Connecticut performing arts, musicals, dance, poetry, culture

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AT THE CREATION:
CONNECTICUT GIVES BIRTH TO WORLD-CLASS PERFORMING ARTS

New Plays, Musicals, Dance and Poetry Fuel a Vibrant, Cutting Edge Cultural Scene

HARTFORD, CONN.--- Connecticut has a secret. Behind the façade of 300 years of history, tucked away in quaint New England villages and busily at work in towns and cities, is one of America's most vibrant, cutting edge performing arts scenes. The state that has been home to Mark Twain, Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller, Meryl Streep, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and hundreds of other artists has nurtured some of this country's most exciting new works in theater, music, dance and poetry, helping to define the nation's cultural landscape.

This year is no exception, with a dazzling lineup of new works created by some of the most talented professionals in America, young and not so young. For the weekend visitor or the summer vacationer, this means an exceptional opportunity to be pampered in a cozy B&B, country inn or resort, enjoy natural beauty and New England charm, dine at some of the best restaurants in the Northeast - and be present at the creation of what may be the next blockbuster superhit, performing arts trend or even the next superstar performer.

No event better symbolizes Connecticut's dynamic new role in America's cultural scene, perhaps, than New Haven's International Festival of Arts & Ideas (www.artidea.org), celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Acclaimed for its presentation of premieres in theater, dance and music as well as stimulating "food for thought," this year focusing on food itself. For 16 days (June 10-25), the program will include the U.S. premiere of Christos Hatzis' Constantinople, a music as theater piece merging ancient and modern cultures at multimedia crossroads. Also, the U.S. premiere of Throat, a "witty and sexy fusion of circus, physical comedy and dance," will explore masculine identity and vulnerability. Opera Ebony, the critically-acclaimed African-American opera company, will present a free concert on the New Haven Green. And the unique Project Bandaloop dance company features artists dancing vertically, on the sides of buildings and towers. Salman Rushdie, the controversial author of Satanic Verses, will appear at the Schubert Theatre, which, built in 1914, was America's most important early Broadway try-out theater, with premieres of A Streetcar Named Desire, My Fair Lady, and Long Day's Journey into Night among its successes. Engulfing virtually the entire city of New Haven, Arts & Ideas will kick off with a Drum City celebration saluting New Haven's artists-in-residence, and concludes with a spectacular giant 10th Anniversary Party.

Visitors to the O'Neill Playwrights Conference in Waterford (www.theoneill.org), named for one of America's most important playwrights, Eugene O'Neill, are guaranteed to be "at the creation" as the next generation of leading writers, directors and actors gather to create and perform (in staged readings) works in progress. The O'Neill, arguably the country's most important incubator of the theater arts and now under the direction of 23-year old Preston Whiteway and 35-year old Richard Kuranda, has nurtured hundreds of the country's best-known names in theater. For visitors, the idyllic setting on the O'Neill family's beautiful coastal estate on the Long Island Sound is an added pleasure.

Up the Connecticut River is the Victorian Goodspeed Opera House (www.goodspeed.org), where a mix of classic musicals and new shows have been produced since 1963, winning Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards and other honors for such classics as Annie and Shenandoah. This year, Goodspeed and its smaller theater across the river, the Norma Terris Theatre in the quaint village of Chester, will showcase three new musicals, including Flight of the Lawnchair Man (May 19-June 12), Amour (August 4-28) and another yet to be produced.

The Long Wharf Theatre (www.longwharf.org), another of Connecticut's most exciting theater organizations, this spring will present BFE, by Julia Cho (April 13-May 1) as part of its New American Voices series of new plays. And the Yale Rep, the performing venue for Yale University's top-rated drama school (www.yalerep.org), will present August Wilson's Radio Golf, which completes Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning 20th century cycle of plays (April 22 to May 15).

