GOODSPEED MUSICALS HAS A FESTIVAL FOR YOU IN JANUARY!

If skiing or iceskating, sledding or snowman building aren’t on your list of requirements for winter activities, then please consider joining me at an indoor event that rocks my personal world, one where blazing excitement reigns supreme. For the nineteenth year, Goodspeed Musicals is once again bringing new and innovative musical theater to the stage, this year for the weekend of Friday, January 17 to Sunday, January 19. Due to renovations at Goodspeed in East Haddam, the Festival of New Musicals will be held at The Terris Theatre just down the street in the charming town of Chester.

Over the years, this festival has launched fifty new musicals to Broadway and the world on this winter weekend of panel discussions, seminars, new musicals and cabarets, showcasing the future of musical theater with staged readings, like the wildly successful “Come From Away.” First up is "R & J: Fire on the Bayou” at 7:30 p.m. Friday at The Terris, conceived by Kevin Ramsey, adapted by Kevin Ramsey and Nygel D. Robinson, with music and lyrics by Kevin Ramsey and Nygel D. Robinson. Set in modern day Mardi Gras, welcome R & J to the stage for a jazz-and-blues flavored romantic score that embellishes New Orleans and transforms this age old tragedy to today’s times. How will these star-crossed lovers fare among modern beads and baubles, costumes and chaos?

Following at 10:30 p.m. is Oliver Houser’s musical the “Wunderkind” about a young American Jewish piano prodigy searching to escape his father’s stranglehold grip on his future in order to establish his personal and individual musical voice. Can he become free of these bonds, find forgiveness and redemption to become who he needs to be?

On Saturday from 1 p.m to 4:30 p.m., the Chester Meeting House at 4 Liberty Street, two blocks from the Terris, will host an exclusive Gold Package Event of festival seminars. With book, music and lyrics by Bonnie Gleicher at 7:30 p.m. at The Terris, get ready for “Oy Band,” when a quartet of Orthodox Jewish girls from Brooklyn encounter a regulation that prohibits them from performing in front of men due to their age and sex. To enter this now forbidden world, they disguise themselves as a boy band and risk their future or, perhaps, allow themselves to claim it.

At 10 p.m. at The Terris, come welcome Singapore’s singer and songwriter Cheeyang Ng in “Legendary” as he takes us on a journey of discovery to a new land alone with little possessions, attempting to prove that it is a worthwhile flight. His immigrant, Asian and queer loss and acceptance will be illuminating.

The final entry into this year’s festival has book, music and lyrics by Nevada Lozano at 1 p.m. Sunday with “The Carol of the Bells,” a special occasion and the most favorite of the Bell family. Unique circumstances may doom this Christmas celebration to be the very last one and Silver, the youngest daughter, is set on reuniting the whole family for the best one ever.

Meet the writers for questions and answers will follow at 3:30 p.m., an exclusive Gold Package event, when the composers of all three musicals will talk about their inspirations. For $125, you can purchase the Gold Package for tickets to all three musicals, three seminars, both cabarets and Meet the Writers. The $75 Silver Package includes all three staged readings, while add ons for $20 include the Friday and Saturday night cabarets. Single tickets can be purchased for the staged readings, $30 adult, $15 students and cabarets $20. Call 860-878-8668.

VIP seating and special perks are yours if you become A Friend of the Festival, with a special Kick off Cocktail Party to meet writers and performers, Sunday Brunch with students special recognition and select festival rehearsals, all for $500. Contact Yz Josa at yz@goodspeed.org or 860-873-8668, ext.333.

Forget the snow balls and winter gear and plan to stay toasty and warm as you let the Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals, this year in Chester at The Terris Theatre, entertain you royally with the newest musical theatre offerings on the planet.

MYSTERY AND MAGIC ABOUND IN TALE OF SCROOGE AND SHERLOCK AT WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE

Artistic Director and playwright/director Mark Shanahan at Westport Country Playhouse has cleverly combined two classic tales,Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s tale of Sherlock Holmes, detective extraordinaire, into one delightful production. What a coincidence…they both begin with a death in the first line: “Marley was dead to begin with” and “Moriarty was dead to begin with.” Both men are clearly dead as a doornail and will stay so until Sunday, December 22.

The similarities don’t end there. No Sir! The major figures in “A Christmas Carol” like Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Dr. Watson, Cratchit, The Fezziwigs, Mrs. Dilber and a few others pay visits to Sherlock Holmes and continue their journeys in a new place, a place where dastardly deeds may just happen.

Kudos to Mr. Shanahan and Westport Country Playhouse who opened this novel literary door to 221B Baker Street, London where a skeptical Sherlock (Drew McVety) finds himself in a most haunting of ghost tales, especially when he firmly believes there are no such creatures as spirits. Once again it’s Christmas Eve and our old friend Tiny Tim, now all grown up, shows up at Sherlock Holmes’s house to beg the great detective to solve a peculiar murder: the death of Ebenezer Scrooge (Byron St. Cyr). Will the ghosts of past, present and future appear? Of course!

