by | Jun 23, 2025 10:01 am | Comments (3)
Sonia Ahmed photo
Francesca (right), played by Susan Kulp, dances with Bruno Cantante, played by Shane Quinn.
What makes a New Haven pizza “apizza?” Is it the sacrifices? The love? The Marzano’s tomatoes?
“Family Business: (A)Pizza Play” set out to answer these questions and more, in a Friday performance in a black-box theater at CitySeed’s headquarters in Fair Haven.
by | Jun 11, 2025 12:54 pm | Comments (1)
Paul Bass Photo
Broken Umbrella's Ruben Ortiz and Jes Mack, Sanctuary Kitchen's Aminah Alsaleh, CitySeed's Christine Kim at WNHH FM.
On the turntable stage, an Italian-American family will serve brick-oven “apizza.”
Offstage, Afghan-American and Syrian-American women will serve pizza served from their own traditions.
In the process, a grassroots cultural group from the west side of town will team up with a grassroots food justice group from the east side.
And everyone gets to watch a show.
There’s a phrase to describe this kind of synergistic only-in-New Haven phenomenon:
by | Jun 11, 2025 8:00 am | Comments (0)
The infamous DeLorean in Back to the Future: The Musical
Back to the Future: The Musical
Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Hartford
June 6, 2025
There’s no sugarcoating it. I was very disappointed.
by | Jun 2, 2025 1:15 pm | Comments (1)
Jisu Sheen photo
Zaina and Marwa in crowns, playing a simultaneous Macbeth as Jodi Schneider and Jhenzen Gonzales look on.
Thirteen years ago, then fifth-grader Jhenzen Gonzales took her first foray into the world of theater. She was set to play Lady Macbeth as part of a new partnership between her school and staff members at Elm Shakespeare Company, a local organization celebrating the life and works of the Bard. With no idea what to expect, just a vague understanding that the role was an important one, the 10-year-old faced the audience and performed the famous sleepwalking scene from Macbeth for the first of countless times in her life.
Fast forward to this past Saturday morning. Jhenzen Gonzales, all grown up now, floated around the room as she helped students at that same school — Mauro-Sheridan Interdistrict Magnet School in Westville — get into costume for a dress rehearsal of that same play, Macbeth. Gonzales is the show’s co-director, along with fellow Elm Shakespeare staff member Hannah Gellman.
“It’s crazy how life works,” said Gonzales.
by | May 19, 2025 12:15 pm | Comments (1)
Curtis Brown Photography
Curtis Brown Photography
Unbecoming Tragedy: A Ritual Journey Towards Destiny
Long Wharf Theatre @ Yale Off Broadway Theater
41 Broadway
Through June 1
When we meet Terrence Riggins, the playwright and solo performer of the Long Wharf Theatre’s Unbecoming Tragedy, he’s in jail again for drug possession. Specifically, he’s in solitary confinement.
by | May 19, 2025 10:27 am | Comments (4)
“You’re going to love the last part!” third-grader Chris (also known as CJ) told me Saturday morning about Annie, Jr., the musical he and his castmates would perform at Wexler-Grant School later that day. He was enjoying a waffle breakfast with the cast and crew — warm, syrupy plates of motivation for the big show ahead. Director Jaminda Blackmon, along with assistant Ms. Lynn, doled out waffles and encouragement.
Continue reading ‘Waffles Set Stage For Wexler-Grant "Annie, Jr."’
by | May 16, 2025 3:02 pm | Comments (0)
MAYA MCFADDEN Photos
Hill Central students during final Aladdin musical rehearsal Thursday ...
... for opening night on Friday.
Hill Central seventh grader Jilyenie Nieves had never seen the 1992 Disney musical Aladdin before she was cast to play the genie in her school’s first-ever musical production. Now, she feels ready to channel his goofy personality as she and her castmates prepare for opening night.
Continue reading ‘Hill Central Brings "Aladdin Jr." To Stage’
by | May 12, 2025 3:34 pm | Comments (2)
Elliot, 11, Oompa Loompa No. 8.
How were those lollipops? And what flavors were they?
