Best Performing Arts March

Posted OnFebruary 15, 2019

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Best Performing Arts March: From Armonk’s Hudson Stage Co. to Tape Face, RHONY star Luann De Lesseps to the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Broadway and more.

March

Menopause The Musical, Westchester Broadway Theater, Thurs, 2/28-Sun, 3/24: check dates: It’s a short trip from #MeToo to Menopause The Musical. This hilarious musical parody set to classic tunes from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s follows four women who meet over a black lace bra at a lingerie sale. Then it’s all “you go girl;” with the hot flashes, memory lapses, night sweats, chocolate binges, meh sex and more! MTM debuted in Orlando, FL (where else?) in 2001, went to Broadway and is now resident at Harrah’s Las Vegas. Save yourself a trip and see it in Elmsford! (One Broadway Plaza, Elmsford; www.broadwaytheatre.com)

Barbara Eden and Hal Linden in A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters, Ridgefield Playhouse, Sat, 3/2: 8pm: Barbara Eden (“I Dream of Jeannie”) and Hal Linden (“Barney Miller”) star in A.R. Gurney’s bittersweet comedy about two friends have exchanged letters for over 50 years. From second grade, through college, and well into adulthood. they have spent a lifetime discussing their hopes and dreams. But after the letters are done, the question remains: Have they made the right choices or is the love of their life only a letter away? (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Editor’s Choice! John Mulaney and Pete Davidson, The Palace Stamford, Sun, 3/3: 7 & 10pm: Fresh off his sold-out comedy special Kid Gorgeous at Radio City, John Mulaney continues his hot stand-up career after six years as a writer on Saturday Night Live. Pete Davidson, a current SNL cast member joins Mulaney for a two-head comedy show. Davidson was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in 2016. (61 Atlantic Ave., Stamford; www.palacestamford.org)

Broadway! Lisa Howard, Emelin Theatre, Fri, 3/8: 8pm: A Drama Desk Award winner for her role in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Ms. Howard was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award in the musical comedy It Shoulda Been You. Her other Broadway credits include Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 9 TO 5, South Pacific and her most recent role, Tammy in Escape to Margaritaville. (153 Library Ln. Mamaroneck; www.emelin.org)

Lea DeLaria, Performing Arts Center, Sat, 3/9: 8pm: “Big Boo” on the Netflix hit Orange is the New Black, brings her live jazz and comedy show to The PAC for one night only. Her new show features hits from her latest album House Of David: delaria+bowie=jazz, and shows off not just DeLaria’ s comic genius but her spectacular vocal range. “[DeLaria] swings hard, and scats… notes in a style that suggests a no-frills Betty Carter on steroids.” The New York Times (735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase; www.artscenter.org)

RHONY Star, Luann De Lesseps: Countess & Friends, Ridgefield Playhouse, Sat, 3/9: 8pm: Fresh off earning rave reviews for her performance at NYC’s Feinstein’s 54 Below, Luann De Lesseps, an original cast member of Bravo’s hit TV show The Real Housewives of New York, brings a night of cabaret to The Playhouse. Her global dance hits include “Money Can’t Buy You Class”, “Chic C’est La Vie” and “Girl Code.” (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Young Kids! Trusty Sidekick Theatre Company: Shadow Play, Performing Arts Center, Sun, 3/10: 3pm: Follow the playful adventures of Flash and his quest to reunite with his shadow in this multimedia performance for the youngest of audiences (ages 2-5) — and the young at heart. Based in New York City, Trusty Sidekick Theater Company’s ensemble of collaborators includes artists trained in physical theatre, puppetry, music, dance, animation, and video projection. (735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase; www.artscenter.org)

A Night of Improv with The Armonk Players, Whippoorwill Hall, Wed, 3/13: 8pm: Join the Armonk Players for a night of improvisation. The Armonk Players will spontaneously create the plot, characters, and dialogue of a game, scene or story from audience suggestions. Or join the Armonk Players onstage as part of their improv troupe. All takers welcome. (North Castle Public Library, 19 Whippoorwill Rd., E., Armonk; www.armonkplayers,org)

