COLOR ME AMAZING IN SONG WITH THE CGMC

  THE CONNECTICUT GAY MEN'S CHORUS IN COLORFUL MODE

Imagine you’re driving in a pretty pink cadillac or in a big yellow taxi on a yellow brick road under a sky of purple rain. As you are tootling along, take a sharp right hand turn and set your GPS for the Theatre at the Co-op, 177 College Street, in New Haven.  Make sure to plot your destination for either Saturday, May 6 at 8 p.m. or Sunday, May 7 at 4 p.m. for the Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus’s colorful production of “The Amazing Technicolor Songbook.”  Somewhere over the rainbow where blue birds fly, you are sure to be wearing rose colored glasses for hours of the greatest musical delights and pleasures.

The CGMC has a full palette of paints ready to color your musical world in any hue or tint you desire.  Hopscotching from one musical genre to another, the chorus is sure to land on many of your favorites. Artistic Director Greg McMahan has been planning the selections carefully as the master painter of the show.  According to McMahan, "The age range of our singers as well as our audiences is continually changing so that means their taste in musical styles continues to change as well. The unifying theme of colors and rainbows allowed us to explore diverse genres of music that we wouldn’t normally be able to feature in one of our shows. How else would we get to sing this lush arrangement of the traditional folk song Black is the Color in the same performance with the James Bond classic, Goldfinger?” 

“When we first started thinking about this show,” states CtGMC President David Campanelli, “we knew there would be a lot of material from which to choose. But we had no idea the scope and variety of music. The color blue alone is featured in the title of over 400 songs!” “With that kind of choice, we can guarantee that there’s something for every musical taste in this show” says McMahan. “You won’t want to miss this one!”

Seats are $25 and $30 and you can purchase tickets online at www.ctgmc.org or by calling 800-644-2462(CGMC). 

Come discover if the chorus is going underwater in a “Yellow Submarine, ”  saying hello to a “Brown Eyed Girl,” stirring up some “Old Black Magic,” turning a spin in “My Blue Heaven” with a “Blue Moon” or crooning a tune or two with “Sweet Georgia Brown.”  Knowing these clever and versitile guys, anything is possible. They could even be found on “Blueberry Hill” all “Pretty in Pink” wearing “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weanie Yellow Polka Dot Bikinis."

COME COOK IN "NONI CIMINO'S KITCHEN"

RAELLEN MAUTHER AS NONI CIMINO     PHOTO BY JULIA GERACE

In most cultures and religions around the globe, family is the glue that holds us together.  Add to family the uniting and bonding ingredients of food and you have the magic recipe that keeps traditions and holidays so dear to our hearts.  Italians have long recognized these important factors and have melded them in every layer of lasagna and morsel of meatball.  To learn about the importance of breaking bread and dipping it in gravy, the proper term for tomato sauce, come running to Pantochino Production of “Noni Cimino’s Kitchen” weekends until Sunday, May 7.

This original production was written by Pantochino’s Artistic Director Bert Bernardi for book and lyrics, with music by Justin Rigg, and focuses on a wonderful and warm grandmother, affectionately called Noni by her close knit clan.  Played with heart and spirit by Raeleen Mautner, an actress who has a radio show as well as writes books, Noni is at the center of this tale.  Excitement is in high gear when the unsuspecting Noni wins the opportunity to make her famous dish, chicken pizziaola on national television with the master chef Graham Kerr.

Thanks to a letter penned by Noni’s daughter-in-law Lori (Hannah Duffy), whose own recipe for gefilte fish was rejected, Noni is now the center of attention, with recognition she doesn’t want.  Her daughters (Mary Mannix, Maria Berte and Shelley Marsh Poggio) as well as her granddaughters (Brianna Joy Jackson and Mia Davi), nosy neighbor (Valerie Solli), her niece (Emily Kopstein) and son (Jimmy Johansmeyer) are all aflutter at the news.

Noni’s tiny kitchen, created in great detail by Von Del Mar, is soon stuffed like manicotti, with everyone who wants to be part of the excitement.  When the television show’s lead man Jerry (Justin Rigg) arrives, the kitchen is in happy chaos as everyone wants to help.  Noni even offers Jerry a slice of heaven, her special dessert bianco mangia, affectionately termed “blah,” an all white with cherries marvel of cake and creme.

Will Noni get her moment on the television screen?  Will her chicken pizziaola become world famous?  Be sure to eat a hearty helping of Italian fare so you won't starve as the daughters give cooking lessons on stage.  The show is set up like a cabaret so you can bring food and drink to share at your table.  For tickets ($20 on line, $22 at the door), go to www.pantochino.com.  Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., with an extra show on Saturday at 2 p.m. April 29. All shows take place at the Milford Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Avenue South, Milford, on the east bound side of the Metro-North tracks.

Pantochino Productions Inc. is participating in The GREAT GIVE on May 2-3, a 36 hour online-giving event to support local nonprofits.  Be sure to help them succeed by going to www.pantochino.com with your pledge of support,

Come be Italian for at least a few hours and let Noni embrace you as one of the family as, to her, la familigia is everything. Bon appetito.

