Author: Stuart Brown

By Brad Durrell, Reprinted from The Connecticut Post, Sunday, February 24, 2019 Dolly Curtis still remembers when actress Carol Channing sang her a song. Curtis and the late Leo Meyer were co-hosting their weekly radio show “Backstage Buzz” on WPKN and talking to Channing by phone in California. “She asked if she could sing ‘Hello, Dolly!’ to me, and then she did it on the air,” says Curtis, a longtime arts enthusiast from Easton. Channing, who died in January at age 97, is one of many theater luminaries Curtis and Meyer interviewed on the show. Meyer knew Channing from his… read more

How Presidents have been portrayed in Off-Broadway and Broadway musicals and plays is the theme of an exhibit now showing at the Silas Bronson Library in Waterbury, CT during the month of February. The display will feature Playbills, LPs and CDs from the collection of Dr. Stuart Brown, Director of Student Services at the Waterbury Campus of the University of Connecticut and President of the CT Critics Circle. “I’ve been attending Off-Broadway and Broadway productions for over 45 years,” said Brown, who has hosted the radio program “On Broadway,” which airs every Sunday night from 5:30-6:30pm on WRTC-FM, 89.3, at… read more

You asked, we answered. How to get a play in front of the right people and get it produced is one of the most often asked questions we have hear from members of the CT Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. Co-Founder Mary Miko has assembled a panel of experts to discuss the topic and answer questions during a panel discussion Thursday, Feb. 7, from 2 to 4 pm at the Klein Memorial Auditorium, 910 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport (Snow date is Friday, Feb. 8). Klein Education Director and Chapter Member Maureen Hamill will moderate the panel, which will… read more

It was an audacious idea and its ending was equally spectacular. The American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford is no more, consumed by fire. While its beginning was auspicious, perhaps the seeds of the problems that would haunt theater were also present. In 1950, Lawrence Langer had the vision and proclaimed that a theater patterned to some extent on the Old Globe would be built on the banks of the Housatonic River. It would be the third Shakespeare theater/festival in towns named Stratford. Besides the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford on Avon, there was a successful festival in Stratford, Ontario. Langer… read more

Melia Bensussen has been named the next Artistic Director of the Tony Award-winning theatre. She will assume the role in June. Ms. Bensussen will be the sixth artistic director, as well as the first woman, to lead the theatre in its 55-year history. She succeeds Darko Tresnjak, who has served as Artistic Director since 2011 and will depart Hartford Stage at the close of the 2018-19 season, Michael Wilson (1998-2011), Mark Lamos (1981-1998), Paul Weidner (1968-1981), and Jacques Cartier (1963-1968). In addition to her highly-regarded work, Hartford Stage leaders were impressed by Bensussen’s passion for reinterpreting classics and directing new… read more

Naugatuck Patch Theatre Reviewer Nancy Sasso Janis shares some memories about the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre, affectionately known at the Shakespeare Theatre. Dedicated to the memory of my father, Austin N. Sasso It was the norm when I was in high school in Stratford to attend at least one Shakespeare play every year at the American Shakespeare Theatre and no one misses this theater more than me. – From Nancy Sasso Janis’ review of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS at Hartford Stage Early Sunday morning, I was heartbroken to read that the beloved Shakespeare Theatre was gone forever. A treasure has… read more

What better way to dispel the frigid cold and darkness of the winter months than a visit to The Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals in East Haddam. For the 14th year, Goodspeed is offering up a splendid weekend of theatrical treasures for your edification and entertainment, from Friday, January 18 to Sunday, January 20. Without the need for skis, sleds or skates, you can travel swiftly and smoothly, without fear of spills, to see the latest in musical magic. Students from the Hartt School of Music and the Boston Conservatory of Music will present a trio of staged readings beginning… read more

The 2019 Ivoryton Playhouse season opens on March 20, 2019. For tickets and information, visit www.ivorytonplayhouse.org or call (860) 767-7318. BURT & ME Book by Larry McKenna, Lyrics by Hal David, Music by Burt Bacharach Wednesday, March 20th – Sunday, April 7, 2019 If you fell in love to the music of Burt Bacharach, then you won’t want to miss this nostalgic romantic musical comedy. Joe and Lacey were high school sweethearts who drifted apart when they attended different colleges after graduation. Years later, their paths cross again as Joe devises a clever plan to win Lacey back… with the… read more

Westport Country Playhouse announces its upcoming 2019 season, featuring five productions, playing April 23 through November 23, under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos. The Connecticut professional theater’s lineup includes two musicals, two dramas, and a comedy. 2019 season tickets are now on sale. Single tickets for 2019 productions will go on sale in March. “I am happy to announce our first show of the season will be ‘Hamilton’ creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘In the Heights,’ winner of four Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score,” said Lamos. “With an infectious score featuring a blend of hip-hop, salsa, merengue, and… read more

Westport Country Playhouse announces its upcoming 2019 season, featuring five productions, playing April 23 through November 23, under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos. The Connecticut professional theater’s lineup includes two musicals, two dramas, and a comedy. 2019 season tickets are now on sale. Single tickets for 2019 productions will go on sale in March. “I am happy to announce our first show of the season will be ‘Hamilton’ creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘In the Heights,’ winner of four Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score,” said Lamos. “With an infectious score featuring a blend of hip-hop, salsa, merengue, and… read more