Tape Face, Ridgefield Playhouse, Thurs, 3/14: 7pm: Sam Willis, a multi-award winning New Zealand prop comic, busker, clown and mime was a 2016 finalist on Season 11 of America’s Got Talent, Tape Face returns in a hilarious new show! Here he returns to our area with his new show. So what does he do exactly?Tape Face is a mime with noise, a stand-up comedian who doesn’t talk, who performs a drama with no acting. In 2016 he was awarded a International Achievement Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand. (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Lewis Black, The Joke’s On US Tour, Tarrytown Music Hall, Thurs, 3/14: 8pm: Grammy-winning comedian, Yale Drama School grad, Comedy Central Top 100 Stand-up of All Time, and self-proclaimed “Kind of Rant”, Lewis Black returns to Tarrytown with his new show. Black, whose angry rants about history, politics and religion often escalate into simulations of a mental breakdown, performs live on stage shows over 200 times a year. (13 Main St., Tarrytown; www.tarrytownmusichall.org)

Editor’s Choice! Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Performing Arts Center, Sat, 3/16: 8pm: Aspen’s bold vision – top global choreographers, distinctive groundbreaking repertoire, and virtuoso dancers – has fostered a jewel of a dance company that reflects the pioneering spirit of the American West. Dedicated to curating new ballets, ASFB brings a European sensibility and an American spirit to the contemporary classical genre. (735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase; www.artscenter.org)

Mystery Guest! LoHud Comedy, Schoolhouse Theatre, Fri, 3/22: 8pm: New York’s No. 1 Comedian For Hire four years running, and co-author and co-star of the feature film The Pompatus of Love, Adam Oliensis returns with his LoHud Comedy night. Joining him are Brett Truck from America’s Got Talent, Bad Boy of Jewish Comedy Dan Enfield and a mystery guest! (pictured here) (3 Owens Rd., N. Salem; www.schoolhousetheatre.org)

Blithe Spirit, Lyndhurst Mansion, Fri 3/22 & Sun, 3/24 & Sat-Sun, 3/30-31: See a play and check out the mansion. M&M Performing Arts Company presents Noel Coward’s a high-spirited comedy with a surprising supernatural turn. This much-loved classic centers on an invitation to an eccentric medium to conduct a spooky séance but the evening takes an unexpectedly ghostly turn in this lighted-hearted, endearing Broadway and West End smash hit. (635 S. Broadway, Tarrytown; www.lyndhurst.org)

The Seagull, Lyndhurst Mansion, Sat, 3/23 & Fri-Sat, 3/29-30: The Red Monkey Theater Group and M&M Performing Arts Company take on Chekhov’s masterpiece, wherein art and love, life and death, find an intersection on the grounds of a beautiful estate in the Russian countryside. Staged in the Mansion’s Grand Picture Gallery on the second floor. (635 S. Broadway, Tarrytown; www.lyndhurst.org)

Newsies, Westchester Broadway Theatre, March 28-May 26: This 1992 Disney musical with 12 original songs from the eight-time Academy Award winning composer Alan Menken (Little Shop Of Horrors, Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast, Aladdin) was a box office bust but a big hit on Broadway, earning 8 Tony-noms and two wins. The story is inspired by the real-life Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City. (One Broadway Plaza, Elmsford; www.broadwaytheatre.com)

Local! Proof, Hudson Stage Company, Whippoorwill Hall Theatre, Fri-Sun, 3/29-4/7 & Fri-Sat, 4/12-13: Armonk’s Hudson Stage Co. presents Proof, David Auburn’s mind twister about an enigmatic young woman, Catherine, her manipulative sister, their brilliant father, and an unexpected suitor. They are all pieces of the puzzle in the search for the truth behind a mysterious mathematical proof. Originally produced on Broadway in 2000, the play won the Pulitzer Prize, the Tony Award for Best Play and the Drama Desk Award. (North Castle Public Library, 19 Whippoorwill Rd. E., Armonk, www.hudsonstage.com)

5,000 Years of Civilization Reborn! Shen Yun, Palace Stamford, Fri-Sat, 3/29: 7:30pm, Sat, 3/30: 2 & 7:30pm & Sun, 3/31: 1pm: This “awe-inspiring sensation” (ABC) has drawn praise from the likes of Cate Blanchett, Donna Karan, Siegfried & Roy and Kenn Wells of the English National Ballet. The New York Times called it “5,000 years of Chinese music and dance, in one night.” With original orchestral works and graphic scenography. (61 Atlantic Ave., Stamford; www.palacestamford)

