Theater Review Sense and Sensibility -- CT Repertory

Cynthia Darlow and Jenn Sapozhnikov. Photo: Gerry Goodstein

Equity Actors Brighten Up Sense and Sensibility
By Lauren Yarger
The teaching arm of Ct Repertory Theatre’s program comes into play in the current production of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.

Kristin Wold, who teaches acting and movement for Shakespeare and Company’s professional actor’s training programs and in the BFA and MFA acting programs at UConn puts her skills to the test directing the large and mostly student cast in Sense and Sensibility, adapted for the stage by Joseph Hanreddy and J.R. Sullivan (who also wrote the version of  Pride and Prejudice staged at Ct Rep).

Arlene Bozich stars as the practical Elinor Dashwood (the “sense” part of the title), who with her mother (Natalia Cuevas, too young to play the role, but this is the way of student productions) and her spirited sister Marianne (Susannah Resnikoff) – she’s the “sensibility” part – are forced to find a new home in less elegant surroundings when the patriarch Dashwood dies leaving all of his estate to John (Michael Bobenhausen),

the son of his first marriage. This is early 19^th Century England, after all (as depicted in Raven Ong’s costume design).

John’s mean-spirited and snobby wife, Fanny (Meredith Saran), quickly convinces her husband that none of their new-found wealth should be shared with his step family. She makes it known that Elinor’s friendship with Fanny’s brother, Edward Ferrars (a pleasingly dashing and befuddled Darren Lee Brown), will not be allowed to blossom into a romance as he will not be allowed to marry beneath him.

Edward has his own troubles. His formidable mother (Vivienne James) has plans for him away from the quiet country life he would like to lead and expects him to be more like younger socialite brother, Robert ( a perfectly cast Gavin McNicholl).

Elinor believes all of her hopes are dashed when Edward’s relationship with Lucy Steele (Lily Ling) is revealed. Her sister, likewise, suffers heartache when her handsome suitor  John Willoughby (Bryce Michael Wood) abandons her because she has no money. Her only hope for love might be the steady, but less exciting Col. Brandon (nicely portrayed by Curtis Longfellow), whose affection she has ignored.

This particular adaptation of the classic is not one of the best (for my favorite, watch the movie with Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson, who won an Oscar for her brilliant screenplay) and fails to capture the heart of the characters, so the students have their work cut out for them in this whoppingly almost three-hour long production.

What makes the show fun and worth watching is the presence of two acting veterans who light up the stage: Cynthia Darling and Don Noble.

Noble is the Dashwood women’s kinsman, Sir John Middleton, who with his wife (Braley Degenhardt ), offers them a cottage on his property after Fanny sends them packing . Darlow plays his humorous and inappropriate mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings, whose roots are less posh than the families into which her daughters have married. Her other daughter, Charlotte (Jenn Sapozhnikov), is as flighty and uncultured as her mother, much to the dismay of her unaffectionate husband, Mr. Palmer (Sam Kebede).

Darlow is a hoot and had me laughing throughout. Her Broadway stints in Billy Elliot, Accent on Youth, Old Acquaintance, Rabbit Hole,Taller Than a Dwarf , Present Laughter, Sex and Longing, Prelude to a Kiss, Rumors, and the original production of Grease! Give her an arsenal of chops to turn Mrs. Jennings into a tour de force.

Noble, who doubles as Elinor and Marianne’s dying father at the outset, lights up the stage with a commanding presence (his credits include Once and End Of The Rainbow on Broadway and the national tour of Mamma Mia! )

Being able to work with and learn from such fine actors makes the CT Repertory program unique and a terrific learning opportunity for students.

Sense and Sensibility runs through March 6 at the Harriet S. Jorgensen

Theatre on the University of Connecticut Storrs campus. Performances are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm. Select matinees  Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets $7 to $30: www.crt.uconn.edu; (860) 486-2113.

Full Credits:

Production:  By Jane Austen, adapted for the stage by Joseph Hanreddy and J.R. Sullivan; Direction by Kristin Wold; Assistant Direction by Molly Hamilton; Scenic Design by Tim Brown, Lighting Design by Margaret Peebles, Costume Design by Raven Ong, Sound Design by Abbey Golec, Music Composition by Colby J. Herchel, Movement Coaching by Marie Percy and Greg Webster; Technical Direction by Ed Weingart, Voice and Text Coaching by Jennifer Scapetis-Tycer. Showtimes Through March 6: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm. Select matinees  Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets $7 to $30: www.crt.uconn.edu; (860) 486-2113

ACTOR…. CHARACTER

Arlene Bozich….Elinor

Susannah Resnikoff…. Marianne

Cynthia Darlow…. Mrs. Jennings

Don Noble…. Sir John Middleton/Henry Dashwood

Michael Bobenhausen…. John Dashwood

Darren Lee Brown…. Edward Ferrars

Natalia Cuevas…. Mrs. Dashwood

Sam Kebede…. Mr. Palmer

Curtis Longfellow…. Col. Brandon

Emile Saba…. Baines, Dr. Harris

Meredith Saran…. Fanny Dashwood

Bryce Michael Wood…. John Willoughby

Coleman Churchill…. Thomas, servant

Shavana Clark…. Sophie Grey, servant

Madison Coppola…. Anne Steele

Braley Degenhardt…. Lady Middleton

Vivienne James…. Mrs. Ferrars, servant

Lily Ling…. Lucy Steele

Gavin McNicholl…. Robert Ferrars, servant

Jenn Sapozhnikov…. Charlotte Palmer

Max Helfand…. Phineas

Theater Review: I Hate Hamlet -- Playhouse on Park

Ezra Barnes, Julia Hochner and Susan Slotoroff. Photo: Rich Wagner

To Be or Not to Be Amused. That is the Question

By Lauren Yarger
Hate Hamlet? Who could hate Hamlet?

