tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71369085434799292562024-03-28T20:28:01.524-07:00Bonnie's Blog: The Balcony and BeyondBonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.comBlogger1694125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-78984919976029672092024-03-22T12:06:00.000-07:002024-03-22T12:06:45.561-07:00FOR A HEARTY DOSE OF LOVE AND LAUGHTER SEE FORTUNE FEIMSTER AT THE BUSHNELL MARCH 29<p>Who couldn’t use a healthy dose of love and laughter right about now? Fortunately for you, the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford is issuing a personal prescription for you when comedian, actress and writer Fortune Feimster comes to town for one night only: Friday, March 29 at 7 p.m. Feimster crashed the stand-up comic scene in 2010 with a great showing on "NBC’s Last Comic Standing." She starred as Colette on "The Mindy Project" from 2015-2017. Next, in 2019, she became the host of the hit radio show with Tom Papa "What a Joke with Papa and Fortune" where they interviewed celebrities and comedians, This was the first live programming on the Sirius XM channel "Netflix is a Joke."</p>
<p>Next up for Feimster was playing Heather on "The L Word: Generation Q," a reboot of "The L Word." In film, she has played teachers, a counselor, a Fairy Gay Mother, a janitor, a paramedic and a coach, among many others. On television, she has appeared on such shows as "2 Broke Girls,” “Glee," "RuPaul’s Drag Race," a judge on "Is It Cake?," and, most recently “FUBAR" with Arnold Schwartenegger as a CIA agent recently retired who discovers his daughter is also an agent. Tune in to her weekly podcasts.</p>
<p>Come find out for yourself how she enjoys riding the gay train, when it is appropriate to wear a top hat, the power of a Lifetime movie, why cakes and eating them are her favorite pastime and what is a Fun Dip? and why are they good for swimmers, among other humorous topics of interest. For tickets ($29.50 and up), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at bushnell.org.</p> .
<p>Let Fortune Feimster into your life to amuse and entertain you and to definitely make you laugh your troubles away, at least for the length of her show and all the way home. She has been hailed for her unique brand of storytelling and described as “affable, charismatic and one-of-a-kind."</p>Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-41453318080982277332024-03-16T10:18:00.000-07:002024-03-16T10:18:43.755-07:00CONNECTCUT PREMIERE OF "EVA'S PROMISE" AT LEGACY THEATRE MARCH 21<p>The Oscar Awards may be over but you have the unique opportunity to witness a glimpse of history, one girl’s journey to survive the Holocaust. Branford’s Legacy Theatre is honored to present the Connecticut premiere of “Eva’s Promise” on Thursday, March 21 at 7 p.m., with a post-film talk-back with Susan Kerner, a co-producer.</p>
<p>Board a train for the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz with Eva, a mere fifteen year old. She has made a promise to her older sibling that if she survives the Holocaust, she will return to their home and unearth the poems and paintings Heinz has created and then hidden under the floorboards of their attic. When the war ends, Eva becomes the posthumous step-sister of Anne Frank when Eva's mother marries Anne’s father. You already know Anne’s incredible story. Now learn how Eva keeps her promise to Heinz to share his artistic legacy with the world.</p>
<p>Join the audiences who have already witnessed this special screening and sing its praises at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and the Zekelman Holocaust Center. Jeff Provost, Managing Director of The Legacy Theatre, commented: “We are honored to have been selected as the venue for the Connecticut premiere of “Eva’s Promise.” This unique and special story, along with the filmmaker's talk-back, will be a highlight of the start of our fourth season serving the Shoreline communities and all of Connecticut."</p>
<p>For tickets ($20), call the Legacy Theatre, 128 Thimble Islands Road, Branford at 203-315-1901 or online at LegacyTheatreCT.org.</p>
<p>Follow Eva's journey to hope and redemption as she honors her commitment to her older brother Heinz’s artistic legacy with optimism and courage.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-48831998599680092872024-03-15T11:49:00.000-07:002024-03-15T11:49:05.654-07:00YALE REP WELCOMES FUTURISTIC TALE: "ESCAPED ALONE"<p>In a lovely English garden filled with an array of vibrant greenery, three friends gather for a cuppa tea, to chat about everyday matters they share. This is, however, no simple tea and sympathy party. It is much more like tea and terror when a fourth neighbor intrudes herself in their midst. The mundane suddenly becomes menacing: talk of tables and teapots, mathematics and moron jokes, birds and body parts, careers and cats, is interrupted by an explosion of lights as LaTonya Borsay’s Mrs. Jarrett prophesies about floods, famine, fires, fatal illnesses, and all matter of pending catastrophes. She interrupts the casual conversation with eye opening truths about the world, observations we can’t ignore or hide from, realities that demand we pay attention to at our own risk. As if it is not enough for each of these women to cope with their intimate world, they must arm themselves, like a superhero, to confront issues they would much prefer to close their eyes to every day.</p>
<p>For almost one spellbinding hour, famed playwright Caryl Churchill holds sway over Yale Repertory audiences as she unrolls her version of a future apocalypse in her drama “Escaped Alone” playing its mind games until Saturday, March 30. As these women of a certain age, seventy and above, converse we learn a lot about their lives, as hairdresser and murderer, as fearful of felines, as someone who prefers isolation to companionship, and of caution and concern for what the future holds in store for us. As they sip their tea, they finish each other’s thoughts as only good pals can do. They are smart and funny, sad and wise, regretful and forgetful, and ready to support each other when called upon to do so. Their group rendition of "Hit the Road Jack” is a pure delight.</p>
<p>Come make the acquaintance of Mary Lou Rosato’s Vi, Sandra Shipley’s Sally and Rita Wolf’s Lena, in addition to Mrs. Jarrett’s Angel of Doom’s LaTonya Borsay and discover for yourself who these unique women are and what you have to learn from them. Liz Diamond ignites her special directorial powers to make sure you will not soon forget Caryl Churchill’s cautionary tale.</p>
<p>For tickets ($15-65), call the Yale Rep, 1120 Chapel Street, New Haven at 203-432-1234 or online at yalerep.org. Performances are Tuesday to Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. </p>
<p> If an apocalypse, one or more, is on the horizon, what can each of us do to ward it off and preserve the world? Let Caryl Churchill brew us a cup of dark tea, filled with sweet sips and a bitter aftertaste.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-90992436377555023992024-03-13T08:28:00.000-07:002024-03-13T08:28:26.021-07:00COME MEET RUTH BADER GINSBURG: A SMALL GIANT OF JUSTICE AT WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE
<p>Ruth Bader Ginsburg may have been short of stature but she was a giant in the world of legal justice, for women and men, blacks, Jews and Native Americans, and children. She was an outspoken advocate for gender equality for anyone who needed a voice, the “left out people,” winning arguments before the Supreme Court long before she became an illustrious member herself. A trailblazer, a member of the Harvard Law School, one of only nine women against five hundred men, Ruth employed liberal views of the law and never stepped back when she saw an injustice. Along the way, she earned a nickname and t-shirts taken from B.I.G. the Rapper as the “Notorious R.B.G.,” had a coloring book, workout book, bobblehead, tattoos, beer 9 (for when she was asked when there would be enough women on the Supreme Court, she answered nine), an opera (for her love of music and her deep friendship with fellow Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia), coffee cups, a species of praying mantis named for her and a Forever Stamp as well as much more memorabilia.</p>
<p>Ruth battled cancer five times, was the first to officiate at a same-sex marriage, was immortalized by Kate McKinnon on Saturday Night Live, solved the question that a hot dog is a sandwich with Stephen Colbert, attended college classes for her beloved husband and transcribed notes when he fought cancer while raising their daughter, earned more than two dozen honorary college degrees and in her chambers hung a sign “Zedek, zedek. tirdof” Justice, justice shall you pursue” as a reminder of her heritage and professional responsibility. Is it any wonder that Tony Award-winning playwright Rupert Holmes would use the pandemic to create a one-woman play about Ruth, a woman who reminded him of his wife who also lost a parent in high school and went to law school while raising a child, someone he greatly admired and appealed to him on so many levels.</p>
<p>To Holmes, this play about Ruth is “a passion project and a perfect fit.” It opened in 2022 on Yom Kippur after he had found the perfect actress Michelle Azar to become this Great Dissenter with elegance and truth, with an authentic, fluid and dynamic script: “All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” The Westport Country Playhouse will be entertaining Ruth in her intimate legal chambers from Friday to Sunday, May 3-5 for a ninety five minute conversation that is both heartfelt and a little heartbreaking, meeting her as a dear friend who wants you to understand her journey. Laley Lippard sensitively and strongly directs Ruth’s talk to a visiting friend of her granddaughter's in her elegant legal chambers. Please join them.<p>
