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07/06/2017 12:01 AM“Something’s Coming”: Ivoryton Playhouse is presenting the classic musical West Side Story through Sunday, July 30. Todd Underwood is returning to Ivoryton to direct the modern retelling of Romeo & Juliet set in NYC in the 1950s. The score is by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It’s a great show for young people, particularly since so many read the Shakespeare play in high school. For tickets visit ivorytonplayhouse.org or call 860-767-7318.
Newsboys Take on Publishers: Next up at the Connecticut Repertory Theater on the UConn campus in Storrs is the Disney musical Newsies which tells a fictionalized version about the boys who hawked newspapers in NYC in 1899 and went on strike against the publishers including William Randolph Hearst. Christopher d’Amboise—Tony-nominee, ballet dancer, choreographer and more—will direct and choreograph. The cast includes Jim Schubin as the leader of the boys, Tina Fabrique and Richard R. Henry. It runs Thursday, July 6 to Sunday, July 16. For tickets call 860-486-2113 or visit crt.uconn.edu.
Military Women: Westport Country Playhouse is presenting the 2016 Lucille Lortel Award-winning play Grounded Tuesday, July 11 to Saturday, July 29. The play is about a U.S. Air Force pilot grounded by unexpected pregnancy, but assigned as a drone pilot. It’s directed by Liz Diamond, a resident director at Yale Rep. She said of the title role, “the Pilot [is] a vibrant, gutsy young woman whose spirit is shattered by her experience at the controls of a military drone.” For tickets, visit westportplayhouse.org or call 888-927-7529.
In Memoriam: A. R. Gurney passed away at 86 recently. Besides being one of my favorite playwrights, Gurney lived for many years in Connecticut. He was the author of Love Letters, Sylvia, The Dining Room, The Cocktail Hour and many other plays that while giving us a look at a vanishing lifestyle revealed many things about all of us and our families.
Grab Your Partner: The cast of Goodspeed’s Oklahoma! are practicing their do-si-dos in preparation for the show’s opening on Friday, July 14. It runs through Sept. 23. Jenn Thompson who directed last year’s Bye, Bye Birdie is at the helm of this classic Rodgers & Hammerstein show. Rhett Guter, who was Birdie last year, plays Curly and Samantha Bruce is Laurey. Lots of special events and packages are available. For information or tickets visit goodspeed.org or call 860-873-8668.
New Theater: You can experience very new plays in a gorgeous setting overlooking Long Island Sound at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford. The annual National Musical Conference and National Playwrights Conference bring outstanding directors and actors to work on and perform public staged readings of new works. The musical conference runs through Friday, July 14 and the playwright conference through Saturday, July 29. Probably the hottest ticket at the musical conference is for staged readings of Superhero with music and lyrics by Ton Kitt (Next to Normal) and featuring Tony winner Kelli O’Hara. Among the people working with playwrights are Doug Hughes (former artistic director of Long Wharf), David Auburn (writer of Proof) and actors Maryann Plunkett, Jill Eikenberry, Frank Wood and others. For information and tickets visit The O’Neill.org or call 860-443-1238.
Broadway Closings: As summer arrives, and after the Tony awards, a number of shows are ending their runs; some were planned limited runs and some weren’t. Indecent first announced a closing in June but now the show which received multiple nominations and won the award for outstanding direction will be open through Sunday, Aug. 6. The Pulitzer-prize winning Sweat has closed, but Oslo, the Tony winner for outstanding drama has extended its run to Sunday, July 16. The limited run of Six Degrees of Separation has closed earlier than expected, despite several Tony nominations, but no awards. Glenn Close and the limited run of Sunset Boulevard has closed and the revival of Cats will close Dec. 30 before going on tour. One wonders if anyone cares. On Your Feet, the bio-musical about Gloria Estefan will close Sunday, Aug. 20. The national tour will play the Bushnell this year.
Unfortunate: Whether you agree with or don’t agree with the interpretation of Julius Caesar that played in Central Park produced by the NY Shakespeare Festival, it is distressing that people interrupted the performances. They used their free tickets—that’s right—free—to interfere with the experience of those who wanted to see the production. I’ve heard that the production has been emotionally difficult for many of the performers, some of whom have been harassed on social media for their part in the show. Has anyone read the First Amendment?
Karen Isaacs is an East Haven resident. To check out her reviews for New York and Connecticut shows, visit 2ontheaisle.wordpress.com. She’s a member of both the Connecticut Critics Circle and New York’s Outer Critics Circle.