Theater Review: Belleville -- Yale

Maria Dizzia as Abby and Greg Keller as Zack. Photo: © 2011 Joan Marcus

Odd Tale Might Better Be Titled ‘Bewildering Ville’
By Lauren Yarger
Doctor Without Borders Zack (Greg Keller) and his yoga instructor/actress wife Abby (Maria Dizzia) seem like a typical, cozy American couple living in their Paris apartment, but theatergoers who really want any part of typical or cozy won’t find it in this world premiere of Belleville, by Amy Herzog, commissioned by Yale Rep. 

Herzog (After the Revolution) introduces interesting characters, well played by the talented Keller and Dizzia, but she never really takes them anywhere. The plot -- if it can be called that – is bizarre, always teasing that something sinister, or surprising is about to happen, but failing to deliver. There’s one scene that’s squirm-in-your-seat creepy, if not exactly comprehensible, and it never is fully explained either. All the questions we have about what this couple is really all about or what actually becomes of them are left unanswered. The play’s conclusion even is delivered totally in French by the couple’s Senegal-born landlord, Alioune (Glibert Owuor), and his wife, Amina (Pascale Armand). Even if you understand French, don't expect any resolution. 

Who really is the mysterious pot-smoking, porn-watching doctor and why is he behind in the rent? Why was his wife on antidepressant medication and why is she obsessed with talking to her father on the phone and taking baths? I know just a little but more about the answers than the guy in the audience who snored loudly for an hour and a half of the one-hour-and 45-minute play. “Bewildering,” rather than Belleville, the name of their northern Parisian neighborhood, might be a better title for this one.

Director Anne Kauffman doesn’t help by allowing multiple long gaps between dialogue and action. One stop in the action has the actors offstage for so long that audience members start chatting with each other, wondering whether someone has missed a cue, or whether an actor has lost his way after exiting one of several doors on Julia C. Lee’s nice set. Odd lighting (Nina Hyun Seung Lee, design) raises other questions, at times portending a sinister development (which doesn’t occur) and at other junctures, defining the passage of huge blocks of time in a blink. When we’re left trying to figure out what the plot by watching the lighting, however, something’s wrong with the story.

Belleville, featuring costumes by Mark Nagle and fight direction by Rick Sordelet and Jeff Barry,  runs through Nov. 12 at Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel St. at York Street, New Haven. Tickets range from $20-$88 and are available at www.yalerep.org, by phone at 203-432-1234 and in person at the Box Office.

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Adler, DeWitt Star in CT Rep Satire 'I'm Connecticut'

Jerry Adler (Grampa) and Joyce DeWitt (Polly). Photo: Gerry Goodstein

If you're from Connecticut - the joke is on you! Mike Reiss is a Peabody Award-winner, and four-time Emmy award-winning writer for "The Simpsons." He's also a Connecticut native and this time he's turned his sharp, satirical comic genius on his home state - and yours in I'm Connecticut, a story about a young man who grew up in Simsbury now living in New York City and searching for love.

Amid the anxieties of dating he begins to ask himself what a Nutmegger really is? If you've ever wondered about the identity of The Land of Steady Habits, be prepared for a hysterical surprise.

I’m Connecticut tells the story of a 30-something Connecticut native now living in New York trying to come to terms with his apparent lack of personality that he, and others, attribute to his upbringing in Simsbury.  This highly satirical comedy sets its sights squarely on all things Connecticut.  From the origins of our nickname, The Nutmeg State, to our town names that he observes all sound like the names of English butlers (Simsbury, Litchfield and Old Saybrook) Reiss turned his comic genius on his native state and created a 75-minute new piece of live theater.

Reiss has spent two decades writing for "The Simpsons."  In 2006, Mike received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Animation Writers Caucus.  He co-created the animated series "The Critic," featuring actor John Lovitz, and created Showtime’s hit cartoon "Queer Duck" (about a gay duck).   His other TV credits include "It’s Garry Shandling’s Show," "ALF," and "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.

Reiss’ screenplay "My Life in Ruins" was made into a major motion picture in 2009 starring Nia Vardalos and Richard Dreyfuss.  He also co-wrote "The Simpsons Movie," "Horton Hears A Who!" and "Ice Age, Dawn of the Dinosaurs."  His caveman detective story "Cro-Magnon P.I." won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.  He has published 14 children’s books, including the best-seller "How Murray Saved Christmas" and the award-winning "Late for School."  He also composes puzzles for NPR and Games Magazine.  He’s a former president of The Harvard Lampoon and editor of The National Lampoon.

