'Comedy of Errors' at Playhouse; Hill-Stead's Stone Walls; 'Kite Runner' at The Bushnell

Playhouse Presents a Contemporary Comedy of Errors 

, West Hartford's happening theater and arts presenter, this week welcomes Stages on the Sound and their contemporary adaptation of William Shakepeare's farcical early play The Comedy of Errors. You remember the outline: two sets of twins separated at birth, mistaken identities, wrongful beatings, and confused seduction. Adding to the fun in this production? Four actors play all the parts. Will Ditterline directs.

The Comedy of Errors runs April 6 through 17. Tickets range from $20 to $32.50. Playhouse on Park is at 244 Park Road, West Hartford. For more information, visit www.playhouseonpark.org or call 860-523-5900 x10.

Hill-Stead's Stone Walls

Let's talk rocks. Seriously. On April 3 at 1 p.m., Farmington's Hill-Stead Museum hosts an unusual gallery talk. University of Connecticut professor of geology Robert Thorson discusses the geological forces that led to the formation of the various types of rocks that make up Hill-Stead's rambling stone walls, and the unique design of what Thorson calls "Theodate" walls, named after Hill-Stead's architect and original owner Theodate Pope Riddle.

The gallery talk is free to members. Standard admission rates apply for non-members. The Hill-Stead is at 35 Mountain Road, Farmington. For more information, visit www.hillstead.org or call 860-677-4787.

You Again and Picnic at Suffield Library

What's on screen at Suffield's Kent Memorial library? Early April brings two swell (and did we mention free?) matinees. First up is the ensemble comedy You Again, and what an ensemble it is. Betty White, Kristen Chenoweth, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver and Kirsten Bell co-starring in a film about a young woman who is set out to avert her brother's marriage to the girl who bullied her in high school. Rated PG, the comedy screens April 1 at 2 p.m. . . . Next in the library's weekly lineup is a matinee of Picnic, the drama based on Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winning story. William Holden stars as a handsome drifter who arrives in town on the morning of the Labor Day picnic, unsettling the lives of the town beauty (Kim Novak) and her boyfriend (Cliff Robertson), son of the wealthiest man in town. Screening time is 2 p.m. The film is not rated. 

No registration required. No food or drink allowed. Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Kent Memorial Library is at 50 North Main St., Suffield. For more information, visit www.suffield-library.org or call 860-668-3896.

Highlights of Renowned Warner Collection in New Britain

Works by artists including Albert Bierstadt, Mary Cassatt, Frederic E. Church, Thomas Cole, and Winslow Homer give you some idea of what awaits when the New Britain Museum of American Art unveils An American Odyssey: The Warner Collection of American Art. Arriving at the museum from Tuscaloosa, AL, the exhibition contains highlights from the private collection of Jonathan "Jack" Warner and his wife Susan Austin Warner and the Warner Foundation. Warner began collecting art in the 1950s, purchasing a series of prints by John James Audubon. The collection's historical and genre paintings, portraits, landscapes, and works from specific schools including Impressionism reflect Warner's conviction that American history can be taught through art. 

The exhibition opens April 1 and runs through July 3. The opening reception is April 2 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The New Britain Museum of American Art is at 56 Lexington St., New Britain. For more information, visit www.nbmaa.org or call 860-229-0257. 

Old Saybrook-Born Diva Guests at A Night at the Opera

Arias, choruses, overtures and more are on the program when the Hartford Symphony Orchestra presents A Night at the Opera. The April 1 event, led by Willie Waters, former general and artistic director of the Connecticut Opera, features renowned guest soprano Mary Dunleavy, a native of Old Saybrook. Musical highlights include music from Puccini’s La bohème and Madama Butterfly, Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. Also featured is a chorus of local singers under the direction of Neely Bruce.

Concert time is 8 p.m. at the Belding Theater at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. Maestro Waters leads a pre-concert chat one hour before the performance. Tickets range in price from $30 to $62. Student tickets are $10. (Prices do not include applicable fees.) To purchase tickets or for more information, contact HSO ticket services at 860-244-2999 or visitwww.hartfordsymphony.org.

Kite Runner at Bushnell

A theatrical adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's bestselling contemporary novel The Kite Runner comes to Hartford's Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts on April 4. The collaboration between the Bushnell and New York City's American Place Theatre features 50 minutes of verbatim material from the first half of Hosseini's book. Set to a background of original Afghani music, the show features eight characters brought to life by a single actor. The evening includes both pre- and post-show discussions during which the audience explores themes including redemption and class systems.

Show time is 7 p.m. Tickets cost $33. For reservations or more information, visitwww.bushnell.org or call 860-987-5900. The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts is at 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford.

Hitchcock Adaptation at Hartford Stage

Anyone familiar with Sir Alfred Hitchcock's cinema classic The 39 Steps should have no trouble imagining how the material could be adapted to create a theatrical romp. Patrick Barlow did just that, combining the movie with elements of John Buchan's spy novel and adding a dash of Monty Python. The result? A Tony Award-winning Broadway hit that requires four actors to play a cast of 150 characters. Hartford Stage now mounts a production of Barlow's adaptation in which a beautiful spy embroils a noble young man in a game of high-stakes intrigue. Maxwell Williams directs.

Performances run from March 31 through May 1. Hartford Stage is at 50 Church St., Hartford. For tickets or more information, visit www.hartfordstage.org or call 860-527-5151.