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Register by May 1 for our Rising Stars: Summer Musical Theatre Experience! Spend a week learning from industry professionals at the beautiful Legacy Theatre in Branford, CT. Students will work on voice, dance, acting, and more, all inside a newly res
Legacy Theatre will be livestreaming a table reading of “A Meta Murder Mystery” written by Douglas Moser on Wednesday, May 1 from 5pm - 7pm during the Great Give! Grab a beverage, watch the livestream, and donate! The more gifts Legacy
Members of the Legacy team visited the Mark Twain House and Museum the other day to do some research for our upcoming production of “Mark Twain’s The Diaries of Adam and Eve,” playing May 30-June 16. There are so many neat things to
We cannot wait to welcome @compagniatpo’s ERBA, A Forest in the City, to Legacy in collaboration with @artsideasct next week! ERBA invites us to see the art in the natural world through play and discovery. You might listen to a tree concert on
Can you believe it has already been 3 years since we opened our doors to the public down in Stony Creek? We at Legacy are thrilled to be bringing you another season of professional theatre and more from our state-of-the-art building. What’s bee
Tony-nominee, Emmy-winner, and Grammy-nominee Liz Callaway performs live at Legacy Theatre with Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-Winner John McDaniel today! Only a few single seats are left -- snag a last-minute seat by calling our box office at (203) 31

April 16, 2024

Legacy Theatre Promotes Anne Runolfsson to Development Director 
Runolfsson joined the team as Development Manager in 2022 and is excited to continue her work with the company in a new capacity.  

Legacy Theatre is thrilled to announce that Anne Runolfsson has stepped into the role of Development Director as of April 1, 2024. Runolfsson has worked professionally in the theater for the past 40 years, a career path driven by passion and a fierce belief in the importance and value of the arts. Having spent much of her career onstage with starring roles on Broadway, off-Broadway, National Tours, Regional theaters, and as a soloist with symphony orchestras all over the world, she has also produced, written, and directed for the theater. 

“Stepping into the role of Development Director for a theatre that I hold dear to my heart and have such passion for is a gift. Having spent the past 40 years working in the theatre in New York and throughout the country, I am thrilled to now focus my enthusiasm and energy on Legacy. I look forward to honoring and ensuring the mission of providing professional theatre and theatre education for all to the Connecticut Shoreline.” 

Fueled by a fervent desire to help secure funding opportunities for live theater, theater education and theater artists, Anne joined the Legacy Theatre part-time in the role of Development Manager in 2022. While serving in that position, which included the launching of the Annual Giving Society, overseeing the annual appeal (surpassing the annual fundraising goal), securing institutional giving, grant writing, major gift cultivation, donor stewardship, CRM management, and the planning and execution of all fundraising events, she realized that her passion had shifted from being onstage to one of raising money for the arts. Anne is greatly honored to serve in the role of Development Director for Legacy Theatre and would love to meet you and hear YOUR story of why the arts matter. 

“We’re thrilled to have Anne with us in her new full-time position as Legacy’s Development Director,” said Legacy Theatre Managing Director Jeff Provost. “Anne is a wonderfully authentic arts advocate and her passion for our work at the Legacy, both onstage and off, is contagious. It’s also great to have her working and living here, right within the shoreline community that we serve.” 

The Legacy Theatre is located in the village of Stony Creek in Branford, CT, at 128 Thimble Islands Road. To learn more about the Legacy Theatre 2024 season, please visit LegacyTheatreCT.org or call the Box Office at (203) 315-1901. The Legacy Theatre is committed to providing live theatre and related programming that is accessible to the widest possible audience. Full accessibility and accommodations details can be found on Legacy’s website or by calling the Box Office. 

February 15, 2024 | newhavenarts.org

Branford's Legacy Theatre Gets ARPA Boost

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PRESS RELEASE

March 30, 2023

Register Now for Legacy Theatre’s Spring Classes – Acting, Improv, Musical Theatre and more!

BRANFORD, CT – Have you ever wanted to try improv? Do you know a child interested in stepping into the spotlight? Perhaps you’re an experienced performer looking to brush up on your auditioning skills? No matter your age or skill level, Legacy Theatre has a class for you!

This Spring, join Legacy Theatre for a series of intimate performance classes for theatre lovers and theatre novices alike, beginning April 1 and running Saturdays through June 3. There is also a special Wednesday night class program that will run April 19 through May 24. Taught by theatre professionals, these classes are an exceptional opportunity to learn from the best! The class offerings include: “Toddler Time!,” “Fairy Tale Musical,” “Auditioning Class for Plays & Musicals,” “Improv for Adults,” and the Wednesday night program “Scene Study Workshop: Acting for Film and TV.”

