All stories by Christopher Arnott on BroadwayStars

Friday, October 13, 2017

West Hartford's Ballet Theatre Organizes 'Dancing For Last Vegas' Benefit by Christopher Arnott

Stephanie Dattellas moved to Connecticut from Syracuse, N.Y., just a few months ago to become the new artistic director of West Hartford's Ballet Theatre Company in June. She looked forward …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 08:31AM
Thursday, October 12, 2017

Stage Checklist: 'School Of Rock' At Bushnell, 'Seder' At Hartford Stage by Christopher Arnott

The national tour of "The School of Rock" is so new that there aren't photos of it yet. The show, based on the 2003 Jack Black movie, has been running for nearly two years on Broadway and fo…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 10:02AM

Edwin Sanchez Play Reading At Twain House To Benefit Puerto Rico by Christopher Arnott

Edwin Sanchez has lots of connections to Connecticut theater. He attended the Yale School of Drama in the early 1990s. Two of his plays, "Clean" and "Diosa," had their premieres at Hartford …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM

Hervé Koubi Dance Company At Jorgensen by Christopher Arnott

Compagnie Hervé Koubi, whose members hail from Algeria and West Africa, create fresh modern dances from hip-hop, capoeira, folk culture, classical ballet, and martial arts influences. The t…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM

New Tour Of 'Gentlemen's Guide To Love And Murder' At Waterbury Palace by Christopher Arnott

"A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" still has life in it. First it was at Hartford Stage, which staged the homicidal musical's premiere in 2012. Then it went to the Old Globe Theatre in…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Tuesday, October 10, 2017

'Rags' Gets A Total Overhaul At Goodspeed by Christopher Arnott

"Rags" is one of those Broadway musicals famous for still having potential. About the American immigration experience in the early 20th century, the show was created by a team of Broadway al…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Thursday, October 5, 2017

Debut Dance On The Wesleyan Rink by Christopher Arnott

Le Patin Libre is French for "the free skate." It's the name of a Canadian movement troupe that develops avant-garde movement pieces for ice rinks. Le Patin Libre's signature piece "Vertical…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 01:24PM

Stage Checklist: C.S. Lewis, 'Doubt' And 'Star Of The Sea' by Christopher Arnott

C.S. Lewis' series of stories about the enchanted land of Narnia began with "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe." Four kids climb into some furniture and emerge in a magical realm where th…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00PM

A Twisted Puppet Show At Sea Tea Theater by Christopher Arnott

"Doc Foster's Twisted Tales: A Puppet Show for Grown-Ups" is described as "wickedly macabre," using puppets and live, creepily costumed actors to spin stories of "intrigue, love, betrayal an…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 11:39AM

Jane Alexander Finds Romance In Long Wharf's 'Fireflies' by Christopher Arnott

Jane Alexander is staying at home for a change. Her onstage home, that is. The globetrotting, award-winning actress appears in "Fireflies," an adaptation of some writings by Annette Sanford.…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Monday, October 2, 2017

TheaterWorks 'The Wolves' Celebrates The Power Of Women by Christopher Arnott

"The Wolves" is a play about an indoor girls soccer team. In order to stage this buzz-laden teen drama as the opening shot of its 31st season, TheaterWorks had to make sure its own team was …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 10:49AM
Thursday, September 28, 2017

Yale Rep Revisits Ibsen's Politcial 'Enemy Of The People' by Christopher Arnott

"I want to be careful with how I say this," Reg Rogers says, "but there's a quality here that's just a little — just a little bit, just a little, little bit — like Jimmy Stewart in 'Mr. …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM

Abraham.In.Motion Dance Troupe Brings 'Dearest Home' To Wesleyan by Christopher Arnott

Kyle Abraham and his dance and movement troupe Abraham.In.Motion have visited Connecticut regularly over the years, mainly at Wesleyan University and New Haven's International Festival of Ar…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM

'Importance Of Being Earnest' Opens CT Rep Season by Christopher Arnott

"The Importance of Being Earnest" opens the 2017-18 season at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and there are some important names involved. Long upheld as one of the funniest comedies in the E…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM

What's Opening: 'Rags,' 'Fireflies,' 'Wolves,' 'Exchange' At Long Wharf by Christopher Arnott

A Broken Umbrella Theatre devised its latest local-culture-based theater piece "Exchange" from some real-life history. The show explores the development of the first telephone switchboard in…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Friday, September 22, 2017