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 where his new play “A Sherlock Carol” will be playing until Sunday, December 22 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.

Fortuitively, he has mixed these two favorite characters together into a holiday play for the whole family to enjoy, ages 7 and up. 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.

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? Come meet Joe Delafield as Dr. Watson and others, Dan Domingues as Crotchet and others Isabel Keating as the Countess and others and Sharone Sayegh as Emma Watson and others.

Also playing a huge part in writing the play, Shanahan was intrigued by the mission of Paul Newman’s The Hole in the Wall Gang 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, 221B Baker Street, London.

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.”

For tickets ($35-80, students call the box office for discounted tickets), call the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport, off route 1 at 203-227-4177 or online at www.westportplayhouse.org. Performances are today-Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.and Sunday at 2 p.m.

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.

"THE UGLY X-MAS SWEATER MUSICAL" GLOWS AT PLAYHOUSE ON PARK

Do you own an ugly holiday sweater or at least one that has been judged as barely wearable in public? If so, you are clad appropriately for Playhouse on Park’s northeast coast premiere of the current clever dancing and singing offering “The Ugly X-mas Sweater Musical.” Until Sunday, December 22, the singing and dancing will continue at the corporate office of the American Regalia Uniforms Company. Michelle Jennings’s head of Human Resources Cheryl is upset, anxious, disturbed, angry, frustrated, out-of-control and panicked that her beloved company may close its doors forever.

Knitted tightly together by Dan Knechtges and Megan Larche Dominick, based on an idea by Dan Knechtges, this is a wildly different take on the holidays. Cheryl is in trouble and clearly at the wrong time of year: Christmas. She is genuinely alarmed that all her trusty employees will lose their jobs and she won’t be able to save them from a dreaded enemy in the personage of Laura Yen Solito's Olga, a German villain who holds all their fates in her greedy hands.

To add to the company’s trauma its current CEO has absconded to Tahiti with all the funds and double crossed his crew, Jef Canter’s Charlie, Miles Messier’s Ben, Marcel Werder’s Doug/Niles and Cheron Whittley’s Misty/Kelli. He blames his divorce for all his problems. How will Cheryl save the day or can she? What new idea for a uniform can they create when Olga is snapping her whip of authority? With sheer creativity and imagination magically materialize the solution?

The team needs a crew of elves faster than you can say “candy cane creations” three times over, plus a troupe of volunteers from the audience to hop on board to model their Christmas clothing innovations, some ugly holiday sweaters if you will. With the trio of rules of construction, fitting and runway, and classic ideas like gingerbread, figgy pudding, heavenly bodies like angels, shake-shake-shake your snowglobes, evergreen trees and stocking stuffers, with the help of the audience a solution might be magically discovered. Hallelujah!

For tickets ($45-55, discount for senior, military, students), call Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford at 860-523-5900, ext. 10 or online at www.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. The lobby has many ugly sweaters on display as well as a cabinet cubbyhole to purchase new innovative creations to take home.

Get into the Christmas spirit by donning a colorful version of woolen, tinsel, reindeer, candy cane, or ornamental finery to proclaim your holiday happiness. And if you are invited to an ugly Christmas sweater contest, you just might win a prize.

SEVEN ANGELS THEATRE WELCOMES YOU TO "LAST CALL FOR CHRISTMAS AT EARLENE'S DINER"

There’s always some exciting doings at Earlene’s Friendly Diner, Motel and Cabaret, at least for the last fifty years, in Pottsville, especially at Christmas time and this year is no exception. The only new situation is that our jolly, happy proprietress, Earlene Babcock, is depressed and a sudden blizzard on Christmas Eve is not helping. Her precious business property is being threatened to be taken away after decades of family enterprises and may soon close forever. Earlene is about to give up and move to live with her Aunt Louise and close a huge door in her enterprising and fully satisfying life forever. Thanks to the Winter Community Stage of Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury, you’re cordially invited to join Michelle Gotay as the endearing Earlene in “Last Call for Christmas at Earlene’s Diner” until Sunday, December 22 for one merry holiday of fun and festivities, as written and directed by Artistic Director Semina DeLaurentis.

