In Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors,” loosely based on the ancient Roman playwright Plautus’ “Menaechmi,” confusion abounds when twin brothers, separated in childhood, arrive in the same city. To confound things further, the brothers’ servants are also long-lost twins.
Darko Tresnjak’s new production of the play for Hartford Stage ups the antic ante with live music, acrobatics and a 1960s seaside setting. The show stars Ryan-James Hatanaka and Tyler Lansing Weaks as one of the sets of twins, and Matthew Macca and Alan Schmuckler as the other.
It runs Jan. 12 through Feb. 12 at Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford, with performances Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., with an added matinee Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25-$90, $20 for students. 860-527-5151, hartfordstage.org.
Minister Of Silly Walks
John Cleese created the groundbreaking British sitcom “Fawlty Towers,” wrote and starred in the classic film comedy “A Fish Called Wanda” and appeared as Nearly Headless Nick in the first two Harry Potter films. Before all that, he was a founding member of a little group of actors and writers known as Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Cleese will be at The Bushnell in Hartford on Friday, Jan. 13, at 7:30 p.m. for a full evening of British silliness, including a screening of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” followed by a Q&A. $49.50-$110. 860-987-6000 and bushnell.org.
Waiting For Sunset
Dominique Morrisseau’s poetic drama of family anguish and political revolution, “Sunset Baby,” has thrived at small theaters around the country. There have also been productions in New York and London. The eagerly awaited Connecticut premiere of the play is Jan. 12 through Feb. 19 at TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl St., Hartford.
It stars the stage and screen actor Tony Todd, an esteemed native of Hartford, as Kenyatta, a grieving widow who wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter Nina, played by Brittany Bellizeare. The show also features Carlton Byrd. It’s directed by Reginald L. Douglas, artistic producer of City Theatre Company in Pittsburgh.
Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. There is no 2:30 performance on Jan. 14. Tickets are $40-$65, $15 for student rush seats. Group rates are available. Jan. 18 and 25 are “pay what you can.” 860-527-7838 and theaterworkshartford.org.
Musical Theater’s Past, Present And Future
Goodspeed Musicals’ annual Festival of New Musicals has become an important, and very comfortable, gathering spot for musical theater mavens of multiple generations. Composers, lyricists, book writers, directors, performers, historians and fans gather to share their love of words and music. Full-length musical works-in-progress are given staged readings. Late-night cabarets showcase new songs. There are talks, seminars and book signings.
This year’s festival begins with a reading of Daniel Zaitchik’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (based on the Victorian Gothic novel by Joan Lindsay) on Friday, Jan. 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the Goodspeed Opera House, followed by a 10 p.m. cabaret hosted by Matthew Lee Robinson in the Gelston House next door.
Saturday is a full day of activities, starting with a choice of seven different seminars from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. These include discussions of how shows such as “Paramour” and “Come From Away” made it to Broadway. There’s a tour of the Goodspeed at 1:30 p.m., a preview of the three new musicals coming to the Goodspeed’s Norma Terris Theatre in Chester later this year and a choice of festival dinners at 5:30 (one is at the Gelston House, another at La Vita restaurant). The musical reading that night is “ZM,” concerning zombies and fast food, by the “Urinetown” team of Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis. The 10 p.m. cabaret is hosted by Mark Sonnenblick.
The festival ends Sunday with a 1 p.m. reading of “Row” by Daniel Goldstein (who directed “Anything Goes” at Goodspeed last year) and acclaimed singer-songwriter Dawn Landes, based on the memoirs of trans-Atlantic rowboat adventurer Tori Murden McClure. The concluding event is a “Meet the Writers Q&A” at 3:30 p.m.
The Goodspeed Opera House is at 6 Main St., East Haddam; the Gelston House is at 8 Main St. Tickets are $25 for each event ($15 for students). A Silver Package deal, at $80, consists of a ticket to each of the reading, the “New Musical Preview” on Saturday afternoon and the “Meet the Writers” Q&A” on Sunday. The Gold Package includes the readings, the preview, the writers event, three seminars, either the Friday or Saturday cabaret and the festival dinner.