"SHREK” A LESSON IN LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP AT UCONN

DONKEY (SCOTT REDMOND) AND SHREK (WILL MANN)
PHOTO BY GERRY GOODSTEIN

PRINCESS FIONA AND FRIENDS      PHOTO BY GERRY GOODSTEIN

Living in a swamp, all on your own, might not be the ideal location for many people, but for one green hued ogre named Shrek it was perfection.  Ever since he was cast out from his family at the tender age of only seven, he took up residence in what some might term murky and muddy and altogether yucky.  That wonderful address stopped being so fabulous when, suddenly, neighbors started arriving, uninvited and unwanted.  It seems a dictator going by the name of Lord Farquaad, who ruled the town of Duloc, evicted all the fairy tale citizens and sent them with all their luggage, baggage and trunks to live in the swamp with Shrek. 

 Shrek is now forced to find room in his happy home for a lot of fhomeless misfits, namely Pinocchio, the three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, not to mention the Three Bears, the Ugly Duckling, Humpty Dumpty and the Gingerbread Man, to name drop just a few. To get control of his own home territory again, Shrek, an amazing Will Mann, must venture out of his comfort zone, his personal swamp, and confront the wicked Lord, villainy at its best in  Mark Boyett, to reclaim the deed to his land. On his adventures, Shrek is accompanied by a wise-cracking new friend named Donkey, a loyal Scott Redmond, who can be helpful at times, and also a huge hindrance, an annoying BFF if there ever was one.  Shrek, although an unlikely hero, bravely fights a ferocious dragon and rescues a feisty fearless princess named Fiona, a vivacious Desi Oakley, in the bargain.

 To become acquainted with Shrek and his pals, come to the Connecticut Repertory’s outstanding production of “Shrek the Musical” at the Jorgensen Theatre until Sunday, April 30.  This fantastic family musical with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori is great entertainment, with delightful sets by Tim Brown and Morgan Dawn Golightly, choreography by Katie Johannigman, costumes by Corey Brittain and Heather Lesieur and puppetry by Zach Broome. 

The use of puppets, a unique feature at UCONN, adds a special element of fun to an already great show, with Matthew Sorensen mastering Pinocchio and the puppeteers creating the Gingerbread Man (Sam Kebede), the  Dragon (Valerie Badjan) and the 3 Blind Mice  (Rebekah Santiago Berger, Pearl Matteson, Tabitha Gayle) to perfection. The production is such a wonderful adventure, where a green ogre who loves smelly things and his oozy, gooey swamp saves a princess from a dragon and defeats the villain to discover love and true friendship, all in one afternoon or evening.

Margarett Perry directs this great show that is stuffed with delightful songs led by musical director John Pike.  For tickets ($7 to 36), call the Jorgensen at 860-486-2113 or online at www.crt.uconn.edu. The show is on the campus of the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Performances are 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.

 The message to the audience is “let your freak flag wave.”  It’s okay to be different and memorable, even though others may try to belittle us, it’s our differences that make us strong.  As Kermit  the Frog says, “It’s not easy being green” but that doesn’t mean it’s not great too.

NOSTALGIA REIGNS AS “FOLLIES” PARADES ON WARNER STAGE

Nostalgia reigns supreme when a bevy of chorus girls slip into their costumes and show business finery for one last romp of former glory. The stage of their greatest triumphs, the Weismann Theatre, is about to be closed forever, and these ladies want to come together to celebrate what once was.  Every year between World Wars I and II, they flamboyantly made their mark tredding the boards.  Now, with only a skeleton of past successes, mere planks and scaffolding, they have returned to the Weismann to conjure up memories and bid a reluctant farewell to the past.

Come to the Warner Theatre in Torrington for “Follies” by Stephen Sondheim for music and lyrics and James Goldman for book from Saturday, May 6 to Sunday, May 14, weekends, presented by the Warner Stage Company.

On one level, “Follies” is a simple and heartbreaking attempt to recapture the past and make it live again.  On another level, it’s a metaphor for a nation’s loss of innocence after the assassination of President Kennedy when our rose colored glasses were shattered without warning. It’s 1971 and theatrical impresario Dimitri Weismann (James Wood) is having a reunion of ex-showgirls as a final farewell to end the era.  Tunes like “Losing My Mind,” “I’m Still Here,” “Too Many Mornings,” “Could I Leave You?,” and “Broadway Baby” fill the rafters of this now crumbling edifice. The memories are not all sweet ones as two couples Buddy and Sally Durant Plummer and Benjamin and Phyllis Rogers Stone can attest.  When they all meet again, old feelings are rekindled and current entanglements are revealed.

At poignant points in the show, the younger versions of the showgirls appear as ghosts of their former selves. This show was inspired by the true account of former Ziegfeld showgirls gathering for a reunion.  Michael Berkeley directs this nostalgic look back in time, with Willard C. Minton as musical director.