Due to an excess of snow, Earlene is ready to do just about anything to be cheered up. The cast of the Sarah Day television show has been sidetracked and finds itself stranded at Earlene’s unable to reach its destination and Earlene finds herself a reluctant master of ceremonies. The show’s director Marcia Maslo’s Suzie Devine runs a tight sleigh and pushes the cast to produce, produce, produce, singing, dancing, telling jokes, and even making prize winning fruitcake. While the broken truck for transportation is being repaired, the talented cast from little ones to seniors works hard and with spirit to get the television show produced, from “We Need a Little Christmas,” I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” “I Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “My Favorite Things,” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and a new unique version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” all like a string of holiday lights. In between we have a Grinch chasing Santa, a visit from Elvis, a cautionary tale about falling in love with an elf, traditional hymns like “Silent Night” and “Mary, Did You Know?" and old favorites like "Winter Wonderland” and a Hawaiian tribute to the holiday in grass skirts.

Along the way, old theater favorites like Jimmy Donohue as Sam, Timothy Cleary as Santa, Joyce Follo Jeffrey as Priscilla, and Tom Chute asTommie keep the merriment jumping, with a whole troupe of community players enthusiastically participating.

For tickets ($30 and 35, children under 18 $20, 4 pack adults save $20), call Seven Angels Theatre, Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at SevenAngelsTheatre.org. Performances are Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Watch for the specialty nights before certain shows. Now is the time to reserve your seat for the Stand Up Countdown! New Year’s Eve Comedy Night on Tuesday, December 31 at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. with Michelle Gotay as host and comedians Steve Shaffer, John Iavarone and Rich Francese ready and anxious to bring you laughter.

Gallop into the holiday spirit thanks to Earlene and her wreath of friends to make your Christmas 2024 extra special.

LONG WHARF THEATRE OFFERS EARLY VALENTINE IN MUSICAL "SHE LOVES ME"

It may be a little early for Valentine’s Day but Long Wharf Theatre has recreated a sweet, old fashioned slice of romance that is sure to gladden your heart and please your heart strings. Unrest may be evident in 1937 Austria as the historic horror of World War II looms on the horizon, but in one elegant perfumery in Budapest there is an abundance of unrest among the employees. Written originally by a Hungarian playwright, “She Loves Me” is a delightfully tender musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick that has enjoyed many iterations over the years. It has resurfaced as a 1940 film "The Shop Around the Corner,” a 1949 musical version “In the Good Old Summertime” and then the more modern take, with emails, the 1998 Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movie “You’ve Got Mail.”

Now Long Wharf Theatre, at its community location at The Lab at ConnCORP in Hamden in honor of its 60th anniversary, has masterfully and magically, thanks to Artistic Director and production director Jacob G. Padron, produced one of the originals for a triumphant revisit that is guaranteed to please, now extended until Sunday, December 30. “She Loves Me” takes place in a perfume shop, where dedicated clerks provide creams and lotions, and all manner of cosmetics to the local establishment, with shoppers like Jacob Heimer, Kara Mikula, Aurelia Williams and Sumi Yu. Everyone at Maraczek’s gets along beautifully, like scented powder on silken skin, except for Julius Thomas III’s Mr. Nowack and Alicia Kaori’s Miss Balash who clash instantaneously upon first encountering each other at work.

Miss Amalia Balash has just proven her worth to the shop owner, Raphael Nash Thompson, to hire her after convincing a customer to purchase a cigarette case that it’s really a musical candy box, one that sings “no more candy” each time it is opened. It earns her a job on the spot and that is when her conflicts with Mr. Nowack begin. What neither of them realize it that they have been each other’s secret pen pals in a lonely-hearts club and have been writing to each other as “Dear Friends” for months.

The plot skips along as Mariand Torres’s Miss Ritter carries on an affair with the fast talking clerk, Graham Stevens’s Mr. Kodaly, the aging Danny Bolero’s Mr.Sipos fears for the security of his job, the young delivery boy Felix Torrez-Ponce’s Arpad Laszlo wants desperately to advance his position to clerk and Mr. Maraczek receives an unsigned letter that his wife is carrying on with one of his employees. Musical scenes like “Tonight at Eight,” “Will He Like Me?," “Try Me,” “Where’s My Shoe,” “Vanilla Ice Cream,” ”Twelve Days of Christmas” and “She Loves Me” are wonderfully rendered, with the help of a small band on stage.

For tickets ($49 and up), call the Long Wharf box office at 203-693-1486 or online at longwharf.org/events/she-loves-me. Performances are Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m., Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. From Thursday, December 26 to Monday, December 30 tickets will be the gift of $1.

Delight in this musical love story that fills your heart with joy, as this wonderful cast takes you on a romantic adventure that turns out so beautifully pleasing.The only thing that could have improved it would be if the audience received a small cup of vanilla ice cream and wooden spoon, from chidhood memories, at the start of the second act to share the treat with Amalia.

MTC WRAPS UP "IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS" AS A DELIGHTFUL HOLIDAY GIFT

Think of a giant snow globe of winter wonderland you can shake and you have an idea why ”Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” is so magical.

