Author: Stuart Brown

West Hartford native Andrea Grody, who is the musical director of the Broadway hit, The Band’s Visit, will be a guest on the radio program “On Broadway” on Sunday, February 18, 2018 from 5:30-6:30pm. The show airs on the Trinity College radio station, WRTC-FM, 89.3. It can also be heard via live streaming at WRTCFM.com. “I’m very happy to have Andrea back on my show,” stated long-time host Stuart Brown. “In February 2012 Andrea came on to talk about Strange Faces, a musical she wrote as part of her senior thesis at Princeton University.” On the February 18th program Ms.… read more

A glorious production of “Evita” is onstage at the Westport Playhouse this weekend, thanks to a collaboration the Playhouse has with BMA, the Broadway Method Academy in Fairfield. BMA is a studio program that trains young students for careers in theater, by bringing them together with artists, actors, and other theater folk to learn techniques and to experience productions. In the case of “Evita,” a large student chorus provided singing and dancing and staging under the direction of Connor Deane [New Canaan will recognize the name of Kitchens by Deane – yes, related]! Music direction was by J Scott Handley.… read more

by David Rosenberg Who speaks for America? Poets or politicians? Or both? After a year of gigantic hurricanes, global warming warnings, terrorism, species extinctions, mass shootings and threats of atomic annihilation, to whom do we turn for solace and hope? One of the great American poets is Woody Guthrie, subject of a raved-about tribute, “Woody Sez,” now at the Westport Country Playhouse. Inheriting the mantle of Walt Whitman, who was dubbed “the bard of democracy,” Guthrie remained ever-hopeful. “Woody Sez,” a fully-staged work that combines biography, history and music, stars award-winning David M. Lutken as the legendary folk singer. According… read more

Broadway music celebrating Halloween will takeover the airwaves on the show music radio program, “On Broadway,” on Sunday, October 29th from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on WRTC-FM, 89.3. The show can also be heard live over the Internet at http://www.wrtc.com. Host Stuart Brown will play music from a variety of Broadway musicals that have a haunted, supernatural theme including “Jekyll and Hyde,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Wicked,” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”  “There are quite a few Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals that are perfect for the Halloween season,” stated Brown, who has hosted “On Broadway” for over 22 years. “We’ll have… read more

Portraying passion on stage — whether it’s a steamy romance or just hot-and-heavy sex — has been a theatrical staple from the Greeks to the Bard to contemporary work where making love can be oh-so-realistic. So how do actors — especially those who don’t know each other— make the love connection believable? In other words, how do they have sex with strangerThat’s the question I posed to Chris Ghaffari and Jessica Love, who star in the fittingly named “Sex with Strangers,” Laura Eason’s two-actor play at the Westport Country Playhouse Sept. 26 to Oct. 14. Greenwich native Ghaffari is no… read more

Broadway Lighting Designer and League of Professional Theatre Women member Dawn Chiang will lead an interactive discussion on how visual vocabulary and theatrical crafts contribute to the emotional life of the storytelling art Monday, Oct. 23 in Norwalk. Joining Chiang for the “Find Your Light!” panel are Elizabeth Williamson, artistic director at Hartford Stage, Costume Designer Tilly Grimes and Scenic Designer Jessica Parks. The event, produced by Co-Founder Marie Reynolds, will kick of the 2017-2018 season for the CT Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women, now in its second year. A networking time with light refreshments will be held from  5:30… read more

Connecticut Critics Circle member Dave Rosenberg reviews the original cast recordings from last year’s Broadway season: A Bronx Tale Anastasia Bandstand Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Come From Away Dear Evan Hansen Groundhog Day Hello, Dolly! War Paint Read more… read more

by Frank Rizzo Shhhhh. Listen to the quiet in Beth Wohl’s play Small Mouth Sounds, which is launching its national tour at New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre’s Aug. 31 and continuing through Sunday, Sept. 24. But more important, watch the characters closely, look for the slightest signs of revelation and see how they react—and illuminate—their selves without (almost) saying a word. The mostly dialogue-less play is set on a silent retreat where a mixed group of folks have come to find spiritual healing or new starts for their lives. Read more… read more

By Lauren Yarger Rodgers and Hammerstein’s OKLAHOMA! is one of America’s treasures of musical theater, so it’s intriguing that it is just now getting its first treatment at Goodspeed, where it runs through Sept. 27. It is also the first time Director Jenn Thompson has worked with the musical. Read more… read more