This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
03/14/2019 12:01 AMMusic You’ll Recognize: Ivoryton Playhouse is opening its season with Burt & Me from Wednesday, March 20 to Sunday, April 7. The musical is about a young man, Joe, who tells of his obsession with Burt Bacharach and his high school romance. You can expect to hear a lot of the famous Bacharach songs most with lyrics by Hal David including “What the World Needs Now,” “Walk on By,” “This Guy’s in Love with You,” and more. For tickets, visit ivorytonplayhouse.org or call 860-767-7318.
In a New Location: TheaterWorks’ next show will be at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford while the theater is undergoing major renovations and improvements. Girl Friend is based on Matthew Sweet’s album. Director Rob Ruggiero describes is as “is an upbeat ’90s rock musical that tackles the universal experience of first love and self-acceptance. Everyone can relate to that time in their life when they’ve left high school and their youth behind—it’s innocent and painful but wondrous and transforming, too.” It’s set in 1993 in small-town Nebraska. The show runs Friday, March 22 to Saturday, April 28. For tickets or information, visit theaterworkshartford.org or call 860-527-7838.
Silly Fun: I expect Perfect Nonsense at Hartford Stage Thursday, March 21 to Saturday, April 20 to be silly fun. After all, the Olivier Award-winning comedy is based on the classic P. G. Wodehouse stories about Bertie Wooster, a young, wealthy British gentleman with a tendency to tell stories and get into scrapes and his longtime and long-suffering valet, Jeeves, who is the voice of reason and gets him out of the scrapes. The original British cast will perform the farce. For tickets, visit hartfordstage.org or call 860-527-5151.
Shakespeare in a New Way: Yale Rep is presenting Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, one of the Bard’s classic comedies, from Friday, March 15 to Saturday, April 6. Director Carl Cofield has given this play about women dressing as men and men falling in love with the “young men” an Afro-futuristic tone. Music and dance are part of this staging of this play about unrequited love. For tickets, visit yalerep.org or call 203-432-1234.
Julius Caesar: Branford’s Legacy Theatre will have a “Behind the Curtain” talk about Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar on Sunday, March 30 from 2 to 4 pm at the Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library on Thimble Island Road. It’s free and open to the public.
Return Visit: The national tour of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is making a return visit to The Bushnell in Hartford from Tuesday, March 26 to Sunday, March 31. For tickets, visit thebushnell.org or call 860-987-5900.
Shows to See in NYC: I’ve seen two shows recently that I highly recommend. You can read my full reviews at 2ontheaisle.wordpress.com. To Kill a Mockingbird, the new Aaron Sorkin adaptation of the classic novel, was eagerly anticipated. It meets every bit of the expectations. The cast is led by Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch in a magnificent performance, but he is backed up by a superb cast, set, costumes, lighting, and sound that adds to the impact of the show. The changes from the book are subtle but meaningful. You can expect that many of those involved will be nominated for multiple awards this spring. For tickets, visit telecharge.
A smaller theater off-Broadway, the Irish Rep, is presenting three plays by Irish dramatist Sean O’Casey. I’ve just seen the first, Shadow of a Gunman. A fine ensemble cast presents wonderful characters in this story set in 1920 Dublin about a man who everyone in the boarding house thinks is an IRA gunman hiding out. For tickets, visit irishrep.org.
Finding that Perfect One: Do you remember the uncertainties of first dates? Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury is presenting a humorous look at one first date in the musical First Date running from Thursday, March 7 to Sunday, April 7. Aaron is getting back in the dating scene and he is meeting Casey, a serial dater, for a drink. In addition to the awkwardness of first dates, each hears the reactions of various friends and family members. I saw this in New York City; it was a good time. For tickets, visit SevenAngelsTheatre.org or call 203-757-4676
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.