Well, maybe a young actor who is forced to play him on the stage while being coached by the ghost of one his most famous portrayers: John Barrymore.

That is the premise of Paul Rudnick’s light-hearted romp I Hate Hamlet getting a run over at Playhouse on Park. Dan Whelton stars as Andrew, a Hollywood actor made famous by a stint on a TV medical series, who finds himself memorizing lines to take on one of the stage’s most daunting roles. Forced by his agent, Lillian (Ruth Neaveill), who once had a fling with the famous actor, to try Shakespeare in the Park when no other offers come in following the cancelled TV series, he admits that he just hates Hamlet.

He’s distraught, but girlfriend Deirdre (Susan Slotoroff) is turned on by the idea of his playing the tortured Dane, and in her case, this is significant, because she has been withholding herself from a sexual relationship during their five-month courtship because she is saving herself for Mr. Right. 

Her perfect guy actually sounds a lot like John Barrymore (Ezra Barnes), the handsome, boozing, womanizing actor who was the quintessential Hamlet.

As luck would have it, real estate agent Felicia (Julia Hochner) leases Barrymore’s former digs in Washington Square – a gothic and expansive (designed by Emily Nichols) penthouse apartment – to Andrew. Fortunately (but glaringly in a contrivance to further the plot), Felicia is a medium who is able to communicate with the dead through the spirit of her mother and the group quickly decides to hold a séance in hopes of conjuring Barrymore’s ghost to give Andrew some insights into the role.

He shows up, but Andrew is reluctant to yield to the great actor’s advice for text and swordplay, afraid to discover that he might not have what it takes to play the role. He also isn’t happy about Barrymore’s amorous attentions toward Deidre. His friend, Gary (David Larson) tries to convince him to give up this whole Hamlet thing and to return to Hollywood where a new series requires less of him as an actor and lots more money.

Barnes stands out as the pompous, booze-guzzling Barrymore. In a rather bizarre plot, I totally bought him as the spirit of the great actor, making the best of an opportunity to revisit his life. The cast, under the direction of Vince Tyler, seems to be working hard to convince us the play is funny. There are some laugh-out-loud lines, to be sure, but the plot is not cohesive and is too contrived to keep us laughing for too long. A side story about Lillian’s probably being very ill, for example, doesn’t go anywhere and seems out of place. 

Neaveille struggles with her character’s German accent and Costumer Soule Golden has characters dressed in odd garb in an attempt to honor the play’s 1980s setting ( gosh fashion was horrible then), but the clothes don’t scream ’80s, so instead just lend to the general confusion. Two hours and 20 minutes with an intermission is too long a stretch to get the play’s predictable conclusion.

Despite the flaws Barnes, who is the founder of Connectcut’s Shakepeare on the Sound and apparently who never has gotten to play Hamlet, is a treat and the hard-working cast does their best to try to entertain.

I Hate Hamlet runs through March 13 at Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Rd, West Hartford. Performances are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets $22.50-$35: www.playhouseonpark.org; (860) 523-5900 x10.

Theater Review: Romeo & Juliet -- Hartford Stage

The set. Photo: T. Charles Erickson

Wherefore Art Thou in a Gravel Pit, Romeo?

By Lauren Yarger

A dark, modern-age Romeo and Juliet takes the stage in Darko Tresnjak’s neorealism production featuring a gravel pit. Wherefore, I am not exactly sure. (And for your non Shakespeare types, “wherefore” doesn’t mean “where,” but “why?”

The pit sits down center on the set designed by Director Tresnjak featuring a massive mausoleum backdrop with reams of square crypts, whose dark and gloom (thanks to excellent lighting by Matthew Richards) can’t be masked by flowers adorning them (or by cheerful maidens who swing by on a rolling ladder to keep the blooms fresh). A slab juts out to create the famous balcony –significant that the few moments of joy experienced by the young couple (on Shakespeare’s pages, if not effectively portrayed here) spring from death.

The set becomes almost a character itself in Tresnjak’s tribute to the look of 1940s Italian films which focused on shapes and colors from daily life (Costume Designer helps create the feel with period-looking suits, hats and simple dresses and negligees). We’re just not entirely sure why it is the focus of the Bard’s classic tale of crossed lovers.

At first impression the pit, with its drains in the surface of tile surrounding it, looks like a rock-filled version of the pool in Metamorphoses. It’s not filled with water (the drains later prove to be vents for fog) or even with blood, as I might have expected after seeing Ivo van Hove’s tense adaptation of A View from the Bridge on Broadway in which barefoot characters  ended up in a bloody heap in a similar pit.

Romeo and Juliet’s Verona, Italy pit just offers rocks (and a couple of times an ornate slab arises from them to offer a platform for staging). I winced when a few barefooted actors walk through them and pondered the significance of crunching as others walked on the stones with footwear (Sound Design by Jane Shaw, who also provides sound effects like cars driving by or party revelry to enhance the scenes), but alas, methinks I never did get it, even when a character rode around it on a bicycle.

