Summer is when many of the arts move outside, and those that want to stay indoors nevertheless travel to interesting new places. There are a slew of Shakespeares in parks around the state. National tours of plays and musicals whisk us off to Russia, a small Greek island, urban settings and elsewhere, while the Goodspeed Opera House relocates to “Oklahoma.” New plays abound at the O’Neill Center, a divine day trip to Waterford (near New London). Some top comedians are hitting the road, perhaps missing the college crowds they’d find in autumn but finding favor with the summer-vacation crowds at the casinos. Humor, and drama, has a different flavor this time of year.
Theater
“Fun Home” is a distinctive American musical in many ways. It’s based on an autobiographical graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, the creator of the long-running comic strip serial “Dykes to Watch Out For.” It’s a coming-out, coming-of-age saga about a young women whose sense of her sexual identity differs greatly from how her father deals with his. The show was the first Broadway musical with an all-female writing team (Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori) to take home the Tony Award for Best Musical. “Fun Home”‘s national tour, at The Bushnell June 20-25, stars Kate Shindle, Alessandra Baldacchino and Abby Corrigan — all playing Bechdel at different phases of her life. 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. $25.50-$95.50. 860-987-6000, bushnell.org.
From Birdie To Curly: The latest example of the Rodgers and Hammerstein resurgence (following national tours of “Cinderella,” “The Sound of Music” and “The King & I”) is Goodspeed Musical’s choice to do a big summer revival of the duo’s game-changing 1943 hit “Oklahoma,” July 14 through Sept. 23. You know in advance that it will be a lively production, since it reunites a couple of key names from the Goodspeed’s 2016 production of “Bye Bye Birdie.” Jenn Thompson, once a stalwart summer stock actor/director at the Ivoryton Playhouse in the 1980s and ’90s, directs, and Birdie himself, Rhett Guter, plays Curly. $34-$85. 6 Main St., East Haddam. 860-873-8668, goodspeed.org.
Here We Go Again: National tours of “Mamma Mia” have become more precious since the ABBA musical finished its 14-year Broadway run last year. Regional productions will soon be flourishing, and a sequel to the 2008 movie version was recently announced. The “farewell tour” of “Mamma Mia” closes the first-ever Broadway series at Foxwoods Resort Casino, July 14 to 17. 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket. $45 and $65. 800-FOXWOODS, foxwoods.com.
The Incubator: The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center uses a beautiful expanse of land, barns and small buildings in the quaint shoreline town of Waterford as a writers’ retreat where playwrights, puppeteers, musical theater creators and cabaret performers can create new work. The separate “conferences” culminate in public readings. The season opens with the National Puppetry Conference June 7-9. The O’Neill’s National Music Theater Conference welcomes John Logan and Tom Kitt (working on “Superhero”), Ronvé O’Daniel and Jevares Myrick (“iLLA! A Hip Hop Musical”) and the intriguing ensemble of Soma Snakeoil, Fat Mike, Jeff Marx and David Goldsmith (“Home Street Home”), with readings taking place June 24 through July 14.
The National Playwrights Conference (with reading July 5-29) offers new works by the likes of Stephen Belber, Mary Elizabeth Hamilton, Martyna Majok, Steve DiUbaldo, Elaine Romero, Adam Esquenazi Douglas, Inda Craig-Galván and Michael Tucker. The Cabaret & Performance Conference comes last, Aug. 2-11, featuring performances by Brad Simmons & Christina Bianco, Tracy Stark, Barb Jungr & John McDaniel, Tom Wopat, Junior Fellows, Judy Kuhn and the traditional multi-artist finale show. Call for ticket prices. 305 Great Neck Road, Waterford. 860-443-1238, theoneill.org.
Our Great Tchaikovsky: Hershey Felder graces a Connecticut stage once again when he brings his latest one-man biographical musical drama, “Our Great Tchaikovsky,” to Hartford Stage Aug. 19-27. Hartford audiences have seen Felder portray George Gershwin and Frédéric Chopin in the past; he also adapted and directed “The Pianist of Willesden Lane,” which Hartford Stage presented in 2015. “Our Great Tchaikovsky” tells of how the “Nutcracker” and “Eugene Onegin” composer was treated in his native Russia, and also touches on his homosexuality and other aspects of his personal life. 50 Church St., Hartford. $25-$90. 860-527-5151, hartfordstage.org.
Summer Shakespeare: Shakespeare floods the state like a tempest in summertime. This year, the many outdoor Elizabethan offerings veer from comedy to tragedy to in between: “Hamlet” at Artfarm’s Shakespeare in the Grove, July 12-23 on the Middlesex Community College campus; “Love’s Labour’s Lost” done by Capital Classics July 13-30 at the University of St. Joseph’s Bruyette Atheneum in West Hartford; “Romeo & Juliet” staged by Elm Shakespeare Company Aug. 17 through Sept. 3 in New Haven’s Edgerton Park; both “The Tempest” (in July) and “Richard II” (in August) presented by New London’s Flock Theatre; “Measure for Measure” and “The Tempest” at The Shakespeare Academy in Stratford; and “The Tempest, from Connecticut Free Shakespeare (dates and location to be announced). That’s three “Tempest”s. Pack an umbrella.
