Casting Set for Brand:NEW Fest at Hartford Stage

Casting is set for readings at the Brand:NEW Fall Festival of New Works Oct. 25 - 28 at Hartford Stage.

The Festival will include readings of five new plays by Octavio Solis, Bess Wohl, Dan O'Brien, Matthew Lopez andJanine Nabers, as well as a playwrights' panel Oct. 28 at 4:30 pm. Se Llama Cristina, by Octavio Solis and directed by Loretta Greco, will feature William Zielinski (The Lovely Bones, film), Nancy Rodriguez (The Tempest, Oregon Shakespeare Festival) and Felix Solis (Havana is Waiting, Cherry Lane Theatre). 

Oak Dale, by Dan O'Brien and directed by Elizabeth Williamson, will feature Michael Cullen (Cobb, Falcon Theatre). Reverberation, by Matthew Lopez and directed by Maxwell Williams, will feature Nick Westrate (the North American premiereof Tribes,) and Chris Perfetti (Sons of the Prophet, Roundabout Theatre Company). 

A Swell in the Ground, by Janine Nabers and directed by Hana Sharif, will feature Sofia Jean Gomez (Angels in America: Part 1&2, Signature Theatre Company), Patch Darragh (The Glass Menagerie, Roundabout Theatre Company) and Leroy McClain (Broadway's Cymbeline)

The schedule of events for Brand:NEW is as follows:

Se Llama Cristina: Thursday, Oct, 25 at 7:30 pm
American Hero: Friday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 pm
Oak Dale: Saturday, Oct. 27 at 2 pm
Reverberation: Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 pm
A Swell in the Ground: Sunday, Oct. 28 at 2 pm

Brand:NEW readings will be at Hartford Stage's Rehearsal Studio 2 at 942 Main St., Hartford (the Residence Inn building). See all five readings for $25 ($20 for Hartford Stage subscribers) or individual readings for $10 each. Tickets are available by calling the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151 or by visiting www.hartfordstage.org.

Cindy Wiliams Blesses Palace Theater with Performance in Nunset Boulevard

Cindy Williams. Photo: courtesy of the Palace

The Little Sisters of Hoboken have gone Hollywood in the highly anticipated, latest installment of Dan Goggin’s international smash-hit Nunsense franchise, Nunset Boulevard: The Nunsense Hollywood Bowl Show, which will be presented at the Palace Theater in Waterbury on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 pm.

The tour stars Cindy Williams (Shirley of “Laverne & Shirley” fame), who will reprise her role as “Mother Superior” from the Meadow Brook Theatre presentation of the original Nunsense. Tickets are $75 and $45 and can be purchased by phone at 203-346-2000, online atwww.palacetheaterct.org, or in person at the Box Office, 100 East Main St., Waterbury.

Nunset Boulevard follows the latest exploits of The Little Sisters of Hoboken, who have been invited to perform at the Hollywood Bowl. They are thrilled at the prospect until they arrive and realize that they are booked into the Hollywood Bowl-A-Rama - a bowling alley with a cabaret lounge - and not the famed “Bowl” they imagined. Things do not go as planned until The Sisters catch wind of the fact that Movie Producer James Todd is across the street auditioning for roles in his new movie musical about the life of Dolores Hart, the famous movie star who became a nun. The Sisters, thinking they are naturals for parts, race off to audition during their show’s intermission. Could this be their big break?

As part of a special fundraiser for the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, CT, where Sister Dolores Hart currently resides, a portion of ticket proceeds from the Palace’s presentation of Nunset Boulevard will benefit the Abbey’s New Horizons Fund. Before the show, Sister Dolores will meet and greet patrons in the orchestra lobby, and after the show, patrons who purchased a $75 ticket will be invited to attend a post-show reception meet-and-greet in the mezzanine lobby with star Cindy Williams, director Dan Goggin and other members of the cast.

At 5:30 pm, Emily’s Catering Group will prepare a preshow dinner in the Palace’s Poli Club, located on the Mezzanine level of the theater. The dinner is $40 per member and $50 per non-member, which includes tax, service fees, coffee, and tea. A cash bar is also available. Seating is limited, and reservations can be made when purchasing tickets through the Box Office.