Call 860-486-4226 for tickets or for more information and call or visit the box office for specific show dates and times because performance schedules vary and are subject to change.  Tickets available online at www.crt.uconn.edu.

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Cavanaugh, Powers on Tap to Benefit Hartford Children's Theatre

For more information, call 860-249-7970 or visit www.hartfordchildrenstheatre.org.

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Colleges To Compete in A Cappella Competition at Bijou Theatre in Bridgeport

The Bijou Blender is a Connecticut-wide collegiate a cappella competition that highlights the talent found at colleges and universities in our own back yard. For one night only, Saturday, Nov. 12, groups will battle it out for a grand prize of $1,000.

“Connecticut is home to over 50 collegiate a cappella groups, and as ensemble singing has begun to integrate itself into the media and pop culture with shows like "Glee," "The Glee Project" and "The Sing Off," we wanted to find a way to make a cappella easily accessible to the public”, said Derek
Adams, producer for the Bijou Theatre. “I have been an a cappella performer for five years now and wanted to created the Bijou Blender because watching a cappella on TV isn’t enough, you just need to experience it firsthand.”

The Judges - The world-touring a cappella quartet, Blue Jupiter, will be sitting at the judges table. Blue Jupiter first gained national fame as the voices of Oreo Cookie, singing the national Oreo radio
commercial since 2005. Since then, Blue Jupiter has headlined the Sands Casino in Macau, China, worked with famed producer and "American Idol" Judge Randy Jackson, sang with Livingston Taylor and performed on "Oprah" and VH1’s "Save the Music."

Groups - Groups in attendance include Out of the Blue (Yale), the Chordials and Notes Over Storrs (University of Connecticut), Too Good For Instruments ( Central Connecticut State University), L’Shir (University of Hartford), and the ConnChords and Co Co Beaux (Connecticut College).

The Bijou Blender takes place Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7 pm at the Bijou, 275 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport. Tickets: $25 General Admission; $20 Students

Tickets can be purchased online at www.thebijoutheatre.com/events or email info@thebijoutheatre.com for more information.

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Take in a Performance at the Kate

The Kate ( The Katharine Hepburn Clutural arts Center in Old Saybrook) has a plethora of performances in November. For tickets and more information, visit www.TheKate.org or call 877-503-1286.

Event: Met in HD: Don Giovanni Encore
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 1
Time: 1 pm
Price: $25

Event: Ellis Paul
Date: Friday, Nov. 4
Time: 8 pm
Price: $25

Event: Met in HD: Siegfried
Date: Saturday, Nov. 5
Time: noon
Price: $28
Event: Darden Smith
Date: Sunday, Nov. 6
Time: 7 pm
Price: $25

Event: 92 St Y: Andy Borowitz Presents the Funniest American Writers
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 9
Time: 7 pm
Price: $10

Event: CTFF Encore: The Green
Date: Thursday, Nov. 10
Times: 4, 7 and 9 pm
Price: $8

Event: Missoula Children's Theatre Presents The Secret Garden
Date: Saturday, Nov. 12
Time: 11am, 2 pm
Price: $14 Adults, $10 Children 12 & under

Event: Pure Prairie League
Date: Saturday, Nov. 12
Time: 8:00pm
Price: $47.50

Event: The Kate Classic Film: Adam’s Rib
Date: Thursday, Nov. 17
Time:2, 4 and 7 pm
Price: $8

Event: STCS: Shoreline Soup Kitchen Benefit
Date: Friday, Nov. 18
Time: 8:00pm
Price: $25

Event: Met in HD: Satyagraha
Date: Saturday, Nov. 19
Time: 1 pm
Price: $28

Event: J. Geils with Jeff Pitchell & Texas Flood
Date: Saturday, Nov. 19
Time: 8 pm
Price:$42/$36

Event: Met in HD: Satyagraha Encore
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 22
Time: 1 pm
Price: $25

Event: Celtic Tenors
Date: Friday, Nov. 25
Time: 8 pm
Price: $67
Event: Kevin Flynn
Date: Saturday, Nov. 26
Time: 8 pm
Price: $25

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HSO Appoints Andrea Stalf as New President/CEO

Andrea Stalf. Photo: Leah Morgan

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra has appointed Andrea Stalf as president and chief executive officer.

