Connecticut Critics Circle

06/29/2025

A COAT OF MANY COLORS SET TO WONDERFUL MUSIC AT IVORYTON Preview by Bonnie Goldberg

Just for the sheer fun of seeing Elvis pop up smack dab in the middle of a Bible story is worth the time to travel to Ivoryton Playhouse. But there is so much more!

When composers Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice were mere teenagers, they collaborated on a truly delightful musical that has withstood the test of time and held up splendidly. You have the opportunity to journey to the land of Canaan, by way of Ivoryton, to attend the joyful unto the Lord musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

The Ivoryton Playhouse has set up a glorious set on the stage of one of the oldest theaters in the country until Sunday, July 27 to share this delightful story with the whole family.
The Biblical tale of Joseph and his eleven brothers is narrated by a harmoniously blessed Alanna Saunders who helps the story come to life. All does not bode well when the father of the clan, Jacob (Al Bundonis) singles out one son, Joseph, a gifted lad in the hands of Kyle Dalsimer, as being superior among his siblings. Green eyed jealousy consumes the neglected eleven: Cory Candelet, Michael Charles, Galen Donovan, Cooper Hallstrom, Drew Hope, Tyler Jung, Tony Melson, William Pazdziora, Jack Saleeby, Henrique Sobrinho and Zane Zapata.

Things change when two events occur: Joseph boasts of his superiority when he interprets dreams where his brothers bow down to him and Jacob presents Joseph with a most beautiful coat of rainbow hues. To rid themselves of Joseph, the lads sell him off to a band of traders traveling to Egypt and tell a brokenhearted father that his favored son is dead.

How Joseph lands on his feet, finds himself a slave and escapes the clutches of his owner’s wife (Sarah Warrick) and becomes indispensable to the Pharoah, a gyrating Ryan Knowles, is beautifully told and sung through a series of great songs that spin from country western to rock and roll, calypso and ballads, and even acquire a French accent along the merry way. Each of the almost two dozen songs is a gem, thanks to the musical direction of Dan Gibson.

The direction and choreography by Todd L. Underwood is over-the-top grand, on a clever set designed by Cully Long, with a trunk full of costumes created by Sean Spina, all lit magically and mysteriously by Marcus Abbott. The wonderful cast is assisted by an ensemble as well as an eager-to-please chorus of ten children.

For tickets ($60, seniors $55, students $25, with Thursdays 50% off after 6 p.m. if available), call Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or online at ivorytonplayhouse.org Performances are Wednesday and Thursday and Saturday at 2 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Watch for the After Party Gala on Saturday, September 13.

Follow the favored son as he learns being singled out as special can be greatly dangerous and dangerously great.

06/26/2025

Karen Isaacs has posted her review of the play at Hartford Stage

T Charles Erickson PhotographyT Charles Erickson PhotographyT Charles Erickson Photography By Karen Isaacs Hurricane Diane, now at Hartford Stage through Sunday, June 29, can be viewed in multiple …

06/26/2025

CCC annual Awards

06/25/2025

Karen Isaacs has posted her review of the latest show at Legacy Theatre CT

Photo by Cindy Ringer of LRJ ImagesPhoto by Cindy Ringer of LRJ ImagesPhoto by Cindy Ringer of LRJ ImagesPhoto by Cindy Ringer of LRJ Images By Karen Isaacs The closing night of a show can be fraug…

06/25/2025

Preview by Bonnie Goldberg

Music Theatre of Connecticut
Of course, you remember with affection the Frank Loesser musical that pits a gambling sinner Sky Masterson against a pious and pure Miss Sarah Brown, the head of the Save-A-Soul Mission in “Guys and Dolls.” Get ready for a gender flipping concert at Music Theatre of Connecticut where musical stars perform Broadway tunes that are traditionally sung by the opposite s*x. Eight theatre professionals will turn the musical tables in a most delightful way, in honor of LGBTQ+, with stories and songs in amazing reimagined ways this Saturday, June 28 at 8 p.m.

This PRIDE Celebration will feature the talents of Brianna Bauch, Elissa DeMaria, Michael Fasano, Frank Mastrone, Scott Mikita, Constantine Pappas, Jessie Janet Richards and Jodi Stevens, all musical stars well known to MTC audiences. Billed as a gender-bending Broadway evening, it will be followed by a post-show reception with complimentary hors d’oeuvres from Romanacci and an open wine bar. All proceeds will benefit MTC’s programming.

“Dolls and Guys” is sponsored by Circle Care Center, a center of excellence for the treatment and prevention of HIV, founded in 2011. It is a beacon of hope and health in Connecticut.

For tickets ($60), call Music Theatre of CT, 509 Westport Avenue, Norwalk (Route One), at 203-454-3883 or online at [email protected]. All summer long, MTC will host Hot Summer Nights with special guests in concert.

Listen how "Dolls and Guys” musically shakes up tradition in a most delicious way, all to recognize and support the LGBTQ+ community. Join the deserving salute.

06/20/2025

Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer has posted her review of THE BARONESS at Playhouse on Park Theatre

One of your neighbors posted in Arts & Entertainment. Click through to read what they have to say. (The views expressed in this post are the author’s own.)

06/19/2025

Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer has posted a review of the Golden Years Theatre Company production of OLIVER!

One of your neighbors posted in Arts & Entertainment. Click through to read what they have to say. (The views expressed in this post are the author’s own.)

