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by Don Church & Tony Schillaci

The legacy of two Connecticut theatrical legends is remembered in the Saybrook Stage Company’s production of “Our Town” at The Kate in Old Saybrook.

Katharine Hepburn, a life-long resident of Saybrook, the winner of four Oscars, an Emmy, two Tony Awards and eight Golden Globes, is the name sake of The Kate – The Katharine Hepburn Center for the Performing Arts. Thornton Wilder who lived in Hamden, Connecticut and taught for many years at Yale University in New Haven, won three Pulitzer Prize-Awards, including one for “Our Town.”

To find out more about the new Saybrook Stage Company, we talked with Cosmo Corigliano, a spokesperson for the production.

The Resident: How did you become affiliated with The Kate? 

Cosmo: “Actually, we have no official affiliation with the Kate, however, the hope is to have another production this summer – the exact times, play, etcetera will be decided after this production.”

The Resident: Why did you pick Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” as the Saybrook Stage Company’s first production at The Kate – was it Thornton Wilder? 

Cosmo: “That is part of it and also a desire to put on an American Classic that has universal appeal.”

The Resident: Who founded The Saybrook Theater Company?

Cosmo: “It was Terri Corigliano; [his wife] she is also an actor in the play. Terri has been volunteering at The Kate since its construction.  She was involved in the initial fundraising events and continues to volunteer today.”

The Resident: How did you get director John De Nicola, who has done so many fine shows at the Ivoryton Playhouse, in addition to many other professional theaters?

Cosmo: “He came highly recommended from Patty Carver, a wonderful actress that lives in Essex. Patty will be playing the part of the Stage Manager in our play.”

The Resident: How did you find the cast members, stage crew and craft designers?

Cosmo: “We had an open audition and then combined that with some actors that had come highly recommended — the cast came together in a very natural easy way. Director John DeNicola, the director, arranged for the stage crew, lighting design and costumer.”

Each of those professionals, including actor Terri Corigliano, and the other experienced members of the cast, had a theater resume that would open any casting door from New York to Hollywood.

The award-winning “Our Town” has for years been an audience favorite for all age groups because of its universal and truthful themes about living in the moment and engaging in it fully – as envisioned by Thornton

Wilder, a master playwright and insightful storyteller, who captures the audience from Act 1 to the final curtain.

“Our Town” plays 8 p.m., Friday & Saturday, January 21^st and 22nd.  3 p.m., Sunday, January 23rd. Tickets

are $20 for adults and $15 for children. To order Call 860-510-0473, 877-503-1286 or directly online at www.katharinehepburntheater.org. The Katharine Hepburn Center for the Performing Arts, 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook, CT.

Copyright © 2011. Critics On The Aisle™.  All right reserved.

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by Don Church & Tony Schillaci, Critics On The Aisle™

Cast from" Lincoln in Love" by David Friedman at Festival of New Artists Goodspeed 2010. PHOTO BY DIANE SOBOLEWSKI

The Sixth Annual Festival of New Artists, produced by Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Connecticut, launches its three-day event of original new musical works, new artists in cabarets, and other entertainment programs Friday, January 14 through Sunday, January 16.

Goodspeed’s popular Festival Package ($79) covers the full weekend of special events and includes admission to all three staged readings; the New Musical Preview, a short preview of a new musical headed to The Norma Terris Theatre in 2011; the Friday Night and Saturday Night cabarets, the Symposium panel discussion with musical theatre luminaries; “Pick-Three” festival seminar sessions, a Saturday evening pre-show dinner at the Gelston House with an engaging post-dinner discussion hosted by a special guest speaker; and a Meet the Writers Reception.

For both Festival Package and single ticket holders (details below), Goodspeed Opera House tours will be offered throughout the weekend along with the following events.

Friday, January 14

7:30 p. m. A reading of the musical “Room 16,” on the Goodspeed stage. A fast-paced and darkly comedic look inside American political history.

10:00 p. m. Festival Cabaret showcasing new songs by new artists in the main dining room of the Gelston House, next door to the Goodspeed Opera House.

Marcy Heisler performing at the Cabaret/Festival of New Artists Goodspeed 2010. PHOTO BY DIANE SOBOLEWSKI

Saturday, January 15

10:00 a. m., 11:00 a. m., and 12:15 p. m. “Break-out Sessions” in the Gelston House have been expanded this year. Choose from two breakout sessions in each of the above time slots:

Famous Flops, Part II. A continuation of last year’s most popular session – with musical historian John Pike.

Back on Broadway: Why “Annie?” Why Now? Broadway general manager/producer Wendy Orshan discusses the upcoming revival from the producer’s perspective.

“Dreamgirls:” From Stage to Screen and Back Again. Composer Henry Krieger discusses his experience with the show from its inception to the present day, among other things!

How Do You?  Create a New Character. Broadway vets John Bolton (“Curtains”) and Kate Wetherhead (“Legally Blonde”) discuss the challenges of originating roles in new musicals.

How Do You Invest In a New Musical? Broadway general manager/producer Alan Williams gives the inside story about the financial side of new musicals.

How Do You Create the Look? An accomplished Broadway set designer discusses creating the physical world of a new musical.

Broadway and Hollywood Composer/Lyricist/Conductor David Friedman, Festival of New Artists Goodspeed 2010. PHOTO BY DIANE SOBOLEWSKI

4:00 p.m. Musical Theatre Symposium in the GoodspeedOpera House is sponsored by the Noel Coward Foundation. This event is free and open to the public.

