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11/23/2016 06:00 AMH ow do you like your holiday entertainment? Sentimental? Serious? Classical? Popular? Young child-friendly? Cynical?
You can find performances that will entertain you no matter how you answered the question. Connecticut’s varied theater and musical venues offer a wide variety of holiday events suitable for all ages and tastes.
The Classics
Just as A Christmas Story and White Christmas are among the classic holiday films you are bound to see on television, A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker, and The Messiah are classics of theater and music.
The most famous production of A Christmas Carol is the one that has been enchanting audiences at Hartford Stage for 19 years. It runs Friday, Nov. 25 through Friday, Dec. 30. This production, which breaks box office records every year, was adapted and originally directed by then Artistic Director Michael Wilson. He brought it from Dallas-Fort Worth when he arrived in Hartford and it has been a smash ever since. This production is officially called— A Christmas Carol —A Ghost Story of Christmas. It features lots of ghosts, not just Marley, and they fly around the stage. It also features music of the period, but this is not a musical. Many of the cast members have returned year after year.
Bill Raymond has announced that this is his last year as Scrooge, and as Michael Wilson has said, “Bill Raymond and I created Hartford Stage’s A Christmas Carol together 19 years ago. He has, for 17 of the last 19 years, put his inimitable, distinctive mark on one of the greatest characters of English literature. He joins actors such as Lionel Barrymore, Alistair Sims, Albert Finney, and George C. Scott in an elite club of extraordinary actors who have left their indelible mark on Dickens’ classic story of redemption and grace.”
Each year the cast is joined by area children and students from the University of Hartford’s Hartt School. The show is recommended for children eight and older, though my granddaughters were about six when they started seeing it. The ghosts can be scary, so use your own judgment.
As part of the production, Holiday Market Days are held before specific Saturday and Sunday matinees. Local artisans offer unique gift items for sale in the lobby between 12:30 and 2 p.m. For information, visit hartfordstage.org/Christmas-carol or call 860-527-5151.
Handel’s The Messiah is the most famous piece of classical holiday music. While many groups perform it during the holiday season, the New Haven Symphony together with the Christ Church Choir will offer four performances conducted by Maestro William Boughton. The performances kick off on Thursday, Dec. 15 at Woolsey Hall in New Haven. At that performance there will concession sales and other features that raise money for the New Haven Community Soup Kitchen. Additional performances are Friday, Dec. 16 at Sacred Heart University Chapel, Fairfield; Saturday, Dec. 17 at the First Congregational Church, Madison; and Sunday, Dec. 18 at the Performing Arts Center at Middletown High School. Tickets and information are available NewHavenSymphony.org or 203-865-0831.
The Kate in Old Saybrook will present the annual Handel Messiah Sing (or Listen!) on Sunday, Dec. 18. The professional soloists and the chorus of talented singers conduct a sing-a-long for everyone. Or you can just listen. Visit thekate.org or call 877-503-1286 for information and tickets.
The Nutcracker is the classic holiday ballet and many dance groups offer their versions of it. New Haven Ballet presents its production of the Tchaikovsky classic at the Shubert Theater from Friday, Dec. 9 to Sunday, Dec. 11. It features students from the Ballet and live music by the Ballet Orchestra. Guest artists from major ballet companies dance as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier.
If those dates or location aren’t convenient, the Nutmeg Ballet will present its production at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 17 and 18. The cast includes professional trainees from the Nutmeg Conservatory of the Arts. For information, visit thebushnell.org.
Want a more irreverent The Nutcracker? The Bushnell is presenting The Hip-Hop Nutcracker, described as a holiday mash-up of the classic. There’s a DJ, a violinist, dancers, and Kurtis Blow as the special guest MC. It’s on Sunday, Dec. 4. For information, visit thebushnell.org.
The Eastern Connecticut Ballet stages its annual presentation of The Nutcracker on Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11 at the Garde Arts Center, 325 State Street, New London. Audiences will experience live music from the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and a cast led by New York City Ballet’s Sara Mearns along with local performers and a locally inspired seafaring theme. For information, visit www.gardearts.org.
The Kate is also presenting the Bolshoi Ballet’s Nutcracker on its HD screen on Sunday, Dec. 17.