Stalf will oversee administrative operations and fundraising, and will partner with the artistic leadership of new Music Director Carolyn Kuan. She replaces Kristen Phillips. Carrie Hammond has served as Interim CEO.

Stalf's 22-year career in corporate marketing and general management includes senior positions with Fortune 100 firms in insurance, telecommunications and consumer products.  Stalf moved to Hartford in 2007 when she accepted the position of vice president and chief marketing officer for the personal lines insurance business of Travelers.   She has an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana, and a master of science degree in environmental engineering from the University of Minnesota.  She earned an MBA in marketing from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.  Stalf and her husband, David Lampert, live in Avon with their sons Ben and Max. They are life-long music lovers and concertgoers; their sons are serious students of piano, guitar and clarinet.

“It’s a thrill and honor to work with Carolyn Kuan; she gives herself entirely to each performance,” Stalf said. “Carolyn is a visionary and right now the HSO is at the vanguard of orchestras with its rich heritage of artistic talent and dedication to community service.  I'm really excited to be a part of it and committed to its continuing success.”

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Theater Review: The Motherf***ker with the Hat -- TheaterWorks

Royce Johnson, Ben Cole and Varín Ayala. Photo by Lanny Nagler

There's a Bleeping Good Play about Relationships, Loyalty Behind All of That Profanity
By Lauren Yarger
Stephen Adly Guiris' play, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, making its regional premiere at TheaterWorks in Hartford, is a marketing nightmare. How do you get the word out, when the title isn't something you can print or say on TV or radio? And how do you convince audiences that 90 minutes of  ear-blistering dialogue is worth sitting through?

Well, in New York, where the play was nominated for a best-play Tony last season, it helped that comedian Chris Rock was making his Broadway debut in the role of Ralph. Once audiences were in the door, they couldn't help but notice the better-than-average play as well as superb performances by Bobby Cannavale, Elizabeth Rodriguez and Yul Vázquez, all of whom received Tony nominations. Director Anna D. Shapiro was nominated as well.

Here in Hartford, it's worth the trip for the excellent, humorous play and a stellar performance turned in by Royce Johnson as Ralph. We get to see a little bit more of the TheaterWorks veteran (God of Carnage, Broke-ology) than we did of Rock in the role -- Director Tazewell Thompson has added a full nudity scene -- but we also get to see more of Ralph's character and a superior performance.

Ben Cole plays Jackie (the Cannavale role), recently paroled, who finds a job and looks forward to a 12-Step guided fresh start with his love, Puerto Rican spitfire Veronica (a terribly miscast Clea Alsip. She doesn't look or sound Puerto Rican, and doesn't pull off the spitfire part either). There's just one problem: Jackie discovers a hat left behind in the drab apartment (Donald Eastman, design) and accuses Veronica of being unfaithful with the hat-wearing motherf**ker who lives downstairs.

Fighting the urge to take a drink, and/or to shoot the motherf**ker, Jackie seeks guidance from his AA sponsor, Ralph, who doesn't approve of his being back with Veronica any way because she is a user. Ralph perhaps is not the greatest at giving relationship advice, however, as his wife, Victoria (Vanessa Wasche, apparently attempting some indiscernible accent) is preparing to leave him. Calmed down by his good friend, Jackie takes the gun to his cousin Julio (Varin Ayala) for safekeeping.

Before long, we discover that Ralph has been as rotten and uncaring a friend to Jackie as Jackie has been to the effeminate, body-building Julio over the years. Questions of love and loyalty arise on all fronts amidst a bunch of profanity and some very hip and biting humor. When all is said and done, Jackie, who doesn't appear to be the brightest bulb in the pack, might just see the light more than all of them. And there's just something to be said for a guy who can't help but love the woman he describes as a ball-crushing Godzilla.

Besides the odd casting of Veronica, Thompson also fails to rein in Ayala, whose portrayal is too over-the-top dramatically. When he goes "Van Dam" later in the play, some of the humor of that transformation is lost because he already has been supercharged. Yelling also is the technique of choice by most of the actors. Considering that our ears already are being blistered by the language, a more subtle approach to delivering the dialogue works better. Johnson, shines, though, and is natural in the skin of his character, revealing multi levels of sleaze as well as comedic ability as the play continues.

Special kudos go to the actors and crew who change props and furniture on the tiny stage with lightning speed between scenes.

