Curtain Call

As most theaters are well aware of, I do not review student or youth productions. However, because my next door neighbor, a rising star for sure, and a former student of mine were in the Trumbull Youth Summer Production of “Shrek,” I had to see it. This is not a review of the show, which I have to say impressed me a lot, but it is a testament to the clever and talented kids who are in the show. I attended the free night production because it was the only night I had available. Everything was going along smoothly when … Read more

Clay & Wattles Theater Company presents She Loves Me at The Gary-The Olivia Theatre on the grounds of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem. This musical by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joe Masteroff is one of those feel good shows that makes summer lighter and brighter no matter a matinee or evening performance. As usual director/choreographer Sally Camm has masterfully brought together a fine cast. Music Director, Dr. Fernando Jiménez has also brought together seven talented musicians. While most of the cast has outstanding voices, all of them look perfect for their roles. Monica Charline Brown as Amalia … Read more

Thrown Stone Theatre, Ridgefield: Julia and Walter are about to venture out for dinner, when Julia notices that Walter is preoccupied with something. When she finally gets him to tell her what’s bothering him, he shows her his tail. It is a big, fluffy rabbit’s tail. It’s quite funny to see this grown man with a rabbit’s tail, but as the play unfolds, we realize that this play is not so funny. It is a metaphor for transforming from one world into another — a metaphor for dying. At first Julia is full of hope that her brother, a doctor, … Read more

The flow of talent from theater to theater and town to town up and down and across Connecticut is amazing. Since I cover so much Connecticut theater, I have a unique view. While it’s just common sense that actors, directors and crews from the Greater Waterbury area would travel to the Warner Theatre, Landmark, The Phoenix Stage Company and other local community theaters, I have seen a move south where actors from the greater Waterbury area are now showing up at theaters such as the Brookfield Playhouse, the Town Players of Newtown and now, most noticeably, The Ridgefield Theater Barn. … Read more

It seems as though the only places people are stepping out to these days are grocery stores and gas stations. However, both of these places do little to cure cabin fever. This has been a brutally cold January, and hopefully the frigid weather will break soon. People do need to get out and about before they feel like prisoners in their homes. Theater is the perfect cure for cabin fever because it transports audiences to other places and other times. That’s why theater lovers are anxious for new play productions to start filling the 2018 calendar. Last week, I mentioned … Read more