<p>To Rupert Holmes, Michelle Azar “inhabits her (Ruth) and channels her so authentically.” For Michelle Azar, after securing the role she did a deep dive into what made her tick, to pay homage to her, to honor her, viewing her as a lady who was willing to fight for her beliefs, shy as well as feisty, wanting to get into Ruth’s psyche and portray her with conviction. She calls Rupert a “master storyteller,” who uses music and projections to round out the tale and infuse Ruth’s spirit. Playing Ruth, Michelle feels, has changed her “enormously. I feel more tolerant and patient, wiser, older, humble, even more feisty, like I can claim my strengths. I can appreciate my parents more and it has changed how I am raising my own daughters, one almost 19 and the other 23. Ruth has been a gift.”</p>
<p>Michelle hopes audiences will gain admiration and respect for Ruth and learn each of us can do something to make the world a better place to live. She feels work has to be done, to make a peaceful protest for change. She loves Connecticut and is anxious to welcome spring here soon.</p>
<p>For tickets ($45-55), call the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Power Court, Westport at 203-227-4177 or online at boxoffice@westportplayhouse.org or https://www.westportplayhouse.org/show/all-things-equal-the-life-and-trials-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg/ Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.</p>
<p>As Rupert Holmes explained it, "I believe 'All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg' will bring together the audience and the gracious RBG in an enlightening and touching encounter with the remarkable person 'behind the initials’ …Ruth…Justice…and the American Way.” Michelle Azar describes Ruth as a “True American original.” Don’t miss this unique introduction and conversation coming soon to Westport Country Playhouse for your personal enjoyment and edification. Michelle Azar will clearly have Ruth’s lace jabot firmly in place on her Supreme Court robes after her nomination in 1993 by then President Bill Clinton to be the first Jewish woman and the second woman ever appointed after Sandra Day O’Connor.</p>
<WCP_AllThingsEqual_Michelle_Azar_byBing Liem.jpg>Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-72672462933306952762024-03-10T12:06:00.000-07:002024-03-10T12:06:28.054-07:00TAKE A LYRICAL AND SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY WITH "CHESTER BAILEY" AT STRATFORD'S SQUARE ONE THEATRE COMPANY<p>What would you do if your delusions were comforting for you, especially if you didn’t want to face reality? What if your doctor in his well meaning way, dedicated to dispelling those delusions, was uncertain if he were healing or helping or harming you? This dramatic dilemma is at the heart and soul of Joseph Dougherty’s gripping drama “Chester Bailey,” courtesy of Stratford's Square One Theatre Company weekends until Sunday, March 24.</p>
<p>The time is 1945 and Chester’s well meaning parents want to protect their son from serving in the war. When dad secures a job for Chester in the Navy Yard, mom feels this is a gift from God to keep Chester safe. When a tragic accident occurs at work, Chester is irrevocably harmed by a fellow worker and finds his life changed forever, a patient in the hospital. Unbelievably Chester does not acknowledge the severity of his injuries, but, rather, adapts to what he believes happened to him and builds a fantasy life for himself. He takes memories of a lovely red headed girl at a newsstand, dances with her at Luna Park and fashions a beautiful world of longing and love.</p>
<p>Kiel Stango’s Chester believes in his heart that he has found a world he can waltz in, with eyes that are not blind and hands that can hold and be held and he clings desperately to what only he can imagine. When Al Kulcsar’s Dr. Philip Cotton arrives at the mental institution to correct his distorted views, the two men battle for victory. Do both men suffer from delusions and disappointments and loss? Do the broken need to surrender their thoughts in order to be cured? Can this dream girl survive the doctor’s handiwork unharmed? This two-man 90 minute play will haunt you long after the curtain figuratively falls, excellent performances and taut direction by Tom Holehan. </p>
<p>For tickets ($22, senior/students $20, front row $25), call Square One Theatre, 719 Birdseye Avenue, Stratford at Stratford Academy at 203-375-8778 or online at www.squareonetheatre.com. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. with matinees at 4 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.</p>
<p>Literally let Chester hold your hands and guide you with his set of eyes to a world he has created that gives him hope, resilience, beauty and, most of all, love.</p>Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-2434814505132315252024-03-10T06:12:00.000-07:002024-03-10T06:12:41.864-07:00PREPARE FOR A TASTY MEAL BY "THE HOT WING KING" AT HARTFORD STAGE<p>If Colonel Sanders has a secret recipe of eleven herbs and spices, so does Cordell as he diligently prepares his culinary offering, for the fifth year in a row, for Memphis’s annual festival. Come visit "The Hot Wing King” written by Katori Hall with tension and tenderness and directed with passion by Christopher D. Betts. The Hartford Stage with be ringing the dinner bell until Sunday, March 24. Get your bib and tucker ready as you sit down for a pile high portion of sizzling barbecued chicken wings dripping with exotic spices and savory sauce.</p>
<p>“The Hot Wing King” is a play stuffed with humanity and joy as it probes the family relationship of two black men, Cordell captured by Bjorn DuPaty and his new partner Dwayne, a successful hotel manager Calvin E. Thompson. Cordell who has moved to Memphis two months ago to live with Dwayne is frustrated he hasn’t found a job already but he is hopefully this week’s annual “Hot Wang Festival” will change all that when he wins the $5000 first prize, that will allow him to open his own restaurant. He has assembled his team of friends, the sports minded Big Charles (Postell Pringle) and the flamboyant Isom (Israel Erron Ford) to man the pots and stove and he has perfected his unique sauce, with a pinch of Ugandan pepper as his secret ingredient, to seal the deal.</p>
<p>In the past, he has used such items as parmesan cheese, a blueberry sauce, crumbled bourbon infused bacon and a smoky flavor charcoal for his masterwork but he is sure he has the correct blend assembled this time around. With his great team line in place what would go wrong? Enter Dwayne’s brother-in-law TJ (Alphonso Walker Jr) with his own set of needs, mainly to find his son EJ (Marcus Gladney, Jr.) who has been straying from the path since the tragic death of his mom two years prior. Dwayne feels responsible for EJ and conflicted on how to protect him and not alienate his new companion Cordell. And how does he do that as well as protect Cordell’s 387 chicken wings? The results are heartbreakingly sweet and funny and proof that love can’t resolve everything but it can surely try.</p>
<p>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 Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees Saturday, Sunday and select Wednesdays at 2 p.m.</p>
<p>Come follow the boys as they battle their way to the top of the food chain, of friendship, of family and, of course, of love. There’ll be a "hot” time in the old town tonight.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-83554677244980888462024-03-04T09:53:00.000-08:002024-03-04T09:53:13.046-08:00HAVE FUN WITH A PAIR OF "GRUMPY OLD MEN" AT WATERBURY'S SEVEN ANGELS THEATRE<p>It’s abundantly clear that John Gustafson and Max Goldman have never heard of the “Good Neighbor Policy” as the two advanced in age curmudgeons live next door to each other and have made verbal dueling an art form. For decades they have hurled insults and derogatory remarks at each other with great glee. Do they even remember what they are feuding about at this point in time? To enter into their Hatfield and McCoy relationship, just grab a fishing rod, shovel or a hockey stick and travel to Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury by Sunday, March 24 for “Grumpy Old Men The Musical,” with book by Dan Remmes, music by Neil Berg and lyrics by Nick Meglin. Just think of the Walter Matthau, Jack Lemon and Ann-Margaret comedy film from years ago and the fun will all come rolling back.</p>
<p>Enter the town of Wabasa at your own risk, where winter and ice fishing go mitten and glove, and folks for the most part are friendly and helpful. Not so Gary Harger’s John and Rob Bartlett's Max. The two barely tolerate each other until a new and exciting element enters the boxing match: the enchanting, artistic and engaging Ariel, portrayed by a charming Susan Kulp. Of course, both men set out to woo her, courting her with plastic flowers so she doesn’t have to witness their untimely wilting as well as sweeping gestures of affection.</p>
<p>Both Gary Harger and Rob Bartlett delight in their antagonism and the arrival of Ariel just sets them off to new heights of dispute. Who will win the fair maiden? How will John’s battle with the I.R.S., let by Marcia Maslo’s Synder and her vindictive ways play into the decision? Can John’s daughter Melanie (Emma Czaplinski) or Max’s son Jacob (Josh Powell) help resolve their father’s social distancing? Can the town folk’s helpfulness, like Punky (Semina DeLaurentis ) and Chuck (Al Bundonis) and Grandpa (Len Fredericks) working together help end the in-fighting? Meanwhile the bouncey music livens the scenes, especially tunes like “Opportunity Knocks,” “Life Is All About Livin’,“ “Snyder Comes Along,” and Max’s super sweet encouraging “In Like Flynn.”</p>