The theater posts the following advisories: Full adult nudity; adult language; adult content; no one under the age of 16 will be admitted; no late seating. The Motherf**ker with the Hat runs through Dec. 4 at TheaterWorks, City on Pearl, 233 Pearl St., Hartford. Performances are
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays at 7:30 pm; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Weekend Matinees at 2:30 pm. For information/seats call 860-527-7838; visit www.theaterworkshartford.org.

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Theater Review: City of Angels -- Goodspeed

D.B. Bonds, Jay Russell, Burke Moses and Nancy Anderson Photo ©2011Diane Sobolewski

Real, Reel Worlds Collide in Sophisticated Spoof of Hollywood Whodunnits
By Lauren Yarger
It was a Darko stormy night...

Darko Tresnjak, Hartford Stage's new artistic director, helms a stylish production of the complicated murder-mystery musical City of Angels for Goodspeed Musicals, starring Nancy Anderson, Burke Moses and a fabulous set designed by David P. Gordon.

She's not bad looking, the stage I mean, in that way beautiful women have of making us want to offer them a ride in our car, but knowing that all that steam will just pop the tires...

A shelf-lip stage above the action as well as a series of blinds that open to reveal other scenes with superb lighting by John Lasiter complete a picture that makes the story within a story within a story within a story complete with all the necessities for film noir:  narration from the private eye, false leads, flashbacks and lots of funny wisecracks.

The cast is like a group of old friends sitting around a crackling fire, sipping cognac because nothing but the best will do, knowing that the best part of the evening is still ahead...

Moses looks the part (think the Claude Rains, Dick Powell, Robert Mitchum type) and plays up Stone, the rough detective trying to solve a missing person case that turns into a murder. He charges $25 a day and 8 cents a mile, his secretary, Oolie (Anderson), reminds him when he is hired by Alaura Kingsley to find her missing stepdaughter, Mallory (Kathleen Rooney). What it takes the private eye a little while to figure out, though, is that he's actually a character in a screenplay being written by Stine (D.B. Bonds), who isn't happy that the producer/director of the film, Buddy Fidler (Jay Russell), keeps making changes and taking all the credit for the story.

The story has legs, long ones stretching down so long any detective would not be shamus to be called gumshoe....

The book by Larry Gelbart (of M*A*S*H fame) is really quite good. It's funny, very complicated and true to the film noir genre. The events in the "real" world play out against those of the "reel" world, with Anderson, Russell, Rooney, Pearce and others from the large cast playing dual roles. Tresnjak skillfully stages some great scenes: where the action in the screenplay rewinds as the writer erases, the entrance of thug Big Six (a riotous Jerry Gallagher), where characters from both worlds sing duets and a slow-motion fight scene (Ron Piretti, fight director). The fun is made complete by lighting that puts the current action in color and the movie in black and white with costumes (Tracy Christensen) following suit.

We can't run away from the badness ... we can't fight it. We must deal with the badness.... (OK, I borrowed that one from Michael O'Hara in the "The Lady from Shanghai" but it fits)....

The music by Cy Coleman, with lyrics by David Zippel is disappointing and doesn't belong in the play. Imagine, if you will, Lauren Bacall asking Humphrey Bogart if he knows how to whistle then jumping into a song-and-dance number about it. That's what happens here -- 10 times in the first act and seven times in the second act with Michael O'Flaherty conducting the orchestra and the cast performing Jennifer Paulson Lee's choreography. The Angel City 4 singers are played by Mick Bleyer, Vanessa Parvin, Sierra Rein and Adam West Hemming, all members of the 2010 Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) award-winning a capella group Marquee Five.

With the exception of one nicely staged number where couples dance at a night club to the sounds of an orchestra actually performing at the night club, however, the score is not memorable, disrupts the action, stretches the vocal abilities of several cast members who are stronger on acting than singing and pushes the running time to two hours and 45 minutes.

I know, those are harsh words for a critic to throw at a man, especially when he's walking out of your bedroom -- I mean ending a review -- (apologies to Philip Marlowe)....

It's worth sitting through all the music, though to see this savvy, extremely well staged production of a show not often produced because of its complex nature. City of Angels runs through Nov. 27 at the Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam. Curtains are Wednesday at 2 and 7:30 pm, Thursday at 7:30 pm (with select performances at 2 pm), Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 3 pm and 8 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm (with select performances at 6:30 pm). Tickets are available at 860-873-8668 or on-line at www.goodspeed.org.

