by Mark G. Auerbach
All Aboard for Broadway; Change in New Haven
Now that CT Rail is offering more trains between Springfield, Hartford, and New Haven, we have a faster, frequent and relatively inexpensive way to get to those theatre centers in New Haven and New York.
New Haven is a great theatre and restaurant town. Since opening in 1914, the Shubert Theatre has played host to over 600 pre-Broadway tryouts, including over 300 world premieres and 50 American premieres. The totals are double that of any theatre in New York City or any of the other try out cities like Boston, Philadelphia, or Washington.
For details: https://shubert.com/ Long Wharf Theatre offers plays and musicals, and is very similar to Hartford Stage in its programs, but it has IKEA next door. For details: https://www.longwharf.org/ And Yale Repertory Theatre presents challenging seasons with tomorrow’s great actors. https://www.yalerep.org/
If you want to go on to Broadway, change trains in New Haven for either MetroNorth to Grand Central or Amtrak to Penn Station.
You can use CT Rail tickets on all Amtrak trains between Springfield and New Haven, except for “The Vermonter”. I found the new CT Rail trains comfortable; some have wifi. But, there are no restrooms on the trains yet.
There;s plenty of parking in Springfield at either the Union Station garage or Ken’s parking on Dwight Street. You can also use the Windsor Locks station, where parking is free.
For details: http://www.hartfordline.com/
Joshua Burrage
Of Note
Joshua Burrage, Westfield native who catapuled from the national tour of Disney’s Newsies to Broadway’s Cats, just wrapped up a run at the Sacramento Music Circus as Ephriam. Longmeadow native Todd Rosenthal is the scenic designer for the Broadway production of Straight White Men, now in previews. Sheldon Wolf, a former administrator at StageWest and the Springfield Museums, has published A Practical Guide to Fundraising for Small Museums, now available on the Rowman and Littlefield imprint. His play, Shul, has been selected to have its world premiere at the Minnesota Jewish Theatre in April. For details: http://mnjewishtheatre.org/
Love Letters, the A.R. Gurney play starring Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal scheduled to play the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on July 22 has been cancelled. For details: www.mahaiwe.org
Judy Collins
Plan Ahead
Judy Collins is returning to the Valley with one perfoirmance at the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton on October 26. For tickets: 877-987-6487 or .http://www.ticketfly.com/
Keep in Mind
Arts Beat Radio airs every Friday at 8AM, on 89.5fm/WSKB. On July 27, at a special time–7AM, Mark G. Auerbach and Jay Pagliuca head to Cranwell in Lenox for a two-hour special with The Capitol Steps, the musical political satire group that has been putting the “mock” in democracy for 35+years. Start your weekend with ArtsBeat Radio. Tune in live on the airwaves, on Comcast ch. 15, or www.wskb.org
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg will headline the 2018 Mahaiwe Gala on July 29 in a festive evening to benefit the performing arts center’s year-round programs and to honor founding board member Sharon Casdin..Whoopi Goldberg will share her unique observations on current events and a wide variety of topics that are on her mind. She will also entertain some questions from the audience. An actor, author, entrepreneur, and human rights advocate, as well as the moderator of the Emmy award-winning “The View,” Goldberg is one of an elite group of artists who have won the Grammy, the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, the Emmy, and a Tony. Born and raised in New York City, she performed in San Diego and the Bay Area with the Blake Street Hawkeyes theatre troupe. It was there that she created the characters that became “The Spook Show” and evolved into her hit Broadway show, Grammy Award-winning album, and the HBO special that helped launch her career. For details: 413-528-0100 or www.mahaiwe.org
Kristin Wold
Creditors, August Strindberg’s dark comedy, adapted by critically acclaimed playwright David Greig comes to Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, through August 12. Directed by Nicole Ricciardi of last season’s hit show 4000 Miles, the castincludes Jonathan Epstein, Ryan Winkles, and Kristin Wold. For details: 413-637-3353 or www.shakepeare.org.
The Fabulous Lipitones, a musical comedy by John Markus and Mark St. Germain explores what happens when a barbershop quartet loses a key member to a heart-stopping high “B flat?” The three surviving members suddenly find themselves scrambling to find a tenor before the national competition. The Whitney Center for the Arts in Pittsfield presents the musical comedy August 10-20. For details: 413-443-0289 or www.thewhit.org
Randy Noojin as Woody Guthrie
Randy Noojin portrays Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie In two separate multimedia presentations at the 2018 Historic North Hall Arts Festival in Huntington, MA. Seeger on July 21 and Hard Travelin’ with Woody on July 22. For details: 413-667-5543 www.northhallhuntington.org
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra ends this season’s Talcott Mountain Music Festival in Simsbury, CT with REWIND: Celebrating the Music of the ‘80s, with Adam Boyles conducting on July 27. Rain date is July 28. The program includes music from Wham, U2, Kool and The Gang, Billy Joel and more. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.hartfordsymphony.org
Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, featuring lyrics and music by Oscar and Tony Award winners Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen) and a book byTimothy Allen McDonald (The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley). is the 2018 Barrington Stage Youth Theatre Production, presented at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, July 25-August 12.For details: 413-236-8888 or www.barringtonstageco.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. Mark produces and hosts ArtsBeat Radio for 89.5fm/WSKB.
