Goodspeed, Westport holding big-name live concert series
Unable to stage full seasons in their usual spaces for a second year, Goodspeed Musicals and The Westport Playhouse last week both announced special concert series, stocked with Broadway talent.
The Goodspeed, after hoping to do a truncated two-show
Opera House season, now has just a single musical, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific,” still on the 2021 schedule, with no firm dates other than “begins September 2021 on its website and no tickets on sale yet. Westport announced a “virtual season” of two fresh productions (the new play “Tiny House” and the religious drama “Doubt”), two archival recordings of shows from the theater’s past) plus four script-inhand playreadings.
Concerts can be easier to produce right now than full productions. Plays and musicals require weeks of rehearsals, are subject to COVID regulations for union members regardless of whether state guidelines have been lifted, and many theaters are not equipped for social distancing in all areas, especially backstage.
Cabaret in the Robards
Westport Country Playhouse is holding “Cabaret in the Robards” its concerts indoors, in the Jason Robards Theatre. The series of three one-night-only events is a benefit for the theater as it transitions back to an already announced all-live season in
2022.
”An Evening with Brad Simmons and Tonya Pinkins,” June 26, with the Tony-winning performer Pinkins (who’s also an acclaimed writer and filmmaker) accompanied by music director/arranger Simmons. Pinkins’ Broadway credits include “Jelly’s Last Jam,” “Caroline, or Change” and “Holler If Ya Hear Me.”
”An Evening with Larry Owens: Sondheimia” on July 17, with the Broadway star of “A Strange Loop” singing the songs of Sondheim, accompanied by the accomplished cabaret performer Josh Kight.
”An Evening with Ali Stroker” July 24. Stroker was not only the first actor in a wheelchair to appear in a Broadway show (in the 2015 Deaf West revival of “Spring Awakening”) but the first to win a Tony (as Ado Annie in 2019, for the radically reinvented “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!”).
All the “Cabaret in the Robards” shows are at 8 p.m., preceded by 6:30 p.m. cocktail parties for $500 VIP ticketholders. That ticket includes a tax-de
ductible donation, as does the $300 ticket that gets you the show plus “priority parking.” A single ticket to the show only is $150. Details are at westportplayhouse.org/show/cabaret.
Goodspeed by the River
The “Goodspeed by the River” series will include five shows, running from June 10 through Sept. 6. Concerts will take place under a tent in the Goodspeed parking lot (which has just as good a view of the river as does the lawn). Picnicking is encouraged.
Several of the announced shows have a nostalgia feel, but there’s also a concert version of a new musical being developed at the Goodspeed.
“Turn Back Time: Ben & Dee Rock the ‘70s, ‘80s and Beyond” June 10-20, with Ben Clark and Dee Roscioli (performers and romantic partners) performing acoustic versions of well-known songs by The Eagles, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John and others.
“Ambassador of Love: a Celebration of Pearl Bailey” June 22 through July 18, performed by Rashidra Scott, the Broadway stalwart who starred in “Anything Goes” at the Goodspeed in 2016, directed by T. Oliver Reid with music direction by Michael O. Mitchell. The Bailey hits range from “St. Louis Blues” to “Zing Went the Strings of My Heart.”
”Bennett & Babs: The Songs of Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand,” June 23 — July 4, alternating performance with “Ambassador of Love,” has the UConn grad turned Broadway star Jackie Burns interpreting the songs of Barbra Streisand and Joe Cassidy (who appeared with Burns in the musical “If/Then” on Broadway) paying homage to Tony Bennett.
“Together Again: Max & Celeste Sing Their Broadway Favorites,” July 7-18 (again alternating with “Ambassador of Love”) featuring Max Chernin and Celeste Rose in a revue of disparate showtunes that tells the story of a long close friendship.
“Johnny and The Devil’s Box: In Concert” July 22 through Aug.1. A new musical that was scheduled for a developmental workshop by the Goodspeed, then postponed due to the COVID, gets a concert-style airing. The show concerns an awesome country fiddler who is challenged by the devil.
Each show runs for around 11 days, with performances Tuesday through Sunday at 7 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
August events will be announced at a later date. Tickets — $45, or three shows for $120 — are already on sale to Goodspeed members, and will go on sale to the general public on May 20. More information is at goodspeed.org.
Both the Goodspeed and Westport Country Playhouse will follow state COVID guidelines, as well as their own health and safety policies.