The cast of Follies also includes Juliette Koch, Cole Sutton, Eric Lindblom, Becky Sawicki, Kelsey Morris, Amber Cameron,  Dave Cadwell, Katie Kat, Shannon Leigh Sullivan, Payton Turpin, Amy LeBlanc, Christopher Gilbert, Suzanne Powers, Wendy Aronson Traub Bill Molnar, Darcy Boynton, Eve Van Syckle, Hope Murphy, Elyse Jasensky, Susan Mieras, and Josh Shakeshaft.

For tickets ($19-27),call Warner Theatre, 68 Main Street, Torrington at  860-489-7180  or online at www.warnertheatre.org.
Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Come see what has been called the greatest musical of all time and follow the steps and stories of the past and the present to uncover the truth.

FLOWERS AND FUNDRAISING IN BLOOM

     "FLORALITY" BY GEORGE HART, WELL KNOWN MATHEMATICIAN AND ARTIST FROM LONG ISLAND

 Imagine a world without daffodils, daisies or day lilies, a landscape bereft of tulips, orchids, sunflowers or roses.  An earth without the beauty and color and fragrance of flowers is unacceptable.  This year, for the 23rd time, the Eli Whitney Museum's unique tribute to the original Renaissance Man Leonardo da Vinci, the annual Leonardo Challenge fundraiser will pay tribute to the blossoms and buds of the flowering world.

This technicolor world, "Leonardo in Bloom," will take place Thursday, April 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the museum, 915 Whitney Avenue, Hamden.  This innovative event will be dedicated to raising scholarships for children to attend the museum's stimulating activities throughout the year on site.

Leonardo da Vinci is known for his imaginative inventions as well as his skills in the world of mathematics, architecture, music, anatomy, science, engineering and writing.  In addition, his talents as a painter were also a passion and he used his skills wisely, from drawing items as concrete as a helicopter and as ephermal as a hyacinth. 

From the time Leonardo was a teenager of fourteen, he pursued his love of the arts as an apprentice to Vercocchio, one of the most successful artists of the time.  Legend has it that the student was so far superior to his teacher that Vercocchio retired his brushes and never painted again.  The young man's powers in botany led him to his famed flower studies that include the lily, narcissus, columbine, carnation and Star of Bethlehem.  

Flowers exude a language of their own and the Eli Whitney Museum's Leonardo Challenge is stirring artists across the country to contribute a creation of their own, in a painting, a mobile, clothing design, jewelry, game, piece of furniture, the possibilities are endless.

According to the museum's associate director Sally Hill, who is also the principal designer of the event, "No matter how many years we've been doing this, we are always blown away by the creativity of each year's entries. This year has not disappointed.”  Once again, Hill will contribute an innovative lamp to the auction items. 

On Thursday, April 27, the artist's contributions will be on display in a silent auction, ready for bidding.  As participants bid, they will listen to the medieval music of Billy Fischer and Mickie Koth, strollers, and enjoy the culinary offerings of such food delights as Small Kitchen, Big Taste’s organic fare, flowered salads made by Two Guys from Woodbridge,  Doug Coffin’s Big Green Truck Pizza, Whole G’s artisan bakers, cheeses from Fromagerie Caseus  and the liquid libations from  Koffee Kocktails and Black Hog Brewery as well as Chocolate Spectacular desserts from Tariq and Asma Farid of Edible Arrangements.      .

For tickets ($75, with supporters at $250 violet, $500 lily, $1250 aster and $2500 orchid), go to https://squareup.com/store/eli-whitney-museum-inc or https://www.eliwhitney.org/7/exhibitions/leonardo-bloom.

Come enjoy the new garden that will be planted in all its artistic finery  at this year's Leonardo Challenge and plan to pluck an offering to take home, all in a worthy cause of educating our youth in thought provoking experiences and experiments of invention and design.

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“STARS IN CONCERT” RETURNING TO DOWNTOWN CABARET

When you might ask did Las Vegas move miles closer to Bridgeport’s Downtown cabaret Theatre?  The answer is simple.  When Bernhard Kurz, master impresario, started bringing his sparkling stable of stars known as “Stars in Concert” to Connecticut.  With an East Coast premiere in a trio of sold out shows on April 7 and 8, “Stars in Concert” lit up the sky with stellar performances by legendary singers who are look and sound alike images of the genuine article.

Where can you go and hope to hear celebrity impersonators of such greats as Elvis and Elton John, 

the Beatles or Bette Midler, Madonna or Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston or Robbie Williams, Abba or Adele, Buddy Holly or the Blues Brothers, and many more.  Tremendous hits in Germany where Kurz was born and being hailed as one of the longest-running and most successful productions in Germany’s history, “Stars in Concert” was received to such acclaim at Bridgeport’s Downtown Cabaret Theatre that plans are already underway for a number of return engagements in the fall, possibly in September or November, or both.  The showstoppers may be different but the quality will be top notch on stage.

As tribute shows go, “Stars in Concert” pays a respectful homage to the top performers of yesterday and today with what has been described as the “vision of a perfect deception.”  The recent show in Bridgeport featured the startling likes of Tina Turner, Bette Midler, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Elvis, hand selected from a bevy of forty perfect impersonators whom Kurz rotates.

