This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
08/25/2023 04:10 PMBe Our Guest: It seems that Beauty & the Beast is popular in Connecticut this summer. Though a production just closed at Summer Theatre of New Canaan, Legacy Theatre has opened its production through Sunday, Aug. 27. Direction Keely Baisden Knudsen said it was a milestone production with an orchestra and a larger cast than usual for the intimate theater. For tickets, visit LegacyTheatreCT.org.
Close Harmony: Jersey Boys, the hit Broadway musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, is opening tonight at Ivoryton Playhouse. It will run through Sunday, Sept. 10. You can bet that tickets will be hard-to-get. After all, the show won multiple Tony awards and features all the great hits of Valli and the group. For tickets, visit IvorytonPlayhouse.org.
Oliver! Take a trip to scenic northwestern Connecticut and catch Sharon Playhouse’s production of the musical Oliver! It runs through Sunday, Aug. 20. Director Michael Kevin Baldwin has selected a cast with loads of Broadway experience. For information or tickets, visit SharonPlayhouse.org
Highly Rated: I haven’t seen it yet, but my fellow Connecticut critics have given rave reviews to Bandstand at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford. This show about WWII vets trying to make it in the music business runs through Sunday, Aug. 20. I will absolutely find time to see it. Visit, PlayhouseOnPark.org for tickets.
New Artistic Director: Westport Country Playhouse has named Mark Shanahan as its new artistic director, effective March 2024. He will replace Mark Lamos, who has resigned (or retired from being an artistic director). Shanahan first performed as an actor at the playhouse in the 2005 production of Journey’s End. His career has included acting and directing at regional theaters throughout the country and as a playwright. His work, A Sherlock Carol, was nominated as one of the best new plays of 2021. At Westport, he was the creator and curator of the Westport Radio Theatre in partnership with WSHU, directed scripts for the series, and is the curator of the Script-in-Hand Play Reading series.
Visit the Berkshires: I’m interested in several productions at various Berkshire theaters in August. On Cedar Street is a brand-new musical that will be staged by the Berkshire Theatre Company at its Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, near the Connecticut line. It runs from Saturday, Aug. 12 to Saturday, Sept. 7. It’s based on the novel Our Souls at Night and is described as the story of a man and woman who, in older age, come together in search of family and happiness. For tickets, visit BerkshireTheatreGroup.org. Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield will open Brian Friel’s masterful play, Faith Healer, which runs through Sunday, Aug. 27. It is also presenting, in association with Williamstown Theatre Festival, the William Finn musical, A New Brain from Sunday, Aug. 20 to Sunday, Sept. 10. The musical by the composer/lyricist of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Falsettoland, is based on his life-threatening experience surviving a neurological brain condition.
Kinds Night: Treat the kids in your life to a Broadway show. The Kids Night on Broadway promotion is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 29. For every adult ticket purchased, you can get a free ticket for a child 18 and under. Many musicals and some plays are participating. For information on when tickets will be on sale, visit KidsNightOnBroadway.com
NY Notes: The big news is the surprise closing of the Kander & Ebb musical, New York, New York. It had not received either great reviews or multiple awards, but no one expected it to close so abruptly with just two weeks’ notice. The summer closings included Camelot as well as shows that had limited runs: The Life of Pi and Peter Pan Goes Wrong. A few more shows will either end scheduled runs or announce closings before Labor Day.
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.