Nunsense, the creation of Catholic-school-educated author/composer Dan Goggin, premiered in New York City at the Cherry Lane Theater in 1985, where it won four Outer Critics' Circle Awards, including “Best Off-Broadway Musical.” It then transferred to the Douglas Fairbanks Theater on 42nd Street, where it ran for over 10 years, and has been presented all over the world in over 8,000 productions, grossing more than $500,000,000. During its New York run,Nunsense became the second longest running musical in Off Broadway history, eclipsed only byThe Fantasticks. For more information, visit www.nunsense.com.

Win Two Tickets to See Broadway's Golden Boy

Golden Boy, starring Danny Burstein (South Pacific, Follies, "Boardwalk Empire"), Danny Mastrogiorgio, Seth Numrich (War Horse), Tony Shalhoub (Lend Me A Tenor, "Monk") and Yvonne Strahovski ("Chuck," "Dexter") begins previews Nov. 8. 

Set in the vivid world of prizefighting’s past, Golden Boy, Clifford Odets’ most popular play, is the story of Joe Bonaparte, a promising young violinist who forsakes his family and artistic dreams for the lure of fame and fortune in the ring. Bartlett Sher (Awake and Sing!, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, South Pacific) directs this 75th Anniversary production in the Belasco, the same theater in which it premiered.

For a chance to win a voucher for two tickets to a performance, email your name, address (US only) and a comment about why you would like to see the show with "GOLDEN BOY" in the subject line by Friday, Oct. 26 at midnight (Eastern time) to masterworkproductions@yahoo.com. All responders will be entered in a drawing for the voucher (good through Dec. 13, 2012). Winner will be notified Saturday, Oct. 27.

Composition of HSO's Upcoming Schedule....

JAZZ AND STRINGS: FIRST LIGHT- A TRIBUTE TO FREDDIE HUBBARDwith Brian Lynch, trumpet; Gene Bozzi, artistic director and drums; Edward Rozie, bass; Walter Gwardyak, arranger and piano
Friday, November 2, 2012 │ 8:00 p.m.
Theater for the Performing Arts at the Learning Corridor│Free Secure Parking
The HSO will join with trumpeter Brain Lynch in a tribute to this 1971 album, considered to be a modern classic.

MASTERWORKS SERIES: APPALACHIAN SPRING
with Carolyn Kuan, Music Director & conductor; Tony Spada, electric guitar
Thursday November 8, 2012 │ 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 9, 2012 │ 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 10, 2012 │ 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 11, 2012 │ 3:00 p.m.
Belding Theater │ The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Appalachian Spring has endured as one of America’s most beloved orchestral works, with its memorable conclusion based on the Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts.” Hear Carolyn Kuan conduct the beautiful original orchestration, along with Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, drawn from Bohemian folk music, and Daugherty’s Gee’s Bend, which takes its bluesy inspiration from the spirituals, quilts and quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama.

POPS SERIES: KING OF SWING with BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY
with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, guest artists
Saturday, November 17, 2012 │ 7:30 p.m.
Mortensen Hall │ The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Grab your “King of Swing” and “Go Daddy O” to see the HSO and guest artists Big Bad Voodoo Daddy take a New Orleans-style twist on the legendary big bands and swing orchestras as part of their Rattle Them Bones Tour. “Retro hep-cat cool.” – Rolling Stone. “The music picks up a beat and doesn’t let go.” – Everett Daily Herald.

SUNDAY SERENADES: FOUR CENTURIES IN FRANCE
with Leonid Sigal, artistic director and concertmaster; Michael Wheeler, HSO principal viola; Eric Dahlin, HSO assistant principal cello; Edward Rozie, HSO principal bass; Greig Shearer, HSO principal flute; Heather Taylor, HSO principal oboe; Curt Blood, HSO principal clarinet; Louis Lazzerini, HSO Assistant Principal Bassoon; Barbara Hill, HSO principal horn; Margreet Francis, HSO principal piano
Sunday, November 18, 2012 │ 2:00 p.m.
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
In conjunction with the exhibition Medieval to Monet: French Paintings in the Wadsworth Atheneum, enjoy four centuries of music by French composers Couperin, Pleyel, Debussy and Ravel performed by HSO principal musicians. These paintings, drawings and pastels, some rarely on view, represent every major period in French artistic practice from the 15th to the 19th centuries and include works by the country’s leading artists such as Poussin, Chardin, Boucher, Delacroix, Monet and Vuillard.

