By Mark G. Auerbach
Chester Theatre Company announces 2021 summer season
TARA FRANKLIN
Chester Theatre Company, under the direction of Daniel Elihu Kramer, has announced its 32nd season, which includes three productions staged under a tent on the grounds of Hancock Shaker Village.
JAMES BARRY
The season opens with Will Eno’s “Title and Deed,” staged by Keira Naughton (June 16-27). James Barry, known for his performances in Chester’s “The Aliens,” “The Night Alive,” and “Sister Play,” stars. Eleanor Burgess’ “The Niceties” (July 14-25) follows. Tara Franklin stars in Nia Vardalos’ “Tiny Beautiful Things” (August 18-29) which will be staged by Daniel Elihu Kramer. Franklin’s co-stars will be James Barry, Paul Pontrelli (from Chester’s “I and You” and “The Aliens”) and Candace Barrett Birk.
Complete casting and additional production information will be announced at a later date. Tickets go on sale March 22. For details: www.chestertheatre.org.
EDDIE SHAPIRO
On The Page…
“A Wonderful Guy: Conversations With the Great Men of Musical Theater” by Eddie Shapiro. A follow-up to Shapiro’s “Nothing Like A Dame: Conversations with the Great Woman of Musical Theater.” Shapiro has interviewed some of Broadway’s greatest leading men, including Joel Grey, Ben Vereen, Norm Lewis, Jonathan Groff, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Terrence Mann (Artistic Director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s Nutmeg Summer Series at UConn/Storrs) and more. Shapiro appeared in a benefit reading onstage at Chester Theatre in 2014, interviewed by yours truly. Oxford University Press. Release date: April 1. For details: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-wonderful-guy-9780190929893?cc=us&lang=en&
Of Note…
Ben Scranton, the Springfield-based playwright, will have three one-minute plays in the Tiny Theatre’s virtual March Madness “Tiny Wonders,” March 22, 25-26. For details on Ben Scranton: https://newplayexchange.org/users/27396/ben-scranton. For details about the new playreading series: https://www.facebook.com/ClosetAtRachelAndBrendans
“This Property Is Condemned,” Tennessee Williams’ play, gets a virtual production by Connecticut Repertory Theatre, March 18-21. Dexter Singleton directs, and the cast includes: Katelyn Trieu as the world-weary teen living in a dilapidated boarding house, who meets Tom (Andre Chan), an older teen, as she walks along the railroad tracks. A talkback follows each performance. For details: https://crt.uconn.edu/Online/default.asp
ALEXEI RATMANSKY
Alexei Ratmansky, the ballet sensation, created a new work, Bernstein in a Bubble, which premieres on New York City Center’s American Ballet Theatre special. Ratmansky used music by Leonard Bernstein and was filmed with the choreographer and dancers living and working while quarantined. The program also includes other Ratmansky works, performed by ABT, including: Seven Sonatas (Second Movement) to music by Scarlatti; The Seasons pas de deux with music by Glazunov; and the Rose adagio from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty. As a footnote: Springfield Symphony Orchestra Maestro Kevin Rhodes worked with Ratmansky on the world premiere of his Don Quixote at the Dutch National Ballet. Available for streaming March 23-April 18. For details: https://www.nycitycenter.org/events-tickets/
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and The Yale School of Drama. He has worked for arts organizations nationwide, and reported on the arts for print and broadcast. Mark produces and hosts ArtsBeat and On The Mark for WCPC15 and 89.5fm/WSKB, and he’s a regular contributor to Pioneer Valley Radio.
