REVIEW: Valley Classical Concerts, “Rendez-Vous”

Camille Thomas, Cello, and Julien Brocal, Piano
Smith College, Northampton, MA
https://valleyclassicalconcerts.org
March 7, 2028
by Michael J. Moran

French-born 30-somethings with extensive international training and performance experience, Camille Thomas and Julien Brocal both have strong solo careers; they also enjoy an inspired musical partnership as a duo. Their chamber music concerts mix tradition with innovation in imaginative ways. 

The duo's VCC debut program opened with a segment entitled “Grace.” It began with a “Reflection” written (seemingly improvised) by both performers on Charles Gounod’s arrangement of the “Prelude in C Major” from Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier.” A mercurial introduction highlighted the bright simplicity of Gounod’s setting, best known as “Ave Maria.” This segment ended with a stylish account of Bach’s third suite, originally for the lighter viola da gamba and keyboard, with a lively “Vivace,” a meditative “Adagio,” and a fleet “Allegro.”    

Two more segments with unusual musical combinations followed. “With Surprises” featured a haunting Brocal/Thomas “Reflection” on both a “Gnossienne” by the experimental French composer Erik Satie (who invented but never explained the title) and the more modern style of the English rock band Radiohead. “Chimera” presented a stately Brocal “Reflection” on a medley of Satie’s familiar “Gymnopedie” No. 1 (another original title) and “The Swan” from Camille Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals.”

The concert closed with a forceful but sensitive reading of Edward Grieg’s only cello sonata, dating from 1882-1883. The “Allegro agitato” alternated dramatic intensity with pastoral lyricism; the “Andante molto tranquillo” was hushed and pensive; the “Allegro molto e marcato” finale contrasted march-like and Norwegian folk-dance rhythms. Both players brought full, rich tone to their instruments, Thomas visibly relishing the many plucked passages throughout the piece, and Brocal building powerful climaxes on the keyboard.   

 A standing ovation from the appreciative packed house brought the musicians back for an encore, which Brocal introduced with mock seriousness as “delicate and intimate:” a rousing performance of Polish composer-violinist Henryk Wieniawski’s “Polonaise Brilliante,” arranged for cello. The flattering acoustics of Sweeney Concert Hall made every piece sound clear and sumptuous. The mix of classical and jazz traditions by these artists clearly had wide audience appeal.

The last concert in Valley Classical’s 47th season will present Boston-based chamber orchestra “A Far Cry” in music by Copland and Beethoven at Sweeney Concert Hall on March 21, 2026.

REVIEW: Hartford Stage, “Death of a Salesman”

Hartford Stage, Hartford, CT
www.hartfordstage.org
through March 29, 2026

by Jarice Hanson 
  
There’s something wonderful about a classic play that feels as fresh as the day it was first performed. In Hartford Stage’s production of “Death of a Salesman” audiences are treated to Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, brilliantly interpreted by director Melia Bensussen and a first rate cast that breathe new life into lines audiences may have heard before—but now, hear with greater meaning. At this time in history, when so many families are being torn apart, this story of a father, mother, and two sons and the desire for the “American Dream” is heartbreakingly poignant. 
  

Photo: T. Charles Erickson

Anchoring the cast is Peter Jacobson as Willy, who will be familiar to many audience members for his performances in several successful television series, and films.  Adrianne Krstansky as Linda is a formidable wife/stage partner. A successful Linda has to embrace the culture of a woman who gives herself entirely to the hearth and home of a family, and Krstansky has the depth to shift gears from supporting Willy to showing how she can be a no-nonsense mother who expects her sons to have empathy for Willy’s shortcomings. She is simply amazing in this role, and both actors join a pantheon of great performers who embody these characters with emotional depth. 
  
The sons, Samuel H. Levine as Biff and Max Katz as Happy, have the challenge of playing their characters at different ages, and both do so in such a way that the “older” Biff and Happy are inextricably tied to their younger selves. They do so not only with grace but with a physicality that makes each believable. 
 
The production has six additional characters who appear briefly, yet there is not one actor who doesn’t stand out. Bravo to the casting and the talent of the director and actors to work so seamlessly together, but with such complete command of their characters.  
  
