I don’t remember the last time I was disappointed in anything that Square One Theatre produced, but Steven Levenson’s Core Values is about as exciting as watching grass grow. Tom Holehan, the artistic director of the Stratford based theatre has almost been infallible with his choice of pithy plays. A top notch director who brings out the best in a … read more
Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam: The year is 1910 and a ship full of immigrants is making its way to New York Harbor. Those onboard are excited and singing “We’ve talked about America; we’ve dreamed about coming to America,” and now here they are. In a beautifully rendered musical counterpoint, well dressed capitalist are bemoaning “Another ship of greenhorns.” These … read more
If ever there was a time for theater, it’s now. There are shows all over Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield Counties. The theaters are all a quick drive away and all of these theaters have free or reasonable parking. Long Wharf has a world premiere production of Matthew Barber’s Fireflies, a romance with a star-studded cast. Yale Repertory Theatre has … read more
Goshen Playhouse, Goshen: This is the perfect time to travel up Routes 8 and 4 to visit the animal reserve and then treat yourself to an outstanding 90 minute theater production in Goshen’s Old Town Hall. The scenery is exquisite and it really isn’t more than an hour away – certainly closer than New York and without the traffic or … read more
If ever there was a play that disavowed political correctness, it is David Mamet’s “November.” While Mamet is well known for his use of profanities, in retrospect, this play is not as harsh as some of his other works such as “Glengarry Glen Ross,” and “American Buffalo.” However, he makes up for that with his racist and sexist remarks in … read more
Just the title of Laura Eason’s play at the Westport Country Playhouse is enough to draw attention. “Sex with Strangers” is about a young man who has sex with strangers, and tells all in his blog. Sure, one could point out how timely it is because the characters are on their cell phones, iPods, and laptops, but overall, there’s not … read more
TheatreWorks, New Milford: Once those two little words uttered so sweetly at a marriage ceremony are spoken, the journey of a lifetime begins. It starts with “I Do,” but often includes a lot of “I Don’ts” along the way. In this beautiful musical written by Tom Jones of “The Fantasticks” fame, a couple passionately in love faces the realities of … read more
To say that the South lost the Civil War is a horrific understatement of what the Southern soldiers lost. While some lost arms, legs and body parts, others lost courage, faith, honor and their lives. Playwright Steve Warren dramatically points this out in his play “Rebel Yells,” directed with equal amounts of passion and empathy by Ed Bassett for the … read more
Shrug your shoulder and you communicate that you don’t care. Roll your eyes, and you’re suggesting you don’t buy into something. Body language and gestures often speak volumes. More often words are totally inadequate, especially when it comes to describing depths of personal suffering. This comes through loud and clear in Bess Wohl’s play “Small Mouth Sounds” at Long Wharf … read more
TheaterWorks, Hartford: Playwright Jacques Lamarre must have an appetite for memoirs featuring food. Several years ago his play “I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti” was his adaptation of a memoir of the same name and played the theater circuit for a good run. It featured a woman cooking a meal on stage and serving it to several audience members. … read more