Was there a New Year’s resolution in theater to slim down a little? The latest mainstage show at Yale Repertory Theatre has one single performer, and the musical opening this week at Playhouse on Park has two people in it.

“Gutenberg! The Musical” , playing at Playhouse on Park, has been around since 2006 when it was an off-Broadway hit but got a lot more attention when it was done on Broadway two years ago with former “Book of Mormon” castmates Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells. Regional theaters, especially ones that like to develop new work, have really taken to the show since it’s not just economical but full of inside jokes for theater people. The Playhouse on Park production stars Jeremiah Ginn and John Wascavage, neither of whom has performed at the playhouse before. and is directed by Sasha Brätt, who directed the previous show there, “All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914.”

“Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha” at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven has a lot of ha’s for a one-person show, but London-based Estonian clown Julia Masli has earned them, having made the show a hit at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and now in the United States. Masli performed in Los Angeles in October and Washington D.C. in November. The Yale Repertory Theatre has a history of bringing in progressive, thought-provoking small-cast clown acts, from Le Cirque Invisible to the Canadian “clowns of horror” Mump & Smoot.

Another funny circus-adjacent act, the whipsmart Jacques Ze Whipper is at Mohegan Sun’s Comix Roadhouse.

Other solo performers this week may be better known from the bigger productions they are or were part of, including Matt McCusker from “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” who is doing stand-up at The Bushnell, and Ron White, who has raised to a new level of fame following the Blue Collar Comedy Tours of a quarter century ago.

‘Instantiations’
Real Art Ways, 56 Arbor St., Hartford

This month’s installment of the experimental improvisational music series “Instantiations” at Real Art Ways features the series’ curator Joe Morris on bass, Hidemi Akaiwa on piano and Hery Paz on tenor sax, clarinet and flute. Jan. 18 at 2:30 p.m. $15, $12 RAW members, $8 students. realartways.org.

CIV, Into Another, Orange 9mm
District Music Hall, 71 Wall St., Norwalk

Three defining bands of the New York punk/hardcore scene of the 1990s all broke up by 2000, have reunited occasionally and are now all back in action and unified on a nostalgically loud and physical tour coming to Norwalk. The fourth band on the bill is Connecticut’s own Almighty Watching. Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. $44.17. districtmusichall.com.

Jacques Ze Whipper
Mohegan Sun, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville

World record-setting whip artist Jacques Ze Whipper brings his awesome whipcracking as well as his wisecracking comedy skills to Mohegan Sun’s Comix Roadhouse on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. $10 food and drink cover. $60 for meet-and-greet with Jacques. comixroadhouse.com.

Adam Ray
College Street Music Hall, 238 College St., New Haven

Adam Ray, known for appearances in the “Kill Tony” comedy realm, his “About Last Night” podcast and his impersonations of Joe Biden and Dr. Phil, brings his “Who Is Me?” tour to College Street Music Hall on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. $49.32-$59.62. collegestreetmusichall.com.

Microtonal keyboardist Hidemi Akaiwa will be part of Hartford Public Library’s Baby Grand concert series in April. Before that, she’s part of an improvisatory experimental jazz trio at Real Art Ways’ ‘Instantiations’ series on Jan. 18 at 2:30 p.m. (Courtesy of Hartford Public Library)

Freedom Songs
Grails, 1020 Chapel St., New Haven

The new vinyl record shop Grails in downtown New Haven has a mission of cultural understanding and music education built into its business plan. It has partnered with Neighborhood Music School to create a need-based, tuition-free scholarship program for New Haven Public School students. On Jan. 19, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the store will hold a daylong “Freedom Songs” event. Grails owner King Kenney describes it as “a continuous sonic program drawing from historic recordings, rare pressings and culturally essential works associated with the civil rights era and its extended influence. The experience is designed not as a performance, but as a sanctuary for attentive listening: An invitation to slow down, reflect, and consider how music functions as memory, moral force, and communal glue.” Store hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Free. grailsonchapel.com.

‘Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha’
Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel St., New Haven

Estonian-born England-based clown/writer Julia Masli brings her one-woman show about identity, creative problem-solving and much more to the Yale Rep. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha” was a hit at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The show, written and performed by Masli and directed by Kim Noble, is on a sort of regional theater tour thanks to the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington D.C. Jan. 20-Feb. 7. Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. with an added Wednesday matinee at 2 p.m. on Jan. 27. $15-$65. yalerep.org.

