SEVEN ANGELS OFFERS A LESSON IN DOO-WOP MUSIC IN "UNCHAINED MELODIES"

In the late 1940’s in America, a new genre of music, originating in rhythm and blues, jazz and gospel, emerged. It was created by African American artists but soon gained popularity with white performers and audiences. It became known as doo-wop, and such groups as the Drifters, the Platters. the Temptations and singers like the Mills Brothers, the Ink Spots and the Moonglows encouraged its growth and popularity. This unique style of harmony, identified by a series of nonsense words like tutti fruit, be-bop-a-lula, ooby dooby, drip drop, rama lama ding dong, ooh-poo-pah-doo, ting-a-ling and da-doo ron ron, are ready to entertain you thanks to a quartet of guys eager to share their musical skills in “Unchained Melodies” at Waterbury's Seven Angels Theatre until Sunday, November 24.

Come welcome local boys Joseph Torello, Michael Ricciardone, Raul Calderon and Tanner Sperry to the stage as they offer an interesting historical and musical view of the era, inserting tidbits about the performers and their place in the journey as they happily warble all the great tunes that mark this time. Wonderfully nostalgic are the parade of songs they offer for the audience’s enjoyment, songs that were made popular in New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.

You will soon find yourself humming and tapping along to such hits as “Life Could Be a Dream,” “Blue Moon,” Yes, I’m the Great Pretender,” “Why Must I Be a Teenager in Love?,” “Little Darlin', “ “Charlie Brown,” “Dance With Me” and “My Mother Told Me You’d Better Look Around.” These were songs of first love, lost love, the perils of dating, the songs of Kander and Ebb, the music of Lieber and Stoller, the influences of the Beach Boys and the Beetles, the changes instigated by the Four Seasons and Frankie Valli and how each curve and turn took place along the way. It’s like a historical music class where there are no final exams, just listening pleasure.

“Unchained Melodies” was written by Rebecca Hopkins,Richard Hopkins and Jim Prosser, directed by Russel Garrett, musically directed by Mike Wilkins on Keyboard, with Dan Kraszewski on bass and Mark Ryan and Bob Nolte on percussion. For tickets ($30 for those under 40, or $45, call Seven Angels Theatre, Plank Road, Waterbury at 203-757-4676 or online at SevenAngelsTheatre.org. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Flex passes for prescriptions are now available. Watch for specialty food nights. Also canned goods for Thanksgiving are requested by St. Vincent DePaul for donation.

Remember the past as you travel down the highway musically with this foursome who are anxious to entertain you the sweetest way they know how in their New England premiere.

TRAVEL "IN THE HEIGHTS" FOR A WONDERFUL MUSICAL ADVENTURE AT THE DOWNTOWN CABARET

Lin-Manuel Miranda, long before his stunning success with “Hamilton,” crafted an enthusiastic and energetic musical tale of a community thriving in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge, in New York City.

Written while he was a student at Middletown’s Wesleyan University, with book by Quiara Alegria Hudes, “In the Heights” speaks to diversity and cooperation in the Washington Heights section of the city, where people from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba and other Latino nations live together in hope, filled with dreams, and prepare for change.

At the Downtown Cabaret of Bridgeport weekends until Sunday, November 24, this musical speaks to people helping people and the common goals of improving the way of life for everyone. At the center of the community is the bodega, or grocery store, run by Usnavi, a caring but unsatisfied Manny Gonzalez. He has dreams but they are unfulfilled. Will he win the heart of Vanessa (Juliana Rivera)? How can he best protect Abuela Claudia (Jane Prieto) who is like a grandmother to him? Should he return to his homeland to find what his present life is missing?

Around Usnavi swirl the stories of Nina (Olivia Rivera) whose parents (Cintia Maio and Martin Garcia) will sacrifice everything to guarantee their daughter get a college education, Benny (Everton Ricketts) who works for her parents and loves Nina, his cousin Sonny (Nick Nunez) who helps in the bodega but wants more, and Piragua Guy (Jay Reyes) who sells iced drinks to the neighborhood. Who can predict how his sweet grandmother, who is exceptional in the role, will have the good fortune enough and power to change all their lives.

On the fourth of July when a blackout occurs, change is poised on the horizon. With energized dancing choreographed by Olivia Rivera, the gifted director Ben Tostado, as well as songs like “In the Heights,” “Breathe,” “Sunrise,” and “Alabanza,” the heartfelt message of the people speaks to their joy, led by music director Mark Ceppetelli. The colorful set by David Klevit is the launchpad for the story.

For tickets ($30.50 and up), call the Downtown Cabaret, Golden Hill Street, Bridgeport at 203-576-1636 or online at www.dtcab.com. Performances are Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 3:30 p.m.and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3:30 p.m.This is cabaret so don’t forget to bring tasty food and drink to share at your table or plan to visit the concession stand.

Come celebrate with this wonderful and passionate cast the vibrant life of a community where preserving the past is equally as important as laying the groundwork for the future, all thanks to the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda as he was just getting started in his adventurous and powerful ways.

START THE HOLIDAY SEASON RIGHT AND BRIGHT WITH THE CTGMC

What would the Christmas holidays be without a joy filed musical concert from the Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus to light up your spirits and ignite your heartstrings? The Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus promises not to disappoint by offering a quartet of golden opportunities for celebration: the Sacred Heart Community Theater, 1420 Post Road, Fairfield on Sunday, December 8 at 3 p.m., and three invitations to the Katharine Hepburn Center for the Performing Arts, 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook on Saturday, December 14 at 8:30 p.m. and again at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday, December 15.

