Interview with Hartford Stage Artistic Director Melia Bensussen on 2025/26 Season

Overview

Hartford Stage Artistic Director Melia Bensussen (interviewed by Tim) outlines the theater’s 2025/26 season, emphasizing that after pandemic-era caution, the company is now “going full steam ahead”—with productions ranging from world premieres to major classics.

The recurring thread: variety in programming and an audience-focused experience, especially Hartford Stage’s intimate thrust-stage layout.

Main Plot / What the Video Covers

• Quick history + context

  • Hartford Stage is entering its 62nd season (noting that the pandemic shutdown complicates the count).
  • Bensussen reflects on taking the job right before the shutdown, then helping the theater reopen and rebuild.

• Season vision

  • The staff and board aim to celebrate Hartford Stage’s strength and resilience.
  • They want to match the feeling that audiences are returning with joy.

• Show-by-show tour of the season

  • Each production is framed through the lens of theatrical experience—how stories land in an intimate space.

Highlights, Key Details, and “Stand Out” Moments

Big star power from recent seasons

Tim praises Hartford Stage’s ability to bring major performers and projects to the region, including:

• Marsha Mason
• A John Leguaso work, “Kiss My Aztec”

Bensussen positions these choices as evidence of Hartford Stage’s importance to New England’s theatrical culture.

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Opening world premiere: “Rope” (Oct 10)

• Adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher
  • Hatcher previously worked with Bensussen on “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
• Why now
  • “Rope’s End” (the source material behind Hamilton) entered the public domain, leading Hatcher to propose an adaptation.
• What to expect
  • Bensussen describes the show as a taut psychological thriller with style and twists.
  • It’s presented as loosely connected to the original materials and the legacy of Hitchcock’s Rope.
• Audience promise
  • She declines to spoil specific differences, but assures that audiences familiar with the play and/or movie will be surprised.

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“A Christmas Carol” remount (after the premiere)

• The interview emphasizes why tradition still works:
  • The “skeleton” of the story stays largely the same.
  • But performances and feelings evolve.
• Bensussen notes that audiences return as different people—capturing the idea that no one steps into the same stream twice.

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Comedy pick: “The Cottage” (Jan 16)

• Described as a big, old-fashioned sex farce with:
  • Murder-heist energy
  • A feminist angle
  • A mad cap, actor-driven approach
• Built for Hartford Stage’s closeness to the audience:
  • She frames the thrust format as both challenge and opportunity—audience members may need to watch closely, maybe even twice, to catch everything.

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Major American classic: “Death of a Salesman” (opens Feb 27, directed by Bensussen)

• Directing philosophy
  • Bensussen warns against treating great plays like museum pieces—avoiding the “Mona Lisa effect.”
• Why it matters
  • She argues the themes are immediate and human, accessible to “our neighbors.”
  • The production spotlights father/son tension, masculinity, and pressures around being a breadwinner.
• Contemporary relevance
  • She links the play to ongoing discussions of gender expectations and the misreading of the American dream.

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Native Gardens (opens April 17)

• Play by Karen Zacharias, directed by Nicole Watson
• Bensussen frames it as relevant because it explores:
  • Conflicted perceptions of neighbors
  • The self-discovery that happens when stereotypes collide with reality
• She stresses it’s not a simple good-guys/bad-guys story:
  • “We’re all very human.”

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Final big finish: Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd” (with TheaterWorks Hartford)

• Partnership
  • The collaboration is presented as sharing resources (and costs).
  • Hartford Stage has never done Sondheim before, making this a milestone.
• Form + tone
  • Called a chamber version, aiming for dark, funny intimacy.
  • Hartford Stage’s layout supports audience immersion.
• “Breadcrumb” teaser
  • Bensussen playfully notes that Sweeney is not the most villainous character, encouraging the audience to watch for hints.

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Other projects + education/community work

• Development work
  • Mentions a new play reading at the Guggenheim on Oct 26, featuring excerpts from Adam Rapp’s new writing.
• Education programs
  • Includes:
    • Breakdancing Shakespeare
    • High school musical (“Lightning Thief” mentioned)
    • Adult education classes
    • Backstage tours
    • Community events
• Childcare drop-off program
  • Across the street (at the Church of the cathedral), it has not returned yet due to staffing/budget constraints, but Bensussen hopes it will come back as the institution stabilizes.

Jokes / Memorable Lines

• Tim and Bensussen trade playful “trick question” banter about how to count the season years, especially whether to count pandemic shutdown time.
• Bensussen humorously describes taking the job as a fulfillment of a bucket-list moment—followed immediately by a shutdown.
• The “Sweeney Todd” comment about who the true villain is works like a teaser rather than a full reveal.
• Her “Mona Lisa effect” metaphor stands out as a clear explanation of her directing philosophy.

Personalities Mentioned

• Melia Bensussen — Artistic Director, Hartford Stage
• Tim — interviewer / host