Two Connecticut actors are playing the lead in Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” in Hartford, on stage until July 5.
The production, directed by TheaterWorks Hartford Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero is a co-production between the two downtown institutions, TheaterWorks Hartford and Hartford Stage. Sondheim’s tale of revenge stars ​​Matt Faucher of Bristol, a Hartt School/University of Hartford graduate. Jackie Burns, who plays his conniving meat-pie-baking accomplice, is from Ivoryton. Faucher was on the touring company of “Beautiful: The Carol King Musical” and was seen more recently on the CBS drama “FBI: Most Wanted.”
Burns has the distinction of being Broadway’s longest running Elphaba in “Wicked,” according to Broadway World. She also had roles in “In the Heights” (2021) and “Set It Up” (2018). Â
Mark Twain House hosts best-selling author
If you enjoy the darkly subversive view suburbia that novelist Tom Perrotta can evoke, you may want to head to the Mark Twain House & Museum June 18, where The New York Times best-selling author will discuss his new novel “Ghost Town.”
Perrotta gave us “Little Children” and “Election,” both made into films, and “The Leftovers,” an HBO television series. Dateline reported in 2022 that Perrotta’s follow-up to “Election,” the novel “Tracey Flick Can’t Win,” was to be adapted by director Alexander Payne, with Reese Witherspoon reprising her early deadpan role. However, Indie Wire reports that Payne is not too keen on having the film released in streaming-only format.
However, the book is still widely available, as is his new novel, which has been named a May 2026 Indie Next Selection and recognized as one of the year’s most anticipated books by The New York Times, Literary Hub, AARP Magazine, and others, according to the Twain house.
Ballet
The Connecticut Ballet will close out its 45th season with a revival of what is perhaps ballet’s greatest tragic love story, “Giselle,” June 20 at the Bushnell. Set to the famous score by Adolphe Adam, the lead role of Giselle is considered one of the most dramatic in all of ballet. Philadelphia Ballet principal dancer Oksana Maslova, who made her debut in the ballet as a Connecticut Ballet principal dancer in 2014, will be performing the lead role, according to a news release. The role of Albrecht will be Philadelphia Ballet principal dancer Sterling Baca, making his Connecticut Ballet debut, according to the release. Maslova guest-starred as Sugar Plum Fairy in Connecticut Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” in December.
“Giselle” is the story of a young woman seduced and betrayed by a nobleman, according to a news release. Dying of a broken heart, she joins the ranks of the supernatural Wilis – a sisterhood of female spirits scorned before their wedding day and doomed to rise from the grave, taking their revenge for eternity.
Trivia Question
In addition to writing “Giselle,” Adolphe Adam wrote the ballet “Le Cor” and which Christmas carol, traditionally sung on Christmas Eve?
Outdoor Shakespeare Begins
Summertime means that Capital Classics Theatre Company will bring Shakespeare to West Hartford.
Its 35th season will include two productions performed in repertory: the dark comedy “Measure for Measure” and the fantastical “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The alternating productions, which will each be performed 10 times, is set to run July 8 through Aug. 2, outdoors on the campus of the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. with Sunday performances at 5:30 p.m.
“Measure for Measure” is characterized as a comedy, despite it not being very funny. It’s hard to crack a smile when the fulcrum of the plot rests on whether one character tries to sexually assault a woman who is training to be a nun. The point (evidently) is to show the hypocrisy of absolute power, particularly when flawed human beings try to enforce moral laws.
A perennial seasonal favorite, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” has the bard again poking fun of the foibles of man, particularly when it involves love. When humans and fairies meet in a forest, one character gets turned into a donkey and chaos ensues. The play has been turned into a film so many times, it’s hard to pick a favorite, but a good choice would be Max Reinhardt’s 1935 version, particularly because it features James Cagney as Bottom, who is turned into a donkey.
Trivia Answer
Adam wrote the popular Christmas song “O Holy Night” in 1850, according to the Kennedy Center.
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This article originally published at CT Culture Corner: ‘Sweeney Todd,’ ‘Giselle’ and outdoor Shakespeare hit the stage this summer.