06/16/2025

LEGACY THEATRE OFFERS NEW PERSPECTIVE ON O'NEILL WITH "LONG DAYS" Review by Bonnie Goldberg at Legacy Theatre CT

Eugene O’Neill is credited with writing a magnificent saga, a magnum opus, one of the greatest American plays of the 20th century, entitled “Long Day's Journey into Night.” It takes place in the seaside home of the troubled Tyrone family in a Connecticut cottage called the Monte Cristo and it centers on a quartet of characters that resemble O’Neill’s real family: Eugene, his older brother and his parents, including his father the classical actor James O’Neill. Their story deals with the painful addiction to morphine by his mother, unrealized dreams, bitterness, jealousy, emotional stress and family disappointments. A long day indeed. It all takes place on one fateful day in August 1912.

Playwright Gabe McKinley has sought in his world premiere play to mine humor in this tragic drama by penning his questionings in “Long Days” at the Legacy Theatre in Branford until Sunday, June 29. He takes the audience back stage with the actors and their egos and angst and lets it all hit the fan or in this case the rain water cascading into the room through the ceiling. Think rain drops are falling on my head and I’m angry I’m getting wet.

It’s closing night of the run and the actors are making plans. Susan (Stefanie E. Frame) who plays Mrs. Tyrone with the drug addiction has, in reality, given up her dependence on alcohol and ci******es, but a prank by a cast member has put booze in her welcoming hands again. She is on her way back to New York City and a much younger Wes, (Dan Frye) one of the sons, has professed his love for her and wants to go back to the city with her. Unfortunately, he was drunk himself last night and, he swears it was a mistake, took the stage manager and actress Victoria (Aniya Taylor) to bed.

The other son Bobby (Thomas Rudden) is consumed with a cough, just like his counterpart in the play, and wants to pursue his acting studies,
not realizing the man who plays his father on stage, Jack, (Rob Brogan) is entertaining strong feelings for him romantically. The father figure is, in reality, the father of Wes and the pair don’t see eye to eye which causes fiction. The news that Jack has had a relationship with Susan long ago doesn’t make wither man happy. These painfully human characters struggle to overcome their failures and find if they can forgive themselves and each other. This “family” back stage is little better than the family that stresses to understand each other in front of the curtain. Michael Hogan directs this intense interaction.

For tickets ($36.50 - 56.50) call the Legacy Theatre, 128 Thimble Islands Road, Branford at 203-315-1901 or online at LegacyTheatreCT.org. Performances are Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.,and Sunday at 2 p.m. Check the website.

In this literary ode to Eugene O’Neill, recognize that all families have difficulties understanding each other’s roles in life that can cause troubles and sadness and minor and major disagreements that change the temper of their behavior.

06/16/2025

Review of THE BARONESS at Playhouse on Park Theatre by Karen Isaacs

All photos by Meredith Longo By Karen Isaacs If you can quote songs from The Sound of Music, or even if you can’t, The Baroness will tickle your funny bone. This new comedy by Connecticut’s own Jac…

06/16/2025

Review by Karen Isaacs of YOUR NAME MEANS DREAM at TheaterWorks Hartford

All photos by Mike Marques By Karen Isaacs Is this the future? Elderly people “cared for” by artificial intelligence humanoids? That’s the vision of playwright José Rivera, who also directed Your N…

06/16/2025

Review by Bonnie Goldberg of HURRICANE DIANA at Hartford Stage

Depending on the part of the world you inhabit, you might fear, on a daily basis, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, floods and landslides. How reassuring is that? People exist without adequate food, water, or shelter, not to mention fear of deportation, arrest, loss of freedoms, and absence of democracy. What if you reside on a quiet New Jersey cul-de-sac, a peaceful housewife going about your days, caring for your family, pursuing your career, without a care in the world for your daily survival. How lucky are you?

Playwright Madeleine George is about to upend your carefully controlled world in her new play “Hurricane Diane” at the Hartford Stage until Sunday, June 29 and life as you know it might be changed forever. Hold on to your gardening hat and trowel and prepare for a bumpy ride in the dirt.

Come meet four friends Carol (Katya Campbell), Pam (Christina DeCicco), Beth (Alyse Alan Louis) and Renee (Sharina Martin) who have no warning that their lives are about to change, when they encounter a Greek demi-god Dionysus or Bacchus, Diane to you, who crashes with boldness and purpose into their kitchens. Bernadette Sofia’s Diane is a force to be reckoned with whether you are ready or not to play her compelling game: Save the Earth. Diane has picked you for her team and there is no choice in the matter.

As a powerful le***an queen and landscaper, Diane insists the quartet help her save the planet by worshipping her and following her complex landscaping design in their backyards. She wants them to return their land into a primeval forest, a green paradise, with no lawn, but with a permaculture and paw paw plants, a Garden of Eden if you will. Diane coaxes each woman out of their comfort zone, to change their path, with a taste of her honey, encouraging them to worship her and follow her every mood and move. Only Carol resists her charms but how long can she hold out? Is the end of the world coming and can Diane control the outcome? Let director Zoe Golub-Sass guide you on this fantastic journey planted with surprises.

For tickets ($30 and up), call the Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or online at HartfordStage.org. Performances are Tuesday to Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m.and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Batten down the hatches as Diane, the Greek demi-goddess of wine, song, orchards, fruits and vegetables, fertility, insanity, religious ecstasy, hunting, agriculture, and theatre, is ready to invade your sacred space and claim it for her own. Don’t say you weren’t forewarned.