WOODY GUTHRIE, A FOLK SINGER EXTRAORDINAIRE

Woody Guthrie was like a Will Rogers with a guitar and a cowboy hat filled with pithy comments.  He wrote songs of protest, of commentary and criticism, 3000 in all, about the country he loved and wanted to proclaim and protect.  In addition, he penned two novels, wrote poems,  plays and prose, and painted the scenes he saw on his travels.  To learn about his life, the peaks and valleys, head on over to the Ivoryton Playhouse until Sunday, November 10 to say Howdy and make his acquaintance in “Woody Sez,” a a musical portrait devised by David M. Lutken, with Nick Corley, Darcie Deaville, Helen Jean Russell and Andy Tierstein. David Lutken will star as Woody until November 1 when Andy Christopher continues as Woody until November 10.

Being named after a President might be daunting for a baby boy, but if your moniker is Woodrow Wilson Guthrie you are able to strive for perfection and then some.  Your life has to be meaningful and special, even if it means walking from one end of the country to the other and making a joyful noise unto the Lord. Woody Guthrie wrote  folk tunes about his growing up years in Oklahoma's Dust Bowl, political, children's, songs of wanderlust and traveling, songs of peace and against war, social justice and even songs with a Jewish flavor.  None of his verses is more well known than "This Land Is Your Land," that he penned in 1940, considered one of folk music's most famous tunes.  Even that was a protest against the sentiment he heard in Irving Berlin's "God Bless America."

Lutken stars as the prosaic philosophizing guitar playing guy who was compelled to ramble across the country and write about all he saw and all the people he met along the way.  Nick Corley sets his hand to directing this impassioned yet humble tale, of a man and the music he had to make. Guthrie was a social commentator, a radical with a penchant for truth, who believed “all you can write is all you can see.”  He has been described as “a three chord picker with a poet’s brain” and his tale has been brought from coast to coast by Lutken with his faithful comrades Darcie Deaville, Maggie Hollinbeck and David Finch on fiddle, bass, guitar, harmonica and more. 

Think of Woody Guthrie as an amalgam of Will Rogers and Pete Seeger, a man filled with words and sentiments which he put into poems, plays, letters, a newspaper column called "Woody Sez," song lyrics as well as novels and artwork. He suffered many tragic losses in his life as well as great happiness. They translated into his writings.  As Woody says himself, "There's a feeling in music and it carries you back down the road you have traveled and makes you travel it again.  Sometimes when I hear music I think back over my days - and a feeling that is fifty-fifty joy and pain swells like clouds taking all kinds of shapes in my mind.”

 Some highlights of the more than thirty six tunes include "This Train Is Bound for Glory,” “Jack Hammer Blues,” "Sinking of the Reuben James," "The Ballad of Tom Joad," "Riding In My Car," and, of course, "This Land Is Your Land.” In his music he fought famine, floods, fires and Fascism as he traveled the “ribbon of the highway” as he came in with the dust and went out with the wind.

For tickets ($55, seniors $50, students $25, children $20), call the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org.  Performances are  Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.,  Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at  8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. On Sundays, a hootenanny follows across the street at the Ivoryton Tavern so bring your fiddle along. It’s time to get your holiday spirit in gear and the Ivoryton Playhouse is ready to help. ”A Christmas Carol in Concert "will be held Sunday and Monday, December 8 and 9 and “An Actor's Carol” will play December 13 to 22.

Come meet this home spun, down home country boy, a pure ramblin’ man, named after our 28th president, with his guitar and his friends in this special and moving tribute to the Oklahoma Troubadour. They are all bound for glory.

“AMERICAN SON” SEEKS PROTECTION AT HARTFORD THEATERWORKS

The police force in this country has evolved from the concept of citizen volunteers to night watchmen  to southern slave patrols before it became what we know today:  protecting and serving, enforcing the law, preventing crimes and preserving order.  The relationship between the police and the citizens has not always been an easy one.  Despite the fact that the police work on more than eight million criminal offenses each year, the public confidence has been called into question, especially on such issues as racial profiling.

 Just ask Kendra Ellis-Connor, a concerned and anxious Ami Brabson, whose eighteen year old son Jamal has disappeared and the Miami police are stonewalling her and not telling her what has happened and where her son is at the moment.

It’s 4 a.m. and you are invited to keep vigil with Kendra, a black professor of psychology, who knows her son has been involved in an “incident” but little more in the gripping drama “American Son” by Christopher Demos-Brown.  The newly renovated TheaterWorks of Hartford will plunge you into her personal crisis until Saturday, November 23.

