SNUGGLE UP FOR SOME “SEX WITH STRANGERS”

CHRIS GHAFFARI AND JESSICA LOVE  PHOTO BY CAROL ROSEGG

Playwright Laura Eason doesn’t pull any pillows or tender talk as she reveals her provocative play “Sex with Strangers”warming up the sheets at the Westport Country Playhouse until  Saturday, October 14. The title alone is almost too hot to touch.  Be careful your glasses may steam up.

Jessica Love’s Olivia is happily snuggled  in a Michigan bed and breakfast in the middle of a blizzard doing what she loves best: writing.  She is working on a new novel, one she is keeping private and hers alone, after being hurt by comments made by critics about her first efforts. A little too sensitive and vulnerable, she is nonetheless guarding her newest words as a for-her-eyes only manuscript.

Into her comfortable sanctuary stumbles a total stranger, uninvited and unwelcome, Chris Ghaffari’s Ethan.  He too has booked the writing retreat and he has every intention of staying there whether Olivia is agreeable or not.  The two spar verbally as they each stake out their individual territory, much like two terriers in search of priority space.

It soon becomes obvious that Ethan didn’t just happen by, as he has a specific agenda.  He has read her first novel and claims to be enamored by it.  He is at the other end of the literary spectrum, having garnered success by posting a blog, that turned into a book, and now movie , about bedding a different woman every week for a year and then posting and bragging about the experience. While Olivia thinks he is despicable in his treatment of his bedroom partners, she cannot deny he has earned fame and fortune at their expense.

Why is Ethan really there? Can Olivia trust anything that comes out of his mouth?  Inevitably, as the storm rages outside the chalet in the woods, courtesy of designer Edward T. Morris, a revolving set that later morphs into Olivia’s Chicago apartment, the pair connect sexually, setting the book pages wildly turning as both the sheets of the bed and the sheets of the manuscript turn steamy.

Being his brash, aggressive self, Ethan is also considerably younger than the more mature Olivia.  His precious internet isn’t working, there is no television set and they can’t even find a deck of cards to play. What should they do? Hold a conversation and then get physical.

Their sensual dance continues, not without a number of missteps, forsaking the help of Arthur Murray or Cupid. Ethan claims he wants to help her regain her literary self-confidence and reenter the writing world she has abandoned. Olivia wants to believe him but his past is too tawdry to overlook.  What will happen after the snow melts?  Will their temperatures continue to rise? Director Katherine M. Carter keeps the heat turned up to a sexual sizzle as this fine pair of actors pour on the passion and power.

For tickets ($30 and up), call the Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off route 1, Westport at 203--227-4177 or 1-888-927-7529 or online at www.westportplayhouse.org.. Performances are Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.,  Thursday at 8  p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.  

Read between the lines as these two writers journey to find the truths of who they truly are to themselves and to each other, as well as the faces they care to present to the world..

ROBIN BANKS FULLY LOADED SHOW OCTOBER 20

ROBIN BANKS IN HER MARGE SIMPSON GLORY   PHOTO BY ANTHONY BUELL

A decade ago Shawn Bodey took a right turn from his life in Arizona and his job as a personal assistant babysitting houses, catering and shopping for other people and headed to Connecticut to deal with health issues.  Once he recovered, he chanced to meet a drag queen who fascinated him and his life as he knew it changed forever.  His background as a public speaker and interpreter for the deaf, his love of the theater and his talents for entertaining made him a natural.   Enter Robin Banks, your neighborhood friendly drag queen.

Come meet Robin and her bevy of seven friends on Friday, October 20 at 7:30 pm at the Annex YMA Club, 554 Woodward Avenue, New Haven, a quick  right off I-95 at exit 50.  The show Robin Banks Fully Loaded promises to be a hoot of laughs, with singing, lip synching, dancing, jokes (colorful and off-colorful), burlesque, live music, games and fashions and forms like you’ve never seen before.  There will be food, vendors, gourmet cupcakes, drinks to buy (you can bring your own food or buy it on site, but drinks must be purchased), a makeover person with a table of makeup glamour, scented bath products and a host, named Robin Banks, who will make it all work.

Looking like a cross between Marge Simpson with her trademark beehive hairdo, in any number of attractive colors, and that comedian we loved named Lucille Ball, Robin Banks and the evening promise to be a one of a kind entertainment.  Joining Robin will be Kiki Lucia, a drag queen who lip synchs by night and by day is a community leader, the director of the New Haven Pride Center. Dixie Normus has a wickedly naughty sense of humor  and in the past was a hard working fireman, now retired, as well as a stripper.  Bigger and with the benefit of padding is Xiomarie LaBeija, known as the J-Lo of the Drag Queens, named the top dancer on the circuit, and the one who can kick and split with the best.

