Venues form reopening plans
Live entertainment is returning to Connecticut
Coming soon: A theater near you! After a year of cancellations, Connecticut arts venues have been forming realistic reopening plans. Theaters, clubs and concert halls have been listening to the government and the scientists, but also to their audiences, and the consensus seems to be that people are ready to venture out, with some of the bigger theaters confident about reopening in Autumn.
Here’s a list of venues who’ve started filling their calendars and shaping their seasons. This document will be continually updated as more information becomes available.
The Bushnell: Plans to allow private events for groups of 150 or less this summer and will ease into regular programming during late summer and fall, perhaps with local artists rather than national tours. The first Broadway musical tour to hit the reopened Bushnell is likely to be “Escape to Margaritaville,” based on the songs of Jimmy Buffett, in October. Connecticut Forum events will be back in the fall, as will Hartford Symphony concerts. “Hamilton,” whose three-week December run was postponed, will now happen next year: June 21 through July 10, 2022. bushnell.org.
Capital Classics: The company plans to resume its outdoor Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival in July with live performances of “As You Like It” on the lawn of the University of St. Joseph in West
Hartford. It will be the festival’s 30th anniversary. capitalclassics.org.
College Street Music Hall: The venue has made clear that it can’t reopen with social distancing. Shows are on the calendar starting with “The Moth: Mainstage” on Sept. 23 and comedian Mike Birbiglia on Oct. 1. Many date are rescheduled from last years, but some are new tours recently announced. collegestreetmusichall.com.
Foxwoods: The resort casino has a dedi
cated list of “confirmed shows” happening in the next few months at foxwoods.com/entertainment — mostly comedy, culminating with Dave Chappelle June 25. There’s another listing of “tentative shows” which will hopefully happen as guidelines change. They start in May and include major acts such as Jackson Browne in June and The Go-Gos in July. foxwoods.com.
Garde Arts Center: The 1400-seat New London performing arts center says it can only reopen at 100% capacity. Anticipating that might be in the fall, tickets are on sale for Melissa Etheridge Sept. 5, Dave Mason & John Mayall Sept. 6, The High Kings Oct. 9, Rosanne Cash Nov. 5, Chazz Palminteri in “A Bronx Tale” Nov. 12 and The Mavericks Dec. 17. gardearts.org.
Goodspeed Musicals:
Plans to resume live shows at the Goodspeed Opera House in June were scuppered with the March 24 announcement that the much-postponed “South Pacific” is now expected to happen in September and the new musical version of “Anne of Green Gables” has been moved to next year. The Goodspeed plans to hold a series of outdoor performances under a big tent this summer; details have yet to be announced. goodspeed.org.
Hartford HealthCare Ampitheater:
The new 5,700-seat venue is slated to open this spring in Bridgeport. Opening dates and inaugural shows have yet to be released. livenation.com.
Hartford Stage: Unable to reopen at reduced seating capacity, Hartford Stage is continuing to air virtual presentations (including play/concerts by Hershey Felder and the podcast “Scene & Heard” hosted by artistic director Melia Bensussen). A virtual new-works festival of playreadings is planned for fall. The theater has expressed hopes of starting its 2021-22 season at the accustomed time around September or October, but has not released a schedule. hartfordstage.org.
Hartford Public Library:
Performances, clubs and other gatherings are a way off, but the main downtown library will reopen April 19 for “curated browsing of the collection and socially distanced seating.” Customers can visit for two-hour periods. The children’s room is still off limits due to renovations. Hours of operation are Monday through Thrusday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Two library branches, Camp Field and Barbour Street will open for two days a week in early May, with others to follow. hplct.org.
Hartford Symphony Orchestra:
Current plans are to have outdoor “Summer Splash” chamber concerts in Hartford neighborhoods and some suburbs, starting in late May. The HSO’s Talcott Mountain outdoor summer music festival in Simsbury will resume this July after a year off, with a 25th anniversary theme. And with The Bushnell hoping to reopen in the fall, things look good for a traditional fall-to-spring indoor Hartford Symphony season of its MasterWorks and Pops series. hartfordsymphony. org/concerts-tickets.
Infinity Hall: The concert halls in Hartford and Norfolk have rescheduled numerous shows postponed from last year. The new dates start in May, and include Peter Wolf, Al Di Meola, Ana Popovic and The Wailers all in May, with the Carole King tribute act Tapestry, Gaelic Storm, Will Evans and Jonathan Edwards in June. infinityhall.com.
