Goodspeed Musicals Announces World Premiere of CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT

Goodspeed Musicals announced today that it will produce the world premiere of Christmas in Connecticut - A New Musical this holiday season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. Based on the classic Warner Bros. film starring Barbara Stanwyck, the holiday themed comedy will begin November 18 and run through December 30. [Official opening December 7, 2022.] Christmas in Connecticut features book by Patrick Pacheco and Erik Forrest Jackson, music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Amanda Yesnowitz and will be directed by Amy Corcoran in her Goodspeed debut. This brand new musical was originally commissioned by Broadway Licensing.

Christmas in Connecticut will be the second world premiere in Goodspeed's season - along with Anne of Green Gables - making 2022 a triumphant return to full-scale musicals after a long dark period caused by the pandemic.

Goodspeed invites you to spend a very merry... Christmas in Connecticut! Smart Housekeeping columnist Liz Lane, a famous expert on marriage, cooking and homemaking, is asked by her publisher to host a war hero for Christmas dinner at her renowned Connecticut farmhouse. The only problem? She can't cook, she isn't married and she lives in a tiny New York apartment. Based on the classic 1945 Warner Bros. film, this World Premiere musical comedy is a delightfully cheerful way to celebrate the holiday season!

"Christmas in Connecticut gives us the opportunity to do what Goodspeed does best - develop and produce a new musical comedy packed with smart writing and fantastic music that will thrill our audiences. The fact that it's a holiday classic set in our home state makes it irresistible," said Donna Lynn Hilton, Goodspeed's Artistic Director. "I especially look forward to working with this accomplished creative team to develop and launch a special new musical comedy to the world," she added.

Tickets are on sale now to Goodspeed Members and will be available to the public beginning April 6. They may be purchased through the Box Office (860.873.8668), currently open weekdays at 10:00 a.m. and seven days a week starting May 9, or online at goodspeed.org. Tickets start at $29. Curtain times are Wednesday at 2:00p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (with select performances at 2:00 p.m.), Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (with select performances at 6:30 p.m.) A special holiday week schedule is in place for Thanksgiving week, Christmas week and New Year's week - visit goodspeed.org for details.

ABOUT GOODSPEED MUSICALS:

Goodspeed Musicals has achieved international acclaim and is the first theatre in the nation to receive two Tony Awards for outstanding achievement in musical theatre. Under the leadership of Donna Lynn Hilton, Artistic Director and David B. Byrd, Managing Director, Goodspeed Musicals is dedicated to the celebration, development and advancement of musical theatre. Goodspeed creates powerful, world-class productions of enlightening new and established works to entertain and inspire audiences. From Goodspeed, 21 musicals have gone to Broadway (including Man of La Mancha, Annie and Holiday Inn) and more than 90 new musicals have been launched. Goodspeed's Festival of New Musicals and the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove are distinguished cornerstones of the organization that highlight its commitment to nurture the talents of new and established artists and support the creative process. Goodspeed also maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre. Goodspeed gratefully acknowledges the support of the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; United Airlines, the official airline of Goodspeed Musicals; the official audio sponsor Sennheiser; and official auto sponsor Hoffman Audi. The organization is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS / DIRECTOR

Patrick Pacheco (Book) is an Emmy-winning commentator and journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, Esquire.com, and other periodicals. He wrote the 2009 Disney documentary, Waking Sleeping Beauty, produced by Peter Schneider and Don Hahn. In 2010, he co-wrote, with Maria Cassi, My Life with Men...and other animals, directed by Schneider which premiered at the Spoleto Arts Festival. In 2013, his revisal with Schneider of Rodgers and Hart's Pal Joey premiered at the Arkansas Rep. He is the writer of the Amazon best seller American Theatre Wing, An Oral History: 100 Years, 100 Voices, 100 Million Miracles and is the co-author with Chita Rivera of "Chita," the forthcoming memoir of the legendary artist. He now hosts CUNY-TV's THEATER: All the Moving Parts, which features in-depth interviews with directors, choreographers, writers, designers, and composers and other artists.

Erik Forrest Jackson (Book) is the author of the award-winning Like a Billion Likes and its upcoming musical adaptation, Misty Makes It Better (lyrics by Jill Abramovitz, music by Brad Alexander). He adapted the beloved TV comedy Cheers for a live stage event, and his musical Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (co-written with Ben H. Winters, featuring the songs of Neil Sedaka arranged by Tom Kitt) has been performed worldwide.
For Theatre Couture, Erik wrote four Off-Broadway premieres, including a comic adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie and the thriller Tell-Tale (GLAAD Best Play nominee). His novels include the Muppets Meet the Classics humor series for Disney, which cast the iconic characters in great works of literature.
A member of the American Theatre Wing's Advisory Board, Erik is the recipient of fellowships from the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Monson Arts, Chulitna Lodge, and the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals. In the publishing world, Erik spent more than a decade as an executive editor at Entertainment Weekly and InStyle.

