![]() The stage version of the film “Holiday Inn,” which includes the song, “White Christmas,” played the Goodspeed Opera House during the Christmas season in 2014. Past Christmas shows at the Goodspeed have included the stage adaptation of Muppeteer Jim Henson’s “Emmet Otter,” based on the TV special “Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas” in 2009 and the locally set “A Connecticut Christmas Carol,” which was at the Goodspeed’s Norma Terris Theatre in Chester from 2017 to 2019. It’s in the great tradition of Goodspeed Christmas shows Davis’ films in 1944 and ’45 were “Mr Skeffington,” “Hollywood Canteen” and “The Corn is Green.” She certainly couldn’t have uttered her 1949 “Beyond the Forest” catchphrase “What a dump” about the luxurious yet homespun setting of “Christmas in Connecticut.”Ī 1992 TV movie remake of “Christmas in Connecticut” not only featured the intriguing cast of Dyan Cannon, Kris Kristofferson and Tony Curtis, but Arnold Schwarzenegger directed it and made a brief cameo as “Man in Chair in Front of Media Truck.” To date, this is the only feature-length project Schwarzenegger has directed and his only directing credit besides a 1990 episode of “Tales From the Crypt.” The story was reworked to make the heroine, now named Elizabeth Blane rather than Lane, the popular host of a TV cooking show. The original starring role was intended for Bette Davisīette Davis was announced as the star of “Christmas in Connecticut” in 1944, but months later she was replaced by Stanwyck. ![]() This makes the Goodspeed musical version, staged in a theater in the bucolic town of East Haddam, the most authentically lived-in rendition of the story yet. “Christmas in Connecticut” was completely filmed on a Hollywood sound stage. “Christmas in Connecticut” was adapted for radio in 1952 and television in 1956. The musical is receiving its world premiere at the theater. James Judy, Rashidra Scott (who starred in “Anything Goes” at the Goodspeed) and Tina Stafford also play key roles in the show, plus there’s a six-person singing/dancing ensemble.Ī rehearsal for “Christmas in Connecticut” at the Goodspeed. Ed Dixon is the gullible publisher Alexander Yardley. Josh Breckinbridge (whose Broadway credits include “Come From Away” and “The Scottsboro Boys”) is the war hero Jefferson Jones whom Liz is striving to impress (and deceive). Matt Bogart (fresh from Broadway’s “Paradise Square”) plays Dudley’s brother Victor, an idealistic political agitator. Raymond Lee plays Liz’s editor Dudley Beecham, who assists in her rustic ruse. The harried columnist is now named Liz Sandor and is played by Audrey Cardwell. Jackson is the author of a range of shows, from parodies to horror musicals, as well as the children’s book series “The Muppets Meet the Classics.” Howland wrote the music for “Little Women - The Musical” and “Paradise Square.” Corcoran directed the national tour of the musical “Escape to Margaritaville” that played The Bushnell in October of 2021. ![]() ![]() It’s directed by Amy Anders Corcoran and choreographed by Marjorie Failoni. The new Goodspeed musical of “Christmas in Connecticut” has a book by Patrick Pacheco and Erik Forrest Jackson, music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Amanda Yesnowitz. The Goodspeed production is now in previews and will be open for critics’ reviews starting Dec. Elizabeth enlists friends to help her for a few days to live the life she’s only pretended to have. Among the people she fools with her tales of country living is her publisher, who arranges for her to entertain a war hero who’s also a fan. In reality, she lives in a New York apartment and can’t cook. In the movie, Stanwyck plays Elizabeth Lane, a magazine columnist who writes about her idyllic life in the Connecticut countryside, cooking and decorating in her gorgeous farmhouse home. The romance is between Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan and some of the comedy comes courtesy of Sidney Greenstreet (better known from the movies he made with Humphrey Bogart like “The Maltese Falcon” and “Casablanca”). “Christmas in Connecticut” is considered one of the top holiday romantic comedies of all time. For the final show of its 2022 season, the Goodspeed Opera House is premiering a new musical based on a beloved holiday movie, “Christmas in Connecticut.” The timing and the location couldn’t be better.
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