Latest Connecticut Connections

Here's what I missed while on vacation!

• Shakespeare's final play, The Tempest, will be the final MainStage production of Hartford Stage's 48th season. The selection is the first by Hartford Stage's new Artistic Director, Darko Tresnjak, who partners with Managing Director Mike Stotts to lead the Tony Award-winning theatre. Tresnjak will direct the production, which will run at Hartford Stage May 10 - June 3, 2012; it will be his 21st professional Shakespeare production.
• Hartford Stage will hold auditions for children of all ethnic backgrounds, ages 6-13 years old, for the Tony Award-winning theatre's 14th annual production of A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas.  Children auditioning may not turn 14 years of age until after December 31, 2011.  Rehearsals begin November 11, with performance dates from Tuesday, November 22 through Friday, December 30. When:   Auditions will be on Monday, September 12 and Tuesday, September 13 with callbacks on Wednesday, September 14. Where/How:   Auditions are by appointment only; there are a limited number of appointments available.  To schedule an audition, call 860-520-7103 Monday through Friday between 10 am and 5 pm.   Appointments will not be taken after 5 pm. on Friday, Sept. 9.  Audition location and requirements will be discussed when parents or guardians call to arrange an appointment.
• Adult and middle school students will have the opportunity to bolster their acting and improvisational abilities with Long Wharf Theatre’s slate of Fall Studio School classes, beginning Sept. 10. For more information about Long Wharf Theatre’s Education program, visit www.longwharf.org or call Education Program Manager Corey Morrison at 203-772-8262.
• Nook Farm Book Talk Monday, Sept. 12 at Stowe Center: "Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Reading Revolution: Race, Literacy, Childhood and Fiction, 1851-1911" by Barbara Hochman. Meet the author and get your book signed! Hochman, a professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, provides her take on how Stowe's classic work has been read and studied from the pre-Civil War period through the early 20th century. For more information, call 860-522-9258, Ext. 317, or visit www.HarrietBeecherStowe.org.
• The warm sounds of bossa nova, samba and other music of Brazil will resound through the Mark Twain House & Museum's Murasaki Café on Sunday, Sept 18, as the museum's popular series of Sunday Jazz Brunches, presented by Hartford's acclaimed Café Eiko at Japanalia jazz series, launches its fall season. There will be two seatings for the Bossa Nova Jazz Brunch on Sunday, September 18, at 11:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. The $35 admission includes the performance, full brunch, soft drinks and hot beverages. Alcoholic beverages are available at an additional charge. Reservations are a must, as these brunches sell out quickly. Call 860-280-3130 for reservations.
• The appearance of Dan Savage, originally scheduled for Sept. 30 in the series "A Pen Warmed Up in Hell" at The Mark Twain House & Museum, has been postponed. A new date for his appearance will be announced in the coming months.
• A reading of the 2011 winner of the Yale Drama Series New Light Shine by Shannon Murdoch, directed by Jackson Gay, on Monday, Sept.12, at 7:30 pm at the Iseman Theater (1156 Chapel Street).The reading is free and open to the public. Reservations are strongly encouraged. Call 203-436-8957 or emaildramaseries@yale.edu.
•  If you’ve ever dreamed of performing with an award-winning professional orchestra, now is your chance. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Carolyn Kuan are inviting all interested singers in the Hartford area to join the HSO for two choral pieces at the close of the “Picnic in the Park” concert on Sunday Sept. 25 at 2 pm in Bushnell Park. Singers who are interested in joining the choir or who have questions about the event should e-mail Grant Meachum, Director of Artistic Operations at gmeachum@hartfordsymphony.org.
• Hello! My Baby, Goodspeed’s audience favorite from the 2011 Festival of New Artists, will be the third and final production of the season at The Norma Terris Theater in Chester Nov. 3 - 27. For more information call the Goodspeed Box Office at 860.873.8668 or visit www.goodspeed.org.