and why the environment needs to be protected. Its the 1950’s in a fictional South Carolina locale where everybody knows your name and your business and secrets have a hard time surviving among the gossip grapevine.

Sunny and sweet voiced Jessica Coppola’s Daisy Dawson takes a few days off from the College of Charleston to attend the festival with her mother Ginny (Kim Adzigian) and her grandpa Hank (Mark Hall). While mom is supportive of the big doings and enthusiastically involved in the poodle skirts being sewed for the sock hop and preparing the food fixings, grandpa seems to want to sleep until the party is over.

Recording all the excitement is a news team led by Sam Taubl’s Chuck Sterling and his crew Scout (Nicole Scout) and Jackson (Adam Hall). Scout has her own agenda for being in town: to find her birth mother and establish her own history. Other townsfolk’s involved actively in the tale are the Sheriff (Hannah Bellows). the mayor (Jamin Mucherino). the environmentalist Evie (CC Hayden) the researcher and helper Babs (Tina Marie Manus), the Pastor (Joanna Bair) and Bobby (Jeremiah Taubl).

Others in the energetic cast include Jenna LaBranche, Tommy Francese, Eli Blatchley, Elizabeth Wilkinson, Hannah Lorenzo, Rosemary Wilkinson, Ivy Somma, Grace McAnnally-Linz, Juliana Vaiuso, Kathryn Mucherino, Alexa Charney, Thomas Sicignano, Melissa Lewis and Laura Regan.

Before the queens of the sock hop are crowned, there are sneaky plots, plans to take the town’s history, efforts to be environmentally conscious, a collection of acorns with letters on them, a line of young men who want to date Daisy, the search for Scout’s birth mother, a lot of gossip that may or may not be true, community secrets just aching to be revealed, and a storm the night before the festival that almost cancels everything.

Songs like “Where They Know My Name,” “Oak Ridge Grapevine,” “Sunset Shimmy,” “Roots Deeper than the River,” “Gunnin’ for the Truth,” and “Seedlings Left to Grow” keep the plot moving rhythmically along. Tickets for tonight are $30 at the door. The theater is also supporting “Tree Angels for Haiti” by planting 256,000+ trees on the island of Haiti as well as donating 15,200+ supplies to help the environment.

Travel down South for a sweet, funny and emotional visit with the Dawson family and all their many friends, to help them preserve their roots, their branches, their wings and their legacy.

ENTER DANGEROUS TERRITORY WITH "THE CANNIBALS OF MCGOWER COUNTY"

Scavengers swoop in quickly to abandoned and neglected buildings to find unique objects to either enhance their own homes or discover items they can sell for a profit. They time their hunts to arrive and depart with great haste, in and out in different locations, discovering trays of salt and pepper shakers and pink wall piggy hangers with great delight.

To enter the unusual ghost town world of two long time scavengers, take your courage and your big garbage bags to TheaterWorks Hartford’s world premiere of Drew Larimore’s “The Cannibals of McGower County” until Sunday, August 30. Prepare for a bizarre encounter with Annalee Jefferies’s Lindalyn and Constance Shulman’s Viola that will keep you unsettled and puzzled as the drama twists and turns with explosions and surprises.

Lindalyn and Viola are having a wonderful time exploring and hunting for treasures when they alarmingly realize, to their dismay, that they are no longer alone at the west Texas barbecue restaurant. A young couple Edward Hoke’s Blaze and Gus Birney’s Sarah Nell, clearly in the early stages of love, appear. He has just bought the ghost town, including the long closed restaurant and he is exuberant about his new love for Sarah Nell and the prospect of a promise filled future together. He even has a diamond engagement ring to prove his good intentions.

What could happen when these two diverse sets of competitors collide? Will they respect their differences or mightily clash in disastrous ways? Jen Wineman directs this wild and wooly encounter that not everybody survives. For tickets ($43-78), call TheaterWorks Hartford, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford at 860-527-7838 or online at twhartford.org. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m., with additional shows Saturday, August 22 at noon and 4 p.m. and Thursday, August 27 at 1 p.m.

Take a volatile adventure with unexpected consequences that may just shock your sensibilities. Secrets long buried are sure to be revealed in this macabre tradition of Southern Gothic.

MUSIC THEATRE OF CT OFFERS EXCITING READINGS AND A ONE WOMAN SHOW

Music Theatre of CT is opening its doors to offer exciting readings by local CT playwrights, performed by Broadway and regional actors. So far Stuart Brown has offered an involving mystery, “Conduct Unbecoming.” directed by Jim Schilling about five college faculty members and their new leader on a retreat on a remote island when one participant mysteriously dies. The second reading was by Jack Rushen, “Taming the Lion,” directed by Kevin Connors, a true story about the explosive and controlling relationship between the first openly gay actor, William Haines, in the late 1930’s and M.G M. mogul Louis B. Mayer.

