by Mark G. Auerbach
Dominique Morriseau
Hartford Stage To Produce Dominique Morriseau’s Detroit ‘67
Dominique Morriseau is one of the most talked-about contemporary voices in the American theatre. Morisseau is among 25 individuals nationwide to be named as a MacArthur Foundation 2018 MacArthur Fellow (also known as the “Genius Grant”). Her theatre pieces are performed regularly at theatres across the country. Theaterworks produced Sunset Baby a couple of years ago, and Pipeline is on the WAM season schedule. Morriseau will make her Broadway debut this spring as book writer for Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations.
Hartford Stage presents Morisseau’s Detroit ’67, a co-production with New Jersey’ McCarter Theatre Center, February 14-March 10. Detroit ’67 is part of Morisseau’s “Detroit Project” trilogy, which includes Paradise Blue and Skeleton Crew – plays focusing upon the complicated yet hopeful history of her hometown. As a footnote, this partnership has brought Murder on The Orient Express and The Age of Innocence to Hartford. .
Jade King Carroll
Jade King Carroll, who previously helmed Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson at Hartford Stage, will direct. The cast from the McCarter Detroit ’67 production will reprise their roles at Hartford Stage. The cast includes: Nyahale Allie, Will Cobbs, Ginna Le Vine, Johnny Ramey; and Myxolydia Tyler .
Detroit ’67 unfolds during an explosive moment in United States history — the civil and racial unrest that tore the city of Detroit apart. The play centers around Chelle and her brother, Lank, who make ends meet by turning their basement into an after-hours party. When a mysterious woman makes her way into the siblings’ lives, they clash over much more than the family business.
For details: 860-527-5151 or www.hartfordstage.org.
Footnote: Dominique Morriseau’s Pipeline, produced at Lincoln Center, airs on the PBS series Live from Lincoln Center on Friday, February 8 on many PBS stations. Check local listings.
Of Note
American Son, the powerhouse Christopher Demos-Brown drama, which had its world premiere at Barrington Stage in 2016, directed by Julianne Boyd, moved on to Broadway t become one of the season’s biggest hits. Netflix will film for streaming on its network with the Broadway company, starring Kerry Washington, Steven Pasquale, Jeremy Jordan and Eugene Lee. Kenny Leon, who staged the Broadway production, will direct. Incidentally, Leon was responsible for staging the Berkshire Theatre Group’s production of Children of a Lesser God on Broadway. American Son will be filmed this month.
Terrence Mann, Artistic Director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s Nutmeg Summer Series, will co-star in the pre-Broadway musical. Marie: A New Musical, from Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty of Ragtime, Once on This Island, and Anastasia fame. Staged and choreographed by Susan Stroman, the show plays Seattle, March 22-April 13. For details: https://www.5thavenue.org/show/marie
Keep in Mind
Arts Beat Radio airs every Friday at 8AM, on 89.5fm/WSKB. On February 15, we’ll check in with actor, musician and composer Alexander Sovronsky director Matthew Penn at Barrington Stage’s 10×10 New Play Festival and Daniel Elihu Kramer previews the upcoming Chester Theatre season. ArtsBeat Radio, live on Fridays at 8AM on 89.5fm/WSKB, on Westfield Comcast channel 15, or streamed on www.wskb.org. And, if you miss an episode, find it on YouTube at WSKB Community Radio’s page
Noah Weisberg as Willy Wonka and company. in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Photo by Joan Marcus
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the musicalization of Roald Dahl’s treasured tale, is coming to The Bushnell in Hartford, February 19-24, as part of its post-Broadway national tour. Noah Weisberg stars as Willy Wonka, and the cast include Kathy Fitzgerald, who played Kitty Dean in Barrington Stage’s The Royal Family of Broadway. Joshua Bergasse, who provided the dances for Barrington’s acclaimed revival of On The Town which moved to Broadway, stages the musical’s dances. The score is by Hairspray’s Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman, who included “The Candy Man” and “Pure Imagination” from the film version with Gene Wilder. It’s recommended for ages 6+. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.bushnell.org.
A Doll’s House, the Ibsen classic that inspired TheaterWorks current prouction of Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House, Part 2, will have an abridged reading on February 10 in Hartford. Jenn Harris from Theaterworks’ Christmas On The Rocks, plays Nora, and Royce Johnson from TheaterWorks’ Broke-ology plays Torvald. Directed and moderated by TheaterWorks’ Producing Associate Taneisha Duggan, this is Cliff Notes coming to life. For details: http://www.theaterworkshartford.org/
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra presents Latin Lovers just in time for Valentine’s Day, February 15-17 at the Bushnell, with Adam Boyles conducting and soloist Julien Labro on bandoneón. The program includes: Copland’s El Salón México; Piazzolla’s Libertango Piazzolla Aconcagua, Concerto for Bandoneón; Frank’s Three Latin American Dances and Márquez’s Danzón No. 2. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.hartfordsymphony.org
Puppeteer Schroeder Cherry will perform as part of the Living Objects: African American Puppetry Festival and Symposium.
The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the UConn in Storrs will host its Spring Puppet Performance Series on four Saturdays from Feb. to May 2019, featuring outstanding works of puppet theater by professional puppeteers from across New England and beyond. First up, February 16, The Three Little Pigs by Liz Joyce & A Couple of Puppets. Meanwhile, the Living Objects: African American Puppetry Festival and Symposium takes place through February 10. For details: 860-486-8580, or online at bimp.ticketleap.com
Travis Daly
Showtime with Shakespeare: A Magic Tree House Adventure, the musical with book and lyrics by Jenny Laird and Will Osborne and music and lyrics by Randy Courts, plays Berkshire Theatre Group’s Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA on February 23-24. Based on Stage Fright on a Summer Night: Magic Tree House #25 By Mary Pope Osborne, it’s the BTG PLAYS touring show, directed by Travis Daly. For details: 413-997-4444 or https://www.berkshiretheatregroup.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.
