WHAT NOW VOYAGER Will Open Pantochino's Season
Performances run October 10-26.
By: Stephi Wild Sep. 15, 2025
Award-winning Pantochino Productions Inc. in Milford will debut “What Now Voyager” Friday, October 10 at the Milford Arts Council, The Mac in Downtown Milford. The new musical comedy plays through October 26.
“What Now Voyager,” featuring book and lyrics by Bert Bernardi and music by Justin Rugg, is an unhinged parody of Hollywood romance melodramas of the 1940’s. The story follows the transformation of a woman and the myriad of surprises she encounters on the high seas—romance, intrigue and all kinds of comical mayhem casting a wide net of the various tropes and plot devices of golden age filmmaking.
“I grew up watching and loving the great black and white melodrama of the 40’s,” said writer/director Bernardi. “Its been great fun to spoof and parody this genre and I think audiences who know these films or not will fully enjoy the broadly-drawn characters and all the antics,” he added. While Pantochino often presents family-friendly fare, this production comes with a disclaimer. “This show is certainly for adult audiences only,” smiled Bernardi.
The cast includes Pantochino company members Mary Mannix, Shelley Marsh Poggio, Valerie Loomis, Jimmy Johansmeyer, and composer Rugg. They are joined by Chad Celini who appeared in Pantochino’s “Dorothy’s Christmas in Oz” and making his debut with the company is Griffin Kulp.
“What Now Voyager” features setting by Von Del Mar, costumes by Johansmeyer, lighting by Jakob Kelsey, sound by Tyler Kittleman, musical direction by Rugg and stage management by T. M. Gadomski.
Now in its sixteenth season, Pantochino Productions is widely acclaimed for its innovative, original musical theatre offerings, Summer Theatre Camps, Classes, After School Drama programs and Teen Theatre. The multi Award winning company is recipient of several “Best of Milford” Awards, many Broadway World Connecticut Awards and the Cultural Contribution Award presented by the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce. The 2025-26 Pantochino season is sponsored byDennis Beirne of William Pitt Southeby’s International Realty.
Performances of “What Now Voyager” are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, and Sundays at 2pm. A special Saturday matinee performance will be held October 18th at 2pm. Seating is cabaret-style and audiences are invited to bring their own food and drink to enjoy during the performance. The Milford Arts Council, The MAC is located at 40 Railroad Avenue in Downtown Milford. Parking is free at showtime in all train station lots.
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