The third installment, coming Tuesday, August 11 at 7:30 p.m. is “36.” the debut novel by Kate Katcher, now a play directed by Deb Levy that tells the story of the Weiss family, orchestrated by the matriarch Maxine to the best of her ability. Her daughter Shellie has an unusual relationship with mom that is both challenging and intense. Shellie is back in Brooklyn with news that she is reluctant to tell, afraid to hear her mother’s reaction and rightly so.

It is from her Bubby, the grandmother of the Weiss family that we learn the origin of the play’s title: the 36 people, the Lamed Vav, the Jewish people who in times of crisis can be consulted for aid or simply for conversation. Bubby sincerely believes her husband Sheppie was one of the blessed 36. It was his job not to offer advice but to “justify the existence of mankind in the eyes of God.” These 36 suffer in silence for the rest of the world. Bubby also believes her daughter Maxine is continuing her husband’s responsibilities to be the heart of the world and absorb its misery.

Bubby’s husband as a boy fled his war torn homeland and was eventually smuggled to America and used his artistry as a baker to make a living. He died before Shellie’s younger sister Shira who was named for him was born. Shira is intellectually challenged but has an immense capacity for caring and empathy. This family struggles to handle the joys and troubles that come to their door, all the ups and downs that ultimately bring them closer together, all while questioning their resilience and faith.

Kate Katcher creates a family you will want to embrace and, perhaps, make your own. Jewish customs are woven into the intimate tapestry of the Weiss household as they determine who will be the next Lamed Vav to save the world. Let her welcome you into her intimate realm as if you are one of the many who call Maxine on the telephone to help them cope with a troubling question in their lives. Enjoy the sensitive and sassy, heartfelt and humorous journey with the interesting Weiss family created by the wonderfully colorful and imaginative mind of Kate Katcher. Tickets are $28.

Next up is a personal one woman show by Randye Kaye about her life journey on Saturday, August 15 at 8 p.m., “Cracks and All: A Perfectly Imperfect Life” as part of the Hot Summer Nights series. Ms. Kaye write plays, does radio work, teaches workshops on mental health, voiceover actor, humorist, improv and stage actor, podcast host, writer, motivational speaker, author, drama teacher, and director. Her books include Happier Made Simple: Choose Your Words Change Your Life, and Ben Behind the Voices: One Family’s Journey From the Chaos of Schizophrenia to Hope. She is also the host of WSHU’s All Things Considered and does a podcast Good at Heart. Because of her family history she is instrumental in leading a free eight week course on mental health and family issues with emphasis on education support and connection. Part of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the free course relies on “Search,” support, education, acceptance, respect, communication skills and hope and humor. For more information, email www.nami.org.

Clearly Randye does not want any person to feel alone in their journey. She is also one of 3 Moms in the Trenches, who each have a child with schizophrenia and have each written a book about the experience. Her show will touch on her 43 year old son who has battled mental illness since his teens and how with the right outlook ordinary things can appear as miracles. Her mission is to change pain to purpose and refusing to bow to despair. For tickets ($45 plus fees), call MTC, 509 Westport Avenue, Norwalk at 203- 454-3883 or online at admin@musictheatreofct.com.

Let Kate Katcher and Randye Kaye provide stimulating evenings of revealing family entertainment. You will be a more knowledgable person for entering their remarkable worlds.

CENTER STAGE THEATRE TAKES YOU UNDER THE SEA WITH SPONGEBOB

A unique musical adventure awaits you if you are daring enough to travel under the sea to the fictional town of Bikini Bottom and make the acquaintance of one character known as SpongeBob SquarePants, delightfully created with courage by Harry Rosenay. Do not be dismayed that he resembles a square kitchen sponge as that’s just part of his charm. He lives in a pineapple house, in a coral reef, with nearby best friends Patrick Star,(Jack Schafler), his neighbor Squidward Tentacles (Isaac Motes) and Sandy Cheeks (Taylor Tunstall).

Conceived and directed by Tina Landau, with book by Kyle Jarrow, orchestrations by Tom Kitt, choreography by Christopher Gattelli and songs by a number of composers, “SpongeBob SquarePants The Broadway Musical” will be making its spectacular stop at Shelton’s Center Stage Theatre by theYouth CONNection, with students from ages 14 to 23, until Sunday, August 2 and the whole family is invited.

Originally a highly successful animated series on Nickelodeon, it has now garnered 12 Tony Award nominations. Filled with sponges, squid, starfish, snails and sardines, it quickly plunges the residents of Bikini Bottom into panic mode. A nearby volcano at Mount Humongous will soon erupt and the town will be destroyed.

