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09/08/2022 12:00 AMHollywood Glamour: MTC (Music Theatre of Connecticut) in Norwalk is opening its season with Sunset Boulevard, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on the iconic 1950s film about an aging film star, a young writer, and her butler/chauffeur/confidante. It runs Friday, Sept. 16 to Sunday, Oct. 2. Broadway veteran Elizabeth Ward Land stars as Norma Desmond. For tickets visit MusicTheatreofCT.org.
Tickets on Sale: Most theaters offer subscription tickets to multiple productions before selling tickets to individual productions and performances. In September, many of the regional theaters in Connecticut start selling these individual tickets. If there is a particular show you want to see at any of Connecticut’s great theaters, now is the time to make plans and purchase tickets.
Aladdin Tickets: The Bushnell in Hartford has individual tickets on sale for the national tour of the musical Aladdin which runs from Tuesday, Nov. 8 to Sunday, Nov. 13. This should be a popular show; it is still doing great business in New York. For tickets visit Bushnell.org.
Dark Comedy: Madison Lyric Stage is presenting its final production of the season, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? from Friday, Sept. 16 to Sunday, Sept. 25. This production closes just 10 days or so before the Yale Rep production of the same play opens. The performances are in the new tent on the grounds of Madison’s Deacon John Grave House. For tickets visit MadisonLyricStage.org. Following the production, on Sat., Oct. 22 and Sun. Oct. 23, co-founder Marc Deaton will present a solo evening, Lost in the Stars–An Intimate Evening of Music by Kurt Weill.
Staged Radio Play: If you read The Great Gatsby in school, you may want to see one or both of the two versions of the classic novel being presented on local stages. The first is at Legacy Theatre. Its version is The Great Gatsby: A Live Radio Play was adapted by Joe Landry, who has done similar adaptations of other works. It features an ensemble of performers playing multiple roles, with us as the studio audience. The show runs from Thursday, Sept. 15 to Sunday, Oct. 2. For tickets visit LegacyTheatreCT.org. More later on the second version of the novel – this time as a stage play at Ivoryton Playhouse from Thursday, Sept. 29 to Sunday, Oct. 3
Go Behind the Scenes: Hartford Stage is having an open house on Sat., Sept. 17. This free event will let offer backstage tours and what they call “theater magic.” It’s a great opportunity to see how a theater creates and makes it all happen. You can also get a preview of the upcoming season. It runs from noon to 4 p.m. For more information check HartfordStage.org.
Can’t Get to London? England National Theatre has a streaming service called National Theatre at Home which is available for US viewers. They’ve just added Athol Fugard’s Master Harold and the Boys (2019 revival) and the 2016 production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Visit NTAtHome.com for information and to see all the productions available.
Sensory Friendly Performances: The Theatre Development Fund (TDF)will present autism-friendly (often referred to as sensory-friendly) performances again this year. The shows participating are The Lion King, Wicked, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as well as George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at the NY City Ballet. One more show will be announced. For information visit TDF.org.
NYC Notes: The Tony-winning revival of Take Me Out is returning to Broadway this October for 14 weeks. Jesse Tyler Ferguson (who won a Tony for his performance) and Jesse Williams (who was nominated) will return as well. The play is about a well-known and loved baseball player who “outs” himself. For tickets or information visit TakeMeOutBway.com. If things go as planned, a new musical “loosely based” on the Scorsese film New York, New York is heading to Broadway with additional songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda and John Kander. Kander and his late partner Fred Ebb wrote the original music for the film.
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, the League of Professional Theater Women and the American Theatre Critics Association.