Legacy also continues their long-running program for actors who ambulate with crutches or use wheelchairs (and their buddies!), the Wheel Life Theatre Troupe, on Saturdays April 1-June 3. This troupe is free to participants and meets weekly, with pre-registration required. Please email Keely@LegacyTheatreCT.org for more information.

Legacy’s Spring Classes are in partnership with Branford Parks and Recreation and will take place at the Joe Trapasso Community House at 46 Church Street in Branford. With classes for all ages, there truly is something for everyone. For more information and registration, please visit LegacyTheatreCT.org/classes. Please email Info@LegacyTheatreCT.org with any questions, or call (203) 315-1901.

PRESS RELEASE

March 17, 2023

Legacy Theatre and Doctors United for Ukraine Raise Over $6700 for Ukrainian Relief with Darkness to Light Event

Branford, CT – Branford’s Legacy Theatre and Yale-based non-profit Doctors United for Ukraine are pleased to announce that over $6,700 was raised for Ukrainian relief as part of their fundraiser performance, Darkness to Light: A Sharing of Poems and Songs from Ukraine, on Saturday, March 11.

Darkness to Light: A Sharing of Poems and Songs from Ukraine consisted of Ukrainian poetry (read in translation) and songs by Ukraine's leading poets. Featuring local performers—non-Ukrainian and Ukrainian— including singers Kyle Picha and Gene Stenger, pianist Victor Markiw, and readers Anne Tarpey Flanders, Richard Flanders, Marika Kuzma, Lori Lowe, Mariah Sage, and Luke Williams, it was an incredible evening of uplifting and inspiring art. Many of those in attendance had just arrived from Ukraine in the past year, and for them, hearing Ukrainian songs and poetry embraced by Americans was a very healing experience in the face of so much hardship.

Doctors United for Ukraine is a non-profit incorporation of Yale medical professionals with Ukrainian roots. Its mission is to deliver precision aid to foster the health and well-being of Ukrainian people in the face of Russia’s war and its consequences. DU4U is able to address specific needs because they are in direct contact with fellow doctors in Ukrainian hospitals. Their focus is in three vital areas: critical care, women’s and infant health, and mental health. DU4U coordinates with and pays directly to companies and providers in Ukraine and just across the border in Poland. The funds raised through Darkness to Light will be sufficient to deliver a portable ultrasound device to those on the front line, or to bring one more physician to Yale for training, both of which are high impact options. For more information on the organization, please visit dwighthall.org/doctors-united-ukraine/.

Donations are still being collected for this important cause and can be made by visiting dwighthall.org/doctors-united-ukraine/. Dwight Hall at Yale serves as a fiscal sponsor for this urgent campaign. Your gift is tax-deductible to the full extent allowable by law and your tax acknowledgment will come from Dwight Hall at Yale.

PRESS RELEASE

February 8, 2023

Legacy Theatre Appoints Jeff Provost Managing Director

Branford, CT – The Board of Trustees of Legacy Theatre has appointed Jeff Provost of Southport, Connecticut as Managing Director. He will begin his tenure on February 15, 2023. In addition to a New York City tenure off and on Broadway, Provost has worked for many of Connecticut’s finest theaters including Westport Country Playhouse, Hartford Stage, Yale Repertory and Fairfield Theatre Company. A graduate of The Catholic University in Washington, D.C., Jeff earned his MFA in Theatre Management from the Yale School of Drama.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Legacy Theatre at this early point in its artistic and producing life in Stony Creek,” said Provost. “For me personally, it’s also a return to the professional theatre as an administrator, manager and leader. The Legacy team is making big things happen in a beautiful and intimate theatre space just ten minutes outside New Haven. I’m looking forward to helping drive the organization into a post-pandemic surge of artistic creativity with the continued support of many generous people on the Connecticut shoreline and beyond.”

After holding management positions in the non-profit arts and commercial entertainment industries, Provost joined Red 7 Media in Norwalk, CT where he helped launch the Event Marketing Institute. He founded PRO Management LLC in 2015 where he worked with a wide variety of clients including the Experiential Designers & Producers Association, the Healing NET Foundation and McDonald’s.

