New Haven's "Broadway"
It is the first week of spring semester at the Law School, with all of the excitement and energy that this entails. The term begins, like each new term, with the anticipation of a new curriculum and the comfort of catching up with old friends. The beginning of the term is also a great time in the life of a student, before the reading piles up and the paper deadlines draw near, to go see something on the stage. After all, spring semester or not, it is January and it is cold. Isn't this the perfect time to spend an evening nestled in a cozy theater seat?
New Haven is quite possibly one of the best U.S. cities outside of New York for theater going. This week alone you can catch an adaption of Virginia Woolf's Orlando, a brilliantly funny one-man show (The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac), a drama starring Emmy and Tony Award winner, Mandy Patinkin (Compulsion), Wuthering Heights performed as part of the 42nd season of the Yale Cabaret, the musical Chicago, and the world premier of Lil's 90th, a play by Darci Picoult about love and aging.
Yale School of Drama is world renowned and its students and faculty bring an enormous amount of energy and creativity to the theater scene in New Haven. Each season, the Yale Repertory Theater (www.yalerep.org), with its close ties to the School of Drama, brings New Haven interpretations of the classics, emerging artists in experimental theater, and actors who have already achieved their fame on the stage. This week the Rep, located only a few blocks from the Law School, is showing Compulsion in the main theater and The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac on the separate stage at University Theater. Other plays in the 2009-2010 Season include a production of Henry Ibsen's drama The Master Builder, a politically charged tale of psychological warfare, Battle of Black Dogs, and a physical comedy, The Servant of Two Masters. The Yale Rep offers student discounts on tickets and play passes, which keep it an affordable way for law students to see excellent theater.
The Yale School of Drama also brings its own productions to New Haven, featuring the work of student playwrights, directors and actors. From new plays, to productions of Shakespeare and third-year director thesis projects, New Haven audiences have the opportunity to witness the talent of the School of Drama firsthand. These plays are shown in the Iseman Theater on Chapel Street and many of them are free and open to the public. To see more information about the School of Drama's 2009-2010 Season, visit their website: www.drama.yale.edu .
Finally, for new and experimental plays, Yale also has the Cabaret (www.yalecabaret.org), a small theater space where students gather to eat dinner and watch engaging, innovative theater.
Beyond Yale, New Haven is also home to the Shubert and Long Wharf Theaters. The Shubert Theater (www.capa.com/newhaven) in downtown New Haven draws audiences from throughout Southern Connecticut for its productions of shows and musicals from Chicago to Annie. Long Wharf Theater (www.longwharf.org), now in its 45th season, was started by two Yale alumni as a regional professional theater. The offerings in its 2009-2010 Season range from the hit musical, The Fantasticks, to a solo show about teaching in America's education system. This month, the Long Wharf is where you can catch the production of Lil's 90th.
New Haven may be cold in January, but in this winter month it also offers compelling theater for those students who love the stage and their classmates who get pulled along!