A feature of this particular interpretation of the play deals with Miller’s original intention to title the play “The Inside of His Head,” a reference to the inner workings of Willy’s mind as he thinks of his past and future self. In director Bensussen’s playbill notes she writes: “We witness how he feels his life unraveling, his own self discarded, and his great fear that he is leaving nothing of meaning or substance behind.” 
 
Sara Brown’s ingenious set design is a framed house, in which furniture moves in and out of the “house” while characters appear in the distance, on a high catwalk, while establishing the mood of each scene in a 3-dimensional playing space that is metaphorically extended into the audience. 
 
Matthew Richards’ lighting design and Darron L. West’s sound design complement this suggested sensory experience, and just like a dream, or an inner monolog, Willy is drawn to the inevitable conclusion of the story while all of the other characters seem anchored to a special time and place in his mind. 
 
The stagecraft is outstanding and allows the audience to feel empathy with the characters to such a degree, many audience members wept quietly in the concluding sections of the production. 
 
What a tribute to a great writer like Arthur Miller, to find the relevance of this Pulitzer Prize winning play 70-years after its first Broadway run. This is a story and a performance that should not be missed.  
 

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, "Romeo & Juliet"

Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT

https://hartfordsymphony.org

February 13-15, 2026

by Michael J. Moran

Leave it to the shrewd programming skills of HSO Music Director Carolyn Kuan to present this “theatrical concert,” combining excerpts from William Shakespeare’s 1597 play and music from Sergei Prokofiev’s 1935 ballet, for the fifth “Masterworks” weekend of the HSO’s 2025-2026 season, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

This production, devised and directed by Bill Barclay and performed by actors in his Boston-based Concert Theatre Works, had its world premiere last summer at Tanglewood, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In Hartford, stage designer Diane Healy made imaginative use of the Belding’s front stage, aisles, and balcony, with minimal props by Justin Seward.

Fifteen musical selections from the ballet alternated, and occasionally overlapped, seamlessly with key scenes from the play,
which told its full story in a 90-minute intermission-less show. The star-crossed lovers were played with youthful abandon by Juliana Sass and Jason Bowen, who raced exultantly down several aisles, high-fiving audience members, after Juliet declared her love for him in an enthralling balcony scene.     

Caleb Mayo’s Mercutio and Carmen Lacivita’s Tybalt were well-matched in impetuous bravado. Nigel Gore brought dignity and parental angst to Capulet, Juliet’s father. But the standout supporting cast member was the protean Robert Walsh, who not only played the roles of Juliet’s nurse and Friar Laurence (both were tender and resilient), even changing costumes once mid-scene, but also directed several very realistic (and frightening) sword-fighting scenes. Lightly amplified diction by all the actors was virtually flawless. 

Prokofiev’s cinematic score was projected from the stage with powerful impact by a passionately committed ensemble and conductor. From a heartwarming “Introduction,” two relentless fight scenes, a rousing “Dance of the Knights,” and a rapturous balcony scene, to the infinitely consoling “Death of Juliet,” all sections of the orchestra captured the music’s full emotional depth.

The well-deserved standing ovation from an enraptured multi-generational audience suggested that this hybrid format, in which actors and musicians magnify each other’s skills, can achieve deeper communicative power than either format alone, especially in a venue as intimate as the Belding Theater.

The HSO’s next Masterworks program (March 13-15) will feature guest conductor Kalena Bovell leading music by Smetana, Frank, and Respighi, with Solomiya Ivakhiv as soloist in Mozart’s third violin concerto.

Review: The Bushnell, “SUFFS”

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT

https://bushnell.org

through February 1, 2026

by Jarice Hanson 

SUFFS at the Bushnell has an outstanding cast of 17 women playing a variety of roles that tell the 100 year old history of women’s suffrage, from Carrie Chapman Catt, the successor to Susan B. Anthony, to the younger Alice Paul’s efforts to create the National Woman’s Party and the attempt to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, (yet to be codified).    
 
The show is a musical history lesson so comparison to the more successful Hamilton is inevitable. The names of these pioneering suffragists should be better known.  For that reason, it’s easy to overlook some of the weaknesses in the script—particularly with regard to historical accuracy.  However, SUFFS is highly entertaining and the cast and musicianship of the orchestra more than make up for the weaknesses in the narrative.   
 
