PLAYHOUSE ON PARK STITCHING UP QUILT OF LOVE

DARLENE HOPE AS ESTHER AND BEN MCLAUGHLIN AS MR. MARKS
PHOTO BY CURT HENDERSON

With Valentine’s Day just a whisper in the past and this being Black History Month, West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park has fashioned  a bittersweet tale of love and longing, of hopes and dreams that is Lynn Nottage’s  “Intimate Apparel” playing until Sunday, March 4.  Ms. Nottage is the only women to win the Pulitzer Prize twice for literature. The search for love is universal, no matter what your life circumstances may be.  It crosses family status and race, age and pocketbook. 

Come meet Darlene Hope’s Esther, a mature lady of thirty-five who has almost given up on romance and marriage, but still clings to her dreams of opening a beauty parlor catering to her people, to treat ladies of color like royalty.  To that end, she has worked diligently for almost twenty years to squirrel away dollars in a quilt for the future. Living in a boarding house, she spends her days as a seamstress sewing beautiful lace and satin undergarments for frivolous white women like her good client Mrs. Van Buren (Anna Laura Strider) who has man problems of  her own to contend with every day. 

The trusting and honest Esther one day receives a letter from Panama, from a stranger who is working on the Panama Canal.  This man, George Armstrong (Beethoven Oden), desires to make her acquaintance with the remarkable desire to one day wed.

The women in Esther’s life, like her landlady Mrs. Dickson (Xenia Gray), feel she is foolish to entertain these fantasies while her friend Mayme (Zuri Eshun), a prostitute, encourages her to  take a chance at happiness. 

The only other constant in Esther’s world is Mr. Marks, (Ben McLaughlin), a Jew, who sells her the lovely cloth to make her creations. Theirs is a forbidden attraction, one they both work hard to deny. When the mysterious George appears on her doorstep, Esther must make some difficult choices, ones that are soon complicated by what she longs for and what is the reality of her dreams. 

Dawn Loveland Navarro directs this waltz through New York City in 1905 with an elegant hand, on a completely utilitarian set designed by Marcus Abbott, with a parade of costuming by Kate Bunce. Is George honorable and the answer to Esther’s prayers?  Will her dreams of opening her beauty parlor come true? Are her friends Mayme and Mrs. Van Buren and Mrs. Dickson who they claim to be?  This excellent cast is worthy of your admiration as you get caught up on their all too human desires and frailties .

 For tickets ($20-40), call Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford  at 860- 523-5900, ext 10 or online atwww.PlayhouseOnPark.org. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.  The Sunday matinee is following by a Talk Back with the cast. Watch for the next Comedy Night, ninety minutes of laughter, on Saturday, March 31 at 8 p.m., $15.

                                                                                                                                                                                    

Come watch Esther weave a tapestry of straight and elegant stitches in her too trusting universe where having your dreams come true can be the best and the worst thing that could happen.

SMOKIN' RED HOT MAMA SOPHIE TUCKER AT SEVEN ANGELS

                  SHARON MCNIGHT AS SOPHIE TUCKER

For decades cabaret superstar Sharon McNight has graced night clubs and stages delivering her unique style of singing, one that is sultry and irreverent and just plain swell.  Now she is directing her talents to bringing the brassy and bold voice of Sophie Tucker back, stronger than ever.  Sophie Tucker was a zaftig superpower who lit up the vaudeville and burlesque circuits with her trademark show biz vamp and vigor.  Until Sunday, March 11, Waterbury's Seven Angels Theatre will light up as Sharon McNight's alter ego of Sophie once again makes her mark.

"Red Hot Mama: The Sophie Tucker Story" is truly Sharon McNight's baby, as she wrote, directs and stars in this bigger than life entertainer whose career spanned six decades.  Tucker recreated herself as the world of show business changed, going into radio, silent films, talkies, recordings, night clubs as the trends transformed.

The daughter of immigrants, Sophie started singing at any early age, earning nickels and dimes by entertaining  guests at her parent's restaurant in Hartford, Connecticut. Marrying early, she had a son whom she left with her family to raise when she went to New York to advance her career. Often singing a hundred songs a night to earn fifteen dollars a week to support her family, she was forced to don black face because she wasn't considered pretty or thin enough.  

