Rob Ruggiero News

TheaterWorks Hartford will present the New England Premiere of Queen of Basel by Hilary Bettis. Featuring an all Latinx cast and creative team, Queen of Basel runs February 3–26, 2023 at TheaterWorks Hartford’s historic home.

Letters From Home manifests the deep connection between father and daughter.  Part of Kalean Ung is awakened when she discovers letters written to her father, Chinary Ung, from their relatives during the Cambodian Genocide. As she digs into the letters, she discovers more and more about  the process of intergenerational healing, incorporating her history as an actor with her newly learned lineage. Both devastating and humorous, Letters From Home reminds audiences that life is painful and lucky all at once. Through mystery, myth, and unbreakable bonds, Kalean is transformed by this poignant and personal journey. 

Letters from Home premiers on the East Coast this January exclusively at MRT. Far from his native Cambodia, Chinary Ung studies music on scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music and later, Columbia University.

TheaterWorks Hartford, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero and Board President Dina Plapler announced the recent election of board directors Fernando Ferro, Christopher Hayes, Stephanie Johnson and Christopher White.

There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor. Those words from Charles Dickens ring as true today as when they were written. Dickens' A Christmas Carol will be presented by the Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) for all audiences.

After 28 Seasons Julianne Boyd, co-founder and Artistic Director at Barrington Stage Company, passed a brightly burning torch and retired at the end of the 2022 season. Marc Savitt, sat down with Boyd to gather some information and insight into Boyd, her experiences, and her undeniable impact on the state of the arts in the region.

What did our critic think of FUN HOME at TheaterWorks Hartford? The musical FUN HOME, based on Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir ('a family tragicomic') won five Tony Awards in 2015, including Best Musical. And Jeanine Tesori (music) and Lisa Kron (book and lyrics) made history by being the first female duo to win a Tony. Oh, and by the way, the musical was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Something wicked this way comes. Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) will present a unique take on William Shakespeare's Macbeth: the sinister tale will be told in its entirety through the eyes of the play's three powerful witches, directed by Rosa Joshi, from October 16 through November 6, according to Nancy L. Donahue Artistic Director Courtney Sale and Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) will open its 43rd Season with the hilarious whodunit, The 39 Steps – a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's juicy spy flick with a dash of vintage Monty Python – from September 14 to October 2, according to Nancy L. Donahue Artistic Director Courtney Sale and Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas. 

TheaterWorks Hartford will open its 2022-2023 season with Fun Home. The cast for Fun Home includes Broadway veterans Aaron Lazar as Bruce, Christiane Noll as Helen, and Sarah Beth Pfeifer.

TheaterWorks Hartford, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero, has announced details for its upcoming 2022–2023 season which is filled with great music, captivating stories, and world-class writing.

Featuring a picture frame with perfect timing and a judgmental Alexa, Secondo is a heartwarming and clever comedy not to be missed.

With an eye to the future, MRT announced today five new commissioned playwrights: Vichet Chum, Kevin Kling, Melinda Lopez, Dael Orlandersmith, and Kalean Ung.

TheaterWorks Hartford presents the World Premiere of SECONDO the sequel to our beloved hit show, I LOVED, I LOST, I MADE SPAGHETTI by Jacques Lamarre based on stories by Giulia Melucci. Directed by Rob Ruggiero, the production runs JULY 29 – AUGUST 28 and marks the 10th anniversary since I LOVED, I LOST, I MADE SPAGHETTI first enamored Hartford audiences.

The Muny announced today its full cast, design and production teams for Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, July 16 – 22, 2022. 

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) announced today its 2022-23 Season – a lineup brimming with optimism and exuberance, including a world premiere adaptation of A Christmas Carol, the East Coast premiere of a Cambodian-American play, and a new initiative for young audiences, according to Nancy L. Donahue Artistic Director Courtney Sale and Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas. 

TheaterWorks Hartford, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero, is excited to announce its upcoming 2022–2023 season. Rob said 'This season, we’re focusing on plays that we hope inspire our audiences to come see LIVE theater. Great music, captivating stories, and world-class writing – these stories are uplifting, powerful … and will engage us all in important conversations. We’re particularly excited that they are written by four female playwrights representing the best and most important voices in American theater. These plays tell our stories.'

Zoey’s Perfect Wedding is a hilarious play about love and relationships with a deeper message about the pressures we endure from societal expectations. Set at the most disastrous wedding reception of all time, the title is assuredly ironic, featuring drunken speeches, an incompetent wedding planner who makes everything worse, and hi-jinx galore.

TheaterWorks Hartford presents the World Premiere of SECONDO the sequel to our beloved hit show, I LOVED, I LOST, I MADE SPAGHETTI by Jacques Lamarre based on stories by Giulia Melucci. Directed by Rob Ruggiero, the production runs JULY 29 – AUGUST 28 and marks the 10th anniversary since I LOVED, I LOST, I MADE SPAGHETTI first enamored Hartford audiences.

This free festival, running May 16–22, explores and celebrates new voices in American Theater. With workshops, a panel discussion, and talk-backs—both in-person and online—the New Work Festival strengthens TheaterWorks Hartford’s commitment to the development of important new plays.