Jamal left his home after a spat of angry words with his mom, driving a Lexus registered to his white father, an F.B.I. officer, who is estranged from Kendra. With being a distinct minority at his prep school, furious at his father Scott, an absent J. Anthony Crane, for abandoning him, uncertain of his own identity, experiencing a personal awakening that is raising difficult questions, Jamal’s state of mind is under siege.

The police, first the newbe cop Officer Larkin, an unaccommodating John Ford Dunker, and later a more knowing Lieutenant Stokes, a control in your face Michael Genet, attempt to answer the parents’ probing questions.  Where is their son?  Is he alright?  Can they speak 

to him? Why aren’t the police more open and forthright?  The concern mounts and tempers flare as their questions are ignored and go unanswered.

Kendra and Scott share their frustrations that are fueled by a video discovered by Scott’s brother. The tension builds under Rob Ruggiero’s taut direction.

For tickets ($35 and up), call Hartford TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford at 860-527-7838 or online at www.twhartford.org.  Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday and 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.

Hold onto the arms of the theater’s new ergonomic chairs as the uncertainties mount to a crescendo of fear.

"THE WOLVES” ON THE WAR PATH AT UCONN

Who are these girls who have gathered to win their games at any price?  They are embracing their power and selectivity as they lace their sneakers and hydrate for the exhaustive exercises to come. This  team of high school girls are "The Wolves," a soccer club poised for greatness. Playwright Sarah DeLappe puts her ensemble of adolescents front and center as they cross-chat about topics ranging from genocide in Cambodia to immigration issues to abortion and feminine hygiene products. The girls buzz and sting as they tease, swear and jabber through their extensive warm ups.  

The Studio Theatre on the campus of the University of Connecticut wants you to become captivated with their interactions and personal revelations as it presents  "The Wolves"  until Sunday, November 3.  Set on a green indoor Astroturf field created by Kristen P.E. Zarabozo, we get up close and intimately involved in the lives of these females on the peak of womanhood as they prepare to win their way to the nationals. They are the ones who will serve as the striker, the midfields, the defense, the captain and the goalie and they need to forget their conflicts and disagreements as they take the field.  They are a pack, warriors, a team, who need to be united if they are to succeed.

These lady crusaders are a sisterhood of sorts, each different, but united for the purpose of winning. They embrace different personalities, with a variety of temperaments and sensibilities.  The cool, sarcastic girl is  the most worldly and sexually advanced who plays side by side with the skinny, innocent and unlucky girl who may be battling an eating disorder.  The perfectionist member whose fears cause her to throw up before every game is running beside the new girl who has an international background and is trying so hard to fit in with the team.  They each have goals and dreams, a need to be recognized, to be the one hand-selected when the scouts come to town.

By the end of this ninety minute interaction, well directed by Julia Foh, to score goal winning points, an event takes place that shakes up their equilibrium and weakens their foundation.  The talented cast includes Alexandra Brokowski, Megan O’Connor, Eliza Carson, Maddy Tamms, Nicolle Cooper, Jamie Feidner, Betty Smith, Elizabeth Jebran, and Eilis Garcia as team members and April Lichtman as the soccer mom.

For tickets ($10-33), call The Connecticut Repertory Theatre at the Studio Theatre at 860-486-2113 or online at crt.uconn.edu. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m and matinees weekends at 2:00 p.m.

Come cheer on these remarkable female warriors as they learn to play and to manipulate the game of soccer as well as the game of life.

CT CABARET SALUTES WOMEN GAINING “RESPECT” IN A MUSICAL JOURNEY OF GROWTH

We’ve come a long way, baby if you can believe the message Vanderbilt professor Dorothy Marcic is proclaiming loudly and clearly in her stand up and take no prisoners presentation “Respect A Musical Journey of Women.”  With spirit and vitality, Ct Cabaret in Berlin will be celebrating women, in the home, the workplace and socially, especially as they relate to the men in their lives, weekends until Saturday, November 9^th.

In her research, Marcic discovered how accurately the Top 40 tunes on the Hit Parade paralleled the stories of women’s lives from the 1900’s to the year 2000.  From a position of co-dependency where men were necessary, even if they were abusive cads, changed over the century. Females slowly but surely gained their voice and stood up for their rights as the decades progressed.

A quartet of female firebrands-Maria Soaft, Emily Gray, Erin Liddell and Erica Whitfield-tell their collective tales in music with snippets to full versions of sixty songs.  From “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man of Mine” to the Depression era tunes of “I Wanna Be Loved By You” and “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do,” the mood changes to  the accommodating “Que Sera Sera” and “As Long As He Needs Me.”  The message is still “Stand By Your Man” and “It Must Be Him” but the anger is starting to bubble to the surface.