'Les Miserables' Tour Brings Some Changes To Bushnell by Christopher Arnott

Nick Cartell, who plays Jean Valjean in the new tour of the bread-stealing musical "Les Miserables," respects all those great talents who fashioned this mammoth work into the classic it is n…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Tuesday, September 19, 2017

McQueen Bringing His Alt Comedy Mix To Sea Tea Improv by Christopher Arnott

McQueen, the hard-to-pigeonhole multimedia comedy/music improviser, is late for our phone interview because his session with his chiropractor ran late. Which inspires this question: "How phy…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Monday, September 18, 2017

A Showtune Sendoff For Retiring Trinity Music Prof Gerald Moshell by Christopher Arnott

"Farewell, Old World," Cunegonde sings in the finale to the first act of the musical "Candide." "Kiss today goodbye. Point me toward tomorrow," the hopeful auditioner Diana croons in "What I…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:07PM
Thursday, September 14, 2017

'Male Intellect: An Oxymoron' Opens Seven Angels' Season by Christopher Arnott

Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury opens its 2017-18 season with the one-man, five-character show "The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron?" by Robert Dubac. The show, which ruminates on the age-old …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 01:36PM

‘Book Of Mormon’ At Shubert; ‘Momma’s Boy’ At Bushnell by Christopher Arnott

"Book of Mormon" makes its fourth visit to Connecticut, Sept. 26 to Oct. 1 at the Shubert, 247 College St., New Haven. The "Book of Mormon" sold out every night of its two-week run at the Sh…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 01:23PM
Tuesday, September 12, 2017

The MOuTH, Story City Take A Relaxed Approach To Storytelling Onstage by Christopher Arnott

What's my story? Stories. I hosted a storytelling series at a club in New Haven for a few years. All that speaking got in the way of my writing, so I took a break. End of story. A few weeks …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 03:42PM
Friday, September 8, 2017

Trevor Noah Returns To Foxwoods by Christopher Arnott

Trevor Noah performs in Connecticut rather often, but it seems that every time he visits he has another recent achievement to tout. This month marks the second anniversary of Noah becoming t…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM

'A View From the Bridge,' 'Damn Yankees' At Fairfield County Theaters by Christopher Arnott

Westport Community Theatre opens its fall season with one of the best-known works by longtime Roxbury resident and world-renowned playwright Arthur Miller. "A View From the Bridge" was writt…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Thursday, September 7, 2017

A Distinctive Theme For Darko Tresnjak's 'Midsummer Night's Dream' by Christopher Arnott

If you're going to stage Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," dream big. This is the romantic fantasy in which a magic spell changes lovers' affections, leading to merry chases. A man …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 02:22PM
Thursday, August 31, 2017

#FAKENEWS Improv: Sea Tea Teams With Journalists For Benefit by Christopher Arnott

Hartford Stage has been doing Shakespeare plays since the theater was founded over half a century ago. In recent years, it has reliably done a Shakespeare script every season since 2010 — …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 02:36PM

New York Kings Of Comedy At Foxwoods by Christopher Arnott

New York City is a monarchy? No, of course not. Apparently it's a pentarchy, with five concurrent rulers. The New York Kings of Comedy eschew royal titles in favor of ordinary names like Rob…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Tuesday, August 29, 2017

What's On CT Stages For Fall: Theater, Dance Comedy by Christopher Arnott

Fall in Connecticut perenially offers familiar scenes and new ones, and it's no different on the state's stages. This autumn, audiences will see major national tours of long-established hits…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Thursday, August 24, 2017

Comedy At The Casinos: Gabriel Iglesias, Rich Vos, Dr. Dirty by Christopher Arnott

Gabriel Iglesias is back in the Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino with a two-night stand of "Fluffy" stand-up Sept. 2 and 3 at 8 p.m. The Californian comedian and actor's recent credit…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:17PM

A Passionate, Experimental 'Romeo & Juliet' From Elm Shakespeare by Christopher Arnott

See it for the balcony scene. Elm Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet" has some obvious and fairly understandable problems — a cast of wildly differing talents, design concepts th…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 10:21AM
Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Bess Wohl's Silent 'Small Mouth Sounds' Opens Long Wharf Season by Christopher Arnott

Bess Wohl finds depth in high concepts. In her attention-grabbing ensemble drama "Small Mouth Sounds," there is almost no dialogue and very few sounds at all. The play, set at a wilderness r…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Thursday, August 17, 2017

Joke Master Norm Macdonald At Foxwoods by Christopher Arnott

Norm Macdonald's been declared "a modern master of the long joke" (by the pop culture site Vulture) and "one subversive, hilarious dude" (by Paste magazine). A viral video of Macdonald telli…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 01:44PM

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