CONNECTICUT THEATER REVIEWS

On Saturday, July 27, I had the pleasure of seeing the Castle Craig Players production of the musical GYPSY at the Almira F. Stephan Memorial Playhouse in Meriden, CT.  This tale, based on a true story, has book written by Arthur Laurents, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.  ...

On Friday, July 26, I had the pleasure of seeing the musical comedy SHREK, THE MUSICAL, as put on by Musicals at Richter in Danbury, CT.  Directed by Lindsay O'Neil, this talented cast brings these characters to life! The outdoor venue on the grounds of the Richter House Arts Center is perfect for ...

I witnessed the best stage effects I have ever seen anywhere (including Broadway), when  on Saturday, July 20, I had the pleasure of seeing BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at the Sharon Playhouse, in Sharon, CT!   While this story is likely familiar to most people, the Sharon Playhouse grips the audience ri...

There's an old saying from W.C. Fields that says 'Never work with animals or children'. This quote is often assumed to mean that a performer should avoid this, as children and animals can be quite unpredictable and/or unreliable. But based on what I saw on stage during Goodspeed Musicals' latest pro...

On Thursday, July 18, I had the pleasure of seeing America's East Coast Premiere of BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA, as put on by Thrown Stone, at the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance, in Ridgefield, CT.  This play, written by Anna Moench, is yet another brilliant selection by Thrown Stone, bringing a meani...

Live theatre creates a connection with the audience in a way unlike any other medium. Sometimes this connection builds excitement, sometimes it sparks compassion, and on other occasions, it forces you to confront something uncomfortable or difficult to create greater awareness and understanding. The...

Matilda moved more than just a cup and some chalk at the Thomastown Opera House. She also moved a lot of hearts and souls. With the talented cast and acrobatic children and teens, you could tell that everyone was having fun....

'Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike' is one of those shows that has the potential to make you laugh, cry, cheer, jeer, sympathize, and feel hopeful and uncomfortable all within the span of a single conversation. It takes a tight cast and crew to capitalize on that potential, and TheatreWorks New Mi...

Choreographer Doug Shankman makes the dance his own in this energetic production of a long-time favorite....

On Thursday, July 11, I had the pleasure of seeing the Connecticut debut of Molly Smith Metzler's emotionally intense dark comedy CRY IT OUT, as put on by Thrown Stone at the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance in Ridgefield, CT.  Thrown Stone is yet again masterfully performing a production that imme...

Nothing says live like things not going according to plan. After all, live is what gives theater its magic. Luckily, sometimes performances don't go according to plan but it's the professionality dedication of the cast and crew that brings it all back together....

When the world outside is challenging, political tensions are escalating, uncertainty is in the air and pressures are building to the breaking point, what can you do? If you lived in Berlin in the early 1930's you might have found yourself escaping from the rise of Nazism by visiting an avant-garde ...

On Saturday, June 29, I had the pleasure of seeing another first-rate production at the Connecticut Cabaret Theatre in Berlin, CT, CALENDAR GIRLS. Based on a true story, this comedy is written by Tim Firth. As director, Kris McMurray continues to bring out the best in this stellar cast that includ...

On Friday, June 28, I had the pleasure of seeing the farcical Monty Python musical SPAMALOT performed outdoors by Musicals at Richter, on the grounds of the Richter House, next to the Richter Park Golf Course in Danbury, CT. I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience with Musicals at Richter. I am v...

On Thursday, June 27, I had the pleasure of seeing another Fairfield Center Stage masterpiece, BARNUM in a spectacular manner that I have never seen it before, outdoors, outside the Fairfield Museum and History Center. The performers are so talented that the show comes across as a brilliant combin...

From George Gershwin through such musical luminaries as Franz Lizst, Frederick Chopin, and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the actor, playwright and composer Hershey Felder has brought the life and music of any number of musical luminaries to audiences across the United States, Canada and the world, winni...

On Saturday, June 22, I had the pleasure of seeing a phenomenal performance of CRAZY FOR YOU, the musical, at the Sharon Playhouse in Sharon, CT. With book by Ken Ludwig, music by George Gershwin, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin this musical romantic comedy kept the audience entertained from start to fi...

PIPPIN at the Rocky Hill Community Center invited all, old and newcomers, to take part in an endearing tale about the search to find one's exceptional place in life....

Fairfield County native, and winner of season one of "The Voice," Javier Colon, will be starring as one of Bridgeport's favorite sons this summer when he portrays the Greatest Showman on Earth in the musical Barnum at the Fairfield Museum Commons the weekend of June 27 - 29....

Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew, the third of her Detroit trilogy of plays, opened at the Westport Country Playhouse. The theater company lives up to its tag line, 'Theater worth talking about,' in this powerfully written and well-acted ensemble play....

What happens if you take the upbeat and danceable pop music of a Swedish supergroup, place it in a beautiful sun-drenched setting, add in a dash of comedy, some athletic dancing, and a pinch of bright colors, and wrap it all in a simple, but entertaining, story? You get MAMMA MIA!, the hit musical f...

What starts off as a "he said, she said" recounting of what appears to be a simple hookup between two Princeton freshmen turns into something more penetrating and harrowing in playwright Anna Ziegler's powerful and jarring "Actually," which is now running at Hartford's Theaterworks through June 22....

On Friday, June 7, I had the pleasure of seeing ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST at the Ridgefield Theater Barn in Ridgefield, CT.  This brilliantly written and phenomenally performed dark drama is based on the novel by Ken Kesey and adapted for the stage by Dale Wasserman.  Director Kevin Sosbe br...

What starts off as a 'he said, she said' recounting of what appears to be a simple hookup between two Princeton freshmen turns into something more penetrating and harrowing in playwright Anna Ziegler's powerful and jarring 'Actually,' which is now running at Hartford's Theaterworks through June 22....

With an excellent cast, THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is highly entertaining, at ACT of Connecticut, in Ridgefield, CT. This show has the audience laughing throughout, while finding ways to inject strong messages of truth among the musical comedy. If you want to spell a wonderful time...