🔒The New ‘Off-Broadway’

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When the average person thinks of “off-Broadway,” smaller professional New York theaters are likely the first thing that come to mind. But in recent years, Connecticut has given the term a whole new meaning.

No matter where you live or visit in this state, chances are that a Broadway show is within easy reach. Over the past two years, shows like “Phantom of the Opera,” “Chicago,” “Waitress,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “A Bronx Tale,” “In the Heights,” “The Sound of Music” and “Mamma Mia!” have opened to cheering crowds at The Bushnell in Hartford, Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Warner Theatre in Torrington, Palace Theater in Waterbury, the Shubert in New Haven, the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, and the Westport Playhouse.

According to Bushnell President and CEO David Fay, using the standard rule of thumb, every dollar spent on cultural activities like theater becomes $7 as that dollar changes hands within the state – meaning that the cultural sector in Connecticut accounts for about one-fifth of the economy. Harder to quantify is the value added to the quality of life in the state.

Theater blossoms into its neighborhoods. The Bushnell, for example, is heavily involved in the i-Quilt development plan that is creating walkable areas and green space in the area around the Hartford theater. It participates in The Partners Program that combines the arts with colorful learning experiences for the region’s youth. The Goodspeed has purchased property and created an artists’ village and writers’ colony within walking distance of the theater.

“Another benefit for Connecticut is that we create all sorts of employment opportunities and a tremendous talent pool,” said Fay.

Partnering with restaurants and other arts and entertainment institutions, the state’s theaters are also sharing programs that continue to enrich the culture of their towns and neighborhoods.

In addition to Hartford Stage and TheaterWorks in Hartford, other venues contributing to the state’s vibrant theater community include: The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, the Long Wharf and Yale Repertory theaters in New Haven, the Ivoryton Playhouse, and The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center (“The Kate”) in Old Saybrook.

“A perfect storm”

Fay said that about a decade ago, two things coincided in a “perfect storm of goodness for live theater,” that in turn became a windfall for Connecticut.

First, social media exploded. Fay and his colleagues didn’t immediately see this as a good thing. “Our view was that all young people would cloister themselves in their rooms until they were 35, playing games and talking with each other online,” he quipped.

But almost the exact opposite happened. “When I was a kid, I had a social network of about four people,” said Fay, “and you could distinguish yourself by getting good grades or being on the football team.” Today, young people have hundreds or thousands of “friends” and one way they impress them is to send a selfie from a live performance of Hamilton.

Live theater also propelled its own growth, by reinventing itself for the 21st century. “We needed new voices in order to resonate with a younger audience,” said Fay. “Go back [about 100 years ago], and George Gershwin was a pop musician who also wrote a lot of musicals.” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pop stuff has a different kind of voice that speaks equally well to the theater, he observed. “At least half of the audience could rap sing their way through the show [Hamilton] before they saw it and the other half loved the enthusiastic story.”

Other musicals like Disney’s “The Lion King” and “Wicked,” based on “The Wizard of Oz,” brought scores of kids into the theater, said Fay. And more recent plays such as “Dear Evan Hansen,” “The Prom” and “Be More Chill” have kept them coming.

Theaters large and small

The Bushnell is a presentation house. “We get the first run of everything coming from Broadway because we have the biggest hall and the longest history of doing this,” said Fay. The Shubert Performing Arts Center, celebrating its 90-year anniversary, is the second house to get the Broadway tours, followed by the Palace Theater in Waterbury.

There are 2,800 seats at the Bushnell, making it more than large enough for a classic Broadway production that might run eight performances a week for five years in New York. “But here we have to load it in for one or two weeks, advertise it, and move it out,” said Fay.

The Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam operates on a much smaller scale, but it is a giant in the world of musical theater, with a long history of feeding shows into Broadway. Producer Donna Lynn Cooper Hilton said it is unique in that it is the only theater in the state that does just musicals and does this out of a 395-foot by 200-foot theater with 398 seats.

“Musical theater is expensive to produce, and you have the elements of music and moving scenery, and choreography, and multiple costume changes in this little space,” she said. “But all those parts come together to create an energy that comes off our stage into a small theater, and audiences are transported by it.”

Hartford Stage is also a production house. Earlier this year, Melia Bensussen became its new artistic director, and the first woman to serve as its leader. “I hope to build on the tremendous success this theater has had, nationally and in the region, and I hope to include some audiences that have not self-represented in the theater,” she said.

Having been raised in Mexico City, Bensussen is fluent in Spanish and is excited for the opening of “Quixote Nuevo,” a reimagining of Don Quixote that will be directed by K. J. Sanchez in September and October.

“I think theater is the ultimate exercise in democracy,” says Bensussen. “It is a place to explore conversation and expand empathy with each other.” She plans to spend time in the lobby after the shows to visit with people and talk about the productions.