THE SAYBROOK STAGE COMPANY INVITES YOU TO THE KATE'S "LOST LODGE"

Terri Corigliano is one busy lady. Take a big breathe and meditate on her career. From kindergarten on, theater has been a central focus of her life. In high school she met Cosmo, her husband, and raised three children and entered the legal profession. Her love of the law led her to teach at Sacred Heart’s Legal Assistant Program where she discovered another love: teaching. A new future goal became her desire to get public speaking into the curriculum of every high school and college in the country. Most recently, until COVID interfered, was at Quinnipiac University teaching Public Speaking and Media Law. Along the way, she and her husband Cosmo moved to Old Saybrook and became involved in a project honoring Katharine Hepburn’s hometown with a theater and museum in her name.

Terri’s dedication to the arts led her, and Cosmo as a non-acting business partner, to create the Saybrook Stage Company. To date, their troupe has performed 25 shows at the Kate in 14 seasons, starting with “Our Town” in 2011. She expresses her gratitude to Executive Director of the Kate Brett Elliott for all his support and guidance over the years. Now Terri Corigiiano is excited to add “playwright” to her list of accomplishments with “Lost Lodge” premiering at the Kate the weekend of July 18-21.

A long time fan of the work of A.R. Gurney and his skill in creating vignettes for the stage, she has penned more than a baker’s dozen of stories about family, friends, lovers and strangers who find themselves as guests at a deep in the woods house in a fictional town in the northern parts of New England. In her new literary world, one must write a letter to the owner of Lost Lodge and convince its owner that you need to stay there. The only thing that is soon apparent is that that stay will change your life forever. Ready to make your own reservation?

Maybe you are a wife who has been struggling for years to throw a surprise party for your husband and never succeeded. What might happen if all your friends worked together to find a fool-proof plan to finally make it happen? Get ready to jump out from behind the couch and yell “SURPRISE.” In addition to this fast paced farce, there are stories about a family that is searching for more meaningful ways to celebrate the Christmas holiday, a son and daughter trying to plan a family reunion, a pizza delivery man who has more to deliver than a pepperoni pie, and a grandmother and granddaughter trying to bridge a generation gap as large as the Grand Canyon of missed communication, and many more. The casting includes actors from New York and Massachusetts, including their daughter Mary who has been involved in the company for years, as well as wonderful local talent.

Two of Terri’s goals for the piece are to create a play everyone can relate to, with happiness and a few tears who will be “touched by the script no matter their age,” as well as theater that could be performed by a high school or college or by older actors as each performer has 5-6 roles to play. This is a long way from the Saybrook Stage Company’s first production “Our Town” where all they had were two ladders and two kitchen tables as their total props on stage.

Call the Kate for tickets ($19-29 ), 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook at 860- 510-0453 or online at thekate.org/event/lost-lodge-2/ Performances are 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.

Surely the mysterious owner of Lost Lodge, the playwright A. R. Gurney and the actress Katharine Hepburn would be equally proud.

"SOUTH PACIFIC" SOARS MAJESTICALLY TO GOODSPEED MUSICALS

From the first notes of the orchestra’s overture, you will be whisked away to the exotic Pacific islands where magic flourishes.

Picture swaying palm trees, soft island breezes, coral dotted waters, lush green mountains, bouquets of tropical blossoms and endless Pacific ocean waves and you will be set to experience the enchanting production of "South Pacific" until Sunday, August 11, courtesy of Goodspeed Musicals. This classic musical is a splendid way to spend a summer evening under the stars.

In 1949, three short stories of James Michener, taken from his Pulitzer prize-winning novel “Tales of the South Pacific,” were transformed into a musical called by many the finest ever composed for the stage. Two serious stories about couples whose love is threatened by the war and by their own prejudices were balanced by a third story about Luther Billis, a womanizing but lovable sailor, to provide comic relief.

The result was “South Pacific,” a royal treat by Rodgers and Hammerstein, with book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan that has been revised and enhanced seven decades later with its themes of racial prejudice strengthened and sensitized for today’s audiences. Regrettably the world we inhabit has not learned empathy and kindness and still clings to hatred of those we do not know as well as the evils of antisemitism.

The primary story swirls around a middle-aged French plantation owner Emile de Becque, brought to charming and romantic life by Omar Lopez-Cepero, who meets a naïve young United States Navy nurse from Arkansas, Nellie Forbush, an engagingly sweet and effervescent Danielle Wade, at an officers’ club dance and they fall in love “one enchanted evening.” The second story involves United States Marine Lieutenant Joe Cable, a strong and committed Cameron Loyal, who comes to the island to carry out a dangerous spy mission and becomes infatuated with Liat, a Tonkinese girl, played by a lovely Alex Humphreys. Both Nellie and Cable experience bigotry and suffer from deep-seated prejudices, feelings that are revealed in the telling song “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught.”

