Last month, I wrote about an issue at a Texas community theatre where directors and board members knowingly employed a registered sex offender for shows involving children and worse yet, kept bringing Kevin Clark Sutton back even after complaints of sexual harassment from cast members.

When this news came to light and outrage arose, it resulted in the resignation of several board members. It also resulted in the theatre adopting new policies regarding hiring employees and reporting sexual misconduct.

But the issues don’t stop there.

I want to introduce you to Lisa Finegold and Tanner Ray Wilson. Lisa and Tanner currently serve as the Dance Captain’s as well as Swings with Lisa understudying the role of Philoclea (played by Alexandra Socha) in “Head Over Heels” which features the music of the Go-Go’s on Broadway at The Hudson Theatre. Other credits for them include Lisa performing on Broadway in “Rock of Ages” and the tours of “Wicked” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and Tanner performing on Broadway in the revival of Cats and the tour of “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella”.

Last week, news broke in Redlands, CA that a high school drama teacher was arrested on suspicion of having sex with two underage students and possession of child pornography. Joel Everett Chandler Koonce was taken into custody on November 9th. While these accusations are terrible, what’s even more terrifying is that this is the third teacher accused of sexual abuse over the past five years and the number of victims coming forward is climbing.

Last month, furor erupted within the theatre department at Bowling Green State University in OH over the casting of its production of “Little Shop of Horrors”. The controversy arose when the director of the production cast three white actresses in the roles of Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon, known as the “urchins”.

Just a block off the New Haven green you’ll find EBM Vintage, a market that specializes in all sorts of antique goods from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. If you go past the typewriters and kitchen gadgets, rotary phones, books, home décor and a few racks of clothes, you’ll find a small, cozy black box theater that’s home to the New Haven Theater Company. About 40 seats are lined up in three or four rows. The stage, only raised a step off the ground, is currently split into two settings; a homey apartment complete with couch sits to the right with a dilapidated and dirty living room to the left. The New Haven Theater Company [NHTC] is gearing up for the first show of their season, “Love Song” by John Kolvenback, which will be followed by Jordan Harrison’s “Marjorie Prime” and Dale Wasserman’s “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.”

With the vast amount of Broadway productions opening this season, some are already off to strong starts while others not so much.

Women in Theatre is a new series where I will be highlighting an inspiring female identifying person within the heavily male dominated theatre industry. In a 2017 study released by the NY Times, women and minority actors/creatives obtain fewer jobs within the entertainment industry. I was fortunate to sit down for an interview with Kate Lumpkin of Kate Lumpkin Casting and learn about her remarkable journey as a casting director and why she loves what she does.

This past month, Disney unveiled the first teaser trailer for “Aladdin”, its latest remake of their animated classics set to release in Spring 2019. In addition to some glimpses of Iago flying above some epic CGI-generated landscapes, we also got to see a quick look at the Cave of Wonders and hear some pretty familiar dialogue,

“Only one may enter here,” the Cave says. “One whose worth lies far within. A diamond in the rough.”

I’m 100% sure we’re going to hear some of the more iconic lines of the original animated films in this remake. However, apparently Disney is being more than a bit stingy when it comes to paying the original writers of the animated film.

Cancer is not a subject that one would think of for centering a comedy around, though Maura Campbell's new play “Massive” takes on the daunting task of taking a serious and often somber topic and making us able to still laugh at the people on stage.

Developing new musicals often happens outside the shiny marquee lights of New York City. Recently, Chicago and Boston have played host to a number of new shows while a few theaters in Connecticut have done similar work, both recently and as far back as “Annie” and “Oklahoma.” But even further away in Alberta, Canada a new musical is taking the stage for the first time.

One of the most prestigious music programs in the country is being rocked by multiple allegations of sexual misconduct involving professors and students. Worse yet, the school’s response to these issues has been severely lacking in the eyes of its students.

Lulu the Broadway Mouse is the fantastic debut novel of stage and television actress Jenna Gavigan.  Jenna Gavigan made her Broadway debut as a teenager opposite of legend Bernadette Peters in Gypsy. You can visit her on her website. As someone who likes theatre, reading, and animals, I was so thrilled to receive a copy of Lulu for review, especially since this was such a fun book to read.

It’s been 25 years since the world of cinema and animation was changed with the premiere of “The Nightmare before Christmas”, conceived and produced by Tim Burton, with songs by Danny Elfman and originally directed in stop motion by Henry Selkirk.

It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a resident as well as The King of "HalloweenTown" who stumbles through a portal to "Christmas Town" and decides to celebrate the holiday, with some dastardly and comical consequences.  I sit down with Fairlith Harvey, director and founder of Geekenders ( a nerdlesque musical troupe based out of Vancouver, Canada)  to chat about the show.

For six nights this week, little-known and never-heard songs of Jonathan Larson were performed at Feinstein’s 54/Below, in a concert carefully curated by creative and programming director and theatre historian Jennifer Ashley Tepper.

This year, The Laramie Project is sure to be one of the most produced plays across the country. In fact, usually is regardless of what year it is. But for one director in CT, the play is all the more personal. Because while much of the world knows Matthew through this play and his story, Shannon-Courtney Denihan got to know him while they were friends in college.

Unlike other industries, getting a master’s degree isn’t necessarily a requirement for theatre professional to succeed. However, for those looking to teach or further their training, there are many strong MFA programs all over the country.

In the past we’ve done a list of who we felt were the best MFA programs out there. This year, we thought we would changing things up by highlighting programs we felt offer excellent educational opportunities that don’t get enough attention.

I would like you to meet Renée Marino. Ms. Marino can currently be seen in Pretty Woman on Broadway where she is a member of the Ensemble, the Dance Captain, and Assistant to the Choreographer. Other Broadway credits for Renée include West Side Story (Rosalia), Jersey Boys (Mary Delgado), Chaplin, and Wonderland. She has also appeared as Mary Delgado in Clint Eastwood’s Jersey Boys film.

The Guilford Performing Arts Festival (GPAF) has awarded its inaugural Guilford Foundation/Guilford Performing Arts Festival Artists’ Awards to playwright/screenwriter Susan Cinoman of Woodbridge and jazz pianist/composer Noah Baerman of Middletown. The two were chosen by festival programmers and independent judges from a field of applicants from throughout Connecticut. Each will receive a $2,500 grant toward the creation of new work.

While one could certainly argue that the 2018-19 Broadway season is off to a mixed start, there are certainly shows on the horizon that have our interest piqued.

Some of these shows sound more promising than others and some seem to be Tony contenders before they even open. Here are my picks for the 10 Most Anticipated Shows of 2018-19.