So I focused instead on one of my favorites of Shakespeare’s tragedies, the tale of woe about Juliet (Kaliswa Brewster) and her Romeo (Chris Ghaffari) and found it fairly uneven. Some performances are strong and bring delight. Charles Janasz is an amusing Friar Laurence and so commands the stage with his presence that the character becomes a central part of the story, rather than just a necessary prop to bring the lovers to their deaths.

Ghaffari is a handsome Romeo and in one inspired moment when Tresnjak has him sit among the audience to view the Capulet party at which he first spots Juliet, he wins our hearts with genuine charm. Timothy D. Stickney and Celeste Ciulla give fine turns as Juliet’s parents (even if Ciulla doesn’t look old enough to be the mother of Brewster, who doesn’t look 14) as do Alex Hanna as Romeo’s friend and cousin Benvolio, Julien Seredowych as a particularly swarthy Paris whom Juliet’s parents want her to wed and whom we rarely think so much about, and Jonathan Louis Dent as Juliet’s menacing cousin Tybalt, whose death ends with Romeo’s being banished by Prince Escalus (Bill Christ) and triggers a sad ending for the star-crossed lovers.

Kaliswa Brewster and Chris Ghaffari

The fight scenes (using knives rather than swords, to be true to the period for this production) are directed by Steve Rankin and lack realism or excitement in their staging. Also falling flat is Brewster’s Juliet as she recites lines in a monotone. We never see her passion for Romeo, feel her despair at being forced to wed Paris or enjoy much of the meaning in Shakespeare’s text. A line like “Thy lips are warm!” -- usually pregnant with despair, grief and astonishment -- simply gets uttered as part of some dialogue delivered without intonation (Voice and Text Coaching by Claudia Hill-Sparks).

The death of Mercutio (Wyatt Fenner) is over dramatic. Juliet’s nurse (Kandis Chappell), is an enigma as she is played contrary (though well) to expectations. Usually she is a portly, jovial sort offering friendship and comfort to Juliet – and much of the play’s humor. Here, she is thin, elegant and regal -- almost more so than Lady Capulet. She is serious, a second mother to Juliet, and her humor is lost to the somber feel of the production.

The puzzlements outweigh the insight for this production. Am I jaded by the fact that I like Shakespeare plays produced traditionally? Perchance I protest too much? I don’t think so, because I really wanted to like it – a favorite play helmed by a director I like (his Hamlet and Macbeth, for which he also designed the sets, were triumphs). I just couldn’t take the plunge into the pit for this one.

Romeo and Juliet plays through March 20 at Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm.; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm. Special matinee 2 pm Wednesday, Feb. 24.  Tickets $25-$95.  (860) 527-5151; www.hartfordstage.org.

Special events:

• AfterWords Discussion Tuesdays, Feb. 23 and March 1 and Wednesday, Feb. 24. Join members of the cast and the artistic staff for a free discussion, immediately following select 7:30 pm. performances on Tuesday or the Wednesday matinee.
• Open Captioned Performances, Feb. 28, 2 and 7:30 pm for patrons who are deaf or have hearing loss. 
• Audio Described Performance, March 5 at 2 pm. For patrons who are blind or have low vision.

Lou Diamond Phillips Talks About His Burning Desire at Seven Angels

Lou Diamond Phillips at Seven Angels. Photo: Lauren Yarger

By Lauren Yarger
If there is balance to the universe, why shouldn’t the devil have dominion over love? What would happen if Lucifer were cupid?

These questions in the mind of film and stage star Lou Diamond Phillips (“La Bamba,” “Stand and Deliver,” “The 33” and The King and I) morphed into the play Burning Desire, where the devil causes a modern-day Adam and Eve to fall in love, then has fun messing things up to see whether they are willing to sell their souls to keep from losing at love.

Phillips will star in the world premiere Feb. 18-March 13 at Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury, CT. Could there be a more divine place than a theater which regularly sports heavenly/nun décor (thanks to Artistic Director Semina DeLaurentis’s association with Nunsense) and its Devil’s Corner Bar?  

The concept of Satan as a character on stage isn’t new. After all he’s been a regular in Dr. Faustus, Damn Yankees and more, but the challenge was to cast him in a comedy with philosophy, Philips said.

Make no mistake, Phillips has succeeded in that challenge. The two-act play I read in advance of the run  -- it was still being tweaked for production with a couple of minions for Lucifer and a choreography being added -- is very well written and contains deep layers of thought and biblical insight as well as a humor-filled plot. (Bravo! Too many plays with religious ties are sinful in their use of stereotype and propaganda).

The humor part was important to Phillips. He wanted to be in a comedy and since Hollywood mostly casts him as “the brooding ethnic,” he figured the fastest way to be in one would be to write one himself. His family tree includes Filipino, Cherokee and other Asian and European roots; the roles of doomed Richie Valens in “La Bamba,” gangster Angel Guzman in “Stand and Deliver” trapped miner Don Lucho in “The 33” and Henry Standing Bear in “Longmire” certainly attest to the brooding label….

The stage, perhaps, has been a little more welcoming. Phillips has played more than 600 performances as the King in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I in the US and around the world. He received a 1996 Tony Award nomination for the role in his Broadway debut).  In fact, Burning Desire was completed during that run as Phillips commuted on the Long Island Rail Road for performances.

It began years ago when he wrote the opening monologue following a particularly bad breakup. He had put it, and his first love of writing, on a back burner while his film career took off (though he accumulated some screenwriting credits).  With The King and I stimulating his creative juices, the ending for Burning Desire  “just descended on me.”  