The evil doers in town, the married couple Sheldon Plankton (Ian Rosenay) and Karen the Computer (Anna Edwards) have a plan to talk the citizens into entering their escape pod, but it’s really a plot to hypnotize the unsuspected to like the chum they serve at their restaurant the Chum Bucket. Their rival restaurant the Krusty Krab would be devastated. A fundraising concert is planned to help the cause.

While being only a sponge, the inventive SpongeBob has a plan of his own to save the town, calling on his friendship with Patrick and Sandy to help. Difficulties ensue and the townspeople are soon conflicted about whom to believe and to follow. Loyalties are tested and disaster seems inevitable. Come discover for yourself if Bikini Bottom is doomed to disappear forever. A giant cast of enthusiastic kids keeps the high energy jumping all the way to the top of the menacing volcano. Kudos to co-director Rob Esposito working with co-director Katie Sedlock who also works overtime as choreographer and costumer.

For tickets ($22-42), call the Center Stage Theatre, 54 Grove Street, Shelton at 203-225-6079- or online at centerstageshelton.org or 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.

Can a lowly simple sponge find the courage to save his home and his friends and prove his bravery? Grab a crab, an octopus or a snail and help to save the day, turning the tide from “No Control” to “Hero Is My Middle Name” to “Best Day Ever.”

WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE SALUTES AGATHA CHRISTIE

Playing the game of Clue with Professor Plum in the dining room with a candlestick will in no way prepare you for a visit to the Westport Country Playhouse for the hundredth anniversary of Agatha Christie’s “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.” Until Saturday, August 1, the story called her masterpiece will be filled with likely murder suspects, each hiding secrets and concealing motives. Since 1926, her crime novel has enjoyed being named in fifth place by the Crime Writers Association in Britain in a list of The Top Crime Novels of All Time, and has also been the first sound film in 1931, a radio play in 1939, an even longer radio play in 1987, a television play in 2000, and a graphic novel in Japan in 2018. Now sit back and thoroughly enjoy Artistic Director Mark Shanahan’s new adaptation of the original where you are challenged to find the killer. Evaluating clues and debating the possibilities is half the fun of the game.

The story’s narrator Dr. James Sheppard, a genial and helpful John Rapson, introduces the first victim, a Mrs. Ferrars, who committed suicide over her guilt at killing her abusive husband a year earlier. She is a rich widow in the English country village of King’s Abbot and engaged to marry Roger Ackroyd, Mark Silence, and this is all according to the milkman who shared all the gossip with Dr. Sheppard’s unmarried sister, a caring Erin Noel Grennan’s Caroline. Also quickly revealed is that someone has had knowledge of her crime and has been blackmailing her.

The good doctor is soon summoned to the mansion of his friend Roger Ackroyd, a wealthy widower and owner of a nearby estate. Roger urgently wants to speak to him, but before he can, Roger is found with an antique dagger in his neck. When the local constable arrive, Allen Gilmore’s Inspector Raglan, a number of suspects have gathered to exclaim over the latest crime. They include Major Blunt, Richard R. Henry, Roger's niece Flora, Shereen Ahmed, Flora’s fiancee Ralph Paton, Joe Delafield, Flora’s mother Gertrude, Karen Ziemba, Roger’s secretary Helen, Nicole Shalhoub, Roger’s maid Ursula, Katy Tang, and, of course, the Butler, Parker, Tom Hewitt. Summoned to help solve the crime is also the famed, newly retired Anthony Cochrane’s Hercule Poirot. There are no end of suspects fully capable of being both blackmailer and murderer, all with assorted motives and numerous secrets they each are in no hurry to reveal.

Splashes of humor lighten the interrogations that ensue, as an inquest is promised, other villagers are questioned as to their whereabouts, and some red herrings are scattered. At intermission, it is a lot of fun to speculate on who the responsible party might be or if there could be a pair of murderers at work. The audience is encouraged to use their “little grey cells” in determining who had opportunity and who had a need for money, a desire for lust, or a seeking for revenge. Mark Shanahan directs this involving drama on a stylishly designed set by Charlie Corcoran.

For tickets ($60-90), call the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport at 203-227-4177 or online at 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., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Come test your detective skills on what Mark Shanahan calls his adaptation, “a labor of love,” one that stays mostly faithful to the original and be sure not to give away the name of the perpetrator when you laud his literary efforts.

MAGICAL MUSICAL "MATILDA" COMES TO NEW CANAAN THANKS TO STONC

The Summer Theatre of New Canaan has a special treat for children of all ages that is filled with music and mystery, magic and meanies, that will keep you on the edge of your seat at the air conditioned New Canaan High School on 11 Farm Road until Sunday, July 26 in New Canaan.