On stage, Sophie assumed a persona of bravado while back stage she endured many disappointments, like three failed marriages.  McNight reveals telling pieces of her life as she belts out a parade of hit songs, like "Some of These Days" and "My Yiddishe Mama,"  along with some wonderful sing alongs with the audience.  

For tickets ($40-57 ), call Seven Angels Theatre, 1 Plank Road, Hamilton Park, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at www.sevenangelstheatre.org.   Performances are  Thursday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.  For an extra treat, go online to YouTube and request Sharon McNight for her whirlwind telling of “The Wizard of Oz” and “The Bacon Song.”  What great talent for her and fun for you.

Come hear the story of a woman who called Fanny Brice a best friend, performed in the Ziegfeld Follies and entertained for the King and Queen of England, with humble beginnings and a headliner finish, none other than Sharon McNight as Sophie Tucker. 

RIVETING DRAMA AT UCONN WITH “THE CRUCIBLE”

CARLY POLISTINA AS MARY WARREN AND MAURICIO MIRANDA AS JOHN PROCTOR
PHOTO BY GERRY GOODSTEIN

Throughout history, men and women have turned on their neighbors, accusing them in the name of religion or political expediency, labeling them as traitors, communists, enemies of the state and even, in rare instances, as witches. Prompted by fear, these accusations have changed lives and ruined reputations, even if they are groundless and ultimately proven untrue.

Playwright Arthur Miller crafted a classic drama in 1953 that reflected an allegory on what he was himself experiencing in Senator Joseph McCarthy’s “witch hunt” to expose communists in his hearings on the Committee for Un-American Activities. Miller refused to name names when interrogated. He sets his play “The Crucible” in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692 and 1693 when hysteria has overtaken the town of Salem and a bevy of young girls start hurling accusations at their neighbors like bolts of lightning across the Salem skies.  “The Crucible” courtesy of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre will ignite the Nafe Katter Theatre on the campus of the University of Connecticut in Storrs until Sunday, March 4th. Do not miss this explosive and well acted drama.

The sanctimonious Reverend Parris (Rob Barnes) witnesses his daughter Betty (Gillian Rae Pardi) and niece Abigail (Rebekah Santiago Berger) dancing in the woods with other females, some possibly naked, along with his slave Tituba (Angela Hunt) who comes from Barbados.  Now Betty lies in her bed unconscious and the worried father has summoned Reverend Hale (Tristan Rewald) who has knowledge of the religion, medicine and the occult to come to help.

To protect themselves from being accused of witchcraft, the girls concoct a list of witches including god-fearing women like the well-respected Rebecca Nurse (Elizabeth Jebran).  A local farmer John Proctor (Mauricio Miranda) and his wife Elizabeth (Erin Cessa) find themselves caught in the web of suspicion, especially when their housemaid Mary Warren (Carly Polistina) changes her testimony before the powerful court led by Judge Danforth, a domineering and righteous for justice James Sutorius.

When the fate of  John Proctor and many others like Giles Corey (Michael Rudko) hinges on their confessions of witchcraft to save their necks from the hanging rope, the question of the value of a good name becomes paramount.  Paul Mullins  directs this riveting almost three-hour theatrical event.

For tickets ($10 students -$33), call  860-486-2113 or online at crt.uconn.edu.  Performances are  Wednesday and Thursday  at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., with matinee Sunday  at 2 p.m.On Wednesday, February 28th, a dinner Dine with Design will be held pre-show with members of the creative team. Talk backs with cast and crew will occur on Thursday and Saturday matinee.

Vigilance is always necessary to guard against rumors and lies invading minds, causing the persecution of the innocent when evil rears its ugly head. How timely and relevant is this play where lies and finger pointing, fear and suspicions run like a wildfire to inflame and incite. Where  does the truth live and what is fake news meant to distort?

CATCH THE STARS AT THE KATE

PREPARING FOR THE OSCAR PARTY AT THE KATE ON MARCH 4

Are the stars out tonight?  You won't care if it's cloudy or bright, as you stroll down the vividly red carpet at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 4 for the Oscars Party 2018.

Kate, herself, accepted that prestigious statue a record four times, from nominations a dozen in all. She would surely love this gala celebration at her namesake theater, affectionately known as The Kate, in her signature hometown, Old Saybrook, especially knowing the proceeds will benefit presentations of both arts and culture all year long.