Also on the marquee are Loosey LaDuca, an 80’s queen who looks like a living Barbie Doll, a blonde bombshell, who may sing in a bikini and is the baker of the special cupcakes that will be for sale and the guitar playing Sinthia Sinatra, an amazing musician who sings live in the style of a 70’s acoustic rock band. Completing the menu are Vivienne LaFlamme, a female burlesque performer who brings a unique sense of humor clothed in a beautiful and sexy package and Dot Mitzvah, also a burlesque dancer and a classically trained opera singer, a mother, a nursing student and an activist, who will perform an aria or two.

All this and Robin too!  Look for her trademark blue and white polka dot dress as this people’s queen takes center stage, with quick wit, dancing, singing, lip synching, being funny and kookie and giving her A game performance.  Robin Banks wants you to forget your troubles, laugh your backside off, feel good and enjoy an experience that’s unique.  Know you’re in a safe place to  have a good time and be appreciated.

For tickets ($20 in advance and $25 at the door), call 203-815-7506. Doors will open at 7 p.m and the show will begin at 7:30 p.m.

It takes a village to put on a show of this caliber and Robin Banks is ready, talented and fully loaded to take on the joyful task.

EARNESTLY IMPORTANT AT UCONN

NICK NUDLER AND TABATHA GAYLE     PHOTO BY GERRY GOLDSTEIN

 If you devote your time and talents creating lies and deceptions, surely at some point you will be caught and unmasked as a prevaricator.  For Algernon Moncrieff ((Stephen Pettway)  and Jack Worthing (Nick Nudler), the game of being two people at the same time, a gentleman of the country and a gentleman of the city, having alter egos provides them with the best of both worlds.  Two sets of lifestyles allows them to act out mischief that their good breeding would otherwise never allow.  

To become acquainted with these inventive men, run over to the Jorgensen Auditorium on the campus of the University of Connecticut for a romp, courtesy of Oscar Wilde, the delightful comedy of manners and mores, “The Importance of Being Earnest” playing until Sunday, October 15.  Here you will meet star-crossed lovers who have a formidable obstacle in the personage of Lady Bracknell (Liz McCartney), a slew of mistaken identities, plates of cucumber sandwiches prepared by the servant Lane (Coleman Churchill) and bread and butter assembled by the butler (Anthony Giovino), a black leather handbag lost by the tutor Miss Prism (Vivienne James) decades earlier, a missing cigarette case and two ladies' fascination with the name Ernest and the necessity of that being the name of the man each will marry.

Algernon Moncrieff  has handily created  an invalid friend Bumbary who conveniently gets ill whenever Algernon needs an excuse to go or to avoid going anywhere. For Jack, it is a disreputable brother Ernest who gets into trouble on a regular basis in town.  When the two men determine they wish to wed, Jack to Gwendolen Fairfax (Tabatha Gayle) and Algernon to Cecily Cardew (Gillian Rae Pardi), they discover they must quickly “kill” off their pretended deceptions, change their Christian names to Ernest to please their beloveds with the aid of the good reverend (Jacob Harris Wright) and gain approval of their engagements.

Jack must win the endorsement of Gwendolen’s mother Lady Bracknell, who sails into the fray as war ship with cannons bursting, while Algernon has to gain acceptance from his old pal Jack who is Cecily’s guardian. Strange circumstances make for humorous situations as “all’s well that ends well” results when the mystery of the baby abandoned in a handbag is finally resolved. Jean Randich directs this fun merry-go-round with ease, with lovely costs created by Taowen Pan, inventive lighting by Danielle Verkennes and a clever set designed by Pedro L. Guevara.

For tickets ($10-33) call the Connecticut Repertory Theatre in Storrs at 860-486-2113  or online at www.crt.uconn.edu. Performances are Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.On Wednesday, October 11, you can buy tickets to Dine With Design, including entrees and dessert, and eat with members of the creative team for a unique behind-the-scenes experience.

 Watch Lady Bracknell put both suitors through their paces as she determines their eligibility and suitability as potential husband material.  Have fun watching them both dance to her piper’s tunes.

TRIBUTE BAND TAPESTRY CELEBRATES CAROLE KING’S MUSIC

As an extraordinary singer/songwriter of the 20th and 21st centuries, Carole King is clearly a Queen of her genre. From the moment she completed her first hit “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” at the age of seventeen, to the highly successful musical “Beautifull” that celebrates her life, Carole King is iconic.  More than a 1000 artists have found popularity crooning over 400 of her compositions, many composed with her former husband Gerry Goffin.  She has penned more than 100 hit singles, a record that is royal.

