Auditions for Teens and Adults for Oliver!

Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater and Connecticut Heritage Productions are again joining creative forces this holiday season with a co-production of OLIVER!  the Tony-Award winning musical based on Dicken’s classic novel .  Adult and teens are invited to audition for this up-coming production.

OLIVER!, directed by Peter Lofreddo will feature a multi-generational cast of actors.  As in last year’s A Civil War Christmas, which involved Oddfellows’ Teen Repertory Company and adult actors, actors and the community will reap the rewards of this unique partnership to produce a tremendous musical.  “Oliver contains some of the best known standards in the Broadway show tune canon, ”Consider Yourself at Home”, “Food, Glorious Food,”, “You Can Go but Be Back Soon “and the haunting love ballad, “As Long As He Needs Me.” – Director Peter Lofreddo.

 Classic songs, indelible characters and a rich world will offer an entertaining and engaging show this holiday season, with performances December 5-17, 2013.   This production is being supported in part by the generous donation from John and Mary Murphy.

Auditions will be held at Oddfellows Playhouse from 7pm – 9pm on Monday September 16th and Wednesday September 18th.  Teens and Adults from all backgrounds are encouraged to audition. 

Additionally interested teens are invited to attend a pre-audition workshop at Oddfellows on Wednesday, September 11th.  This is a fantastic opportunity to meet the artistic staff and learn songs, scenes and dances from the show in a fun, introductory session.  There is no fee for the workshop or auditions.

Tuition is charged for the Teen Rep program for students. Pre-registration and scholarship applications are available at Oddfellows.org.

Oddfellows and CHP have joined forces on various projects in the past including Higher Ground: an original play dramatizing the long struggle of African-Americans for freedom and equality, and the Connecticut Valley Student Playwriting Competition.  They approach this production with the goal of bringing together various perspectives and members of the community to explore themes of juvenile justice, historical views of economic inequity and a youth’s search for family.

“Oddfellows and CHP thought this was a great production to approach with a multigenerational cast because of the age range of characters in the play.  There is a lot to learn as an actor when you are portraying a character your own age, rather than someone 20 or 30 years older.  Equally as important is the different point of views that a cast with different life experiences brings to a production.  It is important that we teach our young people different points of view on the world,” said Oddfellows’ Executive Director Matt Pugliese. 

Connecticut Heritage Productions' mission is to inspire, nurture, and sustain an appreciation of the performing arts by entertaining, enlightening, and connecting our audiences to the ever-changing sensibilities of our times. Their work is a collaborative effort of artists, professional staff, board members, and the community.

Oddfellows Playhouse Announces 2013-14 Season

Oddfellows Playhouse is pleased to announce its 2013-14 Season for its Junior and Teen Repertory Company.  The first season under the guidance and direction of Artistic Director Kristen Palmer is filled with classics, family musicals and some new endeavors.

The season will begin with the Junior Repertory Company’s of The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet onstage November 14-16, 2013.

A Unique Holiday Celebration

This is not a review.  This is not a press release.  Just an invitation. 
 
 A Civil War Christmas:An American Musical Celebration opened on Thursday night at Oddfellows Playhouse.  The production is a collaboration between CT Heritage Productions and Oddfellows Playhouse, bringing a multi-generational cast together to tell this story.

It is a different show than you might expect to see onstage around the holidays.  It is a play, with music - not a musical. Traditional carols and other popular folk songs and hymns of the time serve to weave together a series of vignettes of characters, both historical and fictional, to tell the story of Christmas 1864. 

It is a play that contains history, thought, heartbreak and humor.  It is not saccharine sweet holiday-fare, but thoughtful and thought-provoking.  It is history, so yes, you might be cynical and say "I know how it ends", but what it does offer in ending is not fact, but hope.  And isn't hope something we all could use a little more of these days?

We hope you'll join us.