When Kurz began his unique parade of stars in 1997, the prediction was for a four month run.  His dazzling triumph illustrates that his show appeals to all ages and the high caliber of his performers guarantees that it will continue to enjoy a spectacular success.  Who knows who will take center stage next time around? Little Richard, Cher or Louis Armstrong? Be prepared to be amazed and delighted.  Watch the Downtown Cabaret Theatre, 263 Golden Hill Street, Bridgeport for an announcement on www.mycabaret.com  or call 203-576-1636.  Remember this is cabaret at its best so bring along food and drinks to share at your table.

With a screen full of exciting videos, watch the celebrity hand-picked impersonators belt out their best, so well and so wonderfully you may not know the polished performer from the genuine article.

SCHEDULE A VISIT OR THREE TO THE KATE

The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center is busy as a bee hive creating a honey of a harvest of wonderful entertainment offerings, and the ten days at the end of April are no exception.  Any day or night of the time look for comedy, movies, song fests, opera and theater presentations that are sure to please.

Calling all Ella Fitzgerald fans on Thursday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m. when masterful vocalist-musician Jane Monheit takes center stage.  With her new album “The Songbook Sessions:  Ella Fitzgerald” just released, Monheit will be flying high with the sultry sounds that make her tribute to the queen of jazz so special. For tickets ($48), call the Kate at 877-503-1286 or online at www.katharinehepburntheater.org.

Get ready to have your socks blown off as the son of that Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Famer, Bill Haley Jr and the Comets, revs up the fever pitch of energy and fervor on Friday, April 21 at 8 p.m.  The rafters of the Kate will vibrate with all the great sounds that mark this musical era we love so much.  Tickets are $45-48.

Opera lovers unite as the opera Eugene Onegin is presented from the Met in HD, on Saturday, April 22 at 12:55 p.m. ($28) and again at 12:55 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25 ($25).  Tchaikovsky’s music and Pushkin’s work will explore this tale of selfishness, regrets, rejected love and fatal duels.

Saturday, April 22 at 8 p.m. will welcome the lively and entertaining combo of Matt Nakoa and Seth Glier, both known nationally and internationally as great singer-song writers.  As true troubadours, they will have you breathless and wanting more.  Tickets are $18-25.

Ready for a heart warming family musical, settle in on Sunday, April 23 at 1 p.m. for the live ArtsPower’s presentation of the classic” Anne of Green Gables,” as orphan Anne searches for the home she always wanted and will have to work hard to be accepted in and loved.  Tickets are $12-20.  Her spirit and spunk will win the day...and your heart.

For a little comedy up your Shakespearian sleeve, come see the film “Rosencrantz and Gildenstern” starring Daniel Radcliffe on Thursday, April 27.  This Tom Stoppard play weaves comedy and tragedy with two of the Bard’s minor minions.  Tickets are $20.

Ready for smooth sounds with roots strictly home grown Americana, come Friday, April 28 at 8 p.m. to hear the perennial blues favorite Johnny Nicholas and his legendary tunes.  Tickets are $25-28.

The merry month of April ends in a lovely place of blooms and buds as the film “The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism” is presented at 1 p.m. on both Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30.  The Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme is featured as it focuses on American artists like Mary Cassatt.  Tickets are $15.  Call 877-503-1286 or go online at www.katharinehepburntheater.org.  The Kate is located at 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook.

For a wide variety of selections, look to the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center to fill your entertainment calendar.  The result is sure to be honey-dipped pleasures.

MUSICAL PROOF THAT "LIFE COULD BE A DREAM"

KAITE CORDA AND JON ESCOBAR AS LOIS AND SKIP

Come grab a bean bag chair and cozy up in Denny's basement rec room for a musical trip down memory lane, especially if the songs of the 1950's and 1960's are YOUR favorite tunes. Come meet two boys who want to sing, as they start off as a duet, enlarge into a trio and finally make their mark as a quartet. They began  as the Crooning Crabcakes at Springfield High School and now they have set their goals, in their new iteration as Denny and the Dreamers, to win the Big Whooper Radio's Lifetime Talent Search Contest.

Think a giant jukebox that is filled to the brim with great tunes of yesteryear exploding on the stage of the Connecticut Cabaret Theatre in Berlin weekends until Saturday, May 6 and there is no need to pump in quarters.  Will Danny and his pals make it to the big time?  To find out you have to come to Roger Bean's musical show "Life Could Be a Dream" and listen for yourself.

Denny, an ambitious Jayson Beaulieu, does not want to get a job, a refrain his mother keeps echoing.  He feels strongly that winning this rock and roll talent contest will launch his career.  To help him on his musical mission, he has enlisted his pal Eugene, a less than confident but eager to learn  Rick Bennett and his religiously zealous friend Wally, a sunny Jordan T. Duvall. The first big stumbling block they encounter is the need for a $50 entry fee.  Where will it come from?  Wally nominates Big Earl, owner of Big Stuff Auto, a man he knows from church, to be their sponsor.