International Festival of Arts & Ideas:
The festival, which offers an array of performances, talks, food events, tours and community activities, says it will be “predominantly virtual” again this year. The tradeoff is that instead of its old two-week outdoor model, the festival now goes on for weeks online, from May 14 through June 27. Artists already announced include choreographer Ronald K. Brown and playwright/ director Madeline Sayet plus a Hair Art fashion show. artidea.org.
Lake Compounce Family Theme & Water Park:
Opening May 29 for its 175th season. With current state guidelines, some rides and activities may be affected, but new features include an outdoor food court and the brand-new Venus Vortex ride. lakecompounce.com.
Long Wharf Theatre:
No announced plans for reopening. Continuing with virtual talks, readings and activism. longwharf. org.
Mohegan Sun: The resort casino in Uncasville has already reopened its Comix Comedy Club, with headliners Thursday through Saturday, “Silly Sunday” standup nights and comedy/hypnotism shows on weekend afternoons. Mohegan Sun Arena hopes to return to hosting the Basketball
Hall of Fame induction ceremony in May, and has shows on its schedule for 5 Seconds of Summer (May 30), Dave Matthews Band (June 8 and 9), Barenaked Ladies (July 10), Matchbox Twenty (July 16) and Wu-Tang Clan (July 22), ramping up to six shows in August. mohegansun.com.
Oakdale: Dates are on the calendar for May and beyond: the Pink Floyd tribute act Brit Floyd
May 14, Primus July 2, the ‘60s nostalgia “Happy Together” tour July 29, and Mako and Lindsey Stirling on Aug. 18. oakdale.com.
Pilobolus: The internationally renowned dance/ movement troupe, headquarted in Washington Depot, is returning to touring and teaching in the next few months. Its Five Senses summer festival has been rethought this year as “Bloom: A Journey,” with a new version of last year’s safari-style outdoor performance event (in a different location, Sunny Meadow Farm in Bridgewater). A postponed tour marking Pilobolus’ 50th anniversary will kick off in October. pilobolus.org.
TheaterWorks Hartford:
The theater’s shift to a monthly membership plan (rather than a season subscription) has seen them producing a show online every month, and will allow for a smooth transition to live performance whenever that is feasible. In early March, the theater told the Courant: ““Nothing has changed materially for TheaterWorks Hartford. We continue to prioritize rigorous social distancing and safety protocols for our actors, audience and staff. We are excited though and allow for vaccination numbers changing that calculus as we move into warmer months.” twhartford.org.
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art: The Wadsworth is open on a reduced schedule, open Fridays from noon to 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Registration is required, and admission is by timed tickets. Admission is currently free for all. thewadsworth. org.
Warner Theatre: The next live event on the Torrington arts center’s calendar is comedian Nate Bargatze on Sept. 18. The theater continues to offer streaming entertainment, including its own local productions like its International Playwrights Festival. warnertheatre.org.
Webster Bank Arena: Tickets are on sale for the
Dude Perfect 2021 Tour June 27 and the Maluma World Tour with Papi Juancho Sept. 30. websterbankarena.com.
Westport Country Playhouse:
The playhouse announced in mid-March that its 2021 season, which runs from April to December, will be entirely virtual. The 2022 season will be live, and three shows have already been confirmed for it: the musicals “Next to Normal” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” and a yet-to-be-determined play to be directed by LA Williams. westportplayhouse.org/.
Westville Music Bowl:
An outdoor arena on the former site of the Connecticut Tennis Center in the Westville section of New Haven, the Music Bowl planned its grand opening for last summer only to have it delayed a year. The venue opens at a reduced capacity of 2000 with two nights of the band Gov’t Mule April 30 and May 1, followed by Twiddle May 15, Disco Biscuits June 4 and 5, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong June 26 and Tedeschi Trucks Band July 17. westvillemusicbowl. com.
XL Center:
No tickets currently on sale. xlcenter. com.
Yale Repertory Theatre:
Operating under university protocols as well as state guidelines, the Rep has been shuttered since March of 2020 and hasn’t issued formal plans since June, when it announced there would be no 202021 season. yalerep.org/ our-plans-for-2020-21.