A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration
by Paula Vogel
Music by Daryl Waters
Made possible by CT Humanities, 
Middletown Commission on the Arts 
Eli Cannon's Tap Room & many CT Heritage Production Donors
Friday December 7 - 7:30pm
Saturday December 8 - 7:30pm
Thursday December 13 - 7:30pm - JUST ADDED!
Friday December 14 - 7:30pm
Saturday December 15 - 7:30pm
$15 Adults / $8 Students & Seniors
860-347-6143 or www.oddfellows.org

The reservations are getting pretty full.  So we recommend calling in advance to order tickets.  860-347-6143. 

Holiday Season Offerings at Oddfellows

With the holiday season approaching, there are multiple chance to take the family out to see some live theater here in Middletown. So you better start planning!

Huck Finn
by Mark Twain

Adapted by Eric Coble from the novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" 
November 29, 30 and December 1 - 7:00pm

Oddfellows Playhouse’s Junior Repertory Company will present Huck Finn by Eric Coble, Adapted from the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. 

Huck Finn flees the claws of "civilization" for the freedom of the mighty Mississippi, only to find himself running from mobs, getting shot at, stealing gold, digging escape tunnels and dressing as a woman. And perhaps his greatest adventure: unexpectedly finding his own moral compass in a world of corruption and hypocrisy.  This highly-theatrical adaptation presented by the Junior Repertory Company and directed by Lorra Webb, is the second of Coble’s work produced at the Playhouse, following 2006’s Gold in the Bones.  This classic tale of adventure is great for families and students of all ages.

The production runs Thursday thru Saturday, November 29, 30 and December 1  All performances begin at 7:00 p.m.  Tickets are $15 for Adults and $8 for Students/Seniors.  Anyone brining a canned food item for Amazing Grace Food Pantry will receive a $2 discount on their ticket.  Tickets are available online at www.oddfellows.org or by calling 860-347-6143. 
A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration
by Paula Vogel, Music by Daryl Waters
December 6,7,8, 14, 15 - 7:30pm

The play, directed by Peter Loffedo, will feature a multigenerational cast of actors from the community, including members of Oddfellows’ Teen Repertory Company and CT Heritage Productions.  The Connecticut Humanities Council and Middletown Commission on the Arts is generously helping to fund this production because of its unique combination of historical significance, audience appeal, and educational storytelling.  

The play is set is Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve 1864, during the Civil War.  President Lincoln has just been reelected and General Sherman is marching troops into battle.  Interweaving historical figures with fictional characters, A Civil War Christmas not only entertains but inspires the audience by portraying the real-life struggles that occurred and the human spirit that endured during one of the most difficult times in our history. Moving swiftly from scene to scene, it chronicles many aspects of the period, from something of the private life of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln to the moving story of an African-American soldier whose wife has been cruelly kidnapped.  Christmas carols and folk songs are sung throughout by the ensemble, with additional period music performed by a group of instrumentalists. 

The production runs December 6, 7, 8, 14, 15 at Oddfellows Playhouse.  All performances are at 7:30pm.  Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students and seniors. Thursday December 6 is a Pay-What-You-Can Performance.  Please bring a non-perishable food item to donate to Amazing Grace Food Pantry.  Tickets are available online at ww.oddfellows.org or by calling860-347-6143.  The performance is made possible through special funding from the Connecticut Humanities Council, The Middletown Commission on the Arts, and Eli Cannon’s Tap Room.

Auditions for Oddfellows Teen Repertory Company

Oddfellows Playhouse is pleased to announce its Fall 2012 auditions for William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead: a True Account of the 1599 Zombie Plague by John Heimbuch and A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel, with music by Daryl Waters.

The season will begin with a “historical” piece by John Heimbuch, William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead: A True Account of the Zombie Plague of 1599, takes the stage in November.  This play from the NY Fringe Festival takes place backstage on the opening night of Shakespeare’s Henry V.   Dealing with drama behind the scenes becomes more complicated when an afflicted madman enters the Globe and attacks.  As the affliction spreads through London, the Globe is placed in quarantine and the survivors within must fight for their lives.   This production is being produced by the generous support of Beverley and Tony Bellisio.

