New London (May 16, 2023) – Building on the success of last year’s collaboration, two of Connecticut’s major nonprofit arts organizations, the Garde Arts Center and Goodspeed Musicals, are once again joining forces to present a free regional event on Wednesday, June 21, at 7:30 p.m., at the Garde Arts Center in downtown New London. This one-night-only event is based on the Judy Garland – Gene Kelly movie Summer Stock. It includes a screening of the popular film and a lively presentation by Goodspeed’s creative team, which is launching a new musical based on the film.
The classic movie will be shown on the giant screen of the Garde movie palace 73 years after it played at the Garde when it was released in 1950. The movie is about New England farmer Jane Falbury (Judy Garland) who, as a favor to her actress sister Abigail, allows a group of actors to use her barn as a theater for their play. In return, the cast and crew have to help her with the farm chores. During rehearsals, Jane finds herself falling for the show’s director, Joe Ross (Gene Kelly), who also happens to be engaged to the show’s leading lady– Abigail.
The special pre-show event will include a discussion with Goodspeed Musicals’ producer and members of the creative team behind their new musical Summer Stock. A cast member from the musical will treat audiences to a song from the musical, which will have its world premiere at the Goodspeed on Friday, July 7, and run through Sunday, Aug. 27. The Goodspeed musical features a book by Cheri Steinkellner, which is adapted from the MGM/Warner Bros. film Summer Stock by George Wells & Sy Gromberg. It is directed and choreographed by Donna Feore with music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations by Doug Besterman; and music direction by Adam Souza.
The Garde and Goodspeed Opera House are both nationally recognized historic theaters. Most recently, the Garde was awarded the Outstanding Historic Theater of 2022 by the League of Historic American Theaters, an organization whose founders include the Goodspeed Opera House.
“The Goodspeed and the Garde are thrilled to share this classic film that premiered on the Garde screen 73 years ago in support of the Goodspeed’s premiere of their new stage musical,” said Garde executive director Steve Sigel.
“lt will be wonderful to work with the Garde again, and I am excited to give the audience an inside look at creating the world premiere of a musical that all ages will enjoy,” said Donna Lynn Hilton, Goodspeed’s Artistic Director.
This free to the public special event is made possible by the generous support of the Garde Arts Center and Goodspeed donors with special sponsorship by: The Superior Group, Mariani Reck Lane LLC and Centerbrook Architects & Planners. Reserve your free tickets today at https://gardearts.org/events/summer-stock/
ABOUT THE GARDE ARTS CENTER
The Garde Arts Center, founded in 1985, is Southeastern Connecticut’s nonprofit home for the performing arts, cinema, and education. Its diverse presenting program includes touring Broadway musicals, dance, opera, symphony orchestra, contemporary music, variety acts, school time performances, film, and civic events.
In 2022, the Garde singly received the Outstanding Historic Theater in America award by the League of Historic American Theaters.
Located in the heart of downtown New London, the Garde Arts Center saved, restored, and now operates the historic 1425-seat Moroccan-designed Garde Theater, built in 1926 as a movie place and vaudeville theater. The Garde owns a city block of adjacent buildings which include the 100-seat Oasis Room, the Garde, Mercer, and Meridian Buildings, and a cottage that houses the Title IX Bookstore. Learn more at https://gardearts.org/
ABOUT GOODSPEED MUSICALS
Goodspeed Musicals has achieved international acclaim and is the first theatre in the nation to receive two Tony Awards for outstanding achievement in musical theatre. Under the leadership of Donna Lynn Hilton, Artistic Director and David B. Byrd, Managing Director, Goodspeed Musicals is dedicated to the celebration, development and advancement of musical theatre. Goodspeed creates powerful, world-class productions of enlightening new and established works to delight, inspire and challenge audiences on its two stages – The Goodspeed in East Haddam, Conn., and The Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn. From Goodspeed, 21 musicals have gone to Broadway (including Man of La Mancha, Annie, Shenandoah and Holiday Inn) and 85 new musicals have been launched. Goodspeed’s Festival of New Musicals, GoodWorks commissioning program and the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Grove at Goodspeed are distinguished cornerstones of the organization that highlight its commitment to nurture creators and the creative process. Goodspeed also maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre. The organization is supported in part by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts; CT Humanities; The Hoffman Auto Group; The Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; The Shubert Foundation; and WSHU Public Radio. Additional support is provided by Sennheiser, the official audio sponsor; and United Airlines, the official airline of Goodspeed Musicals. For more information, visit www.goodspeed.org.
