Theater Review: “Christmas in Connecticut A New Musical” at Goodspeed

Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam is the place to catch the world premiere of “Christmas in Connecticut A New Musical.”

Getting this musical to Goodspeed began right after the theater produced “Holiday Inn” in 2014. Early in 2021, Artistic Director Donna Lynn Hilton took a call from Broadway Licensing and learned that they were involved with an adaptation of the lighthearted Barbara Stanwyck film. Hilton believed that it would have been a “personal failure” if the new show did not premiere at Goodspeed.

The book for the musical version was written by Patrick Pacheco and Erik Forrest Jackson, with new music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Amanda Yesnowitz.

The story is that a food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas. The premise was taken from the 1945 American Christmas romantic comedy film about an unmarried city magazine writer who pretends to be a farm wife and mother and then falls in love with that returning war hero.

The book writers mark the move to the mythical farm in the Nutmeg State at the point when the story’s “screwball hijinks shift into giddy high gear.” For their adaptation, the duo embraced the character of Liz Lane as “a force of nature ahead of her time” and noted some contemporary resonances (such as the perils of invented personas, as in social media.) They have added two new characters, a hunky socialist farmhand and a fact-checker who aspires to be a gumshoe, to present more challenges as Liz endures her “rural trial by fire.”

The diverse cast do well with the material, a mix of holiday themes with blackmail and fraud. This plot seemed to be quite different from the one in the film, at least in many details. Although I have not seen the original film, I suspect that this updated version was intended to appeal to contemporary audiences.

The Barbara Stanwyck role, Elizabeth Sandor (who writes under the name Liz Lane,) is played by Equity actor Audrey Cardwell in her Goodspeed debut; Cardwell made her Broadway debut this year in the ensemble of “The Music Man,” understudying the role of Marian Paroo. Her character says of her profession that “words are my currency.”

Raymond J. Lee makes his Goodspeed debut in the role of Liz’s “star” editor, Dudley Beecham. Lee was most recently in the company of “Aladdin” on Broadway. Equity’s James Judy is a delight in the role of Felix Bassernak, the Hungarian chef and "honorary uncle" of Liz Lane.

Melvin Tunstall III plays publisher Alexander Yardley in his Goodspeed debut, taking over the role from actor Ed Dixon.

Equity member Josh Breckenridge (“Come From Away” on Broadway) makes his Goodspeed debut as the handsome war hero named Jefferson Jones.
Matthew Curiano is Gonzalez, Brendan McGrady plays Burke, and Dennis O’Bannon replaces Tunstall to play Sinkowitz.

Equity actress Rashidra Scott, who is part of “Helpsters” on Apple TV, plays the role of Grace Higgenbottom, Yardley’s assistant. The character becomes a fact checker in the second act (“Something’s Fishy”) and I am old enough to appreciate her references to the literary teen-aged sleuth Nancy Drew.

Rachel Lyn Fobbs portrays the nurse Mary Lee, Equity New York-based actress Tina Stafford plays the comedic role of housekeeper Norah O’Connor (wrapping her fingers in red stings to remind her of the lies she must keep straight) and Julie Kavanagh is Rosa. Emily Larger is Colleen.

Equity actor Matt Bogart, who has acted at Long Wharf and Goodspeed, plays Dudley’s brother, the farmer Victor. Matthew Curiano portrays an Italian character, Mario De Luca.

That the opening musical number is titled “Tomorrow’s Woman” should give us a clue that there has been an attempt to update the source material. The Big Band sound of “Recipe for Success,” that features a full-length fur coat, is a step back, and I wondered why the silly “Catch the Ornament” that closes the first act was even included. “Morning Chores” follows Liz trying to appear as a farmer before she reveals that everything on the Connecticut farm has been a sham.

Adam Souza is the music director and leads the musicians in the pit from behind keyboard 1, playing the orchestrations by Kim Scharnberg. Souza and Adam J. Rineer are credited with additional arrangements and incidental music. Marjorie Failoni choreographed the dancing and Amy Anders Corcoran directed the world premiere.

The scenic design by Lawrence E. Moten III travels from New York City to a farmhouse in Connecticut in the early 1940s. Costume design by Herin Kaputkin is true to the time period with very good hair, wig and makeup design by Jason P. Hayes. Lighting by Rui Rita illuminates the stage (even when a snowstorm causes the electricity to go out.) Sound design by Jay Hilton allows the singers to be easily heard, even above the score.

Despite the changes made to the story, it remains very frothy. Other than a few bad words, this would be a good show for families, although the old-fashioned tone would probably appeal to those old enough to remember the source material.

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.