“Jeff’s passion for theater and extensive experience and expertise in the field of theatre management make him the perfect addition to the Legacy family. We are delighted to welcome him aboard as our managing director,” said Stephanie Stiefel Williams, Legacy’s co-founder and president of the Board of Trustees. “Jeff’s leadership skills will be invaluable as we launch our 2023 season.”

Legacy Theatre is a non-profit professional theatre company that enhances the Connecticut shoreline’s economy, educational opportunities and quality of life through live theatre and related programs.

December 15, 2022: Connecticut.News12.com

Road Trip: Close to Home Attractions

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September 2021

The Last 5 Years Stories & Reviews

Republican American Theater Review
Legacy breaks your heart with ‘Last Five Years’
by Nancy Sasso Janis

“The Last Five Years” is a beautiful and heartbreaking musical written and composed by Jason Robert Brown.

The sung-through musical tells the same love story told from Jamie’s point of view forward in time for five years, and from Cathy’s point of view backwards in time five years. The couple meets in time only once, marking the halfway point of the performance. It is a celebration of all of the stages of love, especially when it is lost and when it is found.

Brown is an equally skilled composer, lyricist, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, director and performer, who wrote the song cycle “Songs for a New World” and the musical “Parade.”

Armed with knowledge from the Brett Boles’ series “The M Tea,” I paid especially close attention to the score. I picked up on Cathy’s melody from “Still Hurting” when Jamie reprises it in “Moving Too Fast” with a sense of foreshadowing. I also noticed during this performance the “musical through line” in “Still Hurting” and the final song “Goodbye Until Tomorrow.”

Boles shared this insight in another TikTok video he posted about the similar harmonic vocabulary the composer employs in these two “The Last Five Years” pieces.

Legacy artistic director and co-founder Keely Baisden Knudsen directed the actors with a good sense of the layers in each of the characters.

Adams uses her strong singing voice to underline Cathy’s pain, but her strong acting skills bring the imperfect young woman to life. Her opening number “Still Hurting” is exquisite but is almost painful to witness. “Climbing Uphill/Audition Sequence” offers a welcome bit of comic relief.

Adams returns to Legacy where she recently performed with her mother, Anne Runolfsson, as part of the Broadway Cabaret Series. Adams made her Broadway debut at the age of 7 in the 2006 revival of “Les Miserables” and is a recent graduate of Quinnipiac University.

Cassidy, a Branford native, is a strong singer and brings a subtle charm to the role of the younger Jamie. The actor has performed in several productions with Legacy, most recently in the chorus of “Oedipus Rex.”

Matthew Harrison, a graduate of Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge, serves as musical director and performs the often haunting score from backstage.

Jamie Burnett designed the set that includes small spaces for the various scenes and a small wooden boat in Central Park set into the space in front of the stage. The suggestion of two apartments makes it easy for Jamie to move his things when the two become a couple.

Contemporary costumes by Elizabeth Bolster matched the characters nicely, with very specific prop design by Callie Liberatore. A copy of the book that Jamie gets published makes several appearances and Cathy’s watch weaves in and out of the relationship.

The Legacy Theatre production runs 90 minutes without an intermission. Performances at 128 Thimble Island Road, Branford, are scheduled through Sept. 26. Visit LegacyTheatreCT.org or call (203) 315-1901 to reserve seats. Tickets are on sale now for $45, with student rush tickets at $10.

All staff, cast and crew at the theater are vaccinated. All staff are required to wear masks and the theater strongly encourages masks for all patrons.

August 5, 2021: Wellesnet.com

Orson Rehearsed to be screened at historic Too Much Johnson theatre

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July 21, 2021: Patch.com

It’s Not Complex, Get Tix Now For Legacy Theatre’s Oedipus Rex

First performed in around 429 BC, the classic Greek tragedy by Sophocles opens at the Stony Creek theatre July 28 and runs to Aug. 22.

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July 7, 2021: Fox61

WorkinCT: Legacy Theater in Branford

June 22, 2021: Daily Nutmeg

Scene Change

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June 20, 2021: BroadwayWorld

BBW Review: Just Desserts at Legacy Theatre

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April 28, 2021: zip06.com

Legacy Theatre CT Celebrates Grand Opening

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April 25, 2021: Courant.com

Legacy Theatre reopens its doors following $4 million renovation

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April 20, 2021: Patch.com

Historic Stony Creek Puppet House Reborn As The Legacy Theatre

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April 6, 2021: Two on the Aisle

A New Theater Prepares to Open in Branford’s Stony Creek

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April 5, 2021: News8 wtnh.com