Some of the other beautiful tunes that have come out of this production include “This Nearly Was Mine,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Bali Ha’i,” “Younger Than Springtime” and “I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy,” as well as the light hearted “Happy Talk,” “Bloody Mary,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair,” “There is Nothing Like a Dame” and “Honey Bun.”

While the play deals with World War II and the conflict in the Pacific against the Japanese as well as the reactions in the United States, some of the production’s lighter moments are provided by Luther Billis as an entrepreneurial sort who finds himself in a new world and tries to make the best of it, even if it involves bending the rules. He epitomizes the great American ethic of inventiveness based on necessity, providing services to relieve his men’s boredom and loneliness. Believing in the greater good, Luther is ready and able to meet his sailors’s needs, be it for a laundry service, island trinkets or female companionship. Kevin Quillon brings this role to comic life.

Also outstanding in her part is Joan Almedilla as Bloody Mary, who like Luther is trying to earn a good living by being enterprising as well as finding a suitable husband for her daughter Liat. She focuses on Joe Cable as being the right man.

Sky Vaux Fuller and Emjay Roashare take on the role of Emile's daughter and son. Chay Yew directs a large and talented cast in this wonderful production who dance with glee thanks to Parker Esse’s energetic choreography and inspiring music directed by Adam Souza.

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For tickets ($30 and $42 and up), call Goodspeed Musicals, 6 Main Street, East Haddam at 860-873-8668 or online at 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. and 6:30 p.m.

Start off your summer on a high note, beautifully sung, by attending a performance of "South Pacific," a universal favorite in the world of musical theater.

SEVEN ANGELS THEATRE IN WATERBURY REVEALS "JBKO THE LIFE. THE LEGEND. THE LEGACY."

All too often famous people like Princess Diana, Greta Garbo, Howard Hughes and Harper Lee lose their privacy as the price for being in the spotlight. The more elusive they become, the more desirable their photos are for the ever present cameras of the paparazzi. To protect their glamorous and mysterious mystiques, the women often wear dark sunglasses to shield their face and, ultimately, their soul.

Receding from public scrutiny can become an art form and no one managed that skill more than Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, the subject of a revealing one woman show, a world premiere, at Waterbury’s Seven Angels Theatre in “JBKO The Life. The Legend. The Legacy” until Sunday, June 30.

We know the high and low points of Jackie’s role as “queen” of her Camelot, her famous marriages, her status as First Lady, the tragic death of J.F.K., her protective arms around her children, her careers early on and again later as book editor and yet very little about Jacqueline the woman.

Playwright Tom Santopietro has long been fascinated by the Kennedys, beginning when Jack was a candidate for president in 1960. Santopietro was among the tens of thousands in the crowd when, two days before the election, J.F.K visited Waterbury. As a writer, he was always intrigued by Jackie, the woman who was “famously private,” who did not grant interviews, and he wanted to give the world his personal look behind the sunglasses. And what a look it is!

Marina Shay embodies Jackie and, for the first time, is sharing her story with an audience, with her real thoughts and reactions revealing a delightful sense of humor, a love of the dance, a little mischief, a sense of all the painful moments she survived, her guilt over not being able to save Jack from an assassin’s bullet, her need for affection after he died, her honesty in living life as she knew it with no compromises, taking no prisoners. Marina Shay captures the spirit of a woman who still searched for the joys even when she lived in what she termed at times '‘a fancy prison.”

Semina De Laurentis directs this beautiful portrait of a First Lady with sensitivity and style, on a lovely living room set by Kimberly Jackson. For tickets ($37.00), call Seven Angels Theatre, Hamilton Park, 1 Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at boxoffice@sevenangelstheatre.org. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Many performances come with speciality treats like apizza, candy or ice cream.

Let Marina Shay do her magic as your intimate and charming guide, not of a tour of the White House, but into her private world as she discovers herself and her complicated world called Camelot.

"CELEBRATE SUMMER" AT WATERBURY'S PALACE THEATER JUNE 21

How often do you get to go dining and dancing, experience an elaborate beach party, take over every nook and cranny of an entire beautiful theater and celebrate summer all in the same fantastic evening? Well, Waterbury’s Palace Theater has one super golden ticket that is unlocking all the treasures of the season, just when it magically begins.

