WINTER FUN ABOUNDS AT THE THEATER

JUDY COLLINS IN A TRIO OF CONCERTS AT THE KATE IN OLD SAYBROOK

Imagine you discover an unexpected Christmas gift under your tree, a Secret Santa if you will.  It’s an extension to December 30 to see the delightful and charming brand new family musical at the Terris Theatre in Chester:  “A Connecticut Christmas Carol.”  All the usual suspects are there, from the cantankerous and stingy Scrooge to the adorable crippled Tiny Tim (Robert Berson) who needs an operation to get well, one his family can ill afford.

Lenny Wolpe is the mean spirited miser whose  heart is melted after a trio of visits from ghosts with a decidedly Connecticut flavor, all portrayed by Michael Thomas Holmes, including the author Harriet Beecher Stowe, the circus showman P. T. Barnum and a favorite son Mark Twain. Directed by Hunter Foster, this new offering comes from LJ Fecho and Michael o’Flaherty.  Call The Terris for tickets ($64-80) at 860- 873-8668 or online at box-office@goodspeed.org.  Performances are Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at  2 p.m.  The theatre is located at 33 North Main Street, Chester. A drive to collect gently used coats is being conducted in the lobby.

To enhance your holiday cheer, plan to attend one of the three concerts being offered by that legendary singer Judy Collins at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook on Friday, December 22 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, December 23 at 3 and 8 p.m. Miss Collins is still going strong since she began in the 1960’s when she started as a folk-pop singer.  An avid activist for political and social causes, she infuses her music with the passion of her convictions. Call 877-503-1286 or online at www.katharinehepburntheater.org for tickets.

What better way to welcome the New Year than with laughter.  Waterbury’s Seven Angels Theatre has a quartet of New York comediennes ready to tickle your funny bone and encourage you to giggle, guffaw and laugh out loud with “Stand up, Countdown New Year’s Eve Comedy Night,” at two shows, 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., on Sunday, December 31.  The second show includes delicious appetizers and a champagne toast at midnight.

Come hear the professional patter of Joe Matarese, Mike Dugan, Ellen Karis and Gianmarco Soresi.  For tickets ($55, early show, $65 later show), call Seven Angels Theatre, 1 Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at www.sevenangelstheatre.org.

If you have your 2018 calendar ready, pencil in a few nights at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook where two perennial favorites will be performing for your pleasure.  On Friday, January 5 at 8 p.m., come hear Martha Redbone Roots Project, a musician and singer of American rhythm and blues and soul, combining her origins of Cherokee, Choctaw, European and African-American in a contemporary blend of Native American song.  Call 877-503-1286 or online at www.katharinehepburntheater.org for tickets ($35).

Come back the next night, Saturday, January 6 at 8 p.m. for a hearty dose of John Sebastian.  Known for his established piece of the American musical fabric, he will expand on his four decades of singing and playing guitar, harmonica and autoharp  He is also known as the founder of The Lovin’ Spoonful band that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Let the old year end with a bang and begin the new one with a splash, as you celebrate all the highlights of theater and music that the state offers so generously.