“This play is fun.  That is what initially drew me to it.  But the genre of horror is a reflection of our society, and it says a great deal about where our fears are today that we have become recently fixated on zombies and the risk of some pandemic outbreak.  During the Elizabethan era, the term “afflicted” was used synonymously for madness, illness or even demonic possession.  This play is about the fear of others,” said Pugliese.

Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater and Connecticut Heritage Productions are joining creative forces this holiday season with a co-production of A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel.  The play will perform at Oddfellows Playhouse from December 6-15.  A Civil War Christmas received its world premiere at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven in 2008.  The play is by Paula Vogel, with music by Daryl Waters.  Special funding from the CT Humanities Council helps make this production possible.

“One of Paula Vogel’s original sources of inspiration for writing this play was to create a truly, unique American Christmas production.  So many of our standard holiday cultural pieces are imported from other countries – A Christmas Carol, the Nutcracker and so forth,” said Peter Loffredo, artistic director of Connecticut Heritage Productions. 

The play, directed by Loffedo, will feature a multigenerational cast of actors from the community.  The play is set in Washington, D.C., and along the Potomac during a Christmastime near the end of the Civil War. Vogel weaves together notable historical facts and figures with fictional characters and events to explore the celebration of Christmas and the state of our nation during wartime.

Pre-audition workshops, recommended for student actors, to learn more about the Playhouse, the plays and to sharpen audition skills are held from 7-9pm on Tuesday and Wednesday September 11 and 12. Auditions will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday September 18 and 19 from 7-9pm.  There is no charge to audition.  There is a tuition fee for the Teen Repertory Company.

Oddfellows programming is made possible through the generous support of the American Savings Foundation, the CDBG Scholarship Program, the CT Department of Economic and Community Development, the CT Department of Education, Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Memorial Fund, Elizabeth Carse Foundation, the Fund for Greater Hartford, the George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation, the Irving Kohn Foundation, the J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Liberty Bank Foundation, Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation, Middlesex County Community Foundation, Middlesex United Way, the Middletown Commission on the Arts, Middletown YSB, the National Endowment for the Arts, Northern Middlesex Cable Advisory Council, Pratt & Whitney—Middletown, Price Chopper Golub Foundation, the Stare Fund, Stop and Shop Foundation, Thomas J. Atkins Foundation, Triple Frog, LLC and WESU (88.1FM).

Oddfellows Playhouse Announces Programming Overhaul

Oddfellows Playhouse is pleased to announce its Fall 2012 Programming.  The youth theater, which provides afterschool and weekend theatrical programming, is excited to unveil a large overhaul and upgrade in its programmatic offerings.  Oddfellows’ programs use theater as a vehicle to build essential life skills, while exploring highly educational and artistic theatrical material.

Multi-generational Cast to Take the Stage for Holiday Production

Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater and Connecticut Heritage Productions are joining creative forces this holiday season with a co-production of A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel.  The play will perform at Oddfellows Playhouse from December 6-15.  A Civil War Christmas received its world premiere at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven in 2008.  The play is by Paula Vogel, with music by Daryl Waters. 

Deadline for Playwriting Competition

This from Peter Loffredo:

Connecticut Heritage Productions is accepting submissions for its first
annual "Connecticut Stories on Stage" playwriting competition through
October 15th. The purpose of this event is to encourage and foster new works
for the theater as well as to support the development of local artists.

Plays must be set in Connecticut and/or deal with a Connecticut-related
topic or personality in the past, present, or future. No musicals will be
accepted. Playwrights must be Connecticut residents or students attending
school in Connecticut.

The competition is divided into three categories: ten-minute play, one-act
play, and full-length play. Winners will receive a financial award of $200,
$300, and $500 respectively. Playwrights may submit up to one play in each
category.

