Rent is a rock musical with music, lyrics, and book by Jonathan Larson. It is inspired by the 1896 opera La Boheme by Puccini. Rent tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in the East Village of New York city , in the days of before gentrification and when HIV/Aids was still raging.
The young artists live in a rundown loft in Alphabet City and are months behind on their rent. They band together to feed each other, stay warm and keep a roof over their head even when the electricity it turned off. A former friend who now owns the building with his wealthy wife wants to evict them. It is this pending eviction, the knowledge some of their friends are HIV positive, strengthen their bonds and their friendship to stay in the only home they have. The story and music is both emotional and moving and you cannot leave the production without being touched by this story.
Rent stars Jacob Heimer (B’way- Beautiful) as Roger, Joe Tolentino (Regional- Rent w/ director Adam Pascal) as Mark, Cedric Leiba JR. (Tour- Rent, Miss Saigon) as Angel, Darrick Penny (Regional- Rent w/ director Adam Pascal) as Tom, LaDonna Burns (Nat’l Tour- Rent, MTC- Ghost (CT Critics Circle Award Winner)) as Joanne, Olivia Fenton (Ivoryton- Hank Williams: Lost Highway, MTC- Moon Over Buffalo) as Maureen, Gabriela Gomez (Disney Cruise- Aladdin) as Mimi, Matt Mancuso (Valley Shakespeare- As You Like It, MTC- Ghost) as Benny, and Ensemble cast includes Sadie Seelert (B’way- Mary Poppins), Leeanna Rubin (Nat’l Tour- Annie), Carlos Pérez (SToNC- The Little Mermaid), Charles Romano (Legacy- Sweeney Todd). Rent is directed & choreographed by Chris McNiff with music direction by David Wolfson. The production team also includes stage management by Theresa Stark, fight & intimacy direction by Dan O’Driscoll, scenic design by Marty Marchitto, lighting design by Scott Borowka, prop design by Claudia Ruck, costume design by Diane Vanderkroef, and sound design by Jon Damast. Ticket prices range from $45-$60 plus fees and can be purchased online.
Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical with well know tunes that weaves together many of the hit songs of the 1960s rock group, The Four Seasons. Unlike other jukebox musicals that use familiar hit songs to tell a fictional tale (Mamma Mia and others), Jersey boys tells the actual story of the band. Starting from its early days in New Jersey as the “Four Lovers” to the addition of a young teenager named Frankie Valli, to the addition of a young song writer Bob Gaudio who would go on to pen their many hit songs. It was interesting to learn that a young Joe Pesci (the actor) introduced Gaudio to the band. The show ran on Broadway from 2005 to 2017 with over 4000 performances.
The play covers the ups and downs of the band, their personnel changes, money and management issues and their endless road tours. Even with problems with the record label and getting their songs played on Top 40 radio, the Four Seasons would succeed in the turbulent and constantly changing era of f1960s rock music.
The format of the play is both story telling and live performances that weave together the saga of the Four Seasons from their humble Jersey roots, to their rise and eventual break up. The story is both funny and sad, but it is the music and harmonies that lift the audience up during the performance.
The Music Theatre of Connecticut has produced yet another highly professional theatrical experience. The small intimate theater in which the audience sits three sides surrouning the actors creates the feeling that you are in the performance itself. It’s quite extrodinary. In a musical such as Jersey Boys, sound is vital to success and the sound crew delivers concert quality sound as the harmonies that are so much of the Four Seasons sound are delivered with clarity. Over 30 songs are part of the musical which the cast delivers to the delight of the audience.
A great cast of 14 actors rotate on and off the stage. Michael Fasano reprises his role as Frankie Valli which he played on the national tour. He really pulls off the unique vocal range of Frankie Valli. Nathan Cockroft (Tommy DeVito), Sean McGee (Bob Gaudio), and Steven Petrovich (Nick Massi) round out the rest of the band and deliver solid acting and vocal performances. The vocal harmonies were impressive.