At the Westport Country Playhouse (www.westportplayhouse.org) in Westport, under the artistic direction of Joanne Woodward, the internationally respected actor Christopher Plummer will kick off the theater's 75th anniversary (and a completely renovated new playhouse) by performing his own work, "A Word or Two, Before You Go," opening June 3. Visitors to the Westport Playhouse are apt to catch a glimpse of Paul Newman, Ms. Woodward's husband, who recently returned to the stage in Our Town, a production which premiered at the Playhouse before moving to Broadway last summer.

In the international world of dance, Connecticut also has shining stars. It may come as a surprise to dance enthusiasts that two of the most popular companies that tour the world are based in small town Connecticut. Pilobolus (www.pilobolus.com), which has played a vital role in transforming modern dance, hails from Washington Depot, and will perform in Waterbury (April 30) and in Hartford (May 13-14, September 3) this year. And, one of the original "Pilobolians," Moses Pendleton, some years ago created Momix (www.mosespendleton.com), an equally original and crowd-pleasing dance company, which is still based in Washington, Connecticut. Check the website for places to catch Momix.

The following is a sampling of other upcoming cutting-edge performing arts events in Connecticut:

* April 2: Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, unique physical comedy that is fun for the whole family (203-374-2777)
* April 5-May 1: Stamford Center for the Arts' Fringe Festival of New Plays, where actors, directors and audiences participate in the birth of new works (203-325-4466)
* April 15-16: Seasons of Migration: An Odyssey of Transformation at Wesleyan University, with 35 dancers and musicians from Cambodia (860-685-3355)
* April 15: Yin Mei Dance in Nomad: The River at Trinity College, a new modern dance theater work inspired by the choreographer's childhood on the Yellow River in China (860-297-2199)
* April 27-May 15: Fraternity at Stamford Theatre Works, a new play about a New England college fraternity trying to overcome anti-semitic traditions (203-359-4414)
* April 29-May 1: 24th Annual Connecticut Storytelling Festival in New London, including family performances and a gala concert (860-439-2764)
* May 12-14, 20-21: rEvolution at the Oddfellows Playhouse in Middletown, an original work with text, movement and sound to engage the audience in dialogue about community and personal and world perspectives (860-347-6143)
* June 9 (and on selected dates through the summer): Sunken Garden Poetry Festival at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, with original poetry and music performed in a sylvan outdoor setting (860-677-4787)
* June 17-19: Short & NEAT One Act Play Festival at the Lincoln Theatre in New Haven, presented by the New England Academy of Theatre (203-985-8090)
* July 22-23: 7th Annual Connecticut Comedy Festival at the Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury, with celebrity hosts and judges (203-757-4676)
* August 11-14: Handel's Julius Caesar in Egypt at Opera Theater of Connecticut (860-669-8999)

Other venues for performing arts in Connecticut include:

* TheatreWorks New Milford, where the 2005 season includes The Elephant Man, The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute and Ghost of a Chance by Peter Hunt (www.theatreworks.us/season.html)
* Real Art Ways in Hartford, noted for its daring new works in music and performance art as well as lectures and composers in residence (www.realeartways.org)
* Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport, offering a year-round season of musicals, plays and children's theater (www.dtcab.com)
* The Garde Arts Center in New London, offering touring shows of everything from opera and symphony orchestras to the National Acrobats of Taiwan, Broadway musicals and children's programming (www.gardearts.org)
* The Connecticut Ballet, based in Stamford, which, in addition to a season of performances by the company and the more contemporary Zig Zag Ballet, presents a Summer Dance Festival each year (www.ctdancetheatre.org)
* The Bushnell Performing Arts Center in Hartford, the state's largest venue for major cultural events and touring productions, offering a Broadway series, such venerable companies as the San Francisco Symphony and pop music concerts (www.bushnell.org)

For further information about the 52 Getaways to Connecticut, restaurants, resorts, country inns, B&B's and other places to stay in Connecticut, please call 800-CTBOUND (800-282-6863) or visit www.ctbound.org. Connecticut offers visitors a multi-faceted wealth of attractions, historical, cultural and recreational activities, diverse and beautiful natural landscapes, parks, beaches and wilderness sure to fulfill any getaway need.

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