All entries must be original, properly formatted, and postmarked no later
than October 15th, 2009. Winners will be announced by January 15, 2010, and
the winning works will receive a staged reading at the first annual
"Connecticut Stories on Stage New Play Festival"to be held in Middletown in
Spring 2010.

For more information about entry and mailing requirements, visit the CHP
website at www.chproductions.org or contact Peter Loffredo, Artistic
Director, at (860) 347-7771 or ptloffredo@att.net.

Busy Busy Week (Part 2: 6/11-14)

June 11:
The Veterans Memorial Theatre Company presents "American Warriors: Scenes from Plays about 20th Century Wars" tonight from 7:30 - 9:30 in the main auditorium of Congregation Adath Israel, Church & Broad Streets. The production features excerpts from works by Arthur Miller, Kenneth Brown and a reading from Major Andrew Olmstead, killed in Iraq in 2008 (he blogged throughout his deployment) as well as recorded music from the different eras. This is a fundraiser for the Company and the evening will feature a raffle and refreshments. Ticket prices are $30 per person and $20 Seniors and students. For more information, call 860-870-1412.

CHP's production of "Harvey" resumes tonight at 8 p.m. in Oddfellows Playhouse and can also be seen at 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Not exactly "hare-raising" but quite humorous. Call 347-7771 for reservations and go to chproductions.org for more information.

June 12:
If you are a regular reader of The Eye, you already know about the Middletown Art Guild's 6th Annual Juried Art Exhibition from 7 - 9 p.m. at in the Zilkha Gallery at Wesleyan. If not, click here.

The Buttonwood Tree presents singer/songwriter Kristen Graves (pictured) in concert at 7:30 p.m. Recently moved to Connecticut from Minnesota, Graves has a sweet voice and her songs blend poetry with incisive comments on love and relationships. Graves also writes good "pop"melodies and her latest CD, "Stay" (self-released) is quite impressive. (You can check out samples by clicking here.) Opening the show will be singer/songwriter/keyboard player True Margrit (Margrit Eichler), also a musician with a "poppy" side who writes really catchy melodies. For reservations, call 347-4957.

Boney's Music Lounge, 106 Court Street, welcomes the Nick DiMari Group for an evening of jazz and more. The music begins at 8:30 p.m. Call 346-6000 for more information.

June 13:
The Buttonwood Tree welcomes back singer/songwriter Frank Critelli for an 8 p.m. Critelli blends folk and rock influences into his music and his lyrics are both witty and incisive. The publicity for the gig says he'll be playing with his Band so the show could be a bit more "high-energy." Opening the evening will be the New Haven-based singer/songwriter/radio show host James Velvet and the Lonesome Sparrows Trio.

Boney's Music Lounge takes a "walk on the funky side" when drummer Liviu Pop performs with his trio featuring Nozomi Yamaguchi and James Richardson from 8:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.

June 14:
The Middletown-based CT Gilbert and Sullivan Society will be holding auditions for this fall's production of "The Pirates of Penzance" at 5:30 p.m. in the main auditorium of Congregation Adath Israel. You, too, could be the "Very Model of a Modern Major-General" or sing about "a Rollicking Band of Pirates We." Auditions will also take place on Tuesday June 16 at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call 1-800-866-1606.

Busy Busy Week (Part 1: 6/09-6/11)

Tuesday Jazz at Public will take the summer off but not before its final show on June 9. Florida native Ellen Whyte (now a resident of Portland, Oregon) brings her blues-soaked music to Middletown for a 6 p.m. show. Joining her for this East Coast appearance will be the versatile pianist Don DePalma, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Biggins, bassist Bob Laramie and drummer Trevor Davis (all familiar names to Tuesday Jazz fans.)