There is not a weak singer in the cast, but some of the actresses who take this touring cast to Broadway level include Marya Grandy as Carrie Chapman Catt; Maya Keleher as Alice Paul, the primary protagonist of the story; Jenny Ashman as President Woodrow Wilson; Danyel Fulton, as Ida B. Wells; Trisha Jeffrey as Mary Church Terrell; and a surprising crowd pleaser, Livvy Marcus as the young, bookish Doris Stevens.  Marcus’ duet with Brandi Porter playing President Wilson’s aide, Dudley Malone, called “If We Were Married” at first sounded contrived, but the two singers commit to such longing and desire, the number is practically a show-stopper, and clearly a favorite for audience members.  

Photo by Joan Marcus 2025

 
The music for this show combines the efforts of a group of 4 lead musicians, supplemented with 8 local musicians who all not only produce one of the best pit bands in Bushnell history, but who, along with the efforts of Music Coordinators Kristy Norter and Julie Ferrara work seamlessly with Randy Cohen’s Electronic Music Design and with Jason Crystal’s Sound Design.  Mortensen Hall at the Bushnell is a tricky place for good sound/music quality, and this group of talented individuals came up with a masterpiece of sound.  Every word could be heard, and every instrument blended together for an exceptional background for the incredible voices on stage.
 
The production team for this touring show is of the highest caliber.  The book, music, and lyrics by Shaina Taub (who played Alice Paul on Broadway) is complemented by the very talented director Leigh Silverman. Costumes by Paul Tazewell, and lighting design by Lap Chi Chu, and the touring set, adapted by Christine Peters, used silhouettes as veritable snap shots of pictures of time in history.   
 
The lengthy Act I (an hour and a half) lays out the background for the real drama in Act II and suffers from too many similar sounding anthems, but Act II explodes with power and is very satisfying.  While not perfect, SUFFS illuminates a very important part of women’s history, and undeniably gives us hope at this time in history.

REVIEW: Playhouse on Park, “Gutenberg! The Musical!"

Playhouse on Park, West Hartford, CT 

www.playhouseonpark.org

January 21- February 8, 2026

Review by Simon Brighenti

Most people can be moved by a variety of ideas and experiences, whether it is art or inspirational historical figures or events. And even if audience members are not the movable type, they will enjoy "Gutenberg! The Musical!" 

 

For the purposes of this review, I must place quotation marks around the word “based on” when I say it is “based on” the life of the historical figure and his claim to fame, known as the printing press. As there is only the wispiest of historical records regarding the man and his machine, the subject of this production is ripe for the imagination of talented writers, lyricists, and actors to fill in the gaps.

 

This is the case with the current production at Playhouse on the Park. Written by Anthony King and Scott Brown and starring (only) Jeremiah Ginn and John Wascavage as perhaps the playwright’s alter egos, this play is as multi-layered as a German Baumkuchen. The premise could seem to be at the same time obscure, uninteresting and a setup to belabor a single joke for two hours. That is all incorrect.

Photo by Meredith Longo

 

The two talented actors, ably assisted by Miles Messier on piano, present an enthusiastic and tuneful romp that is deeper than one might think. If I were wearing a hat, I would have to take it off to Director Sasha Bratt for pulling off such an enjoyable work with few props and only the sparest suggestion of a set.

 

Ginn and Wascavage set the scene as two playwrights, perhaps overly optimistic and idealistic, explaining their idea for a play based upon the 15th century German wine presser who helped the world make a leap of Biblical proportions from illiteracy to having access to the written word. Their dearest dream is getting their oeuvre to Broadway.

 

Themes of who gets to control the means of communication of ideas, antisemitism, maternal disappointment with filial life choices, and (of course) unrequited love all get incorporated in an entertaining and at times comical manner. The clever conceit -approaching at times a meta commentary -of the two actors serving to some extent as a Greek chorus to each other and explaining various aspects of the playwriting process as they embody a raft of characters, works exceedingly well. It is rare to find performers who are equally adept at riding the line between too broad and appropriately winking comedy while also having the chops to sing the delightful tunes splendidly. Playhouse has done this with Wascavage and Ginn -- definitely a play meant to impress and successful at doing so.