‘Gutenberg! The Musical’
Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road,  West Hartford

Anthony King and Scott Brown’s wacky musical about two hapless playwrights pitching an idea for a new musical and playing all the roles themselves seems like a great fit for the friendly floor-level stage at Playhouse on Park. Jan. 21 through Feb. 8. Performances are Tuesday at 2 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., with preview performances Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 22 and 2 and 7:30 p.m. $45-$55, $42.50-$52.50 students/seniors/military, $35 previews. playhouseonpark.org.

‘Harold Jam’
Sea Tea Comedy Theater, 15 Asylum St., Hartford

The latest improv sketch comedy jam of the renamed month of “Jamuary” at Sea Tea Comedy Theater is a “Harold Jam” with Jambassador Josuel Rosario. “The Harold” is a specific type of longform improv sketch that’s been around for decades. Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. $5. seateaimprov.com.

Lee Brice
Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St., Stamford

Country star Lee Brice, whose hits include “I Don’t Dance,” “Drinking Class,” “A Woman Like You” and “One of Them Girls,” can sell out arenas but is on a relatively intimate theater tour where he’s playing acoustic. Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. $78.25-$126.75. palacestamford.org.

Matt McCusker
The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford

The Matt in “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast” (where the Shane is Shane Gillis) is on a solo comedy tour titled “The Healing Frequency.” Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. $45-$73.50. bushnell.org.

Comedian Ron White, right, known for being a part of the legendary “Blue Collar Comedy Tour” that starred (from left) Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and Jeff Foxworthy, will be performing at the Foxwoods’ Premier Theater on Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. (Warner Bros Pictures. Photo by Peter Tangen)

Ron White
Foxwoods Resort Casino, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket

Seasoned stand-up Ron White was one of “Blue Collar Comedy Tour” phenoms of the 2000s. Wilson, who has been a theater-filling solo comic for decades, will be at Foxwoods’ Premier Theater on Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. $64.25-$95.05. foxwoods.com.

Ottomatic Slim and the Deadly Sins
Black-Eyed Sally’s, 350 Asylum St., Hartford

Harmonica player Ottomatic Slim and guitarist Johnny Bravo are as proficient in the blues as in psychedelic rock and old-school R&B. The Boston-based band hits Black-Eyed Sally’s on Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. blackeyedsallys.com.

Ellis Paul
Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook

Two fine New England folk/pop singer/songwriters, Boston music scene stalwart Ellis Paul and Connecticut’s own Brian Larney, are at The Kate on Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. $33. thekate.org.

Ghosts of Jupiter
Arch Street Tavern, 85 Arch St., Hartford

A couple of big names in the psychedelic rock, fusion or jam scenes are at Arch Street Tavern on Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. Ghosts of Jupiter is led by Nate Wilson, who plays keyboards for moe. and was a co-founder of Percy Hill. John Ferraro, who opens the show, is with the top fusion band Consider the Source (aka CTS). $25. archstreettavern.com.

Singer/songwriter Ellis Paul is at The Kate on Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. (Courtesy of Ellis Paul)

A Tribute to Bob Weir
Toad’s Place, 300 York St., New Haven

Mystic Dead, the Mystic-based Grateful Dead tribute act, is performing a special concert in honor of Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir, who died on Jan. 10 and was also a member of Furthur, Ratdog and Dead & Co. Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. $20, $15 in advance. toadsplace.com.

Josh Ritter
Infinity Music Hall, 20 Greenwoods Road, Norfolk

Josh Ritter, the revered Americana singer/songwriter who also happens to be a novelist, is a great wintertime booking for Infinity Music Hall Norfolk. Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. $63.19-$87.94. infinityhall.com.

Big D and the Kids Table
Space Ballroom, 295 Treadwell St., Hamden

The Boston ska punk band Big D and the Kids Table has been around for 30 years but is still actively playing and recording. The band has a new album coming out and is recording a video for it at its Space Ballroom show Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. $15. spaceballroom.com.

Deconstructing the Beatles’ ‘Rubber Soul’
Fairfield Theatre Company, 70 Sanford Ave., Fairfield

“Deconstructing The Beatles’ ‘Rubber Soul’” may sound like one of those improvisatory tribute bands but PBS and YouTube viewers know it’s actually Scott Freiman’s series of multimedia presentations about how The Beatles created its classic albums in the first place. Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. $37-$40, $34-$37 in advance. fairfieldtheatre.org.

https://www.courant.com/2026/01/17/one-man-and-woman-shows-make-big-noises-this-week-in-ct-arts/