<p>Kudos to the entire cast and to co-directors Seminars DeLaurentis and Janine Molinari, music director Richard Carey and choreographer Janine Molinari. For tickets ($45), call Seven Angels Theatre, Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at SevenAngelsTheatre.org. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Bring toiletries to the show to be given to St. Vincent DePaul's Church. Check online as many shows have a specialty party as a bonus. A special 4-show subscription flex pass is being offered for $136, for 4 different shows or 4 for one show, your choice. Upcoming shows include “A Bronx Tale The Musical,” a world premiere of “JBKO" (Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis) and the community musical of “Bye, Bye Birdie.”</p>
<p>Come pick a comic side as you root for Team Gustafson or Team Goldman as they both try to win the prize their heart: Ariel.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-20615726028248042462024-03-02T08:50:00.000-08:002024-03-02T08:50:29.029-08:00WATERBURY'S PALACE THEATER HONORS "THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF GEORGE MICHAEL" ON MARCH 7<p>Georgios Kyriacos Panaylotou may not be a familiar name, but this Greek and English man changed it when he chose his musical career to a much simpler George Michael. When he was eight, he suffered a head injury that led him to develop an interest in music. When he was a teen, his family moved to Radlett, England and he chanced to sit next to a chap Andrew Ridgeley at his new school, who would become his future partner in Wham! In 1981 when he was only 18 he legally changed his name.</p>
<p>A mere four years later Michael claimed the first of many Ivor Novello Awards as Songwriter of the Year from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. To get an inside, up close and personal look into his life, head over to Waterbury’s Palace Theater on Thursday, March 7 for “The Life and Music of George Michael” for one fantastic night only at 7:30 p.m.</p>
<p>After a sensational Wham! tour of China, a never before occurrence by a Western popular group, Michael began his success as a solo artist. A duet with one of his favorite artists, Aretha Franklin, performing “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” truly launched his musical mission, after earlier success with “Careless Whisper” and "A Different Corner.”</p>
<p>George Michael was not without his controversy over the songs he composed, like “I Want Your Sex” that was often tamed to “I Want Your Love.” In 1990 he released “Listen Without Prejudice Volume 1” in his desire to have his music taken more seriously. His world tour to Japan, England, the U.S. and Brazil the following year featured his favorite “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John and the next year he performed it at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert with Queen, for AIDS research, which he reflected was “probably the proudest moment for me of my career.”</p>
<p>In his personal life, he was conflicted by his sexuality and hiding his homosexuality, a fact that became public after his arrest for “engaging in a lewd act.” He struggled with substance abuse and lost his privilege to drive on many occasions. Michael often performed concerts for his favorite charities like AIDS and ill children. He died on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53 of health problems. Elton John said of him, “What a singer, what a songwriter. But more than anything as a human being he was one of the kindest, sweetest, most generous people I’ve ever met.”</p>
<p>For tickets ($95.40 and up), call the Palace, 100 East Main Street, Waterbury at 203-346-2000 or online at palacetheaterct.org.</p>
<p>Come celebrate George Michael, an English singer, songwriter and record producer who sold well over 100 million records worldwide in his incredibly colorful career.</p>Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-5608237530824102522024-02-29T14:45:00.000-08:002024-02-29T14:45:42.346-08:00"THE CHER SHOW MUSICAL" SOARS INTO THE BUSHNELL<p>When you are instantly known by your first name alone, and you are surely one of a kind, you should recognize you’re star quality, royalty if you will. Just ask an almost eighty years young singer, dancer and actress, a fashion icon, the “Goddess of Pop," who is constantly reinventing herself: the one and only Cher. How did she overcome a difficult childhood with a father suffering from drug and gambling problems to accomplish the mighty task as the only solo artist for seven consecutive decades, from the 1960s to the 2020s, on the Billboard charts?</p>
<p>To follow Cher’s roller coaster career, her struggles and her triumphs, plan to attend the Bushnell’s Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford’s sparkling and exciting production of “The Cher Show Musical” from Tuesday, March 5 to Sunday, March 10. A trio of actresses will play Cher at different moments in her turbulent life in this jazzy jukebox musical that captures all the drama and delights of her outstanding show business life.</p>
<p>With her partnership with Sonny Bono on stage and in marriage, her distinctive singing voice that adapted itself to a bevy of musical genres, her desire to act as well as create albums, her fascinating fashion sense and her desire to be famous, Cher has sold over 100 million records and garnered awards including a Grammy, Emmy, Academy Award, a trio of Golden Globes, Kennedy Center Honors and the list marches masterfully on. Cher is also noted for her philanthropy and support of the LGBT rights and HIV/AIDS prevention, trend setting, political views, outrageous fashion statements and ability to bounce back from adversity.</p>
<p>Come hear such favorites as “I’ve Got You Babe,” “Believe,” “Baby Don’t Go,” “All I Ever Need Is You,” “The Way of Love,” “Take Me Home,” and more than a dozen more. For tickets ($36-138), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at bushnell.org. Performances are Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Come early for ‘Cher-aoke' when you can grab a mic and belt out your favorite Sonny and Cher tune and sip a Max Wine Bar selection from sommelier Brian Mitchell, with your favorite cheese.</p>
<p>From a young girl placed in an orphanage for weeks when her mom needed to find a job to a famous pop legend on television and in the movies, come meet the incomparable, super star-studded Cher.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-16282369810201482222024-02-27T13:02:00.000-08:002024-02-27T13:02:21.041-08:00ATTEND OSCAR NIGHT AT THE KATE ON SUNDAY, MARCH 10<p>Whether the stars of Hollywood stroll down a carpet that is red or gold, the fashion parade will be shockingly wonderful. The gallery of illuminati will set the stage for one of the film world’s most exciting nights: the 96th Oscars and you can feel like you’re in the middle of the cinematic magic. This event beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 10 honors the 12-time Oscar nominated Kate and supports the Katharine Hepburn Museum and education programs. The evening is hosted by the Kate’s Volunteer Guild and is presented by Jaguar North Haven and Land Rover North Haven. Emcees for the evening are Brett Elliot, executive director, and hopefully State Representative Devin Carney, a Kate trustee and grandson of Academy Award winning actor Art Carney.</p>
<p>For the 14th year, the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center will be going over the top to make the night spectacular so plan your glittery outfit now. Start by watching all the prestigious nominations. Will best picture go to “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie.” or “American Fiction?” Or could the tide turn and select “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Poor Things,” or “Past Lives?”</p>
<p>Could best actress go to Annette Bening as the super swimmer “Nyad” or to Casey Mulligan as Leonard Bernstein’s wife in “Maestro?” For best actor, will the nod go to Cillian Murphy for “Oppenheimer” or Paul Giamatti for “The Holdovers?” Who will take home Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Costume, Best Animation and Documentary, and the list goes on. With Jimmy Kimmell as host for the fourth time
be sporting a pink tux that night?</p>
<p>Maybe you won’t be at Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood but the Kate has all the razzle dazzle you could want from walking the red carpet, photos with cutouts of the stars, special guest hosts Ann Nyberg and Illeana Douglas as honorary co-chairs who both are big film fans, spectacular food from appetizers to desserts catered by Fresh Salt of Saybrook Point Resort & Marina, a fun candy shoppe for nibbling, a cash bar, a stuffed with goodies silent auction, a bevy of raffle treats, and so much more.</p>
<p>Celebrate the Oscars at the Kate with tickets at $85 and a special Oscar in a Box if you want to celebrate at home. Call 860-510-0453 or go online at www.thekate.org. The event is sponsored by H & R Block of Old Saybrook, Comcast, FromYouFlowers.com, WMNR Fine Arts Radio, Stratton Partners Advertising, Grey Ledge Advisors, Patricia Lynn Toner and Saybrook Point Resort & Marina. Oscar Night takes place at the Kate at 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook.</p>
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<p>Add sparkle to the advent of spring by supporting the good works of the Kate and having a wonderful evening in the process.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-3551220000701319022024-02-26T12:50:00.000-08:002024-02-27T06:41:05.357-08:00"MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET" AT ACT OF CT: PRICELESS<p>Rock ’n Roll history was recorded for prosperity one fine day almost eight decades ago and you have the great pleasure and privilege of being in the ACT studio when it is recreated once again. Don't miss the joy and excitement!</p>
