Orange is the New Black Author Comes to Hartford Stage

Piper Kerman

The Dec. 12 appearance of activist/author Piper Kerman ("Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison") has been moved to Hartford Stage.

Community Partners in Action, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center and the Mark Twain Houseand Museum are co-sponsoring the author talk and book signing 7 pm at Hartford Stage (previously scheduled at the Stowe Center). Maureen Price-Boreland, Community Partners in Action's executive director, will facilitate the conversation.

Tickets, $25 (or $20 for members of the Stowe or Twain museums) are available by calling 860-280-3130 or online atpiperkerman.brownpapertickets.com.

After spending a year in Danbury’s federal correctional facility for women, Kerman compiled her prison experiences into the memoir, "Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Woman's Prison," now a wildly popular Netflix television series.

Kerman served 15 months in prison for a drug trafficking crime she committed 10 years prior. Compelling, moving, and often hilarious, the stories of the women she met while in prison raise issues of friendship and family, mental illness, the odd cliques and codes of behavior, the role of religion, the uneasy relationship between prisoner and jailor, and the almost complete lack of guidance for life after prison.

The event will also feature a performance by Women on Our Own. An artistic outreach program from the Judy Dworin Performance Project, Women on Our Own is a group of women who, having re-entered the community from prison, are sharing their abundant and spirited vocal gifts with local and regional audiences. 

The Women on Our Own singer-artists, under the direction of singer/songwriter Leslie Bird, perform at concerts, work places and other community events, presenting original songs, as well as a selections of JDPP songs that have evolved from the organization's work with women at York Correctional Institution, their own arrangements of songs from the '60s and '70s and songs of spirit and affirmation.

Hartford Stage Switches Out Love & Other Fables for Vanya, Sonia, Masha & Spike

From the Broadway production of Vanya, Sonia, Masha & Spike: David Hyde Pierce, Sigourney Weaver, Kristine Nielsen, and Billy Magnussen. Photo: Carol Rosegg

Hartford Stage will postpone next spring’s Love and Other Fables and present instead the winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang, according to Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak.
 
Durang’s laugh-out-loud comedy will play the exact same dates, beginning May 22, 2014, so subscribers will not need to exchange tickets. Individual ticket buyers for Love and Other Fables will be contacted by the Hartford Stage box office with the option of either seeing Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike or receiving a full refund.
 
Tony Award-winning director John Rando’s schedule next spring no longer permits him to direct Love and Other Fables, a project he has shepherded for two years. Hartford Stage hopes to present this new musical in a future season. Hartford Stage Associate Artistic Director Maxwell Williams will direct ‘Vanya.’
 
The toast of Broadway this year, ‘Vanya’ also earned the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk awards, all for best play of the season. 
 
Vanya creates a wildly funny farce about a self-absorbed movie star — with her 20-something boy-toy in tow — who returns to the family farmhouse to visit her brother and sister. Her arrival and subsequent announcement quickly turn this reunion into an outlandish blast of hilarity. You can read a review of the show in New York here:http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/2013/03/theater-review-vanya-and-sonia-and.html#.Up3FucRDuFs
 
For information, visit www.hartfordstage.org or call the Hartford Stage box office at (860) 527-5151.
 

Thanksgiving Break

Theater News and Reviews will resume Dec. 3. Happy Thanksgiving!

Theater Review: The Three Musketeers -- CT Repertory

Marisa Desa and Anthony Goes. Photo: Gerry Goodstein 

By Lauren Yarger

It’s the age-old story: young D’Artagnan (Will Haden) arrives in Paris looking for adventure and to pursue his father’s place as one of the king’s special guard. He is befriended by The Three Musketeers, Athos (Thomas Brazzle), Porthos (Anthony J. Goes) and Aramis (James Jelkin) and soon finds himself in the middle of swashbuckling swordfights, treason and romance.

