"PRETTY WOMAN" CELBRATES ROMANCE AT THE BUSHNELL

Are you a romantic who believes in fairy tale stories with a “happily ever after” ending? Have you never given up loving Cinderella’s pumpkin inspired carriage driven by mice as handsome coachmen? Do you dream of stuffing your too big feet into her legendary glass slipper and finding your prince? If you recognize yourself, you are primed and ready to experience all the humorous adventures of “Pretty Woman: The Musical” lighting up Hartford’s Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts until Sunday, May 1. With a book by Garry Marshall and J. F. Lawton and an original score by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, you are invited to open your heart to romance 24 carats worth. Come meet the suave and sophisticated business executive Edward Lewis, as portrayed by Adam Pascal, who likes and thrives on taking over companies in a battle royal. He uses and discards his women in the same fashion, if they haven’t said sayonara to him first. Right now he is in heavy negotiations for a new hostile take over bid and he needs a woman, an escort, to accompany him to social affairs. When he asks for directions and finds himself in the red light district of town, he happens upon a vivacious Vivian Ward and promptly buys her services for a week. Along the way, we meet Vivian’s gal pal Kit (Jessica Crouch), Edward’s sleazy lawyer (Matthew Stocke), and a man for all seasons and reasons (Kyle Taylor Parker). Olivia Valli’s Vivian may not have all the social skills she might need, but she has an aura and presence that mark her as special. The movie of the same name, now an unbelievable thirty years old, starred Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Their business proposition together is marked by stunning mile high boots, fast cars, a terrific dance scene, her incandescent smile, and a shopping trip to Rodeo Drive that proves the worth of a gold plated credit card. Anything can happen in this fantasy world of incredible stakes, where everyone is entitled to dream. For tickets ($35.50 and up), call the Bushnell Center, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org. Performances are weekday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturday 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Masks are required. What would a good romance be without a backdrop of sensational music as an accompaniment? Never fear, the mood is set, the hero and heroine are in place, and all you have to do is cheer them on to their “happily ever after."

BRIDGEPORT'S DOWNTOWN CABARET MUSICALLY CELEBRATES THE SIXITIES

You might remember the 1960’s as a kinder, gentler time with hippies, flower children and Woodstock. It was also a time of tumult and trauma, with the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. It is also marked by the conflicts over civil rights and the Vietnam War, with riots, protests and marches. This decade claims the Cuban Missile Crisis, the end of Camelot and man’s successful landing on the moon. The historical highs and lows of this era have been captured in photos and songs by Bridgeport’s Downtown Cabaret weekends until Sunday, May 15 in “Decades in Concert: Spirit of the Sixties,” conceived by Hugh Hallinan and written by Phill Hill. Jennifer Kaye skillfully directs and choreographs this decade of hopes and disillusionment. A quartet of talented performers - Everton George, Mikayla Petrilla, Robert Peterpaul and Saige Bryan, with Sean Davis as understudy - take the audience on a masterful journey musically. With numerous costume changes, thanks to Lesley Nelson-Bowman, the show is like a giant fashion show of fringes, boots, ponchos, love beads, polka-dotted prints, bell bottom jeans and tye-dyed shirts. Feel free to come dressed appropriately. Along with a non-stop projection of news footage, the group sings protest songs and a whole parade of hit tunes of the times, like “Preacher’s Son,” “The Sound of Silence,” “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” “Respect,” “Stop in the Name of Love,” and “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” The wonderful evening ends with a medley of the Beatles’ favorite hits, like “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Hard Day’s Night,” "Help.” “All You Need is Love,” and “Hey, Jude.” Along the way they conjure up groups like the Marvelettes, the Supremes, The Four Tops and the Jackson Five. For tickets ($ 35), call the Downtown Cabaret, 263 Golden Hill Street, Bridgeport at 203-576-1636 or online at my cabaret.org. Shows are Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. Remember to bring snacks or a dinner to enjoy during the show. Patrons need to show a fully vaccinated proof or a negative COVID test less than 48 hours old, but home COVID tests are not accepted. For the kiddies, check the schedule for “Beauty and the Beast.” Upcoming shows include a “50’s Dance Party: Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens” on May 31, followed by “Elton John” by Captain Fantastic on June 4. Turn the clock back to the 1960’s to discover a time of change and transition and the music those events inspired so clearly.