The play received some readings and Richard Zavaglia (who directs the show at Seven Angels) expressed an interest. He and Phillips reconnected on some professional projects over the years and each time Zavaglia asked about the play. It led to a reading at St. Malachy’s church in New York and eventually to its world premiere at Seven Angels in a time slot that “divinely” fits into Phillips schedule between press appearances for the recently released “The 33” and filming for his TV series “Longmire” which begins shooting season 5 for Netfix in March.

Phillips had a lot to say on the religious subjects in Burning Desire and felt the desired comedy format and entertaining the audience would be the best way to get the message across.

“If you lecture people, they tune out.”

Phillips has done a lot of exploration when it comes to religion: his Filipino background made him comfortable in Catholic churches, he was a devout Southern Baptist as a teen in Texas, he has embraced religions of his Native American heritage and he also has “dabbled” in the Jewish religion followed by many friends.

So with all of that grounding, has he landed somewhere in particular on the religious spectrum?

“Not in an organized way,” he is quick to respond.

“I have faith. I believe in something greater. I believe in the morality in the play. . . I pray every day. I believe that there has to be hope at the end.”

Getting people to think about why they believe what they do is the goal, he said.

“It’s all about choices,” he says. “That is the journey that gets us to faith.”

He hopes he has given his four daughters a foundation for faith, but says he will be OK with whatever choices they make as they find their own way “to that greater power.”

He is hoping in particular that young people will enjoy the play at Seven Angels. After all, dating truths are the same regardless of which generation is experiencing them.

Burning Desire runs Feb. 18-March 13 at Seven Angels Theatre, 1 Plank road, Waterbury. Performances are Thursday through Sunday at 8 pm with some matinee performances at 2 pm (check box office for exact schedule). Tickets range from $38 to $57: 203-757-4676; sevenangelstheatre.org.

Theater Review: The Moors -- Yale Repertory

Birgit Huppuch, Kelly McAndrew, Hannah Cabell, Miriam Silverman, and Jeff Biehl in The Moors. Photo © Joan Marcus, 2016.

The Moors
By Jen Silverman
Directed by Jackson Gay
Yale Repertory
Through Feb. 20

By Lauren Yarger

What's It All About?
Well, think Gothica meets Jane Eyre. In this world premiere from playwright Jen Silverman and directed by Jackson Gay (Elevada and These Paper Bullets! at Yale), this is the tale of two spinster sisters, a maid, a governess and a dog on the lonely, foggy Moors. It has a tongue-in-cheek dark humor to it that appeals to my sense of humor. Let me give you the character descriptions as written in the script, and maybe you'll catch a bit of the flavor:

• Agatha  (Kelly McAndrew) -- Elder spinster sister. Spidery. Dangerous. Cold. 
• Huldey  (Birgit Huppuch) -- Younger spinster sister. She has a diary. She wants to be famous.
• Emilie (Miriam Silverman) -- The governess. A romantic with a sweet face. 
• Marjory (Hannah Cabell) --  The scullery maid. Down-trodden. Strategic. 
• The Mastiff (Jeff Biehl) -- The dog. He looks fierce and brutal but is a sad philosopher-king. 
• A Moor-Hen (Jessica Love) --  A small chicken. Practical but easily frightened. 

This odd crew interacts while mysterious happenings, like a walled-up brother and murder plots unfold while the family mastiff waxes poetic and speaks philosophically with a chicken. Seriously fun. Deliciously brilliant. Agatha's horrible lullaby to her despised sister is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while.

What Are the Highlights?
The script is funny without going too far over the edge. It's not a parody as much as an appreciative nod to the genre while making some rather smart comments on humanity, companionship and loneliness.

Alexander Woodward's oppressive, creepy brooding green with animal heads and antlers surrounded by family portraits is perfection. Sound Designer Daniel Kruger's original music, Fabian Fidel Aguilar's costumes and Andrew F. Griffin's lighting design all contribute moor (sorry, couldn't resist).

What Are the Lowlights?
This might not be for everyone, like those who don't have a dark sense of humor.

More information:
The Moors received a 2015 Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award.
Tickets are $20–$98: yalerep.org; 203-432-1234; Box Office, 1120 Chapel St., New Haven. Student, senior, and group rates are also available.

Love Letters with Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw -- The Bushnell

Note on seeing the show:  MacGraw and O'Neal have a nice rapport on stage. MacGraw makes Melissa much more likable than usual -- maybe just because we like her so much. O'Neal brings more emotion to the closing scene than I ever have seen. It's real.

The one big drawback to this production directed by Gregory Mosher: the sound. It's s awful. Designed by Scott Lehrer for the Broadway revival (where there were no issues), the sound in The Bushnell left most audience members complaining after that they couldn;t hear (especially the soft-spoken MacGraw). I was in row H and had to strain to hear. Peter Kaczorowski's set design has no backdrop to it, so the voices echo and bounce on the cavernous Mortensen Hall stage. The volume isn't turned up much and sounds thin in the speakers. It is a disappointment as some lines of dialogue, particularly some that give insight into the characters, are simply lost.

Ali MacGraw and Ryan ONeal.  Photo: Austin Hargrave

By Lauren Yarger
The Bushnell has fired an arrow right through the heart of Valentine's day this year by scheduling the tour of A.R. Gurney's Love Letters, which reunites "Love Story" stars Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw.