It lends itself to super staging and exciting theater, but the adaptation by Linda Alper, Douglas Langworthy and Penny Metropulos, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas and getting a run over at CT Repertory at UConn’s Jorgensen Theatre, gets bogged down in details. Except for exciting fight scenes staged by Director Tony Simotes and Greg Webster, its pace is too slow and its focus too disjointed for us to start yelling, “One for All and All for One!”

The very large cast is made up mostly of acting students. Three Equity actors lend their talents to the production: “triple threat” Alexander Sovronsky who plays Captain de Treville, the Duke of Buckingham and composes original music for the production, Goes as Porthos and Rocco Sisto, who seems often to be reaching for his lines, as the evil and conniving Cardinal Richelieu.

Haden offers an exuberant D’Artagnan who falls in love lady-in-waiting Constance Bonacieux (Sarah Wintermeyer), who unfortunately already has a husband (a humorous Darak Burkowski). They have a nice chemistry, but the camaraderie among the musketeers never seems to gel. The scenes where D’Artagnan wins the loyalty of the other three don’t ring true.

Meanwhile, King Louis XVIII (Coles Prince) is portrayed as an effeminate buffoon. We fully understand the disgust of his queen, Anne (Khetanya Henderson), and her continued liaison with her former beau, the Duke of Buckingham (also well played by Sovronsky).

Unfortunately, in this tale, we’re not supposed to be on the same side as Cardinal Richelieu and his accomplice in treason, Milady de Winter (Olivia Saccomanno), when it comes to our thoughts about the king. More often than not the king in The Three Musketeers is portrayed as a shy, young boy, who is manipulated by Richelieu and we root for the Musketeers to protect him and the throne. Vive La France!! But this interpretation of the king doesn’t even inspire an “en guarde!.” Prince does a fine job delivering the character as he has been directed to, as a neglectful, self -indulgent fool, however. His comic talent causes us to laugh while we are hoping he will be deposed when he ballet dances to make an exit….. It’s not the performance, but the role as written that disappoints.

For me this tale seemed more about details of plot and trying to be historically accurate and my interest waned. The beautifully detailed, plush costumes designed by Fan Zhang accomplish this, as do the nicely styled wigs and hair, but a very dull, grey-black skeleton frame set with unfinished arches against a grey background (designed by Posy Knight) takes its cue from a dull script rather than from the splendors of the Parisian court which might have helped light up this production. Lighting Designer Sean Nicholl does create a red hue for scenes when the cardinal is plotting away at his devilish schemes to add a bit of color.

Noteworthy among the performances is Harry Eifenbaum as D’Artagnan’s servant Planchet. He takes a small part and makes it memorable with each flip of his feather duster. Similarly, Susanna Resnikoff, as a jeweler named Reilly, gets some of the biggest laughs with a few well delivered “Hmmmms.”

Performance times vary for this run because of the Thanksgiving holiday, so check with the box office to schedule your visit. I did leave before the full two-hour-and-45-minute run was done, because my theater companion was feeling unwell and needed to get home. Stick it out and let me know whether your allegiance for the king shifted and you left the theater yelling, “all for one!” at the end after all.

The show runs through Dec. 8 at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre. Tickets $7-$37: 860-486-4799; www.crt.uconn.edu; box office in the Nafe Katter Theatre, 820 Bolton Rd.

Discover Life on the Mississippi in Hartford

The Mark Twain House and Museum and the Workshop Theater Company present the exciting new musical play Life on the Mississippi for two performances only--on Friday, Dec. 13 at 7 pm and Saturday, Dec. 14 at 2 pm in the Mark Twain House Museum Center.

Currently running Off-Broadway at Workshop Theater Company, this new production comes direct to Hartford! It's a musical version of Mark Twain's classic memoir Life on the Mississippi. Hair-raising, hilarious, life-changing and violent are just some of the currents that steamboat pilot Sam Clemens has to navigate in this musical journey. 