Dance
Terpsichorean Arts & Ideas: The International Festival of Arts & Ideas has been a reliable purveyor of modern dance for decades. The highlight this year is Camille A. Brown and Dancers’ audacious feminist hip hop piece “Black Girl: Linguistic Play,” June 15 and 16. Local dance companies Alison Cook Beatty Dance (June 10), Shoreline Ballet (also June 10) and LayaVinyasa (June 21) will perform as part of the new “Altar’d Spaces” series held at churches on or near New Haven Green. There is also “Limitless — the 2nd Annual Teen Dance Competition” (June 17), a “Traveling in Place” performance/installation created by dancer Rachel Bernsen and visual artist Megan Craig (June 13) and master classes taught by Hanan Hameen and members of Ginga Brasileira. artidea.org.
Caravan Is Coming: Connecticut Ballet turned 35 years old this year but hasn’t slowed down. The company plans to bring its Dance Caravan series of outdoor modern dance pieces to city parks again this July. Connecticut dates and locations include 7:30 p.m. July 9 in Ives Concert Park, Danbury; 6:30 p.m. July 22 in Elizabeth Park Conservancy Rose Garden Lawn in West Hartford; 8 p.m. July 25 in Westport’s Levitt Pavilion and 7:30 p.m. July 29 at Middlesex Community College’s Chapman Hall in Middletown. 860-293-1039, connecticutballet.org.
Ros Talks: Sokeo Ros, who directs the hip hop dance program at the Everett Company, Stage and School in Providence, R.I., is giving a free talk 12:10 pm. June 27 at Wesleyan University’s Ring Family Performing Arts Hall, 287 Washington Terrace, Middletown. Ros will discuss his years with Everett Company and his own Case Closed troupe, and describe his new work-in-progress “Freedom Project,” which has a mass-incarceration theme. 860-685-3355, wesleyan.edu.
Comedy
T.J. Miller may be living the sitcom “Silicon Valley” after four seasons as the blustering tech entrepreneur Erlich Bachman, but he’s still on the road as a stand-up comedian. Miller, who’s also known from his own series “The Gorburger Show” and such films as “Deadpool,” “How to Train Your Dragon” and the upcoming “The Emoji Movie,” is at Foxwoods Resort Casino’s Fox Theater, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket, 8 p.m. June 9. $25 and $35. 800-FOXWOODS, foxwoods.com.
Rory Roars: When “The Nightly Show” was canceled by Comedy Central last year, we lost the incisive and hilarious commentary of anchor Larry Wilmore. But we also miss the nightly visits of Rory Albanese, one of “The Nightly Show”‘s most volatile cast members and also its executive producer and showrunner. Albanese is performing at comedy clubs throughout the country now. You can catch him — nightly! —June 22-24 in the Comix Club at Mohegan Sun, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville. $20-$45. 860-862-7000, comixcomedy.com.
Above The Norm: The great Norm Macdonald appeared in Connecticut numerous times early in his career — back in the 1980s, before his acclaimed stint as “Saturday Night Live”‘s Weekend Update anchorman and his sitcom “Norm,” and before he was crowned one of the all-time best late-night talk show guests. (Check out the slew of YouTube videos of Macdonald on Letterman, Conan and elsewhere.) Macdonald has a new Netflix comedy special, “Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery” that may well reduce you to tears of laughter. (You have to get to the last minute of the show before you can understand the title.) His bizarre quasi-fictional memoir “Based on a True Story” was released last year. His podcast “Norm Macdonald Live” returned for a couple of episodes last September after a two-year hiatus, then disappeared again. Macdonald performs 10:30 p.m. Aug. 26. $25 and $37. Foxwoods Resort Casino’s Fox Theater, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket. 800-FOXWOODS, foxwoods.com.
Apatow Live: Judd Apatow grew up idolizing stand-up comics. As a teenager, he arranged to interview some titans of comedy for his high school radio station. Decades later, those interviews were collected into a book, “Sick in the Head.” Before he became an acclaimed TV comedy writer (“The Larry Sanders Show”), producer (“Freaks and Geeks”) and filmmaker (“Knocked Up,” “Train Wreck”), Apatow was an aspiring stand-up comic himself. He recently has been trying his hand at this difficult craft again, with club dates and late-night talk show appearances. Apatow does his comedy set 7 p.m. July 23 at Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield. $35-$55. 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org