Jason Howland (Music) an honors graduate of Williams College, is a Grammy Award-winning producer, Emmy Award-winning arranger, and Tony-nominated producer. Composer: the Tony-nominated Little Women - The Musical, Paradise Square (world premiere, Berkeley Rep), Ikiru for Horipro Productions (world premiere, Tokyo), Last Days of Summer (Kansas City Rep, George St. Playhouse) and the streaming hit, A Killer Party. Upcoming: Captain Nemo in Seoul, Tokyo Love Story in Tokyo. Howland won an Emmy in 2007 for "Handel's Messiah Rocks" for PBS. He was nominated for a Tony in 1999 for co-producing The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh. He won a Grammy in 2015 for producing the Original Cast Album of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. He is the Arranger and Music Supervisor for Beautiful (Broadway, West End, US National Tour, Tokyo, Australian National Tour, UK National Tour). As musical supervisor/director/conductor and arranger: Broadway's Bonnie and Clyde, Wonderland, Jekyll & Hyde, Les Miserables, The Civil War, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Boy George's Taboo and guest conductor for Bono and The Edge's Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. He has worked around the world as Music Supervisor, Orchestrator and Arranger for Death Note (Horipro/Tokyo), Mata Hari and The Man Who Laughs for EMK in Seoul, Your Lie in April for Toho Japan, Fist of the North Star (Horipro) and Casanova for Vienna's VBW. Recording projects also include: Japanese star May'n's latest album, Megumi Hamada's solo CD Attitude (Producer, arranger, conductor); the Grammy-nominated cast album of Jekyll & Hyde (Musical Director/Conductor/Vocal Arranger); The Dreams in You for the September 11th Fund (Producer, Composer); The Scarlet Pimpernel (OBC; Associate Producer/Additional Arrangements); Atlantic Records' release of The Civil War (Choral Conductor, Arranger); Jekyll & Hyde: The Complete Work (Vocal Arranger); the solo album for acclaimed international harpist Jung Kwak (Conductor); and Linda Eder's albums Christmas Stays the Same and It's Time (Arranger/Pianist/Vocal Arranger).

Amanda Yesnowitz (Lyrics) Winner of the Kleban Prize, Jonathan Larson Award, Dottie Burman Award, Jamie deRoy Award, Dramatists Guild Fellowship, Berklee Outstanding Alumni Award, and 8 MAC nominations, all for excellence in lyric writing. Selected musicals: Christmas in Connecticut (Broadway Licensing commission), Somewhere in Time (Portland Center Stage world premiere), Do No Harm (Davenport Theatrical Enterprises, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat), May/December (Oldcastle Theatre), By The Numbers (Goodspeed Mercer Grove, ASCAP workshop), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Hangar Theatre), The History of War (NYMF invited selection). Featured lyricist: Notes From Now (59e59), ASCAP Centennial at the Kennedy Center, Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall, NAMT Songwriter Showcase, "Gotta Start Small" (Stephanie J. Block; PS Classics, PBS/Live from Lincoln Center). Amanda is also a writing professor at NYU, a professional parodist, and a NY Times crossword puzzle constructor.

Warner Bros. Theatre VENTURES is currently readying the Broadway return of the Tony-nominated musical "Beetlejuice." Prior to that, the division produced the West End, Broadway and First National Tour of the Olivier-winning musical "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," the Broadway stage adaptation of Stephen King's "Misery," the Tony-winning "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," the Tony-winning musical "The Bridges of Madison County" and the Broadway holiday hit "Elf." Upcoming projects include musical versions of "Dave," "17 Again" and "A Star is Born" as well as a dramatic adaptation of "Dog Day Afternoon" by Stephen Adley Guirgis. Additionally, the division oversees the licensing of stage rights to Warner Bros' vast media library, including "Hairspray," "The Wizard of Oz," "42nd Street," "Singin' in the Rain," "The Bodyguard," "The Color Purple" and "A Christmas Story."

Amy Anders Corcoran (Director) is currently directing a brand new adaptation of Disney's The Little Mermaid for the Disney Wish, and is heading to Scotland to work on Edinburgh 7, a new musical about the first female MDs in the UK. She was the associate director of Escape to Margaritaville for Christopher Ashley on Broadway and directed the national tour. Amy helmed the NYC off-Broadway and London premieres of Unexpected Joy and received the SDC Noël Coward Fellowship for Comedic Direction. A proud member of SDC, Amy has worked at Asolo Rep, ACT in San Francisco, The Guthrie, Goodspeed, Cal Shakes, and often with Aria Entertainment in London. Amy holds a B.A. in Psychology with Honors from the University of Kansas and an M.F.A. in Directing from Penn State.