Accruing a slew of accolades, Grammy Awards and Induction into the Songwriters, Rock and Roll and Grammy Halls of Fame, King is no stranger to success.  She is the first woman honored with the prestigious Library of Congress Gershwin Prize.

To catch her unique flavor and distinctive sounds, make an end run to Bridgeport’s Downtown Cabaret Theatre on Saturday, October 21 at 5 p.m. or 8:15 p.m. to hear the tribute band Tapestry.  Named for King’s best selling album, the group has launched a successful career playing King’s pop star tunes like the Shirelles “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” The Drifters "Up on the Roof,” The Everly Brothers “Crying in the Rain,” Aretha Franklin “A Natural Woman,” The Chiffons “One Fine Day” and James Taylor “You’ve Got a Friend.”

Many of her hit tunes are sure to be part of this classic concert that will span her impressive career as a composer.  She has said of that career, “My life has been ta apestry of rich and royal hue, an everlasting vision of the ever changing view.”

Carole King’s musical brilliance shone brightly at the tender age of four when she developed perfect pitch on the piano, with the help of her mother as teacher.  By high school, she had formed her first band, a vocal quartet known as the Co-Sines.  Like a roller coaster ride, her life has hit a series of incredible heights, but also the inevitable missteps.  Through it all, Carole King has emerged as a beacon of hope, focusing on political and environmental issues, happily escounced on a ranch in Idaho for many years.

For tickets ($45), call the Downtown Cabaret Theatre, 263 Golden Hill Street, Bridgeport at 203-576-1636 or online at www.dtcab.com.  Shows are at 5 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.  Remember to bring goodies to share at your table.

Let the great tribute band Tapestry recreate the regal magic of Carole King’s memorable sounds.

THE FATE OF MUSICALS IS COMIC DEBATE AT IVORYTON

     MICHAEL L. REISS, CREATOR OF "I HATE MUSICALS: THE MUSICAL"

Who doesn't love a musical, the snazzy songs, clever lyrics, dazzling dance numbers and popcorn buttered plot about love and loss?  If you're playwright Michael L. Reiss,  you may have a slightly different slant on the subject.  Let Reiss and Ivoryton Playhouse give you the laughable lowdown in the world premiere of "I Hate Musicals: The Musical" tromping across the boards until Sunday, October 15.

Come discover for yourself how the great psychiatrist Sigmund Freud and an earthquake that rocks Los Angeles channels to an epiphany of sorts for the protagonist Alvin, a television writer who has fallen down the rabbit hole from the apex of Tony-nominated talent to the nadir of negative success.

Alvin, played with pathos and pity-seeking warmth by Stephen Wallem, has known what being at the top of his game is like and how lousy being at the bottom of the pit feels like.  He has run off to Hollywood to pitch his last, and hopefully his best, sitcom ideas to Diane, the Amazon woman who can crush his dreams or inflate his ego as her whims dictate.

The desperate Alvin is willing to compromise all his principles at the thumbs up signal from the powerful Diane, when the unthinkable happens: Los Angeles is the victim of an earthquake.  At that momentous moment, Alvin suddenly finds clinging to life might be his top priority.  He quickly calls his agent Lee, an accommodating R. Bruce Connelly, for help, big time.

In his dire straits, Alvin is soon visited by a series of delusions, apparitions, ghosts, figments of his imagination or casting call star wannabes, you be the judge and jury, from Freud (Sam Given), to Brie (Amanda Huxtable) his ex-wife, to the knowledgable professor (Ryan Knowles) to Jesus (Will Clark).  They sing and dance delightful parodies from well-known musicals as they attempt to aid Alvin with his major problems.  Can a man who hates musicals actually create a show that audiences will flock to see? Even if the title is "My Brother the Pope?"

Whether Alvin is getting advice from the Virgin Mary, the Angel of Death or Noah, whether he is singing Sondheim or channeling the likess of the rapper Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mike Reiss is having a great time in this mishmash of methodologies and musical styles, with original music composed by Walter Murphy, music direction and vocal arrangements by Michael Morris and snappy direction by James Valletti.

For tickets ($50, seniors $45, students $22, children $17 ), call the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 MainStreet, Ivoryton at 860- 767-7318 or online at www.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.

Let Mike Reiss jet you to Hollywood to take a meeting that will dictate the course of Alvin Gorton's career, future and fate. Are you ready for the rousing ride? Just hold on to your funny bones and you’ll be fine.