Young Sam Clemens and his brother Henry step onto a Mississippi steamboat and aboard the chance of a lifetime. As a cub apprentice, his burning ambition propels him to become a steamboat pilot, but he soon discovers that learning the great, relentless river will be harder than he ever imagined. Now Sam must plot a course through the dangerous currents, as mysterious as the Mississippi itself. Book, Music and Lyrics by Philip W. Hall. Directed by Susanna Frazer. Presented by the Workshop Theater Company.

Seating is first-come/first-served. Free-will offering accepted. This special presentation is a benefit for The Mark Twain House & Museum.

Connecticut Arts Connections

The 2013 Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition will be presented by the Connecticut Alliance for Music (CAM) with the support of the Westport Arts Center, on Saturday and Sunday, November 23 and 24, at Westport Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Avenue. The media sponsor is WSHU.

Now celebrating its 42nd year, the bi-annual event is named for the late Heida Hermanns, an acclaimed concert pianist who lived in Westport with her husband Arthur for more than 40 years. 

The goal of the competition is to give support to young musicians, aged 19 through 35, in the early stages of their professional careers. Past winners include pianists Frederic Chiu and Christopher O’Reilly.

From audition CDs submitted by university and conservatory music students and alumni world-wide, 16 semi-finalists have been chosen to compete on Saturday, November 23, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. Admission to the semi-finals is free-of-charge and open to the public. Competitors will perform throughout the day for 20 minutes each. Audience members are free to come and go.

At the end of the day, judges will select six pianists to move on to the Sunday finals, November 24, 2 to 5 p.m. The contestants will vie for cash prizes of more than $10,000 – first prize, $5,000; second prize, $2,500; third prize, $1,500; and three honorable mentions, $500 each.

The finalists will each perform a program selected by the judges to demonstrate musical virtuosity and skill. At the conclusion of the performances, the audience will be invited to a reception while the judges determine the winners. Tickets to Sunday’s finals are $20 for adults; free for ages 18 and younger.

The Honorary Chair of the competition is Yue Chu, who was the first prize winner of the 2011 Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition. He attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston on a full scholarship, and was the first undergraduate student to receive the Presidential Scholarship in two consecutive school years. Yue Chu has been in worldwide competitions and music festivals. He is currently attending the Artist Diploma program at Yale University of Music. 

For more information, visit http://camusic.org/cam-programs/heida-hermanns-international-competition/ For tickets, call the Westport Arts Center at 203-222-7070, M – F, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or purchase online at westportartscenter.org.

AT THE PALACE

Show savings and discounts are taking center stage this Black Friday through Cyber Monday at the Palace Theater in Waterbury. Tickets, Palace gift certificates, and gift certificates to a variety of local restaurants participating in the theater’s Entrées & Encores program are available for everyone’s one-stop holiday shopping needs and can be purchased by phone at 203-346-2000, online at www.palacetheaterct.org, or in person at the Box Office, 100 East Main Street in Waterbury.

On Black Friday, November 29, the Box Office will open from 10a.m. to 10p.m. and will offer a twenty-percent discount on remaining seats to the Webster Broadway Series presentations of American Idiot (February 16), Rock of Ages (March 21 & 21), Hair (May 2-4), and Million Dollar Quartet (June 6-8). The limited time discount is available through Cyber Monday, December 2, and does not include processing fees. Some restrictions may apply.

The Box Office is also offering an exclusive one-day-only sale on Black Friday for the theater’s holiday presentation of Tony Orlando’s Great American Christmas on Thursday, December 5. A limited number of $20 orchestra tickets will be available for the first 20 people, who purchase tickets to the show by phone or in person at the Box Office. After the first 20 seats are sold, the Palace will offer a twenty-percent discount on all remaining orchestra seats throughout the day.

For more information, contact the Box Office at 203-346-2000.

Courtney's Book Focuses on Ghosts of Mark Twain House

The Mark Twain House and Museum announces the publication of an exciting new book, "We Shall Have Them with Us Always": The Ghosts of the Mark Twain House, written by Twain historian Steve Courtney and now on sale at the Mark Twain Museum Store.

