Autumn may be a time of darkness and dead leaves, but the theater season brings newness: world premieres, bright comedy and social issues torn from today’s headlines.
Hartford Stage’s first show of the season, “Queens for a Year,” is already running — a heavy drama, interlaced with humor and physical action, about women in the military. The Long Wharf and Yale Repertory theaters both start their seasons this week. The Westport Country Playhouse, which operates on a May-to-October, rather than a September-to-May, calendar, is closing its season with “Camelot.” The Bushnell gets the prize for stretching its programming out the longest: its “Broadway Series” began with the national tour of “If/Then” in early August and ends with “Fun Home” in late June — an 11-month “season.”
Meteoric Martin
Steve Martin’s cosmic comedy “Meteor Shower” concerns two couples having a backyard dinner party. It’s definitely funnier than that vague description makes it sound, but further details would involve spoilers. The world premiere of the show is in good hands: The famed writer/comedian liked Gordon Edelstein’s Long Wharf productions of his earlier plays “The Underpants” and “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” and personally entrusted him with this one. Sept. 28 through Oct. 23 at the Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven. Tickets are $34.50 to $89.50. 203-787-4282, longwharf.org.
Sarah Ruhl Rules
The Yale Repertory Theatre has premiered numerous works by the acclaimed playwright Sarah Ruhl over the years, from her breakthrough “The Clean House” to her adaptations of Chekhov (“Three Sisters”) and Elizabeth Bishop/Robert Lowell (“Dear Elizabeth”). Ruhl’s newest work muses on political dynasties: Charles I and II in 17th-century England and the Bush family in today’s America. “Scenes from Court Life, or the whipping boy and his prince” is at the Yale University Theater, New Haven, Sept. 30 through Oct. 22. Tickets are $44 to $88. 203-432-1234, yalerep.org.
Camelot Condensed
Remember when it was all the rage for regional theaters to do stripped-down, smaller cast productions of classic musicals? Well, they’re still at it. David Lee’s canny condensation of Lerner & Loewe’s “Camelot” is at Westport Playhouse Oct. 4-30. It’s directed by the theater’s artistic director Mark Lamos and stars Robert Sean Leonard as King Arthur. Tickets are $30 to $50. 203-227-4177, westport.org.
Two Funny
May the farce be with you! Unfettered ridiculousness rules this fall, with Paul Slade Smith’s popular 2006 cops-and-corrupt-politicos comedy “Unnecessary Farce” Nov. 2-20 at Playhouse on Park, West Hartford ($17.50-$40; 860-523-5900, playhouseonpark.org) and the much older “An Absolute Turkey (Le Dindon)” by late-19th-century French farceur George Feydeau at UConn’s Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Storrs from Dec. 1-10. Tickets are $7 to $30, 860-486-2113, crt.uconn.edu.
The Theory of Relativity
It was already exciting enough that TheaterWorks, Hartford, was opening its 31st season with the latest Mark St. Germain play, “Relativity.” Then it was announced that the great Richard Dreyfuss would star in the show as Albert Einstein, with Christa Scott-Reed and Lori Wilner also in the cast. The plot turns on mysteries involving Einstein’s daughter. Oct. 7 through Nov. 13. Tickets are $60 to $75, $15 student rush. 860-527-7838, theaterworkshartford.org.
The Autumn Of August Wilson
If there was any doubt that August Wilson remains one of the most important playwrights in American theater history, you can see two of the ten plays in his “Century Cycle” within weeks of each other at major regional theaters in the state this fall. “The Piano Lesson” is at Hartford Stage, Hartford, Oct. 13 through Nov. 13 ($25 to $90; 860-527-5151, hartfordstage.org). The Yale Repertory Theatre, which world-premiered “Piano Lesson” in 1987 and staged it again in 2011, offers Wilson’s 1995 work “Seven Guitars” Nov. 25 through Dec. 17. Tickets are $20 to $88; 203-432-1234, yalerep.org.
A Warning To The Audience
The Tony-winning Broadway hit “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” began at Hartford Stage, where it world-premiered in November of 2012. The show, about a man who’s unlucky at love but rather talented at murdering members of the aristocratic D’Ysquith clan, has a Hartford homecoming this fall when its national tour plays The Bushnell, Hartford, Oct. 25-30. Tickets are $25.50 to $105.50; 860-987-5900, bushnell.org.
‘Wicked’ In Wallingford
It’s nice when the Oakdale in Wallingford comes back to the fold. The Oakdale began as an open-air summer stock theater in 1954 and hosted Broadway tours for years following its expansion to a 4,800-seat, year-round venue in 1996. The Oakdale still has a lock on children’s theater tours coming through the state (“Octonauts Live!” is due Nov. 25), but Broadway musical booking have become rare. So it’s nice to have the national tour of “Wicked” (which has been at The Bushnell several times already) at the Oakdale, Wallingford, Nov. 30 through Dec. 11. Tickets are $42 to $132. 203-265-1501, oakdale.com.
Curiouser And Curiouser
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” brings Mark Haddon’s fantastical yet reality-grounded novel to vivid life with special effects and good old-fashioned imagination. The show ran for two years on Broadway and is one of the rare non-musicals these days to rate a national tour. Dec. 27 through Jan. 1 at The Bushnell, Hartford. Tickets are $25.50 to $95.50. 860-987-5900, bushnell.org.
Stocking Stuffers
Who’s got the coolest Christmas shows in December? The Shubert, New Haven (203-562-5666, shubert.com) welcomes tours of “A Christmas Carol” (Nov. 18-20, $25 to $55), “The Santaland Diaries” (Nov. 25-27, $40) and “Elf — The Musical” (Dec. 20-24, $40 to $105).
Hartford Stage, of course, has its perennial “A Christmas Carol — A Ghost Story of Christmas,” Nov. 25 through Dec. 31 with a new person, Rachel Alderman, charged with maintaining the long-running show’s quality and integrity ($25 to $90; 860-527-5151, hartfordstage.org). TheaterWorks, also in Hartford (860-527-7838, theaterworks.org), will offer its original one-act comedy anthology “Christmas on the Rocks” again, Nov. 27 through Dec. 23, with some new material ($60 to $75). The “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” tour flies back to The Bushnell, Hartford ($16.50 to $76.50; 860-987-5900, bushnell.org), Dec. 9-11. Playhouse on Park (860-523-5900, playhouseonpark.org) is bringing back its racy 2012 homegrown hit “Mama D’s Christmas Stocking” Dec. 9-30 ($25). “A Christmas Story — The Musical” is at the Palace in Waterbury ($51.50 to $72.50; 203-346-2000, palacetheaterct.org), while the The Warner Theatre, Torrington (860-489-7180, warnertheatre.org), screams “You blockhead!” Dec. 9-20 when it stages “A Charlie Brown Christmas” ($11).
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