MASTERWORKS SERIES: PACHELBEL AND TCHAIKOVSKY
with Joel Smirnoff, conductor; Michael Wheeler, viola
Thursday, November 29, 2012 │ 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 30, 2012 │ 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 1, 2012 │ 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 2, 2012 │ 3:00 p.m.
Belding Theater │ The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Eminent Julliard String Quartet violinist and conductor Joel Smirnoff will make his HSO debut leading some of the most memorable string compositions in the world, as well as Tchaikovsky’s rich and evocative Symphony No. 1, “Winter Daydreams.”

HANDEL’S MESSIAH
with Richard Coffey, guest conductor; CONCORA- Richard Coffey, artistic director
Friday, December 14, 2012 │ 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 15, 2012 │ 7:30 p.m.
Asylum Hill Congregational Church
HSO and CONCORA come together in an intimate and inspirational setting to perform one of the most famous choral works ever written- Handel’s Messiah- featuring the sensational “Hallelujah Chorus.”
Ticket Information: $35 General Admission

POPS SERIES: HOLIDAY CIRQUE SPECTACULAR
with Carolyn Kuan, conductor; Cirque de la Symphonie, guest artists
Saturday, December 22, 2012 │ 3:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Mortensen Hall │ The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
The HSO’s holiday experience will rise to new heights as Cirque de la Symphonie performs on and above the stage. Hear holiday favorites while experiencing an awe-inspiring performance as the circus meets the symphony. Stunning aerial feats, strong-men, mind-boggling contortionists and juggling acts will take your breath away as HSO celebrates the magic and the spirit of the season with the ultimate holiday extravaganza.

MASTERWORKS SERIES: SYMPHONIE FANSTASTIQUE
with Carolyn Kuan, music director & conductor; Alexander Kerr, violin
Thursday, January 10, 2013 │ 7:30 p.m.
Friday, January 11, 2013 │ 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 12, 2013 │ 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 13, 2013 │ 3:00 p.m.
Belding Theater │ The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise is one of the most romantic classical pieces ever written. Symphonie Fantastique changed the musical world and takes listeners to a place just as vivid, obsessive and passionate as it was in Berlioz’s day. Barber’s Violin Concerto is lyrically indulgent, from the composer who also wrote the beautiful Adagio for Strings. Join HSO and world-renowned violinist Alexander Kerr on this amorous musical adventure.
************************************************************************
Ticket Information: To purchase tickets or for more information, please contact HSO ticket services at (860)244-2999 or visit www.hartfordsymphony.org.
-Single tickets to the 2012-2013 Masterworks Series range in price from $35.50-$70.50.
-Single tickets to the 2012-2013 Pops Series range in price from $20-$67.50.
-Subscriptions to the 2012-2013 Sunday Serenades Series are $64; single tickets are $30 ($25 for HSO Subscribers and Atheneum members). Ticket price includes general admission to the Wadsworth Atheneum on the days of the concerts.
-Subscriptions to the 2012-2013 Jazz and Strings Series are $104 for center orchestra seating and $54 for general orchestra seating; single tickets are $40 for center orchestra seating and $20 for general orchestra seating.
-Tickets to Handel’s Messiah are $35 for general admission. Student tickets are available for $15.
-A limited number of $25 tickets are available for patrons age 40 and under at the Masterworks and Pops Series’ Saturday performances.
-Student tickets, available for Masterworks, Pops, and Jazz and Strings concerts, are $10.

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s 2012-2013 season is sponsored by Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra receives major support from the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism. The 2012-2013 Masterworks Series is sponsored by MetLife Foundation and The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation, with additional concert support from Cigna, Hartford Hospital, and the Katharine K. McLane and Henry R. McLane Charitable Trust. The HSO 2012-2013 POPS! Series is presented by United Technologies Corporation, with additional concert support from Hartford Hospital and Prudential Retirement. The 2012-2013 Sunday Serenades Series is sponsored in part by The Saunders Foundation Music Endowment at the Wadsworth Atheneum.

