Connecticut Theaters
Arnott Arts & Ideas Mea Culpa
At Engine28 there was a “confessional” room, a video set-up where we could rant and argue and otherwise unload. Here’s one I never pushed to put on that website since there was a backlog of video projects. It actually works better here.
A Strong Second: An Interview with Cecily Strong of the Second City Touring Company, at Long Wharf
The press materials for the Long Wharf’s six-performance visit from the seasoned Second City improv troupe ballyhoos that “Belushi, Colbert, Carell, Murray, Radner, Myers, Fey, Meadows, Farley, Aykroyd all came through Second City.” But the institution, which has formalized a distinctive brand of scripted sketch comedy with improv incursions, is grander than any one of … Continue reading
Edges and Ideats
New Haven’s International Festival of Arts & Ideas tried in vain for years to create an Edinburgh-esque “fringe” festival to surround it. Turns out you can’t just manufacture these things. But two fests which were in a sense inspired by A&I have endured. One is the Audubon Arts on the Edge festival, as old as … Continue reading
Pop Culture: How They Got Those Balloons to Burst in Italian-American Reconciliation at the Long Wharf
JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY’S ITALIAN-AMERICAN RECONCILIATION AT THE LONG WHARF, DIRECTED BY ERIC TING, IN THE AFTERMATH OF A BALLOON BLOODBATH WHICH POPPED SEVERAL OF THE VULNERABLE ORNAMENTS. THE ACTORS BLOCKING THE VIEW OF SOME BALLOONS ON THE FLOOR ARE MICHAEL CRANE AND UNREPENTANT BALLOON TERRORIST LISA BIRNBAUM. PHOTO BY T. CHARLES ERICKSON. The Long Wharf … Continue reading
West Side DeRosa: Glad Handing the National Tour of Arthur Laurents’ West Side Story Revival
STEVEN DEROSA CENTER STAGE IN THE NATIONAL TOUR OF WEST SIDE STORY—FOR ABOUT ONE MINUTE, UNTIL ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. THE NATIONAL TOUR OF THE ARTHUR LAURENTS-DIRECTED REVIVAL IS AT THE BUSHNELL IN HARTFORD THROUGH SUNDAY MAY 29. I’ve been a Stephen DeRosa fan for over 15 years, and rejoice whenever I see his name … Continue reading
The My One and Only review
TONY YAZBEK AND ALDE LEWIS JR. TAP THE TITLE TUNE IN MY ONE AND ONLY AT THE GOODSPEED OPERA HOUSE. PHOTO BY DIANE SOBOLEWSKI. My One and Only Through June 25 at the Goodspeed Opera House. Music & lyrics by George & Ira Gershwin. Book by Peter Stone and Timothy S. Mayer. Original staging … Continue reading
The International Festival of Apps & IPhones
Had fun last night fooling around with the brand new app fashioned for New Haven’s impending 2011 International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Like the fest itself, it’s classy and community-oriented at the same time. The app (available as a free download for both iPhone and Droid) offers frequent friendly postings counting down the days … Continue reading
The Long Wharf Works in Mysterious Ways
Another Long Wharf summer season announcement—and before you sniff in disdain at the unabashed rabblepleasing commerciality of the fare, remember that the standard so far for Summer ’11 is Menopause: The Musical. We have nowhere to go but up. Anyhow, you won’t catch me saying anything bad about the Late Nite Catechism series. Seriously, these … Continue reading
Because I Carlotta
It has never been my place, or my intention, to “review,” “critique,” or otherwise “assess” the works staged as part of The Carlotta Festival of New Plays. I have dutifully and eagerly covered the festival for its entire existence. Yes, it could be argued that these are public performances, that they are written by seasoned … Continue reading
Reconciliation Caruso: Neopolitan Tunes May 16 at the Long Wharf
Aaron Caruso says his gifts for singing, and the equally demanding talent of making a crowd comfortable with between-song banter, come to him naturally. So does his surname; imagine being an Italian singer born with the name Caruso. Of course, that name, Aaron Caruso told me in a phone interview last night, means “there’s lots … Continue reading