And a celebration of the book's publication will be held 7 pm Wednesday, Dec. 11 in the Mark Twain House Museum Center. Courtney will discuss his book, and various members of the Mark Twain House and Museum staff who have experienced unexplained happenings in the Mark Twain House will be present to relay their stories. The results of a recent investigation of the house by Blue Moon Paranormal Investigations will also be announced.

A book sale and signing will follow.

Samuel L. Clemens--Mark Twain--and his family lived in an elegant Gothic home in Hartford for seventeen years, 1874-1891. It was his most productive time--The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and many other works flowed from his pen -- and his family life was the happiest it would ever be.

In recent years, there have been accounts of presences in the house - a woman in white, odd noises, even a whiff of cigar smoke (Clemens smoked 20 to 40 a day). Television shows such as Ghost Hunters have paid a visit.

Other doubt the alleged phenomena -- our age, like Twain's, being an era of credulity and hype -- and Twain himself wrote of his youth, "In these days it seems incredible that people believed in ghosts so short a time ago." But he loved ghost tales and sampled seances.

In "We Shall Have Them with Us Always": The Ghosts of the Mark Twain House, Courtney recounts tales of hauntings and investigations -- and the tale of the iconic American author's own interest in the occult and spiritualism.

Courtney was the Publicist and Publications Editor at The Mark Twain House and Museum from 2009 to 2013, and is the author of several books, including "The Loveliest Home That Ever Was": The Story of the Mark Twain House in Hartford (Dover Publications, 2011); Joseph Hopkins Twichell, Mark Twain's Closest Friend (University of Georgia Press, 2008); and The Civil War Letters of Joseph Hopkins Twichell: A Chaplain's Story (co-edited with Peter Messent, University of Georgia Press, 2006).

"We Shall Have Them with Us Always": The Ghosts of the Mark Twain House is published by The Paige Compositor Press, The Mark Twain House and Museum's new imprint. It retails for $14.95 and is available at the Mark Twain House Museum Store or via this link.

Connecticut Arts Connections

More than 20 stars from Broadway and Fairfield County will perform in A NIGHT OF STARS IN CONCERT Dec. 7 to benefit the Summer Theatre of New Canaan and support their successful arts education programs. 

Broadway, Regional and local professional artists will be performing popular Broadway show tunes including Broadway and Disney composer/song writer/Music Director David Friedman (Beauty & The Beast, Scandalous). Also on board: Jodi Bryce Stevens (Jekyll & Hyde), Gary Harger (Shenandoah), Janelle Roberts (Mary Poppins), Kate Bodenheimer (Charlie Brown), Chris De Rosa, Corinne Curtis & Grace Hardin (“Joseph”), Christina Farruggia (Grease), Allison Gray (Sound of Music), Melody Meitrott Libonati (Grease) Sharon Mallane (Hair Spray), Andrew Serks (Rock of Ages); New York Performers include: Tiffan Borelli (South Pacific), Jason Michael Evans (Miss Saigon), Joshua Heggie (Big River), Daniel Kline (South Pacific), Malika Petty (Charlie Brown), Brian Silliman (My Fair Lady). 

Featured child artists are Sadie Seelert (Mary Poppins), Christian Camporin (Little Mermaid) & Noah Ayer (South Pacific).Also sharing the stage and backing up some of the singing artists will be a student choir from the Performing Arts Conservatory of New Canaan whose students performed as the children choir in the Summer Theatre company’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat.A Night of Stars in Concert will be presented by the Summer Theatre of New Canaan in the New Canaan Country School Theatre located at 695 Frog Town Road. Evening begins at 7:30 pm with a pre-show wine reception (open to all ticket holders), Concert begins at 8 pm (includes live-auction) and is followed by a post-show reception with the evening’s stars and Board of Trustees. More information and tickets for A Night of STARS in Concert and the Summer Theatre of New Canaan is at www.stonc.org.

Newsies, the Tony Award-winning “critics’ pick” Broadway musical smash, will play an exclusive premiere engagement at Palace Theater in Waterbury during the 2014-15 season.