When Big Earl sends his head mechanic Skip, an older but wiser and magnetizing Jon Escobar, to check out the group, Earl's daughter Lois, a charmer with a heavenly voice named Kaite Corda, tags along to offer coaching advice.  Her appearance sends Eugene, who had been crushed by her rejection in fifth grade, into a tizzy and causes all the males in attendance to experience testosterone tail spins of their own.

Soon they realize that Lois only has eyes for Skip and the feeling is mutual, but Skip knows his job is on the line and Big Earl is not going to give them his blessing.  Everything is soon in jeopardy when Skip is fired and the group no longer has its trusty leader.

A parade of super hits are serenaded from "Fools Fall in Love," "Earth Angel," "Sunday Kind of Love," "Unchained Melody," "The Glory of Love" to "Duke of Earl," each one better than the one before, and all great listening.  Kris McMurray directs this on-target cast in this fun and groovy journey back in time with style and grace.

For tickets ($30), call CT Cabaret, 31-33 Webster Square Road, Berlin at 860-829-1248 or online at www.ctcabaret.com.  Performances are  Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7:15 p.m.

Don't forget to bring goodies to share at your table or plan to buy them at the concession stand on site.

Don't be a "Runaround Sue" or "The Wanderer" and take a chance on missing this fun doo-wop, rama lama ding dong, sh-boom of a show. Singing along is encouraged.

THE MUSICAL TELLING OF ONE SOLDIER’S STORY: " LETTER FROM ITALY, 1944"

NANCY FITZ-HUGH MENEELY                        

                       
                                 








           SARAH MENEELY-KYDER


 Imagine you are one of two young daughters whose father 
 goes off to war and comes home a man neither one of you recognizes.  He has changed dramatically and no matter how hard the sisters try they cannot reach into his heart and soul to find the daddy he once was.  As a medic, he fought to save lives as a member of the 10th Mountain Division during World War II and he traveled, on skis, in the treacherous hills during winter to save soldiers' lives.

This is the story of two sisters, Nancy Fitz-Hugh Meneely, a poet from Guilford and Sarah Meneely-Kyder, a composer from Lyme, whose father Dr. John K. Meneely, Jr.  suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Witnessing so much wartime tragedy, including losing his best friend one week before the Armistice was declared, left him with dark shadows that he could not erase.

 Years after he committed suicide, his daughters found a packet of the letters he sent home and began to understand the traumas that their father endured and could not escape.  They have woven them into a stirring tribute to him that will be given a spectacular production at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Call it " a soldier's story told in music," “ a dramatic oratorio," "a moving opera" or "two sisters' loving tribute to their father," "Letter from Italy, 1944" tells the true tale of one man's experiences during wartime.  It is at the same time a personal and private story and also universal in its scope.

The trauma of wartime doesn't end when peace is finally achieved and guns are laid down and abandoned.  It lingers and invades the soul  for close to eternity for some. Dr. Meneely's daughters, one a poet and one a composer, have lovingly dedicated years of their lives to sharing their father's story, using his letters home from war as the foundation.  They could be any soldier's story.

“Letter from Italy 1944” was first performed in Middletown in 2013 and will now be expanded to include the Hartford Chorale in addition to the original GM Chorale(Greater Middletown Chorale), again under the leadership of Artistic Director Joseph D'Eugenio, and will be accompanied by  the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.  Alan Mann, Artistic Director of Opera theater of Connecticut, will direct and design the production that will be enhanced by video projections. 

Seeing "Letter from Italy, 1944" is a way to pay tribute to all of America's military and also their loving, supportive families. Suicides by soldiers and the incidence of alcohol and substance abuse as well as emotional instability and homelessness underscore the need for greater understanding and the pressing responsibility  to address the complex problems faced by returning veterans.

For Nancy, the poet daughter, the experience of putting together both the book and the oratorio has "broadened my awareness of the workings and efforts of war, past and  present, and deepened my appreciation of how hard it can be to come home from the battlefield.  I understand now that my father fought two wars, the one he waged overseas and the one he fought against its aftermath.  I know now that he was heartbreakingly heroic not only in his first war but also in the second.  I've always loved him, of course, but what I feel for him now is something even deeper, love mixed with sympathy, admiration, understanding - and gratitude beyond words.

Her book of poetry "Letter from Italy, 1944" (Publisher, Antrim House) chronicles in lyrical and emotional verse, with photos and explanations, her father's journey through the battlefields of war and the equally difficult landscapes at home.  She writes with bittersweet insight into what he faced.  Her sister Sarah has taken many of these missives and set them to music enhancing their poignancy.  From the first song, a newly born John hears his father singing "Oh, The Sweetie Man," to songs of battle like "Riva Ridge" where he is "fight(ing) the clutch of memory and fear," to "Boots" where he relives the loss of best friend Billy, to the final despair that takes him as a "solitary man who has loved the best he can" into "In the End He Can Do No More."

For Sarah, the composer, "It has been an amazing challenge to write 'Letter from Italy, 1944,' an oratorio that engages large chorus, five professional soloists and orchestra.  Rarely have I had such an opportunity. I've learned so much musically in the process of the writing.  I've also learned so much about my father through the writing, and I have a much deeper understanding of him and the extreme duress that he must have experienced both during and after the war prior to his death.  I feel him alive in me.

