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09/26/2019 12:01 AMBroadway Melodies: As part of the biannual Guilford Performing Arts Festival, the Madison Lyric Stage is presenting an evening of musical theater and opera favorites, “From Broadway to the Met” on Friday, Sept. 27 at 9 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church in Guildford. Singers from the emerging artist program as well as company founders Marc Deaton and John Johmann will perform.
Pulitzer Prize Winning Dramatist: Lynn Nottage, who has won two Pulitzer Prizes for playwriting, will visit Westport Country Playhouse on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. She and artistic director Mark Lamos will discuss the up-coming production of Mlima’s Tale, which opens at the playhouse on Tuesday, Oct. 1 through Sunday, Oct. 19. Lamos and Nottage will discuss her career and the play. It is free, but reservations must be made by emailing rsvp@westportplayhouse.org or calling 203-227-4177. Mlima’s Tale is the story of the illicit ivory market and a magnificent Kenyan elephant.
A Classic in Storrs: The Connecticut Repertory Theatre on the UConn campus in Storrs is opening its season with Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard adapted by Jean-Claude van Itallie, from Thursday, Oct 3 to Sunday, Oct. 13. The play, one of the greats of the 20th century, captures a world and a family in transition. For tickets, visit crt.uconn.edu or call 860-486-2113.
A Changing World: The musical Ragtime, based on the E. L. Doctorow novel, tells of a changing time in America through the eyes of an upper-class Westchester family, an Eastern European Jewish immigrant and his daughter, and a Harlem ragtime pianist and the woman he loves. It will be interesting to see how this epic piece plays on the small stage of Music Theatre of Connecticut in Norwalk. It runs Friday, Sept. 27 through Sunday, Oct. 13. For tickets, visit musictheatreofct.com or call 203-454-3883.
The Plant Known as ‘Audrey II’: Just in time for the Halloween season, ACT of Connecticut in Ridgefield is presenting Little Shop of Horrors, the musical about a plant that develops a taste for blood. The show will run Thursday, Oct 3 through Sunday, Nov. 3. The cast is full of Broadway veterans, including artistic director Daniel C. Levine who is reprising the role of Orin (the Dentist) that he played on Broadway. For tickets, visit actofct.org.
Was SpongeBob Part of Your Childhood? If so, you may want to get tickets to The SpongeBob Musical, which will be at the Bushnell from Tuesday, Oct. 1 to Sunday, Oct. 6. While the show didn’t succeed on Broadway, there were many fun elements, particularly for fans of the TV series. For tickets, visit bushnell.org.
Next Year at Westport: The 2020 season at Westport Country Playhouse will include two musicals, two dramas and a new comedy. It’s the playhouse’s 90th season. Subscription renewals are underway. The season will open with Next to Normal from April 14 to May 2; Tiny House, a new comedy from June 9 to 27; Ain’t Misbehavin’ from July 21 to Aug. 8; and the world premiere translation and adaptation of Antigone from Sept. 29 to Oct. 17. The season ends with Blues for an Alabama Sky from Nov. 3 to 21, 2020. For information, visit westportplayhouse.org.
Two Concerts: Two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster brings her show to the Ridgefield Playhouse on Friday, Oct. 18. Foster not only stars in the TV series Younger but will play Marion the Librarian in the Hugh Jackman revival of The Music Man. For tickets, visit RidgefieldPlayhouse.org. Tony winner Kelli O’Hara will team with former co-star Matthew Morrison for a cabaret at the Jorgensen Performing Center on the UConn campus on Saturday, Nov. 16. For tickets, visit Jorgensen.uconn.edu.
Three Debuts: Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, and Charlie Cox—all established British stage actors(and TV stars)—are lighting up the stage in a limited run production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal. You can check out my complete review at 2ontheaisle.wordpress.com, but I found this one of the most moving productions of the play that I’ve seen.
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.