Staples Players has earned well-deserved praise, for launching the careers of many young actors.
But Music Theatre of Connecticut plays an important “role,” too. It’s based now just over the border in Norwalk. But its Westport roots run deep.
“06880” culture correspondent Robin Moyer Chung reports on the award-winning non-profit professional company.
Music Theatre of Connecticut was co-founded by Kevin Connors (now executive director) and Jim Schilling (the current managing director).
Since 1987 they’ve produced and directed — and sometimes starred in — a swirl of plays and musicals for every conceivable audience.
That’s in addition to running a popular conservatory, for children and adults on the side. Classes — for those as young as kindergarten — cover acting (including TV and film), musical theater, improv, dance and voice. There is a special “college prep” program too.
MTC offers a variety of classes for young actors.
MTC began at Fairfield’s Andrew Warde High School nearly 40 years ago. Their first play, “Ebenezer!,” was “a twist on ‘A Christmas Carol,’” Kevin says. “It has an Ivan Boesky character” — appropriate for the time.
They soon built a sliver of a theater in the lower level of Westport’s Colonial Green. With seating for only 47, the space felt intimate to both performers and playgoers. That immediacy has been an MTC hallmark ever since.
Kevin Connors
On that tiny stage Connors and Schilling re-imagined shows of all sizes — even large ones — while reducing casts to 14 at most.
They produced shows like “Evita” and “Ragtime” with dexterity and confidence, and one of the best productions of “The Fantasticks” I’ve ever seen (Schilling was excellent as the eccentric Mortimer).
Audience could purchase beer or wine, and drink during performances (they still do). This was thrilling, at a time when Broadway theaters prohibited pretty much everything but breath mints and epi-pens.
Soon MTC was “exploding” out of their beloved micro-theatre. The founders searched for larger spaces.
After 13 years they found their current spot: a former kitchen cabinet warehouse at 509 Westport Avenue in Norwalk. They built a black box theater. Just about the only drawback: It’s a bit tricky to find.
In this space, Connors and Schilling have nurtured talent like composer Justin Paul (“he could never walk by a piano without playing it”). They cast Broadway veterans such as Adam Pascal and Joanna Gleason, and developed both new shows and standard favorites.
They expanded seating to 110 seats, due to growing demand. But they’ve maintained their signature cozy, personal theater experience.
MTC works with A Better Chance of Westport students, and developmentally challenged adults through STAR. Children from the Norwalk Housing Authority are invited to 2 annual 8-week workshops. They stage shows for their parents, in a partnership funded by corporations and the state of Connecticut.
Today, Connors and Schilling are expanding again, creating a shared space for audiences. They purchased empty ballet studios next door. The lobby is now a gathering spot for play-goers to sip cocktails, enjoy snacks, and mingle.
MTC lobby.
They’re also tearing down walls; adding an 80-seat cabaret, rehearsal studios and additional dressing rooms, and making empty spaces available to dance companies such as Dance Collective.
“I’m really hell-bent on this — anything we can do to form a community for our donors, our subscribers, with other organizations,” Connors says. “So much of what we do is about community.”
And — first in Westport, now Norwalk — that community has been nurtured, ever since Ivan Boesky was a household name, and Justin Paul wunknown.
Upcoming mainstage productions include “The Irish and How They Got That Way,” by Frank McCourty (March 6-22), and “9 to 5: The Musical,” with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton” (April 17-May 3). Click here for more information, and tickets. Click here, then scroll down for directions.
Scenes from a few of MTC’s mainstage productions.
(“06880” regularly covers Westport’s arts scene. If you enjoy stories like this, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Well deserved success and well earned accolades to Jimmy and Kevin. They have taught so many young people over the years — our daughter and son among them — not only theater, but also self-confidence, an essential ingredient for being on stage. Best wishes for continued success to them and to MTC.
I love MTC! Broadway-quality shows, intimate theater, and reasonable cost right in our own backyard.