"LOST IN YONKERS" WONDERFULLY FOUND AT HARTFORD STAGE

Three generations of the Kurnitz family exist with the stern and stoic Grandma as the matriarch who rules their roost. Her difficult German history and the tragic losses in her life dictate her grim outlook and perspective. Although she has owned and operated Kurnitz’s Kandy Store in Yonkers, New York for decades, no one would describe her as “sweet.” Her job is to guide and instruct, not nourish or nurture her flock. With a limp and a cane, resembling a “wrinkled ice cube,” and deaf in one ear, she is a mean woman set in her ways. You can only imagine the fear of her grandsons Jay and Arty when they learn their newly widowed father Eddie is planning to leave them in her care for ten months as he travels south to earn enough to pay off their mother’s medical bills. Be sure to wipe your feet and not make too much noise as you enter Lauren Helpern’s dated set, complete with lace antemacceurs, at Hartford Stage until Sunday, May 1 to engage your heart and soul in Neil Simon’s stirring family comic drama “Lost in Yonkers,” winner of the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. With Marsha Mason starring as the indomitable Grandma, and co-directing with Rachel Alderman, you will be swept into the lives of these unique individuals before you can say “gum drops and lollipops” three times fast. As the newly bereaved husband, Eddie, a devoted Jeff Skowron, is clearly afraid of his mother, but he has no choice: he must beg her to take in his sons. Predicatably Grandma refuses, but Eddie’s loving sister Bella, a delightful but mentally challenged Andrea Syglowski, accepts with joy. She lives in a dream world where fantasies could become real and makes the best ice cream sodas. She promises Jay, a serious and concerned Hayden Bercy, and younger brother Arty, a moxie filled Gabriel Amoroso, that she will protect them if they will keep her secrets from you-know-who. Whereas Eddie quakes in the shadow of his mother, his brother Louie, a gangster who trifles in a dangerous world, a daring Michael Nathanson, thrives after a childhood being locked in a closet. Their sister Gert, who still has a breathing problem thanks to growing up with mama, a skittish Liba Vaynberg, tries to be supportive of her siblings. The deaths of Grandma’s other two children still haunt her and cause her to harden her steel spine against any further tragedies. For tickets ($30-100), call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or online at HartfordStage.org. Performances are Tuesday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Bring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test and wear a mask. Can love and forgiveness and compassion heal even the harshest heart? Come discover for yourself but be careful not to let any one steal the salt off the pretzels or Grandma will demand you pay her.

FOLLOW THE SHINING "STAR OF FREEDOM" TO IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE

As we struggle every day with the complications and complexities of our lives, with everything from the pandemic to climate control to the unsettling war in Ukraine, it is comforting to look back to other eras fraught with change. Ivoryton Playhouse is offering such an opportunity with a world premiere production of “Star of Freedom,” conceived and directed by the Playhouse’s own Artistic Director Jacqueline Hubbard, with music and lyrics by Jeff Blaney and book by Lawrence Thelen until Sunday, May 1. The tragedies of a lack of food and finances drive an Irish immigrant Sean to our shores on the eve of the Civil War. His younger brother Luke, unfortunately, doesn’t survive the terrible journey over so Sean, a brave and adventurous Danny Adams, seeks a new life on his own. He soon finds himself fighting for the Union cause until the killing becomes too much for him to bear. In deserting, he makes himself a target with a price on his head for anyone in search of a bounty. Along his way, Sean has a lively and boisterous band of followers to share his joys and misadventures, Brian Russell Carey, Luke Darnell, Ben Hope and Richard E. Waits, who use guitars, banjos, fiddles, cello, mandolin, accordion and harmonica to mark his progress. Songs such as “I Love Beer,” “God Bless This Land,” and “We Will Go Down to the River” express the sentiments foremost in the pioneer spirit. In the Virginia woods, Sean meets another stranger, Chloe, who is also running from her past. Ayla Stackhouse’s Chloe is a newly freed slave who yearns for a brand new start. She knows you have to be brave to be colored in this country. Using the North Star as their guide, they determine to go West together to the Colorado Territory to start a new life. They acknowledge that if there is no struggle, there is no progress. For tickets ($55 adults, $50 seniors, $25 students ), call The Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at ivorytonplayhouse.org. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees Wednesday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Please bring your vaccination card. photo ID or a recent negative COVID test and a mask. Join Sean and Chloe as they trek westward with a wee bit of tender, poignant and charming love as their constant companion.