Review: Springfield Symphony Orchestre, "Let's Groove Tonight..."

Symphony Hall, Springfield, MA

www.springfieldsymphonyorchestra.org 

through January 17, 2026

by Paul Jenney

Springfield Symphony Orchestra presented "Let’s Groove Tonight – Motown and the Philly Sound" -- a joyful and stylish celebration of funk and soul. The orchestra delivered a performance that was infectious and brought the beat, and the house down several times.

Conductor William Waldrop began with a driven rendition of TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) before the guest singers, Cherise Coaches, Brik Liam and Jeremy Keith, came on stage to start the party with “Let’s Groove". And the audience did. This was Keith's debut with the act, and he brought his “A” game and never stopped. Coaches' soaring vocals were stellar and Liam's baritone became the vocal bass for the others to perform on.

Providing warmth and sheen, the strings echoed the lush arrangements that made Philadelphia International Records famous, while the brass and percussion brought punch and swagger to the Motown classics.

 

Particularly impressive was the thundering sax that punctuated several songs, and a driving trumpet on others. The orchestra’s versatility shined as the program shifted seamlessly between the driving backbeat of funk and the smoother, orchestrally rich textures of Philly soul.

What stood out most was the sense of fun and connection in Symphony Hall. Waldrop and the singers clearly understood how to engage both musicians and audience. The crowd responded accordingly, with audible enthusiasm and a palpable sense of nostalgia for the 70's. Many danced in the aisles and even hopped aboard the O’Jay’s “Love Train” that wound round the perimeter.

"Let’s Groove Tonight" showcased the SSO's versatility and its willingness to meet audiences where they are, while maintaining high musical standards. The program honored the legacy of Motown and the Philly sound on MLK’s birthday weekend.

Review: Majestic Theater, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”

Majestic Theater, West Springfield, MA

www.majestictheater.com

through February 15, 2026

by Shera Cohen

This season’s Majestic Theater offerings commonly bookend its schedule with musicals, and 2025/26 continues that tradition. Sweet, homespun, and slice of life topics take place in slots #2 and #4. Smack in the middle, at #3, is the comedy – not just any comedy, but a raucous story that makes little sense; and the audiences goes along for the ride.

“The Hound of the Baskervilles,” based on an Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes’ classic is, in no way a mystery taut with tension and strewn with clues. The story and execution are all for laughs. There’s no need to be familiar with Holmes, Moriarty, et al. In fact, the actors inform the theatre patrons who they portray in the course of the play.  To some degree, “Hound” is a play within a play. In fact, the top of Act II repeats the entirety of Act I. But further information would be a spoiler.

Of the three-actor cast, two portray numerous characters each. Simple props distinguish one role from another. Some of the lines give the character permission to comment on his own cheap prop; pretty much everything but a rubber chicken.

Photo by Kait Rankin

For the most part, Gina Kaufmann directs her triumvirate of actors as would be expected, although a bit too slowly especially at the start. One of the important points in any story is to immediately grab the audience. Whether the fault lies in the speed (or lack thereof) or feigned suspense (bordering on boring), actor Jack Grigoli’s Sir Henry (Holmes’ client) has the potential to create a caricature, not necessarily to advance the plot, but if for no other reason than to get laughs.

Abuzar Farrukh, as Holmes and others – male and female – probably has more stage time than his co-stars. He makes each role funny. Costume designer Dawn McKay dresses Farrukh up in bizarre garb; which adds to the comedy. Tom Dahl, as Dr. Watson/Holmes’ BFF, deserves high praise. While he only needs to portray the same character throughout, and doesn’t require quick changes in clothing, accents, and/or demeanor, Dahl is the understudy for actor Jay Sefton. Never underestimate the skills of any actor when the going gets tough. Dahl became Watson without missing a beat.

Ryan Hickey and Daniel David Rist, on sound and lighting respectively, 

are a fine backstage duo who spice up “Hound” just enough for a macabre environment although keeping the humor paramount.