At a press event yesterday moderated by local arts journalist Frank Rizzo, and later in personal interviews, MacGraw, O'Neal and Gurney chatted about the play which opens tonight for a run through Sunday. Love Letters premiered in 1988 at Long Wharf Theatre and ended up being a finalist for the Pulitzer. It follows the 50-year relationship between Melissa (MacGraw) and Andrew (O'Neal) through letters written from shortly after the two meet as kids at a birthday party through adulthood. They share successes and failures, relationships, hardships, but most of all, a deep love and friendship.

It's not unlike the relationship between MacGraw and O'Neal, who burst upon American culture when they were paired as the ill-fated young lovers in the 1970 movie blockbuster "Love Story." They have touched base over the years, MacGraw said and have seen each other from time to time, and the affection they feel for each other hasn't waned.

"We are the generation this is written about," MacGraw said. "We really do have a past."

Love Letters is a dream come true to work with MacGraw again, said O'Neal, He finds it very moving every they perform the script (it is read, as the characters communicate through their letters) because when he hears his costar's voice, he hears "Jenny" from "Love Story" and is transported back. Only this time, his character does say he is sorry a lot, he joked.

The two make no effort to hide their obvious regard for each other. It's a casting match made in heaven.

Ryan O'Neal, Ali MacGraw, A.R. Gurney and Frank Rizzo.

Gurney said he couldn't have imagined when seeing the movie back in 1970 that these stars would one day be in a play of his. In fact, a lot of stars have sat in those seats. In its most recent Broadway revival, Mia Farrow, Carol Burnett, Candace Bergen, Alan Alda and Brian Dennehy were the pen pals. Interestingly, Gurney said that seeing different actors rarely gives him a new take on the characters. His reactions are more along the lines of whether someone has captured the character (he hadn't yet seen MacGraw and O'Neal in the roles.)

For these actors, they both feel they can relate to what they are reading.

"I have had some sad things happen in my life," O'Neal said. "I am able to use them in the story." O'Neal spoke about losing his longtime companion Farrah Fawcett and how the couple had once been approached to perform Love Letters in Las Vegas. It just didn't seem right for them at the time, he said. Then he heard his former "Peyton Place" costar Mia Farrow was doing the play on Broadway and he was a little miffed that she didn't ask for him.

She read with Brian Dennehy, I told him.

"Yeah, what's that?" he quipped.

But now playing opposite MacGraw, he realizes this is the right fit. He's even considering whether he can leave behind his four beloved rescue dogs in California to continue the tour to Australia.

MacGraw brings years of wisdom to the role. She's redefined her life and lives in New Mexico where, happily, she isn't under Hollywood's constant scrutiny.

Asked whether she's tired of being asked about her grey hair (men apparently never get this question -- just look at the Carrie Fisher issue when the new "Star Wars" came out), she laughed and then went on to speak eloquently and passionately about the need for older women to be included on stage and in films. Every stage of life has its gifts -- young and old -- she said, and we shouldn't be eliminating some from view.

When she was in her 20s, the things she thought were important have turned out to be "just a gnat's bite on my ass," she said.  Love isn't just about sexual attraction, she said. It's about forgiveness, confession, understanding differences, not trying to control and passion. Real life doesn't line up the way you plan, she said. There are ups and downs and the characters in this play experience that. They grow closer and grow apart, but what remains constant underneath it all is love.

Asked what his next project might be, O'Neal said he's not done with this one, saying he wishes he had tried out stage acting before. It's a dream come true. He feels like he should pay for the privilege of getting to act with MacGraw, it's such a pleasure, he said.

"And she's really good," he added with regard to her performance.

Aww. Now doesn't that sound like a fun way to spend Valentine's Day?

Love Letters runs through Feb. 14 at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. Performances are
Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 pm; Friday at 8; Saturday at 2 and 8 pm; Sunday at 1 and 6:30 pm. Tickets are $26 to $81: www.bushnell.org; 860-987-5900.

Theater Review: The Chosen -- Playhouse on Park

Jordan Wolfe, Joshua Whitson and Dan Shor. Photo: Rich Wagner

Of the Same Belief, But Worlds Apart
By Lauren Yarger
All of us struggle with purpose in life. Why are we here? What are we called to do. What happens, though, when a purpose is chosen for us? And what if what's chosen isn't what we want to do and how do we forgive?

These are some of the thought-provoking questions raised in Playhouse on Park's The Chosen, the story of two Jewish boys and their fathers, adapted by Chaim Potok and Aaron Posner from Potok's novel.

The two families live in the same neighborhood in mid 1940s Brooklyn, where realization about the Holocaust is just setting in. Reuven Malter (Jordan Wolfe) and Danny Saunders (Joshuah Whitson) meet playing baseball on the playground and form an unlikely friendship. It's a friendship that has to be approved by Sander's father, Reb Saunders (Damian Buzzelrio) who is a renowned, strict Hasidic rabbi. Danny is being groomed to take the religious leader's place as generations before him have done.

Young Reuven wins the rabbi's approval and even joins him and Danny for religious instruction and the two 15 year olds become best friends.

"Two friends are like two bodies with one soul," we're told.

Until something tears them apart...

That something, unwittingly, is Reuven's father, David (Dan Shor), who starts speaking out in favor of a cause in which he believes strongly: Zionism.

The rabbi declares that Danny and Reuven may no longer be friends and Danny obeys his father. It's a tough choice, because Danny has his own struggles with his father who refuses to speak to him for years, but gives no reason why. In fact, the rabbi often spoke to his son through Reuven. The communication breakdown makes it next to impossible forDanny to tell his father that he wants to be a psychologist, not a rabbi.