Hot Ticket Alerts for April

Dance off the Grid, Tap, Lindy, Afro and Bharatanatyam Dance, Emelin Theatre, Sat, 4/6: 8pm: The Emelin’s acclaimed DOTG series returns with critically-acclaimed tap, jazz and Lindy Hop dancer and choreographer, and 2011 Bessie Award-winner Caleb Teicher. Some of his famous works feature tap dancing to a beat box and Bach’s Goldberg Variations and swing dancing to Ella Fitzgerald. Abby Z’s, choreographer-in-residence at Princeton University, work draws on African forms. And Malini Srinivasan, a visiting lecturer at Princeton University, will perform solo Bharatanatyam dance. (153 Library Lane, Mamaroneck; www.emelin.org)

The Color of Light, Schoolhouse Theatre, Thurs-Sat, 4/3-27: 8pm & Sun, 4/7-28: 3pm: This new play about Henri Matisse, by Jesse Kornbluth, follows the relationship between Matisse and a young nursing student he hired while recuperating from intestinal cancer in the south of France in 1942. Five years later, now a nun, she asked Matisse to design a stained glass window to raise money to fix a hole in her chapel’s roof. Instead he designed and built her a new chapel, the Chapelle du Rosaire – his masterpiece. (3 Owens Rd., N. Salem; www.schoolhousetheatre.org)

David Sedaris, Stamford Palace, Threes, 4/11: 7:30pm: Join best-selling author and NPR contributor, David Sedaris for an evening featuring all-new stories. David Sedaris returns to the road following the release of his most deeply personal and darkly hilarious collection, Calypso. Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality, that vertiginous moment when your own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future. (61 Atlantic St., Stamford, CT; www.stamfordpalace.org)

Rick Thomas, Illusionist, Stamford Palace Theatre, Sat, 4/20: 8pm: Star of ‘Masters of Illusion’ and ‘The Illusionists’ on Broadway, Rick Thomas is a winner of The Academy of Magical Arts’ Magician of the Year award. He has headlined The Sydney Opera House, sold out Caesar’s Coliseum, had his own ABC special and performed over 600 shows at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. (61 Atlantic St., Stamford; www.palacestamford.org)

BODYTRAFFIC, Performing Arts Center, Thurs, 4/25: 8pm: Named “the company of the future” by The Joyce Theater Foundation, one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” and “Best of Culture” by the Los Angeles Times, the company is internationally recognized for its world class contemporary dance and distinctive choreographic voices. “BODYTRAFFIC displays sheer animal magnetism…” Irene Hsiao, San Francisco Weekly (735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase; www.artscenter.org)

In The Mood, Ridgefield Playhouse, Sun, 4/28: 4pm: Complete with the String of Pearls Orchestra and the In The Mood Singers & Dancers, this 1940s musical revue creates a nostalgic atmosphere with period costumes that transports the audience back to the 30s and 40s when Hollywood studio orchestras and choreographed dance routines took the Big Band sound to America. (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Hot Ticket Alert May!

Jay Leno, Palace Theatre Stamford, Thursday, 5/2: 8pm: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was the No 1 rated late night talk show for two decades. Known as the “hardest working man in show business”, Leno performs standup over 100 times a year and is the host of the CNBC show Jay Leno’s Garage. See him in Stamford (61 Atlantic St., Stamford; www.palacestamfrod.org)

Baby, The Armonk Players, Whippoorwill Hall, Fri, 5/10-Sun, 5/19: check times: Tom Coppola directs this 1983 musical from Sybille Pearson with music and lyrics from David Shire and Richard Maltby Jr. ( Fosse, Ain’t Misbehaving), about three couples on a university campus in their early twenties, thirties and forties that find themselves unexpectedly pregnant. The play was nominated for six Tony Awards and won two Drama Desk Awards. (North Castle Public Library, 19 Whippoorwill Rd. E., Armonk; www.armonkplayers.org)