For Younger Children
Younger children (from 3 to 8 or 9) may get restless at a full-length production that’s two hours or more even if it has an intermission. Rest assured, Connecticut’s performing venues haven’t forgotten them during the holidays. While these may be ideal for children, they often pleasures for the adults accompanying them.
Bridgeport’s Downtown Cabaret Theater has had a well-respected children’s theater that’s run year-round for decades. It is geared to children below pre-teen age and has the added benefit that it’s set up as a cabaret with round tables and you can either purchase or bring food and drink that will help keep younger kids occupied. For the holiday season, the theater offers its take on Frosty, the Snowman, which runs through Thursday, Dec. 29. Tickets are quite reasonable, but many weekend dates sell out early. For tickets, visit mycabaret.org or call 203-576-1636.
A little farther afield, Westport Country Playhouse is presenting A Very Electric Christmas produced by the Lightwire Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 18. As the press materials the show includes “timeless holiday hit tunes by Nat King Cole, Mariah Carey, Tchaikovsky, and more. Santa’s helpers are putting the final touches on presents as a young bird finds himself lost at the North Pole. As he makes his way home, he meets dancing poinsettias, Nutcracker soldiers, and other festive characters.” Recommended for ages 5 and up. For tickets, visit westportplayhouse.org or call 888-927-7529.
The Bushnell is once again presenting Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: the Musical, which is based on the classic television show. It’s the third year that Rudolph, Santa, and the other reindeer will delight the entire family. It runs Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9 and 10. For information, visit thebushnell.org.
Another Frosty is at The Kate on Sunday, Dec. 11. The Theatreworks USA production features original music. The plot has been changed from the popular television version. In this version, “A young orphan named Billy discovers magic in a stolen hat. When he places the hat on a snowman’s head, the snowman comes to life! But can Frosty the Snowman help Billy find his real family in time for Christmas?” It’s recommended for K-5. For information, visit TheKate.org.
Celtic Holidays
I don’t know when it happened, but concerts on the theme of Celtic Christmas have become very popular; it probably traces back to the very popular Irish Tenors and their concerts and television shows. So for lovers of all things Celtic, there are many choices.
The Kate has two such shows. On Saturday, Dec. 3 the Tartan Terrors performs Christmas Celtic Style, which includes comedy, music, and dance. On Thursday, Dec. 22, “Cherish the Ladies, a Celtic Christmas” features five talented women. According the press materials, the evening includes “a blend of virtuoso instrumental talents, beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements, and stunning step dancing.” For information, visit TheKate.org.
Lyman Center at Southern Connecticut State University presents Christmas with the Celtic Tenors on Sunday, Dec. 18. Matthew Gilsenan, James Nelson, and Daryl Simpson perform music from classical to folk to Irish and pop. Recently they have added a more contemporary edge. For tickets, visit southernct.edu/lyman.
More Music
Orchestra New England gets the holiday season off with its 37th annual Colonial Concert on Saturday, Nov. 26 at United Church on the Green, New Haven. Under the direction of James Sinclair, the concert takes us back to the music and atmosphere of the Colonial era with a mixture of familiar classical music, holiday music, and some long forgotten music. Prepare for wigs, candles, and waistcoats as Thomas Jefferson, minister to France, visits New Haven. For tickets, call 203-776-4690 or visit www.orchestranewengland.org.
The Elm City Girls’ Choir will join the New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s Pops Concert, Holiday Extravaganza. The two shows, Saturday, Dec. 10 (at Hamden Middle School) and Sunday, Dec. 11 (Shelton High School) almost always sell out early. It features a mixture of light classics as well as popular holiday music and carols. Santa often appears and there’s a sing-along. Tickets and information are available NewHavenSymphony.org or 203-865-0831.
The Hartford Symphony annually presents its Holiday Cirque Spectacular under conductor Carolyn Kuan at The Bushnell. While the symphony plays various holiday inspired music, the Cirque de la Sumphonie, which includes aerialists, contortionists, and jugglers, perform. For information, visit thebushnell.org.
The Hartford Gay Men’s Chorus (HGMC) and the Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus (CTGMC) both have holiday concerts. These are talented musicians and their shows feature great arrangements and often some humor. The HGMC performs A Wish Come True! Friday to Sunday, Dec. 2 to 4 at the Aetna Theater at The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. For tickets, visithgmc.org.