Prepare to don your holiday fare for this festive party where the likes of Meryl Streep (and Tom Hanks) will be feted for their performance at the Washington newspaper "The Post" and the disclosure of the Pentagon Papers surrounding U. S. involvement in Vietnam, Gary Oldman will be saluted for his wartime portrayal of the British statesman Winston Churchill in the "Darkest Hour," Daniel Day-Lewis for his final gripping performance as a clothes designer who discovers love in an unlikely place in "Phantom Thread" and the persistent determination of Frances McDormand, the mother of a slain daughter, who will not allow her girl's killer to escape punishment in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri."

Whether you cast your vote for the confused teenager coming of age, captured by Saoirse Ronan, in "Lady Bird," the controversial mother-daughter relationship of Allison Janney and Margot Robbie in the ice skating attack of “I, Tonya," the sacrificing and idealistic attorney "Roman J. Israel, Esq." portrayed by Denzel Washington or the self seeking soul of a young boy's sexual hungers by Timothee Chalamet in "Call Me By Your Name," you will have much to cheer for that night.

As for The Kate, prepare to enjoy gourmet offerings from the Saybrook Point Inn's Fresh Salt, both savory and sweet, appetizers to desserts.  Chocolate Oscar statuettes might magically appear, in the special candy treats available to nibble all night long, as every good movie needs.

Hold on to your socks for the incredible silent auction items available for bidding like a special wine dinner for 6, specially prepared with pairings by Saybrook Point Inn chefs, a Nikon Cool Pix S6900 Camera with 32 GB SD Card, a framed, autographed concert poster by Graham Nash from his performance at the Kate and a round of golf (18 holes) with cart and lunch at Black Hall Club, Old Lyme.

According to Oscar event chair Diane Hessinger, “This event has always been volunteer-driven and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past eight years to support The Kate. Not only is it a very fun evening, but it’s a perfect way to pay homage to our namesake, Katharine Hepburn and raise funds to expand the arts on the Connecticut shoreline.”  This year’s event will be held in memory of long-time and dedicated volunteer Beverly Whalen who gave generously of her time and helped launch this event.

This year an extra exciting item is courtesy of Becker's Diamonds & Fine Jewelry of Old Saybrook.  For $20, you can purchase a Mystery Red Box, that will include a gift certificate to Becker's and one lucky purchaser will win a stunning bracelet, 14K gold with forty-nine diamonds. 

Devin Carney, state representative and Art Carney's grandson, will once again bring a genuine Oscar to hold for photos as he shares the stage with Michael Mcguire,  a member of The Kate’s Board of Trustees, while TV anchor Ann Nyberg, from WTNH, will be offering commentary from the television station periodically throughout the evening.

For tickets ($75), please call The Kate,  300 Main Street, Old Saybrook at 877- 503-1286  or online at 

https://katharinehepburntheater.secure.force.com/ticket/#sections_a0F6100000EpEJjEAN. The Kate website is: www.thekate.org or http://www.katharinehepburntheater.org/

Come celebrate 90 years of movie magic with guest host Jimmy Kimmel with all the sass and sizzle of the stars.   

BUSHNELL WELCOMES “THE BODYGUARD” TO ITS MUSICAL DOORS

                                          DEBORAH COX IN "THE BODYGUARD"

Who can forget the dangerous sparks that ignited the screen when Whitney Houston’s superstar portrayal of singer Rachel Marron collided with Kevin Costner’s former Secret Service Agent Frank Farmer who is hired as her bodyguard.  Rachel is being stalked by a crazed fan and Frank is in place to stand by her and protect her, even if it means sacrificing his own life. He is still reeling from his failure to save the President from a killer and reluctantly accepts this assignment.

This monumental 1992 film has now transferred its musical magic and magnificence to the stage as “The Bodyguard The Musical,” written by Alexander Dinelaris, flies head first to Hartford.  It will land  at the Bushnell Center for the Arts, offering it from Tuesday, February 20 to Sunday, February 25.

When Frank Farmer (Judson Mills) originally appears at Rachel’s mansion, the famous singer (Deborah Cox) resents his intrusion into her life.  Unaware that she has received a growing number of death threats, she believes she is safe with her sister Nicki (Jasmin Richardson) as her writing partner and her ten year old son Fletcher (Douglas Baldeo, alternating with Kevin B. Jones III) by her side.

