Good Evening Friends,

Encore! Would not be possible without the support of our generous sponsors, advertisers, auction donors, attendees, board members, volunteers and staff. We thank each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts. You are truly helping to keep live theatre alive.  

Dear Friends of the Playhouse,

I am so sorry that I cannot be with you. I am at a wedding in Louisville but I am thinking about you all and what a great event I am missing! 

Playhouse on Park is a gem. This theater makes a tremendous impact on our community and region. We are lucky to have such a dedicated group of people from staff, volunteers and actors,  that bring us such quality performances. The talent is so impressive and the broad selection of performances ensures there is something for everyone.

This theater has made me belly laugh, cry, think and appreciate the community that comes together to see these amazing shows to reflect on and celebrate the human condition. 

Live theater has had so many challenges during the pandemic years and has not fully recovered. So your support means even more now! 

Thank you for being here tonight and for all you do to support  the Playhouse on Park. 

Shari Cantor

6:00pm - 7:30pm
Open Bar

Passed / Stationary Hors D'Oeuvres

Silent Auction

Photos in the Vault

7:45pm
Welcome

8:00pm
Cash Bar

Dinner

9:00pm
Dessert

Performance

POP Star Award

Live Auction/Paddle Raise

Silent auction closes - 9pm

10:00pm - 12:00am
Dancing

Late Night Snacks

Snap Seat Photo Booth

AC Petersens

Adventure Park at Storrs

AJ Masthay

Alvarium

Arugula Bistro

Asylum Hill Congregational Church

Balance Massage & Wellness Center

Ballet Theatre Company

Barb Laurain

Bartaco & Tequilla & Chips

Berkshire Mountain Gourmet/Seven Barrels

Best Cleaners

Big Sky

BK &CO

Bloombury Hills

Boston Red Sox

Brian Doyle & Pearl Granat

Bridgewater Chocolates

Bushnell Park Conservancy

Butchers and Bakers Kitchen and Bar

Cafe Louise

California Closets

Canterbury Liquors

Capital Grille

Carbone’s Hospitality

Children's Museum & Lego

Cinepolis

Connecticut Aerial Yoga

Connecticut Science Center

CoraCora

Costanzo Clothing

Coursey & Co

CT Explored

CT Kids & Family

D&D Travel Services, LLC

Daswani Clothiers

Dave McLellan

Debbie 4 Dogs LLC

Delamar West Hartford

Denise Tovlin

Diane Zannoni

Dina Anselmi

Dina Papler

DORO

Effie's

Elevations Salon

Elite Island Resorts

Elm City Party Bike Experience

Emma Cook

Essex Steam Train

Excel Fitness

Falcetti Pianos

Falcetti School of Music

Firestone Studio

Florence Griswold Museum

Frame Dimensions

Francine and Stephan Christiansen

French Cleaners

Gail & David Mangs

Garde Arts Center

Goodspeed Musicals

Gouveia Vineyards

Grace Brandt

Great Horse

Greenwich Med Spa

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

Harriet Winograd painting

Harry’s Bishop’s Corner

Hartford Flavor Company

Hartford Stage

Hartford Symphony Orchestra

Hawk Ridge Winery

Highland Park Market

Hoffman Auto

Hope & Stetson

Imagine Float

IRIS Photography

Ivoryton Playhouse

J McLaughlin

J.Rene

Jane Comerford & Jonathan Sporn

Joanna Engel

Joey's Pizza Pie

Julianne Roth Day & Frank Day

Kathy Barnett

Kathy Frederick

Kathy Zannoni, Behold the Beauty of Art

Kiehls

Kilwins

Kim Townsend

Kimberly Boutique

Little Oak Cafe

Live by the Sun, Feel by the Moon

Lois Krause

Lutz Children’s Museum

Mandell JCC

Marilyn Holt

Mary M. Donohue, Grant House Heritage Services

Mecha Noodle Bar

Melanie & Matt Ellis

Metro Bis Restaurant

Mike Michaud

Mr Sparkle

Muscle Mechanic

New Briatin Museum

New Haven Symphony Orchestra

New Park Brewing

New York Giants & Beer & Chips

NM Beauty

Noah Webster House

Northeast Piano Movers

Override North

Park Lane Pizza

Parkville Management

Pilates at the Barn

Pond House Cafe

Portobellos

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Raimie Weber Jewelry

Real Art Ways

Renee Autorino

Riverbend Book Shop

Rob Garrey

Salute

Scotch Plains Tavern, Fred and Renee Autorino

Second Chance Shop

Shake Shack

Sharon Pope

Shop with Mika

Small State Provisions

Soskin's Hot Sauce & Severance Foods

Sparrow Pizza Bar

Springfield Symphony

Susan & Robert Miller

Tanya Penman-Sterling

Terreno