<p>Is your music wedded to the 1950's? Do you identify with swivel hips and wild gyrations? Would you like to return to yesterday for your listening and dancing pleasures? If so, then do I have a musical marathon designed just for you. The date is December 4, 1956 and the sacred place is Memphis, Tennessee at a small recording studio named Sun Records run by Sam Phillips. On that memorable day four icons of the music world wander in and Mr. Phillips, the Father of Rock 'n Roll, realizes the significance of that event. </p>
<p>ACT of CT in Ridgefield invites you to be front and center at Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux's "Million Dollar Quartet" rocking the rafters until Saturday, March 23 when Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley perform an impromptu jam session, one that was smokin' hot and unforgettable. "Million Dollar Quartet" recreates that one and only legendary day in the history of rock 'n roll.</p>
<p>Think of it as a personal playlist of your favorite hits as these great tunes come tumbling out. Listen to "Great Balls of Fire," "Sixteen Tons," "Blue Suede Shoes," "Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On," "Hound Dog," "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line," "Long Tall Sally" and "See You Later, Alligator,” and lots more. You’ll be speechless with delight!</p>
<p>Carl Perkins (Christopher Wren) had come to Sun Records that day with his brother Jay (Nathan Yates Douglass) and Fluke (Matt Spencer) as back up and Sam Phillips, (Bart Shatto) the owner of Sun, added Jerry Lee Lewis, (Nat Zegree) a recent acquisition, to the mix as pianist. When Elvis Presley (Alessandro Gian Viviano) dropped by with his girlfriend (Megan Reinking), he added his voice to the cauldron and it was the final arrival of Johnny Cash (Scott Moreau) that made the magical witch's brew complete.</p>
<p>These guys, all at different stages of music fame, sat down and sang like a group of old friends, without rehearsals or formal plans, and Cowboy Jack Clement, the engineer, was smart enough to record it. There were jealousies and recriminations among the four, but music was the uniting element that made the day so memorable. It happened that day and never again.</p>
<p>Country music, rockabilly and rock 'n roll merge and marry as these fellows sing just for the pure pleasure of the sound. For Sam Phillips, these four men were like his four sons and this show reveals a lot about their relationship, where they came from and where they were going. Sam gave each of them their chance and then promoted them to fame and success. It is a sensational staged recreation of the actual event. Director Hunter Foster brings us front and center to the excitement on a versatile studio set designed by Josh Smith. Jeff Sherwood's sound rocks, under the sizzling lighting by Kirk Bookman and the costume and wigs by Lauren T. Roark.</p>
<p>For tickets ($79, senior, student, military $71), call ACT, 36 Old Quarry Road, Ridgefield at 475-215-5497 or online at actofct.org. Performances are Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Purchase a $50 raffle ticket to a glorious Viking River Cruise for 2 from Expedia Cruises and Viking valued up to $7798 being sold until March 24 at all performances. On June 7, ACT will hold a GALA from 6 p.m. on, go to actofct.org/gala for more information. Watch for “Kicky Boots” strutting in May 23 to June 16.</p>
<p>Prepare for an explosion and fireworks as this quartet hits all the right notes, with fancy flying fingers on guitars, bass, drums and piano, and voices close to heaven. Come and enjoy every perfect moment. These guys are great! Oh, what a night!</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-2857821663455667212024-02-23T09:16:00.000-08:002024-02-23T09:16:15.948-08:00"CRY IT OUT" AS THE JOYS AND PANGS OF CHILDBIRTH EMERGE<p>There can be few more life-altering occasions then welcoming a baby into your world. Creating a family is exciting, overwhelming, rewarding and, in mostinstances, an experimental learning trial depending on how well prepared you are for
the changes that occur. It’s kind of a ready-or-not event.</p>
<p>Without the pains of childbirth, the New Haven Theater Company invites you to “Cry It Out” by Molly Smith Metzler, directed by Marty Tucker, weekends until Saturday, March 2, which takes us literally out of the warm comforting womb and into the realities of birth. Two new moms, with no one but their babies to coo to, meet over melons at Stop and Shop. Their instant recognition of need for support brings them to their shared backyard for more than friendship: a sisterhood. Deena Nicol-Blifford’s sassy Lina with her frazzled home life and economical needs is a wonderful contrast to Jenny Schuck’s privileged lawyer/mom Jessie, yet the two snap together faster than a small size infant onesie.</p>
<p>Jessie had a traumatic time at delivery that makes going back to the corporate world virtually impossible. How can she leave Allison, her miracle child? Lina, for all her smart wit, is terrified to leave her Max with her almost mother-in-law who drinks and lies about it. But she has no choice financially.</p>
<p>Enter into the backyard koffee klatch Ruben Ortiz as Mitchell who literally lives above them on a cliff of wealthy homes. His wife, Melissa Andersen’s Adrienne, is a successful jewelry designer who seems to be having great difficulty bonding emotionally to motherhood. He wants Jessie and Lina to help her cope.</p>
<p>Molly Smith Metzler writes from personal experience as a new mom so you will identify with many of the issues. The title refers to the practice of letting babies “cry it out” when put to sleep. For tickets ($20), go online to www.newhaventheatercompany.com. Check performances at the English Building Market, 839 Chapel Street, New Haven Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., and Saturday at 8 p.m. Come a little early and browse all the shelves of the market before you settle in the back in the theater’s intimate setting.</p>
<p>Explore the pangs and joys of motherhood, counting ten precious fingers and toes, hugging powder scented little ones, changing countless diapers, sleepless nights and adjusting to life with a miraculous gift. Let this talented quartet create a world well worth remembering.</p>Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-15825396312422137342024-02-19T11:56:00.000-08:002024-02-19T11:56:55.979-08:00MUSIC THEATRE OF CT UNDRESSES “THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE"
<p>Whether you’re a surgeon or a hair dresser, a teacher or a librarian, some times your profession finds you. Earning a living by impersonating The King, Elvis Presley, is not the easiest way to pay the bills, but for young show biz performer, Clint Hromsco’s Casey, it is all he knows how to do. In the world of entertainment, an actor can transform from one character or persona to another with a change in voice, a wig or a costume. With skill and talent, a complete metamorphosis can occur right before the audience’s eyes. When Casey finds his Elvis days are over, he is overwhelmed with financial issues, from unpaid rent to buying a pepperoni pizza on the installment plan. He has a moment of revelation: he must change, his name, his dress, his attitude and his act.</p>
<p>Norwalk’s Music Theatre of Connecticut is inviting you to that moment of Casey’s epiphany in Matthew Lopez’s “The Legend of Georgia McBride” stripping down to its bare essentials until Sunday, March 3. In the hands and other body parts by Hromsco, we see Casey struggle to support his wife Jo, an understanding and newly pregnant Teagan La'shay, with an optimistic outlook and a new wardrobe. With the encouragement and mama mentoring of Miss Tracy Mills, a helpful Russell Saylor, Casey finds himself on stage at a club, Panama City Florida’s Cleo Bar, as a drag queen. Cleo’s is run by Eddie, an enterprising and successfully evolving Scott Mikita.</p>
<p>Enter Georgia McBride and learn that Elvis has, indeed, left the building. With bows to Bette, Liza, Pink and Lady Gaga and others, Casey emerges in full feathers and flamboyant fashion. The drag queens strut triumphantly, with the addition of Rexy, an outspoken and sassy Diva Lamarr, who doubles as Casey and Jo’s accommodating landlord Jason. So what’s the problem with this picture? Casey forgets or neglects to tell Jo of his new career choice. Could he be ashamed of his new enterprise?</p>
<p>While Jo is responsible and realistic, Casey is optimistic and full of potential. With the green light from Eddie, and the encouragement and assistance of Miss Tracy, Casey sees the future through his rose colored glasses. Being kind, wise and dependable, Casey discovers that tolerance and diversity and being open to change and opportunity can be life altering. When he lip syncs a host of great songs, he is just hitting his stride. Kevin Connors directs this peek under the wig and inside the dress of a drag queen, with help from costumes by Diane Vanderkroef, sound by Jon Damast, lighting by RJ Romeo, and set by April M. Bartlett.</p>
<p>For tickets ($45-60, with special seats on stage), call MTC, 509 Westport Avenue, Norwalk at 203-454-3883 or online at musictheatreofct.com. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Exciting news! MTC is growing with a capital campaign to expand its building. Go to www.musictheatreofct.com/newspace to donate your gift now.</p>
<p>For lessons in makeup, wig styling and drag queen dress, look no further than Casey and Tracy’s dressing room for a behind the curtain peek at a unique area of show business lore. You’re sure to be transformed.</p>Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-79345981516545780852024-02-19T11:48:00.000-08:002024-02-19T11:49:06.548-08:00CENTER STAGE SHELTON INVITES YOU TO SADDLE UP FOR A GRAND "OKLAHOMA !"<p>Howdy, neighbors, have I got a super duper, special show for you.</p>
<p>Grab your cowboy hat and enjoy! There’s plenty to love!
