34th Season of Shows at Kweskin Theatre

Planning a theatrical season can be similar to a bride planning her wedding day by following the old adage "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." At least that's how Curtain Call's executive director, Lou Ursone, explains it as the busy theatre company launches its 34th season. (The season marks Ursone’s 25th with the Stamford theatre company.)

"From July 2024 through June 2025, we will have had 13 full-scale, diverse productions spanning 41 weekends of programming, so I hope we have at least one show for every theatre-going taste," Ursone said. "But hopefully, people will come for more than just one," he added. Musicals, comedies and dramas, mixed in with special events, comedy nights and concerts make up the programming at Curtain Call's Sterling Farms Theatre Complex home.

The nonprofit theatre company's season kicks off with "something new" – the Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of the 1982 hit movie, TOOTSIE, playing in The Kweskin Theatre, September 13 through October 5. The New York Times wrote, “Comedy rarely flows as smoothly as it does here. The secret is more than the book; it’s the songs.” Some of the lyrics in TOOTSIE could be considered “blue” so the show is not recommended for younger audiences.

Following and overlapping with TOOTSIE, will be a classic mystery from the mistress of murder, Agatha Christie: AND THEN THERE WERE NONE will play in the Dressing Room Theatre September 19 through October 12. “The Christie plays have sold out and been extended each of the past three seasons, so booking early is suggested,” Ursone noted.

The remainder of the season includes three other musicals appearing in Stamford for the first time: Mel Brooks’ comedy masterpiece, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL and MYSTIC PIZZA. The Cole Porter classic, ANYTHING GOES completes the Kweskin Theatre season.

Returning to the Dressing Room Theatre is Stamford’s most-produced romantic comedy, MULBERRY STREET! Since 1939, Stamford audiences have enjoyed the fun and poignancy of seeing the old and new generations of Italians living on New York’s Mulberry Street in the late 1930s. (Another show that Ursone warns will likely sell out fast.) The 1939 production included not only Ursone's father and great uncle, but the father of former Stamford Mayor, Michael Pavia.

The Dressing Room Theatre will also host the return of another musical comedy that played there in 2001 and 2002: THE THREE SCROOGES! This comic romp tells the Dickens classic holiday story as only The Three Stooges could.

Two other shows in the Dressing Room Theatre are also returning favorites: STEEL MAGNOLIAS and A FEW GOOD MEN. STEEL MAGNOLIAS is set in Truvy's beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where all the ladies who are "anybody" come to have their hair done and are truly touching, funny and marvelously amiable company in good times and bad. A FEW GOOD MEN is Aaron Sorkin’s groundbreaking play that tells the story of a group of military lawyers assigned to defend two Marines in Guantanamo Bay. During the course of the trial, they uncover a high-level conspiracy designed to eliminate weaker soldiers in the name of patriotism

Bringing something new to the stage is something Ursone strives for each season. This year he brings A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN – a serious comedy about sex, drugs and rocking chairs. Written by Ridgefield, CT native, Paul Stroili, JUKEBOX premiered last summer in Chicago, winning the 2023 WILDE AWARD AS BEST PLAY!

“With no particular thought about this up front, almost every show on tap this season has been seen on film as well…but nothing beats live theatre,” Ursone noted.

Also on tap are a few very special events with Broadway performers sharing their talents in October and May…full details to be announced soon. On Saturday, October 19, a 10-piece band will be back on stage in the Kweskin Theatre for MACK IS BACK; The Music of Bobby Darin starring Chaz Esposito. (A similar event – LEGENDS OF THE 60s - with Esposito in May 2024 sold out quickly.)

Curtain Call is the non-profit community-based theatre company that has been in residence at The Sterling Farms Theatre Complex, 1349 Newfield Avenue, Stamford, for 32years. Year-round productions and educational workshops for all ages are presented by and for area residents in The Kweskin Theatre and The Dressing Room Theatre. Tickets for all performances are on sale now as are discounted Flex Passes which offer discounts of 25% or more off regular adult prices. The Box Office may be reached at 203-461-6358 or online at www.curtaincallinc.com.

Curtain Call was voted Fairfield County's BEST LOCAL THEATRE GROUP ten years running in the Annual Readers' Poll of the Fairfield County Weekly and has received similar BEST OF awards from Stamford Magazine and StamfordPlus magazine for 2008 through 2023. Curtain Call received The Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2011 and the ACE Award for Excellence in Arts & Culture from the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County in 2016. All shows are produced in cooperation with The City of Stamford with support from the CT Office of the Arts.

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