Sean Fallon - Page 2

This comedic musical stage adaptation of a classic children’s story has been brilliantly written and directed by Andrea Pane, who also performs in it, showing that in addition to his already well established versatile first-rate acting, he is also phenomenally gifted as a playwright and as a director.

On Saturday, December 10, at 8:00 PM, I had the pleasure of seeing one of my absolute favorite annual shows, A CHRISTMAS CAROL EXPERIENCE, as put on by Fairfield Center Stage. This annual production is easily the show that I talk up the most frequently during the year, every year. I am also excited that it has returned to the Burr Mansion, where it originally was performed, and where I feel it fits the best! Fairfield Center Stage has successfully repeated the groundbreaking excellence that I experienced for the first time back on December 22 of 2018.  This is a show I have subsequently enjoyed every year since then!

On Saturday, December 3, 2022, I had the pleasure of seeing EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD, which is easily the funniest stage comedy I have seen in the last three years!  It is yet another first-rate Christmas comedy production performed by the Castle Craig Players at the Almira F. Stephan Memorial Playhouse in Meriden, CT.  EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD is a hilarious satirical farce written by Michael Carleton, James Fitzgerald, and John K. Alvarez.  It is brilliantly directed by Bobby and Carleigh Schultz.  It stars the highly talented trio of Chris Brooks, Rick Bennett, and Bobby Schultz. 

On Saturday, October 15, 2022, I had the pleasure of seeing Neil Simon’s CALIFORNIA SUITE as performed by the Castle Craig Players at the Almira F. Stephan Memorial Playhouse in Meriden, CT. CALIFORNIA SUITE is different from a typical Neil Simon play in that rather than being one continuous story, it is four separate playlets that have three things in common: location, location, and location. Some audience members may be familiar with this concept in that it was used in A.R. Gurney’s The Dining Room. In CALIFORNIA SUITE, the location is not a dining room, but in Suite 203 & 204 in the Beverly Hills Hotel, a hotel that incidentally has lousy room service, but an entertaining cleaning staff.

On Thursday, September 8th, I had the pleasure of seeing THE EXONERATED at The Ridgefield Theater Barn, in Ridgefield, CT.  This show is amazing, based on true stories, and sends some deeply impacting messages that touch the emotions to the core, in a good way. It opens awareness in the minds of the audience, about things not always being as they seem, and people not always being who they may appear to be.

The Castle Craig Players have done it, with a first-rate cast, in Meriden, CT! On Saturday, July 30th, I had the pleasure of seeing a show that I had been looking forward to ever since it was first announced. As someone who has been a fan of the board game Clue since 1985, Clue the movie since 1986, and even Clue the VCR game, several years later, I was very excited to see CLUE, the play, as performed by the Castle Craig Players at the Almira F. Stephan Memorial Playhouse in Meriden, CT. The play is by Sandy Rustin, Hunter Foster, and Eric Price, based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn. Under the wonderful direction of Ian Galligan, the Castle Craig Players have successfully put on yet another phenomenal production that combines comedy with murder mystery!

On Saturday, July 23rd, I had the pleasure of seeing a truly first-rate production, a phenomenal performance of one of the greatest musicals ever written!  Musicals at Richter, in Danbury, continues with their legacy of providing audiences what we yearn for in live theater, the right shows with the right cast.  Rodgers and Hammerstein’s THE SOUND OF MUSIC was the perfect show to see outdoors on this lovely July night. Under the excellent direction of Jessica Smith, musical direction of Adam Snyder, and choreography of Lindsay Miller, this stellar cast truly made the hills come alive, on this new stage featuring a stunning set designed by John McMahon, complete with moveable pieces. The cast members radiate positive energy from the stage, truly entertaining the audience, and having fun playing their roles!

I was fascinated from the moment I first heard that Fairfield Center Stage was going to perform a musical called THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL, as I did not previously know that such a musical existed.  What I knew, however, is that if it is being put on by Fairfield Center Stage, it is going to be a phenomenal production!   On Friday, June 17th, I had the pleasure of experiencing Fairfield Center Stage’s continued commitment to providing excellent theater that goes that extra mile, when I saw THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL on opening night, at Fairfield Ludlowe High School in Fairfield, CT.   Director Joel Fenster, musical director Benjamin Doyle, choreographer Lindsay Johnson, artistic director Christy McIntosh-Newsom, and Executive Producer Eli Newsom all combine their talents with the rest of the crew and this stellar cast to give the audience yet another first-rate performance!

On Friday, June 3, I had the pleasure of seeing PETER AND THE STAR CATCHER at the Ridgefield Theater Barn in Ridgefield, CT.  This play with music was written by Rick Elise.  This stellar cast’s talents come alive under the first-rate team of director Katherine Ray, assistant director Rae Janeil Sutherland and choreographer Sharon Houk.   It is not a musical in the traditional sense, but the use of song is incorporated throughout, resembling a musical in certain parts.  It is obvious that these cast members are having a wonderful time up on stage, bringing positive energy that radiates throughout the audience, with excellent stage chemistry between the cast. 

On Friday, May 13th, I saw a play I was previously not familiar with.  VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE was performed by the Castle Craig Players at the Almira F. Stephan Memorial Playhouse in Meriden, CT.  This is a modern (about ten years ago) play written by controversial playwright Christopher Durang.  The genres encompassed include dark drama, dark comedy, and even a political rant.  The audience reactions throughout the show suggest that they truly enjoyed the show.  While the show certainly has comedic elements, I feel that this show can be best appreciated if audience members come to the show expecting to see what is more of a very dark and twisted drama than a comedy, as I feel that drama is the more dominant genre in this show. 

