MARK AUERBACH
The Love Story of The Centuries: Romeo and Juliet
Hartford Stage presents William Shakespeare’s most popular play, Romeo & Juliet, directed by Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak, who previously helmed the critically acclaimed productions of Hamlet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night and The Tempest in Connecticut. The tragic romance plays through March 20.
Romeo and Juliet is the story of two star-crossed teens from feuding families, who are hopelessly in love. Revenge, passion, and a secret marriage lead the angst-ridden teens to a harrowing end. The tragic romance has inspired films by Zeffirelli and Luhrmann; symphonic treatments by Berlioz and Tchaikovsky, a ballet by Prokofiev, the Broadway musical West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents and Jerome Robbins; and numerous stage and screen adaptations. In 1995, then Hartford Stage Artistic Director Mark Lamos staged an acclaimed production in Hartford, which featured a then-unknown, pre-Ally McBeal Calista Flockhart.
Kaliswa Brewster, Juliet in Hartford Stage’s Romeo and Juliet
Kaliswa Brewster and Chris Ghaffari will play the archetypal young lovers. Brewster’s credits include Hartford Stage’s La Dispute and Macbeth and Williamstown Theatre Festival’s Under Milk Wood, all three directed by Tresnjak; the new Showtime series “Billions,” which stars Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti and debuts next month; and the Off-Broadway premieres of Emotional Creature and Soldier X. Ghaffari is in his final year of the MFA program at the Yale School of Drama, where he has performed in Coriolanus, King John and Paradise Lost. His resume also includes King Lear for The Public’s Shakespeare in the Park and As You Like It and Julius Caesar at Shakespeare on the Sound.
“Romeo & Juliet is a play of seemingly infinite possibilities, reinvented from generation to generation for over 400 years, a symbol of romantic love infused with iconic imagery and unforgettable language that has become a part of the vernacular. We look forward to exploring this eternally modern play with a company of great stage veterans and rising stars,” Tresnjak said.
For details: 860-527-5151 or www.hartfordstage.org
Tony Sheldon
A Showtune Spectacular
Goodspeed Musicals and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra celebrate The Tony Awards with a special pops concert showcasing 70 years of Tony Award-winning music on February 20 at The Bushnell. Michael O’Flaherty, Resident Music Director of Goodspeed Musicals (celebrating his 25th season on the podium) conducts. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra is joined by Broadway soloists Gizel Jiménez, Conor Ryan, Tony Sheldon and Laurie Wells, and aspiring professional performers from The Hartt School Musical Theatre Department’s Class of 2016.
Some of the Tony Award-winning productions that will be celebrated in song include Guys and Dolls; Ain’t Misbehavin’; Hello, Dolly!; Spamalot; My Fair Lady; The Wiz; South Pacific; Rent; Les Misérables and more.The evening’s featured artists have all performed in past Goodspeed productions and boast numerous and diverse theatre credits from Broadway and beyond.
Gizel Jiménez comes to Hartford from the national tour of West Side Story. Conor Ryan was seen as Jean-Michel in Goodspeed’s production of La Cage aux Folles. Tony Sheldon played the role of Bernadette in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in Australia, New Zealand, London, Toronto and on Broadway, winning a Tony nomination as Best Actor in a Musical. Laurie Wells starred in Goodspeed productions of City of Angels and 42nd Street,
For details: 860-987-5900 or www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Karen Finley
Keep in Mind…
Salvatore Macchia, contrabass artist at UMass’ Department of Music and Dance and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, performs in recital on February 16 at Bezanson Recital Hall on the UMass/Amherst campus. He’ll perform his own works and those of Robert Stern, Robert Fuchs, Elizabeth Luytens, Quincy Porter, Joseph Iadone, with pianist Michael Goltzman, and Jazer Gile on electronics. For details: 413-545-2511, 800-999-UMASS, or www.fineartscenter.com/musicanddance.
Shock Treatment, An Evening with Karen Finley, the controversial artist who captured the drama and fragility of the AIDS era as only Karen Finley does in her 1990 classic book Shock Treatment. “The Black Sheep,” “We Keep Our Victims Ready,” “I Was Never Expected to Be Talented,”–these are some of the seminal works which excoriated homophobia and misogyny at a time when artists and writers were under attack for challenging the status quo. She reads from her work on February 17 at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford.
For details: 860-247-0998 or www.marktwainhouse.org
Jazz By 5, featuring Javon Jackson, Eddie Henderson, George Cables, Eddie Gomez & Jimmy Cobb, will be presented by the UMass Fine Arts Center on February 18 at Bowker Auditorium in Amherst. For details: 413-545-2511, 800-999-UMASS, or www.fineartscenter.com
Love Notes. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra celebrates Valentine’s Day with Love Notes (February 11-14) at The Bushnell. Musical love tales and beautiful choreography take center stage in this program that will feature romantic selections and dancers, both human (dancers from the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory) and puppet (created by the masterful minds of the UConn Puppet Arts Program). Renowned visual artist Maria Rud will create astounding art right before your very eyes. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