Should you decide to catch just the first set of Ms. Whyte's show, you can then head over to KidCity on Washington Street for the ARTFARM Shakespeare Sonnet Slam and Elizabethan Bash. Performers of all ages will take part in reciting, acting out, shouting, whispering, etc., a 14-line work by the Bard of Avon. Special guest host is Middletown resident and Channel 3-WFSB News anchor Al Terzi. Proceeds will go to underwrite the "Shakespeare in the Grove" production of "The Taming of the Shrew" to be performed July 16-26 at MxCC. For more information, call 346-4390.

Wednesday, Main Street goes "car crazy" for the 12th Annual Cruise Night from 4:30 - 8 p.m. The street is closed off from Washington Street to the South Green, there's entertainment, food vendors and some pretty neat looking cars. Rain date is 6/17.

Thursday, the Middlesex County Historical Society holds an Open House at General Mansfield's handsome domicile, 151 Main Street, to introduce its new executive director Deborah Dickson Shapiro. Many local know Deb as an attorney and President of the Russell Library Board, but she was a history major in college and loves the subject (and, especially, Middletown history.) The Historical Society Board will be on hand to launch its capital & endowment campaign. The event is free and open to all (plus you can walk through the fine Civil War exhibition.)

The Green Street Arts Center presents an "Evening of Screenplay Readings" Thursday at 7 p.m. The program will includes excerpts from works by Michael Ennis, Sara Hallisey, Kristen Kuzcenski, Guy Russo, and Mark Sabo. Both Hallisey and Ennis have been accepted into the 2009 CT Film Festival Screenwriters Immersion Program. For more information, call 685-7871.

Connie Crothers has had a long and busy career as an improvising musician. The pianist studied with the legendary Lennie Tristano (1919-1978) and has performed or recorded with drummer Max Roach, saxophonists Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh and a host of fine musicians. Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m., Ms. Crothers will sit down at the piano in the performance space of The Buttonwood Tree and be joined by percussionist/composer Kevin Norton. For ticket information, call 347-4957.


The cast of "Harvey" returns to the stage at Oddfellows Playhouse this coming weekend for 5 more performances of Mary Chase's subtly funny 1944 comedy about Elwood P. Dowd, his sister and her daughter and the 6'6" Pooka rabbit named Harvey that isn't really there (or is it?) This Connecticut Heritage Productions and Advocate Performing Arts Association joint presentation, directed by Peter Loffredo, has several strong performances (Michael Eck as the protagonist is but one of the stalwarts.) For those of you who know that CHP and Mr. Loffredo have a long history of presenting thought-provoking shows that often challenge audiences prejudices, "Harvey" is a fun diversion. Yes, there is a message here but it's handled with plenty of humor and a touch of tenderness. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. For reservations, call 347-7771.

Music & an Imaginary Rabbit

Tuesday Jazz at Public presents Lucy Blanco performing in front of a quartet featuring Don DePalma (piano), Jimmy Biggins (tenor sax), Bob Laramie (bass) and series impresario Trevor Davis (drums.) Vocalist Blanco performs much of the time in the Hartford area alongside pianists Paisley Ramirez or Warren Byrd. The music starts at 6 p.m.

As reported in the Eye last week (read here), the Russell Library Courtyard Concerts series begins this week on Thursday (have you noticed how many good concerts the Library has had over the years? - and every one of them free.) The Homegrown String Band performs the opening concert at 7 p.m. To find out more about this family and its music, go to www.homegrownstringband.com.

CT Heritage Productions, in association with the Advocate Performing Arts Association, presents "Harvey", Mary Chase's play from 1944 about Elwood Dowd and his imaginary friend, a 6-and-a-half foot tall white rabbit whose name is the title of the play. The production, directed by Peter Loffredo, features Javis Arnold, Joyce Blackburn, John Calderbank, Anne Cassady, Kelly DiMauro, Michael Eck, Nat Holmes, Christine Moore, Nicole Palmer, James Ryan and Melanie White. The show runs from June 4 through June 14 and takes place at Oddfellows Playhouse, 128 Washington Street. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday both weeks. For more information and reservations, call 347-7771.