MY TOP TEN LIST

For years, the television talk show host David Letterman would announce his Top Ten List on his Late Night with David Letterman Show. The very first list on September 18, 1985 was titled “The Top Ten Things That Almost Rhyme with Peas.” The list was always given in reverse countdown order, starting with the funniest at number 10 and culminating in usually the least humorous at number one. Given the time and the season, I would like to reveal my own Top Ten List of the items I Am Most Happy and Grateful to Resume Again Now That the Pandemic Finally Shows Signs of Stopping. I call it My Next To Normal Check List. Number 10: I am able to finally leave my house, even if I must be seen accompanied by my fully documented vaccination card, my butterfly mask and a bevy of grocery bags. Number 9: I have been cautiously optimistic about giving a hug or, dare I say, a kiss to close fully vaccinated family members. Number 8: I have resumed buying gas, when I can afford it, more than once every other month and actually using my GPS with a real destination in mind. Number 7: I have limited myself to no more than one or two Zoom meetings a day and now get dressed on a regular basis. Number 6: Selling insurance, mostly Medicare policies at the moment, has started up again and I have sat in the same room with clients for the most part, even though a recent appointment was conducted outdoors in 40 degree weather. Number 5: I am no longer addicted to Netflix and forced to watch Hallmark’s Christmas in July programming, although I still end each night with an ice cream cone of my choosing. Number 4: I am writing real dates in my calendar of places to go and people to see after living on a desert island for almost two years...and my thirty year project of writing a book is almost done. "Little Thoughts on a Big Planet" is coming soon. Number 3: The magical world of theater is reopening in all its glory and I couldn’t be more delighted, even if every production has Christmas in its title. No Bah Humbug me. Number 2: Holidays are being celebrated once again with family and friends gathering together to create memories and joy. Number 1: How lucky am I to embrace two sisterhoods of women to help me survive during these difficult times: my Healing Circle every Wednesday morning where we pray for the restored good health of others and on Thursdays my lunches with the DGWG, the Delectable Gourmet Writing Group, where delicious food is combined with personal writings that we share in an atmosphere of trust and friendship. Welcome back world, it’s so wonderful to make your acquaintance once again.

NO "DOUBT" ABOUT THIS INVOLVING DRAMA AT WCP

There is no room for compassion in Sister Aloysius’s mind. She has certainty, even if she doesn’t have proof. As the head of a Catholic boy's school in the Bronx in the early 1960’s, she has decided the newest member of the faculty, Father Flynn, is guilty of impropriety and she wants him gone. In her opinion, he has acted improperly with a student, Donald Muller, who has recently enrolled. The future of this boy is in question. The fate of this priest is under scrutiny. The certainty of an accusing nun is startlingly evident. All of these are judge and jury in Westport Country Playhouse's current offering, John Patrick Shanley's involving drama "Doubt" playing until Saturday, November 20. What is not in doubt is the sincerity and dedication of this fine cast of actors. "Doubt" focuses on Father Flynn, a determined Eric Bryant, and whether or not he is guilty of an inappropriate relationship with Donald Muller, a 12 year old, the first African-American boy who has ever been admitted to St. Nicholas School. The time is 1964. Betsy Aidem's Sister Aloysius is stern, pious and unbending as the principal whom all the students fear. She cautions the naive and eager-to-please Sister James, a sweet and innocent Kerstin Anderson, that she needs more starch in her spine. She urges Sister James to spy on Father Flynn and confirm her convictions. As she states unequivocally, "I will bring him down." Her vigilance is her guardian. After all, Father Flynn writes with a ball point pen, has long finger nails, takes three sugars in his tea and likes Frosty the Snowman. These are all evidence of his guilt. She even seeks the counsel of Donald's mother, a concerned and caring Sharina Martin, to stand with her in her judgmental accusations. David Kennedy directs this fine drama, a parable of principles. As for whether or not Father Flynn is guilty or innocent, the playwright leaves the question open for personal interpretation. If you see "Doubt," you'll have to decide on your own. For tickets ($40-60), call the Westport Country Playhouse, Route One Westport at 203-227-4177or online at https://tickets.westportplayhouse.org. Performances are Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.On demand are available until Sunday, November 21 for a household at $100 and a pair at $50. Remember to bring your proof of vaccination and your mask. In the final tally, what has never been in doubt, clearly, is the fact that Westport Country Playhouse's goal is to provide excellent theater for theater's sake and welcome audiences back after a long absence.