If it had been about Michigan or Mississippi, history would have been quite different. If the title hadn’t been changed from “Green Grow the Lilacs” and “Away We Go,” it might not have won a Special Pulitzer Prize for Drama or become the first Broadway musical honored with a commemorative U.S. stamp. If millions of people hadn’t flocked to see it, it might not have been translated into over a dozen languages from Hebrew to Hungarian.</p>
<p>Now celebrating over eight decades of popularity is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s gift to American musical theatre, one of Broadway’s longest running shows, “Oklahoma!” Center Stage of Shelton will be decorating surreys and picking elephant high sweet corn until Sunday, February 25th in an effort to make this a remarkable theatrical experience, one not to be missed. This is pure Americana at its best.</p>
<p>This production, beautifully directed and enhanced by Liz Muller and choreographed with spirit and spunk by Brandy Bailey and Michael “Beetle” Bailey is guaranteed to present the sunshine of the Oklahoma prairie from the dawn of each “Oh, what a beautiful mornin’ ” as farmer battles the cowman for supremacy in the territory trying to reconcile how both can be friends and become a state at the same time.</p>
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<p>Love swirls around the Box Social as Will Parker (Paul Keegan) bargains for the picnic basket made by Ado Annie (Sandra Fernandes) and Curly (John Corraro) and Jud (Scott Sheldon ) try to outbid each other for Laurey’s (Maggie Kruse) offering. While Ado Annie has to deal with the fast talking salesman Ali Hakim (Marc Garofalo), Laurey’s dilemma with the sullen farm hand Jud and the energetic and engaging Curly poses the show’s real conflict in an otherwise sunny and optimistic landscape. A kindly Aunt Eller (Tammy D'Auria) and a feisty Andrew Carnes (Ram Gordon) try to keep the folks peaceful.</p>
<p>Songs like the show stopping title “Oklahoma!,” "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top," the lovely duet “People Will Say We’re in Love” and the comic “I Cain’t Say No!” attest to why this show is a classic family favorite. A intriguing ballet poignantly ends the first act. The cast is awesome and the festivities abound with joy tinged with sorrow.</p>
<p>Come early to hear tunes and listen in the intermission to Ike Skidmore’s Otter Jug Band. Also be amazed by
the wonderful projections created by CE Simon and the creative use of tables for the cast to sing, dance and perform on throughout the show. The tables can be purchased. Premium ticket holders sit around these tables and enjoy their own box social.</p>
<p>For tickets($18 and up, premium $25 and up) call the Center Stage, 54 Grove Street, Shelton at 203-225-6079 or online at www.centerstageshelton.org. Performances are Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.</p>
<p>If you weren’t lucky enough to be at the show’s premiere at New Haven’s Shubert Theatre on March 15, 1943, don’t compound the mistake by missing this outstanding opportunity to climb aboard the most famous surrey with the
fringe on top and merrily ride into musical history. This talented cast will take you on a grand journey, you betcha!</p>Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-86317622218831049252024-02-19T11:38:00.000-08:002024-02-19T11:38:33.028-08:00LONG WHARF THEATRE STRIKES QUITE A PRODUCTION WITH "A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE"<p>Long ago and far away, former President Jimmy Carter admitted to the world infamously having looked upon “a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” Famously Rodney Dangerfield built his comic career with the saying, “I don’t get no respect.” These two disparate announcements are tied together with strong rope in a strangely unique way in Arthur Miller’s dramatic production “A View from the Bridge” by Long Wharf Theatre until Sunday, March 10. If you are a lover of extraordinary theatre, you shouldn’t miss this opportunity.</p>
<p>Long Wharf has started a new tradition, matching the play with where it is produced. In an ideal pairing this play about the obsession of a longshore- man is being staged at New Haven’s Canal Dock Boathouse with a view of New Haven Harbor, with scores of seagulls swirling overhead, on a set designed by You-Shin Chen. Come meet the strong minded Eddie, powerfully portrayed by Dominic Fumusa, who is proud of his work ethic and demands respect for how he lives his life. His wife Beatrice, a caring and devoted Annie Parisse, loves him but sees his flaws and is quite aware that her sister’s daughter Catherine, a lovely and obedient Paten Hughes, is an obsession to Eddie. They have been raising here for years and now his hold on her has not matured now that she is grown young woman.</p>
<p>When Beatrice invites her two cousins from Italy to move in with them, so Marco, a grateful Antonio Magro who needs to support his wife and three children one of whom has tuberculosis, and a young and eager Rudolpho, ambitious in the hands of Mark Junek, who loves to sing, cook and make dresses, the Carbone household changes forever. The cousins are entering the country illegally and must watch their behavior so they are not discovered and arrested. If so, they will be sent back to their homeland.</p>
<p>When Eddie sees the influence and growing affection between Catherine and Rudolpho, he jealously tries to stop it, even consulting a neighborhood attorney, receiving Patricia Black’s cautioning advice, to see how he can legally stop their relationship. Eddie decides Rudolpho is using Catherine to ensure he can marry her and be a legal citizen and at the same time disguise his true sexuality. Eddie’s friends at work. played by Mike Boland and Todd Cerveris, weave in and out of the story.</p>
<p>Storm clouds are brewing and threaten to explode in violence. Eddie, in clinging to his demand for respect and control, commits an act destined to change lives. Catherine tries to declare her independence while Beatrice recognizes her fate and the condemning truth. The cousins are forced to watch their new worlds implode. This drama directed by James Dean Palmer will sear your brain with its stranglehold for a long time to come.</p>
<p>For tickets ($49-59, K-12 $0, college $10), call Long Wharf Theatre at 203-693-1486 or online at boxoffice@longwharf.org. Performances are Wednesday at 7 p.m., Thursday at 10:30 a.m., 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.</p>
<p>Do not miss this tale of family, connections, immigration, home and the needs for control, respect and love and how this cauldron can boil out of its vessel instead of simply simmering with a mixture of flavors seasoned to taste. </p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-46609746580386389762024-02-13T12:22:00.000-08:002024-02-13T12:22:44.491-08:00DISCOVER THE TREASURE HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT IN "THE GARBOLOGISTS"<p>Whether you call them sanitation workers, trash men, refuse scientists, garbage men or by the more loftier term of garbologists, the people who collect your discards perform a most necessary task each week. They diligently take away items of paper and plastic, broken debris, discarded waste, that you no longer need or want, and carry it for burial at a dump site. Your trash men can clearly translate your junk into their newly discovered treasure. Have you ever thought about these dedicated servants? Have their lives ever intrigued your imagination? What are their backgrounds and their stories?</p>
<p>For a multitude of answers, follow the garbage truck directly to TheaterWorks Hartford by Sunday, February 25 for an intimate peek inside the vehicle in question as Lindsay Joelle's “The Garbologists” reveals the new relationship of veteran worker Danny, a dedicated to his job Jeff Brooks, as he explains in great detail the workings of his profession to recently hired Marlowe, created by Bebe Nicole Simpson.</p>
<p>As partners, Danny and Marlowe seem on the surface to be worlds apart. Yet, layer by layer, like a newly peeled onion, the audience is privileged to uncover their stories, that Danny is a father who is not allowed to see his son and Marlowe has lost her son to cancer. Danny has been a garbage man for years and lost the respect of his co-workers while Marlowe has significant college literary degrees that make her choice of occupation a mystery. How their lives cross in significant ways is at the heart and humanity of the play and is well worth unraveling.</p>
<p>Rob Ruggiero skillfully directs these talented actors to reveal how life has treated them and why they will forever be connected. For tickets ($25-70), call TheaterWorks Hartford, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford at 860-527-7838 or online at twhartford.org. Performance are Tuesday (with beer and pizza before) at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Come early or stay late for a delicious cup of Mezzie’s ice cream.</p>
<p>Learn a lesson that these people who risk their lives keeping your streets and homes clean are too often viewed as invisible, yet they perform a necessary task that deserves our gratitude and respect and certainly appreciation.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-26674665327957235102024-02-11T10:06:00.000-08:002024-02-11T10:06:45.155-08:00WARM UP TO THE MAGIC OF "DISNEY FROZEN " AT THE BUSHNELL<p>Hands are especially wonderful for hugs. They are also quite useful for gripping knives, forks and spoons for eating, holding a five card straight in poker, embracing hands to dance a tango, writing illuminating lines of poetry, and any number of necessary every day tasks But what might you do if your hands were a source of danger, so powerful you had to wear gloves to protect others from your potential potency. Is it a curse, a hex or a magical gift?</p>
<p>To discover the answer, venture to the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford to fall under the spell of the captivating musical “Disney FROZEN” until Sunday, February 18,with music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and book by Jennifer Lee, based on the original movies. Like a fairy tale come to life, travel to a land where two sisters, Elsa and Anna, play happily in the castle. Young Elsa is played by Erin Choi and Savannah Lumar and young Anna by Annie Piper Braverman and Emma Origenes. As the two girls innocently play, Elsa accidentally injures Anna with her powerful spell. Because of that mistake, Elsa hides herself from Anna for fear that she will cause her more harm in the future.</p>
<p>Their parents, Queen Iduna, Katie Mariko Murray, suffers from the same fate as Elsa, and King Agnarr, Kyle Lamar Mitchell, travel from their kingdom and are lost at sea leaving their now grown up daughter Elsa to take the crown as Queen. Elsa is now portrayed by Caroline Bowman and Anna by Lauren Nicole Chapman, both spectacular in their roles, both protective of each other for fear of causing more harm.</p>
