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Shakespeare, Breakdancing Shakespeare, A Different Wicked, Protesters, And More

Shakespeare: Summertime is when many U.S. theater groups present Shakespeare plays, often outdoors. This summer, the Flock Theatre in New London is staging Henry V through Sunday, Aug 4, at the Connecticut College Arboretum. More information is available at FlockTheatre.org. The Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival is performing Hamlet and The Taming of the Shrew through Sunday, Aug. 4. Performances are rain or shine on the lawn outside the University of St. Joseph. Check the information at CapitalClassics.org. Elm City Shakespeare is presenting Richard III from Friday, Aug. 16, through Sunday, Sept. 1. The performances are at Edgerton Park on the New Haven/Hamden border. For information, visit ElmShakespeare.org.

Three Nights Only: Hartford Stage each summer conducts an educational program for teens called “Breakdancing Shakespeare” which culminates in a performance at the theater. This summer’s production, Much Ado About Nothing, will be on stage this weekend, Friday to Sunday, July 26-28. The program teaches both acting techniques and breakdancing. Those skills are used to put a modern twist on a classic Shakespeare play. Tickets, which are just $10, are available at HartfordStage.org.

Wicked-The Movie: Just in time for Thanksgiving, the movie version of Wicked will hit cinemas. It stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. You will see differences from the stage musical. First, it is two parts, with the second part scheduled for release in November 2025. Second, some new characters are being introduced, as well as new songs by composer Stephen Schwartz.

Disturbing Trend: For the second time in the past four months, a Broadway show was disrupted by protesters. The first was at a preview performance of An Enemy of the People when climate activists disrupted things. In early July, protesters interrupted a performance of Suffs, the musical about the fight for women’s right to vote. About four protesters unfurled banners; the group believes the show is, as they say on their website, “a whitewashed, slanted, and ultimately dangerous version of history.” The website appears to reflect the earlier version of the show.

Little Known Rodgers & Hammerstein Musical: I’m looking forward to seeing the Berkshire Theatre Group’s production of Pipe Dream, one of the lesser-known Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals. The show will run through Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge. The musical opened in 1956 based on John Steinbeck’s novels Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday. For tickets visit BerskireTheatreGroup.org.

Broadway Notes: Summer is a time when shows struggle at the box office despite the tourist influx. By September, many theaters will be vacant, awaiting new, already-scheduled productions. Signs that a show is in trouble are a low percentage of seats sold, but more importantly, if the average ticket price is low. Shows with low prices, even if their percentage of seats sold is high, probably offer multiple discounts. Among the shows that meet the criteria is Water for Elephants, The Notebook. The Wiz and Illinoise, whose limited run ends on Sunday. Aug. 10.

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.