The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
New shows coming, tickets available
TORRINGTON — The Warner Theatre has added more performances to its seasonal lineup of shows. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Warner Box Office at 860-489-7180 or online at www.warnertheatre.org
The Torrington Symphony Orchestra
The Torrington Symphony Orchestra presents “A Holiday Celebration” concert on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Warner’s Nancy Marine Studio Theatre. Under the direction of conductor Maurice Steinberg, the concert will feature the Hallelujah Chorus, other holiday favorites and light classics!
The Torrington Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1961 and has been an active part of the musical community ever since. The 45-plus Torrington Symphony amateur and professional musicians are drawn from 25 Connecticut towns, New York and Massachusetts. General admission tickets are $22. Children 12 and under are free.
“The Game’s Afoot”
The Warner Stage Company will present the murderously funny thriller – “The Game’s Afoot (or Holmes For The Holidays)” – in the Warner’s Nancy Marine Studio Theatre, Dec. 9-17. The danger and hilarity are non-stop in this glittering whodunit set in William Gillette’s Connecticut castle which won the 2012 Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Play.
It is December 1936 and Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his leading role in the play Sherlock Holmes, has invited his fellow cast members to his Connecticut castle for a weekend of revelry. But when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the festivities in this isolated house or tricks and mirrors quickly turn dangerous. Then it is up to Gillette himself, as he assumes the persona of his beloved Holmes, to track down the killer before the next victim appears.
The Warner Stage Company production is directed by Joe Guttadauro and features Lydia Babbitt, Daniel Dressel, Ashley McLeod, Lana Peck, Cathy Quirk, Randy Ronco, Thursday Savage and Mike Zizka. Performances are Dec. 9, 15 and 16 at 8 p.m., and Dec. 10 and 17 at 2 p.m.
“The Opera House”
The Warner Theatre will show “The Opera House” in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 12:55 p.m. The event is a fundraiser to benefit opera programming at the Warner. Admission is $25. A one-hour post-opera dessert and wine reception will be offered in the Studio Lobby for $15.
This is a new film by multiple Emmy Award–winning documentary filmmaker Susan Froemke, which surveys a remarkable period of the Metropolitan Opera’s rich history and a time of great change for New York. Drawing on rarely seen archival footage, stills, and recent interviews, the film chronicles the creation of the Met’s storied home of the last 50 years, against the backdrop of the artists, architects, and politicians who shaped the cultural life of New York City in the ’50s and ’60s.
Amongst the notable figures in the film are famed soprano Leontyne Price, who opened the new Met in 1966 in Samuel Barber’s Anthony and Cleopatra; Rudolf Bing, the Met’s imperious General Manager, who engineered the move from the old house to the new one; Robert Moses, the unstoppable city planner who bulldozed an entire neighborhood to make room for Lincoln Center; and Wallace Harrison, whose quest for architectural glory was never fully realized.
“Once”
The Warner Stage Company will present ONCE on the Warner Theatre Main Stage Feb. 3-11, sponsored by Thomaston Savings Bank. Follow the story of a guy who gave up on love and music, and the girl who inspired him to dream again.
The musical is the only show to have music that won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Olivier Award and a Tony Award. On the streets of Dublin, an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant are drawn together by their shared love of music. Over the course of one fateful week, an unexpected friendship and collaboration quickly evolves into a powerful but complicated love story, underscored by emotionally charged music.
Featuring all of the magical songs from the critically acclaimed film, including the Oscar-winning “Falling Slowly,” this achingly beautiful, joyously uplifting show strikes an unforgettable chord in audiences and speaks to the power of music to connect us all. A show like this only comes around “Once.”
Contains adult language. The Warner Stage Company production is directed and choreographed by Sharon A. Wilcox and music directed by Dan Ringuette. Performances are Feb. 3, 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 4 at 11 at 2 p.m.
Scotty McCreery
The Warner Theatre will welcome country music star Scotty McCreery to the Main Stage on Thursday, March 15 at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m.
McCreery is rising up the charts with his smash hit song, “Five More Minutes,” which has already earned 30 million streams and sold 100,000 downloads. He made history in 2011 as both the first country artist and the youngest male artist of any genre to debut his first studio album, the Platinum-certified Clear as Day, at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 album chart. He has gone on to see all three of his albums debut at No. 1 on a Billboard album chart, with current combined sales nearing 3 million copies. He’s earned one Gold single and three Platinum singles and achieved two Top Ten hits with “Feelin’ It” and “See You Tonight.” The latter song earned McCreery both his first BMI Award for writing one of the Top 50 Country Songs of 2015 and his first Music Row No. 1 Challenge Coin. He won the 10th season of “American Idol” in 2011; was named the ACM New Artist of the Year Award in 2011; won the CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year (“The Trouble with Girls”) in 2012; and American Country Awards for new Artist of the Year in 2011 and Breakthrough Artist of the Year in 2013. In 2016, McCreery released his first book, Go Big or Go Home: The Journey Toward the Dream, and won the Rare Country Grand Ole Opry Moment of the Year Award for his live performance of “Five More Minutes.” He recently finished recording his new album which will be released in Spring 2018 on Triple Tigers Records / Sony Music Entertainment. Learn more at www.ScottyMcCreery.com.
The Capitol Steps
The Capitol Steps return to the Warner Theatre on Saturday, April 21 at 8 p.m. with their new show, “Orange Is The New Barack.” New faces from the Trump White House and Mar-A-Lago join old faces from the Obama years to bring their musical political satire to Torrington.
The Capitol Steps have been a national institution for over 35 years, providing a unique blend of musical and political comedy and satire to audiences coast-to-coast. Each show consists of tasteful lampooning guaranteed to leave both sides of the political spectrum laughing. The troupe started in 1981 and since then, they have appeared on The Today Show, Nightline, CBS Evening News and for many years in specials for NPR.