by Mark G. Auerbach
The Holiday Arts Season
New and Different
Tom Bloom joins the cast of TheaterWorks’ Christmas on The Rocks.
Christmas on The Rocks, TheaterWorks’ twisted holiday comedy returns to Hartford November 28-December 23. Rob Ruggiero conceived and directs this very funny series of playlets by different playwrights, who take the children from our faovirte holidays plays and movies, and show them all grown up. From Charlie Brown to Susan from Miracle on 34th Street, to Clara from The Nutcracker..all now disfunctional adults. This one’s not for the kids. For last season’s Westfield News Group review: https://thewestfieldnews.com/review-christmas-on-the-rocks-at-theaterworks-2 For details: 860-527-7838 or www.theaterworkshartford.org
A Connecticut Christmas Carol. Imagine A Christmas Carol reimagined, as the Dickens classic is set in 1925 in Connecticut. Local legend William Gillette leaves his Connecticut River castle to adapt A Christmas Carol with locals Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and P.T. Barnum. Goodspeed Musicals presents the world premiere of this new musical through December 24 at their Terris Theatre in Chester, CT. LJ Fecho wrote the book, and Michael O’Flaherty composed the score. Lenny Wolpe from Broadway’s The Drowsy Chaperone and Bullets Over Broadway plays Scrooge/Gillette. Hunter Foster directs. For details: 860-873-8668 or www.goodspeed.org.
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, written by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, is this season’s gift from Shakespeare and Company, playing in Lenox, MA December 15-17. Ariel Bock directs, and Kate Abbruzzese, Lydia Barnett-Mulligan, David Joseph, Zoë Laiz, and Ryan Winkles star. The play is a holiday visit to the characters of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. For details: 413-637-3353 or www.shakespeare.org
A Hip Hop Nutcracker plays The Bushnell.
The Hip Hop Nutcracker with Guest MC Kurtis Blow plays The Bushnell on December 17. It’s a holiday mash-up for the entire family, a contemporary re-imagination of Tchaikovsky’s timeless music returns to The Bushnell after a sold-out performance last year.Directed and choreographed by Jennifer Weber, artistic director of the all-female hip-hop crew Decadancetheatre in Brooklyn. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.bushnell.org.
Traditional Fare
A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas, in Hartford, is the annual tradition at Hartford Stage, where Michael Wilson’s original adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic is given an opulent, special-effects-filled production that has stunning sets, costumes, and lighting. Rachel Alderman directs the production, originally created by Wilson. This year, the production’s 20th anniversary, Michael Preston makes his debut as Scrooge, and it runs through December 30. If you get a chance, read last season’s Westfield News Group review. For details: 860-527-5151 or www.hartfordstage.org.
Berkshire Theatre Group’s A Christmas Carol.
A Christmas Carol, in Pittsfield. Eric Hill adapted the Berkshire Theatre Group production of the holiday classic, and he stars as Scrooge. Travis G. Daly directs the community production, which features local actors, former Berkshire Theatre Group apprentices, and area children. The exuberance of the BTG’s community productions and Hill’s intimate treatment of Dickens’ classic make this production worth a visit. Performances are December 9-22 at The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. For details: For details: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org.
The Ten Tenors
The Ten Tenors, the Australian group is on a US tour to showcase their new recording, .Our Christmas Wish. They’ll perform at Springfield Symphony Hall on December 3, with a program that includes holiday favorites. Now in their 20th season together, The Ten Tenors playfully blend rock, pop and opera. For details: 413-788-7033 or www.symphonyhall.com
The Nutcracker is everyone’s holiday dance spectacular. You take some tales of Hoffman, add a Tchaikovsky score, and lots of dancers young and old. There are three places to see different productions of
Nutmeg Ballet’s Nutcracker plays The Bushnell.
the holiday classic. The Nutmeg Ballet from Torrington, CT brings their version to The Bushnell on December 16-17. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.bushnell.org. The Albany Berkshire Ballet is touring the region with performances at Pittsfield’s Colonial Theatre on December 2-3. For details: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org. They then travel down the Pike to Springfield Symphony Hall for performances on Decemer 16. For details: 413-788-7033 or www.symphonyhall.com. Pioneer Valley Ballet performs their version on December 8-10 at Northampton’s Academy of Music. For details: 413-584-9032 ext 105 or www.aomtheatre.com.
Hartford Symphony Orchestra December Dreams plays The Bushnell on December 8-10. Adam Boyles conducts a program that includes Fry’s Santa Claus: Christmas Symphony; Jennifer Higdon’s Oboe Concerto with soloist Heather Taylor an selections from Tchaikovsky’s score to The Nutcracker. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Hartford Symphony Orchestra Holiday Cirque Spectacular, featuring the gymnasts and acrobats of Cirque de la Symphonie, give the songs of the season a new spin at The Bushnell on December 16. Maestra Carolyn Kuan conducts. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.hartfordsymphony.org
Springfield Symphony Orchestra’s Holiday Pops has been a Springfield tradition for decades.. Guest conductor Nicholas Palmer joins the Orchestra and The Springfield Symphony Chorus for songs of the season. This year, the festivities are called Holiday Extravaganza With The Grinch, December 9 at Symphony Hall. For details: 413-733-2291 or www.springfieldsymphony.org.
Keep in Mind…
Cadáver Exquisito, Thomas Vacanti and Leslie Frye Maietta choreograph a surrealist evening of dance theatre for the UMass’ University Dancers which explores the lives and work of two of the greatest Latino poets of our time, Federico Garcia Lorca and Pablo Neruda, November 30-December 2 at Tolman Performance Lab on the UMass Amherst campus. For details: 413-545-2511, or online at www.fineartscenter.com/musicanddance.
Our Country’s Good, Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Tony Award-nominated and Olivier Award-winning play, comes to Connecticut Repertory Theatre at UConn’s Storrs campus November 30-December 10. Set in Australia in the 1780s, a play is staged by penal colony convicts. For details: 860-486-2113.or www.crt.uconn.edu
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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. Mark produces and hosts ArtsBeat Radio on 89.5fm/WSKB.