As the sunset turns to a luminous twilight at 6 p.m., the Palace Theater will open its ivory and gold magnificent doors to welcome you to a lavish buffet dinner provided by D’Amelio’s Italian Eatery, featuring such delicacies as platters of charcuterie, stuffed breads and pineapple glazed meatballs, followed by buffet stations for BBQ chicken, pulled pork, cavatelli and broccoli, eggplant parmigiana and a medley of vegetables. If you prefer your salads tossed and dressed, line up for apple slaw, orzo salad, tossed salad, potato salad, rolls and cornbread.

Save some room for Cavallo’s Deli and Italian Imported Foods with platters of fabulously sweet desserts, while you listen to DJ Jim O’Rourke from the Greater Waterbury YMCA spin some summer hits from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s for your listening and dancing pleasure.

For tickets ($75), that include dinner and one drink, call the Palace Theater, 100 East Main Street, Waterbury at 203-346-2000 or online at palacetheaterct.org. A guaranteed table of 10 will include two bottles of wine for $1000. For sponsorship and more information, contact Natalie Lawlor at 203-346-2009 or lawlor@palacetheaterct.org.

Help the Palace Theater with its glorious fundraiser and have a wonderful time in the process, with no worries of catching any beach sand in your flip flops.

GO FOR "BROKE" WITH CENTER STAGE THEATRE'S GAME NIGHTS

You are all familiar with Alex Trebek, of blessed memory, and the current host of JEOPARDY! Ken Jennings, where contestants can win tons of money by providing the questions to the show's answers. What you probably are not familiar with is a game show where the players are told to give the wrong answers to the questions and then in order to win, have to lose all their money. Welcome to BROKE The Game Show Show created by C. E. Simon for book and music, with lyrics and direction by Liz Muller and video design by C. E. Simon, produced by Center Stage Theatre of Shelton June 14 at 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. and June 15 at 7:30 p.m. Seating will be cabaret style so bring your own food and liquid libations to share at your table.

Games to be played range from charades to word associations, hangman and trivia. The less you know might be to your advantage, because you may find yourself on stage before you can say VANNA WHITE three times. Leading the action and fun and frolics are Ashley Rube’s Alex who is in charge of everything technical and Ryan Myers’ Hank who runs the actual show as master of ceremonies. Assisting them are Liz Muller’s VANNA, Scott Sheldon at the controls and The Brokettes who dance quite delightfully, Kayna Banez, Zola Kneeland, Julia Murphy and Sophia Perrone. Zany and wild does not begin to describe the action.

This super advanced game show is having technical difficulties and the host and his assistant are scrambling to fix what is wrong before air time. Meanwhile Hank is trying valiantly to warm up for the action but the virtual artificial neural network association (VANNA to you) is not cooperating. Will Alex and Hank develop a more personal relationship in the midst of all the production troubles? Will any one of the contestants be able to answer all the questions incorrectly? Will innocent bystanders find themselves in front of a microphone without knowing how they got there?

For tickets ($18-36), call Center Stage Theatre, 54 Grove Street, Shelton at 203-225-6079 or online at boxoffice@centerstageshelton.org.

If you thought you weren’t smart enough to be a contestant on JEOPARDY!, have no fear. You will surely be up for the task as a participant on BROKE. All you have to do is get every answer wrong!

LET THE BUSHNELL LEAD THE PARADE TO "FUNNY GIRL"

Don’t let anybody rain on your parade. If you have a dream, even if it is to want to be a star on Broadway, don’t listen to anyone who tells you it shouldn’t happen, it won’t happen or it can’t happen. For forward and independent thinking Fanny Brice, who grows up on the less than ritzy Lower East Side, it is quite wonderful she had her ears closed to all the naysayers of discouragement who surrounded her. To glory in her story of optimism and indomitability tap your way to the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts from Tuesday, June 18 to Sunday, June 23 for a tour on the sunny side of the street in “Funny Girl.”

With a sterling and song studded silver score by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill, an updated book by Harvey Fierstein based on the original classic by Isobel Lennart, tap choreography by Ayodele Casel, choreography by Ellenore Scott and direction by Michael Mayer, “Funny Girl” has been hailed as a love letter to the theatre, with a shining envelope containing one of Broadway’s brightest lights: Fanny Brice.

Be prepared for a sensational and spectacular Katerina McCrimmon as Fanny and Melissa Manchester as her controlling and discouraging mother. This semi-autobiographical story showcases the life and career of a comedian and show business star who has an off-and-on difficult and stormy relationship with the powerful entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein. Their affair informs much of the passionate action. Set in New York City just before and following World War I, the show features such numbers as “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” “You Are Woman. I Am Man,” “People,” “Who Are You Now,” and “I’m the Greatest Star.”