Curtain about to open on new theater with a lot of history in Branford

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March 31, 2021: Zip06.com / The Sound

Silver Linings As Legacy Theatre Opening Approaches

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March 22, 2021: Connecticut Magazine

The curtain is rising once again on a historic CT shoreline theater

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February 11, 2021: Zip06.com / The Sound

Legacy Theatre on Track

The Legacy Theatre in Branford’s Stony Creek is still on track to open Friday, April 23 with a concert by Broadway’s Telly Leung followed by a production of Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park from Wednesday, April 28 to Sunday, May 23. The theater will operate at 25 percent capacity with extensive COVID-19 protocols. For information, visit LegacyTheatreCt.org.

patch01.jpg
 

STONY CREEK, CT — Hard-hat wearing workers on the roof and inside the building watched and pointed their camera phones down on the crowd gathered as ORL Construction president Todd Renz explained the origins of a topping off ceremony.

“We’ve reached a milestone,” he said. The “structure is complete, the last steel beam and wood frame is in place in this building. We're commemorating it by raising an evergreen tree.”

“A tradition,” he said, that “goes back a long way.”

Board Chair of the Legacy Theatre Stephanie Stiefel Williams performs the song “I Am Woman” on the steps of town hall in Branford on August 26, 2020. The town held a celebration of the 100 year anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.…

Board Chair of the Legacy Theatre Stephanie Stiefel Williams performs the song “I Am Woman” on the steps of town hall in Branford on August 26, 2020. The town held a celebration of the 100 year anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. (Photo by Wesley Bunnell / The Sound )

 

With a ceremony outside Town Hall and Suffragette "Silent Sentinels" the town green, Branford marked the 100th anniversary of Women's Right to Vote. As noted at several points during the event, it was an significant anniversary for women – but not all women, as racial barriers delayed and suppressed many minorities.

The Aug. 26 ceremony was capped off with Legacy Theatre CT's Stephanie Stiefel Williams singing a stirring rendition of a song made famous in 1971 by singer Helen Reddy, "I Am Woman." Click here to see a video of Stiefel Willams' performance on The Sound’s Facebook page.

Keely Baisden Knudsen, artistic director of Legacy Theatre CT, shares in the ‘topping off’ celebration on Aug. 21, when a small evergreen (at right) was raised to the top of the structure in Stony Creek. See more photos at www.zip06.com (Photo by Pa…

Keely Baisden Knudsen, artistic director of Legacy Theatre CT, shares in the ‘topping off’ celebration on Aug. 21, when a small evergreen (at right) was raised to the top of the structure in Stony Creek. See more photos at www.zip06.com (Photo by Pam Johnson/The Sound)

 

Non-profit Legacy Theatre CT and supporters held a “topping off” celebration for the renovated structure of the historic Stony Creek building on Friday, Aug. 21, when a traditional evergreen tree was set atop the building by a crew from O,R & L Construction (Branford).

August 21, 2020: YouTube

Video: The Legacy Theatre Topping Off Ceremony

Video filmed and edited in a collaboration with OR&L Construction and Lauren Rosenay.

Drone Footage Credit:
Christopher Powell Productions LLC
christopherpowellproductions.com
(203) 376-3188

The Legacy Theatre is a professional theatre company that enhances the Connecticut Shoreline's economy, educational opportunities and quality of life through live theatre and related programs. The Legacy strives to be a premiere Arts house and to ensure ongoing seasons of uplifting, inspiring, and challenging professional theatre and theatre training for all.

August 20, 2020: zip06.com

Mother, Daughter Talk Face to Face

The Legacy Theatre’s Social Distance Theatre is offering a new episode of its video series Face to Face.

In this episode, Tess Adams (Broadway’s Les Misérables) interviews her mother and quarantine-mate, fellow Broadway vet Anne Runolfsson, with Broadway credits include Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Victor/Victoria, Aspects of Love, James Joyce’s The Dead, and Cyrano the Musical (a Drama League Honoree).

August 12, 2020: zip06.com

On Another Note: Wyeth Crafts Creative Solutions

Perhaps you’ve heard that Chester-based architect Leonard Wyeth is the design mind at work on the restoration of Stony Creek’s historic Legacy Theatre. But did you know he’s also the founder and creative force behind Guilford’s renowned Acoustic Music fine guitar shop, the father of AcousticMusic.Org, and now promoter of a newly launched weekly YouTube series featuring local musicians?

