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Not Many Surprises, Special Events, Big Dreams, and Women in Charge

Not Many Surprises: The Tony Awards did not offer many surprises. Most theater people had predicted that the musical Hadestown and the play, The Ferryman would win multiple awards; they did. The acting awards were also mostly predictable: Andre De Shields for outstanding featured performance in a musical (Hadestown), Bryan Cranston for lead performance in Network, Elaine May for lead actress in The Waverly Gallery, Celia Keenan-Bolger for featured actress in a play (To Kill a Mockingbird), Stephanie J. Block for lead actress in a musical (The Cher Show), and Santino Fontana for lead actor in a musical for Tootsie. Bertie Carvel winning supporting actor in a play for Ink was not a total surprise, as was the award to Ali Stocker for featured performance in a musical (Oklahoma!). The biggest surprise was last summer’s limited run revival of Boys in the Band getting the Tony for best revival of a play.

Connecticut Critics Awards: Multiple theaters received awards for outstanding work at the Connecticut Critics Awards ceremony at Goodspeed on June 3. Westport Country Playhouse received multiple awards for A Flea in her Ear and Man of La Mancha, Goodspeed won awards for The Music Man, Yale won for el Huricán and Twelfth Night, and Hartford Stage won awards for The Engagement Party. A complete list of nominees and winners is on my blog 2ontheaisle.wordpress.com

Mamma Mia! The second production of the hit musical Mamma Mia! opens at Ivoryton Playhouse on Wednesday, June 26 and runs through Sunday, July 28. For those who have never seen the show, it is set in Greece, where a young woman discovers that her unknown father could be one of three men. She invites them all to her up-coming wedding, and much to her mother’s dismay, they all show up. It features the music of ABBA. For tickets, visit IvorytonPlayhouse.org or call 860-767-7318.

Special Events: With rehearsals wrapping up for Because of Winn Dixie at Goodspeed, the theater has a full schedule of special events beginning Friday, June 28 with the Friday Dinner Theater package. Teacher’s Night Out is Friday, June 28, Heroes Weekend is Friday, June 28 to Sunday, June 30, and Drama Nerd Talks are Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30. Kids Nights are Wednesday, July 3, Thursday, July 4, Saturday, July 6 and Sunday, July 7. You can get two tickets for the price of one on Thursday, July 4. Other events and dates for the open captioned performance are listed at Goodspeed.org. For tickets or information of any of these, visit the website or call 860-873-8668.

Special Events at Long Wharf: Three special events are scheduled for Long Wharf in the next month. Through Sunday, June 23, Mary Ann Frank is presenting Spinning, which is described as an intimate encounter about how one woman dealt with her husband’s illness and death. On Friday, June 28 and Sunday, June 30, Long Wharf will present the New Haven Play Project: two plays created in collaboration with a variety of New Haven community agencies. Survivors of Society Rising is on Friday, June 28 and Elders & Newcomers is on Sunday, June 30. Perhaps the highlight of the summer, for me, is An Evening of Shakespeare & Song on Saturday, July 13. The one-person show stars Tony-winner Len Cariou; he pairs and performs works from Shakespeare—sonnets and soliloquies—with songs from Broadway. Tickets for all of these are available at longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.

Big Dreams: Waitress, the Broadway musical with music by Sara Bareilles and inspired by the film, will end the Bushnell’s Broadway series. It plays through Sunday, June 23. The musical tells the story of Jenna, a waitress in a small town who dreams of getting out of the town and her rocky marriage. For tickets, visit Bushnell.org or call 860-987-5900.

Women in Charge: With the naming of Cynthia Rider as its new managing director, Hartford Stage is now led by two women; Melia Bensussen was named artistic director earlier this year. Rider has served in a similar capacity at Oregon Shakespeare Festival since 2013.

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 the Connecticut Critics Circle, New York’s Outer Critics Circle and the American Theatre Critics Association.