5:30 p.m. Festival Dinner at the Gelston House. Enjoy a three course meal with fellow festival goers.

7:30 p.m. is the debut of a new-fashioned musical “Hello! My Baby” From debutante balls to Delancey Street, it puts a new-fashioned spin on the great American songbook musical.

10:00 p. m. A Festival Cabaret at the Gelston House featuring Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda, composers of Striking 12, the first GrooveLily concert-musical that was nominated for the 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical will perform songs from their hit shows.

Sunday January 16

1:00 p.m. “Nobody Loves You” in the Goodspeed Opera House A romantic comedy about the search for meaningful relationships in a culture dominated by the quest for popularity.

3:30 p. m. Meet the Writers Reception. Gelston House. Gain insight into the inspirations and processes of the writers. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cash bar.

The Festival of New Artist also includes seniors from The Hartt School at the University of Hartford for real-world experience in new musical development and performing new  musicals along with students from the Boston Conservatory.

For the Festival Weekend Package, $79, and single tickets, $15 a show, $10 for students, contact Goodspeed Musicals at 860.873.8668 or online, which also list lodging and dining on- your-own information, at www.goodspeed.org.

Copyright © 2010. Critics On The Aisle. All rights reserved.

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by Don Church and Tony Schillaci, Critics On The Aisle ™

Mary Testa

The recent holiday season gave us a rare chance to re-connect with some of our favorite Broadway Babies On December 17. Three of the theater’s most talented performers, Jason Graae, Liz Callaway and Mary Testa sparkled and shined in “Broadway Divas – Give My Regards To…”

We first met Jason back in 1993 when he was co-starring in “A Grand Night For Singing” on Broadway, and since then we’ve eagerly attended his performances in Connecticut –from “The Music Man” at the Bushnell to the annual summer Yale Cabaret Conference.

The last time we saw Liz Callaway (“Cats” and “Miss Saigon”) it was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!  She and her sister, Ann Hampton Callaway (who wrote TV’s “The Nanny” theme song) performed on a transatlantic crossing aboard the QM2 back in May of 2007.

Joining this divo and diva at Edgerton was Broadway’s Mary Testa, whose bold rich voice and warm and witty stage personality gave us the motivation to interview her after the show.

Liz Callaway

The trio began the 90-minute show, on a stage covered in a forest of evergreen trees twinkling with fairy lights, harmonizing through the friendship tune “Together.” Each singer then had a solo turn, beginning with Mary Testa and her homage to the season with “The Little Drummer Boy” and then knocking the Christmas stockings off the audience with a showstopper, “Got a little motto/Always sees me through/ When you’re good to Mama/ Mama’s good to you” from her Matron Morton role in “Chicago.” Wow, can that girl sell a song!

When Mary did “Make Someone Happy” she seamlessly included everyone’s relationship by singing “once you’ve found him – or her- build your world around him- or her…” cleverly updating the lyric with a 21^st century sensibility without losing the original rhythm of the song.

Jason Graae, as always, instantly ingratiated himself by saying, “you probably came to see Liz and Mary and are wondering…..who the heck is HE?’” ‘He’ then launched into his energetic and zany renderings of “Applause” from the musical of the same name, “Popular” from “Wicked,” and his own holiday song celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. The story of his stint as the voice of the leprechaun for Lucky Charms cereal commercials was just as funny as the first time saw him do it with brilliant comedic timing. Jason also sings with gusto as heard on his Broadway CD “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile.”

As his act came to an end, he was joined by Liz Callaway in the man-vs.-woman duet, “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better,” from “Annie Get Your Gun.”

With more than 500 performances as Grizabella in “CATS” on Broadway Liz once again sang “Memory” so beautifully that it was as if we were hearing the song for the first time. And Liz is not afraid to take chances – she had the courage and talent to tackle one of Barbra Streisand’s signature songs “People, which is no mean feat for a Streisand classic.  The Callaway sound can be best described as crystal clear, true, and show-biz perfection.

Jason Graae

Accompanying Liz, Mary and Jason was one of the must sought-after piano accompanists and arrangers in the business, the talented and delightful Alex Rybeck. He was introduced by Liz as “one musician sounding on the piano like a 60-piece orchestra.”  We caught up with Alex to find out more about his music career, He modestly replied, “I had a wonderful piano teacher who taught me that a piano is both a percussion and a string instrument.  The balance of the two elements, incorporating lightness of touch required by strings with the heaviness of percussion is what creates an exceptional sound.”

The Edgerton Center also features two more Broadway Babies, Rebecca Luker and Howard McGillin, on Feb. 12, and the indomitable Broadway and Hollywood star Debbie Reynolds on April 10.  Also in April the university’s new Theater Arts Department is doing the Broadway hit “Little Shop Of Horrors” followed by “Sweeney Todd” in July.

This is a comfortable and professionally designed theater with excellent sight lines from each of the 776-plush seats, so get onto your Blackberry, Cranberry, Apple iPad, iPhone or PC and buy those $20.-$30. tickets at www.edentergertoncenter.org or call 203-371-7908.  the first-rate shows here costs less than parking space in Manhattan!

Copyright © 2010. Critics On The Aisle. All rights reserved.

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