Imagine how Harry Potter must have felt being brought up by family members who were muggles and not understanding or compatible with his magical tendencies. Now think of a clever little girl, known for her creative and brilliant ways, who is being raised by less than intelligent caregivers. Her dad is a car salesman with all the attendant challenges in the honesty department while her mother is an amateur ballroom dancer who wants to be valued for her looks and dancing skills rather than her mind.

Come meet Matilda, a precocious and precious Charlotte Surak and the enterprising star of “Matilda the Musical,” created from a story by Roald Dahl and being brought to prominent life by Tim Minchin, music and lyrics, book by Dennis Kelly, and additional lyrics by Chris Nightingale, three weeks only.

At the age of five, Matilda has her hands full at home dealing with her parents, Harry and Zinnia Wormwood, (Christopher Hudson Myers and Rachel MacIsaac Myers), who are less than encouraging. They feel that their daughter is “batty” and do little to feed her intellect. At school, at Crunchem Hall, Matilda continues to fight the establishment as Agatha Trunchbull (Meghan Louise Taylor) is the headmistress from H-E- Double Hockey Sticks and gives tyrants and bullies a bad name.

Fortunately, Matilda finds allies who appreciate her in her meek but supportive kindergarten teacher, Miss Honey, (Mary McNulty) and Mrs. Phelps, (Keisha T. Fraser) the helpful librarian, who provides reading challenges and loves Matilda’s incredible stories. Here is a little girl who cut her imagination on Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling and is enamored by Will Shakespeare.

To help herself get along, Matilda is not adverse to using a little trickery to get the results she desires, like waking up her parents to their neglect of her needs. She also imagines an elaborate story of two famed acrobatics (Hannah Risner and Miguel-Andres Garcia) who can’t have children and the tragedy they experience. Matilda mischievously puts glue on her father’s hat so it won’t come off, gets blamed for eating a chocolate cake desired by the headmistress even though it was devoured by a fellow student Bruce (Jack Ranieri) and helps all the revolting students like Lavender (Valentina Miller) when a bug appears mysteriously in Miss Trunchbull’s water glass.

Her greatest triumph, however, is her defeat of the headmistress, who dismisses her students as “shriveled losers.” Come see how Matilda puts her properly in her place, because even the nicest child sometimes has to be “a little bit naughty.” Songs like “When I Grow Up,” “Naughty” and “Revolting Children” underscore Matilda’s path to happiness.

For tickets ($29-$94), call Simmer theatre of New Canaan at 203-966-4634 or online at stoncl.org. Performances are Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Allegra Libonati directs this exciting tale with skill and sensitivity.

Take a seat at your school desk with your plaid book bag, make some paper airplanes and spitballs and prepare to learn some important lessons about life, taught by a special child with telekinetic powers and her slightly revolting but enthusiastic friends.

HOLD ON FOR "THE WILD PARTY" AT PLAYHOUSE ON PARK

The Jazz Age is alive and well,if by well you mean atuffed with debauchery and exhaustive energy. It’s out of control, challenging, ablaze with madness and on fire with action. When you hear the words party and orgy, you don’t automatically think the two are synonymous, but tempers can explode and secrets can escape and emotions can be bombshells ready to accidentally ignite the night. West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park is sending out invitations to an event you won’t soon forget. Until Sunday, August 16, you are invited to “The Wild Party” with book, music. and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, based on the poem by Joseph Moncure March and unforgettable is a mild reaction for what you will experience.

The vaudeville performers Queenie, a sleek Mollie Downes, and Burrs,a searching and unsatisfied Trevor Bunce, crave a little excitement in their relationship and decide throwing a party is a wonderful idea to inject excitement into what has become routine and stale. This anything goes event opens the door to more danger then they ever could have anticipated as their Manhattan apartment is filled with provocative people determined to let their inhibitions evaporate and have a wonderful wild time. The glamour of the Jazz Age exudes magical music and offers temptations that are quickly grabbed with naked abandonment. Queenie and Burrs are totally unprepared for what happens but that doesn’t stop them from freely participating in the sexual excitement.

You are invited, with an element of caution, to join in with the free for all party goers, Cory Simmons, Maddi Bowman, Kathleen Cameron, Caleb Barton, Lily Bucko, Elijah Martinez, Gavin Leahy, Julia Solecki, Joseph Rafael Davila, Kenneth Galm, Sophia Cantin and Kate Glennon, as they spiral in sordid and sensual ways, coupling in dozens of decadent pairings. Booze and drugs fuel the encounters as tempers escalate and threaten to raise the roof. All are seeking pleasure and an end to loneliness by whatever means necessary, no matter what the ultimate cost. Sean Harris directs this voyeuristic voyage, with challenging choreography by Darlene Zoller and stark musical direction by Colin Britt.