News Archive

July 2020: Patch.com
Interior Progress on the Legacy Theatre


June 2020: zip06.com
Legacy Theatre Planning 2021 Season

April 2020: Hartford Courant
Hartford Theatres Forge Community Online with Virtual Series while Performance Spaces are Dark

March 2020: Patch.com
Social Distance Theatre with The Legacy Theatre

March 2020: zip06.com
zip06.com: History in the Making: Legacy Theatre Renovation Underway

March 2020: wshu.org
During Coronavirus, A Connecticut Theatre Finds New Ways To Get Art To Audiences

March 2020: Patch.com
3rd Annual Hometown Harmonies 202: Branford


February 2020: zip06.com
77 U-Turn, a Play About Mental Illness and Hope, Offered Again

February 2020: zip06.com
Wheel Life Theatre Troup Seeking Participants

February 2020: Patch.com
A Loss in Our Community

February 2020: CTInsider.com
Remembering Joe Davis, one of the last living puppeteers of the Stony Creek Puppet Theater

February 2020: zip06.com
Homewown Harmonies: Headlines and a Hero in Branford

September 2019: Patch.com
Legacy Proudly Participating in Guilford Performing Arts Festival


June 2019: zip06.com
Building a Legacy: Legacy Theatre Celebrates Groundbreaking in Stony Creek

June 2019: zip06.com
Legacy Theatre to break ground Thursday for Stony Creek Puppet House renovations

June 2019: zip06.com
Legacy Theatre CT Presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream Live on the Branford Green 

June 2019: zip06.com
Legacy Theatre Presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the Branford Green


May 2019: zip06.com
Legacy Theatre Celebrating Groundbreaking at Historic Stony Creek Puppet House 

May 2019: zip06.com
Legacy Theatre Restoration Supported by CT Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit


April 2019: zip06.com
Orson Welles, William Castle and Stony Creek Theatre Combine for One Tall Theatre Tale


April 2019: zip06.com
Legacy Theatre Seeking Support, Memories, Stories, Suggestions


February 2019: zip06.com
Legacy Theatre Presents Private Lives at Stony Creek Museum


December 2018: zip06.com
It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play Offered by Legacy Theatre


August 2018: zip06.com
Hamlet Takes the Stage for 17th Annual Shakespeare on the Shoreline


August 2018: zip06.com
August Free Shakespeare on the Guilford Green


August 2018: zip06.com
Creating the Magic That is Shakespeae’s Hamlet


August 2018: zip06.com
Shakespeare on the Shoreline: Hamlet


July 2018: Middletown Press
Shakespeare on the Shoreline begins July 20

May 2018: zip06.com
“Though This Be Madness, Yet There is Method In’t”

May 2018: zip06.com
Cabaret with Legacy Theatre Students

April 2018: Middletown Press
Shoreline Arts Alliance announces outdoor theatre series with Legacy Theatre of Branford

October 2017: zip06.com
Free Acting Workshop, and More at Inaugural Guilford Performing Arts Festival


September 2017: zip06.com
Tony Nominee Norm Lewis Comes to Branford

August 2017: zip06.com

“Broadway in Branford” Brings Biggest Star Yet

August 2017: zip06.com
Broadway Star Appearing at Legacy Theatre Benefit

July 2017: Patch.com
Future of “Puppet House” in Branford Comes Into Focus


June 2017: zip06.com
Branford Legacy Theatre’s Doors Closer to Opening in Stony Creek

June 2017: branfordseven.com
RTM Approves Puppet House Settlement Between Legacy Theatre, SCA

June 2017: zip06.com
Legacy Theatre’s Curtain Rising: RTM Approval, ZBA Votes June 20

December 2016: New Haven Register
Stony Creek Association gives green light to Legacy Theatre in Branford


September 2016: zip06.com
Stony Creek’s Legacy Theatre Hosing Gala at Goodspeed Terris in Chester

September 2016: zip06.com
Music of the Night: Legacy Gala Brings Big Talent to Chester

July 2016: zip06.com
Legacy Theatre, Seaview Productions Sponsor Third Annual Broadway in Branford

July 2016: zip06.com
Wish Granted at Broadway in Branford


February 2016: zip06.com
Play reading, Legacy Theatre

January 2016: zip06.com
Actors, Playwrights, Artists Converge in Upcoming Performance

January 2016: zip06.com
Plans for Stony Creek Puppet House Still Being Discussed

July 2015: zip06.com
Broadway’s Espinosa Heads Legacy Theatre Branford Benefit