THE BUSHNELL INVITES YOU TO DON SOME "KINKY BOOTS"

Family businesses rarely survive to the second generation, especially when the son does not want what his father created. Just ask Charlie Price who inherited his dad’s shoe factory as it was three shoelaces away from bankruptcy. Luckily for the audience “Kinky Boots”gets a first rate resurrection, thanks to a powerhouse book by Harvey Fierstein and sensational music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and the great National Touring Cast bringing it to the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts until Sunday, March 22.

Think quirky, exotic, bizarre, slightly deviant, provocative and definitely unconventional. Hold on to your shoe horns because “Kinky Boots” is strutting into town with all its high heeled splendor and The Bushnell in Hartford will be decked out in red sequined glamor and open for business, kinky business that is.

With on fire direction and choreography by Jerry Mitchell, this winner of 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical is based on the motion picture of the same name written by Geoff Deane and Tom Firth. Come meet Charlie who is less than thrilled by the inheritance he receives when his father dies: a shoe factory on the verge of bankruptcy. He had thought he was successful running off to London for a new career with his girlfriend Nicola (Emma Dean) when he is pulled back to Northampton and Price and Son.

As conscientious Noah Verman’s Charlie walks on wobbly feet trying to rescue the family business, he quickly realizes that the old standby oxfords and loafers are now passe. Gentlemen’s shoes are the footwear of the past and Charlie needs an infusion of new life if he is to succeed. Based on a true story, “Kinky Boots” follows the miraculous transformation that happens when Charlie meets a truly creative one-of-a-kind Omari Collins ‘Scarlett D. Von’Du” Lola. Lola, a cross dressing performer of spectacular height and talents, can’t find a pair of sturdy and stylish stilettos to dance in for her/his act.

Lola’s problems are solved when the two conceive of a unique plan: retool Price & Sons to make a line of high heels for the mature male performer parading in boas, bustiers and beads. Tucked into every tall and tapered red patent leather boot is a tale of friendship, of stamping down hard on stereotypes and giving a firm kick to prejudices. This eye-opening, pop-up celebration of life, through extraordinary music and dance, is uplifting and super energized and packed with the spirit of joy. Put on your mile thigh high boots and practice moving to the magnetizing beat.

For tickets ($36-132), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Watch how Charlie, with a lot of help from his new best bud Lola, reinvents his business and sends it into the stratosphere of shoe heaven, with an angel of a girlfriend Sophia Gunther’s Lauren in the process.

A GRAND IRISH MUSICAL AT MUSIC THEATRE OF CT UNTIL MARCH 22

Without packing a suitcase or buying a ticket to the Emerald Isle, you can bring Ireland right to your doorstep. That magical land of leprechauns and pots of gold can all be yours without kissing the Blarney Stone even once. Forget counting sheep or hunting for a four leaf clover. After all isn’t this the best time of year to put an O’ in front of your name and pretend to hail from that glorious greenery?

What better time than St. Patrick’s Day to enjoy a hearty corned beef and cabbage dinner, a riotous parade of frivolity all dressed in green and a merry musical about the Emerald Isle. Thankfully Music Theatre of Connecticut is providing a charming version of Frank McCourt’s love letter to his homeland in “The Irish and How They Got That Way” until Sunday, March 22 for your enjoyment and edification.

Author and playwright Frank McCourt has woven the history, traditions and music of his people through letters, paintings, journals, folk songs and memories to create a charming and ironic portrait of 150 years of the Irish struggle to succeed in America. Come enjoy songs like “Danny Boy,” "Finnegan’s Wake, “Galway Bay,” “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye,” “Mother Machree," “No Irish Need Apply,” “Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy’s Chowder” and “Give My Regards To Broadway” to mention a few.

With laughter and emotion and sentiment, three men and two women, Zachary Anderson, Hillary Ekwall, Jeff Raab, Joseph Torello and Erin Margaret Williams take you on a journey thanks to Frank McCourt’s memories in both story and songs showing both his wit and his pride. Called "a fiting tribute to everything Irish,” you will note the blarney, the magic of leprechauns, the toll of the Potato Famine, the pride of everyone from James Cagney and George M. Cohan to John F. Kennedy, even if you can’t taste the flavor of a pint of Guinness.

The Irish migrant story is captured with reverence revealing the injustices suffered both in the homeland and in their adopted country, all with honesty and humor, knowing in your heart that being Irish is not an easy fate. Each of the actors is skilled at a slew of instruments from guitars to tambourines, violins to piano, spoons to washboards, complete with Irish jigs, in great thanks to the Irish director Kevin Connors.