On Friday, April 22, 2022, I had the pleasure of seeing another phenomenal production at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport, CT.   I have been looking forward to SPIRIT OF THE SIXTIES since I first heard of it, and even more when I found out that it has the same stellar cast as their previous Decades in Concert production, The Sounds of the Seventies.  Robert Peterpaul, Mikayla Petrilla, Everton Ricketts, and Saige Bryan yet again showcase their collective first-rate talents as individuals and as a cohesive group, singing and dancing under the excellent direction and choreography of Jennifer Kaye, and accompanied by pre-recorded instrumentation.   Phill Hill’s clever writing shines through on this amazing selection of about fifty songs from a decade that many would regard as the greatest decade of music in music history!   It is clear that the cast is having as wonderful a time performing on stage as the audience is watching them perform!

On Saturday, April 2, at 2:30 PM, I had the pleasure of seeing BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport, CT. Directed by Andrea Pane, this tale as old as 1740 is reinterpreted by Phill Hill for a modern, young audience and features music primarily from the 1990s.

On Friday, April 1, I had the pleasure of seeing the ACT of CT’s unique adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR.  This 1971 musical that is primarily told through music with lyrics by Tim Rice has been redesigned and reinterpreted by the director, Daniel C. Levine who has incorporated elements of The Handmaid’s Tale into this adaptation. 

Every year, one of my favorite annual theater traditions is seeing the evening of one acts at the Ridgefield Theater Barn, in Ridgefield, CT.  I had the pleasure of continuing that wonderful tradition on Friday, March 18, with AN EVENING OF ONE ACTS 2022 which continues with the consistent first-rate shows and performances I have come to expect and enjoy every year.  This show contains seven one acts, mostly with a comedic tone.

On Saturday, February 12, I had the pleasure of seeing THE DIVAS at the Ridgefield Theater Barn, in Ridgefield, CT.  This story, written by Jack Neary, is a comedic series of seven different one act plays that depict the lives of fictional divas Bethel and Clarice, two middle-aged stage actresses whose dynamics with each other define the term “frenemies,” as they are constantly competing for the same roles, in auditions, yet continue to interact with each other.  Directed by Michael Ferrara and Paulette Layton, this talented cast features Nancy Sinacori as Bethel and Deborah Connelly as Clarice, both of whom truly bring their characters to life!

On Saturday, February 12, at noon, I had the pleasure of seeing yet another Phill Hill masterpiece, at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre, in Bridgeport, CT, a musical adaptation of the classic story of RAPUNZEL.  This is the story of a princess who is trapped by an enchantress, high up in a castle, waiting for her unknown male hero to rescue her.  This adaptation also contains elements of another legendary story involving a sword and a stone.   Phill Hill writes in a comedic manner that simultaneously entertains adults and children, while giving the entire cast fun roles to portray.

On Thursday, January 20, I had the pleasure of seeing a phenomenal show that I have been waiting to see for about two years!   It was well worth the wait!  The ACT of Connecticut has struck gold with NICKEL MINES, an emotionally intense musical based on the true story of an Amish school shooting, perpetrated by an outsider, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on October 2, 2006.  The use of song, interpretive dance, and dialogue are all combined to tell the story.  It is not presented in a strict linear time sequence, yet it somehow brilliantly flows together in an ideal way, parts of the story taking place in 2011.   With book by Shannon Stoeke and Andrew Palermo, and music & lyrics by Dan Dyer, this show which is also directed and choreographed by Andrew Palermo stars an extremely talented ensemble cast, backed by an amazing live band.  The depth, power, messages, and entertainment value of this production are all so strong that it is difficult to put them into words.  Not only was I highly entertained, but by God’s grace, I feel like I left the show a better person than who I was when I entered, more focused on my own need to forgive others.

On Wednesday, December 15, I had the pleasure of seeing one of my absolute favorite annual shows, A CHRISTMAS CAROL EXPERIENCE, as put on by Fairfield Center Stage.  This annual production is easily the show that I talk up the most frequently during the year, every year.  While in the past, it has been at the Burr Mansion, and was virtually performed last year, this year, it is at a new venue, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, which Fairfield Center Stage has also made perfectly fit this show!  Fairfield Center Stage has successfully repeated the groundbreaking excellence that I experienced for the first time back on December 22 of 2018, and have subsequently enjoyed every year since then! 

Two weeks before Christmas my wife and I’d go To Meriden to see a phenomenal show The Castle Craig Players have done it again At the Memorial Playhouse of Almira F. Stephan A first rate performance we highly enjoyed With Dr. Seuss characters this show has toyed

On Saturday, December 4th, at 12:00 P.M., I had the pleasure of seeing yet another Phill Hill written masterpiece, THE SANTA STORY, at Downtown Cabaret Theatre, in Bridgeport, CT.   Phill Hill has incredible writing talent in putting new spins on traditional children’s tales, while his creative genius particularly shines on shows like this that contain original storylines.  Directed by Frank Root and choreographed by Cassie Carroll, this talented cast of five performs a comedy with a family friendly vibe for the younger audience members, while simultaneously keeping an adult audience entertained through one-liners, familiar cultural references, and clean double entendres.