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Theater Review: Twelfth Night -- Westport

Justin Kruger, David Schramm, Jordan Coughtry, Donnetta Lavinia Grays Photo by T. Charles Erickson

'Or What You Will' Seems to Guide This Production
By Lauren Yarger
Viola and her brother Sebastian aren't the only ones who find themselves washed up on the shores of Illyria following a shipwreck. Also caught in the sand scattered about the Westport Country Playhouse stage are a chandelier and some picture frames, with the scene itself framed against an ocean backdrop that could be the view or a large painting on a castle wall topped by moulding. It doesn't take long to figure out that director Mark Lamos, with almost 30 Shakespeare productions under his belt, has gone to great lengths to explore the "Or-What-You-Will" part of the title of his production of Twelfth Night.

At just about every turn, the intention, like what that ubiquitous sand (Andrew Boyce, scenic design)signifies, isn't clear.  What time frame are we in for example? Some of Tilly Grimes costumes, with their Farthingdale-style waists, indicate 16th-century, or maybe late 1700s. Other pants and shirts look like something worn today at Cape Cod. John Gromada's original music is pleasant, but has a modern swing quality when it isn't invoking the goodnight song from The Sound of Music. And then there's a late 19th-century Gramophone playing the music accompanying the singing (Gromada also designs the sound).

So you we just have to say, "Whatever," or "what you will" to the concept and try to enjoy Shakespeare's story of love amidst mistaken identities. Due to some big-time miscasting here, though, even that is hard to do without a lot of questions.

When Viola (Mahira Kakkar) washes up on shore and thinks her brother, Sebastian (Rachid Sabitri), has perished in the storm, she dresses like a man and  renames herself Cesario to survive. Kakkar, unfortunately, is miscast, beyond simply not being able to deliver Shakespeare's verse naturally (whole passages are lost as the meter overtakes the meaning and what we can understand sounds like an English schoolmarm reading from the text). She's pretty, petite and feminine, so never looks like she could be mistaken for a man. A scene Lamos gives her to try to keep up with other males doing pushups isn't necessary to remind us she's really a woman.

Viola finds herself the trusted servant of the ruler of the land, Orsino (Lucas Hall), who asks Cesario to plead his case of love to Olivia (Susan Kelechi Watson) who has refused his attentions so far. Watson's ability with iambic pentameter, unfortunately, is even less than Kakkar's and when other cast members also can't seem to roll the Shakespeare off of their tongues, we say, "alas and forsooth," or just thorow our hands up and say, "what you will."

Viola falls in love with Orsino (though there is no apparent chemistry between the two actors); Olivia in love with Cesario, mistakenly marries Sebastian, who didn't perish in the storm after all (at least Kakkar and Sabitri look enough alike to pull off passing for twins). The plot sounds outlandish, but it can work wonderfully, like it did a couple of seasons ago in the Public Theatre's stellar Central Park production featuring Anne Hathaway. It is allowed to wander here, though, and isn't helped by a new subplot developed to suggest that friend Antonio (Paul Anthony Stewart) has homosexual feelings for Sebastian.

Saving this Westport production are some terrific turns from minor characters. Donetta Lavinia Grays lights up the stage with her portrayal of Maria, a servant to Olivia, who convinces steward Malvalio (David Adkins) that Olivia's affections will be his if he simply smiles a lot and cross garters himself while wearing yellow stockings (the garters here are over the top). She is aided in her deception, and in having Malvolio declared insane, by two clowns, Olivia's uncle, Sir Toby Belch (a fabulous David Schramm) and Sir Andrew Aguecheek (an equally engaging Jordan Coughtry), also a suitor of Olivia's. The three clowns doing bird calls to cover their presence while hiding from Malvolio is a hoot and I hope Grays will be starring in something soon. She has amazing stage presence.

Also helping is another servant/clown, Fabian (Justin Kruger), who spends some of his stage time wheeling Olivia's jester, Feste (Darius de Haas), around in a period wheelchair added last minute after de Haas suffered a leg injury in the last dress rehearsal. He lends the lead singing voice to the music and doesn't seem inhibited by the chair, but he seems miscast too: melancholy and exacting, rather than festive and spontaneous.
Twelfth Night runs through Nov. 5 at the Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport. For more information or tickets, call 203-227-4177, toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit www.westportplayhouse.org.