The strained relationship between the Malters is sharply contrasted  with the loving father-son relationship between Reuven and David, who easily puts his his son's needs and desires above his own plans for his son's future. Shor creates such a kind, loving character that we can't help but wish he would adopt a lot of children so they can benefit from his care and wisdom too.

The story is told by an older Reuven (David Gautschy) as he reminisces about these six years of his life and the path to understanding and reconciliation walked through them. Directed by Dawn Loveland, the characters are depicted warts and all and while we don't always understand or agree with their actions, we're engaged and want to know how it all turns out.

Lighting Designer Aaron Hochheiser skillfully helps shift attention from the narrator to the action in the past and back again. Christopher Hoyt's simple set relies on props to set the stage without drawing attention from the story.

A couple of disappointments: 
-- It is hard to understand Buzzelrio at times.
-- The run at two hours and 20 minutes seems a bit long. This is another play that would benefit from some edits and a 90-minute, no intermission run time, which worked well for Posner's adaptation of Potok's My Name is Asher Lev.

The Chosen runs through Feb 14 at Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday at 8 pm; Sunday matinee at 2 pm, followed by a talk back with the cast.Tickets are $22.50-$35: 860-523-5900 x10; www.playhouseonpark.org.

Connecticut Arts Connections

Images: Mike Shea. Wheat Farmer, Nicodemus, Kansas, 1940. Gelatin silverprint. 1987.1.1840 
Unidentified photographer. View of Logging Camp, c. 1890. Cabinet card. 1987.1.1388

AMISTAD CENTER

Opening to the Public, February 13, 2016  

Second Saturdays for Families

Free 10 am to 1 pm

Join EQuilibrium Dance Theatre explores The Amistad Center for Art and Culture's exhibition
40 Acres: The Promise of a Black Pastoral through art, song, and dance.Second Saturdays for Families: Explore art with your family, encourage creativity, and expand your imagination through conversation and discovery. Each program is free and includes hands-on art projects, tours for families, live music, and engaging fun through film, theater and dance. Join us the second of every month year-round!
10:30 - 11 am: ABCs: Art, Books, Connections
11 am - noon: Ask About Art
11:30 am - noon: Eyes on Art Family Tour

PALACE THEATER
The Palace Theater in Waterbury is setting the stage for a healthier New Year by offering a six-week yoga course on Monday evenings from Feb. 1 through Mar. 2. Registration for all six classes is $85 (203-346-2000; www.palacetheaterct.org; Box Office, 100 East Main St, Drop-in students are also welcome to participate for $20 per session. Participants of all ages and skill levels are invited to relax their mind and sculpt their bodies by practicing this ancient discipline in the beautiful halls of the historic theater. Each class is one-hour in length and will take place after normal work hours from 5:15 to 6:15 pm. Certified instructor Lisa Zembruski, has been practicing yoga for more than 25 years and has studied various types of yoga including Hatha, Baptiste Vinyasa flow, Bikram, Kundalini, and Iyengar. Her depth of experience includes teaching meditation, yoga Pilates fusion, kundalini yoga, and vinyasa power yoga for all ages, including children, teens, and senior citizens. Space is limited to the first 30 registrants, and participants are responsible for bringing their own yoga mats. 

WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE

Westport Country Playhouse has launched a New Works Initiative to develop new plays and musicals through workshop and reading opportunities involving playwrights and other artists.The program will make possible the development of two new works at the Playhouse in February – “Out of the Mouths of Babes” by Israel Horovitz, in partnership with New York’s Cherry Lane Theatre, and “The Rivals,” with book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg, music by Stephen Weiner, based on the 1775 play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. For each project, the Playhouse will host workshops with the playwrights, actors, and other creatives, culminating with a reading before an audience. Dates and details will be announced soon. www.westportplayhouse.org; 203-227-4177, 888-927-7529.

Larry Kramer

MARK TWAIN HOUSE
The Mark Twain House and Museum presents Mark My Words: An Evening with Larry Kramer 7 pm ,Saturday, April 16. The event will be moderated by Shawn Lang, Deputy Director of AIDS Connecticut.

Kramer is an American playwright, screenwriter, public health advocate, and gay rights activist whose confrontational style of advocacy, while divisive, was credited by many with catalyzing the response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States. He'll be in conversation about his life, his work, and his latest book "The American People: Volume 1: Search for My Heart: A Novel," a book he has been working on since 1981, and which was finally published as a novel in 2015. In the book, Kramer asserts that many iconic American historical figures, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Mark Twain, were gay.

Kramer began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to London where he worked with United Artists. There he wrote the screenplay for the iconic 1969 filmWomen in Love, and earned an Academy Award nomination for his work. Kramer introduced a controversial and confrontational style in his 1978 novel Faggots. The book earned mixed reviews but emphatic denunciations from elements within the gay community for his portrayal of shallow, promiscuous gay relationships in the 1970s.

Kramer witnessed the spread of the disease AIDS in the early 1980s. He co-founded the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), which has become the world's largest private organization assisting people living with AIDS. Kramer grew frustrated with bureaucratic paralysis and the apathy of gay men to the AIDS crisis, and wished to engage in further action than the social services GMHC provided. He expressed his frustration by writing a play titled The Normal Heart.

The conversation with Larry Kramer will be followed by a book sale and signing. Tickets are $25 / $20 members: 860-247-0998; marktwainhouse.org and click on Events.