"I feel greatly honored to have been commissioned by the Greater Middletown Chorale to write lyrics for 'Letter from Italy, 1944' as Composer-in-Residence.  I consider this chorus the equal of all the noted professional choruses in Connecticut.  I applaud the chorale for its willingness to take chances, delving into repertoire that has rarely or never been heard!  Maestro Joseph D'Eugenio is able to balance high expectations with warmth and charisma, and, as a result, has brought the group to a high level of musicianship, given its stunning and consistent readiness to fulfill all that is asked.

"At the heart of this group is a warmth and breadth of spirit, rare and contagious, by which I feel embraced in all my interactions and undertakings.  I thank all of you deeply for your unstinting support.  This is indeed a cherishing.” Go to www.bushnell.org for tickets ($25-60).

Immerse yourself in the conflicted life of one soldier, Dr John Meneely, Jr., and learn the costs of war on and off the battlefield in this loving tribute by two daughters for their father in the newest iteration of "Letter from Italy, 1944."

“END OF THE RAINBOW” A SOBERING LOOK FOR THE POT OF GOLD

Think blue birds, yellow brick roads, and rainbows.  All those images conjure up the incredible singing voice of one of America’s sweethearts, Judy Garland. Ironically, however, she never found the happiness and innocence that fame and success should have brought her.  From the time she was discovered, the child of vaudeville stars who began performing as one of the Gumm sisters at the age of just over 2 years, she was plagued by insecurities that she wasn’t pretty enough or thin enough.

While she brought great joy to millions with her bigger than life voice, she never found the secret to happiness for herself.  Now she is making another comeback, soon to marry her fifth husband, and finally at the “End of the Rainbow,”  a play by Peer Quilter, now at Music Theatre of Connecticut until Sunday, April 23. Here we meet  a tortured and aggressive Judy, outrageous and out of control, addicted to alcohol and prescription pills, searching for the illusive rainbow.  Coleen Sexton as Judy is disintegrating before our eyes, painfully and poignantly, weighted down by a decade of debts and in great need of being rescued.

Her newest knight is Luke Darnell as Mickey, willing to feed her addictions if it suits his needs.  When she threatens to leave the stage and her commitments to perform, he is suddenly willing to supply the booze and pills that will guarantee she sings. As her pianist Anthony, Thomas Conroy cares sincerely for her fate and is willing to do anything, even marry her if it will keep her safe.  The two men are at great odds as to what Judy needs most and are so busy fighting with each other that she gets lost in the confrontation.  Matt Densky serves as bellhop and interviewer and innocent referee to the struggles.

As Judy, Coleen Sexton portrays a woman who needs unconditional love, who has the ability to fall down and get right back up again for the next round of battle.  With glory and pain, she belts out tunes like “The Man That Got Away,” “When You’re Smiling,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Just in Time,” “The Bells Are Ringing" and “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.” It’s December 1968 in London and she has a six week singing engagement  that is testing her endurance and may prove too much for the star.  Kevin Connors delves into this dramatic and personal portrayal with eyes wide open and a heart that is bruised.

For tickets ($35-55), call Music Theatre of CT, 509 Westport Avenue, behind Nine West Shoes, Norwalk  (route 1) at 203- 454-3883 or online at www.musictheatreofct.com.  Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. 

Come to the New England premiere of “End of the Rainbow” and discover whether happy little blue birds fly to that promised pot of gold after all.

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MENTAL ILLNESS

Families come in all shapes and sizes and configurations.  They can be loving and supportive just as easily as they can be abusive and neglectful.  No one has any control over which type of family unit one is born into, it’s clearly the luck of the draw, silver spoon or an empty bassinet.

 

Years ago, during an acting class, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey were given  a challenge to compose a ten minute play, and they selected the unusual and difficult topic of electroshock therapy.  Since that moment, the pair have morphed it , through workshops and major revisions, in New York City and Washington D.C., into the amazing musical “Next to Normal,”winning the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as a trio of 2009 Tony Awards.

 

Once called “Feeling Electric,” the music has been transformed, but the basic story of a mother Diana Goodman remains at its heart.  Her struggles with a diagnosis and label of bi-polar depression have profound effects on her and on her family.  You can become caught up in her trials and triumphs extended from now until Sunday, May 14 as “Next to Normal” schedules its intimate therapy sessions at Hartford’s TheaterWorks in a stirring presentation.

Christine Noll’s Diana is caught in an emotional whirlwind and has had her life churning out of control for sixteen years.  The start of her medical issues coincides with the death of her baby son Gabe, a traumatic incident that still haunts her.  She sees and speaks to him now, as a teenager, although no one else does.  John Cardoza is the son who is lost but continually proclaims “I Am Alive.” 

With a supportive husband Dan, an always present David Harris, she strives to be in the moment but can’t make it happen.  Years of therapy and pills have failed, despite the best efforts of her doctors, all played by J. D. Daw, and a recent incident forces all concerned to consider extreme measures:  shock therapy that may or may not work.

