Summer Stages: Lauren Yarger's Summer Picks in Connecticut

Lauren Yarger's Summer Picks

The theater season hardly takes a break in Connecticut during the summer and we have some great shows coming up.

Over at Goodspeed, where they are celebrating their 50th anniversary, we will say, "Hello!" to KLea Blackhurst playing Dolly Levine when Jerry Herman's classic musical HELLO DOLLY! gets its first-ever staging at the Opera House in East Haddam. Blackhurst, who won a CT Critics Circle Outstanding Actress Award for her portrayal of Ethel Merman in Music Theatre of Connecticut's production of Everything the Traffic Will Allow, is a force of nature with a golden voice and seems a perfect choice for the role. Daniel Goldstein, who helmed the recent Broadway revival of GODSPELL, directs the show, which will run June 29-July 17. Tickets and information: 860-873-8668; http://www.goodspeed.org/.

Meanwhile, at the Ivoryton Playhouse, we get a welcome second chance to see the new play from one of the writers of "The Simpsons," with I'M CONNECTICUT. This sweet, romantic comedy by Bristol, CT native Mike Reiss is about a Connecticut man who struggles with relationships and feelings of inadequacy because he's from the Nutmeg State. It had its premiere last season at CT Repertory Theatre on the UConn Storrs campus where it became the biggest selling non-musical ever produced in the company's Main Stage Series. That's with good reason: the show is very well written and funny, especially for Connecticut residents. Humor should be expected since the author's credits include "The Simpsons," "Horton Hears a Who" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." Reiss will join the performances on June 6, 7 and 8 and will be participating in a talk back with the audience. The cast will include two actors from the original production - Harris Doran and Jerry Adler - and will be directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Jacqueline Hubbard. Runs June 5-23. Tickets and information: 860-767-7318; www.ivorytonplayhouse.org.

Speaking of CT Rep, the Nutmeg Summer Series begins with Pat Sajak (TV's "Wheel of Fortune" host) as the Man in the Chair opposite Broadway veteran Liz Larsen as THE DROWSY CHAPERONE June 6 - 15 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre. Both return to Storrs after appearing there last summer in THE ODD COUPLE (Sajak was Felix Unger and Larsen was one of the Pigeon sisters). The whacky comedy, where a 1920s musical comes to life, has a score by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. Also on tap for the summer series are A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM with Steve Hayes (returning after his turn in PIRATES OF PENZANCE last summer) from June 20-30 and THE MUSIC MAN with Barret Foa (from TV's "NCIS" ) July 11-21. Tickets and information: 860-486-2113; www.crt.uconn.edu.

In Hartford, TheaterWorks offers Debra Jo Rupp (star of "That '70s Show") as America's most popular sex therapist in BECOMING DOCTOR RUTH May 31-July 7. The solo show, written by Mark St, Germain (FREUD'S LAST SESSION) and directed by Julianne Boyd follows the little known story of the woman who escaped the Nazis to raise a daughter as a single mom in the US on the way to becoming "Dr. Ruth." TheaterWorks finishes out the summer with a more sobering piece about the effects of war on a news reporter in TIME STANDS STILL by Donald Margulies Aug. 9 through Sept. 15. 860-527-7838; http://theaterworkshartford.org.

And the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts' Broadway series extends into the summer with a tour of Billy Elliot June 18-23 and Harry Connick, Jr. in concert June 22 at Simsbury Meadows. 860-987-5900; www.bushnell.org.

Photo Credit: Gerry Goodstein