John Denver Tribute Plays at Downtown Cabaret

Courtesy of Downton Cabaret Theatre

Tribute to John Denver featuring Ted Vigil with special guest Steve Weisberg, Denver’s lead guitar player, plays Bridgeport’s Downtown Cabaret Theatre for two performances only Saturday, Oct. 27 at 5:30 and 8 pm. 

The 75-minute show will be performed without an intermission at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre, 263 Golden Hill St., Bridgeport. Doors will open 30 minutes prior to each scheduled performance. All Reserved tickets are: $33: 203-576-1636;  downtowncabaret.org; Box Office Hours: 11am to 4:30pm – Sundays thru Saturdays, open 90 minutes prior to scheduled performance times.

Goodspeed Announces 50th Anniversary Season Lineup

Goodspeed has announced the lineup for its 50th anniversary season.

Good News (Words and Music by B.G. DeSylva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson) will run from April 12 – June 22; Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly! will run from June 28 – Sept.8; and Frank Loesser’s The Most Happy Fella will run from Sept. 20 – Dec. 1. on Broadway.

Advance season subscriptions are now on sale (860-873-8668). Single tickets go on public sale beginning Feb. 17, 2013.

Connecticut Arts Connections for the Week of Oct. 22

Dance-theater artist Judy Dworin's new work “Meditations from a Garden Seat,” will have its premiere at Charter Oak Cultural Center, Nov. 1-3. It is intended to "challenge common perceptions of the incarcerated by depicting their questing spirit, permanent sorrows, and joyous transformations within the barren confines of prison." General admission is $25, $15 for seniors and GHAC Let’s Go! members, and $10 for students. For more information, visit www.charteroakcenter.org or call 860-249-1207.

Caveman, a play by Richard Maxwell, directed by Roy Faudree will be presented in Garmany Hall at Trinity College’s Austin Arts Center, Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 pm and Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16 and 17 at 4:30 and 8:30 pm. Running time is one hour, with no intermission. Admission is free; seating is limited, however, so reservations are strongly recommended. 860-297-2199.

Due to illness, last Friday's Navaratri Festival concert, "B. Balasubrahmaniyan: Vocal Music of South India", was postponed until Friday, Nov. 2 at 8 pm in Crowell Concert Hall at Wesleyan University. The  Box Office is contacting all ticket holders; tickets for the postponed concert will be honored at the rescheduled concert.

Courtesy of TheaterWorks

FOCUS NEXT, is a juried show presented by TheaterWorks and Paper New England. Faculty from the Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, Central Connecticut State University, Wesleyan University, Trinity College and the University of Connecticut were invited to submit the work of BFA / BA students who best represented the strength of their programs. The artists included in FOCUS NEXT are either recent graduates or about to graduate: Hartford Art School - Sandy Chase, Akino Fukawa and Kaitlin Lennon; from Trinity College - Katherine Crescenzo,; from Wesleyan Uniiversity - Cordelia Blanchard; from UCONN - Katie Wild; Matthew Comeau and Taylor Lynch; and from CCSU - Alexa Fermeglia. Also on view throughout TheaterWorks first floor - large works by New Haven artist JD Richey. Now Through Nov. 11. Gallery Hours: Monday through Friday 9 - 3 pm. By appointment - and 90 minutes pre-show.

Seven Angels Matinee Cancelled After Actress Injured

Ron Crawford and Marie Wallace. Photo courtesy of Seven Angels Theatre.

Actress Marie Wallace was injured in a fall from the stage at the Opening Night performance of The Last Romance, a play by Joe DiPietro, at Seven Angels Theatre last night.

Today's matinee (Oct 21) has been cancelled. Ticket holders for both performances may exchange tickets for a different date.

The first act of the comedy/romance had just finished when, in the blackout into intermission, Wallace fell off the front stage right portion of the stage. Houselights came back up and theater staff rushed to her aid. An ambulance was called and the stunned audience was asked to exit into the lobby for intermission.