Terri Saulter

The Bushnell

The Connecticut Historical Society

The Mark Twain House

TheatreWorks Hartford

Tony Falcetti & Tracy Flater

Tony Ravosa

Total Wine

Tree Top Adventure

Valeria Caldwell Gaines

Valvoline Instant Oil Change

Veanne Cox

Veterans Memorial Ink Rink & Mecha Noodle

Victoria Anderson Advanced Aesthetics

Waypoint Spirits

Webb Deane Stevens Museum

WeHa Brewing

West Hartford Arts League

West Hartford Department of Leisure Services

Whistle Pig

White Rabbit

Wise Old Dog

From The Songwriters Hall of Fame.

John Kander, the composer half of the legendary songwriting team, Kander and Ebb that has produced Cabaret, Woman of the Year, The Act and the incomparable Chicago, was born in Kansas City, Missouri on March 18, 1927.
Kander began studying music as a child and in his early career worked as a conductor and accompanying pianist for many productions. From 1955 through 1958, Kander was choral director and conductor for the Warwick Musical Theatre in Rhode Island. He was also the pianist for The Amazing Adele and An Evening with Bea Lillie. He was the conductor for the 1957 New York revival of Conversation Piece and arranged the dance music for the productions of Gypsy (1959) and Irma la Douce (1960). Kander made his Broadway composing debut in a 1962 collaboration with James Goldman. The production, A Family Affair, was short lived but included hit songs such as “Anything For You”, “There’s a Room in My House” and “Harmony”.

In 1964, Kander was introduced to Fred Ebb, a lyricist who had experienced some minor success with novelty tunes.

The first successful Kander & Ebb collaboration was on the song "My Coloring Book," recorded by Kitty Kallen, Sandy Stewart, and Barbra Streisand. The duo's first stage musical, Golden Gate, went unrealized, but it did convince producer Harold Prince to hire them for his new Broadway show Flora, The Red Menace, a satire of Greenwich Village bohemian culture and radical politics that starred Liza Minnelli in her Tony Award-winning Broadway debut. Though not a hit, the show solidified Kander and Ebb as a team and Liza Minnelli as a star.

The next year, Prince commissioned Kander & Ebb to create the score for a musical version of I Am A Camera, which was to be produced under the name of Cabaret. In 1966, Cabaret opened, winning seven Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score of the Season Award. The original production ran for 1,166 performances, has been revived three times and produced a 1972 film version starring Liza Minnelli (a role which earned her a Best Actress Oscar Award).

1968 produced two other musicals, The Happy Time and Zorba and three years later the team produced 70, Girls, 70. In 1972, Kander & Ebb wrote a number of songs for Minnelli’s television special, Liza With a Z, which received an Emmy for Outstanding Single Program - Variety or Popular Music.

After contributing five songs, including "How Lucky Can You Get" and "Let's Hear It For Me," to the 1975 movie Funny Lady, they launched the Broadway musical Chicago, which was largely overlooked during its original run but was revived to massive success two decades later. Chicago had another incarnation in 2002, when the film version received an Oscar for Best Picture and revived the movie musical.

In 1977, Kander & Ebb collaborated with Martin Scorsese on the movie New York, New York; the title song was introduced by Minnelli, and later recorded by Frank Sinatra, and became the unofficial theme song of New York City. The Minnelli Broadway vehicle The Act also opened that year.

After a four-year absence from Broadway, Kander and Ebb returned with 1981's Woman of the Year, which starred Lauren Bacall and was based on the 1942 Katharine Hepburn movie. The Rink, which opened in 1984, starred Chita Rivera and Minnelli, with the songs "Colored Lights", "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer," and "Mrs. A." In 1985, Kander & Ebb opened Kiss of the Spider Woman and Steel Pier in 1997.

For nearly five decades, Kander and Ebb have been one of Broadway's preeminent songwriting teams, the longest-running music-and-lyrics partnership in Broadway musical history. Minnelli once said, "The greatest thing about Kander and Ebb is you sing their songs and you feel good."

