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09/20/2018 12:01 AMA Musician’s Dreams: Once was a surprising Broadway smash, based on the 2007 movie of the same name about an Irish musician and the beautiful young Czech immigrant who helps him achieve his dreams. She inspires him and collaborates with him as he and his friends make music. The Broadway show featured the songs from the movie including the haunting “Falling Slowly.” It’s at the Ivoryton Playhouse through Sunday, Oct. 14. Ben Hope, who has played at Ivoryton and also played the lead in Once on Broadway, is directing. For tickets, call 860-767-7318 or visit ivorytonplayhouse.org.
‘Tis the Season: We’re in the height of hurricane season, so what could be more appropriate than Yale Rep opening its season with the world premiere of El Huracán in collaboration with the Sol Project. According to the press material, “An epic hurricane threatens Miami. A mother and daughter ready themselves for the storm as Abuela takes shelter in a world of memory, music, and magic. A powerful tale of family and forgiveness, El Huracán reveals what can be rebuilt in the aftermath of life’s most devastating tempests—and what can never be replaced.” The play, which was developed with support of Yale’s Binger Center for New Theatre, runs Friday, Sept. 28 through Saturday, Oct. 20. For tickets, visit yalerep.org or call 203-432-1234.
More New Plays: Long Wharf is presenting its fourth annual celebration of new plays, Friday, Sept. 21 and Saturday, Sept. 22. The New Works Festival will offer readings of three new plays on Stage II. Strings by Angella Emurwon is described as a family drama set in a small village in Uganda when the family patriarch returns after 20 years. Kevin Artigue’s play, Sheepdog, is described as speaking to the issue of police violence in the black community. The third work, Night Workers by Torrey Townsend, is about people on the road to recovery from addiction. Tickets are $10 per reading or all three for $24. For tickets or information, visit longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.
A Ghost Story: Just in time for the Halloween season, Madison Lyric Stage is presenting the opera version of Henry James’s ghost story The Turn of the Screw from Friday, Oct. 5 to Sunday, Oct. 14. British composer Benjamin Britten wrote the score about the young governess of two children in an old manor house who discovers ghosts are trying to possess the children. The show will be staged at the historic 1685 Deacon John Grave House in Madison. Only 35 tickets are available for each show. The audience will move from the large parlor in Act 1 to the second parlor converted to a bedroom for Act 2. Comfortable seating is provided. For tickets or information, call 2036-215-6329 or visit madisonlyricstage.org.
A Sneak Peak: Westport Country Playhouse hasn’t announced the details yet, but it has given a brief look at its 2019 season. The June show (4 to 22) is Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morisseau about four workers in a Detroit auto plant that is about to close. Morisseau will have two others works presented this season in Connecticut. From July 13 to Aug. 3 is Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, a one-man show about the life and music of this most prolific composer/lyricist. Lynn Nottage’s off-Broadway hit, Mlima’s Tale, runs Oct. 1 to 19. It is about a beloved Kenyan elephant who is killed by poachers but whose spirit follows them. The last show of the season is Don Juan by Moliére, Nov. 5 to 23. More details and an additional show (April 23 to May 11) will be announced soon.
New York Notes: Getting the Band Back Together, one of the summer’s new musicals, is closing; the first real casualty of the new season. Laura Benanti is taking over as Eliza Doolittle in the revival of My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center. Current Eliza Lauren Ambrose is leaving the cast due to other commitments. At Tuesday evening performances, Kerstin Anderson will play the role. Diana Rigg, who has played Mrs. Higgins, left the cast and been replaced by Rosemary Harris. The Lincoln Center production of The King and I, which is now in London, will be filmed and shown in movie theaters worldwide opening Thursday, Nov. 29 and with an encore presentation in the U.S. on Tuesday, Dec. 4. The production stars Ken Watanabe as the King and Tony-winners Kelli O’Hara as Anna and Ruthie Ann Miles as Lady Thiang. Tickets are on sale at KingAndIMusicalCinema.com. In our area, it is already booked at the Criterion Theater in New Haven and the Branford multiplex.
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.