The musical is set as a flashback, as Fanny is a star-struck teenager, her first vaudeville job as a chorus dancer, her complex relationship with the handsome gambler Nicky, her stardom as a Ziegfeld performer in his follies, ending in the present day with the realization of all she has gained and lost and regained as a beautiful woman.

For tickets ($38 and up), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at 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.

Follow the intriguing path led by Fanny Brice as she sets her steps determinately to lead her own parade straight to Broadway and beyond.

WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE INVITES YOU TO "WHEN THE SLEEPING DRAGON WOKE" JUNE 14

Actor and writer Sharon Washington may have had what many would consider a fairy tale childhood: she and her family lived in three different New York City libraries as their home. Her father got the job of custodian, stoking the huge coal fire to keep the building warm. From the age of three or four, Sharon, thanks to a love of literature from her grandmother, had access to any book on the premises once the front door was closed to the public. Of course, books became magical creatures and her life took a fanciful turn.

Even in a fairy tale life, however, there is no guarantee of happily ever after. A little girl has to beware of monsters lurking around every corner, If she wants to stay safe. For Sharon Washington, growing up in a New York apartment tucked in the top if a public library had the potential to be a fantasy come true, but as in all tales of imagination, one must constantly be on guard for the unexpected. It was only much later, when Sharon was urged by fellow friends in the theater to write about those years that she realized, sadly, that there were dragons hiding among the treasures.

In 2018 Hartford Stage created a fanciful set for Sharon Washington to share her unique childhood in “Feeding the Dragon,” a story she lived, wrote about and performed in an engaging one woman show. In telling her story, Ms. Washington took on the personas of almost two dozen personalities who peopled her world, who made it so dramatic and real. Not the least of which was her father, the flawed man who literally and figuratively fed the dragon, the giant furnace in which he stuffed coal to keep the mammoth building warm and safe. His addiction to alcohol often made him the scary monster in her autobiographical tale.

Living in a library had some distinct advantages for her: while the furnace devoured coal, she devoured books. Her love of learning was encouraged by her love of the written word. She traveled many times a day and night up the five long marble flights to her tower, a fairy tale world that was strictly her own. Her view of the stars out the top windows was remarkable, as was the freedom of journeying through the stacks of books below. She often felt like a king’s daughter, until the demons arrived unannounced.>/p>

When those demons descended and forced her away from her beloved childhood playground, we witnessed a frightened little girl facing a real world of racial issues and injustice. Sharon Washington was revelatory in both milieus, always charming and lyrical, sincere and honest in her portrayal of her innermost secrets. Her storytelling was personal and passionate.

Now Westport Country Playhouse is welcoming you on Friday, June 14 at 7 p.m. to another version of her tale, ”When My Sleeping Dragon Woke,” a film that reveals the flip side of her family life , more like a Grimm fairy tale, that was 85% wonderful and 15% sprinkled with darkness, when her father drank. At those times, she and her mother and family friends from the church found themselves using heavy metal shovels to feed the furnace. In those moments, her father’s demons won. The film will be followed by a Q and A conversation with Ms. Washington and her husband and director/producer Chuck Schultz.

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As an only child with older parents, she loved to create characters from the books she devoured, being an accomplished storyteller with a good ear for voices, an actor who loved literature. In doing research on her mother’s family’s history, she discovered an event in 1917 that she is now researching for a new play with ten characters, about black women on Broadway. She loves research and, even though she is a little overwhelmed, is anxious to get started writing. She terms it “going down a new rabbit hole,” grounding her words in fact with a fictionalized lens of reflections. A Princeton Library Fellowship and a three week residency from MacDowell to write are exciting opportunities for her right now.

For tickets ($25), call Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport, route one at 203-227-4177 or online at westportplayhouse.org.

Come be enchanted by Sharon Washington’s documentary tale and help her squeeze a nugget of shiny black coal so hard she is sure she will create a diamond. She, herself, is the diamond she creates.

DANGER LURES AT THEATERWORKS HARTFORD IN "SANDRA"

If you love mystery and theater, then TheatreWorks Hartford has a ticket with your name engraved on it, a play by David Cale “SANDRA,” extended now until Thursday, June 27. What might you do is you were Sandra? Your best friend Ethan has disturbingly announced that he needs to get away. With that cryptic pronouncement, he flies off to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, leaving her with a solo tape of his piano creations. But he never returns.

Sandra is not exactly the most balanced of individuals. She is contemplating leaving her husband Richard after thirteen years of marriage, and, to make matters worse, she has a difficult relationship with something else: alcohol. But, being a true friend to Ethan, she immediately leaves her Brooklyn cafe in the hands of her assistant Sarah and boards a plane to Mexico to search for him.