Information regarding engagement dates and how to purchase groups and single tickets will be announced at a later time. For information or to register for advance ticket access notifications, visit NewsiesTheMusical.com.

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, adapted and directed by Dustin Wills, will be presented by the Yale School of Drama Dec. 13-19 at the University Theatre, 222 York St., New Haven.

Peter Pan features compositions by Dan Schlosberg, scenic design by Mariana Sanchez Hernandez, costume design by Grier Coleman, lighting design by Joey Moro, sound design by Tyler Kieffer, dramaturgy by Dana Tanner-Kennedy, and stage management by Anita Shastri.

The cast includes Chris Bannow, Aaron Bartz, Prema Cruz, Hugh Farrell, Maura Hooper, Gabe Levey, Matthew McCollum, Michelle McGregor, Mariko Nakasone, Tom Pecinka, Aaron Luis Profumo, Mickey Theis, and Sophie von Haselberg.

Tickets, $10-$25, are available online at drama.yale.edu, by phone at 203-432-1234, and in person at the Box Office (1120 Chapel Street at York Street).Please note: Peter Pan may not be suitable for all children. Please contact the Box Office at 203-432-1234 if you have further questions about the themes or content of this production.

Goodspeed Musicals will be holding local adult Equity auditions for its 2014 season, on Saturday, December 7 from 10 am to 5 pm. in East Haddam. Goodspeed is seeking adult male and female Equity actors.

All auditions are by appointment only. Appointments may be made starting immediately. Call 860- 873-8664, ext. 387, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.

Goodspeed Musicals 2014 season will be Damn Yankees (3/11-6/21), Fiddler on the Roof (5/27-9/13) and Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn (8/19-11/30). The Norma Terris Theatre 2014 season will be announced shortly. Candidates must be available for four weeks of rehearsal and a 4 to 14-week performance run.

Interested performers should bring a resume, photo and sheet music and be prepared to sing two short numbers: an up-tempo song and a ballad. Music must be legible and in the proper key (No lead sheets please). An accompanist will be provided.

Performers of all ethnicities are strongly encouraged to audition.

HSO Pays Tribute to Stephen Sondheim with Pops Concert

Ron Raines

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra Pops! will pay tribute to one of Broadway icon Stephen Sondheim at Symphonic Sondheim 7:30 pm Saturday, Nov. 23 in Mortensen Hall at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. 

Led by Phantom of the Opera Broadway conductor and Farmington, CT resident Tim Stella, the program will feature selections from Sondheim’s most beloved musicals, including Sweeney Todd, Follies, Into the Woods, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, A Little Night Music, and Sunday in the Park with George. 
For this performance, the HSO will be joined by Broadway stars Florence Lacey, best known as Eva Peron in Evita on Broadway; Hugh Panaro, known for his performances as the Phantom in Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera; Lisa Vroman, renowned for her portrayal of Christine Daee in Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera; and Ron Raines, who will begin a run as Daddy Warbucks in Annie on Broadway in December. Raines is best known for his three- time Emmy award nominated portrayal of villain Alan Spaulding in the long running CBS soap opera, "Guiding Light."

Winner of an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer), eight Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize, Sondheim rose to stardom with the debut of West Side Story, for which he wrote the lyrics. Sondheim went on to write the lyrics for Gypsy, followed by his first Broadway musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Five decades later, several Sondheim’s musicals have been turned into major motion pictures, including the upcoming feature film production of Into the Woods starring Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp, among others.

Stella can currently be seen on Broadway conducting The Phantom Of The Opera. He served as vocal coach to Emmy Rossum as Christine and Gerard Butler as the Phantom in the movie version of Phantom. Other Broadway shows conducted include Jesus Christ Superstar,  A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum,  Guys And Dolls,  The Most Happy Fella,  Hello Dolly!  and Legs Diamond. In addition to his Broadway work, Stella currently is Music Director at Saint Peter Claver Church in West Hartford, as well as the Church Of Saint Patrick in Farmington.