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News Briefs Week of Oct. 24

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra will begin the 2011-2012 Jazz and Strings Series with a tribute to the classic jazz album, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook 8 pm Friday, Nov. 4 in the Theater for the Performing Arts at the Learning Corridor in Hartford. 

Conceived and directed by Jazz and Strings Artistic Director Gene Bozzi, this concert will feature guest vocalist Tina Fabrique as the “First Lady of Song,” performing selections from the album as well as a few of Ella Fitzgerald’s biggest hits.  Bassist Rick Rozie and frequent HSO arranger and pianist Walter Gwardyak, along with Bozzi on drums will team up with members of the HSO string, brass, and wind sections for this program. Subscriptions to the 2011-2012 Jazz and Strings Series are $54 for orchestra seating, $104 for center orchestra seating. Single tickets to the 2011-2012 Jazz and Strings Series are $20 for orchestra seating, $40 for center orchestra seating. Student tickets are $10. To purchase tickets or for more information, please contact HSO ticket services at 860-244-2999 or visit www.hartfordsymphony.org.

• Cirque Dreams Holidaze will play The Bushnell Dec. 20-24. Tickets available at 860-987-5900 or www.bushnell.org. For a review of the show when it played the Palace last season click here.
• Spencers Theatre of Illusion plays the Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 30 as part of the 2011-2012 “Awesome Fun” series. For added fun, there will be Halloween treats for all, and audience members are encouraged to come in costume and participate in a costume contest taking place that afternoon. Tickets are $35, $30, and $25. Children under 12 are $15. Tickets are available at 203-254-4010, toll-free 1-877-278-7396 or online at www.quickcenter.com.
• The powerful, five-octave vocal range of Karen Frisk will resound through the Mark Twain House & Museum's Murasaki Café on Sunday, Nov. 13, as the museum's popular series of Sunday Jazz Brunches continues. Seatings are at 11:30 am and 1:15 pm. The $35 admission includes the performance, full brunch, soft drinks and hot beverages. Alcoholic beverages are available at an additional charge. Call 860-280-3130 for reservations.

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Scenic Painting, Associate Program Added to Goodspeed's Musical Theatre Institute

Goodspeed Musicals’ Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre will be offering new and enlarged educational programming for the 2012 Musical Theater Institutes. The Institutes will include training in the fields of music direction, scenic painting, and dance. All four of the programs will take place on the Goodspeed Musicals campus in East Haddam, Connecticut.

Now in its third year, the intensive has been extended by one day and will take place Jan. 16 – 22, 2012. It allows participants the opportunity to work with internationally renowned experts in music direction while networking with industry professionals. Participants will use the latest technology to receive hands-on training in the management and implementation of the audition, rehearsal, and orchestration processes. They will also attend nightly lectures given by industry experts on pertinent subjects relating to real-world success in the field of music direction. The application deadline for this unique program is November 18, 2011.

Goodspeed’s brand new Introduction to Scenic Painting Intensive will be a six-day program taught by top artisans featuring insturction in a variety of scenic painting techniques including texturing, cartooning, color mixing, squaring up, drop layout, and wood graining. The application deadline is Nov. 18, 2011.

Also new to the Musical Theatre Institute is Goodspeed’s Associate Program. This program will offer the opportunity for talented young theatre professionals and students to work alongside Goodspeed’s director, choreographer, or music director on a Goodspeed Opera House or Norma Terris production during the 2012 season. The application for this highly selective program is Feb. 14, 2012.

Finally, slated for Aug. 13 – 19, 2012, is Goodspeed’s Dance Intensive. This program is designed as a musical theatre dance boot camp for college age performers and young professionals. The distinguished faculty will cover numerous disciplines of dance with a musical theatre focus including instruction in tap, jazz, ballet, and hip-hop. The application deadline is June 15, 2012. Registration will be open soon.

In addition to the Musical Theatre Institute, Goodspeed offers training for students and young professionals in its Apprenticeship and Internship Program. The areas of concentration include Stage Carpentry, Scenic Painting, Costuming, Prop Building, Stage Management, Company Management, Producing, Marketing/Public Relations, Education/Library, and Development. Resumes are now being accepted for the 2012 Season.

For more information visit the Education page at www.goodspeed.org or contact Education and Library Director Joshua Ritter at 860.873.8664, ext. 745 or jritter@goodspeed.org.

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