Soon we are on a traumatic ride with Sandra as she follows clues to Ethan’s disappearance, with only a little help from the police. Soon Sandra finds herself at risk, meeting people whose lives have touched Ethan’s, especially Luca, an Italian student (or Lothario) who intrigues Sandra so much that she engages in a steamy sexual relationship without knowing exactly who he is or pretends to be.

Accompanying Sandra on this dangerous mission are the fantastic projections that visually surround her and illuminate her venture, created by Camilla Tassi. This video design envelops Sandra with immediacy and chronicles her journey. Felicia Curry’s Sandra is captivating as she continues her search, delving deeper into Ethan's psyche and problems.

Will Sandra succeed in her quest, to not only find her friend but to also uncover her true self. As the danger heightens its grip, will Sandra be able to read the clues correctly, especially when dead bodies are discovered on the beach? Matthew Dean Marsh’s music adds a pulsating rhythm to her growing concerns, while Jared Mezzocchi’s direction catches up the tension and fear.

For tickets ($25-70), call TheaterWorks Hartford, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford at 860-527-7838 or online at twhartford.org. Performances are Tuesday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Leap into the fray, feet first, for an 80 minute ride at the edge-of-your-seat suspense as Sandra risks everything in her uneven life to find and rescue her best friend, and possibly rescue herself in the process.

WEST HARTFORD'S PLAYHOUSE ON PARK HITS A HOME RUN WITH "TONI STONE"

West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park wants to take you out to the baseball field, with peanuts and Cracker Jacks optional. Until Sunday, June 16, you are invited to meet the scrappy, determined and dedicated “Toni Stone,” who is the prize tucked into the Cracker Jack box. According to Negro League Baseball Players Association, Toni Stone was “one of the best players you have never heard of.” Thanks to playwright Lydia R. Diamond’s intimate portrayal, your knowledge and respect for Toni Stone will be revelatory. As a young girl who loved baseball, as well as a bevy of other sports, she refused to let her gender and her race be excuses for not succeeding at an all men’s recreational career.

Constance Sadie Thompson is wonderful as Toni, sturdy, focused, not-to-be- ignored and dismissed. The play focuses on her time as the only woman, a true trailblazer, on the Indianapolis Clowns. “Her boys” as she called them, her teammates, did not support her and made her career much more difficult with their lack of respect and continual taunting.

With courage and fortitude, Toni fought for her rights and her position at second base, relying on the companionship and eventual marriage to James Edward Becton, III’s Alberga and the encouragement of her only true female friend, a prostitute, Brandon Alvion’s Millie. Her team mates Stretch (Adeyinko Adebola), King Tut (Tony N. King), Elzie (Jamar Jones), Spec (Celester Rich), Jimmy (Bernard Scudder) and Woody (Nathaniel J. Ryan) all conspired to make her fight all the harder. As she struggled around the bases, Toni perservered to achieve home run status despite them. With a baseball gloved hand, Toni Stone stretched her arm to victory. Jamil A. C. Mangan directs this inspired true tale, on Johann Fitzpatrick’s diamond set, with uniforms designed by Vilinda McGregor and exhilarating and exhausting choreography by Maurice Clark.

For tickets ($42.50-$55.), call Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford at 860-523-5900, ext. 10 or online at http://www.playhouseonpark.org. Performances are Tuesday at 2 p.m., Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., 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. followed by a talk back.

Whether baseball is your life or you have rarely sat in the bleachers, you will root for Toni Stone and her accomplishments with admiration and pride.

HOW LOVE FOR TWO AND FOUR LEGGED PEOPLE AND PETS OCCURS AT WESTPORT COMMUNITY THEATRE

Loneliness and a scarcity of friends can often lead to depression and unhappiness. Too many people in this world could use a healthy dose of companionship and neighborliness to cure what ails them. Many in this position turn to the unconditional love that a sweet little kitten or puppy can offer.

Welcome the comforting arms provided in the solution offered by Westport Community Theatre with a Square one Theatre Company production of “Chapatti” by Christian O’Reilly, a bittersweet, touching and tender play of people and pets and how they can save each other.

Can a man who loves dogs and hates furry felines find happiness with a woman who has a harem of cats and kittens, especially when they both suffer from the agonizing affliction of loneliness? A fine pair of actors, Al Kulcsar and Lucy Babbitt, are more than up to the task until Sunday, June 23 and you are invited to make their acquaintance in this endearing and charming Irish tale.

Ireland and India crash, literally and figuratively, when Al Kulcsar's Dan bumps into Lucy Babbitt's Betty at the office of their veterinarian. His faithful dog Chapatti, named for a flat bread baked in India, encounters Betty's box of newborn kittens and none of the pets or the people are ever the same again. Through a set of complicated circumstances, these two strangers find their lives woven together in a bizarre set of ways, like a crazy quilt or a mismatched tapestry. As this vulnerable pair interact, we become acquainted with them and begin to care deeply for their fates.