Do you have room on your holiday wish list? If so, be sure to add the Music Theatre of Connecticut's delightful present of "Irving Berlin's White Christmas." Just in time to usher in the New Year, it will play until Sunday, December 22, and what better way to begin 2025. In 1954, “White Christmas” was made into a movie of the same name starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. Now it is coming to the stage in all its sentimental glory, with book by David Ives and Paul Blake.

Irving Berlin, the immigrant son of a Russian cantor, wrote a significant portion of America’s Songbook. Capable of composing one song, music and lyrics, every day, he would begin writing at 8 p.m. and frequently continue until 4 or 5 in the morning. Ironically, Berlin, a Jew, is credited with two of the greatest holiday songs, “Easter Parade” and the world favorite “White Christmas,” as well as with the grand patriotic anthem “God Bless America.”

The stirring musical, “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” is set when the world was struggling with the repercussions of World War II. It tells the tale of two charming and talented soldiers, as Bob Wallace(Josh Powell)and his pal Phil Davis,(Derek Luscutoff) who enjoy entertaining the troops with a holiday variety show. This song-and-dance team continues their act after the war and meet up with a singing sister duo, (Elena Ramos Pascullo) as Betty Haynes and (Elissa DeMaria) as hersister Judy. About to part company, the guys heading to Florida to work and the girls going north, a swift change of train tickets finds all four at an inn in Vermont for Christmas.

A lack of snowfall, a need for guests, a little romance, an avalanche of singing and dancing and a reunion with General Waverly, played by Scott Mikita from their army days, all combine into a whirlwind of fun. Songs like "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," "Sisters," "Blue Skies" and "White Christmas" are all guaranteed crowd pleasers, especially with the whirlwind of dancing feet thanks to Mallory Davis, choreographer and eoaborate costuming by Diane Vanderkroef.

The show is a big movie musical that will make you feel good and smile throughout. It was originally written when the country was in bad shape and needed to feel better and be entertained, a situation not so different today. Kevin Connors directs this sparkling show, with an adorable Ella Cahill shining as the General’s granddaughter, as well as Quinten Patrick Busey as Ralph Sheldrake and Kirsti Carnahan as Martha Watson. Can his battalion save the General's inn? They can sure give it a four star try.

For tickets ($50-60), call the Music Theatre of CT, 509 Westport Avenue, Norwalk at or online at admin@musictheatreofct.com to check the wait list.. Performances are Thursday at 7:30 p.m.on December 19, Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and at 7 p.m. December 15. Now is the time to contribute to the annual appeal to help MTC reach their financial goals for the 35th season.

End your 2024 on a high note or start 2025 with a bang by making the MTC your stepping off point for a joyous holiday celebration with enough music and dance to fill an inn in Vermont to the brim of exciting entertainment.

THE HARTFORD BUSHNELL HAS A THRILLER: "MJ THE MUSICAL" UNTIL DECEMBER 15

Turn your entertainment clocks back more than three decades to a time when Michael Jackson was “thrilling” audiences as only this unique, accomplished and unparalleled icon of the stage could. "The King of Pop,” Michael Joseph Jackson was a bigger than life legend for virtually all of his fifty one years of incredible verve, vitality and vigor. His distinctive style was evident from the time he was a mere six years old, debuting in 1964 with his four older brothers as a member of the Jackson 5. He quickly became lead singer before he launched his solo career as an American singer, songwriter, dancer and philanthropist. Along the way to world fame he became a controversial figure, cloaked in speculation and puzzlement due to his lifestyle and often bizarre behavior.

To relive all the hype and highlights of his 1992 Dangerous World Tour, moonwalk backwards to Hartford’s Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts until Sunday, December 15 for “MJ The Musical.” This Tony Award winning electrifying creation is by Director/Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and two-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage. Definitely one of a kind, with no danger of cloning or reproduction, Michael Jackson had millions of magical moves that marked him as a master of his craft.

Michael Jackson’s legacy keeps growing, even earning him more after his death. The show focuses on who he became to satisfy his fans, sharing with them all his fantastic folklore. Watch Michael Jackson spring to an electrifying existence with mountains of moves characteristically his own and with songs on his lips that stir the soul. Witness the magical tour destined to benefit his Heal the World Foundation, with the goal of raising $100,000,000 for children and ecology across the globe, to take care of the planet and its children.

Despite his trials and triumphs, no one can dispute that Michael Jackson was a larger than life legend that gave much to the world, but his goal of perfection became a giant obstacle along the way. His lasting powerful presence made him refuse the ideas of any one, especially his father, over his own. Jamaal Fields-Green is outstanding as the star.

For tickets ($39 and up), call the Bushnell, 166 Capital Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org. Performances, for those 8 years and older, are Tuesday - Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Grab a white glove, his trademark hat, and get your legs in limber mode gyrating in moves known around the world over of Michael Jackson’s life, never experienced by another performer before or since. Let the Technicolor neon lights projection carry you to a new dimension of excitement.