Possibly most affected by her mom is Natalie, portrayed by a conflicted Maya Keleher, who just wants a family who are “next to normal.”  No miracles for this perceptive kid, just the promise of a little hope for the future.  Luckily she has a good friend Henry, a romantic guy Nick Sacks, who tries to make her problems easier to bear.

 Natalie  yearns for a stable, even dull, family life, but an easy happy childhood is a reality she has never known.  Now with Henry as a romantic interest in her life for the first time, she wants a mom she can confide in and get advice from, not the emotionally distant, roller coaster ride that is her lot in life.

The show is a “rock opera” with music that is soft and sad one minute and soaring and dramatic the next. The music is the spine and the glue that holds it together.  The first song is about the busy, often cranky time at the start of the day and the final song is a message of hope.  Throughout the drama, Diana's illness overshadows everything.  The music propels the story of this dysfunctional family as if they are caught in the eye of a tornado.

 

Every situation has a song and they evoke laughter, tears, and a spectrum of all the emotions.  The fluid dynamics capture a disturbed woman who is hearing “forty different television channels at the same time and can’t focus on any of them.” Rob Ruggiero directs this involving musical drama with a gentle hand.

For tickets ($60-75, $15 student rush, seniors Saturday matinee $35  ), call Hartford TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford at 860-527-7838 or online at www.theaterworkshartford.org. Performances are Tuesday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.  

 Hopefully the audience will gain more enlightenment about the growing epidemic of mental illness and how it affects the patient and everyone in the family.

EXTRAORDINARY STORYTELLER AT HARTFORD STAGE

                                          JAMES LECESNE

Bullying is behavior that is unacceptable and targets people, especially children, who are different.  They are different because of their size, religion, race, sexual orientation, ability or appearance.  Just because you wear glasses or suffer from acne, you can be singled out as the subject of abuse and that abuse can be verbal, physical, emotional or internet related.

Writer, actor, activist, playwright and storyteller James Lecesne has devoted much of his adult life to tackling issues such as bullying with his books, films and one man stage performances.  He cares deeply about making a difference and focusing attention on issues that need to be explored and improved.  Right now you can see his remarkable solo performance at the Hartford Stage until Sunday, April 23 in his show, based on his young adult novel written in 2008, “The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey.”

Lecesne brings his extraordinary talents as a storyteller with a mission:  to introduce and make you care what has happened to a fourteen year old gay teenager Leonard who has mysteriously disappeared.  From the moment New Jersey shore detective Chuck DeSantis learns from Leonard’s wannabe aunt Ellen and her teen daughter Phoebe that his is missing, the hunt for clues is on.  Lecesne portrays all the friends, neighbors, teachers and suspects who in their own unique way offer perspectives on Leonard’s rainbow hued personality.

For Lecesne, much of the narrative is personal, as he experienced sticks and boot kicks for his own sexual orientation and the comments that he would never amount to anything.  He has proven his detractors wrong.  The result of a short film “Trevor” led to an Oscar and the creation of The Trevor Project, the first suicide prevention and crisis program for gay youth, free and open 24/7, in this country.

Come under Lecesne’s  intoxicating spell as he portrays all the characters in Leonard’s life, and help the detective solve this mystery.  Even though Leonard is the victim of a hate crime, the community learns about his “absolute brightness” and how this young man brought it into their lives.  A great deal of humor and humanity characterize the tale, sensitively directed by Tony Speciale, with original music by Duncan Sheik and animation and photography  by Matthew Sandager.

For tickets ($25 and up), call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or online at www.hartfordstage.org.  Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m.,  Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.  His novel is for sale ($9.99) in the gift shop.

Come hear James Lecesne encourage the beauty of diversity and the ways to embrace it to make our lives richer and more colorfully joyous.

"ONCE" COMING TO WATERBURY THREE TIMES

Can a disenchanted vacuum-cleaner repair man ever find happiness if he is forced by life and circumstances to abandon his God-given talents with his guitar and lock it in its case forever?  the answer is a resounding and resonating NO.  Take a Dublin street musician, known only as Guy, and plunk him smack in an Irish tavern, have him play his impassioned heart out, and let him teeter on the edge of despair and you have the glorious and haunting tale of "ONCE."

That is the storyline of this Academy Award-winning film and the Grammy Award-winning Best Musical Theater Album and multiple Tony Awards including Best Musical.  Based on a book by Enda Walsh and music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, "ONCE" is billed as a daring, thrilling and unforgettable homage to love and to life, to desires and to dreams.

Guy is on the verge of letting his musical magic float away like a balloon let loose of its moorings.  He feels hope is lost and he needs to acknowledge that he will never succeed.  That is the exact moment when a girl, an immigrant from Czechoslovia, strolls into the bar and is transfixed by his singing and guitar playing. Will they make beautiful music together? The Palace Theater in Waterbury's anxious for you to find out, on Friday, April 7 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, April 8 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

This lovely lass from an exotic land just happens to have a broken vacuum cleaner and she can play the piano.  They barter their skills and along the way

they each ignite sparks of innovation and creativity.  Miracles soon become possible.  He is still caught up with an old girl friend and, even though she has moved on to New York, his new muse offers to help him win her back.