Those were my burning questions after watching middle- and elementary schoolers from Edgewood Magnet School’s Edgewood Afterschool Drama Club perform from a stage in Edgewood Park Sunday as part of Westville’s 28th Annual Artwalk.
Continue reading ‘At Artwalk, Oompa Loompas No. 8 and 9 Dish Candy Scoop’
by | May 2, 2025 9:53 am | Comments (0)
Joan Marcus Photo
Target practice: Christine Carmela and Samora la Perdida in Yale Rep's current season-ending production.
Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Board Members
Yale Repertory Theatre
Through May 17
Lolita, a pro-independence Boricua trans woman, begins her morning just like any of my friends after a night out: a hazy recollection of drag bars, a sensitivity to light that indicates hangover, and a loaded gun in her hand.
Just kidding, of course — I’m not friends with Luigi Mangione. Although he would certainly be interested in what Lolita has to say and what she’s prepared to do. Armed with seven bullets, Lolita wants to shoot each and every member of the Puerto Rican Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Board.
by | May 2, 2025 9:50 am | Comments (0)
Melissa Andersen and George Kulp in "Heisenberg."
Two people are in a train station. You’d think they’d be waiting for a train, but it turns out they’re not. It’s unclear what they’re waiting for.
Moreover, something has happened before the play starts. The situation is already awkward.
“It’s fine,” he says.
“It’s not,” she says. “It’s just weird. I feel awful.” We don’t know what they’re talking about.
“Were you supposed to be meeting him here?” he asks. “No. What gives you that impression?” she responds. “Nothing. Just …” he begins.
“You’re just joining the dots,” she interjects. “Woman walks up to man. He’s sitting down minding his own business.”
“You kissed the back of my neck,” he says. We still don’t know who they are. But we know something is drawing them together.
Continue reading ‘New Haven Theatre Company Measures The Uncertainty Of Romance’
by | Apr 29, 2025 10:00 am | Comments (0)
Primary Trust
TheaterWorks
Hartford
April 26, 2025
Did you ever have an imaginary friend? How long was it before that friend finally moved onto their own life? Years? Decades even?
by | Apr 22, 2025 9:40 am | Comments (0)
The Sailor Guardians prepare to do battle.
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live
Bushnell Center for Performing Arts
Hartford
April 19, 2025
When I was in the third grade, after school I would run from the bus to my house, hoping that I hadn’t missed even a single moment of my favorite show, Sailor Moon.
by | Apr 16, 2025 3:59 pm | Comments (4)
Rick Allen photo
That's me, honoring the aphorism: "If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly."
Last Thursday night, I took a seat in a makeshift theater — the community room of the Unitarian Society of New Haven — awaiting the introduction of Act 6 of an annual talent show, “Mud Follies.”
Not that I wasn’t paying attention to Acts 1 through 5. Indeed, I was impressed by the performances.
by | Mar 24, 2025 9:34 am | Comments (0)
Evan Zimmerman Photo
Clue
Shubert Theatre
March 20
A colorful group of strangers gathers at a mansion. Before long, a body is discovered. Everyone has a motive, a weapon, an opportunity, and a secret. A journey full of misdirection, mishaps, and mayhem culminates in the culprit being revealed.
It’s a tried and true setup for a whodunit mystery. Of all the works in this great genre, I consider Clue, the 1985 film based on the board game of the same name, to be one of the best, and by far the campiest, there is.
It’s my pleasure to report that the stage adaptation of Clue, a national tour that played at the Shubert Theatre this weekend as part of its Broadway Series, was an experience as fun for the whole family and just as accessible and satisfying for devoted fans of the film as it was for anyone lucky enough to be experiencing the fast-paced murder mystery comedy for the first time.
by | Mar 18, 2025 1:38 pm | Comments (0)
Karen Almond / Met Opera
Lise Davidsen as Fidelio, the courageous wife in disguise and role model for standing up to autocrats.
