International Festival of Arts and Ideas

By Amy Barry

Dreaming New Worlds -- Big and Small is the theme of this year’s International Festival of Arts & Ideas, kicking off June 15 in New Haven.

Theatrical offerings are as global as a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” by the international War Horse…and as local as two nontraditional musicals: “Freewheelers” by A Broken Umbrella Theatre, exploring the history of the bicycle and corset in New Haven and “Stuck Elevator,” a collaboration with New Haven native Aaron Jafferis and Seattle-based Byron Au Yong, examining the hopes and dreams of immigrants to the U.S.

Freewheelers

Broken Umbrella Theatre is an award-winning ensemble company that creates site-specific works, inspired by the city’s history. It’s newest piece, “Freewheelers”—a spectacle of song, movement, and storytelling—came about when Broken Umbrella writer/producer Rachel Alderman discovered two parallel events in 1866 that impacted women’s ongoing fight for equality: the bicycle was patented and the country’s first corset factory opened, both in downtown New Haven.

Freewheelers were women who rode around on bicycles in the 1890s, a shocking thing at the time, notes company member Chrissy Gardner, a singer/songwriter/musician, who is a member of the show’s creative team and performs in the onstage band.

( Photo: Freewheelers. Photo by Dana Astman)

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CCC Awards Ceremony

Juliet Lambert Pratt won the Ourstanding Actress in a Musical award for her work in MTC's "Next to Normal"

The Connecticut Critics Circle's 2012-2013 awards were presented at a fetsive event held at Long Wharf Theatre on Monday, June 10. Eric Ting, Long Wharf's associate artistic director, was emcee for the event, which was catered by Brazi's Restaurant.

A list of the winners follows:

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Blogs of Interest

Blogs about Connecticut theater, movie reviews, and the arts.

Artes Magazine -- fine art, architecture, design and theater

Back Stage Buzz - current and archived interviews with CT artists

bonniegoldberg.blogspot.com

cttheater.blogspot.com

susangranger.com -- movie reviews

CT Arts Connection

WMNR Fine Arts Radio (Rosalind Friedman's Review)

www.courant.com/curtain (Frank Rizzo reviews)

www.reflectionsinthelight (Lauren Yarger reviews)

Playhouse Applauds Tony and Drama Desk Nods

By Don Church and Tony Schillaci

When the theater’s finest performing and craft artists aren’t working on Broadway they can be found at work in other great professional theaters. One of the most acclaimed and beautiful is the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Connecticut.

In addition to celebrating the theater’s 83d consecutive year of mounting full-scale, professional shows, the playhouse team is applauding five talented colleagues who have been nominated for 2013 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for their work on Broadway.

Here are the names of the artists, the Broadway plays for which they have been nominated for an award, and their respective Westport Country Playhouse productions this season.

We would like to receive comments from our readers about plays and musicals staged in Connecticut, reviews (do you agree or disagree?) and the website. Please forward your comments to:

gearydanihy@aol.com

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