Spotlight On: Michael Cartwright
Connecticut Theatre Company’s “Spotlight On…” series continues with a look into our talented cast and crew of Sondheim on Sondheim. Get to know Michael Cartwright!
Introduce Yourself to Our Audience:
What has been your favorite role so far in your career?
Shrek from “Shrek” with Warner Theatre or Javert from “Les Misérables” with West Hartford Community Theatre.
If you had a magic wand, what show would you do next?
“Come From Away” – please release the performing rights for community theatre.
When did you first perform?
Ensemble in “Once Upon A Mattress” in high school
What’s going to surprise people about this production?
Hearing from Stephen Sondheim himself via video.
Who’s the funniest person in the cast in real life?
Everyone is funny in this cast in their own individual way.
What is your favorite Stephen Sondheim show and why?
“Sweeney Todd” – this is my favorite musical of all time, music is fantastic, the show is engaging, it is serious and quite funny at times given the storyline
How has Stephen Sondheim inspired you?
Stephen Sondheim has inspired me to consider that musicals can deal with real subjects and offer difficult, engaging music to boost the story. I have one of the “Letters from Sondheim” that was made famous after his passing.
Sondheim on Sondheim opens on August 30th and runs through September 15th at Connecticut Theatre Company. Tickets on sale now!
“Sondheim’s words and music are, for all their intelligence and sophistication, most striking for their emotional fidelity to his characters and the universal struggles and joys informing their disparate journeys. Thus the frustrations driving Sweeney Todd’s demon barber and the gunslingers in Assassins are as eerily accessible as the romantic obsession captured in the songs Losing My Mind and Not a Day Goes By.” – Elysa Gardner, USA Today
“One sometimes wonders what the notoriously exacting Sondheim privately thinks of the many revues and revivals of his work that come along. No worry here; ‘Sondheim on Sondheim’ is engrossingly entertaining and thoroughly captivating. An enchanting, warm and provocative opportunity to hear not only Sondheim’s songs but — literally — the master’s voice.” – Steven Suskin, Variety