On our drive on toward Milford and the Connecticut Post Mall, I fiddled with the car radio, turning off the drumbeat of distressing news out of the nation’s capital.
by | Mar 17, 2025 9:52 am | Comments (1)
Sesame Street Live! Say Hello
Shubert Theatre
March 14, 2025
Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? Friday night, it was on College Street. The Shubert Theatre to be exact. It was the place to greet and get playful with the iconic children’s show’s crew of monsters and other lovable birds and beasts in their newest Sesame Street Live! stage production, aptly titled Say Hello. This reporter, a lifelong fan, and her husband made a date to dive back into some core memories while watching a captivated and super cute crowd party with their fuzzy faves.
by | Mar 14, 2025 12:15 pm | Comments (0)
Joan Marcus photo
Samuel Douglas and Nomè SiDone in The Inspector.
The Inspector
Yale Repertory Theatre
1120 Chapel St.
Through March 29
When you walk into the Yale Repertory Theatre for its production of The Inspector, the first thing you’ll probably notice is the giant streetlamp. Perched just behind orchestra left, the lamp holds up a vast clothesline above the audience’s heads, connecting to an identical streetlamp deep within the whitewashed facade of the stage. The floor itself is covered in a couple inches of poly-fill snow that you just know is destined to get everywhere.
by | Mar 10, 2025 10:49 am | Comments (0)
Chris Randall photos
When the apizza is so good, you have to sing about it! Ruben Ortiz, artistic director for Broken Umbrella, serving up both drama and slices.
A Broken Umbrella Theatre kicked off their upcoming production, Family Business: (A)Pizza Play, with a lively and fitting preview party Sunday at downtown’s BAR Pizza. The special event brought together theater lovers, pizza enthusiasts, and supporters of the arts for an afternoon filled with delicious food and engaging performances.
by | Feb 27, 2025 12:12 pm | Comments (0)
Bundy: Reached high, took risks.
James Bundy, a guiding force of adventurous and cutting-edge theater in New Haven for decades, announced Thursday that he’s stepping down from his post as artistic director of Yale Repertory Theatre.
by | Feb 14, 2025 9:33 am | Comments (0)
Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. (Memphis) and Postell Pringle (Wolf) in August Wilson's Two Trains Running.
Two Trains Running
Hartford Stage
Hartford
February 6, 2025
Two Trains Running belongs to August Wilson’s ten-play cycle describing African American life in each decade of the 20th century. It takes place in Pittsburgh, as restaurant owner Memphis fights to get a fair price for his business as the city attempts to redevelop the area.
The lede of the play is buried under racial and social discussions of the era.
by | Feb 10, 2025 11:20 am | Comments (0)
Curtis Brown Photography
El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom.
El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom
Long Wharf Theatre
Southern Connecticut State University’s Lyman Center
New Haven
Through Feb. 23, 2025
For three weeks only, a masked crusader strikes in New Haven.
by | Feb 6, 2025 7:05 am | Comments (0)
Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.
Peter Pan
Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Hartford
Feb. 4, 2025
Peter Pan is one of my all-time favorite stories across pretty much every adaptation I’ve seen. The Broadway musical playing at the Bushnell this week ranks as one of the best adaptations, and breathes new life into the timeless story.
by | Jan 31, 2025 3:55 pm | Comments (0)
Silin Chen
Now Yale Cabaret show is "a moving meditation on grief, language, and how to navigate the disasters that befall us."
Grandmother/Bathtub
Yale Cabaret
Through Saturday night
“It’s the safest place to be!” Grandmother declares of the bathtub, where she has been for an indeterminate amount of time. Neither I nor Nat, her grandchild, can convincingly source or verify her claim. Regardless, it’s as good a place as any for the two of them to grieve the catastrophes of the past and steel themselves for the catastrophes of the future in this world premiere of Brian Dang’s play, part of the Yale Cabaret’s 57th season.
by | Jan 24, 2025 10:41 am | Comments (1)
Joan Marcus Photo
Lauren F. Walker and Chaundre Hall-Broomfield in Eden.
Eden
Yale Repertory Theatre
Through Feb. 8
Over the course of Eden, which opened this week at the Yale Rep, characters insist on the old adage that love makes you stupid.
by | Jan 16, 2025 4:38 pm | Comments (0)
For a few weeks, New Haveners will be able to go downtown and travel to New York City’s 1927 San Juan Hill, where a pair of star-crossed lovers suffer the consequences of heightened tensions between Black Americans and Caribbean immigrants.