Hartford Stage is an American

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

non-profit regional theatre company located on Church Street in downtown

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. Since its founding in 1963, Hartford Stage has won the

Regional Theatre Tony Award The Regional Theatre Tony Award is a special recognition Tony Award given annually to a regional theater company in the United States. The winner is recommended by a committee of drama critics. Background Initially presented in 1948 to Robert ...

(1989) and many Connecticut Critics Circle and other awards.

History

Founded in 1963 by Jacques Cartier, the company performed in a former supermarket until it moved to its current home at the 489-seat John W. Huntington Theatre, designed by

Robert Venturi Robert Charles Venturi Jr. (June 25, 1925 – September 18, 2018) was an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. Together with his wife and partner, Denise Scott Brown, he helped shape the way that ...

, in 1968. Jacques Cartier (1963–1968), Paul Weidner (1968–1980),

Mark Lamos Mark Lamos (born March 10, 1946) is an American theatre and opera director, producer and actor. Under his direction, Hartford Stage won the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and he has been nominated for two other Tonys. For mor ...

(1981–1998), Michael Wilson (1998–2011), Darko Tresnjak (2011–2019), and Melia Bensussen (2019–present) have served as the Stage's artistic directors. Hartford Stage has produced over 80 world and North American premieres, including the new musical ''

Anastasia Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe. Origin The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...

'', which enjoyed a two-year run on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

; '' A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,'' winner of four 2014

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...

, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical; and '' Water by the Spoonful,'' winner of the 2012

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Bacon made his featu ...

starred in the Stage's adaptation of ''

Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery film, mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes, based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "After-Dinner Story, It Had to Be Murder". Originally released ...

''. Hartford Stage gained national recognition under Lamos, who shook up the theatre's traditional repertoire with bolder contemporary dramas and spectacular productions of Shakespeare and classics such as ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

'' and ''The Greeks'', a cycle of ancient Greek dramas. Productions that ended up on Broadway included '' Marvin's Room'', '' Our Country's Good'', '' Tiny Alice'', '' Tea at Five'', '' The Carpetbagger's Children'', and '' Enchanted April''. Under artistic director Wilson, the Stage reemphasized modern American classics from

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

and

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous b ...

. Tresnjak deepened the Stage's commitment to Shakespeare and new American theatre and successfully launched musical theatre as a new programming priority. Bensussen was hired to enhance the Stage's community engagement and education initiatives and diversify its repertoire.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartford Stage Performing groups established in 1963 Regional theatre in the United States Theatre companies in Connecticut Theatres in Connecticut Tony Award winners Buildings and structures in Hartford, Connecticut Buildings and structures in Hartford County, Connecticut 1963 establishments in Connecticut Hartford, Connecticut Theatres completed in 1968 Culture of Hartford, Connecticut