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12/13/2021 11:00 PMWhat type of Christmas show do you want to see? Something heart-warming? Something funny? Something with music? Something with romance?
Connecticut’s theaters are offering show that fit any of these. You won’t be disappointed with any of them. They showcase the excellence and the variety that Connecticut theater offers.
Continuing the Story with the Delightful Miss Bennet
The popularity of author Jane Austen, and in particular her novel Pride and Prejudice, has spawned a cottage industry of books, movies and now plays that use those characters. The latest, at least for me, is the play at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford: Miss Bennet—Christmas at Pemberley running through Sunday, Dec. 19.
This is a thoroughly delightful and delightfully performed spin-off. The Miss Bennet in the title is the middle sister, Mary. You may recall that Mary is the quiet one who reads and plays piano. Like a typical middle child, she is unseen by almost everyone, including her two older sisters Elizabeth and Jane and her boisterous and silly younger sisters Lydia and Kitty.
The play is set two years after Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have married and settled at his home. The family is arriving to celebrate Christmas.
Do you need to be familiar with the book? It doesn’t hurt to know some of the goings on before the start of the play including Lydia’s impetuous marriage and her unscrupulous husband, Mr. Darcy’s prior involvement with Lady de Burgh, a cousin, and Jane and Mr. Bingley’s courtship. Yet, you can thoroughly enjoy this with practically no prior knowledge. Playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcom gives us enough reminders to fill in the most important blanks.
Mary has spent the past two years with her parents reading and improving her piano skills; she is now a virtuoso. But she is lonely and fears she will remain that way. And then, a distant cousin of Mr. Darcy arrives. He is also bookish, quiet, and not comfortable in social situations. Like Mary, he has little ability at small talk or tact.
If you can’t see where this is going, I would be surprised. Of course the two are attracted to each other but are too insecure or shy to say anything. Various monkey wrenches are thrown into the mix to cause doubts, break ups, and confusion including Lydia’s flirtations with Mr. de Burgh.
Once again Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingham as well as Jane and Elizabeth come to the rescue.
This has been smoothly directed by Sasha Brätt to retain the sensibility of the early 1800s with a modern touch. The setting by Anna Brewster is open and the costumes by Lisa Bebey seem accurate for the period.
But it all boils down to the cast. Here Brätt has done a good job. Sidney Torres is terrific as Mary Bennet, who learns to stand up for herself. Her sisters match her. Dakota Mackey-McGee is insightful as Elizabeth, Kristin Fulton is warm and loving as Jane, and Laura Axelrod is annoyingly flirtatious and self-absorbed as Kitty.
Griffin Stanton-Ameisen is fine as Mr. Darcy and Ted Gibson is appropriately bumbling, acquiescent, and confused as Mr. de Burgh, though he does look rather young.
Anyone who enjoys Austen or who enjoys literate drawing room comedy will have a great time at Miss Bennet—Christmas at Pemberley. For tickets and COVID protocols, visit PlayhouseOnPark.org.
A Delightful and Funny Christmas on the Rocks
I had forgotten just how delightful and funny Christmas on the Rocks was until I saw this year’s production at TheaterWorks, running through Thursday, Dec. 23
Was that due to having missed it last year? Or the new cast member? Or perhaps, it was just the joy of being in a theater surrounded by people having a good time.
This has become a Hartford tradition just like Hartford Stage’s A Christmas Carol, though that is not returning until next year.
Christmas on the Rocks originated in Hartford when artistic director Rob Ruggiero convinced a number of well-known playwrights to imagine how life turned out for some of those Christmas entertainment children. We find out what happened to them in seven short playlets with various characters arriving at a run-down neighborhood bar on Christmas Eve.
The bartender, the wonderful Ted Lange, listens, asks questions, and reacts to their stories.
Randy Harrison returns to play the male characters beginning with Ralphie (or Ralph as he prefers) from A Christmas Story right through Tiny Tim, and ending with Charlie Brown. He is terrific.