The tragic loss of a cat becomes the starting point for their friendship and suddenly their solitary lives gain meaning and laughter and, shall I hint, the possibility of love. All is not smooth on the horizon as Dan has a doghouse of secrets that become slowly apparent and Betty has her hands full using a bit of reverse psychology to help him through his mental missteps. Set in Dublin, Ireland in the present, "Chapatti" is a fresh breathe of romantic air that as Shakespeare would say "doesn't always run smooth.” But the Bard would also say, “All’s well that ends well” and he’d be right.

Both Kulcsar and Babbitt are wonderful in their roles, he tentatively shy and unassuming with desires that are unrealistic while she is shining optimism and filled with the infectious laughter of hope and promise. Slowly but surely, she encourages him to open the windows of his life to possibilities, to let love fly in and take root. Tom Holehan directs this poignant tale of compassion and friendship, of reaching out for company and companionship, to welcome second chances, that is sure to make your heart smile. Bring a Kleenex or three just in case.

For tickets ($30), call Westport Community Theatre, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport at the Westport Town Hall at 203-226-1983 or go online to www.westportcommunitytheatre.com. Performances will be held Thursday,June 13 at 8 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.

While the course of true love never did run smooth, this one is wild with laughter, barks and meows and lots of crossed fingers and hopeful horizons.

TAKE A WILD AND WONDERFUL "2.5 MINUTE RIDE" AT HARTFORD STAGE

What are the little moments and gigantic moments that measure a life? I've often read that your two most important dates are the day you are born and the day you realize why. I’ve also been told it’s the dash that defines you and your life between the date of your birth until the day of your death - and everything you did in between, your personal dash. For playwright Lisa Kron, she has s personal, poignant, painful and perceptive play to tell what captures the intense moments that shaped her own father’s life and the Hartford Stage is revealing them with powerful painted images in “2.5 Minute Ride” until Sunday, June 23. Don’t miss it!

Lisa Kron focuses on three major events that shaped her father’s life beginning in 1937 when at 15, his parents put him on the Kindertransport train out of Germany to save his life and so many other Jewish children’s lives before and during World War II. He never saw his parents again. Using a video and slide show of colored images, Lena Kaminsky’s Lisa opens her world to the audience with candor and honesty, simplicity and sensitivity. She is truly magical as she takes us on the family’s annual trips to Cedar Point Amusement Park, in Sandusky, Ohio, known as the roller coaster capitol of the world for its 68 amazing roller coasters and her father’s love of riding them. Like the amusement ride, the story goes up, up and away with loops and twists, curves and surprises. There are unexpected revelations from moment to moment, filled with sparks of wonderful humor and flashes of tragedy along the way.

With amazing skill, she hopscotches to a trip she took to bring her dad back to his homeland of Germany and a painful visit to Auschwitz, the death camp where his family perished so many years before. This is a real story of a real family, of the loves and losses in a parent and child relationship, one that speeds along like that amusement park ride, told by a queer Jewish woman and her personal journey to preserve and understand his history and his world and how the two interconnect.

The healing power of storytelling continues with her brother David's enchanting Orthodox wedding to a woman, Soshie, he met online and how her mother suddenly bought a new dress and put on makeup for the first time to attend. With her partner Peggy and her videographer friend Mary, Lisa takes us on a voyage of discovery that is memorable, under the inspired direction of Zoe Golub-Sass, on a set designed by Judy Gailen that resembles Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall.

For tickets ($20-100), 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 at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Watch the past and present merge right before your eyes as Lisa Kron, with the wonderful assistance of Lena Kaminsky, take you on a personal journey of discovery that clearly explains the dash in her father’s life.

A PEEK BEHIND THE FIG LEAVES AT LEGACY THEATRE IN BRANFORD

God clearly has a sense of humor as he (or she)”experiments” with the human species in addition to all the animal creations. Someone has to name these mostly four legged creations after all. One day Adam is happily alone in the Garden of Eden, beautifully designed by Jamie Burnett, a peaceful place where a small stream, a bevy of flowers, birdsong, a cricket or frog, a sweet breeze, a path of stones and, hopefully, a bench for resting and reflection exists. When Rod Brogan’s Adam encounters Mariah Sage’s Eve, he is perplexed and annoyed that she talks so much. Their understudies are Jonathan Onyango and Christine Voytko.