After about 10 minutes, personnel started setting up food service for what was supposed to be the post-show party. An announcement was made saying that Wallace was in "good spirits" and was being taken to the hospital. The second act was cancelled and the aidience invited to enjoy the food. Later the theater announced that today's matinee also would be cancelled.

Updates on Wallace's condition and any additional schedule changes will be posted here at The CT Arts Connection as they become available. The Seven Angels Box Office is located at 1 Plank Rd., Waterbury. For information call 203-757-4676.

Theater Review: Venus in Fur -- TheaterWorks

Liv Rooth and David Christopher Wells. Photo: Lanny Nagler

It Was A Dark -- and 50-Shades-of-Grey-Kind -of -- Night
By Lauren Yarger
It was a dark and stormy -- and 50-Shades-of-Grey-kind-of -- night. If that opening sentence piques your interest, you’re going to love David Ives’ play Venus in Fur opening the 2012-2013 season over at TheaterWorks Hartford. If not, you might want to stay home.

While thunder and lightning rage (thank light and sound designers John Lasiter, Vincent Olivieri and Beth Lake), playwright Thomas (David Christopher Wells) prepares to head home to his fiancée after a long day of frustrating auditions during which he hasn’t found an actress to play Vanda, the character in his adaptation of a 19th-century erotic novel about sadomasochism.

In walks a ditsy blonde, delayed by the storm, who begs for a chance to read for the part. Her name is Vanda (Liv Rooth), after all. She was born to play Vanda. Thomas finally agrees to read a few pages with her and find out whether “she can take direction.”

She quickly sets about setting the mood in the drab rehearsal room (Donald Eastman, set design) and getting into one of the many costume items she has brought in an oversized bag (Alejo Vietti, costume design).

Magically, the crass blonde is transformed into the polished woman from the erotic novel and Thomas, intrigued, eagerly steps into the role of the nobleman who begs her to dominate him. Vanda somehow seems to have the lines memorized and they begin an extended exploration of the script. Initially he sees it as a serious love story, but Vanda sees it as porn.

Rooth and Wells step in and out of characters, switching different voices – sometimes in mid sentence -- as Thomas and Vanda play the characters and step back to discuss their motivation or what might improve a scene in the play. 

While the characters in the play change roles – Vanda agrees to overpower her lover and make him her slave -- the dynamics between the in-charge playwright and worshipping actress also switch and the modern-day Vanda starts to sense that Thomas would welcome a firmer hand from her. As the “audition” progresses, truth is revealed about Thomas’ relationship with his fiancée and about why Vanda really is there with him.

The play is fun to watch because of the morphing between characters and there are some moments of humor. The thrust (pardon the pun) of the 90 minutes, however, is to provide a titillating glimpse into the word of sadomasochism. The dialogue from Thomas’ play is all about it as the nobleman details his abuse as a child by an aunt who opened his eyes to the world of domination. The language gets very specific as Vanda steps into the role of dominatrix. 

“There is nothing more sexual than pain, nothing more pleasurable than degradation,” he tells her.”

Meanwhile, the theme plays out in the present too as Thomas and Vanda’s relationship heats up when the balance of power shifts. (No one under the age of 18 is allowed for this show because of the adult language and sexual content.)

There really was an 1870 novella called “Venus in Furs” by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch for whom the kinky type of sex is named and the current blockbuster success of the “50 Shades of Grey” novels proves interest hasn’t waned. 

Ives’ play was a success both Off-Broadway and on, due greatly to the powerhouse, breakout performance of Nina Arianda who won this year’s Tony as Best Actress in a play for her turn as Vanda (Rooth was her understudy on Broadway).

Here, under the direction of Rob Ruggiero, the play seems less complex, the subtle changes more pronounced, the mystery more telegraphed. Rooth’s ditsy blonde seems forced and surprisingly there isn’t much sizzle between the actors who reportedly are romantically involved in real life.

But if you, as Thomas says, “go to plays for passion we don’t get in life,” get right over to the TheaterWorks Box Office.

Venus in Fur has been extended at TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl St., Hartford through Nov. 18; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday at 8 pm; Weekend matinees 2:30 pm (except Nov. 4 – no matinee and special evening performance at 7:30) Tickets $17 college student; $50 general admission; $13 extra for center reserved seating (860) 527-7838; www.theatreworkshartford.org.