This year Jennifer Cody plays the female characters, including Zuzu who has been traumatized by bells, Karen from the animated TV Frosty the Snowman, Clara from The Nutcracker and ending with the Little Red Haired Girl. Her characters are more exaggerated than Harrison’s, but she still manages some restraint.
The last scene, based on Peanuts, brings everything together and is the sweetest.
A Christmas Survival Guide Uses Laughs and Music to Help Us Destress
Stress seems a hallmark of the holiday season, along with feelings that can range from joy to despair. A Christmas Survival Guide now at Ivoryton Playhouse through Sunday, Dec. 19 offers a lighthearted look at managing all of the emotions.
But you won’t feel either stressed or depressed by this tongue-in-cheek musical revue with minimum dialogue.
The premise is simple: Dr. Ted, a psychiatrist, has written a helpful instruction manual for the holidays and five stressed-out people try to follow the instructions. The show, the director Brian Feehan, and the talented five-member cast take familiar holiday music and turn it 45 degrees or more to give us a new take on it.
In the second act, four of the five go off for what is supposed to be a quiet and possibly romantic sleigh ride. As they sing the song, things go awry. They are soon bumbling along as the inexperienced driver of the sleigh doesn’t know what he is doing and the horse, Rocky, takes over.
Let’s just say that several of the people find the ride anything by peaceful and romantic and apparently Rocky manages to destroy or run over a number of things. This entire story is told with the traditional lyrics and wonderful body movements and facial expressions; you know exactly whose stomach is turning.
The cast manages to do this with a number of songs, adding facial expressions and gestures or a slightly different setting, which lets us look at the words in a different way.
Some lesser known songs are included, which is particularly nice. It was great to hear Jerome Kern’s “Happy New Year’s Blues” and the take-off of Kurt Weill’s “Surubaya Johnny,” now sung by Mrs. Claus and called “Surubaya Santa.”
The “12 Step…” takes that countdown of gifts song and adds new lyrics about what the singer’s sponsor gives to her. She, of course, becomes more and more agitated as the song goes on.
Only one non-holiday song is included, but it is perfect; Rodgers & Hart’s “Little Girl Blue.”
The cast is wonderful. All have excellent voices: Cory Candelet is terrific in “Santa Fantasy,” Emma Flynn has just the right degree of perkiness in “Reindeer Boogie.” Brian Michael Henry scores with “Silver Bells” and Adrianne Hick is terrific with “Happy New Year’s Blues.” Corey Scheys seems to have been given all the songs that are more angry or downbeat; she is hilarious in the song about the 12 steps.
You will relieve stress and have a great time at A Christmas Survival Guide. For tickets and COVID protocols, visit IvorytonPlayhouse.org.
A Live Radio Play, A Gift to Audiences
Hartford Stage has given us another holiday present that would be great to see multiple times. It’s a Wonderful Life, a live radio play runs through Sunday, Dec. 26. You should plan on seeing it.
For those who don’t remember or know about radio and radio plays, think of it as a type of audiobook read before a studio audience who reacts. Co-directors Melia Bensussen and Rachel Alderman do a fine job in combining the radio aspects of the show with a theatrical production. This is a terrific rendition.
We are the studio audience in the radio, encouraged to laugh and applaud to help the listeners at home feel as though they are present.
Each of the cast members plays a specific actor with a backstory and personality. When they aren’t voicing their characters, we see how they interact with each other.
You’ll recognize Michael Preston (Scrooge in the annual show) who plays the villain Mr. Potter as well as George’s uncle and various other characters. Shirine Babb is terrific as Mary (George’s girlfriend/wife) and as St. Joseph who instructs Clarence. Evan Zes is both Clarence and some of George’s friends as well as his brother. Jennifer Bareilles manages to be seductive as Violet, childlike as Zuzu, and tough as several male characters.
You can’t overlook the contribution of Leer Leary who manages the sound effects from the bell that announces Clarence’s wings to door slams, street noises, and more.
Not only do you get to see a fine production of the original work, but you also get to learn something about radio. For tickets and COVID protocols, visit HartfordStage.org.