Reluctantly Rachel acknowledges her need for protection, allowing Frank to equip her home with security.  As he asserts his control over the situation, the pair clash as Rachel tries to dominate.  Her sister Nicki, out of jealousy, wants to usurp Frank’s attentions and soon a romantic

triangle emerges to complicate the already tenuous situation.  Meanwhile Frank has become a father figure for young Fletcher.

As the suspense builds, the air is filled with a glorious parade of stunning songs and dazzling dances, complete with sequined costumes, like “Queen of the Night,” “Greatest Love of All,” Saving All My Love for You,” “I Will Always Love You,” “All the Man I Need,” “I’m Every Woman,” “One Moment in Time” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”

The stalker is dangerously close, as Rachel performs while on tour and at the Oscars, and he is always a threat to her and to those close to her. Thea Sharrock directs this romantic thriller that showcases Whitney Houston’s great hits with fancy feathers and flair.

For tickets ($37.50 and up), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford  at 860-987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org.  Performances are Tuesday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Enter the world of excitement and intrigue in a superstar singer’s life as risk and romance both come knocking at her door.

COME SEE MUSICALS ON PARADE IN NORWICH

While the masks of comedy and tragedy date back to the ancient Greeks, the joyful addition of music to the mix didn't arrive until the 19th century, in England with Gilbert and Sullivan and in America with Harrigan and Hart.  The ground-breaking sounds of such classics as "Showboat" and "Oklahoma" pushed the medium over the top.  Now Eric Rockwell and Joanne Bogart are taking a novel look at that platform of entertainment in a combo of tribute and spoof with their "The Musical of Musicals The Musical"  being aired at the Chestnut Street Playhouse in Norwich until Sunday, February 25.

What better way to salute musicals of the past than with a tongue-in-cheek, slightly jaundiced peek at the masters of their craft.  Starting with Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein, Rockwell and Bogart create a scenario where a young woman June (Corey Gonzales) can't pay her rent and wants Billy (Marc Bibeau) the hero to dramatically save her, while Abby (Maureen "Moe" Pollard) offers friendly matronly advice and Jitter (Justin Carroll), the villainous landlord, is full of threats.  Replace the epic "Oklahoma," with "Corn" and you are half way up to an elephant's eye.  Here the cob is celebrated in Kansas in August, love is in the air and everyone enjoys a symbolic ballet, ah shucks!

The theme continues  with a nod to Stephen Sondheim as the troupe ventures into the woods, in this case a New York apartment, where a crazed artist threatens June to pay her rent or else pose for paintings.  With echoes of "Into the Woods,"  "Sweeney Todd" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,"  Sondheim is lambasted with meat pies galore.

The joyful tunes of Jerry Herman in such treasures as "Mame,"and "Hello, Dolly!" are twirled around the dance floor in a swank apartment owned by Abby who only takes a moment to introduce her knicker kneed nephew Billy to Jitter and the world of high society. Here Dear Abby is the life of the party.

The mask of Sir Phantom Jitter is firmly in place as Andrew Lloyd Webber sails into "Aspects of Juanita" who is, remarkably, still in need of rent money and of being rescued.  She needs to become a super nova in the spirit of "Evita" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" if she has any hope of surviving.

With "Cabaret"  and "Chicago" in the limelight, tribute is paid to that great song writing team of Kander and Ebb, as June is still without a sou to her name. Will she need to sell her body to end her debt as Prohibition rages and guilty pleasures abound?  Tune in and see for yourself. Hunter Parker gets into the spirit of the spoof with enthusiasm and energy in her direction.

For tickets ($15-75), call the Chestnut Street Playhouse, 24 Chestnut Street, Norwich at 860- 886-2378 or online at www.boxofficechestnutstreetplayhouse.org.  Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Come discover the fate of the well flaunted musical in the hands of these actors as they sing and dance to their hearts' delight.

COME ENTER PINTER’S COMIC AND DRAMATIC WORLD WITH NHTC

Nobel Prize-winning English playwright Harold Pinter wrote creative works for over five decades.  Some of his voluminous works have been deemed “comedy of menace” and the current offering by the New Haven Theater Company easily fits into that category.

