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02/27/2019 11:01 PMRent, Again: Rent, the musical that some say revolutionized musicals in 1996 when it opened off-Broadway, is touring once more. This time it is the 20th anniversary tour (OK, now it is 23 years) that will be at the Bushnell from Tuesday, March 12 to Sunday, March 17. Devoted fans—and they are legion—will want to get tickets. Contact bushnell.org or call 860-987-5900.
Creative Teams Announced: Goodspeed has announced the creative teams for the upcoming season and they include some high powered names. Jenn Thompson is returning to direct her third musical at Goodspeed (the others were Oklahoma! and Bye, Bye Birdie); she is in charge of The Music Man with choreographer Patricia Wilcox, who choreographed the Broadway production of Motown—the Musical. The show runs Friday, April 12 to Sunday, June 16.
Broadway director John Rando (Tony winner for Urinetown, the Musical as well as directing the acclaimed revival of On the Town and the new musical A Christmas Story) is directing the new show Because of Winn Dixie. Chris Bailey choreographs. It runs June 28 to Sept. 1.
Gabriel Barre will direct the Tony-winning Billy Elliott, which runs Sept. 13 to Nov. 24 with Marc Kimelman choreographing.
At The Terris Theatre in Chester, Hi, My Name Is Ben (May 17 to June 9) will be directed by Andrew Panton and choreographed by Emily Jane Boyle. Igor Goldin will direct and Marcus Santana will choreograph Passing Through, which runs July 26 to Aug. 18.
Tickets on Sale: Tickets to individual performances at Goodspeed for both the Opera House productions and those at the Terris in Chester are now on sale. Visit goodspeed.org or call 860-873-8668. Subscriptions and various ticket packages are also available.
Broadway News: The Band’s Visit won the Grammy for best musical theater album, yet shortly after, it was announced that the show would be closing. Anastasia, which began in Hartford, closes March 31, just short of two years on Broadway. A national tour is ongoing; productions are currently showing or planned in London, Madrid, Brazil, Japan, Australia and other locations.
One of the more interesting last-minute additions to the Broadway schedule this spring is What the Constitution Means to Me by actress Heidi Schreck. I saw this off Broadway last fall; Schreck has dramatized her experiences as a teenager competing in various American Legion posts in debates on the U.S. Constitution. Apparently it was how she earned scholarship money for college. Now it will play the relatively small Helen Hayes Theater, beginning previews Thursday, March 14.
The Ferryman: I finally got to see The Ferryman, the long (three-plus hours), large-cast play by Jez Butterworth about one family, the IRA, and the troubles in Northern Ireland in 1981. Yes, it could have used some editing (do we need a baby plus three young girls who seem interchangeable?), but it is absorbing for the entire time. The Magennis family learns that the body of their missing brother/nephew/husband has been found after many years. Who murdered him and why? As the family prepares for a harvest feast, the relationships between Frank (the dead man’s brother and head of the house), his wife, the man’s widow, and various children and aunts and a uncle collide. Was the IRA involved? The cast that I saw (mostly British or Irish) were superb and I’m sure the replacement cast members, mostly Americans, are equally so. But amid the multiple family members, it sometimes seems as though the real issues are lost. For tickets, visit telecharge.com.
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.