The need for empowerment is growing and the music reflects the change. As Rosa Parks embodies the Civil Rights Movement, women gain their feet and are willing and able to use “These Boots…For Walkin.’ “  Songs like “You Don’t Own Me” give strength to battered women and equal rights take their rightful place on the negotiating table.  Women like Michelle Obama provide encouragement to the cause.

Soon the powerful foursome is belting out “The Eye of the Tiger,” “I Am Woman,” and “I Will Survive” as a testament to power, strength and sense of self.  Kris McMurray directs this tribute to womanhood and the evolution of the gender.  

For tickets ($35), call the CT Cabaret, 31 Webster Square Road, Berlin at 860-829-1248 or online at www.ctcabaret.com. Performances are Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7:15 p.m.  Remember to bring goodies to share at your table or plan to buy dessert at the concession stand onsite.

We are women, come hear us roar. Yeah for girl power and women power!  Move over, Prince Charming and make room for the independent ladies.

PANTOCHINO PRODUCTIONS IS PUTTING KANSAS ON THE MAP OF MUSICAL FUN

SHELLEY MARSH POGGIO AS THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST

Once upon a time, a spunky girl named Dorothy went on a giantadventure.  Thanks to a tornado, the farmhouse she lived in with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry spun out of control and landed on a witch, wicked to her core, and placed Dorothy in the Land of Oz

In Oz, she skipped along the Yellow Brick Road with a trio of strangers who would become her friends, the Scarecrow (Jimmy Johansmeyer), the Tin Man (Justin Rugg) and the Lion (Cadence Castro).   But now our spirited heroine is back among the corn fields with her Auntie Em (George Spelvin) and her Uncle Henry (Jimmy Johansmeyer) and she is bored, bored, bored.  Be careful what you wish for, Dorothy, because trouble is right around the corner.

Gather the family and a basket of treats to share at your table and let Pantochino Productions entertain you with the delightful original spoof "The Wicked Witch of the West: Kansas or Bust!" playing weekends until Sunday, October 27 at the Milford Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Avenue, Milford.

Use your imagination to think mean and green and before you can say "Munchkins" three times who should appear but that scary madame of malice The Wicked Witch of the West, wonderfully portrayed by Shelley Marsh Poggio. Don’t let her froggy greenness scare you. She has a specific agenda:  to get  back her magical powers, her broom and her ravishing ruby slippers.  To accomplish this, she must, at all costs and comedy, find Dorothy who stole them away from her, right under her pickled green nose.  Once the WWW meets Professor Marvel and his crystal ball, another role by George Spelvin, she is quickly on the way to her goal.

Dorothy is portrayed by the adorable pigtailed sweetheart, Mary Mannix, who is plum full of spirit and perkiness. With her trio of hearty and trusted cohorts, the Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man, they all set off to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz, another characterization assumed by the versatile George Spelvin.  It's rumored that the Wizard is in Wichita, in possession of all the good stuff.

That road of yellow is getting mighty crowded as the ragged Vagabelle kids, Elrod (Connor Rizzo), Faylene (Kiera Citarella) and Billie Rae Jay (Nora Simonelli) are also on the trail of the treasure.  And don't forget that big green lady who's determined to get all her goodies back, even if it means traveling in disguise.

Thankfully Dorothy remembers to ask for help from her friend from her previous escapade, and the Good Witch Glinda (Rachelle  Ianiello) flies in with a little comforting advice.  Bert Bernardi has outdone himself in the clever department as this show is filled to the top of the corn fields with genuine humor (most of it corny).  Justin Rugg's music, like the Wicked Witch's "I'm Back with a Vengeance," adds a delightful liveliness to the action. Jimmy Johansmeyer's costumes are a Halloween hoot.

For tickets ($22 online, $25 at the door), go to www.pantochino.com.  Performances are Friday at 7:30 p.m.;, Saturday at 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Look for the troupe’s Podcasts on iTunes and Spotify.  This ninth season is dedicated to the memory of Evan Faram, who was a valued company member who will be greatly missed.

Polish your crystal ball, practice your cackles, look for rainbows and bluebirds and bring a big glass of water for you-know-who, just in case you need her to melt!