With Pinter’s “The Dumb Waiter” being entertained weekends until Saturday, February 10, we meet Gus (Erich Greene) and Ben (Trevor Williams) who are in a cellar, marking time, waiting for something to happen.  But what? Gus is fidgety and more than a little anxious.  He is filled to overflowing with questions, inquirys he throws hither and yon at Ben, who apparently could care less.

Ben is preoccupied with his newspaper.  He is reclined on a cot, oblivious to Gus’s many concerns. Occasionally he will toss out the hint of a startling news story, about a man being run over by a truck or a girl who killed a cat.  Both men are occupying themselves until their assignment begins.  But what assignment is that?

In this enclosed space, with spates of dialogue, we learn early on that Ben is in charge and Gus is clearly at his mercy.  Even the innocent request to make a cuppa tea almost leads to fisticuffs.  Frustrations boil to the surface, especially when an envelope mysteriously appears under the door and written requests for exotic food like Greek and Chinese suddenly appear in the dumb waiter.

A level of anxiety grows and the pair increase the volatility of their emotions.  Gus wants food and they both want their instructions.  Even though the stove has no gas, the level of tension in the room threatens to explode.  What will happen next?  They each have a gun that is all too readily at hand.  John Watson directs this fifty minute drama of growing anxiety with a tight hand.  Both men are controlled like tight rubber bands ready to snap.

For tickets ($20), contact New Haven Theater Company, 839 Chapel Street, New Haven, at the rear of EBM Vintage, a nifty consignment shop where you can look for bargains before and after the curtain.  Performances are February 8, 9 and 10 at 8 p.m.

Come meet Gus and Ben, two blokes who are at each other’s throats, as they prepare for the known and unknown, as best they are able, while the audience listens in to the unpredictable events.

FOLLOW THE “FIELD GUIDE” TO THE YALE REP’S WORLD PREMIERE

A RUSSIAN BEAR DOING STAND-UP COMEDY    PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS

Brushing up on your Russian literature, namely  the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky, would help your understanding of this  decidedly different interpretation of “The Brothers Karamazov” created by the ensemble group Rude Mechs.  Commissioned as a world premiere by the Yale Repertory Theatre, it meets the performance group’s mission of producing original, live works “peppered with big ideas, cheap laughs and dizzying spectacle.”

This is the third time Rude Mechs, located in Austin, Texas, has been invited to the Yale Rep, previously with “Now Now Oh Now” and “The Method Gun.” Today with “Field Guide,” the group will explore the different relationship of father to sons until Sunday, February 17.

Fyodor Karamazov is not about to win any Best Father of the Year Awards.  He marries and discards wives without concern or care, and treats his sons as if they do not exist.  No one would blame the boys in question for being less than affectionate and more than steeped in anger and resentment for this patriarch. Their disdain even borders on plots to permanently eliminate the old man.

Rude Mechs comes with a complete ensemble of actors:  Lowell Bartholomee as the father Fyodor, the vulgar, money grubbing seducer of young women, Thomas Graves as the intellectual, often philosophizing son Ivan, Lana Lesley as the brave soldier Dmitri who is engaged to one woman while actively pursuing another and needs his inheritance quickly, Mari Akita as the kind, faithful son who is studying to enter the monastery and who dances, Robert S. Fisher as the bastard son Smerdyakov who is ignored even more than his legitimate siblings and Hannah Kenah as s trio of characters, two desirable ladies who are sought after, Katya and Grushenka, and the servant Grigory.

In this quite unusual work, look for stand-up comedy about such diverse topics as forever stamps and ziplock bags and even a joke or two by a giant bear, theories about the existence of no ugly women, pleas for receiving promised legacies, violent family reunions, cardboard furniture that moves mysteriously, greed, jealousy and a giant Bounce House.  The world of the Karamazov Brothers is definitely bizarre and will not be to everyone’s theatrical palate. Shawn Sides directs this inventive riff of Russian literature.

For tickets ($12-99), call the Yale Rep, 1120 Chapel Street, New Haven at 203-432-1234 or online at www.yalerep.org. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.

Enter the menagerie at your own risk, as many of the animals bite, as good and evil battle for all the winnings and a giant well deserved glass of vodka.