For tickets ($44-55), call Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford at 860-523-5900. ext. 10 or online at www.playhouseonpark.org. Performances are Tuesday to Sunday with a talkback after the Sunday, 2 p.m. matinee.

All the guests are seeking change and drama, love and an end to being alone, but will this wild party provide them the answers they crave?

SKIP DOWN THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD WITH DOROTHY AT THE LEGACY THEATRE IN BRANFORD

One of the most beloved classics of musical theater history is lighting up the Legacy Theater in Branford until Sunday, August 9th. The Yellow Brick Road is beckoning you to skip along with Dorothy and Toto as they adventure to the land of Oz to meet the Wizard.

If you’re looking somewhere over the rainbow for blue birds, you know you’re not in Kansas anymore but rather on a unique and special journey to see that wonderful Wizard of Oz. Put Toto in his basket, fasten your ruby slippers, grab the hands of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tinman and prepare to travel to that magical land, in the Emerald City, where the famous and powerful Oz resides.

L. Frank Baum penned the original book in 1900 and in 1939 MGM transformed it into a marvelous motion picture that has been viewed by billions. This mysterious magical show was written by Harlen Arlen and E. Y. Harburg, with background music by Herbert Stothart. Stuffed with Munchkins, good and wicked witches, flying monkeys, a tornado, a Scarecrow with no brain, a Tin man with no heart and a Lion with no courage, “The Wizard of Oz” follows the journey of Dorothy and her little dog Toto as they travel to the Emerald City in search of the great and mystical Oz. The magical movie is now celebrating over 80 years as a family classic. Called the “first totally American fantasy for children,” it will be sailing in a hot air balloon into the Legacy Theatre in Branford for a fabulous family experience courtesy of its wonderful cast.

Annika Jonker is precious and precocious as the adventurous Dorothy who puts her darling dog Toto (a debut role for Gus) into a basket and survives a tornado to land in a strange land called Oz. In the midst of the storm, the Wicked Witch is killed by Dorothy’s house and Glinda the Good Witch (Sarah Anne Hughes) awards Dorothy the prized ruby slippers. The Munchkins come to celebrate and before you can sing “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead” three times, Dorothy and Toto are skipping down the Yellow Brick Road to Oz, and meeting Charles Romano's Scarecrow who desperately wants a brain, Garrett Van Allen’s Tinman who is aching for a heart and Jimmy Donohue’s Lion who is petitioning bravely for courage. Also complicating their mission is Olivia Fenton in Kansas as the meanie Miss Gultch and the even meaner spirited Wicked Witch who can do without both Dorothy and her pup.

Their journey is fraught with dangers, obstacles in their path like poppies, snowmen, Witch’s Winkies and Jitterbugs. Helping the little girl who only wants to get home to Kansas are her Uncle Henry (Rick Fountain), Professor Marvel (Rod Brogan), and Glinda the Good Witch who is always on Dorothy’s side.

Other active cast members are Lucas Dylan, Sophia Coppola, Nicholas Futris, Fletcher Hooten, Sophia Nardone, Madeline Olexy, Jenna L, Ptachcinski, and Ron St. John III who sing and dance with joy. Kudos go to Eric Santagata for his choreography as well as Hannah Ryan who bravely served as director, Jimmy Johansmeyer for his colorful costuming, Ryan Howell for his versatile set, and David Marottollo for sparkling music direction.

For tickets ($41.50-66.50), call Legacy Theatre, Stony Creek, Branford at 203-315-1901 or online at LegacyTheatreCT.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 2 p.m.

Treat the children or grandchildren and yourself to one of the most enduring, charming and a little scary musicals of all time adapted by The Royal Shakespeare Company for your total enjoyment.

TIMELY PATRIOTIC MUSICAL "1776" SALUTES AMERICA AT IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE

Were it not for the patriotic fervor of John Adams, would we be a free and independent country today? To determine the answer to that historical question, seek the good counsel and wisdom found in Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards’ stirring musical “1776” being performed splendidly by the Ivoryton Playhouse until Sunday, July 26. Start waving your red, white and blue flags as you enter.

In the hot summer of that year in Philadelphia, representatives of each of the thirteen colonies are meeting at the Second Continental Congress to decide the fate of a fledgling nation. Should it surrender to the dictates of King George of England, the greatest protector on earth, or should it break free and declare its independence, even if that means war?

Heading the opposition, those who want to stay under England’s protective wing, is Pennsylvania’s John Dickinson, played with arrogant opinionated flair by Josh Powell. How to convince this handful of leaders to pit a tiny nation of two million against a mighty power five times its size is accomplished with the penning of Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Women in the guise of Adam's wife Abigail (Kelly McCormick) and Jefferson's spouse Martha (Emelie Latzer) add their good counsel to their husband’s cause.

