HARTFORD, CT — Hartford's weekend leans spooky and theatrical, with "Dracula" opening at Hartford Stage, ghost tours at the Mark Twain House, Cheyenne Jackson at the Bushnell and blues bands at Black-eyed Sally's, from Thursday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 18.
This Weekend's Arts & Entertainment
- "Dracula" — Thursday, Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m. (final preview); Friday, Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m. (opening night); Saturday, Oct. 17, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 18, 2 p.m. The American premiere of Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's adaptation, directed by Jackson Gay, retells Bram Stoker's gothic tale from a new point of view; it runs through Nov. 1. Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street
- "Little Bear Ridge Road" — Thursday, Oct. 15, and Friday, Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 17, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 18, 2:30 p.m. Samuel D. Hunter's Tony-nominated play, directed by Rob Ruggiero, follows an estranged nephew and a sharp-tongued aunt forced back together in a crumbling house; it runs 100 minutes without intermission through Nov. 8. TheaterWorks Hartford, 233 Pearl Street
- Ghost Tours of the Mark Twain House — Friday, Oct. 16, and Saturday, Oct. 17, tours at 6, 7, 8 and 9 p.m. A tour of the house's haunted history, dark tales, and Victorian seance traditions; on Friday, 5:30 to 7 p.m., teaching artist Victoria Nordlund also leads a ghost story writing workshop in the house. The Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Avenue
- Fall Foliage Tour — Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. to noon. John Kehoe leads a walk through some of Cedar Hill Cemetery's more than 2,000 trees; admission is $10, free for foundation members, and reservations are recommended. Cedar Hill Cemetery, 453 Fairfield Avenue
- Cheyenne Jackson: "That Guy From That Thing" — Saturday, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m. The Grammy- and Emmy-nominated actor and singer, fresh off Broadway's "Oh, Mary!", brings an evening of story and song; tickets start at $37.50. The Bushnell, Autorino Great Hall, 166 Capitol Avenue
- "Casting By" screening, reception and Q&A — Sunday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m. The award-winning documentary is followed by a live Q&A with producer and casting director Joanna Colbert, a Trinity College graduate whose credits include "Happy Gilmore" and "Knocked Up"; a reception with food and drink comes first, and admission is $5. Cinestudio, 300 Summit Street
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This Weekend's Restaurants & Bars
- Live blues — Brad Vickers & his Vestapolitans, Friday, Oct. 16, 8 to 11 p.m.; the Brandt Taylor Band, winners of the CT Blues Society's 2026 Blues Challenge, Saturday, Oct. 17, 8 to 11 p.m. Vickers has played and recorded with Pinetop Perkins, Jimmy Rogers and Bo Diddley. Black-eyed Sally's, 350 Asylum Street
Catch "Dracula" in its opening weekend or "Little Bear Ridge Road" on Pearl Street, take a ghost tour on Farmington Avenue, hear Cheyenne Jackson at the Bushnell, and end with blues at Black-eyed Sally's.
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