Lacey was last seen on Broadway in the critically acclaimed Kennedy Center production of Sondheim's Follies.  She made her Broadway debut as Irene Malloy in Hello Dolly! for which she won the Theatre World Award.  Her biggest role was Eva Peron in Evita, a role she played on Broadway and on tour around the world.  Lacey’s other Broadway credits include Fantine in Les Miserables; Marianne in The Grand Tour; and An Evening With Jerry Herman (Mac Award).  She is married to Stella.

Panaro originated the role of Marius Pontmercy in the first national touring production of Les Misérables, moving up to the Broadway company several months later. Subsequent Broadway roles have included Raoul de Chagny in The Phantom of the Opera, Julian Craster in The Red Shoes, Gaylord Ravenal in Show Boat, Buddy Foster in Side Show, and the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera, which has been Panaro’s landmark role.  

Vroman, who starred on Broadway as Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera. Lisa recently starred as Marian Paroo in The Music Man  at The Bushnell alongside Shirley Jones, Patrick Cassidy and the HSO. On PBS, she played Johanna in Sweeney Todd and Hey! Mr. Producer (London Royal Gala). She played Laurey in Oklahoma (BBC PROMS festival), Mary Turner inOf Thee I Sing (San Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas), and sang and danced opposite Dick Van Dyke as Mary Poppins at the Hollywood Bowl (Disney 75th Anniversary).

Born and raised in Texas, Raines most recently appeared as Ben in the critically acclaimed revival of Follies at the Kennedy Center and Broadway, for which he received a Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.  He has starred on Broadway in shows such as Chicago and Show Boat, and originated the role of Nick Longworth in Teddy and Alice.  He was a three-time Emmy and Soap Opera Digest Award nominee for his role as the villain Alan Spaulding.  
Tickets to this concert range in price from $35.50-$70.50. Student tickets are $10. A limited number of $25 tickets are available for patrons age 40 and under. To purchase tickets or for more information, please contact HSO ticket services at (860) 244-2999 or visit www.hartfordsymphony.org. 

It's a Wonderful Life for HerStory Theater

Herstory Theater, in partnership with The Mark Twain House & Museum, presents the holiday classic It's A Wonderful Life performed in the style of old-time radio theater, including a sound effects artist.

The fun and exciting holiday event takes place on Saturday, Dec. 7 in the Mark Twain House Museum Center with two performances at 2 and 7 pm. The play is written by Joe Landry and is directed by Virginia Wolf.

George Bailey, Zuzu, Clarence the Angel, and grumpy old Mr. Potter are turning Hartford into Bedford Falls this year! Come relive the story of a man who gets to see what life would have been like if he had never been born. (And there's even a Twain connection--when Clarence is pulled out of the water, he dries off his copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer!)

When the film "It's A Wonderful Life" was released in 1946, it was not an immediate popular or financial success, but its reputation grew over the years, and a clerical error resulting in the loss of copyright protection resulted in it being shown widely during the Christmas season every year. It has become a phenomenon, and many don't feel that their holiday season is complete without watching it.

Now, there's a very unique opportunity to revisit this wonderful story--in a fun, live radio-show performance, complete with a foley (sound effects) artist!

The cast and crew include: Betsey Maguire, Chris Berrien, Susan Saks, Patrick Spadaccino, Bob Muscatel,
Jomarie Pipolo, Marty Moran, Ann Baldwin, Mark Englehart, John Swanson, Ian Galligan (foley artist), Kathryn Lewis (stage manager).

The performance is 90 minutes with no intermission.Tickets are $10: 860- 280-3130;  itsawonderfullife.brownpapertickets.com.

Herstory Theater is a non-union, professional theater company based in Connecticut providing educational performances that are suitable (and inspirational) for schools, museums, historic societies, libraries, and any groups who are interested in history.

The Mark Twain House and Musuem at 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford, are open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm and Sunday, noon to 5:30 pm.