by Mark G. Auerbach
Miles Anderson plays the patriarch of a family at odds in George Bernard Shaw’s Heartbreak House at Hartford Stage.
Heartbreak House Closes Hartford Stage Season
George Bernard Shaw’s comic and caustic masterwork, Heartbreak House closes Hartford Stage’s current season, May 11-June 11. Hartford Stage’s Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak, just back from Broadway ater directing Anastasia, will stage the play about the venerable Captain Shotover, his daughters – one liberal, the other conservative – and a household full of bickering guests in a home that’s like a ship, or a country, charting uncertain waters. When the beautiful but impoverished Ellie Dunn arrives, she gets a lesson in romance, politics, and the art of navigation.
Shaw’s most ambitious and prophetic achievement, Heartbreak House is set in England in 1914, but its themes and concerns reach across the twentieth century well into our own age. Other works by Shaw include Pygmalion, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Saint Joan, Major Barbara and Arms and the Man.
Tresnjak’s Hartford Stage credits include the musical Anastasia, currently on Broadway; A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical for Tresnjak); The Comedy of Errors; Rear Window; Romeo & Juliet; and Hamlet. Other recent credits include The Killer (2014 Obie Award for Direction) at Theatre for a New Audience and The Ghosts of Versailles and Macbeth at LA Opera.
Internationally acclaimed actor Miles Anderson will play the role of eccentric patriarch Captain Shotover. His West End roles include The Weir, The Bullet, Before the Party, Oliver! and The Rehearsal, and his numerous Royal Shakespeare Company credits include Macbeth, Twelfth Night and The Witch of Edmonton. In England he is well-known for the TV series “Ultimate Force,” “House of Cards” and “Soldier, Soldier.” Film credits include Cry Freedom, The 39 Steps and most recently, La La Land.
The cast also includes playwright Keith Reddin, who adapted the stage version of Rear Window for Hartford Stage, with Kevin Bacon in the lead in 2015.
For details: 860-527-5151 or visit www.hartfordstage.org
Kate Maguire from Berkshire Theatre Group headlines the premiere of ArtsBeat Radio May 26th on WSKB/89.5FM Radio. Photo by Eric Korenman.
Arts Beat Radio
89/5FM/WSKB will host ArtsBeat Radio, a limited-run summer arts and entertainment program, hosted by yours truly, Mark G. Auerbach, Westfield News Group Arts Beat columnist and reviewer, beginning on Friday, May 26 from 8AM-9AM. My guests for the premiere are: Kate Maguire and Eric Hill rom Berkshire Theatre Group. ArtsBeat Radio runs through Labor Day weekend. ArtsBeat Radio and other WSKB programming can be heard at 89.5FM, on Comcast Channel 15 in Westfield, and streamed by www.wskb.org or at www.westfieldtv.org.
Of Note
David Korins, a set designer and UMass Theatre graduate with four shows currently on Broadway.
David Korins, the UMass theatre graduate, has four shows running concurrently on Broadway: Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, War Paint, and Bandstand. For details: http://www.davidkorinsdesign.com/
UMass/Amherst Music Department ensembles and individual students in the Jazz & African-American Music Studies Program garnered six awards in Downbeat Magazine’s 2017 Student Music Awards (SMA’s). Recognized as the top publication devoted to “Jazz, Blues, and Beyond” since its inception in 1934, Downbeat publishes the SMA winners each year in their June issue.
Hot Tickets! Plan Ahead…
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra will perform Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on November 4, at The Bushnell in Hartford. The concert will feature the live symphony orchestra performing, to picture, every note from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Audiences will be able to relive the magic of the film in high-definition on a 40-foot screen while hearing the orchestra perform John Williams’ unforgettable score. Tickets go on sale May 15. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Sting will play Tanglewood this season.
Sting’s 57th & 9th World Tour, with special guests Joe Sumner and The Last Bandoleros, comes to Tanglewood, August 29, following sold-out concerts across North America and Europe. This performance marks Sting’s Tanglewood debut. Sting is joined by a three-piece band including his longtime guitarist Dominic Miller, plus drummer Josh Freese and guitarist Rufus Miller, with backing vocals from Diego Navaira and Jerry Fuentes of The Last Bandoleros, as well as Joe Sumner. For details: 888-266-1200 or online at www.tanglewood.org.
Garrison Keillor and guests Robin and Linda Williams perform at the Berkshire Theatre Group’s Colonial Theatre on November 29. Three old
Garrison Keillor with Robin and Linda Williams will perform at Pittsfield’s Colonial Theatre.
friends from the earliest days of A Prairie Home Companion join together for an evening of harmony and humor, and Mr. Keillor will speak of the beauty of being 75. They come to the Berkshires courtesy of WAMC, Northeast Public Radio. For details: www.berkshiretheatregroup.org.
Keep in Mind…
Video Games Live!, Springfield native Tommy Tallarico and Mystical Stone Entertainment join the Springfield Symphony Pops for an evening of video music’s greatest hits on May 13 at Springfield Symphony Hall. This is Tommy’s first performance with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. For details: 413-733-2291 or www.springfieldsymphony.org.
The Hartford Symphony Pops is Playing with Dogs on May 20 at The Bushnell. Conducted by HSO Assistant Conductor Adam Boyles and hosted by radio personality Renee DiNino, with creative direction by the legendary Broadway animal trainer Bill Berloni and vocals by Shanice Williams, the HSO brings together music and mutts like you’ve never seen before. Bill Berloni is the 2011 Tony Honoree for Excellence in Theatre. He’s turned shelter mutts into Broadway stars with his work on Annie, Legally Blonde, Nick and Nora, The Wiz and more. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.hartfordsymphony.org
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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.