"FALSETTOLAND" WELCOMED AT MUSIC THEATRE OF CT

Now that the world has recently experienced the wrath of a pandemic, it is not so difficult to look backward forty years to the devastating experience of AIDS, a mysterious illness that reared its ugly head in the 1980’s. At the center to any crisis is how it affects the participants, the family unit, the people who surround us and hold us together. Music Theatre of Connecticut is inviting us to revisit an earlier time and struggle with the family members and friends at the center as they present “Falsettoland” with book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by William Finn, running weekends until Sunday November 21. Come meet real life father and son, Dan and Ari Sklar, as they become Marvin and Jason with all the messy baggage that comes with family life. Marvin has struggled with his identity and has taken a younger, good looking male lover Whizzer, Max Meyers, and divorced his wife Trina, Corinne C. Broadbent, in the process. His connection, however, to their teenage son Jason remains strong. Approaching thirteen, Jason is on the cusp of manhood, almost ready to stand on the bimah of the synagogue as a Bar Mitzvah. Or is he? Watching his dad reconnect with Whizzer after years apart, seeing his mother remarry the man who has been the encouraging psychiatrist for the family, Mendel, played by Jeff Gurner, and witnessing the loving relationship of friends Dr. Charlotte, Jessie Janet Richards, and the non-Jewish caterer Cordelia, Elissa DeMaria, Jason is understandably conflicted over whether he wants this Jewish rite of passage to take place or not. When Whizzer comes down with an unexplainable illness, Jason is justifiably confused even more. While Jason sings of his need for “Another Miracle of Judaism,” his mom struggles with her ability to cope in “Holding to the Ground.” Each member of this extended family is in crisis as Whizzer philosophically proclaims “You Gotta Die Sometime.” The audience easily becomes part of the community trying to help keep this non-traditional family together, whether it's with chicken soup or the expansive strength of caring and love. For tickets ($35-65 plus fees), call Music Theater of Connecticut, 509 Westport Avenue, Route One, Norwalk at 203-454-3883 or online at www.musictheatreofct.com/falsettoland. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. A special Pride Night will take place on November 12 at 8 p.m. Remember to bring your proof of vaccination and your mask. Let director Kevin Connor escort you as guide for this intensely personal journey into Jason’s world as he struggles with the decisions that will mark his religious rite of passage. This theatrical experience surely will strengthen the bonds of father and son as they celebrate Ari's bar mitzvah in June in Israel. Mazel tov, mazel tov!

THE BUSHNELL WELCOMES "THE BAND'S VISIT"

One wrong turn, one misunderstood direction, the lack of a map or GPS and one can find oneself stuck in the middle of nowhere. That is the fate of a band of musicians traveling from Egypt on their way to perform a concert in Petah Tikvah in Israel. Through mistakes and poor language skills, they end up in the forsaken town of Bet Hatikah, unexpected and uninvited. Written with book by Hamar Moses, with music and lyrics by David Yazbek, “The Band’s Visit” is based on a film of the same name. The Bushnell Theater in Hartford will feature this intriguing musical adventure from Tuesday, November 16 to Sunday, November 21. In 1996, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arrive in Israel all set to perform a concert for a local Arab organization. When no one arrives to greet them at the central bus station in Tel Aviv, the group’s leader instructs the young officer Haled to purchase tickets to their destination: Petah Tikvah. Unfortunately, due to his Egyptian accent, the clerk misunderstands his request and sells him tickets to the Jewish isolated desert town of Bet Hatikvaand the misadventure begins. The residents of Bet Hatikva wouldn’t recognize excitement if it knocked them on their head; they are bored with the monotony of their every day lives. Currently they spend their time waiting for anything of interest to happen. When the band arrives, led by Colonel Tewfig Zakania, they are tired and hungry and out-of-sorts, They approach two cafe workers Papi and Itzik seeking directions to the Arab cultural center for their performance the following day. Papi and Itzik, realizing there must be a mistake, ask the cafe owner Dina, a vivacious woman, for help. Dina quickly realizes the group are in the wrong place and offers food and lodging as they wait for a bus to take them to the correct destination. What transpires is conversations and connections between the band and the town’s people. There is bonding and a real exchange of confidences. Love is caught on the gentle desert breeze. No one is quite the same by morning. For tickets ($31.50 and up), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at bushnell.org. Remember your vaccination card and mask. Come discover for yourself how a single geographical mistake has the power to change lives forever.