Broadway favorites, Aaron Lewis hit the stage
This is an excellent week to see famous, familiar shows in ways you might not have seen them before.
“Rent” has become a rather commodified, predictable show due to its long-long-long running original production and national tours, and
Connecticut Repertory
Theatre is likely to bring some youth and new ideas to it.
There is no single overwhelming production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” that influenced many others, which is a cool thing. The national tour coming to the Shubert Theatre is one of the best versions in the show’s illustrious half-century history, respecting its hard rock origins and adding lustrous design.
On the community theater side, Landmark in Thomaston is one of the first non-professional groups to take a crack at the long-running hit “Beautiful,” and Downtown Cabaret Theatre is somewhat redundantly doing “Cabaret,” which had a professional production last year at the Goodspeed Opera House.
We could add “The Revolutionists” April 21-May 6 at Brookfield Theatre (a few years after a bang-up production at Playhouse on Park) and “A Grand Night for Singing” April 21-30 at Center Stage, Shelton. The Rodgers & Hammerstein revue had a very different production at the Goodspeed in 2021.
Here are some more of the top things to do and see this week in Connecticut arts.
Suzanne Vega
Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook
Suzanne Vega has been lots of places besides “Tom’s Diner.” In 2006, she was the first major artist to do a virtual concert in the computer-generated community Second Life. She co-wrote a play with music about Carson McCullers. She’s performed folk songs, torch songs, pop songs and — during the COVID shutdown — “an evening of New York Songs and Stories.” “Tom’s Diner” itself was an a cappella hit in 1987 then a bigger hit as an electronica remix a few years later. Vega performs April 18 at 7:30 at
The Kate in Old Saybrook. $65. katharinehepburntheater.org/.
Brett Dennen
Infinity Hall, 20 Greenwoods Road West, Norfolk
Singer/songwriter Brett Dennen is also a respected painter, storyteller, environmental activist and lifestyle brand entrepreneur with Dennen Goods. See him sing on April 19 at 8 p.m. at Infinity Hall Norfolk. The opening act is Certainly So. $45-$55. infinityhall.com.
Creative Cocktail Hour
Real Art Ways, 56 Arbor St., Hartford
This month’s Creative Cocktail House multi-media, multi-sensory gathering at Real Art Ways features a host of jazz musicians — pianist Fabian
Almazan, bassist Linda May Han Oh, saxophonist Troy Roberts and drummer Zack O’Farrill — plus new art exhibitions “Parir los pétalos” by Romina Chuls, “A Temporary Weight” by Roni Aviv and the six-artist “Speaking Sentences Backwards,” plus DJ Mr. Realistic, the Rolling Roti food truck and more. April 20 at 6 p.m. in the Real Art Ways gallery space. $25,
$10 RAW members and bicyclists. realartways.org.
‘Rent’ Connecticut Repertory Theatre, 802 Bolton Road, Storrs
It’s kind of thrilling to think of actual young people — students in the UConn graduate and undergraduate theater programs who are primed to do big ensemble shows — taking a crack at the Gen X New York young-life crisis musical “Rent.” The production is directed by New Yorkbased director/designer Nate Bertone, April 20-30 in Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s Nafe Katter Theater (rather than the larger space elsewhere on campus where the big musicals usually happen). Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m., plus April 20 at 7:30 p.m. and April 30 at 2 p.m. $10-$40. crt.uconn.edu.
Little Feat College Street Music Hall, 239 College St., New Haven
For the first decade of its existence, Little Feat and its singular Southern pop sound were indelibly linked to its co-founder and main songwriter Lowell George. But George disbanded the act in 1979, then died. Several surviving members reformed Little Feat eight years later and released nine more albums between then and 2012 — one more than they’d done during the George years. Little Feat is now an intriguing mix of nostalgia, that expansive later period and a continued sense of exploration, experimentation and friendly jams. Miko Marks opens the 8 p.m. showon April 21 at College Street Music Hall in New Haven. $49.50 to $625. collegestreetmusichall.com.
‘Cabaret’ Downtown Cabaret, 263 Golden Hill St., Bridgeport
It may seem obvious to do the musical “Cabaret” at a cabaret-style theater, but productions at other theaters always have to bend to give it an intimate cabaret feel so you know that’s already taken care of for the community-based production at Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport April 21 through
May 21. Performances are Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 5 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 8 p.m. $32-$37. dtcab.com.
‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Shubert Theatre, 247 College St., New Haven
The national 50th-anniversary tour of the rock musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” played The Bushnell just weeks before COVID-19 shut the theaters down in 2020. Now the same tour, based on an acclaimed British outdoor production directed by Tim Sheader and designed by Tom Scutt, arrives at the Shubert in New Haven for five performances April 21-23. Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m. $52.40-$135.70. shubert. com.
‘Beautiful: The Carol King Musical’
Thomaston Opera House, 158 Main St., Thomaston
“Beautiful: The Carol King Musical” is one of the best-written pop biography musicals of recent times, with a dramatic, emotional and thoroughly entertaining script by Douglas McGrath. You don’t even have to like Carole King’s songs to enjoy this show, though of course millions do, and her versatility as a writer — from doo-wop to rock and roll to ballads and anthems — is a major in keeping “Beautiful” lively and unpredictable. Now that the show’s national tours have ceased, community theaters are able to produce it. One of Connecticut’s larger ones, Landmark Community
Theatre in Thomaston, is doing it April 22 through May 7. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. $26. landmarkcommunitytheatre.org.
Aaron Lewis Foxwood Resort Casino, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket
Aaron Lewis was well known in the Springfield, Massachusetts, local band scene when his metal band Staind blew up internationally. In the past decade or so he’s turned to his own style of country music, but he’s been doing special solo acoustic shows at Connecticut casinos for decades now. His latest is April 22 at 8 p.m. at Foxwoods Premier Theater. $59-$79. foxwoods.com.
Will Dailey Cafe Nine, 250 State St., New Haven
Singer/songwriter Will Dailey wanted his new single “Cover of Clouds,” a seven-minute ode to Joni Mitchell, to be a special listening experience. So rather than release it online he’s burned the song to a CD, found an old-school Discman player and is setting up a booth at his April 22 show at Cafe Nine where folks can make a donation then have 15 minutes to listen to the tune through headphones. Dailey also sets out a journal where folks can add their thoughts. The 9 p.m. show also features Joey Witt & the Definition. $15, $12 in advance. cafenine. com.