Top 10 things to do and see
Dance into warmer weather with a “RuPaul’s Drag Race” favorite, a Broadway favorite and a carnivorous plant.
On the move
Two internationally renowned movement/dance troupes that have called Connecticut home for decades, Momix and Pilobolus, both have shows in the state this week. Between them, they have elevated bodily clinging, gliding, clumping, climbing and interweaving into high arts. Momix, led by Moses Pendleton, is at UConn’s Jorgensen Auditorium, 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs ( jorgensen.uconn.edu) on April 19 at 7:30 p.m. for $15-$35 as well as at the Shubert, 247 College St., New Haven on April 21 at 7:30 p.m. for $41-$83 (shubert.com). Washington Depot-based Pilobolus is bringing its 50th-anniversary-Rupaul’s Drag RaceRupaul’s Drag Race tour (delayed a year or two by COVID) to Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield (ridgefieldplayhouse.org) on April 22 for $60-$65, with shows planned for Waterbury in May.
BenDeLaCreme live
“BenDeLaCreme is... Ready to Be Committed,” in a relationship sense, as the celebrated drag queen (a Season 6 contestant on “RuPaul’s Drag Race”) visits the Warner Theatre’s Oneglia Auditorium, 68 Main St., Torrington, April 20 at 8 p.m. $45-$55; $120 for VIP meet and greet.
Mann alive
Aimee Mann made headlines recently when she didn’t get to tour with Steely Dan, but who wouldn’t go see her as a headliner? She is a mesmerizing live performer and a pioneering indie recording artist who has now released eight solo albums on her own following two major label CDs in the 1990s and three in the ‘80s with her old band ‘Til Tuesday. She performs April 20 at 8 p.m. at the Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield. $60-$65. ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
Horror story
Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s “Little Shop of Horrors” has been a long time coming. This new production of the play about a flesh-eating plant from outer space is a divinely inspired collaboration between the UConn theater department
and its renowned puppetry program. The creepy alien musical (based on the cheesy 1960 Roger Corman film) was originally planned for CT Rep in 2020, but COVID killed that. Now it’s happening with a different director and a different student cast, April 21 through
May 1 at the Nafe Katter Theater, 802 Bolton
Road, on the University of Connecticut campus, Storrs. Performances are April 21 at 7:30 p.m., April 22 and 23 at 8 p.m., April 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m., April 29 at 8 p.m., April 30 at 2 and 8 p.m. and May 1 at 2 p.m. $30, $10 students. crt. uconn.edu.
Order up
“Waitress” is always happy to be of service. The latest national tour of the heartwarming, empowering musical with songs by Sara Bareilles is at the
Palace Theater, 100 East Main St., Waterbury on April 22 at 8 p.m. and April 23 at 2 and 8 p.m. $49-$89. palacetheaterct.org.
Whose line is it anyway?
“Whose Live Anyway?” is a live variant on improv comedy competitions like “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” featuring three veterans of that TV show — Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops and Jeff B. Davis — plus comic actor Joel Murray (who played Freddie Rumsen on “Mad Men” and is the object of the curse “Leave me alone, milkman scum!” in the cult classic “Shakes the Clown”). April 23 at 8 p.m. at the Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London. $38-$58. gardearts.org.
In the name of Jerry Garcia
Keyboardist Melvin Seals was a longtime member of the Jerry Garcia Band, and he keeps its legacy alive through a band with the same initials, JGB. Dozens of musicians cycled through the band when
Garcia ran it from 197595, and dozens more have served with Seals in the 27 years since Garcia’s death. The songs are still ones associated with Garcia from his Grateful Dead days and otherwise. April 23 at 8 p.m. at Infinity Hall, 32 Front St., Hartford. $38-$48. infinityhall.com.
Aladdin soars
West Hartford’s Ballet Theatre Company is putting the “1001 Arabian Nights” hero “Aladdin” through some amazing balletic adventures on April 23 at 2 and 7 p.m. and April 24 at 3 p.m. at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. $43-$78. bushnell.org.
Dog days
“The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful and Her Dog” is the springtime children’s show at Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford, April 23 through May 1. It’s written by Lauren Gunderson, who’s had two of her grown-up shows staged at the playhouse: “The Revolutionists” and last year’s hit “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.” “TAAoDWaHD” is an hour-long musical, with lyrics by Gunderson and music by Bree Lowdermilk, about a girl and her canine companion who use STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) principles to travel the solar system and, uh, elsewhere. Performances are Saturday and Sunday at both 1 and 4 p.m. and Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. $25, $22.50 students and seniors. playhouseonpark.org.
In a HartBeat
During COVID, HartBeat Ensemble presented a reading of an important new play, “Bee Trapped in the Window” by Saviana Stanescu. The three-character drama about modern slavery, set in Westport, is now receiving a full live production at HartBeat’s
Carriage House performance space at 360 Farmington Ave., Hartford, April 24 through May 8. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. $25; $20 students, seniors and Let’s Go Arts members. “No one left behind for lack of funds.” hartbeatensemble. org.