As the world hungers for hope and stability, what better way to grab a stocking full than to take family and friends to a traditional present to yourself with “Just Believe.” This troupe of merry man will be primed and ready to set their glad tidings aflame and offer up old and new holiday favorites. Expect the unexpected with surprises and holiday treats marrying the traditional with the unusual and original gems these talented men are so famous for finding.

For tickets ($38), fair warning they’re going fast like hotcakes fast, so go online to www.ctgmc.org. Don’t forget the monthly fundraising bingo games, like Saturday, November 16, with doors opening at 6 p.m. and games at 7 p.m. You buy your cards for the games, this time it’s with Kiki Lucia in “Baste My Butterballs BingoMania!”.The fun takes place at The Annex Y M A Club, 554 Woodward Avenue, New Haven.

Mark your calendars for the fun, frolic and festivities that the Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus promises to produce with tinsel, toys, and talent as only they can. Since 1986, the CTGMC has been a center as a choral arts organization and an agent for social change, led by spirited conductor Greg McMahan. Support their good works by celebrating Christmas in their welcoming membership. Just believe!

OPEN THE LYRICAL LETTERS IN "DEAR ELIZABETH" AT NEW HAVEN THEATER COMPANY

When playwright Sarah Ruhl was on bed-rest, pregnant with twins, she received a book of poetry and letters, “Words in Air,” chronologing a thirty year friendship and deeply personal relationship between the poets Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop. That book would profoundly change Ruhl’s life as the more than 450 letters dramatically and lyrically channel the course of their lives, when they were together but even more so when they endured long separations.

Sarah Ruhl’s play “Dear Elizabeth” is being given a lovely airing at the New Haven Theater Company until November 16 at the EBM Vintage Market at 839 Chapel Street in New Haven and if you are a devotee of poetry and love a sensitive story of enduring friendship, do not miss this offering. In today's world, letter writing is a lost art, where few take a pen to paper and put words on heavy vanilla cream vellum. In a rush to communicate, we now rely on instant messaging, emails, tweets and texts, abbreviating our thoughts to send them swiftly and succinctly. Not so Robert and Elizabeth. They indulge their feelings, relishing in the written word and they are masters at their craft. Both are gifted in their own right, he having won a Guggenheim Fellowship, National Book Award and both earning a Pulitzer and both serving as the equivalent of what would be Poet Laureate today. Their paths crossed often but more likely they were at opposite sides of the globe. He suffered from bi-polar depression and she from alcoholism, asthma and depression.

Over the years they sent each other letters, postcards, manuscripts, telegrams, hundreds of which survive, They met in 1947 and continued their correspondence until Lowell died of a heart attack in 1977. At one point they almost married. Ralph Buonocore and Sandra E. Rodriguez bring Robert and Elizabeth to sensitive life, with Abby Klein as Brigit acting as a facilitator, under J.Kevin Smith’s sterling direction.

For tickets ($25), contact the theater at newhaventheatercompany.com. Performances are Thursday at 7:30 p.m , Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 8 p.m.

Follow their tender memories, their tragic losses, as they mastered the art of communication, establishing an enduring friendship, hinting at what might have been and securing what was to be all they ultimately had.

"PAUL ANKA ALL THE HITS - HIS WAY" AT WARNER THEATRE NOVEMBER 13

For a young teenage heartthrob, look no further than singer/songwriter Paul Anka who is still, at the tender age of 83, just as swoon worthy as he was as a confident lad with big dreams. He admits he was “pretty precocious, a pretty aggressive kid. I think my parents knew they had an unusual child.” He honed his big charismatic personality as he worked the crowds at his father's Canadian restaurant, the Locanda, helping out in the kitchen and kibitzing with the politicians, businessmen and journalists who frequented it.

At the age of 15, he set his sights on Los Angeles, with $100 in his pocket, with the goal of making his name as a singer, staying with his uncle at the time. Before long, he wanted to try for New York City. His father agreed on one condition: he had to return to Ottawa if he didn’t succeed. The rest, as they say, is history. Only days later, his father was singing a contract at ABC/Paramount Records, as Paul was too young to sign it himself.

To catch up with all the years in-between then and now, bop on over to the Warner Theatre in Torrington on Wednesday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m to get up close and personal with ”Paul Anka All the Hits - His Way.”

As a mere 16 year old, Anka wrote a song for a hometown girl he had a crush on, a little tune called “Diana” that would launch his career, selling more than 20 million copies and become the number one song in the world. Soon the whole globe was dancing to hits like “Lonely Boy,” (All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings,” and “Put Your Head on my Shoulder,” and he hadn’t even hit the big 2-0 yet.

When the world of music changed, Anka adapted himself into a “Rat Pack-style writer,” composing little successes like the theme song to Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show, “My Way” his tribute to Frank Sinatra and the Tom Jones’s hit “She’s a Lady.” It’s reported the royalties from Jones’s hit alone earned him close to a million dollars in one year.

In collaboration or alone he has written about 900 songs, appeared in films and on television, toured across the globe, released more than 120 albums, placing singles in the Top 50 in five different decades and he is still going strong.

For tickets ($69-109), call the Warner Theatre, 68 Main Street, Torrington at 860-489-7180 or online at warner theatre.org.

For Paul Albert Anka, he has always done it “his way,” living a life that is full. Come discover that exciting life for yourself. Watch for the world premiere of “Paul Anka: His Way,“ a documentary of his incredible career as “one of Canada’s most successful exports."