For tickets ($ 50-60), with a special Guinness and such available at the bar, call MTC, 509 Westport Avenue, Route 1, Norwalk at 203-454-3883 or online at admin@musictheatreofct.com.

Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Even if your name isn’t Danny, Paddy,Timothy or Shawn, everyone is Irish, thanks to Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Angela’s Ashes” Frank McCourt and the “honey lips” of these enthusiastic and energetic performers who wish a Top o’ the Morning to you.

"RHINOCEROS" ON THE LOOSE AT YALE REP

You’ve probably heard of the dangers of a bull in a china shop and the chaos it can cause but have you ever witnessed what damage a rhinoceros in a cafe can deliver. Just ask Reg Rogers’s Berenger as he meets for a drink with his good friend Phillip Taratula’s Gene. The pair tease and ridicule each other as only old friends can, with Gene accusing Berenger of having a hangover before noon. Their squabbling is rudely interrupted by the appearance of a dangerous rhinoceros running pell mell through the cafe, scaring the waiters and patrons who quickly run for cover. Is it a dream, an animal from the circus or the zoo who escaped or an inhabitant from a nearby swamp? Gene and Berenger are perplexed and flabbergasted. How can this happen in their great town on a Sunday morning of all times?

Enter the Theater of the Absurd created by Eugene Ionesco when he wrote his tragicomic “Rhinoceros” in 1959,about a small French town, where this wild animal crushes everything in its path. Yale Repertory Theatre at 1120 Chapel Street in New Haven will entertain you until Saturday, March 28 in this intriguing play directed by Liz Diamond, with text translated by Derek Prouse, adapted by Frank Galati and choreography by Emily Coates, According to Liz Diamond who has been at the theater for thirty four years and directed twenty productions, this play is “insanely funny and terrifying.”

To Berenger’s dismay, soon friends and neighbors and even his co-workers are quickly sprouting hides and horns. He must determine where his own fate lies: should he join the rampage or stand up, indepentently, to fight the invaders? In Ionesco’s mind, he must resist the urge to follow the crowd. In this cautionary tale, Berenger becomes disoriented and the comedy turns stark and dark. Even his good friend Eugene gets caught in the transformation. The dangers of power loom large. How easily the townspeople accept these new political ideologies, like Nazism and Communism and all except Berenger, who remains human in the face of great odds. How can one man, one who drinks too much and secretly loves his co-worker Elizabeth Stahlmann’s Daisy, warn the villagers and safely survive?

For tickets ($15-65), call the Yale Rep at 203-432-1234 or online at yalerep.org. Performances are Tuesday at 8 p.m., Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Thursday at 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Come make the acquaintance of this endangered species, native to Asia and Africa, whose name means horn on the nose. They are valued on the black market for their horns in China and Vietnam for use in traditional Chinese medicine. One of the largest living land animals, they average 1700 pounds and are mainly vegetarians. Witness how Berenger courageously stares down his giant foe and refuses to give up being human.

SEVEN ANGELS THEATRE WELCOMES ST. PATRICK'S DAY WITH A MOVING IRISH PLAY

What better time of year than St. Patrick’s Day to conjure up the flavor of Ireland and the Emerald Isle than a new play by Joseph Bravaco, in its New England premiere. Waterbury’s Seven Angels Theatre is proudly presenting “The One Good Thing or “Are Ya Patrick Swayze?” until Sunday, March 22. Have a hearty corned beef and cabbage dinner with a side of Irish soda bread, and wash it down with a pint of cold Guiness and come enjoy this tale of two brothers, set in rural Enniskillen.Ireland in the present day.

Tommy, a conflicted John R. Howley, and Jamie, a revealing Nick Roesler, enjoy a nice companionable relationship as they live together, that is until the morning Jami declares he is a ghost. This is a clear reference to Patrick Swayze’s acting tour in “Ghost.” They have both just endured and barely recovered from their mother’s death, a loss Tommy feels he didn’t deal with well which Jamie helped more successfully and handled much better.

Tommy’s guilt is troubling him and he prays for Jamie to forgive him. He should have helped more with their ma. He also feels that he will not be a good father to the baby he and his wife Josie are expecting. They have already lost one child before it was even born, so Tommy is allowing his grief and guilt to overwhelm him.

This is a play about life and death, compassion and forgiveness, the memories we hold on to and the love that connects us. Once the baby arrives, a little girl they name Jamie, Tony finds his heat fills with love and he works to rescue himself from sadness. Meanwhile Jamie is comforted by his relationship with his lover Gabriel and their eventual reuniting in heaven.

