UConn theater to offer two online shows for fall
The last show at UConn’s Connecticut Repertory Theatre was“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”in February. The theater’s fall season will open in October with“Men in Boats,” and now will be done virtually.
Connecticut Repertory Theatre will stage two shows this fall, both online. One will have multiple performances, streamed live, fresh each night, while the other — a Christmas show — will be pre-recorded. Both are light and upbeat with strong social messages about perseverance.
Jaclyn Backhaus’ historical comedy “Men on Boats”opens the season Oct. 8-18. Each of the nine performances will be streamed live on a dedicated Zoom platform. In a press release, the theater says the “virtual performances will be complete with background set graphics and costuming.
... Coupling this existing web conferencing software with new technology, viewing frames, and reimagining online delivery of live theatre, CRT aims to rethink what it means to present live theatre during the age of COVID-19.”
“Men on Boats,” set during the 1869 expedition of William Powell and his crew along the Colorado River is meant to be performed by an all-female cast. Beth Gardiner, who was in rehearsals for a live production of the same play at UConn pre-COVID, will direct this online version.
From Nov. 12-21, Connecticut Repertory Theatre will change formats for the classic Christmas story “It’s a Wonderful Life,” staged in the style of a golden age radio drama. This adaptation of the Frank Capra film classic about a suicidal banker who gets a glimpse of what the world would be like without him in it, is by Philip Grecian and is not the well-known version by Connecticut-based playwright Joe Landry. The CRT production will be directed by UConn vocal training professor Jennifer Scapetis-Tycer. Unlike “Men on Boats,” “It’s a Wonderful Life” will be pre-recorded, then screened eight times on Zoom. The theater promises “a huge cast of characters complete with “commercials” and a
Foley sound artist.” Foley artists were the official title for those who provided special sound effects for radio shows. (The term now often refers to those who provide live effects for theater shows through digital technology.)
In keeping with CRT’s tradition of hiring professional actors to share the stage with students in UConn’s graduate and undergraduate theater programs, “Men on Boats” and “It’s a Wonderful
Life” will each feature two performers with Actors Equity (union) credits. Those actors will be announced at a later date.
Other traditions, of post-show talkbacks and American Sign Language interpreted performances, will continue. The Nov. 21 matinee of “Men on Boats” will be ASL-interpreted.
Tickets for both shows go on sale Sept. 21 through the theater’s website, crt. uconn.edu, or its box office at 860-486-2113. Tickets cost $16, with discounts for students and seniors, and get the ticketholder a link and password to watch on Zoom.