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01/03/2018 11:01 PMArlo’s Dad: Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie is returning to Connecticut from Tuesday, Jan. 9 through Saturday, Jan. 20 at Westport Country Playhouse. The show, which ran at TheaterWorks in Hartford several years ago, just completed a successful off-Broadway run. Its star and co-creator David M. Lutken plays the famous folk singer/song writer. You’ll hear all Guthrie’s famous music and learn about his life. For tickets, call 888-927-7529 or visit www.westportplayhouse.org.
An Unusual Childhood Home: What would it be like to live in a library? Not figuratively, but literally. Feeding the Dragon, which is at Hartford Stage from Thursday, Jan. 11 to Sunday, Feb. 4, is about a young girl whose father worked at a New York Public Library. He took care of the furnace and had an apartment in the library. Author and performer Sharon Washington has created this work based on her own experiences as that young girl. For tickets, visit www.hartfordstage.org or call 860-527-5151.
From Chester to NYC? A Sign of the Times, the musical featuring songs made famous by Petula Clark that had its world premiere at Goodspeed’s Terris Theater in 2016, is moving forward. The show recently had readings over two days in New York City. Let’s see what happens next.
Midler Raising Funds: Bette Midler has added one last performance as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!, but don’t expect to get tickets. The performance on Sunday evening, Jan. 14 will be a benefit for the Actors Fund. It’s also David Hyde Pierce’s last performance as Horace Vandergelder and Taylor Trensch’s as Barnaby Tucker. Ticket prices will range from $250 to $10,000. The Actors Fund provides many services including financial aid, affordable housing, healthcare, and more to performers. Hello, Dolly! will reopen with Bernadette Peters as Dolly, Victor Garber as Horace, and Charlie Stemp as Barnaby on Saturday, Jan. 20.
It’s Never Too Late: Adults who always wanted to be in a Broadway show have their chance with musical theater camp for adults. It’s called Broadway Weekends, because the sessions are mainly weekends in New York City. It’s run by four young professionals: Jeanna de Waal (Kinky Boots), Alysha Umphress (On the Town), Cody Williams (Memphis), and Isaac Alter (The Great Comet). No audition is required. Campers learn an excerpt from a popular musical and performed it for family and friends. Check out www.broadwayweekends.com for dates (some are longer), descriptions, costs, and registration.
A New Musical Charms: The Band’s Visit won raves off-Broadway last winter and has now won raves on Broadway. I found this a charming, gentle, and heart-warming musical without being overly saccharine or manipulative. It’s based on an Israeli film and tells of the Alexandria (Egypt) Ceremonial Police Orchestra that ends up by mistake in the wrong town in Israel. In the small town in Negev desert, townspeople come together to befriend the rag-tag group for one night, changing everyone in the process. The music by David Yazbeck is spectacular. Katrina Lenk (who was amazing in Indecent at Yale Rep and on Broadway) again is terrific. Tony Shalhoub plays the leader of the orchestra, but the entire cast is terrific. For tickets, visit www.telecharge.com.
Karen Isaacs is a member of both the Connecticut Critics Circle and New York’s Outer Critics Circle and an East Haven resident. To check out her reviews for New York and Connecticut shows, visit 2ontheaisle.wordpress.com.