"NEXT TO NORMAL" HARD TO ACHIEVE AT WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE

Have you ever questioned how precious and precarious life can be? How a single incident can have a profound and long lasting influence on all your future days? Did you ever feel that some days you need a stronger Elmer's or Gorilla Glue just to hold on to life? Being caught in a pandemic for more than two years can provide a good example of the difficulties. Or that you were trapped in a soap opera and you can't find the remote control to change the channel? Maybe your life is a bad movie and all you want to do is walk out of the theater. If those feelings resonate or are even only remotely familiar, you will commiserate with and feel compassion for Diana Goodman and her family. Westport Country Playhouse and its contemporary set by Adam Koch are the perfect venue for "Next to Normal," an intensely personal story of a family in crisis, playing until Sunday, April 24. Many years ago Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey were given the challenge to compose a ten minute play about electric shock therapy. The result, now a full fledged musical, has won them a trio of 2009 Tony Awards as well as the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Dar. Lee. See. Ah. is wonderfully convincing as Diana, who struggles daily, almost minute to minute, with a diagnosis and label of bi-polar depression. The loss of a baby son Gabriel, sixteen years before, haunts her and to survive, she regularly communicates with Gabe, a powerfully present Daniel J. Maldonado, as the teenager he would be had he lived. Dan, a faithfully supportive Wilson Jermaine Heredia, is the faithful husband who tries to guide Diana through her mental and emotional ups and downs, chauffeuring her to doctor's visits and the succession of drug therapies. When all seems darkest, after a plethora of pill combinations and counseling don’t work, her doctor (Katie Thompson) suggests electric shock therapy. Natalie, a struggling teen with her own issues, desperately wants a normal mother and normal family, but she will settle for one that is "next to normal." Now with a boyfriend Henry, a tender and concerned Gian Perez, by her side, she craves a mom to confide in and get advice from, not the woman who is distant and unattached. Ashley LaLonde is agonizingly perfect as the daughter who yearns for a simple, even dull existence. Marcos Santana does a splendid job directing and choreographing a fine cast of color, dealing with the difficult subject of mental illness. For tickets ($50 and up), call Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport, at 203-227-4177 or online at www.westportplayhouse.org. Performances are Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at 2 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 With songs that evoke both laughter and tears, follow a family caught in a personal and private battle that affects everyone in their world.