<p>Enter Hans, Preston Perez, who quickly professes his love of Anna, Evan Duff’s Weselton, who also has interesting desires, a humble ice man Kristoff portrayed by Dominic Dorset who wants to protect the sisters, Sven the reindeer in a role shared by Collin Baja and Dan Plehal who adds humor to the tale and the friendly Olaf the snowman captured sweetly by Jeremy Davis. The special effects are glorious as ice castles appear in striking color. The great direction is due to Michael Grandage, the choreography by Rob Ashford and music supervision by Stephen Oremus. </p>
<p>For tickets (from $34 and up), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at https://bushnell.org. Performances are Tuesday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Encourage children to sign their name on a snowflake to benefit charity.</p>
<p>Your heart will melt as FROZEN casts a magic spell that is sure to mesmerize you with its message of love, hope and beauty.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-3086866192986858162024-01-29T13:50:00.000-08:002024-01-29T14:09:23.804-08:00GO TO PLAYHOUSE ON PARK FOR A COMIC, FEMINIST SLANT ON HOLMES AND WATSON<P>Who doesn’t love a good mystery? But what if it is stuffed with duels and umbrellas, smoke bombs, skeletons, red herrings, assorted dead people (even in bathtubs) at least a pair of villains and a doctor with a very obvious aversion to blood? Get your magnifying glasses and finger printing kits ready for a workout as Playhouse on Park playfully produces Kate Hamill’s funny and slightly frustrating “Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson -Apt.2B” ready for clues and evidence gathering until Sunday, February 18. Be sure you get a good night’s sleep before you venture forth as the speed of the action and dialogue is full fast forward.</P>
<P>An American doctor desperately needs a change of scene and she innocently enters the apartment of one Sherlock Holmes, yes it can be a female name without surcombing to Shirley, to rent a space as a roommate. Kelly Letorneau’s Joan Watson is spunky and adventurous enough that she doesn’t run screaming at the first sight of adversity when the accommodating landlady Mrs. Hudson, a fast talking Megan McDermott, first opens the apartment door. The audience already knows it is in for an interesting encounter when Nick Nudler lays the groundwork for an unusual series of events soon to transpire.</P>
<P>Think mayhem and merriment and chaos and comedy. Enter the enigmatic master detective played by an intriguing Kirsten Peacock and the game is quite quickly afoot. Soon bodies are splayed and displayed all over London and Holmes and Watson are awash in victims with plenty of clues to examine. To add a bit of mystery to the confusion, Nudler and McDermott assume various villains from Holmes’ past to add an urgency to finding solutions. Thanks to Kelly O’Donnell’s clever direction, on Lindsey G. Fuori's charming set, with a playroom of playful props assembled by Amber Gebert Goldsmith, in addition to a lobby full of footsteps to set up the plot, this production is delightful detective distraction.</p>
<p>For tickets ($42.50 for seniors, students and military on tiers, to $55.00 ), call Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford at 860- 523-5900, ext. 10 or online at playhouseonpark.org. Performances are Tuesday at 2 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. followed by a talkback with the cast.</p>
<p>On Sunday, February 18 from 6-9 p.m., Tracy and Darlene, two of the theater’s artistic directors, are celebrating their birthdays and you are invited. The caveat is that you must bring them a gift from the Playhouse’s Wishlist. Fun, games, food and drink will be added to a reunion cabaret performance by the original Falcetti Four, featuring Colin Britt on piano. The Playhouse is also working to meet its goal of raising $30,000 and would welcome your financial support. If you donate $5 or more in February, they will add your name to their Wall of Love.</p>
<p>Who said murder can’t be fun? Don your deerstalker cap and jump feet first into the fray!</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-28157667133128157832024-01-28T09:22:00.000-08:002024-01-28T09:22:28.878-08:00GO TO HARTFORD STAGE TO HELP "SIMONA'S SEARCH"<p>Life is complicated and messy, even if you believe there are no deep secrets to discover in your family’s past. For a young girl Simona, a curiously obsessed Alejandra Escalante, an incident at the first sleepover for her girl friends starts her on a journey of unfolding all the secrets that her father Papi, a stubbornly silent Al Rodrigo, is shielding her from. His past in Latin America is his business and not hers, as he guards it from her prying eyes. Hartford Stage is offering this world premiere production “Simona’s Search” by Martin Zimmerman until Sunday, February 11and you will be quickly swept along in her imagination and trauma.</p>
<p>Simona and Papi share a dedicated love for all things science, as he compulsively clips articles he thinks will spark her love of learning. Their tiny apartment is stacked with boxes meant to inspire her knowledge. While he openly offers Simona these educational moments to treasure, he is compulsively quiet about any facts of his childhood before he immigrated to America.</p>
<p>With her scientific mind on high alert, Simona knows that dark shadows frame his past, disturbing events that are affecting him emotionally and physically and she feels compelled to know the answers. Along the way she meets Christopher Bannow’s Jake who shares her love of learning and tries through his love for her to help her through the mental health crisis she has created for herself.</p>
<p>This is a compelling tale that will capture your sympathy and concern as you watch Simona risk everything for the answers. Her genetic research threatens to overwhelm her mind as she refuses to stop her search. Go on this journey with her and learn if she ever unlocks the mysterious clues she seeks so compulsively, thanks to the fine direction by Melia Bensussen.</p>
<p>For tickets ($30 and up), call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or online at boxoffice@hartfordstage.org. Performances are Tuesday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees on Saturday and Sunday and a select Wednesday at 2 p.m.</p>
<p>We are all curious about our family’s history and heritage but Simona carries that quest to great lengths to help her Papi deal with his demons and finally put them to rest.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-62770824843982344532024-01-01T10:01:00.000-08:002024-01-01T10:01:29.368-08:00SKI INTO GOODSPEED FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS FOR WINTER DELIGHTS<p>For some people, winter signals a time for sledding, skating, snowboarding and snowman making. For others, like me, the highlight of the cold weather months is a special weekend, this year Friday to Sunday, January 12-14, when music theater lovers gather in East Haddam for the 2024 Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals. Come join this magical celebration. Hopefully the weatherman will cooperate and there will be no need for snow shoes or skis, just for open hearts and minds to the wonders that musical theater offers in abundance.</p>
<p>For the 18th year, Goodspeed is presenting a weekend with a trio of new musicals in play reading form, a pair pf exciting cabarets, and a whole day, on Saturday, stuffed with seminars, a symposium, a special announcement about the Terris Theatre season in Chester, and a festive dinner at the Gelston House next door as an added option.</p>
<p>First up at 7 p.m. Friday is a staged reading with book. music and lyrics by Claudine Mboligikepelani Nako. Enter the plant world created by Nike, a hard working Black owner of Miss Nika’s Awesome Blossoms, who feels pressure and a growing resentment maintaining her status as a community role model in “Photosynthesis.” When her ancient Volkswagen Beetle desperately needs repairs, she discovers that her car is not the only one with broken parts.</p>
<p>At 9:30 p.m., come listen to the compositions of Nevada Lazano, a pianist, lyricist, composer, professional music director, arranger, and orchestrator, who will share some of his latest works in a cabaret at the Gelston House.</p>
<p>On Saturday, gather at the Gelston House from 9 a.m. to noon, to select your tickets for three seminars at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. that are sure to feature talks by people significant in the musical theater world. At 3:30 p.m. there will be the Terris Theatre announcement followed at 4:30 p.m. by a special presentation and at 5:30 p.m. a Festival Dinner at the Gelston House.</p>
<p>At 7:30 p.m. prepare to be entranced by “Letters to the President” conceived by Michael Bello and Jessica Kahkoska, the latter the researcher and letter curator of the piece. A tradition began in 1783 when George Washington took office for citizens to send missives no matter their political party, race, age or background of their hopes, dreams and fears for our country. These letters have been enhanced by the works of multiple composers for inspiration.</p>
<p>With an emphasis on mental health, and her own personal experiences, Nikki Lynette will share excerpts from her autobiographical musical “Get Out Alive” at the Gelston House in a 9:30 p.m. cabaret. She will also debut selections from her new documusical “Happy Songs About Unhappy Things” which she just finished filming and is currently adapting into a live theatrical experience.</p>
<p>On Sunday, at 1 p.m., enter a world created with book and lyrics by Scott Gilmour with music by Claire McKenzie, based on a novel by Paul Gallico. An injured animal, "The Snow Goose," unites two unlikely people in friendship as they try to restore it to flight. A young girl Fritha bonds with Rhayader, a recluse, as the threat of a world war looms ever closer.</p>
<p>At 3:30 p.m., the weekend will culminate in a fascinating discussion by the three sets of composers on the sources of their work, the inspirations and challenges in a question and answer forum.</p>
<p>A Festival Package for $100 can be purchased that includes a ticket for all three staged readings, three seminars, a symposium, the Terris Theatre announcement, and meet the writers. You can add the festival dinner at Gelston House for $42, and either of the cabarets for $15. Single tickets for the readings are $30, students $15. Call the Goodspeed box office at 860-873-8668 to order. Friends of the Festival can also be purchased for $500 by calling 860-873-8664, ext. 366.
