Calling All Thespians

Open auditions in Stamford for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Kweskin Theatre in Stamford The 51st Season in The Kweskin Theatre (Stamford) kicks off with this Tony and Grammy award-winning musical following Carole King’s inspiring journey. Curtain Call, Stamford’s longest-running, award-winning and only year-round producing theatre, is holding open auditions for this, their first musical […]

If You Ask Me: “Secret Garden”

ACT of Connecticut in Ridgefield By Tom Holehan Connecticut Critics Circle ACT Closes Season with “Secret Garden” An exceptional production of a so-so musical deserves plenty of praise this week.  That musical is “The Secret Garden”, the 1991 Broadway Tony winner with book and lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon.  The new […]

If You Ask Me:“Masters of Puppets”

Legacy Theatre in Branford By Tom Holehan Connecticut Critics Circle Legacy Theatre Opens World Premiere It may have been when a crash test dummy, dressed as a Jewish writer complete with yarmulke called Goldfarb, was rolled onto the set via an office desk chair that my jaw may have hit the floor.  This incident was […]

Readers Theatre Showcase Set for Stratford Library

Beginning on Thursday, June 8th through to July 27th Free and Open to the Public The Lovell Room The Stratford Library and Square One Theatre Company have announced the schedule for Readers Theatre Summer Showcase 2023.  The annual series of live, staged readings of new and established plays will begin on Thursday, June 8th and […]

If You Ask Me: On Golden Pond

Ivoryton Playhouse By Tom Holehan Connecticut Critics Circle A Sentimental “On Golden Pond” at Ivoryton Playhouse A crowd-pleasing revival of Ernest Thompson sentimental 1979 play, “On Golden Pond”, is the current offering at the Ivoryton Playhouse.  Opening well before Memorial Day, the comedy is as good a sign as any of the upcoming summer theatre […]

“Gypsy”

Goodspeed Opera House If You Ask Me By Tom Holehan Connecticut Critics Circle “Gypsy” Opens Goodspeed’s 60th Season For the opening of their 60th anniversary season the Goodspeed Opera House has selected “Gypsy”, considered one of the greatest stage musicals of all time. The Arthur Laurents/Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim classic, suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy […]

“The Ripple, the Wave that Carried Me Home”

If You Ask Me By Tom Holehan Connecticut Critics Circle Water as Metaphor in Yale Repertory Theatre Production Water is the central metaphor in Christina Anderson’s “The Ripple, the Wave that Carried Me Home”, the well-meaning drama about racism currently on stage at New Haven’s Yale Repertory Theatre.  Like the metaphor-heavy “The Rembrandt” that opened […]

“The Rembrandt”

If You Ask Me By Tom Holehan Connecticut Critics Circle “The Rembrandt” on the Boards at TheaterWorks in Hartford An okay play in a pretty good production is the current offering at TheaterWorks Hartford.  Jessica Dickey’s “The Rembrandt” deals with the nature of death and mortality and has Rembrandt’s classic artwork, “Aristotle with a Bust […]

Downtown Cabaret Delivers a Potent “Cabaret”

If you ask me…. By Tom Holehan Connecticut Critics Circle The Downtown Cabaret Theatre is now offering a musical seemingly born to play in that venerable Bridgeport venue.  It’s a very fine revival of Kander and Ebb’s landmark musical, “Cabaret”.  Any production of this powerful classic lives in the significant shadow of Bob Fosse’s Oscar-winning […]

“Ain’t Misbehavin”

If you ask me… Westport County Playhouse By Tom Holehan Connecticut Critics Circle “Ain’t Misbehavin’” Opens New Playhouse Season A sure sign of summer being just around the corner is the opening of the Westport Country Playhouse. The venerable showplace is currently celebrating its 90th anniversary with a spirited revival of “Ain’t Misbehavin’”.  One of […]