PLAID TIDINGS ARE COLORING THE HOLIDAYS

The new Christmas colors are no longer just red and green, they're plaid.  That's due to the extraordinary influence of those four high school nerds who ended up the musical heroes of "Forever Plaid."  The guys are back, this time dressed in holiday garb, ready to sing in heavenly harmony in "Plaid Tidings: A Special Holiday Edition of Forever Plaid," with book by Stuart Ross.

Hop on a sleigh and jingle your way to the Warner Theatre in Torrington for this delightful holiday festival of sound until Sunday, December 15.  Grab a cup of eggnog  and get ready to sip and settle back for your favorite Christmas tunes. Jinx, Smudge, Sparky and Frankie get a phone call in heaven from Rosemary Clooney of all people, inviting them back to earth from their angelic home.  Apparently the world is in desperate need of their marvelous music and it's more than time for another posthumous performance.

You may or may not remember that the boys, high schoool buddies, were killed on the way to a big concert.  Now they are being summoned back to earth but they are not sure why.  As thunder crashes, they find themselves in front of an audience and they decide to do what they do best: sing.  Since it's Christmas and Chanukah and Kwanza, a holiday concert seems to be called for and they happily oblige.

Follow the red and green plaid carpet to Torrington where a rousing rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" will set off the festivities.  Soon the guys will be hyperventilating, having nose bleeds and asthma attacks just like in the good old days. Rosemary Clooney will continue to drop heavenly clues until the boys realize the mission they are on:  to provide Christmas cheer to a world in need.  Soon the stage is dressed in festive finery and the boys have a holiday makeover too.  Songs like "Carol of the Bells" and "Joy to the World" ring out. Perry Como and Ed Sullivan even get into the act and the audience is invited to sing along.  With a rousing rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," the boys return to heaven, their mission of merriment, mirth and music completed.

For tickets ($26), call the Warner Theatre, 68 Main Street, Torrington at 860-489-7180 or online at www.warnertheatre.org.  Performances are Friday, December 13 at 8 p.m., Saturday, December 14 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, December 15 at 2 p.m.

Come hear Frankie (Ian Diedrich), Sparky (Bret Bisaillon), Jinx (Meric Martin) and Smudge (Dan Porri) as the Guardians of Harmony, under the angelic direction of Sharon A. Wilcox, with musical direction by Aaron J. Bunel, descend from heaven for your listening pleasure.

FO'S FARCE A FUN POLITICAL STATEMENT

STEVEN EPP AS THE MANIAC/JUDGE   PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS

How do you believe a man who proudly proclaims he is insane, crazy and a lunatic?  After spending time in sixteen different insane asylums, he has learned a lot about his unstable station in life.  Stephen Epp is the memorable maniac of the moment and the silly soul at the heart of Dario Fo's "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" delighting audiences at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven until Saturday, December 21.

Imagine you are trapped in a taverna masquerading as a police station in Milan, Italy as the inept inspector is interrogating a man who will confess to anything and everything, the Maniac in question.  When the inspector (Jesse J. Perez) and his assistant (Eugene Ma) are called away, the Maniac intercepts a phone call from upstairs that leads him to insinuate himself into a pending politically charged police matter.

The Maniac magically tranforms himself into a judge and with brilliant bluffing and a judicial disguise joyfully finds himself presiding over the question of the hour:  did a railway clerk commit a bank bombing resulting in multiple deaths?  The anarchist has been captured and is being interrogated, for many days, and mysteriously dies.  Did he jump or was he pushed from the fourth floor window?  The Maniac/Judge is determined to discover the truth.

Soon the upper eschalon, the Superintendent (Liam Craig) and his associate Pissani (Allen Gilmore) are adding their versions of what took place.  Everything, the lies and the coverups, comes to a halt when a sharp penciled female reporter Feletti (Molly Bernard) charges in to find the real story.

"Accidental Death of an Anarchist" is based on a true incident that took place in Milan in 1969, and has been adapted by Gavin Richards, from a translation by Gillian Hanna, under the brilliant direction of Christopher Bayes.  Since 1983 Bayes has collaborated with Epp, and an astonishing Commedia troupe of actors is the result.  You'll delight in all the contemporary references liberally sprinkled throughout the script, as well as the infectious musical accompaniment provided by Aaron Halva and Nathan A. Roberts.  This show is being co-produced with the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California.

For tickets ($57-78), call the Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel Street, New Haven at 203-432-1234 or online at www.yalerep.org. Performances are Tuesday at 8 p.m., Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Watch how master magician Dario Fo, with the aid of the talented current actor accomplices, transforms a terrorist attack into a fascinating and funny farce, strictly for your entertainment pleasure.

CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS WITH THE GOOD SISTER

Thirteen is not an unlucky number for actress Nonie Breen.  She has been playing the good Sister in seven different shows written by Maripat Donovan.  When she originally auditioned for the part, Maripat told her she had "the part for life."

Now, at 63, Breen admits to having "the energy of a hummingbird.  I have to stay busy."  At the moment, she reluctantly says she may be a bit exhausted, having just finished five shows in Las Vegas, flying to Los Angeles and immediately coming to Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven.  She loves it here and it's like a reunion, she's back again and again.

Confiding that she's earned her wrinkles, she confesses that playing a nun, in this case in "Sister's Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi's Gold," is an "odd job." But it is one she loves, taking it on until Sunday, December 15 in this interactive work  penned by Donovan with Jane Morris and Marc Silvia.  She grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, as part of a close Irish-Catholic family, with aunts who were nuns and cousins who were priests, but as a youth she was always in trouble.  Her mother finds it hysterical that she is playing a nun, but her new husband (she got married in October to a fellow actor) is proud and supportive and is coming to Long Wharf to see the show.

With a background as a comedic actress, Nonie Breen loves the East Coast and the challenge of doing a one-woman show.  It's not that different from the Second City sketches she used to perform.  "Playing Sister taps into all my strengths and helps me grow.  I need to research current events and keep the show fresh.  I need to bring a lot to the party."

The party in question is the audience participation.  People come "giddy and excited."  Maybe they hope Sister won't notice them or call on them, but it's fun to see someone else in trouble.  Sister requires modest dress, no cell phones, attentiveness and no tardiness. Sister feels that there is so much tragedy in the world today that it's good to enjoy silly, clean fun and laugh.  She confesses how joyful it is to see someone come in serious, with arms crossed, warm up and relax and enjoy the show.

The theme this time around is to discover what happened to the Magi's gold and Sister readily admits that "I never know exactly what will happen."  The play is half improvisation and half scripted, but every audience is different and she can never lose control.

Breen finds the show "a joy.  I like people and I like drawing them in.  It's a challenge standing on my feet for two hours and it's hard on my voice.  The hotels and plane flights can be tiring."  What gives her special pleasure is taking up a collection after the performance for local nuns, in this case, the Sacred Heart nuns of Hamden.  She feels she has raised $1,000,000 over the years for the different groups of these women who are "unsung heroes," doing good works as nurses and teachers.  She has great respect for the quiet way they do their important tasks.

For tickets ($35.00),call Long Wharf Theatre, 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven at 203-787-4282 or online at www.longwharf.org.  Performances are at Stage II Tuesday at 8 p.m., Wednesday at 3 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.  The last performance is Sunday, December 15 at 3 p.m.

Don't be surprised if the good Sister invites you to be part of the Living Nativity and you find yourself with a lamp shade or a toilet seat cover on your head.

SPOOFING SHERLOCK WITH STYLE

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a great storyteller who used his medical background to instill powerful investigative skills in his major character, the sterling detective Sherlock Holmes.  Holmes relied on science, facts and evidence to solve intriguing crimes.

When Doyle killed off Holmes in his novel "The Final Problem," the public screamed indignation and their outrage forced him to resurrect him.  Doyle claimed Holmes had faked his own death and "The Hound of the Baskervilles" was the result.

Playhouse on Park in West Hartford, until Sunday, December 22, is putting on a delightful and fun spin on this classic tale of mystery with its spoof filled adaptation by Steve Canny and John Nicholson.  A trio of talented actors Rich Hollman, Sean Harris and Brennan Caldwell leap into the moor and mire with reckless abandon and merry mirth as they create all the characters in this dastardly and fascinating tale of murder and mayhem.

Like the Three Stooges, without bats on the head or pies in the face, these three act out all the action surrounding the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville.  Did he die of a heart attack or was he frightened to death by a ferocious and diabolical animal, a hound?

 Sir Henry Baskerville has traveled from Canada to claim his inheritance, as the only known living heir, but warnings keep popping up.  The family has been cursed for generations since Sir Hugo kidnapped a young maiden and held her against her will.  When she escaped, Sir Hugo traded his soul to the devil to get her back.

Now his ancestors are paying the price for his dishonorable deeds and Sherlock Holmes and Watson are busy weíghing evidence, calculating deductions, evaluating clues and discussing observations.  They don't need your help but you're welcome to try.  The fun chase is on from London to Dartmoor, by hansom cab, train and horseback, with the hounds literally at your feet.  Beware of the quick sand and don't trust anyone. Just enjoy the inspired direction of Tom Ridgely and laugh heartily.

Call for tickets ($22.50-32.50 ), Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford at 860-523-5900, ext. 10 or www.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.