HSO, Goodspeed Combine to Celebrate 70 Years of Tony-Award-Winning Music

Tony Sheldon

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra and Goodspeed Musicals will join to celebrate 70 years of Tony Award-winning music in a blockbuster one-night-only concert event

HSO and Goodspeed Celebrate the Best of Broadway will be presented 7:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 20 at The Bushnell, Hartford. Led by guest conductor Michael O’Flaherty, who is now in his 25th year as resident music director for Goodspeed Musicals, the concert will spotlight the best of Broadway through the years. This exciting partnership will feature the talents of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, special performances by soloistsGizel Jiménez, Conor Ryan, Tony Sheldon and Laurie Wells, and aspiring professional performers from The Hartt School Musical Theatre Department’s Class of 2016.

Some of the Tony Award-winning productions that will be celebrated in song include Guys and Dolls, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Hello, Dolly!, Spamalot, My Fair Lady, The Wiz, South Pacific, Rent and Les Misérables. The evening’s featured artists have all performed in past Goodspeed productions and boast numerous and diverse theater credits from Broadway and beyond.

Gizel Jiménez performed the role of Caroline in Goodspeed’s The Theory of Relativity last spring. In addition to various regional theatre and Off-Broadway productions, she performed as Rosalia in the National Tour of West Side Story. Next up, Gizel will be taking on the role of Princess Anna in Disney’s Frozen at the Hyperion Theater in Anaheim, CA this spring.

Conor Ryan was Jean-Michel in Goodspeed’s production of La Cage aux Folles. He starred opposite Kate Baldwin in the Off-Broadway revival of John and Jen, performed in Broadway's Cinderella, the Public Theater's production of The Fortress Of Solitude, and Second Stage's production of Invisible Thread.

Conor Ryan

Tony Sheldon is a multi-award-winning actor whose portrayal of Horace Vandergelder in Goodspeed Musicals’ Hello, Dolly! earned him the Connecticut Critics' Circle Award for Best Actor. Sheldon played the role of Bernadette in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert for 1750 performances in Australia, New Zealand, London, Toronto and on Broadway, winning the Theatre World Award and nominations for the Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award, the Drama League Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award. In London he was nominated for the Olivier Award and won the Toronto Theatre Critics Award and the DORA Award as Best Actor in a Musical. In New York he has starred with Brian Stokes Mitchell and Tracey Ullman in The Bandwagon at Encores/City Center, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol with Douglas Sills, and Art and Science with John Tartaglia.

Laurie Wells played the dual role of Bobbi/Gabby in City of Angels and in the iconic role of Dorothy in 42nd Street, both at the Goodspeed Opera House. In 2014 she appeared in Sing For Your Shakespeare at Westport Country Playhouse. On Broadway and again with the National Tour company she performed as Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia!.

Tickets are $19-$66. Student tickets are $10 and $25 tickets are available for patrons age 40 and under: 860-987-5900; www.hartfordsymphony.org

VIP Event Tickets which include an exclusive pre-show reception with the soloists are available: Mary Miko at 860.873-8664 ext. 368 to reserve. 

Here's What's Happening at The Kate in February

February at the Kate!

Event: Met in HD:  Turandot

Christine Goerke, Lise Lindstrom, and Nina Stemme, three of opera’s greatest dramatic sopranos, take turns in the title role of the proud princess of ancient China, whose riddles doom every suitor who seeks her hand. Tenors Marcelo Álvarez and Marco Berti are Calàf, the brave prince who sings “Nessun dorma” and wins her love. Franco Zeffirelli’s golden production is conducted by Paolo Carignani. Shown on the Kate's BIG Screen!

Date: Tuesday, February 2

Time: 12:55 p.m.

Price: $25

Event: Willie Nile

Nestled somewhere between power-pop and American folk you will find Willie Nile strumming his guitar. Nile has made admirers out of such names as Bruce Springsteen and Pete Townshend who personally requested him to tour with The Who in '82.  His latest album American Ride, pools a mix of gritty, acoustic Bob Dylan, funky Ramones and everyman Springsteen, with a Petty-ish knack for melody and catchy singalong choruses.

Date: Friday, February 5

Time: 8:00 p.m.

Price: $28/$32

Event: The Corvettes Doo Wop Revue

Get ready to step back in time as the Kate rolls back the clock to the 1950’s with The Corvettes. From New Hampshire to New Orleans and Virginia to Vegas, The Corvettes perform the great music of the Doo Wop era with a fresh new energy.   Come hear your favorites including:  Little Darlin’ - Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On - At The Hop - The Twist - Earth Angel - Rock Around The Clock - In The Still Of The Night - Twistin’ The Night Away.

Date: Saturday, February 6

Time: 8:00 p.m.

Price: $35

Event: Kate Classic Film: Holiday

Kate brings to the screen a role she understudied on Broadway in the play of the same name.  (She only went on once)  Holiday  brings together one of our favorite matches, Kate and Cary Grant in a story of an average guy Johnny (Grant) who is to marry his fiancé Julia (Doris Nolan) who he met on holiday, but finds that he just may have more in common with Julia’s sister Linda (Hepburn). 

Date: Tuesday, February 9

Time: 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.

Price: $8

Event: Livingston Taylor

The youngest of a famous musical family, Livingston picked up his first guitar at 13, recorded his first album at 18 and some forty plus years later teaches others stage performance as a full professor at the Berklee School of Music. Come watch him practice what he teaches at the Kate; it’s sure to be a fantastic evening.

Date: Friday, February 12

Time: 8:00 p.m.

