Connecticut Arts Connections

HARTFORD STAGE

Darko Tresnjak, Artistic Director of Hartford Stage, will lead a discussion with Jack Viertel, Artistic Director of New York City Center Encores! and Senior Vice President of Jujamcyn Theaters, at Hartford Stage on Monday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. Viertel will talk about his career and book, The Secret Life of the American Musical, which will be available for sale at the event.

Viertel is senior vice president of Jujamcyn Theaters, which owns and operates five Broadway theaters. He is also the artistic director of New York City Center's Encores! series, which presents three lesser-known musicals in concert productions every season. 

Viertel spent two years as dramaturg of the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles; and from 1980 to 1985, he was the drama critic and arts editor of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. He was the original conceiver of the Broadway shows Smokey Joe's Cafe and After Midnight; and he helped shepherd six of August Wilson's plays to Broadway, as well as Tony Kushner's Angels in America, the original production of Into the Woods, City of Angels, Jelly's Last Jam and Hairspray. He is an adjunct professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, teaching musical theater structure, and began his career playing national steel-body guitar behind Bonnie Raitt, Son House and the Pointer Sisters.

Viertel’s discussion is free to the public, but registration is strongly encouraged. Visit https://hartfordstage.formstack.com/forms/rsvp_jack to register online. For additional information, contact the Hartford Stage Box Office at 860-527-5151.


THE KATE

The Yale Whiffenpoofs, the world's oldest and best-known collegiate a cappella group, will perform at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook, 3 pm May 1. Tickets are $32. For more information, call 877-503-1286 or visit katharinehepburntheater.org.

Kate Classic Film: On Golden Pond --  Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn star in one of the 1980's most honored and cherished films, On Golden Pond, shown at the Kate 7 pm May 12. Tickets are free in honor of Kate’s 109th Birthday. For more information, call 877-503-1286 or visit katharinehepburntheater.org.

MARK TWAIN HOUSE

Do people say you look like Albert Einstein? And do you counter with, “No! I look like Mark Twain!” If so, you’re a great candidate for The Great Mark Twain Look-Alike Contest to be held in Mark Twain’s hometown of Hartford.

You can show up with a wig or without, with a real mustache or fake, in a white suit, ivory suit, or birthday suit (just kidding – you need clothes!), strut on the stage, deliver one Mark Twain quote (verified! – not attributed!), and a panel of distinctive, ornery, and un-bribable judges will determine whether YOU are the winner of The Great Mark Twain Look-Alike Contest! Yes, there will be prizes!

FIRST PRIZE: Bragging Rights, Lifetime Membership at The Mark Twain House & Museum,
and a $100 Gift Certificate to spend in the Museum Store!

SECOND PRIZE: Free One-year Membership at The Mark Twain House & Museum
and a $50 Gift Certificate for the Museum Store!

THIRD PRIZE: Two free passes to tour The Mark Twain House and a $25 Gift Certificate!

ALL CONTESTANTS receive a “GREAT MARK TWAIN LOOK-ALIKE” T-shirt
and one free pass to tour The Mark Twain House! (You can even purchase extra shirts if one just isn't enough!)

Entry fee: $25 (to keep out the riff-raff)

Contestants must register online at http://tinyurl.com/ha7ggha by Sept. 1, 2016.

NOTE: This event is part of Downtown Hartford's 5th Annual EnvisionFest. The contest will take place at 2 pm on Main Street. The stage will be set up across from the Travelers building.