With the shadow of the great William Gillette, who rose to fame as the Connecticut actor who gave Sherlock Holmes his theatrical face, looming large, come enjoy this delightful spin on an ancient classic, courtesy of Playhouse on Park.

ACTOR KEIR DULLEA AND "2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY"

Actor Keir Dullea has made a career playing emotionally disturbed teenagers and troubled street gang members.  He graduated from juvenile delinquents and adolescent schizophrenics and took on scarred psychological portrayals of a soldier on the brink of committing murder to capturing the role of the Marquis De Sade, a French nobleman with perverse preferences.

Don't make the mistake of dismissing his sensitive side: he played a compelling blind man in "Butterflies Are Free" as well as U. S. Senators, judges, General Custer and even Audrey Hepburn's father.  Perhaps his most iconic role was as Dr. David Bowman, the daring astronaut in Stanley Kubrick's epic science fiction film "2001: A Space Odyssey" and later in "2010: Sequel the Year We Made Contact."

Recently Keir Dullea took the stage of Westville's 100 year old vaudeville and silent movie house, Lyric Hall, to have a conversation with noted film historian Foster Hirsch.  The occasion was a fundraiser for Lyric Hall, a campaign launched by Bernie Kaufman of Bethany, a long time devoted friend of Lyric Hall.  The goal was to buy new seating, in this case velvet folding chairs, to replace the hard and unforgiving previous ones.

After a showing of the revolutionary film, noted for its special effects,  musical Richard Strauss score and unusual story line,Mr. Dullea and Mr. Hirsch conversed on the meaning of the movie.  Foster Hirsch reminisced about being at the opening night screening in New York in 1968, that initially was not a success financially or artistically.  Mr. Kubrick was forced to cut 15 minutes from the film which helped, as well as improving the end of the film and the Jupiter sequence.

Hirsch called "the storytelling elliptical," with collaborator Arthur C. Clarke wanting to explain what was happening and Kubrick refusing.  Hirsch noted "Kubrick's tolerance for ambiguity and mystery" and the giant gaps in narrative.  Despite its faults, Hirsch feels, unlike the recent film "Gravity," "2001" will be remembered, stand the test of time and be studied by film students for decades.

"2001" opens with scenes of The Dawn of Man, where chimps discover a large black monolith, a symbol that will repeat itself throughout the film.  Dullea calls this sequence "my favorite part," maybe because "I'm not in it."  The monolith is thought to have been deliberately buried four million years, during the dawn of civilization, and today, in 2001, a mission is planned to go to Jupiter and Dr. David Bowman, Keir Dullea's character, is heading the voyage.

On the spaceship, a computer HAL 9000 is helping to guide the odyssey.  When HAL goes rogue, the mission is put into jeopardy. To Dullea, who has been acting for more than five decades, he felt Kubrick was a "wonderful, low key director, with a quiet sense of humor."  You knew you were in the "presence of genius" and he was always "prepared."  The script was easy to follow and most science fiction had not been very good up to that point. Kubrick didn't want "cliche characters," but he did want perfection.  According to Dullea, one scene could take 8-9 hours to shoot and yet improvisation was encouraged.  A scene at the end of the film, when a aging Dr. Bowman reaches up one hand took 12 hours to record.

The film was shot north of London in the MGM studios.  One of the biggest problems was finding the proper voice for the computer HAL.  Kubrick didn't want a voice too New York or too British.  The actor Douglas Rain who won the role never gave interviews about his part, citing his vast Shakespearian background, especially King Lear.  He complained that the day and a half as a computer was all interviewers wanted to talk to him about portraying.

Dullea noted that "you never see the aliens, only their effect.  They were introduced millions of years in advance of man."  He was also enamored of the trip to Jupiter where no computer generated effects were utilized and also the brilliant makeup that aged his character so startlingly in the last scenes.  Dullea admitted the rooms in the final frames, a suite set in the 18th century was originally set as a "Sheraton Hotel room, blank and modern and nondescript."

Dullea is still riding the rockets of "2001," traveling all over the world to this day, promoting it.  Calling it a "film for the ages," he knew it was a very important release for MGM the year it was produced but "I didn't know it would be iconic."

Following the film and the conversation, a Tuscan style buffet was prepared by Chef Arlene Ghent at the Westville home of Kas and Patricia Kalba. Artist Joel Spector gifted Keir Dullea with a beautiful portrait.
In addition to the silent auction and delicious food, Keir Dullea literally passed the hat and performed a ten minute monologue as Big Daddy, a role he just played with his actress wife Mia Dillon of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."  All in all, it was quite a remarkable day in outer space and on earth.