Their father is a hard man to love wut his new wife Margaret is wonderful with the baby and although Tommy finds the little one’s crying makes it hard for him to complete his painting of portraits, the way he makes his living, he is so glad she is in his life. The cycle of life and death continues. In the end, Jamie hugs Tommy and all is forgiven. The play is sensitively directed by Sasha Bratt.

For tickets($ 30-45), call Seven Angels Theatre, 1 Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at boxoffice@sevenangelstheatre.org. Performances areFriday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Check for specialty nights.

Here is a play of tenderness and compassion and love, that melds the memories of the dead with the joys os new life, how we need kindness to each other to survive, and how our existence is a blessing of pain and pleasure, grief and gratefulness, and how we need to acknowledge that life is a measure of both with family and friends who support us.

TAKE AN ADVENTUROUS SAIL ON AUGUST WILSON'S "GEM OF THE OCEAN"

The playwright August Wilson has been called “theater’s poet of Black America” for his stories of his home in Pittsburgh and most especially his cycle of ten plays that chronicle decade by decade his Century Cycle of the twentieth century. Thanks to Long Wharf Theatre, you have the privilege of witnessing the first play of this Pittsburgh Cycle with “Gem of the Ocean” at the Canal Dock Boathouse, 475 Long Wharf Drive in New Haven until March 15.

Come make the acquaintance of Aunt Ester, a majestic Denise Burse, who lives at 1839 Wylie Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District and has been a matriarch in the community for all her 285 years, a former slave and known for her ability to cleanse souls, a keeper of traditions and guardian of her people’s history. As ruler of the household, she is revered and respected. Aunt Ester has not left her home in two decades but people in need continually knock on her door seeking help. The latest one to ask for her assistance is Citizen Barlow (Matthew Elam) who has a troubled soul that is crying for release so he is no longer haunted by guilt. Aunt Ester will eventually lead him to travel on the legendary slave ship Gem of the Ocean so he can visit the City of Bones but only after he has proven himself worthy of her aid.

Living with Aunt Ester is her housekeeper and likely successor Black Mary (Grace Porter) who tries to do everything right but never seems to please her mistress and Eli (Thomas Silcott) Aunt Ester’s protector and caregiver who served in the Union Army and the Underground Railroad. Frequent visitors are Black Mary’s brother Caesar Wilkes (Bjorn Dupaty) who fancies himself the official upholder of the law, a strict policeman who has no problem killing a man even if he only committed a petty crime. Rutherford Selig (Mike Boland) is a peddler and friend of Ester’s who sells rocks and cobblestones, pots and pans and crockery, and powerful SollyTwo Kings (Terrence Riggins) who is no longer an Alabama slave, has been a conductor on the Underground Railroad, a scout in the Union Army, and now collects “pure,” dog debris he uses to tan leather. Solly carries a large walking stick as well as a love of Aunt Ester, bearing a name that refers to both King David and King Solomon.

This intriguing tale concerns a man accused of stealing a bucket of nails who didn’t do it, the man who actually stole the nails, a mill that holds the city together and is burned down and the hunt for the person who committed that crime, the role played by the slave ship the Gem of the Ocean, a visit to the City of Bones, the deadly search for the arsonist, a wall that is built, how Citizen Barlow’s soul is cleansed, and Aunt Ester’s verdict that love goes a long way to make you a good person, with the profound hope that God keeps you in the palm of his hand. Cheyenne Barboza directs this amazingly involving tale where trouble is manmade and follows you to the grave, where truth, confession and forgiveness live side by side and you die by how you live.

For tickets ($45 and up), call Long Wharf at 203-693-1486go to long wharf.org. Performances are Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.,Thursday at 10:30 a.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. and 7 p.m. Allow extra time for parking.

Discover who is really free and how citizens survive the injustice in the community, how to travel with Aunt Ester on a mystical journey to the City of Bones, with the poetic dance of Citizen Barlow as he finally finds love and forgiveness. It is a tribute to August Wilson’s incredible storytelling. Thank you, Long Wharf Theatre, we’re ready now for the next nine in the Century Cycle.

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"DEATH OF A SALESMAN" A LITERARY CLASSIC AT HARTFORD STAGE

Expectations and unrealized dreams are disappointments that can shadow a world with gloom. Just ask Willy Loman, a sixty year old stockings salesman who considers himself hopelessly inadequate and a failure in life. In Arthur Miller’s Tony Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning maserpiece “Death a Salesman” now gracing Hartford Stage until Sunday, March 29th we meet Willy and the Loman family as Willy struggles with his life in Brooklyn in 1949 and why he is so desperately unhappy. Despite the comfort and support of his loyal wife Linda, Willy can’t seem to overlook his troubles and find pleasure in his work or in his family.