Price: $44

Event: The Weight

Playing songs of The Band- Featuring former members of The Band, Rick Danko, and Levon Helm Band.  Interpreting the music of The Band is an art- Songs that have reverberated across history for decades continue to speak to millions of us.  The Weight brings those songs to the Kate for one night only, and it’s not to be missed!

Date: Saturday, February 13

Time: 8:00 p.m.

Price: $40/$45

Event: Mipso

When Mipso’s 2013 debut, “Dark Holler Pop,” rose to #8 on Billboard’s Bluegrass charts, the success surprised a lot of people – Mipso’s four members included. Since then, they’ve shifted their focus a little away from bluegrass, introducing new instruments and textures to create a distinctly different sound.  Matched with imaginative songwriting, MIPSO is known for a sound that is powerfully rhythmic, lyrically sharp and beautiful four-part harmony.

Date: Wednesday, February 17

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Price: $20/$25

Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center

300 Main Street

Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Phone: 877-503-1286

Website: ww.thekate.org

Event: Jonatha Brooke

Jonatha Brooke has written songs, made records, and toured since being part of her original duo, The Story.  She’s an American folk rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Massachusetts who writes with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies.  Jonatha’s also co-written songs with Katy Perry and with The Courtyard Hounds along with three Disney movies and several TV shows along with writing her own one-woman play.  We welcome this multi-talented force to the Kate.

Date: Thursday, February 18

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Price: $32/$36

Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center

300 Main Street

Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Phone: 877-503-1286

Website: ww.thekate.org

Event: Daughters of Legends

An incredible night featuring the Daughters of Rhythm and Blues!   Rhonda Ross (Daughter of Diana Ross and Berry Gordy) joins Robyn LaJoya Charles (daughter of Ray Charles), and Carla Cooke (daughter of Sam Cooke).   If you’re looking for a powerhouse show, look no further.  This trio is honoring the music of their parents, while creating sounds all their own.

Date: Friday, February 19

Time: 8:00 p.m.

Price: $56/$60

Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center

300 Main Street

Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Phone: 877-503-1286

Website: ww.thekate.org

Event: Exhibition in HD: The Girl with the Pearl Earing

The Kate and Florence Griswold Museum comes to you with the second in this year’s series:  The Girl with the Pearl Earring and other treasures from the Mauritshuis Museum Netherlands.  Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer is one of the most enduring paintings in the history of art yet the painting itself is surrounded in mystery. This beautifully filmed new documentary seeks to investigate the many unanswered questions associated with this extraordinary piece. Who was this girl? Why and how was it painted? Why is it so revered?

Date: Saturday, February 20

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Price: $15

Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center

300 Main Street

Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Phone: 877-503-1286

Website: ww.thekate.org

Event: James Montgomery & Kerri Powers

When blues legend James Montgomery plays the harmonica, he “brings it home.”  Whether it’s recording with Kid Rock, sitting in with Gregg Allman, or fronting his hot band of thirty years, Montgomery is simply one of the best.  Montgomery is joined by special guest, Kerri Powers, who returns to the Kate with her homespun, sparse and understated sound paired with incredible expressive song writing and interpreter of the great works of others.

Date: Saturday, February 20

Time: 8:00 p.m.

Price: $35

Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center

300 Main Street

Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Phone: 877-503-1286

Website: ww.thekate.org

Event: National Theatre Live in HD: As You Like It

Shakespeare’s glorious comedy of love and change comes to the National Theatre for the first time in over 30 years, with Rosalie Craig (London Road, Macbeth at MIF) as Rosalind.  With her father the Duke banished and in exile, Rosalind and her cousin Celia leave their lives in the court behind them and journey into the Forest of Arden.   There, released from convention, Rosalind experiences the liberating rush of transformation. Disguising herself as a boy, she embraces a different way of living and falls spectacularly in love.

Date: Thursday, February 25

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Price: $20

Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center

300 Main Street

Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Phone: 877-503-1286

Website: ww.thekate.org

Event: Ivy League Comedy

Get ready to laugh!  Ivy League of Comedy returns to the Kate this February with an All-Star lineup.  Jon Fisch made his late night television debut on Late Night with David Letterman and has appeared on Comedy Central. Frank Vignola is a 20 plus year veteran of the NYC comedy club scene.  Shaun Eli, in addition to being the man behind Ivy League Comedy, brings his quick wit and hilarious storytelling to wrap up an evening guaranteed to make you leave with a smile.

Date: Friday, February 26

Time: 8:00 p.m.

Price: $25

Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center

300 Main Street

Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Phone: 877-503-1286

Website: ww.thekate.org

Event: Betty Buckley in Concert

Broadway comes to Old Saybrook in a big way when Tony Award-winning singer and actress Betty Buckley takes the stage. She won a Tony for her performance as Grizabella in Cats, an Olivier nomination for Sunset Boulevard, recorded 12 CDs, (2 Grammy nominations), appeared on TV and dozens movies.   Join us for a special night.

Date: Saturday, February 27

Time: 8:00 p.m.

Price: $67/$75

Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center

300 Main Street

Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Phone: 877-503-1286

Website: ww.thekate.org

Event: Oscar Party 2016

The Kate’s annual red-carpet event that honors our 12-time Oscar Nominated, 4-time-winning namesake and makes for a great party and fundraiser. Walk the red carpet. Pose for a photo or two. Hold a real Oscar. Watch the Oscars live on the Kate’s gigantic screen as you indulge in delicious appetizers, treats, and beverages.   Come and celebrate like a star!

Date: Sunday, February 28

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Price: $75

Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center

300 Main Street

Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Phone: 877-503-1286

Website: ww.thekate.org