</p>
<p>Make the Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals the highlight of your winter season as you ski, sled, snow shoe or snowboard into musical theater heaven.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-38110198421576779562023-12-30T11:39:00.000-08:002023-12-30T11:39:57.699-08:00LET THE MUSICAL MAGIC OF "HAIRSPRAY" ENVELOPE YOU AT THE PALACE THEATER<p>Can you imagine a whole generation being defined by its hair styles? If you can, then you are ready to make the acquaintance of a special teenager from Baltimore.</p>
<p>With a hairdo that looks like it was inflated by a bike tire pump, teenager Tracy Turnblad has a heart big enough to take over the whole world. She recognizes fairness and inequality and would ban prejudice if she had it in her power. When she gets a chance to dance as a regular on the Corny Collins TV Show, she ignores the fact that she doesn't fit the svelte image of the other kids already chosen and dances her Baltimore best.</p>
<p>The 1960's come alive in this sparkling musical comedy "Hairspray" based on the movie by John Waters, and the award-winning show has a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman. The Palace Theater in Waterbury will be injecting energy and enthusiasm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, January 16-18.</p>
<p>Even if you don’t have a weekly hair appointment at your local salon, you’re not a certified cosmetologist, you’ve never spent three hours teasing and pouffing your hair into a football helmet-like coif, you’ll still find a lot to love about the musical “Hairspray.” Caroline Wiseman is a terrific and tremendously talented Tracy Turnblad who may be just a teenager but one on the verge of big-sized discoveries about life.</p>
</p>Tracy and her teen friends, including her BFF Penny, an adorable Scarlett Jacques, will be dancing their bobby socks off and making their poodle skirts bark and howl. When Tracy, a plump dance queen wannabe, wins a coveted spot on the Corny Collins Show, a local television program, she becomes an overnight sensation. Her adoration for the show's teen heart throb Link Larkin, a hunky Skyler Shields, puts her in direct competition with the snobby star of the show Caroline Portner as the opinionated Amber Von Tussle. Amber with her mom Velma, a manipulative Sarah Hayes, have been in control of all the goings on and like it that way. Corny Collins, an open-minded Andrew Scoggin, and the show's sponsor, the owner of Ultra Clutch Hairspray, played by Micah Sauvageau in a variety of roles, are steam rolled by Velma's bossy attitude.</p>
<p>Tracy uses her new fifteen minutes of fame to launch a campaign to allow colored and white students to bogey on the show at the same time, an unheard of reality in 1960’s American society and one that Baltimore is not quickly or easily going to accept. Her friendship with a fellow student Seaweed, a versatile Josiah Rogers, and his impressive mom Motormouth Maybelle, a charismatic Deidre Lang, help her mount her platform against prejudice.</p>
<p>All kids should have supportive parents like Tracy, her mom Edna, portrayed with skillful fun by Greg Kalafatas, and her dad Wilbur, brought to life by a caring Ralph Prentice Daniel, are in direct contrast to Penny's worrisome mother who fears everything in her daughter's life, played by Emmanuelle Zeesman, who also tackles all the female authority figures. Jack O'Brien directs this bursting at the seams happy fest of a show that is stuffed with great songs like "Good Morning, Baltimore," "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now," "I Can Hear the Bells" and "You Can Hear the Beat.” Watch for Kaila Symone Crowder as Little Inez.</p>
<p>For tickets ($47and up), call the Palace Theater, 100 Main Street, Waterbury at 203-346-2000 or online at palacetheaterct.org. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. </p>
<p>Follow this enthusiastic and principled girl as she questions the rules and is willing to risk everything, even being imprisoned, for her beliefs. With the help of her parents and her best friends, Tracy inspires a conga line of loyal followers as she makes all her dreams come true.</p>
<p> Let your hair down or bouffant it up, your choice, as you cha-cha to Waterbury for a turn around the dance floor with that most trustworthy and talented teen Tracy Turnblad.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-62750142436727515012023-12-22T07:14:00.000-08:002023-12-22T07:14:22.185-08:00"HIP HOP NUTCRACKER" JUMPS INTO THE PALACE THEATER IN WATERBURY<p>Are you ready to literally shake up your holiday season with something vibrant and new, unusual and different? If so, the Palace Theater in Waterbury has quite the surprise package for you to open. for one day only,Saturday, December 30 at 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Since 1892, “The Nutcracker,” a charming ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, has had the ability to enchant families. But it wasn’t until the late 1960’s that it became a Christmas tradition, especially in North America. The magical tale of a young girl Clara is set on Christmas Eve when her godfather surprises everyone gathered around a beautiful Christmas tree with toys, including four life-size dolls who dance to the delight of the guests. He also has a special Nutcracker that Clara is drawn to, fascinated, but her brother Fritz accidentally breaks it.</p>
<p>Her godfather fixes it and Clara returns during the night to assure herself all is well. After an army of mice appear, the Christmas tree grows taller as well as the Nutcracker assumes a greater presence. A battle ensues, the Nutcracker becomes a Prince and he and Clara travel through the forest to the Land of the Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy and have wild adventures. That was then, this is now and “The Nutcracker” has gone to amazing new heights as it goes, are you ready, Hip Hop!</p>
<p>Be prepared to be wildly entertained as Tchaikovsky’s classic tale is reimaged into a contemporary dance spectacular with a dozen all-star dancers, a DJ, a violinist and Mr. Kurtis “The Breaks” Blow, a founding father of hip hop and the first rapper to be signed to a major label in 1979. “I love taking this show on the road each year and creating lifelong memories for our audiences,” says Kurtis Walker, known professionally as Kurtis Blow. “And to be celebrating our 15th season this year is such a big accomplishment for the show.” It’s a big accomplishment for Blow as well; who on December 6, 2020, had a heart transplant that has given him a new life. He paved the way for generations of hip hop artists and fans after scoring the first certified gold record rap song in 1980, “The Breaks.”</p>
<p>Called an “electrifying dance experience,” this is "The Nutcracker” as you’ve never seen it before. Clara and her Nutcracker still go on a dream adventure, they battle the mice gang, travel to the Land of the Sweets and learn the lessons of the holiday season, all while transforming the 130 year old story from 19th century Germany to a diverse, colorful, and dramatic New York City in the most magical way possible.</p>
<p>If you are in the Waterbury area, head to the Palace Theater, 100 East Main Street, on Saturday, December 30 at 7 pm for tickets $39-69, by calling 203-346-2000 or online palacetheaterct.org. Bring a new tradition to the family holiday celebration by experiencing the magic of "The Nutcracker” in a unique and fantastic way as a dancing Hip Hop trip into time.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-23862374919880013982023-12-14T15:21:00.000-08:002023-12-14T15:21:25.210-08:00FLY INTO THE HARTFORD STAGE UNTIL DECEMBER 24 FOR A SPIRITED " A CHRISTMAS CAROL"<p>What would this time of year be without a retelling of Charles Dickens’ immortal tale about forgiveness, redemption and change of heart? Have no fear as the Hartford Stage is ready and most willing to welcome you with a spirited version for your family’s pleasure.</p>
<p>Christmas is a holiday for people who are open hearted and generous, joyful and grateful. But what if you are mean spirited, grumpy and greedy, with a heart as closed up tight as the Pharaoh of Egypt or a miserable miser who never learned how to share. The epitome of ingratitude and selfishness is surely Ebenezer Scrooge and he is ready and willing to defend his sullen attitude until Sunday, December 24 in the Hartford Stage’s glorious and ghostly adaptation by Michael Wilson of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol A Ghost Story of Christmas,” a family tradition since 1998. It is now back livelier then even after a three year absence due to the pandemic.</p>