Once upon a time Willy’s son Biff seemed to be on top of the world, poised for success as a high school football star but his big chance was lost and his opportunity to grab the gold ring on the merry-go-round was gone forever. Now Willy is struggling to travel for his sales job but his ambitions are going unrealized and he wants and needs to settle at a desk and quit the road work. He is sure his boss will grant his request, but he is devastated when he gets fired instead of being granted his wish. His worries for himself spill over to his ambitions for his sons Biff and Happy and color his dreams for their success. With unrealistic hopes for them. Willy compares them to the triumphs of his friend’s sons and finds himself wanting by comparison.

Biff has been out west, working outdoors, in an occupation Willy disapproves of, but Biff doesn’t see himself in business. Willy feels both boys have turned their backs on him and all Willy wants is for them to be “just a little boat looking for a little harbor,” finding a modicum of success to make Willy proud. Willy envies the achievements of his friends and longs to share in his own success. Desperately he wants good news, to have his life add up to something, because he feels more dead than alive. Linda fears he will do something terrible like kill himself. In flashbacks, we see how Willy sabotages himself with the wrong dreams, feeling if he is only well liked his problems will be over.

Peter Jacobson is strong in the role of Willy, a man who agonizes over what he cannot have, despite the love of Adrienne Krstansky as his wife Linda and the best efforts of his sons Biff, Samuel H. Levine, and Happy, Max Katz. He looks with envy at the choices of his brother Ben, Michael Cullen, who takes risks and adventures in his life choices. Director Melia Benussen helps Willy grab your soul and squeeze it with compassion. The excellent cast includes Stephen Cefalu, Jr., Nora Eschenhelmer, Paul Michael Valley, Rebecca Strimaitis and Patrick Zeller.

For tickets ($20 and up), call Hartford Stage , 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or online at hartfordstage.org. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Witness this American tragedy as Willy Loman struggles to overcome the disappointments that mark his failures and inability to realize his dreams when others so clearly achieve theirs.

COME TO "THE MOUNTAINTOP" WITH DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. left his mark on the world: a civil rights leader who devoted his life to advancing the plight of his people. He marched for the right to vote, using nonviolent resistance to advance his dreams of racial justice.

He stood tall as a champion of his people and of the Civil Rights Movement for change. The world became his pulpit as he gave speeches and led marches in his quest to improve the fate of African-Americans in a white dominated country. Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee is now a museum and has been one almost since April 4, 1968 when it became immortal. It was the motel balcony that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on when he was fatally shot.

Playhouse on Park in West Hartford is recreating the momentum and majesty of the man as he climbed to "The Mountaintop" to proclaim his dream of freedom and equality for his people. Until Sunday, March 22, come and be inspired and educated about the Civil Rights leader who preached a peaceful resolution for the advancement of African-Americans. Like Moses who never lived to see the Promised Land, Martin Luther King, Jr. tragically never lived to see his dream become a reality. "The Mountaintop" by Katori Hall, taken from his impressive and impassioned speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop," imagines the night before he was killed.

From the moment a charismatic and gifted Torrey Linder's King picks up his motel room phone, at midnight, to order a cup of coffee through room service, a fantasy unrolls as to what might have occurred that fateful night. Outside a storm of biblical proportions is raging, while in the room a conflicted Dr. King is trying to calm his jitters, find a cigarette, write his next speech and reach his wife Coretta to ask about his missing toothbrush.

As thunder strikes a fever pitch, a young African-American motel maid delivers his order. Her first day on the job, she is, nonetheless, eager to please him as well as being quire open and honest, outspoken and feisty in her treatment of this revered motel guest. She knows who he is and she is not awed but empowered to speak her own mind. Jasmine Shanise's Camae is a woman on a mission, but that mission will remain a mystery for the moment. Shanise is brilliant as she baits and comforts King, massaging his ego and his neck, as she provides coffee, his favorite cigarettes and a little "Irish" to his brew. With the skill of an interrogator, Camae allows an exhausted public leader to expose his fears and weaknesses while pointing out his triumphs and successes.

She cloaks his doubts with the promise of hope, that even if he does not live to see his dream come to fruition others will carry on in his name. Jamil A. C, Mangan directs this highly emotional journey that carries the audience to the summit and over the top. For tickets ($38.50-58.50), 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 at 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. followed by a talkback, plus 10:30 a.m. 3/12 and 3/20 for $28.50.

Meet the man who pledged to preach until the day he died. Even though that day came much too soon, at only 39, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left an enduring legacy on America's conscience. Surrender yourself to witness his immense effect on the world.