The rest of the cast has plays numerous roles, including fans, wives, mobsters, record executives and even Joe Pesci. Seamless costume changes allow these actors to assume several different roles during the show. The cast of Brianna Bauch, Emily Solo, Skye Gillespie, (all seen above) John Treacy Egan, Michael Luongo, David L. Murray Jr., Robert Peterpaul, and Jeff Raab does a fantastic job of playing so many roles critical to the telling of the story.
Kevin Conners delivers yet again another wonderful directing achievement. This is a Broadway quality production right next door in an intimate and professional venue.
Now on stage at the Music Theatre of Connecticut MainStage, Fairfield County’s professional award is t the very funny comedy, I Hate Hamlet by Paul Rudnick. The production had the audience laughing during the entire performance.
The play involves Andrew Rally, a young and successful television star who has ended a run on his network show and is looking for work. His agent, Lillian convinces him to move to New York City and take on the role of Hamlet in Shakespeare in the Park. Andrew decides to make the move though he is overwhelmed with doubt that he can make the jump from tv drama actor to Shakespeare. His realtor Felicia, shows him an old apartment where the famous actor John Barrymore once lived. Felicia thinks the apartment is perfect as Barrymore himself once played Hamlet.
Andrew has a problem. He does not like the apartment , he misses Los Angeles and he hates Hamlet! What is an out of work television actor to do? With the help of the realtor (who claims to be a psychic), his girlfriend Deidre (who loves Shakespeare) and the agent (who had a brief affair with Barrymore), a séance is performed in the apartment to contact the spirit of John Barrymore. The madcap comedy really starts to roll as the ghost of Barrymore, dressed as Hamlet appears.
Though he doubts he can actually perform as Hamlet, the ghost of Barrymore who partakes of champagne and other spirits, challenges Andrew to a sword fight in the apartment. The fight scenes arranged by Dan O’Driscoll who also plays Barrymore are quite impressive and realistic and still the scene is quite funny. More humor roles in as Gary, a producer from L.A. enters in an attempt to lure Andrew away from his new role with promises of a new television series and a lucrative contract. His over the top performance had the audience in stitches. Torn in two directions, what will Andrew do?
The Actors Equity cast is hilarious and the comedic timing is spot on. Directed by Kevin Conners who delivers yet another wonderful production to the MTC stage.
I Hate Hamlet will run three weekends from February 3rd – 19th, 2023 with performances on Fridays & Saturday at 8pm and Saturdays & Sundays at 2pm. I Hate Hamlet stars Constantine Pappas (Nat’l Tour- Phantom of the Opera, Off B’wayPenelope) as Andrew, Dan O’Driscoll (Off B’way- The Pirates of Penzance, Babes in Toyland) as John Barrymore, Elena Ramos Pascullo (Florida Studio Theatre- Something Rotten, MTC- The Buddy Holly Story) as Deirdre, Liliane Klein (Nat’l Tour- Scrooge, Titanic) as Felicia, Robert Anthony Jones (B’way- Finding Neverland, Nat’l Tour- Phantom of the Opera) as Gary, and Jo Anne Parady (Players Club- The Life of Shakespeare, Stratford Shakespeare Festival- Othello) as Lillian.
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Ticket prices range from $40-$65 plus fees and can be purchased online
Sunset Blvd. the Tony Award winning musical is now live on stage at the Music Theatre of Connecticut (MTC) in Norwalk . The music is by Andrew Lloyd Webber and book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. The musical based on the 1949 movie by director Billy Wilder and opened in London’s West End in 1993 with Patti Lapone as the lead actress. In 1994 it opened on Broadway and with Glenn Close as lead actress and the play won Tony’s for Best Original Score, Best Book and Lyrics, Best Actress as well as other accolades.
MTC is a small theater that consistently produces top quality performances featuring actors with Broadway, off-Broadway, and National Tour experience. This is all produced in an intimate black-box theater setting where the audience sits on three sides of the stage and is so close, you feel you are in the performance itself. It is quite the experience. Sunset Blvd which runs through October 2nd is a Broadway quality musical right in our backyard.