Piano: Benjamin Rauch

Bass: Ben Petkaitis 

Drums: Honoka Masuyama

Guitar: Nick Cutruneo

Latanya is an ordinary woman with an ordinary life who brings an extraordinary voice to the music scene during live performances and on her debut album “Feelin’ Alright”. Uplifting melodies and powerful vocals are the hallmark of her songs about life, love and happiness. Latanya Farrell has emerged as a band leader full of energy who is uniquely gifted at engaging audiences with her bright smile and impeccable style. Blending Latanya’s original music with popular cover tunes, she performs to packed houses throughout New England. Her presence is infectious, and the energy keeps flowing throughout the entire performance with music that ranges from soulful classics to urban contemporary to her inspiring origina

Extraordinary Voice
Latanya's powerful performances are packed with people both far and near who come to hear her incredible vocals. Dubbed the “Queen of Summer Concerts” by the Hartford Courant in 2013, Latanya Farrell is a multitalented gifted singer, songwriter, and performer with genuine passion, energy, and a love for music and life.

Since winning Connecticut Star Search in 2003, Latanya has had leading musical roles which include performing “Songs in the Key of Life” at the Bushnell Theater as well as other large venues sharing the stage with amazing artists such as Wynton Marsalis and Air Supply.

Latanya has been featured on several albums including her longtime friend and world-renowned saxophonist Jimmy Greene’s Grammy Award nominated album, “A Beautiful Life”, which was dedicated to Jimmy and Nelba Márquez-Greene’s beautiful precious daughter, Ana Grace, who was tragically lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Energetic Performer
Latanya's award-winning vocal talent and style have been influenced by Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole, Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, and Jill Scott. With performance roots in her family church and community events, her career took off shortly after she was named Champion of the 2003 Connecticut Star Search competition.

POP STAR AWARD

Co-Founder/Executive Director
Tracy Flater

Co-Founder/Artistic Director
Sean Harris

Co-Founder/Artistic Director
Darlene Zoller

Company/Business Manager
Jonathan Katz

Office & Development Manager
Emma Cook

Interim Production Manager
David Addis

Assistant Technical Director & Master Electrician
Stef Carr

Director of Marketing & PR
Natalie Noack

Literary Manager
Moira O’Sullivan

Dramaturg/New Works Coordinator
Liv Fassanella

Development Associate
Jasmine Calhoun

Director of Education
Jill Zarcone

Education Coordinator
Anna Ricciuti

Education Faculty
Marie Altenor, Julie Borsotti, Christina DeCarlo, Jan Mason, Tori Mooney, Sarah Oschmann, Nick Palazzo, Anna Ricciuti, Heidi Jean Weinrich, Jill Zarcone, Darlene Zoller

Front of House Manager
Tori Mooney

Box Office Administrators
Cianna Costa, Liv Fassanella, Caraline Gartrell

Members
Paige Buade
Melanie Ellis
William Fish
Kate Houlihan
Andrew Lattimer
Gail Mangs
Susan Miller
Richard Rubenstein
Annie Scott
Rebecca Selig
Joanna Sprout
Vinod Sukhraj
Ruth Van Winkle

BOARD MEMBER EMERITUS

Matthew Bragg
Chuck Coursey, Founding VP
Bonnie Gauthier
Carol McCabe
Margaret Rattigan
Julianne Roth
Robert Rowlson*
Ron Roy
Richard Rubenstein
Robert Slifka
David Wurzer, Founding President

*Deceased

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Gaetano Albani, Renee Autorino, Jim Bergenn, Valeria Caldwell-Gaines, Mayor Shari Cantor, Stefanie Chambers, Chris Conway, Anna Crawford, Matthew Cuddy, Kyra Dorsey, Kevin Doyle, Nina Elgo, Kenneth Elligers, Earl Exum, Dan Falotico, David Figliuzzi, Gail Frahm, Tracy Frankel, Kathy Frederick, Lisa Greene, Donna Haghighat, Bob Hilborn, Calida Jones, Susan King, Andy Lieberman, Dave Macri, Charles Mallory, Gloria Mengual, Michelle Meyer, Mike Michaud, Tanya Penman-Sterling, David Polk, Sarah Raskin, Mike Rouette, Wanda Seldon, Bill Silva, Jonathan Slifka, Howard Sovronsky, Rachel Spitzig, Brittany Stephenson, Nyaunu Stevens, Yvette Young

We'll see you next year!