The girl with her daughter Ivanka establishes a firm place in Guy's life, writing new songs with him and  arranging a meeting with a bank manager to secure loans so he can move to the Big Apple and revive his old love.

Lyrical ballads like "Gold," "Falling Slowly," "The Hill" and "It Can't Be About That" propel the story and build to the point where the guy regains faith in his own abilities.  Clearly the two have given each other gifts, in words and music, that will sustain them as their paths intersect, collide, and, ultimately, separate.

For tickets ($60.50-90.50), call the Palace Theater,100 Main Street, Waterbury at  203-346-2000 or online at  www.palacetheaterct.org.

Belly up a bar in Dublin, where the action is all music and all the performers,   the musicians,  are on stage the whole time. Take a journey of discovery with one girl and one guy.  The message is clear:  "To live, you have to love" and taking risk can produce the most amazing results.

SUPERSTAR COMING TO WATERBURY

JUDAS as portrayed by CHRISTOPHER FAISON

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber was never one to take the road more traveled. Even as a teenager, when he was testing out his literary pen, he chose a topic less mainstream and more creative: he wrote a musical about a boy in the Bible who receives an unusual gift from his father. That became the world famous rock musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

In the years to come, Lloyd Webber continued his unorthodox choice of subject matter by composing musicals about a gang of backyard felines (CATS), a poor woman who rises to become a powerful figurehead in her country (Evita), teams of train engines who race on roller skates (Starlight Express) and a disfigured young man hiding in the bowels of a Paris opera house (The Phantom of the Opera).

Now you have the opportunity to experience another record breaking musical about another boy in the Bible: “Jesus Christ, Superstar,” playing until Sunday, April 23 at Waterbury’s Seven Angels Theatre.  Composed by Lloyd Webber with Tim Rice, this classical musical spanning the last week in the life of Jesus Christ is itself undergoing a metamorphosis. This is urban streets meet punk rock, a modern day retelling of a savior who wants to cleanse the world of corruption and sin. This last seven days in the life of Jesus Christ, who is portrayed by a memorable Aaron La Vigne, is told through the eyes of his betrayer, one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, played with all his anger and confusion evident by Christopher Faison.

Tender moments are underscored by Chelsey Lynn Alfredo’s Mary Magdalene as she confesses to Jesus “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” while the passion and suffering are momentarily alleviated by the antics of a song and dance Vaudeville routine by King Herod, a spontaneously clever Paul Aquirre. Key roles are played by Tim Cooper as Simon, Alex Rivera as Peter, Matthew Blum as John, Joseph Torello as Caiaphas, Michael Thatcher as Annas and Gary Lindemann as Pilate. This spectacular rock musical is directed by Janine Molinari and Anthony Pattellis and choreographed by Janine Molinari. The energy of the cast is amazing.

For tickets ($42-58, those aged 25 and under $25) call the Seven Angels Theatre, One Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at www.SevenAngelsTheatre.org.

Performances are Thursday at 2 p.m. a d 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.with no performances Easter week.  

Come to a play reading on Sunday, April 2 at 6 p.m. for “Capture” by Emily Dinova, turning her experiences as a victim into one of a survivor.  Tickets are $10.

 Enter the emotional whirlwind as Jesus Christ realizes that those closest to him are determined to witness his destruction.

THE STARS ARE COMING OUT IN BRIDGEPORT

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine that when you open them, right before your face, are the likes of Bette Midler, Tina Turner, Elvis, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.  Alright, that’s not exactly going to happen.  But thanks to the ingenuity of Bernard Kurz, you might be convinced you are seeing and hearing these legendary stars in their element:  on stage and performing just for you.

Bernard Kurz, an entrepreneur and impressario, has gathered the best celebrity look-alike and sound-alike artists in the business.  He’s been doing it for decades and now you are encouraged to the East Coast premiere of his acclaimed “Stars in Concert” at Bridgeport’s Downtown Cabaret Theatre on Friday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. and again on Saturday, April 8 at 5 p.m and 8:15 p.m.

Rub your eyes and pinch your arm as you witness the clones of the originals perform their hits for your entertainment pleasure.  His stable of music greats number over three dozen and he rotates them regularly.  You may get to see the likes of a Cher or a Madonna, a Louis Armstrong or an Elton John.  Kurz has accumulated a shelf full of awards for his star-studded productions, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in Las Vegas in 2006.  As tribute shows go, this is among the best.

For tickets ($49.50), call the Downtown Cabaret Theatre,263 Golden Hill Street, Bridgeport at 203-576-1636 or online at www.mycabaret.com. Some shows are already sold out so don’t hesitate to reserve your seats.  This is cabaret so bring goodies to share at your table.

Imagine a never ending cavalcade of talent parading across the cabaret’s stage, accentuated by compelling videos of each star to complete the illusion. Be there for the spectacular!