by Mark G. Auerbach
So much to choose from and so little time to see everything.
Tamara Tunie and Michael Hayden in the world premiere of American Son at Barrington Stage. Photo by Scott Barrow.
Outstanding Production of A Play and Outstanding New Play: American Son by Christopher Demos-Brown, Barrington Stage. American Son, a tight, taut drama about racial tension in our time, exquisitely written by Christopher Demos-Brown, and one of Julianne Boyd’s finest stagings for Barrington Stage.was the highlight of my theatre-going summer. The tense, high-velocity drama, beautifully-acted, became more absorbing as the evening wore on, and the drama’s themes became a conversation piece months after. Barrington Stage did a lot of community outreach with the show, and brought the production back for a September run. Kudos to them.
There were some other top-notch productions this year, from Hartford Stage’s Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, given a cinematic treatment by Darko Tresnjak, to Berkshire Theatre Group’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, whose staging by David Auburn gave the production a fresh feel. I’ve become a fan of TheaterWorks production of Christmas on The Rocks, the original evening of very funny playlets. There were also other outstanding new plays worth noting: Mark St. Germain’s portrait of Albert Einsten, Relativity which brought Richard Dreyfuss to Hartford; Dan O’Brien’s The Body of an American, a portrait of a war photojournalist, at Hartford Stage, and the American premiere of Kate Cayley’s Canadian drama, The Bakelite Masterpiece, a co-production of WAM and Berkshire Theatre Group.
Christy Altomare and company in Anastasia at Hartford Stage. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Outstanding Production of A Musical: Outstanding Direction of a Musical. Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical; Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical. Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical, Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical Book by Terrence McNally. Music by Stephen Flaherty. Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Directed by Darko Tresnjak, Scenic design by Alexander Dodge. Projections by Aaron Rhyne. Costumes by Linda Cho. Lighting by Donald Holder Sound design by Peter Hyslenski Anastasia. Hartford Stage. I had a lot of love for Anastasia, the incredible theatre experience at Hartford Stage, which opens on Broadway in March, and I suspect it will be a crowd-pleaser for years to come. It’s the story a Russian princess, who against all odds, finds happiness in Paris after the fall of the Romanovs. A solid book, nice score, dynamic direction and choreography, lavish costumes, and the most brilliant sets and projections I’ve ever seen in an area theatre were totally breathtaking.
Honorable mentions to Barrington Stage’s production of The Pirates of Penzance, the Gilbert and Sullivan chestnut, which sparkled in the hands of director and choreographer John Rando and Joshua Bergasse; Goodspeed’s brisk staging of Bye Bye Birdie, and their production of Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz.
Sara Esty and Garen Scribner headline the cast of An American in Paris at The Bushnell. Photo by Matthew Murphy
Outstanding Touring Production: An American in Paris at The Bushnell. In a great year of Broadway at The Bushnell, An American in Paris was pure perfection. Honorable mentions go to A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, the Tony Award winner that began life at Hartford Stage, and Motown: the Musical, which was one great hit after another.
Outstanding New Musical: Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz. Book by Marc Acito. Conceived by Tina Marie Casamento Libby. Music Adapted by David Libby. Goodspeed. I may have been swept away by the style of Anastasia, but Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz, tugged at my heart, with a triumphant, yet sometimes sad story of Judy Garland and her life in vaudeville and early movies, before the Yellow Brick Road leads her to international fame. Tina Marie Casamento Libby fashioned a book that’s respectful, yet never too iconic, and David Libby adapted music sung by Garland before “Over The Rainbow”. The brilliant casting of Ruby Rakos as Judy Garland made the musical even better.
Ruby Rakos as Judy Garland, Michael Wartella as Mickey Rooney, and Berklea Going as Lana Turner in Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz. Photos by Diane Sobolewski.
Outstanding Director of a Play: Kristen van Ginhoven,The Bakelite Masterpiece. WAM and Berkshire Theatre Group and Jade King Carroll, Having our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years, Hartford Stage. Kristen van Ginhoven brought a new play from her native Canada to showcase WAM at Berkshire Theatre Group, and life in post-war Holland was beautifully portrayed in this sensitive work. Jade King Carroll staged two shows about the African-American experience at Hartford Stage. Having our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years, was like being a guest in the home of two sisters who had seen it all, from slavery to modern times, and enjoying their company while a real dinner was cooking on the stage.
Outstanding Musical Direction: Darren R. Cohen, The Pirates of Penzance, Barrington Stage. Cohen gave a real contemporary feel to this Gilbert & Sullivan relic. Of course, he had some beautiful Broadway voices and a talented orchestra to work with. Honorable mentions to John Pike,who gave Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s Monty Python’s Spamalot, and How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying great renderings. And, for those of us who grew up listening to the original cast album of Bye Bye Birdie, Michael O’Flaherty’s musical direction was sublime.
Outstanding Choreography: Joshua Bergasse, The Pirates of Penzance, Barrington Stage. Fresh from Broadway’s On The Town, which originated at Barrington Stage, Bergasse gave the pirates, the police, and the General’s daughters some hilarious dance moves. Honorable mention to Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s Cassie Abate, who staged a dynamic West Side Story and gave a new spin on How to Succeed’s usual showstopper, Brotherhood of Man.
Kevin O’Rourke, Patrick Husted and PJ Benjamin in Camping With Henry and Tom at Barrington Stage. Photo by Scott Barrow.
Outstanding Scenic Design: David Barber, Costume Design: Charlotte Palmer-Lane, Lighting Design for a Play: Scott Pinkney. Camping with Henry and Tom, Barrington Stage. Sunset in the woods never looked better.
Outstading Sound Design of a Play: Scott Killian Constellations, Berkshire Theatre Group. A very subtle work of excellence crossed time zones from past, present, and future.
Keep in Mind…
Home for the Holidays, Majestic Theater’s annual family-friendly holiday variety show, plays the West Springfield theatre through December 22. Some great local talent is involved, including Ray Guillemette Jr, Luis Manzi, Westfield’s Tim Hosmer, Ellington, CT’s Cliff Schofer, and Lori Efford, the dynamic singer who can turn a Poiar Vortex into a day at the beach. For details: www.majestictheater.com
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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.
