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11/30/2023 12:00 AMHoliday Music: Holiday Pops, the Boston Pops on Tour with Keith Lockhart, conductor, will celebrate the season at the Jorgensen Auditorium on the UConn campus. The concert is on Friday, Dec. 8. For tickets, visit Jorgensen.uconn.edu.
Sherlock Holmes & Dickens: A late addition to the holiday theater schedule. Westport Country Playhouse will present A Sherlock Carol, which has Sherlock Holmes investigating the death of Jacob Marley. The play was written by Mark Shanahan and premiered off-Broadway in 2019, where it was nominated for multiple awards. It runs from Tuesday, Dec. 19, through Saturday, Dec. 23. For tickets to this family-friendly show, visit WestportPlahouse.org.
In the Spring: Long Wharf announced two productions for the spring, though details are limited as to dates and locations. Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge will be directed by James Dean Palmer. This Miller classic tragedy is about a couple, their teenage niece, and illegal immigration in 1950s Brooklyn. The press material says it will be a “bold new production,” which sometimes is not a good omen when talking about a classic. Long Wharf will end the season with the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company production of AMM(I)GONE – the first stop of a national tour. More information is promised.
Not What You Would Expect: When I first read that the Connecticut Repertory Theatre at UConn was doing War of the Worlds, I thought of the Orson Welles radio production of the novel about a Martian invasion. Reading more carefully, this production, which is titled War of the Worlds 2023: A Servant of Two Networks, seems very different. Yes, it is about an alien invasion. But it is described as the sci-fi classic meeting Carlo Goldoni’s commedia dell’arte play The Servant of Two Masters. The press release says it is a “hilarious exploration of fear, fascination, and the power of talking heads. A wild, impro-driven adventure. With puppets!” The play is for mature audiences and contains strong profanity, graphic language, sexual innuendo, and descriptions of sexual activity. It runs through Sunday, Dec. 10. For information or tickets, visit crt.uconn.edu
2024 at Legacy Theatre: Branford’s Legacy Theatre is presenting four productions next year. Mark Twain’s Diaries of Adam and Eve edited and adapted by David Birney, runs from May 30 to Jun. 16. Following is The Great American Mousical from July 11 to 28, then the world premiere of a new musical, Love Affair, based on the film An Affair to Remember runs Aug. 8 to 25. The season will close with The Bridges of Madison County, Sept. 12 to 29. Season tickets are now on sale. Visit LegacyTheatreCT.org for information.
Grammy Awards: The original cast recordings of five Broadway musicals are nominated in the Best Musical Theater Album category: Kimberly Akimbo, Parade, Shucked, Some Like It Hot, and Sweeney Todd. Winners are announced on Feb. 4. Two other Broadway-related albums are nominated: To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Stephen Sondheim and Sondheim Unplugged (The NYC Sessions) Vol. 3, both in the Traditional Pop Vocal Album category.
Kenney Center Honors: Complaints about who receives the Kennedy Center Honors are expected. There are way too many composers, lyricists, performers, and directors in movies, theater, dance, and music that deserve recognition. This year, the Kennedy Center honors will be presented to Billy Crystal, Renée Fleming, Barry Gibb (of the Bee Gees), Queen Latifah, and Dionne Warwick. Crystal and Fleming both have Broadway credits to their names. The ceremony will air on Dec. 27.
Moving On: Christmas in Connecticut, the musical of the 1945 film, debuted at Goodspeed a year ago. It is now getting another production, this time in Salt Lake City. Once again, the production is billed as part of the development process. It features a new director and cast.
NYC Notes: Among the shows expected this spring on Broadway are a revival of The Who’s Tommy, a new musical Lempicka starring Eden Espinso, and a Lincoln Center production of Uncle Vanya with Steve Carell making his Broadway debut as the title character.
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.