Yari Castro is passionate about theater. She was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in Waterbury. She was in her first play, “Aladdin,” in the Westside Middle School. She then went to the Waterbury Arts Magnet School and dreamed…

“Ragtime,” a tale of three families in early 20th century America, has taken over the stage at Connecticut Theatre Company in New Britain. Based on the 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow, “Ragtime” tells the story of three groups in the…

Because Connecticut is fortunate enough to enjoy great theater on so many different levels – high school, college, community, professional traveling tours and professional Equity productions – this past year has been filled with exceptional performances that thrilled audiences. Our…

Lauren and Hiram Marina took the scenic route to get to their latest collaboration, a translation and adaptation of a Spanish-language play about Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. In fact, they had to meet first. When Lauren, an accomplished photographer, missed…

“The Nutcracker” as performed by the Bolshoi will return to the Ridgefield Playhouse for a two-hour encore screening of “Bolshoi Ballet in HD: ‘The Nutcracker’” on Saturday at 2 and 6 p.m. This masterpiece of classical dance, a holiday classic,…

First of all, I’d like the Connecticut weathermen to prevent snow on weekends. This past weekend was the opening of the Warner’s production of “The Game’s Afoot (Holmes for the Holidays).” This is one of those wonderful Ken Ludwig plays….

Who hasn’t wondered if actors who kiss on stage are not moved by the physical act? Playwright Sarah Ruhl delves into this question with plenty of humor but also with a twist in her play within-a-play-within-a-play. That’s right, there are…

It’s not surprising when we hear that Yale Repertory Theatre or Connecticut Repertory Theatre have been nominated for production awards. After all, they’re Equity (Actors’ Union) professional colleges. When Sacred Heart University (SHU) in Fairfield gets included among them for…

“Nunsense” fans rejoice. Remember “Nunsense,” the first nun-sensation musical by Dan Goggin, which starred Semina DeLaurentis, artistic director for Seven Angels? In that episode, Sister Amnesia finally realized that she won a fortune. Since then, the nuns were able to…

Whether in print, on film or on stage, “The Color Purple” has pleased fans and critics alike. Connecticut theatergoers now will see the story in its musical form on stage this week at Hartford’s Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts,…

Three of the talented and highly experienced actors in Landmark Community Theater’s production of “It’s a Wonderful Life” know full well how important this play is to the audience. Many families make it an annual holiday tradition to watch the…

In keeping with the season, Town Players Little Theatre of Newtown produced a most appropriate play “The Trip to Bountiful,” by playwright Horton Foote. This is the story of Carrie Watts, an old widow who desperately wants to return to…

I recently received an email from a theatergoing reader who was disappointed that even after the audience stood in ovation and applauded for a long time, the cast of a musical did not provide an encore. While I’ve already written…

WATERBURY – Anyone who saw the Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” in the late 1980s might wonder why on earth that great blockbuster musical would need a make-over. After all, it originally took the…

Two local girls are starring in the White Rabbit Theatre production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” The White Rabbit Theatre is a not-for-profit community theater company out of Glastonbury that was founded in 2015. Cheyenne Walent of Waterbury is playing Muzzy…

Congratulations to Christine Seibold and staff on their studio’s 15th anniversary. In celebration of this benchmark, the Southbury School of Performing Arts will present its first-ever theater production. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the arts. Shannon…

Past generations of “Sesame Street” fans, “Avenue Q” is for you. It’s the grown-up version of furry puppets who now have to face real life issues such as unemployment after college, racism, homosexuality and sex. In its audience-pleasing context, this…

There are times when a sudden news item comes across my desk that alerts me to the opening of a new theater. It’s always such a surprise. For instance, the two new theaters that are opening in Ridgefield came as…

The year is 1910 and a ship full of immigrants is making its way to New York Harbor. Those onboard are excited and singing “We’ve talked about America; we’ve dreamed about coming to America,” and now here they are. In…

There are times when reality seems far more impossible than fiction. All things considered, how likely is it that on one December night in 1956, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins would show up at a…