CTGMC performs its holiday show Christmas Stories Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 17 and 18 at the theater at the Co-op High School for the Arts on College Street, New Haven. For information and tickets, visit ctgmc.org.
Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven has had a men and boys choir since the 1880s and added a Girls and Men Choir in 2003. The two choirs have toured and performed throughout the U.S., Canada and England. This year’s concert includes Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols and carols from The Alfred Burt Carol Collection. These were written by Burt, a well-known American composer and sent as annual Christmas cards. The annual Christmas Concert is on Friday, Dec. 16. A donation is requested; for information visit music@trinitynewhaven.org or call 203-776-2616.
The Humorous and Cynical
Sometimes we need some spice mixed with our holiday good feelings. TheaterWorks in Hartford is bringing back its very successful Christmas on the Rocks from Tuesday, Nov. 29 to Friday, Dec. 23. It’s accurately described as “an offbeat collection of twisted holiday tales.” A number of current playwrights have contributed scenes that show how the children from famous Christmas tales—from Ralphie and Tiny Tim to Charlie Brown and Clara from The Nutcracker—turned out as adults. This year, a new scene has been added. Last year’s cast, Ronn Carroll as the bartender, Jenn Harris as the female characters, and Matthew Wilkas as the male, return. Tickets are on sale at theaterworkshartford.org or 860-527-7838.
The Kate presents Will & Anthony’s Broadway Holiday on Friday, Dec. 2. Will and Anthony Nunziata are a singing and comedy duo (they are brothers). It’s billed as reminiscent of the classic Christmas specials of Bing Crosby with a contemporary flair and celebrates the joys of life, music and family. The concert includes fresh takes on classic Christmas songs along with Broadway hits and Italian music. Expect to hear such songs as “Joy to the World,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Silent Night,” “The Christmas Song,” “Lullaby of Broadway,” “O Sole Mio,” and more. Tickets are available at TheKate.org
The Santaland Diaries, based on David Sedaris’s book, takes the stage at the Shubert in New Haven, Friday, Nov. 25 to Sunday, Nov. 27. The one man show recounts the adventures of an out-of-work actor who becomes one of Santa’s elves at the Macy’s on 34th Street. It’s a behind-the-scenes look. Call the box office at 203-562-5666 or visit Shubert.com.
West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park is presenting a “strictly adult” show, Mama D’s Christmas Stocking, described as a celebration of all things sexy and bawdy in an evening of music, dance and comedy. Shows begin Friday, Dec. 9 and run on selected dates to Friday, Dec. 30, plus a special New Year’s Eve show with lots of extras. For tickets, call 860-523-5900 x10 or visit www.playhouseonpark.org.
More Classics
Connecticut’s Joe Landry adapted the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life into an unique stage presentation. The holiday classic is brought to live as a live 1940s radio broadcast complete with microphones and the sound effects man. This show has been performed throughout the country. You can see it this year at the Music Theater of Connecticut in Norwalk on weekends from Friday Dec. 9 to Sunday, Dec. 18. For tickets, call 203-454-3883 or visit musictheaterofct.com.
Elf became a new classic almost from the time the film starring Will Ferrell was released in 2003. In 2010 Elf—the Musical hit Broadway earning several Tony nominations. Each year since then, there’s been a tour of the show. This year, Elf—the Musical at the Shubert in New Haven from Tuesday, Dec. 20 to Saturday, Dec. 24. I enjoyed the show and the CD; it is a tuneful delight. For more information, call 203-562-5666 or visit Shubert.com.
Ivoryton Playhouse is continuing its multi-part Christmas story, The Bells of Dublin with Part III: A New York Fairytale. Once again it is written and directed by artistic director Jacqueline Hubbard. This year for the holidays, Paddy brings his whole family to New York City where on Christmas Eve at O’Lunney’s Pub, Maggie the bag lady settles in to weave a story of the holidays via Christmas carols, Irish songs, and a little vaudeville. R. Bruce Connelly heads the cast of audience favorites. It runs Wednesday, Dec. 7 to Sunday, Dec. 18. For tickets. visit ivorytonplayhouse.org or call 860-767-7318.