</p>For the first time Allen Gilmore will be donning his night cap and assuming the persona of our favorite bah humbug curmudgeon, old Ebenezer Scrooge, who refuses to acknowledge the Christmas holiday and begrudges his faithful and hard working employee Bob Cratchit, the loyal Ryan Garbayo, even one day off a year with pay. This year, however, on Christmas Eve, Scrooge’s old partner in business Jacob Marley (Noble Shropshire), dead as a door nail lo these seven years, comes back to warn Scrooge to mend his ways or he is fated to join Marley in a place of deep regrets.</p>
<p>To help and encourage Scrooge to change, Marley is sending him three spirits, the Spirit of Christmas Past (Rebecca Jones), the Spirit of Christmas Present (John-Andrew Morrison) and the Spirit of Christmas Future on Christmas Eve at 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Scrooge will be given the opportunity to review his past life and see what he had in life and what he lost and what he can still regain if he is willing to change. The vendors like the inventor of watchworks (Mauricio Miranda) certainly hope Scrooge can mend his ways.</p>
<p>Along the way, our cranky businessman visits a former employer Mr. Fezziwig (Stuart Rider) and his wife (Sarah Killough), his fiancee Belle (Vanessa R. Butler), his nephew Fred (Erik Bloomquist) and the home of his clerk Bob who has a crippled son Tiny Tim (Calin “Cali” Butterfield or Aria Pierce). At each step of the journey, Scrooge has his eyes opened wider to see what the world has to offer if he only opens his heart to the possibilities. Meanwhile ghosts swirl and fly in a masked ball of supernatural steps. They are here to scare a little sense into Mr. Scrooge and help him to avoid Marley’s disasterous fate.</p>
<p>By the end of Christmas Eve, Scrooge declares “I am not the man I was. I will learn the lessons I have been told. I will dispel the shadows.” When he sends for the prize turkey, he has clearly come to his senses and begs forgiveness from the town’s people in general and his family in particular. Michael Wilson has returned to direct this heartwarming production that has so much to offer.</p>
<p>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 Sunday at 7:30 p.m. with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. </p>
<p>Don’t let the holiday season escape without a visit to that most famous of cantankerous curmudgeons, Ebenezer Scrooge, who transforms himself into a new man thanks to the visitations of a trio of ghosts who help him see the errors of his ways.</p>Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-36691562236599225162023-12-14T08:20:00.000-08:002023-12-14T08:20:30.918-08:00FOR MYSTERY AND MAGIC GO SEE "A SHERLOCK CAROL" AT WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE<p>What do you get when you combine a mystery with some ghosts and a heartwarming family holiday story? Just ask writer and director Mark Shanahan of the Westport Country Playhouse where his new play “A Sherlock Carol” will be playing from Tuesday, December 19 to Saturday, December 23 how it all came to pass. To Shanahan, Charles Dickens wrote the best ghost story ever, calling it "astounding.” He combined that love with an admiration for the old Basil Rathbone movies starring that great detective Sherlock Holmes that his dad took him to when he was a child growing up in New York’s East Village.</p>
<p>Fortuitively, he has mixed these two favorite characters together into a holiday play for the whole family to enjoy. He likens it to "a dinner party, inviting friends from different social circles…and hoping like heck they’d get along.” To that end, he has placed these iconic characters by Doyle and Dickens in a new inventive stage mystery.</p>
<p>Come see such unique innovations as a talking door knocker, the spooky elements that resonate throughout, a reimagined holiday classic, a murder mystery set in London in 1894, the deaths of two famous characters like Holmes’ great enemy Professor James Moriarty and, unexpectedly, Ebenezer Scrooge. Can Holmes follow the clues to find the dastardly perpetrator or is he doomed to become the town's new miser himself? How will a grown-up Tiny Tim, now a doctor and Scrooge’s benefactor, influence the outcome?</p>
<p>Also playing a huge part in writing the play, Shanahan was intrigued by the mission of Paul Newman’s The Hole in the Wall Camp created in Ashford, Connecticut in 1988 to serve children with serious illnesses. Newman established a special place, a wonderful and free camping experience that is now in many places around the world. Donations to the camp and to the Westport Home with Hope food pantry drive will be benefactors from the production. Patrons are also encouraged to take a photo in the lobby at Sherlock Holmes' house, 211B Baker Street, London.</p>
<p>Shanahan was inspired to envision Tiny Tim as “someone with a little help from a certain benefactor, who battled illness and went on to help others do the same. Just like Scrooge did, we can all keep Christmas in our hearts throughout the year by donating to these remarkable organizations.”</p>
<p>For tickets ($35-70, students call the box office for $20 tickets), call the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport, off route 1 at 203-227-4177 or 888-927-7529 or online at www.westportplayhouse.org. Performances are Tuesday-Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.</p>
<p>Bring the family to the Westport Country Playhouse for a novel look at two classic tales with all the mystery and magic that the Christmas holiday demands.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136908543479929256.post-61065278506544226262023-12-11T08:59:00.000-08:002023-12-11T08:59:35.650-08:00PANTOCHINO PRODUCTIONS IS BAKING UP "CHRISTMAS COOKIES! THE MUSICAL" TIL DEC. 23<p>What better way to welcome the happy jolly season of Christmas then with a silver platter stacked with snow ball crinkles, candy cane cookies, rum balls, fruit cake bars, chocolate kisses, pinwheels and gingerbread men, or whatever confection rings your culinary bells. But what if your favorite bakery, Sweet’s. is facing hard times and the owner, Mrs Baker, a hard working Maria Berte, may be forced to end the generations of her family who have supplied the town of Mayfield with delicious treats.</p>
<p>Master chefs Bert Bernardi, for recipe book and clever lyrics, and Justin Rugg, for merry music, have concocted a delicious holiday surprise, with Pantochino Production's "Christmas Cookies! The Musical." The Milford Center for the Arts will be festooned in red and green and silver finery weekends until Saturday, December 23 and what an appetizing way to treat the family to some tasty fun.</p>
<p>For many years, Pantochino has been delivering original musicals and this one may be the most delectable ever. What do you do when a wonderful old-fashioned bakery falls on "crummy" times? A little girl Kris, a sweet Ella Bedenbaugh, writes a sincere letter to Santa asking for help and that assistance comes in the perfect package of a trio of gingerbread girls, Mary Mannix, Shelley Marsh Poggio and Rachelle Ianniello, who come to life to sing their way to save the bake shoppe. It doesn’t help that a villian Dexter Dell-Dubis, Jimmy Johansmeyer, the ambitious and meanly aggressive owner of a coffee empire wants to swoop in and buy the bakery for his own selfish desires, challenging the good intentions of George Spelvin’s Mister Kay and Justin Rugg’s Murray the Mailman. </p>
<p>Once again Jimmy Johansmeyer has gone fashionably wild to dress the cookie girls in holiday happiness, with colorful sets by Von Del Mar, sparkling lighting by Jeff Carr and smashing sound by Richard Ives, all under the careful care of stage manager Christina Ronquillo and cheerful direction by Bert Bernardi. Justin Rugg’s tunes like “Christmas Cookie Time,” “A Little Bit if Baking Powder,” The Best Little Bakery in Town,” and “This Christmas” make the action move happily along.</p>
</p>The ensemble cast also includes Wyatt Hughes, Katie Durham, Christy Chiaramonte, Valerie Solli, Aria Chiaramonte and Sydney Maher.</p>
<p>For tickets ($30), go online to www.pantochino.com or visit 40 Railroad Avenue South, Milford for performances Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. These are cabaret style with tables and chairs, so you can enjoy your own foods and drink during the show. </p>
<p>Come take a big bite out of this heavenly confection as a trio of adorable Christmas cookies Ginger, Blondie and Rosette come to the rescue in a most delicious and magically musical way.</p>
Bonnie K. Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642467477989236182noreply@blogger.com0