CONSIGLIO'S: THE PLACE FOR HOLIDAY HAPPINESS

Actor, writer, producer and director Michael Sayers is versatile with a capital V.  You might remember him as Tony Bob, one of the crazy characters that bought so much silliness and joy at Liz Fuller's thin crusted summer outdoor musicals, with a healthy helping of garlic, at Consiglio's Restaurant.  Perhaps you saw Michael indoors, also at Wooster Street's family restaurant, when he starred at one of his variety shows about love.  Even more likely, you attended one of his sixty, that's 6-0, mysteries he has penned and performed in along the eastern seaboard at colleges and corporations, even on cruise ships.

Sayers is off and running again, this time spinning around bedecked in red and green and silver tinsel as he invites you to celebrate the season in "Chester Hadlyme Holiday Mystery Party."  For two special dates, Saturday, December 7th at 1 p.m. and Thursday, December 12th at 7 p.m., Consigllio's and Sayers will be presenting a dinner theater wrapped in a mystery and tied with twin bows of songs and games.

Audience participation is at the heart of Consiglio's menu.  Be prepared to sing and play games and search for clues to a murder with Chester Hadlyme as the chief detective.  Before the party begins, you will be treated to a feast of Italian food, with appetizers like fried calamari or eggplant napoleon, entrees like sole provencal or penne vodka and desserts like Gelato or Godiva Tiramisu.  There are plenty of delicious choices.

For this year's event, the competition will be fierce, much more naughty than nice.  It's the annual "Elf of the Year" Awards and Eenie, Meany, Miney and Moe are all determined to win the coveted title.  Representing the Sales Department, Production Department and Marketing Department, the elves have forgotten the Christmas spirit as they compete for the title of "Top Employee of the Toy and Gift Factory" at the North Pole.  Detective Hadlyme needs your help, to weigh and balance all the clues dropped for you to retrieve and solve.

For tickets ($55), to "Something Elffy," call Consiglio's Restaurant, 165 Wooster Street, New Haven at 203-865-4489 or online at www.consiglios.com.  Tax, tip and drinks are not included.  Doors open one hour before showtime.

Mark your calendars now for a mid-winter blast when winter blahs will be banished on Friday, January 24, 2014 at 7 p.m. as Michael Sayers presents "Midwinter Beach Party."  This musical variety show will summon the spirits of Annette and Frankie and all those grand sand and sea spectacles.

Join the great team of Sayers and Consiglio's for delicious and dandy entertainment!

THE STARS ARE SHINING IN NEW CANAAN

 TOP: SHARON MALLANE, JANELLE ROBERTS, TIFFAN BORELLI, KATE BODENHEIMER, MALIKA PETTY

BOTTOM: RICHARD WEIDLICH, DANIEL KLINE, CHRIS DE ROSA, JASON MICHAEL EVANS, JODI STEVENS



The stars will be shining indoors and out as Summer Theatre of New Canaan presents its gala fundraiser in support of education for the performing arts.  On Saturday, December 7 at 7:30 p.m. "A Night of Stars in Concert" will bring Broadway and local artists to the stage of the New Canaan Country School Theatre, 695 Frogtown Road in New Canaan.  Beginning with a pre-show wine reception at 7:30 p.m., the concert will launch at 8 p.m. and the evening will conclude with a post-show star reception.

With Artistic Director Melody Meitrott Libonati and Executive Director Ed Libonati at the helm, the night promises to be spectacular.  Scheduled guest artists include Jodi Stevens Bryce, Sara Mae Banning, Kate Bodenheimer, Tiffan Borelli, Corrine Curtis, Chris DeRosa Jason Michael Evans, Cristina Farruggia, David Friedman, Allison Gray, Grace Hardin, Gary Harger, Daniel Kline, Melody Meitrott Libonati, Karen Mason, Sharon Mallane, Malika Petty, Janelle Robinson,  Andrew Serkes, Brian Silliman, and Richard Weidlich.

Also on the program will be young artists from the Performing Arts Conservatory of New Canaan, Christian Camporin, Sadie Seelert, and Neha Iyer as well as the "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" Ensemble Choir.  For tickets (student/child $50, adult $100, premium seating $175), call 203-966-4634 or email info@stonc.org,  For premium ticket holders, the post-show reception is included.  A fun live auction to help fund education programming will be featured.

The evening will include memorable songs from STONC's past seasons, including from "South Pacific," "My Fair Lady," "Carousel," "Camelot," "Grease," "Hair Spray," "Little Mermaid," "Big River" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" to name drop a few.  Broadway composer David Friedman will share selections from his own personal song book. Popular show tunes from "Jekyll and Hyde," "Rock of Ages," "Mary Robbins" and more will be featured.

Come celebrate a decade of fine theatrical entertainment as STONC shines, sparkles, twinkles and surprises.