Kenn McLaughlin directs this stirring and spirited footprint in our nation’s past with passion, on Scarlet Jacobs' sturdy congressional set, with a parade of colorful period costumes by Heidi Hanson and choreography by Robert Mintz. The music directed by Amy Jones adds a rainbow of sparks to the story, making for an evening of dramatic fever and comedic tension, all beautifully balanced and executed. Songs like “For God’s Sake, John, Sit Down,” “The Lees of Old Virginia,” “Cool, Cool Considerate Men,” and “ Molasses to Rum,” keep the spirit moving forward. Kudos to the entire cast that also includes John C. Baker, Michael Barra, Tommy Betz, Cory Candelet, Michael Cartwright, Ben Clouse, Sawyer Coffin, Christopher Conte, Galen Donovan, Joshua Steele Kelly, Kenneth Linsley, Kenneth Robert Marlo, Dino Nicandros, William Pazdziora, Elio Perez, Jason Pintar, Alex Stone, RebeccaTobin, Allan Zeller, Adelina Peretti and Nathan Szymanski.

For tickets ($65, seniors $60, students $25, with discount tickets available Thursday night if unsold) call the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at (860) 767-7318 or online at info@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., and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. , with matinees Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Many performances are already sold out.

Convince the “cream of the colonies” to vote yea to a rebellion to become the first to break free from a parent in the history of the world. March back in history with these patriotic souls who risked everything to write the Declaration of Independence to inform the world that England was our enemy that needed to be defeated. Controversial issues like slavery that the South wanted to preserve almost defeated the resolution. Luckily saner heads prevailed and democracy was preserved.

HAPPILY TAP YOUR WAY TO "CRAZY FOR YOU" AT GOODSPEED

If some of your idols are legendary tap dancing stars like Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell and Sammy Davis Jr., have I got a spectacular show for you. Versatile foot steppers like Gene Kelly and Ginger Rogers were sensational on the dance floor during Hollywood’s GoldenAge and the joy they brought to the stage is enjoying a glorious rebirth at Goodspeed Musicals with its current highly energetic and exciting “Crazy For You” already extended until August 16 for ten more dazzling days.

Stuffed with the super duper songs penned by George and Ira Gershwin with a new book adapted by Ken Ludwig, “Crazy for You” moves from Broadway and the Big Apple way out west to Deadrock, Nevada. A dance happy banker Bobby Child is desperately eager to leave his monetary job in New York City and the job his mother (Michele Ragusa) and his fiancee (Hailey Thomas) want him to embrace. Bobby tries to impress the impresario of show business Bela Zangler (Edward Juvier) of his talents to no avail and soon finds himself on a mother-driven mission to the Gaiety Theater in Nevada to close its doors forever.

When the star struck Bobby, a facile footed Will Burton, sets eyes on Polly Baker, the lovely and spunky Brittany Zeinstra, whose father Jeremy Davis is the theater’s owner Everett Baker, he has two new goals: to save the Gaiety and win the girl. The obstinate saloon owner Lank (David Andrew Morton) and Bela Zangler himself have other ideas for the fate of the town and it takes a lot of wild and wonderful foot power and sensational songs like “Shall We Dance?,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Slap That Bass,” “Embraceable You,“ “I’ve Got Rhythm,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” “Nice Work If You Can Get it,” and “Bidin’ My Time,” plus more.

Helping solve everybody’s problems are a pair of tourists from England Eugene and Patricia Fodor (Colin Bradbury and Michele Ragusa) and a New York showgirl Tess (Taylor Lane) who knows how to manipulate Bela to her way of thinking. A really cute number occurs when Bobby and Bela mirror each other as if two Bela Zanglers are definitely better than one. Michael Fling directs this charming romp in the 1930’s old west with fervor and style, on a clever set designed by Ann Beyersdorfer, colorful costuming by Joseph Shrope, sparkling music by Adam Souza and patriotic fireworks choreographed by Kelli Barclay.

For tickets ($47-123), call the Goodspeed, 6 Main Street, East Haddam at 860-873-8668 or online at goodspeed.org. Performances are Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 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.and 6:30 p.m. This 1992 Tony Award winning musical comedy has been extended until Sunday, August 16.

Showgirls in sequins and spangles take on cowpokes and their pistols and down home practicality as a stage starved banker risks everything to save an abandoned theater and win the glamorous girl of his dreams at the same time.

THE AMAZING AMERICAN MURAL PROJECT

A RIDDLE: What is the only collaborative and largest indoor artwork in the whole world? Existng in Winstead, Connecticut? Is the creative brain child of one person? Was built by 15,000 children from 17 states? Measures 5 stories high and 120 feet wide? Was only started in 2003? Is made of blown glass, aluminum panels and ceramic tiles? Is a grand tribute to all the workers who make America great?