Each is armed with a notebook to record all their amazing and perplexing thoughts. Why are they here? What is their purpose and mission? Can they actually get along and work together? Must she always have the final say on the animal’s name? What is the role of the apple, the forbidden fruit, and how does the snake fit into their story and fate?

This is a time of discovery, where questions are asked and sometimes answered. Will Adam always find Eve “in the way” or “bad company” or, eventually, will he find her useful and interesting? Will the fall and death change their feelings for each other irrevocably? Will they be able to sustain a life together outside the garden?

Mark Twain wrote his diary of Adam first and ten years later, penned a second diary about Eve. Thanks to Legacy Theatre’s clever adaptation of “The Diaries of Adam and Eve,” with the help of David Birney, you will be able to unlock some of the perplexing answers until Sunday, June 16. With sweetness and wonder, you are invited into the Garden of Eden to watch God’s experiment unfold with all its complications and curiosity.

Was Eve truly made from Adam’s rib? He does’t believe so. Will the moon return after it’s been lassoed from the sky? Does Eve have an answer for everything? Keely Baisden Knudsen valiantly tries to resolve all the probing inquiries.

For tickets ($25-50), call Legacy Theatre, 128 Thimble Island Road, Branford at 203-315-1901 or online at LegacyTheatreCT.org. Performances are Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.on most dates.

Come discover the passion of first love and the painful reality of first losses as our guides Mark Twain and David Birney offer a look behind the fig leaves.

TAKE A JOURNEY OF RECONCILIATION WITH ADIL MANSOOR IN "AMM(I)GONE"

Did you ever have a regret for something left unsaid with a friend or loved one, until it is too late to utter those words of understanding or reconciliation? Regrets are painful to forgive. Words unspoken can never be uttered after death occurs, unless it is at the graveside and one sided in their message. For Pakistani playwright and performer Adil Mansoor, this is a life lesson he has vowed to resolve by inviting the audience to go on a journey with him, as he tries to make peace with his own mother. In his journey he hopes to inspire you to speak up and open the doors of communication before death closes them for us.

Thanks to New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre, you have the unique opportunity to join Adil in "Amm(i)gone" on his trek of self discovery, to convey a heartfelt apology to his mother, a conversation about returning to Islam and securing a place in the afterlife. For Adil, this is an important conversation and he is using the art of the theater to make it happen. Fifty years ago his mother was in a play and she still remembers her lines today, a half century later. Adil is using this tool to bring “me and my mom back together,” a project in translation, with laughter and vulnerability.

Even though you may not be Pakistani or ever have met a Pakistani person before, there is an intimate and universal message in Adil’s one man show. Once upon a time, his mom was his best friend. Now living in Pittsburgh, since coming to the United States at the tender age of three months, he feels he no longer has the relationship with her he once enjoyed, where she taught him how to speak and how to sing. Her brimming with joy for him has disappeared and he wants it back. He is afraid to tell her he has a long standing personal relationship with Luke, for fear of what she’ll say. He wants her to use her faith to “save her son in the afterlife."

Using the text of the ancient play “Antigone” by Sophocles, Adil hopes to open a channel of understanding with mom and heal what has gone wrong between them. We all recognize the need for resolution between generations, no matter what nationality we identify with in our world. In his personal storytelling, his pictures and projections and mystery words and music, Adil paints a portrait of his family that we all can see as our own. He is urging us to seek forgiveness while the time still exists and be all the better for it. His message is “theater can bring family together.”

For tickets ($49, students $10, grades K-12 free ), call Long Wharf Theatre at 203-693-1486 or online at boxoffice@longwharf.org. Performances are until Sunday, June 23 at Yale’s Black Box Theatre, 53 Wall Street, New Haven around the corner and up the ramp on Wednesday at 6 p.m, Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Embark on the journey of the healing of the heart as part of its first stop in New Haven on a national tour, with Adil Mansoor as our intimate guide, with gratitude to Wooly Mammoth Theatre and Yale University and in partnership with TheaterWorks Hartford, with co-direction by Lyam B. Gabel and set and lighting designed by Xotchil Musser. Adil urges you before the show to pray for someone you love or have lost, during the show to engage in laughter or in remembering and after the show to call your mom or squeeze your sweetie.

ENTER THE WORLD OF "A COMPLICATED WOMAN" AT THE TERRIS THEATRE

There are rarely easy answers to life’s complicated questions. Weighing and balancing options can be challenging and the answers may be a long time in the future in evaluating whether you chose correctly. Events can influence what path you take and have the power to change your life irrevocably. “A Complicated Woman A New Musical” by Ianne Fields Stewart for book, Jonathan Brielle for music and lyrics, with additional lyrics by Sam Salmond, is guaranteed to take you on a life altering journey of self discovery at the Terris Theatre in Chester until Sunday June 2. Set with probing music, it asks what happens when you live a double life, with gender issues that are not easily accepted or resolved by family, friends and, especially, yourself.

