“Disenchanted!” takes some familiar fairy-tale princesses, the kind that you know from cartoon movies, and takes them places that may be even creepier than dark forests and castle towers.
The show — with book, music and lyrics all by Dennis T. Giacino, who concocted this pop-culture satire after working for several years at Disney World. “Disenchanted!,” originally staged as a cabaret show called “Bitches of the Kingdom,” is on a national tour.
It disenchants at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford., Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. $58.50 to $83.50.
On an aside, The Bushnell has added three new spring shows. The performing arts theater is bringing back “Jersey Boys” March 22 to 26. The show’s Broadway production is closing in January after 11 years, but is still a powerhouse on tour.
Carol Burnett will be at the theater April 6, and at the end of that month, “Circus 1903,” created by the producers of “The Illusionists” and the British puppetry troupe Significant Other, runs April 28 to 30. There’s a gigantic elephant in “Circus 1903,” but animal-rights activists (and Bushnell custodians) can breathe a sigh of relief — it’s a puppet. The Significant Other puppeteers have worked closely with Handspring Theater, whose “War Horse” was at The Bushnell in 2014 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in 2013.
Information: 860-987-5900, bushnell.org.
Sarah Ruhl Rules
The Yale Repertory Theatre is one of Sarah Ruhl’s favorite places to premiere things. Her breakthrough play “The Clean House” was seen there first. So was her audacious Greek myth update “Eurydice.” (Connecticut Repertory Theatre will be staging that show in March.) More recently, Yale hosted the world premieres of Ruhl’s “Dear Elizabeth,” based on the correspondence between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell, and the playwright’s adaptation of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters.”
“Scenes From Court Life, or the whipping boy and his prince” is not the first Sarah Ruhl premiere this year. “For Peter Pan on Her Seventieth Birthday” was seen at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and Berkeley Rep, two of the playwright’s other favorite theaters, this past spring.
Among the many characters in “Scenes from Court Life” are George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Jeb Bush. It also depicts Charles I and II of Great Britain’s Stuart dynasty. In that sense, the play has something in common with Ruhl’s “Passion Play,” which was done at the Rep in 2008 and also featured political leaders (in that case Ronald Reagan and Adolf Hitler). “Passion Play” and “Scenes from Court Life” also share a director, Mark Wing-Davey.
“Scenes From Court Life, or the whipping boy and his prince” is at the Yale University Theater, 222 York St., New Haven, Sept. 30 through Oct. 22. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on Oct. 8, 15,19 and 22. Tickets are $44 to $88. 203-432-1234, yalerep.org.
Story Pirates Ahoy!
Story Pirates is a children’s theater troupe that turns stories written by children into amusing plays. The company goes into public schools and works directly with students, encouraging them to write and express themselves. Thousands of young imaginations have been sparked by this much-admired educational entertainment organization. On Oct. 1 at 5 p.m., a gang of Story Pirates will be at the Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, performing stories submitted by Ridgefield schoolkids. $20. 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
His Mother And Father
Steve Solomon’s long-running one-man show “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish and I’m in Therapy” is a loosely themed stand-up routine, except that the joke-teller is sitting down a lot.
A tired man kvetches about his personal woes and multicultural family history. Other actors commonly perform the piece, which became an off-Broadway hit and has toured around the country. But it’s Steve Solomon, with his laconic Rodney Dangerfield-like delivery, who’ll be doing it 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, at Foxwoods’ Fox Theater, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket. Tickets are $45. 800-369-9663, foxwoods.com.
Correction: This story has updated to correct the title of Ruhl’s “Dear Elizabeth” and Elizabeth Bishop’s name.
![By ANDREW DALTON (AP Entertainment Writer) LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” reigned over the weekend box office with a $56.5 million North American opening, according to studio estimates Sunday, giving a needed surge to an uncertain season in theaters. The film from 20th Century Studios and Disney that built […]](https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Film_Review_-_Kingdom_of_the_Planet_of_the_Apes_10966_242da6.jpg?w=620 "By ANDREW DALTON (AP Entertainment Writer) LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” reigned over the weekend box office with a $56.5 million North American opening, according to studio estimates Sunday, giving a needed surge to an uncertain season in theaters. The film from 20th Century Studios and Disney that built […]")