If you answered the American Mural Project (AMP) you would be 100% correct! Photographer and painter Ellen Griesedieck was at the Boeing Airplane Factory in 1999 witnessing how engines were installed in 747’s and conceived the idea of painting in large scale working Americans for inspiration, especially for chidren to help them embrace their work. She saw a visual history as a tribute to all kinds of American workers over the past 100 years, to tell their stories and applaud their courage and work ethic. She feels the possibilities are endless: to look at the country and the guys and gals that get it done. Founded in 2001, AMP portraits “the dignity of the American worker with the goal of being an initiative for kids.” To date, 23 more states have also become involved.

With deep personal creativity, Ellen takes individual stories about the people she has met on her journey of discovery, like Eddie the truck driver who for three days shared his community with her as a social master, in a cocky and fun way, or Melissa who didn’t know women could be firefighters until she became one herself, or fishermen like Jeff and Pete who risk their lives on a daily basis fighting a dangerous ocean or Scott who knew at the tender age of three he wanted to be a farmer. Each story is unique and different about a real person Ellen knows, from auto workers making Mustangs to men who endanger their lives every day in a copper mine, truck drivers who keep the economy going to teachers who inspire our children. Together they accomplish something they couldn’t achieve alone and answer the question "How am I important?” They reflect in their giant size the significance of their hard work and why each one matters. To Ellen, the message is “Dream big.”

The emphasis is on what each of us contributes and AMP offers activities Friday, Saturday and Sunday to make opportunities happen, like Family Days, storytellers, scavenger hunts, games, teen vocational camps, outdoor work designing, welding sculptures, lectures on the upcoming 250th Birthday of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, jazz concerts and musical events like a piano concert the fourth Friday of every month. This is a learning experience that Ellen gives as a gift to the community, a celebration of the artists who built our country and as a tribute to the dignity of their hard work, like the creation of the Empire State Building, the George Washington Bridge and the Statue of Liberty as well as homes for Habitat for Humanity.

Another fascinating project started by the Sharon Women’s Club was the donation of 13,000 watches, as symbols of the many hours people give for volunteering without pay to help someone else. Women’s clubs across the country have joined in and now 28 yards of aluminum wire mesh have glued them together. For more information, call AMP at 90 Whiting Street, Winsted at 860-379-3006, the hours are Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets for adults are $15, seniors and veterans $12 and students $5, under 5 free. Every month a group of workers enjoys free admission, for example first responders in July and teachers in August. Self guided tours are available. Groups of 10 can engage a tour guide. Drinks and snacks are available for purchase as are hand painted t-shirts by Ellen, postcards and stickers.

Remember the American Mural Project is a one of a kind, the largest tribute to workers in the world, located in Winsted, Connecticut, the creative brainchild of Ellen Griesedieck, built in 17 original states by 15,000 children, a stunning gigantic artwork that celebrates the people who made our country so great. Come experience its incredible and majestic gifts.

CT Critics Give “All is Calm” and “A Chorus Line” Top Honors at 34th Awards Ceremony

The compelling drama, “All is Calm,” a moving, captivating play about the Christmas Truce of 1914, which was staged at Playhouse on Park, and the 50th Anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize winning musical, “A Chorus Line” at Goodspeed Musicals, took top honors at the 34th annual Connecticut Critics Circle Awards (ctcritics.org) held on Monday, June 22, 2026.

The event, which celebrates the work from the state’s professional theaters during the 2025 – 2026 season, was held at Hartford Stage in downtown Hartford. The ceremony was emceed by Stuart Brown, President of the CT Critics Circle.

“A Chorus Line” was also honored for Best Director of a Musical (Rob Ruggiero), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Diego Guevara), and Best Choreography (Parker Esse and Baayork Lee). Ryan Mac from the Goodspeed Musical “All Shook Up” received Best Actor in a Musical.

Hartford Stage received three awards. The chilling, highly theatrical production of “Rope” was recognized for Costume Design (Risa Ando), and Best Direction of a Play (Melia Bensussen). Their gripping staging of “Death of a Salesman” won for Outstanding Lighting Design.

Theaterwork Hartford’s world premiere of “Circus Fire,” staged in the round at the historic First Company Governor’s Foot Guard, won for Best Ensemble.

Two productions from A.C.T. of CT garnered three awards. The musical “Waitress” received Best Featured Actress (Shaylen Harger) and Best Actress in a Musical (Abigail Sparrow). Camilla Tassi was honored for Outstanding Projections for “Dear Evan Hansen.”

