Connecticut Arts Connections This Week

Just in time for Halloween, Woodbury Ballet Theatre presents Dracula at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, on Saturday, October 20, at 8 p.m. Tickets are$48, $38, and $28 and can be purchased by phone at 203-346-2000, online atwww.palacetheaterct.org, or at the Box Office, 100 East Main Street in Waterbury.

Based on Bram Stokers chilling story of good, evil, romance, seduction and sacrifice, the hauntingly beautiful ballet features a deliciously dangerous musical score that will have audiences on the edge of their seat and biting for more.

Directors Randyl Errica and Justin Sherwood have recreated this ballet to reflect the age-old theme of good and evil. After researching books, films, and anthologies, the issue of human verses monster became very clear to them in many different portrayals of Dracula. As a vampire, his survival is intertwined with evil as his necessity to remain in existence can only be satisfied by the extraction of life from goodness. This ballet delineates Dracula’s innate romantic side through his passion and love for Mina that encompassed him for 2000 years. The life-line of “goodness” is choreographed through the continuous return of the “Mourners,” women in black grieving the loss of humanity in Dracula, while searching for the white light of spirituality and the release of the monster.

After the performance, the Woodbury Ballet and the Arts and Culture Collaborative of Greater Waterbury will host a post-show champagne reception fundraiser in the mezzanine lobby for an additional $22. A bottle of Vampire Wine will be complimentary with the purchase of a VIP ticket.

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In an effort to create greater accessibility for students and encourage their attendance throughout the run of Lorraine Hansberry’s landmark play, A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad at Westport Country Playhouse, tickets for students will be $15 at all performances. The play is appropriate for ages 12 and up. The student ticket access program is supported in part by a grant from The Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Foundation. A valid student ID will be required. Performances are October 9 through November 3, Tuesday at 8 p.m., Wednesday at 2 and 8 pm, Thursday and Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 3 and 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Students may call the Playhouse box office at (203) 227-4177, or stop by the Playhouse at 25 Powers Court, Westport, between noon and 6 pm, to purchase $15 tickets. In addition, educators are eligible for 50 percent discounts at all performances.

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A new production of David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross, will be staged next month in the Wien Experimental Theatre at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University. Performances take place at 8 pm Wednesday through Saturday, Oct. 3- 6. Following each performance, the play’s production team and faculty members discuss the play. Tickets are $20 and are available through the Quick Center Box Office: 203-254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396). Tickets can also be purchased online at fairfield.edu/quick. The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Fairfield University at 1073 North Benson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. Visit www.quickcenter.com.

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Hartford Stage presents "A Grand Night for Singing," an evening of cabaret and a fundraising event to benefit Hartford Stage on Thursday, Sept. 27. The performance will be at 7:30 pm and a reception follows at 8:45.