The setting is Hollywood in 1949-1950. Our main character is silent movie star Norma Desmond (Elizabeth Ward Land) who like so many silent movie era stars was cast aside by the Hollywood studios when sound replaced silent movies. Her desire is to return to the big screen and has even written her own screenplay, but she is shunned by the studios. By fortune, she crosses paths with Joe Gillis (Trevor Martin), who is down on his luck screen writer who spends more time dodging bill collectors then writing for the studios. Norma sees an opportunity and hires Joe to edit and improve her screenplay. But he must move into her house and work exclusively for her. Seduced by her stardom and wealthy lifestyle, Joe is persuaded to take on the work. He soon finds himself longing for the world outside Norma’s estate. He had promised a young studio assistant, Betty to collaborate on a script together. But this they must do in secrecy without Norma or her ever present and loyal butler, Max(James Patterson) finding out.
There is sadness in the story as Norma has grand delusions of returning to the silver screen and the studios that cast her aside at the end of the silent movie era. As the new year approaches with the optimism of her return and is echoed by the songs, “The Perfect Year” and “This Time Next Year”.
However despite these dreams, the story spirals downward to its dramatic conclusion.
Sunset Blvd is a first rate production. Since this is a large 12 member cast and a small stage, set design is limited but clever. Costumes, especially those worn by Norma evoke the era of Hollywood in its glamour era. You will walk away from the show impressed by the vocal performances. Elizabeth Ward Land as Norma amazed the audience with an award winning performance. Her vocals were powerful, emotional and mesmerizing. She has performed on Broadway no less than 6 times and she thrilled the theater the evening we attended. We were also very impressed with the vocals of Max the Butler played by James Patterson. At first limited to a talking role, Mr. Patterson impressed the audience with his deep and moving rendition of “The Greatest Star of All”. As always Kevin Connors delivers yet another directing triumph.
MTC’s revival of Sunset Blvd. delivers everything you expect from a Broadway show. The evening is filled with emotion, power, tragedy, the glamour of bygone Hollywood all wrapped in a beautiful musical performance. With Broadway talent and first rate production, why travel all the way to Manhattan when you can see great theatre so close?
Sunset Boulevard stars Elizabeth Ward Land (B’way- Amazing Grace, Memphis) as Norma Desmond and Trevor Martin (Wolfbane Prod.- Sweeney Todd, Sharon PH- Beauty & the Beast) and Joe Gillis. The cast also includes James Patterson (B’way- Beauty & The Beast, Gigi) as Max von Mayerling, Sandra Marante (Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Westport Country PH- In The Heights) as Betty Shaefer, Jacob Sundlie (MTC- Ragtime, Shawnee PH- Addams Family) as Artie Green, and in multiple roles is Philip Callen (Legacy Theatre Deathtrap, Urban Stages- Honky), Jeff Gurner (B’way- The Lion King, MTC- Falsettoland), Paul Aguirre (Nat’l Tour- Billy Elliot, Seussial), Matt Grasso (MTC- It’s A Wonderful Life, ACT of CT- Joseph…Dreamcoat), Helen Clare (SToNC- YAGM Charlie Brown, Honky Tonk Angels), Emily Solo (Charlottesville Opera- Sound of Music, New Camerata Opera- Infinite Energy), and Leigh Klinger (Sharon PH- Beauty & the Beast, Mac-Haydn Theatre- Sunset Blvd.)
Sunset Boulevard is directed by Kevin Connors with musical direction by David John Madore and choreography by Corinne C. Broadbent. Abbey Murray stage manages alongside the creative team which includes scenic design by Lindsay Fuori, lighting design by RJ Romeo, costume design by Diane Vanderkroef, prop design by Sean Sanford, and sound design by Will Atkin.
Ticket prices range from $40-$65 plus fees and can be purchased online.
MTC Music Theatre of Connecticut
phone (203-454-3883). MTC MainStage is located at 509 Westport Ave. in Norwalk, Ct
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