JIM CROW LAWS ARE AN UNWELCOME CHARACTER IN “ON THE GROUNDS OF BELONGING” AT LONG WHARF

 

The painful lessons of the doomed love between Juliet and her Romeo as well as the passionate climax of Tony’s devotion for Maria in “West Side Story,” what happens when you don’t “stick to your own kind,” are all too evident in the unexpected romance that blooms between Russell and Tom in Ricardo Perez Gonzalez’s world premiere drama “On the Grounds of Belonging.” Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven will unveil this forbidden coupling until Sunday, November 3.

 

While Houston, Texas in the late 1950’s sported a number of gay bars, the number and frequency  of lynchings was well documented.  Wilson Chin has designed one such establishment, a detailed Gold Room where men of color frequented for social connections of a sexual nature.  Presided over by bartender Hugh Williams, a judicious Thomas Silcott, it was a safe environment for meetings.  Safe that is until a white man in drag, one Thomas Aston, captured by a sensitive Jeremiah Clapp, runs in to find sanctuary when a raid in the nearby Red Room for white gays only is in progress. 

 

The Red Room for gay white men is owned by Mooney Fitzpatrick, a mean spirited Craig Bockhorn,  who also lays claim to the Gold Room.  He needs to be in control and he is quick to proclaim his power if anyone opposes his will. When Tom and Russell find a tender connection that has the potential to develop into something deeper and more lasting, the dye is cast for complications and possible disaster.  Also on the scene as witnesses are Russell’s long standing more than a friend Henry Stanfield, a jealously guarded Blake Anthony Morris, who enjoys playing the field as long as Russell is loyally there to come home to at the end of the day.  The powerful lounge singer Tanya Starr, a concerned Tracey Conyer Lee, spreads her influence in the maelstrom of emotions and swirls the action to a heartbreaking pitch.

 

These are trying times where violence is just around the corner waiting to pounce.  The story is real, the characters are sincere and the ending is anticipated to be tragic. David Mendizabel directs the action with consummate grace.

 

For tickets ($30-75), call the Long Wharf Theatre, 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven at 203-787-4282 or online at www.longwharftheatre.org.  Performances are Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

 

Be a witness to a forbidden love,  “of a homosexual persuasion,” that defies the odds and declares itself worthy of existence.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE CREATES A FRENZY WITH ”GIRLS”

 

You might think a play entitled “Girls” could be about a bevy of high schoolers debating the dating scene, or college gals weighing the benefits and obstacles of joining a sorority or sisters trying to establish a relationship with parents, classmates and the world.  How wrong you would be.  In this world premiere drama at the Yale Repertory Theatre until Saturday, October 26,  playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has taken a new look at Euripides’ ancient Greek tragedy “The Bacchae” and fashioned his own version of revenge and retribution.

 

On a forested woodland set lushly designed by Adam Rigg that resembles a well detailed diorama at the Peabody Museum, from which dinosaurs might emerge, we meet a disc jockey Deon, a determined Nicholas L. Ashe, who has a specific agenda in mind.  He wants to welcome the women of the community to a dance marathon where inhibitions are forsaken and madness can prevail.  As a stranger in their midst, he sets up his music to lure them into the park and watches what happens.

 

Formerly exiled to boarding schools, he is back with a purpose. Loudly playing his intoxicating and hypnotic songs, he encourages them to spin like whirling dervishes into a frenzy of passion.  He knows one of them is guilty of causing his mother’s brutal death and is confident he can expose the perpetrator and enact his vengeance.

 

Meanwhile like a voyeur above the fray we find Theo who speaks to the world from his bedroom, live streaming, and interacting with his hippie grandfather Dada, Tom Nelis, and his blind friend, Haynes Thigpen, who also plays the sheriff and the cowherd who has lost his cows. 

 

Also seeking and searching is Gaga, a focused and gun toting Jeanine Serralles, who wants to find her sisters but is easily seduced into malicious mischief.  Armed and dangerous, Gaga is the antithesis of Asia, one of the many women who pepper the scene with monologues. Ayesha Jordan’s Asia provides much needed comic relief as she speaks non-stop about the difficulties of finding the perfect office chair, expanding and expounding  on the theme with obvious delight and humor.

 

Clearly there will be no happy reunions here and the sound of gunfire is resolutely loud.  With Raja Feather Kelly’s intense choreography and Lileana Blain-Cruz’s direction,  “Girls” will echo for a long time in your questioning psyche.

 

For tickets, call the Yale Repertory Theatre at 203-432-1234 or online at www.yalerep.org The production will be held at the University Theatre, 222 York Street, New Haven.Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday. 

Let your imagination run wild as the passions soar and the music inspires madness .