Hartford Stage Pass

Hartford Stage is offering Stage Pass, a $38 season ticket, for young adult theater goersages 18-27. Purchasers will receive unlimited admissions to all Mainstage productions at Hartford Stage for the 2012-2013 season. Stage Pass is available through Sept. 29 and can be purchased by calling the Hartford Stage Box Office at 860-527-5151, or in person by visiting the Hartford Stage Box Office. Purchase requires a valid State ID. 

The 2012-2013 season includes: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, world premiere musical, October 11-November11; the 15^th Anniversary production of A Christmas Carol, November 23-December 29; Breath and Imagination – The Story of Roland Hayes, world premiere with classical and gospel music, January 11-February 3; Man in a Case, featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov, February 21-March 24; Beth Henley’s Abundance, April 4-28; Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, May 18-June 16.

Visit www.hartfordstage.org for more information and to learn more about the shows for the 2012-2013 season. 

Sad City Classic: Where Are They Now? Local Celebrities From the 1980s

(Originally posted by Jumper September 13, 2010)


Being self-centered children of the 1980’s, we decided to take a Sad City Hartford trip down memory lane and look at some of Connecticut’s local celebrities, then and now.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Somehow this list ended up being really WFSB biased. It’s probably because that’s just what our parents made us watch as kids. Send us suggestions and info on local celebrities you would like to see covered in the future.)

Sad City Travels: Addison County Fair

With the Big E underway, fair season is in full swing in New England. While fairs are pretty fun everywhere, they seem a little more fun in rural Vermont. Included in the afternoon, a tractor show, a tractor pull, an arm wrestling contest including a female division, and food, lots of food. Consumed during the afternoon; ribs, a pulled pork sandwich, a maple doughnut, (lots and lots of maple, which means lots and lots of great) fried dough, and the topper of them all, the harbinger to hardened arteries, maple fried bacon. Sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind.

Hartford Pic of the Week

With the Spring Cup cars in Louden, New Hampshire this weekend, all eyes will be on the 24 and Jeff Gordon as he tries to dig out of an early hole in The Chase.

Hartford Pic Of The Week

Hartford Denim Co. Presents 860ph0

Our good friends Hartford Denim Co. have teamed up with Resurrection and YellowHouse to bring us the first ever 86ph0 party Monday September 17. This party pretty much brings everything but the kitchen sink, and it's entirely possible a kitchen sink could be found at the flea market. Booze, music, Vietnamese food, and a flea market? Is there anything else you need? Nope.

Party starts 630 at 30 Arbor St. See you there. Email us your best finds at the flea market!

Sad City Classic: Meet The King of Recycle

(Originally posted by Jumper August 16, 2010)

He's filthy. He's got gigantic 1980's serial killer glasses. His hooded sweatshirt wraps around his hairy, sinewy torso like a ghetto variation of the classic "sweater over the shoulders" look. He is King of Recycle.

You might have seen him stalking the garbage cans of the West End. Or maybe you noticed him dumpster diving in Asylum Hill.

We've been watching him for years, but finally worked up the nerve to ask him for an interview earlier this week. It was an enlightening experience. Video after the jump.

Sad City Guide To Downtown Lunch: The Sit Down Spots

So you've moved up a couple rungs in your career and no longer do you have to rely on the Sad City Guide To Quick Downtown Lunch to acquire, consume, and return to work within an hour. No, with a little more time on your hands, you might want to enjoy a nice sit down lunch, that won't break the bank, but will allow for some time with colleagues and friends over more than a sandwich.

You're a little more established, but thoughts of grandiose success and glory have long since retreated with youth. You're body isn't as tight as it once was, but your paychecks have acquired some heft. You drink good wines and expensive whiskeys, but the hangovers are much worse. You're more concerned about taxes and education, but your idealism has faded. You've accepted the fact that the promotion to New York isn't coming and you're going to be grinding it out in the hollowed out husk of downtown Hartford for the duration of your professional career.

It's just the natural order or things. As Phil Simms once said "once my brain figured out what I had to do, my body couldn't do it anymore."

But this is about lunch it Hartford, so without any further ado, we present the latest Sad City Guide:

The Wire: The RPG

CollegeHumor’s Favorite Funny Videos

CollegeHumor’s Favorite Funny Videos

At Sad City we are huge fans of The Wire and, having been born in the 1980's, we are huge fans of 8 and 16-bit role playing games. This genius video from College Humor combines both. The great thing about this video and The Wire, is that the players and setting could change but the narrative generally remains the same throughout many U.S. cities. 

This is a hilarious must watch for any fan of The Wire. 

The Samuel Colt Statute

Samuel Colt is probably the closest rival to Mark Twain for Hartford's most famous resident. While the Twain House is a well known local landmark, Hartford's most distinguishing feature is almost certainly the blue onion dome atop the Colt Factory.

If one wants to play a game of six degrees of separation (without Kevin Bacon getting naked) the Colt 45, by Hartford's Samuel Colt, was the gun that won the west. From 1962-1964 the MLB team now know as the Houston Astros was known as the Houston Colt 45's.

In 1963 and 1964 a young second baseman named Joe Morgan played a total of 18 games for the Colt 45's. In 1972 Joe Morgan would be traded to the Cincinnati Reds where he became a a legendary player on "The Big Red Machine" one of the greatest baseball dynasties ever.

Sweet Dreams at The Webster Theatre

For many teens in the surrounding areas, The Webster Theatre is likely one of the first places they will go to in Hartford on their own. Located in the South End on Webster St (imagine that) The Webster Theatre hosts up and coming and somewhat past their prime rock acts. If you're not booking the XL Center or Comcast, you play the Webster.

It's a pretty cool place, though we haven't been in a few years, we've seen some memorable acts their including, GWAR and the above Marilyn Manson show almost 16 years ago. In late 1996 Marilyn Manson was starting an improbable run as a quasi mainstream act off the success of their single "Sweet Dreams." The next year would see the release of the Trent Reznor produced Anti-Christ Superstar, a global stadium tour, and legit stardom.

Cruising Hartford

With Labor Day marking the unofficial end of summer, it also marks the end of our favorite pastime, cruising the fine city of Hartford for some Sad City ghetto tourism. Cruising the city's neighborhoods is a great way to to get a feel for the city and to see some real, ehh, ummm, "interesting" stuff. The good news is that if you get a little tired, the city has thoughtfully left tons and tons of mattresses just laying around the sidewalk for adventurers to take power naps in! How nice.

Check out Jumper's classic video of cruising Hartford above.

SAD CITY BONUS TIP:

Bring spare change and be prepared to be asked for cigarettes. Everyone in Hartford who looks like they might possibly have a job is going to get badgered for change for that mysterious "bus fare to New Britain." Also apparently it's 1954 in Harford and everyone is sucking down cigarettes like Coca-Cola because tons of people will ask you for a cigarette, even without a shred of evidence that you smoke.