BUDDY HOLLY RAVES ON IN NORWALK AT MTC

In 1971, Don McLean wrote a song that captured the meteoric comet of rock and roll that was Buddy Holly:“The Day the Music Died.” His star shone brightly until it burned out way too soon. Born in Lubbock, Texas in 1936, he was a rock and roll legend who influenced the direction the music world took and even though he has been gone from the galaxy for decades his stirring tunes live on. His death at only twenty-two was a tragedy but his eighteen months of fame are still felt today. Everyone from the Beatles to Bruce Springsteen credit Buddy Holly for being a jukebox wonder. Music theater of Connecticut in Norwalk will welcome this songwriting sensation until Sunday, April 10 in "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story.” Spiff Wiegand will rock around your clock as the energetic performer who believes in himself and in his music and lets the world hear his greatness. This hometown country boy rejected his country western roots to adopt the newfangled, untamed tail of a comet called rock and roll. He hung on tightly, from his first successful stirrings on the radio, then at Harlem's Apollo Theater (Michael Ray Fisher and Jannie Jones) to his final show in February 1959 at Clear Lake. Iowa when he joined forces with the Big Bopper (Jimmy Lewis) and Ritchie Valens, (Gian Raffaele Dicostanzo) for what was to be his last hurrah. Alan Janes has penned this enthusiastic tribute to a legend and crammed it with Holly's most popular hits, "Maybe, Baby," "Oh, Boy," "Rave On," "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue." It doesn't get much better than this! To date, more than 22 million music fans from all over the world have been shaken from their toes on up by this sensational show. With his band the Crickets (Matt Ruff, Ken Sandberg and Jeff Gurner), Holly took the professional advice from DJs like Highpockets Duncan (Adam Von Almen) and managers like Norman Petty (Robert Mobley) and Norm’s wife (Blair Alexis Brown). Along the way, he met and quickly married Maria Elena (Elena Ramos Pascullo) who had dreams that a tragedy was close by on his last tour. For tickets ($40 to 65), call Music Theater of CT, 509 Westport Avenue, Norwalk at 203-454-3883 or online at admin@musictheaterofct.com. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Come witness the birth of rock and roll with the daddy who gets the credit for its contemporary conception, the one and only, Buddy Holly. He will "not fade away” even though the music died when his plane crashed in a blizzard more than six decades ago.

"CHOIR BOY" SINGS UP A STORM AT YALE REP

Being a teenage boy is not easy. Being a Black teenage boy raises even more issues. Being a gay Black teenage boy embraces complications galore. Come meet Pharus Jonathan Young, a junior at an elite prep school for Black youth, who has much more than his academic subjects to overcome successfully. The choir is his life and he sings with the joy of redemption, especially now that he is the choir’s leader. His struggles for acceptance at the Charles R. Drew Preparatory School for Boys make him work determinately to become an ethically proud and honest Black man. That goal has been the school’s tradition for the past five decades. What happens to Pharus when as a talented gifted singer, with exceptional skills, he wants to take his well deserved place as the choir’s distinguished head? Tarell Alvin McCraney and Christopher D. Betts are Yale Repertory Theatre’s Playwright-in-Residence and Director respectively. Tarell now serves as the Co-Chair of the Playwriting Program, having graduated from the David Geffen School of Drama. Betts will graduate with an M.F.A. in May. “Choir Boy” will play with harmony and histrionics at the University Theatre, 222 York Street, New Haven until Saturday, April 23. Israel Erron Ford is outstanding as Pharus, trying to live up to the standards of his school, trying to ignore the taunts and bullying by fellow students like Bobby (Anthony Holiday) who takes pleasure in tormenting Pharus as he sings at graduation. The fact that Bobby is the nephew of the headmaster, a dedicated Allen Gilmore, makes Pharus’ tightrope walk of not being a snitch that much harder to sustain. People can freely admit to loving basketball, their pet puppy , even egg salad sandwiches. It is much harder and more complex to admit to loving another human being of the same sex. Being accepted is a difficult road to travel. Come watch Pharus navigate the mine fields as he earns lessons he never anticipated and grows into the man he is destined to become. While he wants to keep his personal life private, that goal seems impossible. His other fellow students David (Aaron James McKenzie), AJ (Malik James), Jr (Jarrett Anthony Bennett) along with an ensemble including Gilbert Domally, Denzel DeAngelo Fields, Darian Peer and Wildlin Pierrevil, provide the energy and spirit that pervades this musical. The entrance of a former professor Mr. Pendleton (Walton Wilson) sends the boys into an exploration of thinking outside the box. Pharus takes the opportunity to examine spirituals and their meaning as related to slavery. Numbers like “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize,” “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," and “Rockin’ Jerusalem” exhibit the exuberance of these boys, especially with Allen Rene Louis as Music Director and Vocal Arrangements, Amy Hall Garner as Choreographer and Anna Grigo as Scenic Designer. For tickets ($10-65), call the Yale Repertory Theatre at 203-432-1234 or online at www.yalerep.org. Performances are Wednesday to Saturday at 8 p.m. plus Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Wednesday at 2 p.m. on April 20. Please bring your vaccination card or a recently negative COVID test and a mask to wear. Join Pharus as he learns much more than academics, as he comes of age and takes his rightful place in adulthood.