Author: Stuart Brown

It was an unusual gathering on Long Wharf Theatre’s Stage II last Friday. Assembled to discuss Long Wharf’s production of Doug Wright’s I Am My Own Wife, which started previews this week and opens next Wednesday, was the entire creative team for the show, led in discussion by Patrick J. Dunn, Executive Director of New Haven Pride Center. In addition to Rebecca Martínez, the show’s director, and its star, Mason Alexander Park, the discussion included set designer Britton Mauk, costume designer Daniel Tyler Mathews, lighting designer Jennifer Fok, sound designer and original music composer Kimberly S. O’Loughlin, assistant director Kevin… read more

Plays for and about women, written by women and starring women, will be celebrated at the Ivoryton Playhouse on Saturday February 22 at 2 p.m. and continuing at 7 p.m. For the fourth year, the Women Playwrights Initiative will serve as an incubator to foster new works that view women in a quartet of unique situations, ones that will engender laughter and tears, and stimulate conversations and networking possibilities. From 170 submitted works, four will be highlighted. The four playwrights hail from the state of Washington, California, Indiana and Maryland and will each receive the Ellie Award and a $500… read more

Resist the urge to hibernate during the dark, cold wintery days. If you do, you will miss many promising theater productions and events. Right now, East Haddam is buzzing with activity. In January, with Goodspeed’s spring production still months away, you might think it would be quiet on the Goodspeed campus. Yet it is alive with actors, directors, composers, lyricists and book writers. As soon as it becomes January, rehearsals start for the Festival of New Musicals, which is entering its 15th year. The purpose is let the creative people behind new musicals see their works performed in front of… read more

Arts criticism is changing rapidly, and the internet has created more opportunities for people to get involved in the field, but success means more than just posting an opinion. Theater critic Lauren Yarger will run a five-week “Everyone’s a Critic” theater reviewing workshop at the Storyteller’s Cottage on Thursdays, starting Jan. 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. The Storyteller’s Cottage is located at 750 Hopmeadow St. For more information, call 860-877-6099. The class will also attend a performance of Pride & Prejudice at Playhouse on Park on Feb. 20. Visit https://www.storytellerscottage.com/ to reserve a spot for $180, which includes admission… read more

While the weather outside is frightful, there is a place that is warm and truly delightful: the 15th Annual Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals in East Haddam. Produced by Goodspeed Musicals Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre, this three day event will take place on Friday, January 17 to Sunday, January 19 and it’s the highlight of the winter season for all musical theatre aficionados. The weekend begins on Friday at 7:30 p.m. with the exotic tale of “The Tattooed Lady,” with book by Erin Courtney and Max Vernon and music and lyrics by Max Vernon. What choice… read more

It’s that time of year for ten best lists, and look backs at the previous year. Here’s my top productions for 2019 in Connecticcut. They aren’t in any specific order. Quixote Nuevo: The new administration at Hartford Stage got off to a fantastic start with this modern adaptation of the Don Quixote story set in a Texas border town by Octavio Solis. The Iliad: This was an amazing retelling of the classic Greek epic by Homer featuring one fine performance by Rachel Christopher. It was enthralling. Bravo to Long Wharf for bringing it to Connecticut. Mlima’s Tale: Lynn Nottage’s play,… read more

Brief Cameo Productions is proud to announce the upcoming opening of its inaugural production: Ragtime the Musical in Concert. Written by the award-winning composer/lyricist team of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Once on This Island, Seussical and Lucky Stiff), musical direction by Jill Brunelle, directed by Connecticut native Jim Clark and based on E.L. Doctorow’s distinguished novel, Ragtime is a truly unique and powerful portrait of America that is sure to inspire actors and audiences alike. Ragtime will run for one night only on January 11, 2020 at the Ivoryton Playhouse. The performance is at 7:00 p.m. and doors open… read more

“Tis the season to celebrate the holidays and area theatres are busy with jolly, entertaining and heartwarming productions. Start off visiting that energetic and enthusiastic elf Buddy who is in residence at Waterbury’s Seven Angels Theatre until Sunday, December 22. Jimmy Donohue plays the boy who crawls into Santa’s bag and ends up at the North Pole believing he is one of Santa’s helpers. Growing big and afraid he is a failure as a toy maker leads him to discover he is human. Buddy sets off for New York City to find his father. This musical adventure “Elf” is a… read more

Glenn Close’s iconic gown from Sunset Boulevard, one of Annie’s dresses from Annie, Dolly’s famous red gown from Hello, Dolly!, Alex Baldwin’s suit from A Streetcar Named Desire and much, much more. In fact, nearly 250,000 costumes and accessories are stored at Goodspeed’s costume collection warehouse in East Haddam. It began in the 1980s when the theater began purchasing costumes from Broadway shows and tours that were closing. It has grown since then to include not just costumes from Broadway but also from Opera productions. It includes everything from hates, gloves, purses, shoes, gowns, suits, shirts and even pantaloons are… read more

Halloween themed music from the Off-Broadway and Broadway stage take over the airwaves of Sounds of Broadway (SoundsofBroadway.com) – the 24/7 online Broadway music radio station – from Monday, October 28th thru Thursday, October 31st. Beginning at 10:00am EST, over ten hours a day will be devoted to scary and spine-tingling songs from the musical theater. “There will be the well-known shows such as The Addams Family, Damn Yankees, The Phantom of the Opera, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Young Frankenstein,” said Stuart Brown, who launched the radio station last April. “But there will also be a number of… read more