Playhouse to stage topical ‘Paradise’
A political drama about murdered Black men will be performed live in Bushnell Park in June, as West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park returns to in-person performances.
“Kill Move Paradise” by James Ijames is a harsh, topical fantasy drama, written in the wake of the 2014 slaying of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by a Cleveland police officer, about four Black men in “a waiting room for the afterlife,” trying to make sense of how they got there. Four live performances will be given at Bushnell Park: June 22 at 7 p.m., June 23 at 2 and 7 p.m. and June 24 at 7 p.m. If any of the shows get rained out, there’ll be an added performance on June 25.
Playhouse on Park Executive Director Tracy Flater calls it “a show about systemic racism and police brutality.
It’s also a celebration of Black lives.” Community conversations and postshow talkbacks will augment the performance, as when Playhouse on Park produced the musical “The Scottsboro Boys” in 2019.
“Kill Move Paradise” will be directed by Dexter J. Singleton, who run Collective Consciousness Theater in New Haven. A streaming version of “Kill Move Paradise,” will run online July 7 through Aug. 1. Tickets cost $40 ($35 for seniors, students and the military) for the live performances and $20 for the stream.
Festival at Auerfarm
Playhouse on Park will spend the rest of the summer on even grander outdoor theater project. They’re calling it the First Annual Connecticut Shakespeare Festival, and it’s happening at Auerfarm in Bloomfield July 7 to Aug. 22.
The festival consists of just one Shakespeare production, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,”with another large-cast production, Stephen Sondheim musical “Into the Woods,” plus a two-actor adaptation of “Snow White” for children, “Green Show” revues held before the main performances, children’s theater shows and other events.
Out of respect for the other outdoor Shakespeare show in the area, Capital Classics’ Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival at the University of St. Joseph, Playhouse on Park is making sure its dates don’t overlap, and the two companies are making plans to cross-promote their shows.
Flater says Auerfarm’s Facilities Manager Justin Whitehouse “has a shared vision” with Playhouse on Park’s co-Artistic Director Sean Harris, who’ll be directing “Into the Woods.” Whitehouse and Harris brainstormed the Shakespeare festival together. “The
farm even has a Sonnet Garden,” Flater says.
Playhouse on Park produced shows at Auerfarm last summer, as well as at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, and held public screenings of some of its virtual offerings at Dunkin’ Donuts Park and at Edmond Town Hall in Newington.
“We just knew that by the time the warm weather started we’d be at least where we were last year,” said Flater of the decision to return to live shows. “Last summer, when we were allowed to have 150 people outside, 150 people came. With the virtual shows, we’re competing with Netflix and Amazon Prime — that’s not where we want to be.”
Before any of the live summer performances happen, Playhouse on Park is holding its annual fundraising gala, this year called “A Midsummer Fantastical Fairytale,” at Auerfarm on June 12.
Flater says Playhouse on Park hopes to be “back indoors” at the Park Road home base, presenting in-person shows in its 150-seat auditorium hopefully “by the third week in September.” The theater will announce it all-indoor 2021-22 season in June. The reopening of the space is dependent on certain COVID guidelines no longer being necessary.
“Distancing is not an option for us. We will watch what’s going on in the summer, and we may find that we need to mandate mask-wearing inside. We think our
audiences are ready to come back. If Broadway is opening in September, we’re opening in September.”
More information about Playhouse on Park’s summer plans can be found at the theater’s website, playhouseonpark.org.