Theater Review: A Raisin in the Sun -- Westport

Luka Kain, Lynda Gravátt, and Susan Kelechi Watson . Photo:. Charles Erickson

How it All Started -- Before Clybourne Park
By Lauren Yarger

A Raisin n the Sun has been a classic, telling of the American African experience at the dawn of the Civil Rights movement on Chicago's South Side, since it first debuted on Broadway in 1959 (the first play by an African-American woman to be produced on the Great White Way). While some plays that broke ground in the mid 20th century have seemed sleepy and a mere rehash of old concerns when they have been revived recently, that's not the case for Westport County Playhouse's neat production directed by Phylicia Rashad.

 

A focus on characters -- whose future legacy is the premise of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize winning play Clybourne Park -- makes this production of Lorraine Hansberry's work feel like a visit to old friends, or a smile-filled time of flipping the memories in a family photo album because we know how it all turned out. Rashad herself brings memories to the show: she won the 2004 Tony Award for best Actress for her portrayal of Ruth in the Broadway revival.

 

Hansberry was inspired to write A Raisin in the Sun by her family's battle against racial segregation in Chicago. The Younger family is awaiting the arrival of an insurance check that could change their lives and get them out of the "rat trap" they rent. It's crowded. Sharing the apartment are matriarch Lena (Lynda Gravátt), daughter Beneatha (Edena Hines), son Walter Lee (Billy Eugene Jones) and his wife, Ruth (Susan Kelchi Watson), their son, Travis (Luka Kain) who has to make his bed on the living room couch. Each has a different idea of how the $10,000 left after the death of Lena's husband should be used, but most vocal is Walter Lee. He wants to leave behind his job of a "yes, sir," "no, sir," chauffeur it to invest in a liquor store with a couple of buddies.

 

Lena, making plain to Walter Lee that she is the head of the family, decrees that part of the money wil be used to finance Beneatha's dream to be a doctor and another part will finance a dream she shares with Ruth: a home of their own. Walter Lee's drinking hasn't helped the growing estrangement between him and his wife and she has plans to abort the baby. Moving up might just keep the family together. The dream almost turns into a nightmare, however, when Lena puts a down payment on a house in the all-white neighborhood of Clybourne Park.

 

Karl Linder (John Hemphill), president of the neighborhood's "welcoming committee," pays a visit and makes it clear that the Clybourne Park folks don't want any of "you people" bringing down the values of their homes. He offers to buy the Youngers out of their agreement -- a proposition that first angers the family, but later might be necessary when Walter Lee makes a huge mistake and invests some funds in a scheme with sidekick Bobo (Alvin Crawford).

 

Meanwhile, Benny struggles to find an identity, the extremes of which are represented in the two men she dates: Joseph Asagai (Hubert Point-Du Jour), a fellow student from Nigeria who encourages her to embrace her roots and George Murchison (Gabriel Brown), a sort of nerdy guy who has assimilated himself into the white culture.

The decisions they make and the effect give the play its name, taken from the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, which includes the lines: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris is a response to A Raisin in the Sun and reprises the Linder character. (You can see Clybourne Park here in Connecticut May 8- June 2 at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven).

Performances are good (David Blackwell associate directs), with actors clothed in period (and African) garb by costume designer Esosa on Edward Burbridge's detailed set that show a worse-for-wear apartment. Gravátt propels the show as the wise, faith-grounded matriarch who wants something better for her children and Watson delivers a layered Ruth full of warmth and depth.

A Raisin in The Sun plays through Nov. 3 at the Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport. Ticket and performance information: 203-227-4177; www.westportplayhouse.org.

Other news about the show:

Westport Country Playhouse will present “A Day for Community,” on Sunday, Oct. 28, when all tickets will be $15 for the 3 pm matinee performance. Following the performance, there will be a “Post-Show Conversation: A Day for Community” centered on the theme of community as reflected in Hansberry’s play, featuring David J. Dent, professor of journalism at New York University, and Larri Mazon, chair of the Bridge Building Ministry at the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport. Additional guests to be announced. Before the performance, there will be a reception in the Playhouse lobby.

.

For a video, click here.