The Yale Repertory Theatre’s production of the 1959 absurdist classic, “Rhinoceros” by Eugène Ionesco, won for Best Actor in a Play (Reg Rogers) and Best Sound Design for Xi (Zoey) Lin.

Other winners were Christina Acosta Robinson for Best Actress in a Play for the Ivoryton Playhouse’s production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill;” Missy Drowse in the Ken Ludwig comedy, “Fox on the Fairway” at Music Theatre of Connecticut, for Best Featured Actress in a Play; Terrence Riggins received the Best Featured Actor in a Play for his powerful performance in August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean” at Long Wharf Theatre; and Christopher & Justin Swader received Outstanding Set Design for the Sharon Playhouse production of “The Mousetrap.”

James Bundy, who is retiring as the Elizabeth Parker Ware Dean of the David Geffen School of Drama and Artistic Director of Yale Repertory Theatre received a special award. Rebecka Jones and Noble Shropshire were also recognized for their 25 years of continuous performance in the Hartford Stage production of “A Christmas Carol.” Donna Lynn Hilton of Goodspeed Musicals was honored with the Tom Killen Award for lifetime service to the theater.

The Annual Awards Ceremony was live streamed. The recording will be posted to the CT Critics Circle website (ctcritics.org) the week of June 29.

Helping to present the awards were Connecticut Critic Circle members Karen Isaacs, Nancy Sasso Janis, and Tim Leininger.

The Connecticut Critics Circle was founded in 1990. The statewide organization is comprised of reviewers, writers, and broadcasters that cover the professional theaters throughout the entire state. The annual awards honor the actors, directors, designers and others who help make our professional theater so highly regarded in and outside the state.

HARTFORD STAGE SETS "SWEENEY TODD" ON A VICIOUS PATH OF REVENGE

Are you squeamish at the sight of blood? Do you believe in the old adage “an eye for an eye”? Do you subscribe to turning the other cheek and forgiving when victimized or do you prefer exacting retribution?

Are you a fan of turkey or beef pot pies, with their flaky crusts and yummy insides, the ones that warm your tummy on cold winter nights? Might you fancy one in the immediate future? Well, the Hartford Stage in collaboration with TheaterWorks Hartford has a savory saga, a cautionary note for your perusal that you might want to heed. Until Sunday, July 5, a man bent on vengeance is wielding a razor in London for his personal amusement in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” with book by Hugh Wheeler and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim from an adaptation by Christo[her Bond with orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick and it is sharp, memorable, and on target wonderful.

You might ask where do the meat pot pies fit into the story? The answer is that Sweeney Todd has returned from years in an Australian prison where he was sent, unjustly, by an unscrupulous Judge Turpin and his untrusty aide the Beadle Bamford. The Judge fancied Sweeney’s wife and “stole” her and her infant daughter for his own disreputable desires and sent Sweeney away for life.

When Sweeney escapes, he is rescued at sea by a good Samaritan, Anthony Hope. Now Sweeney needs to set his plan of vengeance in motion and he finds a willing Mrs Lovett who aids him in his momentous task.

Mrs. Lovett’s pie business was once a flaky failure until she teams up with a certain mad barber in London’s Fleet Street to create a sensational savory of unusual and peculiar flavor. You’ll figure out the pies' distinctive secret ingredient if you are paying attention.

This is a musical adventure as the barber becomes a barbarian in this passionate tale of revenge. Matt Faucher is driven and superb as Sweeney Todd, the alias he assumes who blames Judge Turpin (Edward Watts) and his liege The Beadle (Brian Ray Norris) for the treachery which led his wife to kill herself and the Judge to claim their infant daughter Johanna (Lauren Maria Medina) as his ward.

Now Todd, played with a steely determination and macabre manner, 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 Jackie Burns, and a naval man Anthony (Willem Butler) who saved Sweeney’s life,Todd soon sets his diabolical scheme in place. Complications in the form of an old beggar woman (Carey Brown), a blackmailer Pirelli (Tristan Caldwell) and a wide eyed lad Tobias (Cole Thompson) threaten his plans. Rob Ruggiero directs this involving dark tale plagued with the “chill of ghostly shadows.” The orchestra is conducted by Wiley DeWeese, Ralph Perkins choreographer, Luke Cantarella an elaborate set design, magical lighting by John Lasiter, sound by Beth Lake and period costumes designed by Fabian Fidel Aguilar.

For tickets ($30 and up) call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street,Hartford at 860-527-5151 or online at HartfordStage.org. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m.and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. with talk backs June 23 and June 24. Music in the lobby by Mad Agnes will be held June 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. This is the first partnership by Hartford Stage and TheaterWorks Hartford and it is a tribute to thrilling theatrical entertainment. Don’t miss it!

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 neighborhood pub for a succulent beef pot pie.