COME DREAM SPLENDIDLY AT THE HARTFORD STAGE

Darko Tresnjak is a master magician, especially when it comes to interpreting the plays of William Shakespeare in a distinct and amazing manner.  Look no further than his current iteration of the Bard’s playful comedy "A Midsummer's Night Dream" that focuses on a gate house, beautifully designed by Alexander Dodge,  that is prim and proper on one side and revolves to reveal an ivy-clad entrance into the woods of Arden, slightly uncivilized and ready for the unknown.  Dash over to Hartford Stage until Sunday,October 8 for this romp in the forests that is refreshingly novel and full of mischief thanks to that Cupid-like character Puck, here a fun seeking  Will Apicella.               . 

To Shakespeare, if one pair of star-crossed lovers is good than two pair must be great. That is the comic premise on which his beloved “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” is based. Lysander and Hermia are in love but Demetrius has been hand picked by Hermia’s father to be her mate. Meanwhile poor Helena is pining away for want of Demetrius. The Duke, exhibiting his tyrannical power over the citizens of Athens, makes Hermia’s decision easier by decreeing she can either marry Demetrius as her father wishes or enter a nunnery or die. What are these young school children to do? But don’t be scared, for this is a comedy.

Hermia (Jenny Leona) and Lysander (Tom Pecinka) decide to run away into the enchanted forest to escape their fate and, of course, Helena (Fedna Laure Jacquet) and Demetrius (Damian Jermaine Thompson) follow quickly in their footsteps. The forest is filled with whimsical creatures, ruled by Oberon (Esau Pritchett) and his queen Titania (Scarlett Strallen) who are experiencing love problems of their own. To teach Titania a lesson, Oberon has his chief elf Puck (Will Apicella) play a mischievous Cupid and drop love potion drops into her eyes and those of the citizens of Athens who are running around in circles in his woods.

The potion causes one to fall in love with whomever one sees upon awakening, which for unlucky Titania turns out to be Nick Bottom (John Lavelle), part of a roving acting troupe, who has been turned into  a donkey, long ears, tail and all. For Lysander, the potion of flowers causes his sudden adoration of a most confused Helena. It also causes Demetrius to now pursue Hermia.  You may need a scorecard to keep everyone straight. This production, directed by Darko Tresnjak, is filled with magic and mischief, a frenzy of lunatics, lovers and poets, thanks to the Bard.

As a play within a play, the itinerant actors perform a dramatic tale for the wedded couples that is a masterpiece in its ineptitude.  Termed the mechanicals, the eager group includes Robert Hannon Davis, Matthew Macca, Alexander Sovronsky, Brent Bateman and Louis Tucci, in addition to the aforementioned Nick Bottom.

For tickets ($25 and up), call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford  at 860-527-5151 or  online at www.hartfordstage.org. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 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. 

 

If you were caught in the web of an arranged marriage, you too might take flight into the woods and like Lysander bemoan the fact that “the course of true love never did run smooth.”

SWEEPING EPIC "LES MIZ" COMING TO THE BUSHNELL

Even as a teenager of only thirteen, Victor Hugo was exhibiting signs of greatness. His poetry was already winning him accolades. This was just his humble beginnings.  Soon he would add  the titles of playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman and human rights advocate to his name.  Perhaps he is best known for his novel “Les Miserables” or The Poor, penned in 1862, about a man Jean Valjean who is imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving sister and her family and his ultimate tale of redemption.

 Even though it was banned by the government,this story was met with great success by the masses. It is said to have been inspired by a true incident in Paris.  Hugo saw a poor man arrested for a minor crime, in stark contrast to a woman in a nearby carriage, wealthy, wrapped in fur, who was totally unaware of the tragedy happening at her richly clad feet. 

This novel is epic in scope and began  generating great excitement when  first published, when people fought to buy one of the 48,000 copies released on day one.  It would not be set to music  until a century later.  Produced by Cameron Mackintosh, in a stirring new 32^th anniversary version, ”Les Miserables” is a sweeping, majestic epic drama, history on parade, and is gracing the stage of Hartford’s Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts from Tuesday, October 3rd until Sunday, October 8.

“Les Miz,” set in 19^th century France, follows Jean Valjean after nineteen years of imprisonment, his pursuit by the police inspector Javert and his new identity as Monsieur Madeleine where he becomes a wealthy factory owner and mayor. Valjean cannot escape his past as Javert doggedly pursues him.  Valjean performs deeds of valor, saving lives and helping in a student revolt, proving that people can change for the good. This story, timeless in its appeal, unites with a soaring musical score, to applaud the survival of the human spirit.

For tickets ($22.50-112.50), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online atwww.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.

Arm the battlements to fight for good over evil, for democracy over tyranny, for the triumph of love and justice, in this astonishing theatrical musical drama, “Les Miz.” Don't miss the sheer scope of history  and the amazing pageantry.