Short Takes: News from Hartford Stage

A Look at Our Lobby – “A Hartford Carol”

Over its 21 years, Hartford Stage’s A Christmas Carolhas proudly rooted itself in Hartford as the city’s premier family holiday entertainment and formed strong bonds with the community.The bedrock of A Christmas Carolis the cast full of local talent, including professional Hartford-based actors, final-year acting students from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, and children from Hartford and surrounding areas.

Introducing Meet the Makers!

Hartford Stage and The Goodwin Hotel are pleased to announce “Meet the Makers,” a new series of intimate cocktail events where you can meet the artists behind our upcoming productions. Enjoy the posh surroundings of Hartford’s newly-renovated boutique hotel, sample delicious food and drink from Porrón and Piña, and hear presentations by acclaimed theatre artists. The series kicks off Friday, December 14, with playwright Samuel Baum (The Engagement Party). For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact Jennifer Levine at 860-520-7241. Space is limited.

Save the Date for “The Beach Ball!”

Hartford Stage will hold its annual fundraising gala on Saturday, April 6.

We’ll be traveling back in time to the summer of 1963 for The Beach Ball, the swankiest soiree of the season, inspired by our upcoming world premiere musical The Flamingo Kid. Last year’s event sold out! Don’t miss your chance, and register early! To purchase tickets or become a corporate sponsor, visit hartfordstage.com/gala today.

“Tiny Tim Food Drive” to Support Hands On Hartford

Help Hartford Stage feed members of our local community this holiday season! Hartford Stage hosts its annual food drive for Hands On Hartford through Saturday, December 29.  Donations of unexpired, non-perishable food items can be dropped off at Guest Services on performance days of A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas. Suggested donation items include pancake mix and syrup, canned soups, boxed cereal, canned fruit and vegetables, canned tuna and meats, peanut butter and jelly, and pasta.

Spreading Christmas Carol Cheer in the Community!

The holiday cheer of A Christmas Carol reaches deep into the heart of the Greater Hartford community every year. In addition to its Community Night Benefit and Sensory Friendly performances of A Christmas Carol, Hartford Stage spreads joy locally by hosting a community food drive and participating in the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art’s 45th Festival of Trees and Traditions and the New Britain Museum of American Art’s Holiday Community Day.

Detroit ’67 Playwright Dominique Morisseau receives MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant”

Playwright Dominique Morisseau is among 25 individuals to receive the MacArthur Foundation’s 2018 MacArthur Fellows (aka the “Genius Grant”).  Fellowships are awarded to creative individuals who exhibit extraordinary originality and dedication in their careers.Morisseau’s plays include Pipeline, Sunset Baby, and The Detroit Project trilogy – Detroit ’67, Paradise Blue, and Skeleton Crew. Morisseau makes her Broadway debut next spring as book writer for Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations. You can see Morisseau’s powerful drama Detroit ’67, a co-production with the McCarter Theatre Center, at Hartford Stage in February 2019.

Winter Youth Studio

Join us for our upcoming Winter Youth Studio beginning Saturday, January 26. Our exciting offerings for young artists ages 5 and up include Musical Theatre Cabaret Jr., Acting for Camera, Production Class (Seussical Kids) and One Act Play (The Boy Who Cried Wolf). We now offer classes in Avon! Our Winter/Spring Studio classes at The Complete Actor Studio begin Thursday, January 30, and include Mirthful Myths, Creative Drama: Under the Sea and Crafting a Character. For more information about Youth Studio classes, visit Our Youth Studio Classes or contact Grace Clark at gclark@hartfordstage.org or 860-520-7244.

Get Ready for the World Premiere of The Flamingo Kid

The Flamingo Kid, a new musical based on the 1984 coming-of-age motion picture from Garry Marshall and Neal Marshall, will make its world premiere at Hartford Stage next May. The production is currently being workshopped in New York. For his grand finale as Artistic Director at Hartford Stage,Darko Tresnjak has reunited with Robert L. Freedman (Tony Award-winners for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) and teamed with Tony Award-nominee Scott Frankel (Grey Gardens, War Paint) for a spectacular musical extravaganza that will whisk audiences back to the colorful El Flamingo Club in the summer of 1963.

Coming Next: The Engagement Party

Samuel Baum’s suspenseful contemporary drama centers on a young couple’s intimate gathering with family and friends to celebrate their engagement; a spilled glass of wine leads to a spiraling sequence of events and revelations that will irrevocably change their lives. The world premiere, directed by Darko Tresnjak, will perform Thursday, January 10, through Sunday, February 3, 2019.