On Saturday, September 17 from 12PM to 4PM, Hartford Stage will open their doors to new and returning audiences to learn about the theatre’s inner-workings and what it has in store for this season. Activities will include a look behind-the-scenes (including backstage tours with stops at lighting, costumes, props, scenery, and sound), insight on artistic productions, mini education workshops for youth, free games and prizes, complimentary food and drink, and more. The event is free for anybody who would like to stop by; RSVPing in advance at www.HartfordStage.org is encouraged. A performance from Breakdancing Shakespeare at 2:30PM will kick off a communal moment of connection with remarks from leadership.
Artistic Director Melia Bensussen will preview the upcoming season and share why she’s excited about this terrific selection of plays. “Our theater – your theater – is a civic home for deep conversation and shared laughter; a place to expand our imaginations and see our stories reflected on the stage. The Open House is a great opportunity for us to get to know our community and for our community to get to know us. Nuestro teatro es su teatro,” she stated in a welcome letter to audiences.
The highly anticipated 2022/2023 season at Hartford Stage begins on October 13 with Agatha Christie’s iconic The Mousetrap, followed by an encore of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, the entirely bilingual Espejos: Clean, the world premiere of The Art of Burning, William Shakespeare’s classic The Winter’s Tale, and concludes with a timely revival of Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind.
Tickets for all shows are available now and can be purchased online at www.HartfordStage.org, by calling (860) 527-5151, or in-person from the theater at 50 Church Street. Audiences interested in seeing three or more shows can unlock savings and benefits by becoming a subscriber or joining the Stage Pass program (for ages 21-35).
About the Productions:
October 13 – November 6, 2022
THE MOUSETRAP by Agatha Christie
Directed by Jackson Gay
Check-in for a most memorable stay at Monkswell Manor…
It’s a freezing night in 1947 and a motley group of strangers find themselves suddenly trapped in an inn. As the snow falls, the body count rises – and the suspect list only seems to grow, as clues and possible motives are revealed at every turn. With intrigue, mystery, murder, and a dash of humor, this snowy getaway unfolds into a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Lead Production Sponsor: Bank of America. Producers: Don & Marilyn Allan, Sally Speer.
November 25 – December 24, 2022
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY
Adapted by Joe Landry
Originally Co-Directed by Melia Bensussen and Rachel Alderman
Directed by Zoë Golub-Sass
Based on the story “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern from the screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, and Jo Swerling
Bring the whole family to this heartwarming holiday classic!
Five actors and one sound effects artist have assembled on Christmas Eve to guide audiences through the world of George Bailey and Bedford Falls, live from the studio at WBFR. The spirit of imagination takes hold as we’re launched on a transformational journey on stage. Join us this winter to experience a magical adaptation of a beloved story.
Exclusive Sponsor: Raytheon Technologies. Student Matinees Sponsor: Talcott Resolution.
January 12 – February 5, 2023
ESPEJOS: CLEAN by/escrita por Christine Quintana
Spanish translation and adaptation by/traducción y adaptación por Paula Zelaya Cervantes
Directed by/Dirigida por Melissa Crespo
In association with /En asociación con Syracuse Stage
A groundbreaking bilingual tour de force.
Two worlds collide one evening at a high-end resort in Mexico, igniting a series of misunderstandings, miscalculations, and internal reckonings. Told entirely in English and Spanish – with respective supertitles – Espejos: Clean offers an eye-opening story of unlikely and meaningful connection.
March 2 – 26, 2023
THE ART OF BURNING by Kate Snodgrass
Directed by Melia Bensussen
In association with Huntington Theatre Company
An inspired new comedy exploring the love, rage, and responsibility that go with marriage and parenting in America.
Mid-negotiation, modernist painter Patricia changes the terms of her ‘conscious uncoupling’ with Jason. She wants full custody of their 15-year-old daughter Beth. Jason demands that their daughter decide, but mysteriously Beth didn’t show up for school. Has Patricia hidden her away to protect her, or is there something more sinister afoot?
April 13 – May 7, 2023
Directed by Melia Bensussen
Shakespeare’s back at Hartford Stage!
An awe-filled fable of fury and forgiveness.
King Leontes, his pregnant wife Hermione, and their young son seem like a perfect royal family – until he’s consumed by the fear his wife has been unfaithful. In a fit of tyrannical rage, he makes dire accusations that destroy all that is precious to him. Sixteen years later a new generation has emerged, and in this time-hopping romance, the idealism of the young and the regrets of the old collide. Shakespeare’s mastery of storytelling is on full display, reminding us that even after a harsh winter, spring will return, if we have faith in each other and ourselves.
Producer: Wes & Chloe Horton. The Shakespeare Fund: Jack & Donna Sennott, The John & Kelly Hartman Foundation, Rick & Beth Costello.
May 25 – June 18, 2023
Directed by Christopher D. Betts, Joyce C. Willis Fellow
A 1950s landmark play that still rings true today.
This dramatic satire tracks the nuanced, simmering tension between the artists of a biracial company working on a Broadway-bound premiere. As they rehearse, questions about the play emerge, igniting an impassioned debate about race, power, the roles we play on stage, and the roles we play in life. In this timely revival, the theater becomes an arena wherein we explore how – and why – we use our voices.
To learn more about Hartford Stage or to buy tickets, visit www.HartfordStage.org, call (860) 527-5151, or visit in person at 50 Church Street, Hartford CT 06103.
About Hartford Stage
Led by Artistic Director Melia Bensussen and Managing Director Cynthia Rider, Hartford Stage’s mission is to enlighten, entertain, and educate by creating theatrical works of the highest caliber that have a transformative impact on audiences, the community, and its field. Hartford Stage has presented the world premieres of the musical Anastasia; A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards; and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Under Bensussen’s artistic vision, the theater has reimagined classics including Eugene O’Neil’s Ah! Wildernesswhich reopened the theater to great acclaim following the pandemic and brought bilingual theater center stage with Quixote Nuevo, the virtual American Voices New Play Festival, Kiss My Aztec!, and the upcoming Espejos: Clean. Hartford Stage’s Education programs have engaged more than 20,000 students annually, including student matinees, in-school theatre residencies, teen performance opportunities, and theatre classes for youth and adults. www.HartfordStage.org