Nora Brigid Monahan is exceptional in tackling the balancing the see-saw act that is John Kenley, impresario and show business entrepreneur during the winter in New York and summers in Florida as Jean, a woman who lives a much riskier life with her best friend Nina Mae, a devoted L Morgan Lee. Is it possible to reconcile the two vastly different personas? Can John/Jean be both or will the two worlds crash or collide in the future? How brave do you have to be to be happy?

For Nina Mae, the decision seems clearer. She will accept the love that Oscar, an understanding Christian Brailsford, offers so freely and have the operation that will allow a marriage and family to exist. When John’s boyfriend and lover Carl, an uncompromising Dashiell Gregory, refuses to accept nothing less than a wife and children, John must make a heartbreaking decision. Can he live as John or as Jean can give up his other self? It is like separating conjoined twins who may not survive the operation. The devastating truth that his sister Myrtle, a no nonsense Klea Blackhurst, refuses to accept John’s other self makes any decision he makes much more difficult.

John finds it even more difficult to maintain his relationship with Nina Mae and her daughters, Muhlaysis's Zachary A. Myers and Arewa Basit’s Diamond, as they watch Aunt Jean struggle to choose a path. Danny Rutigliano’s successful role as Lee Shubert does not make the decision any easier. You will soon find yourself agonizing with the poignant battle waging as tunes like “Risk & Reward,” “The Man Who Runs the Show,” “in the Light of Day,” "Why Can’t We Be Both?” and “I Exist!” emotionally affect your heart.

Follow this journey of discovery for a person who is forced to hide in plain sight, struggling to reconcile two lives without losing himself/herself in the process.

DOWNTOWN CABARET OF BRIDGEPORT WILL DEFINITELY ROCK YOU

Fast forward three hundred years into the future where a large corporation, the Globalsoft Company, when Planet Earth is now known as Planet Mall and is in control of everyone and everything. Music as we knew it no longer exists. Imagine a planet without rock ’n’ roll. Horrors! Stars from the past like the King, Buddy Holly, Brittany Spears and Katie Perry are just a whisper in your imagination. But, somewhere, remnants of the memories of music still exist and those rebels called bohemians are determined to fight the establishment and resurrect the past and restore the glory of rock ’n’ roll again. Interested?

Calling upon the royal music of a blast from the past the Downtown Cabaret of Bridgeport is blowing out its walls to present “We Will Rock You! The Queen Musical” weekends until Sunday, June 30. Venture into an apocalyptic world of the future and meet two revolutionaries as they try to save their unique genre of music. Think Spaceballs and This Is Spinal Tap meet Matrix in this super cool sci-fi production where personal rebellion reigns.

Using almost two dozen Queen hits, the stage is set for anarchy and chaos as Chris Balestriere's Galileo and Corrine Marshall’s Scaramouche bravely mount a campaign to restore rock ’n’ roll and wrest it out of the greedy hands of Ashley McLeod’s Killer Queen and JoJo DeVellis’s Khashoggi's devious hands. With an army to protect them, Killer Queen and Khashoggi are determined to win the music war and squash any one who threatens their leadership command. When Galileo and Scaramouche join with a rag-tag band if bohemians, war is officially declared. Try to wrap your heads around this futurist comedy where only one set of foes will be declared the victors.

With a book by Ben Elton and a score of Queen hits like” We Are the Champions,” “Radio Ga Ga,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Under Pressure,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Killer Queen,” “I Want to Break Free,” “Somebody to Love,” and, of course, “We Will Rock You” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” the sky’s the limit to enjoyment and boundless energy. With tireless talent from Thomas Sullivan as Buddy Holly, Anthony Laszlo as Brit, May Tae Harge as Oz and Caroline DiGiulio as the swing for both Scaramouche and Oz, this cast and ensemble threaten to disengage the roof from the cabaret.

For tickets( $41.80 ), call the Downtown Cabaret, 263 Golden Hill Street, Bridgeport at 203-576-1636 or online at dtcab.com. Performances are Friday at 7:30 p.m, Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Remember this is cabaret so bring your goodies and drinks to enjoy.

Get ready for some out of this world entertainment where music, unless it is computer generated, is illegal. Just the wild costuming by Lesley Neilson-Bowman, the funky choreography by Olivia Rivera, the wonderful music directed by Mark Ceppetelli, the super set design by Sasha Mishaman and Christian Hall, and the projections and direction by Andrea Pane, are worth the price of admission all by themselves. No fear, you will definitely be rocked!