CRT Production History 1980’s
The 1980s marked the height of CRT’s puppetry prowess under Frank Ballard, who staged increasingly ambitious productions: The Ring of the Nibelung (1980), Babes in Toyland (1982), Pippin (1983), and notably The Blue Bird (1984)—a large-scale puppet extravaganza with lifelike masks and rod puppets. These productions blended human actors with multiple puppet forms, bringing a visually rich and experimental layer to CRT’s repertory.
By the mid-1980s, the Nutmeg Summer Series had declined attendance amid a shift toward smaller-scale shows. The turnaround began when CRT programming “thought big” again—staging ambitious musicals such as A Chorus Line and Biloxi Blues—leading to restored audience engagement. The Nutmeg Series resilience underscores CRT’s responsiveness to community engagement, branding the summer strand as both educational and professionally vibrant.
1980-1981
Main Stage Series
Sherlock Holmes
The Crucible
The Seagull
Hot L. Baltimore
The Robber Bride Groom
Meet Me in St. Louis
The Merry Widow
The Misanthrope
I Feel A Song Comin’ On
Alcestis
All’s Fair; Portraits of Love
Nutmeg Summer Series
The Robber Bride Groom
Meet Me in St. Louis
The Merry Widow
1981-1982
Main Stage Series
Grease
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Hedda Gabler
Jazz Dance II
Measure for Measure
The Enchanted
Vision
Sylvia Plath
Nutmeg Summer Series
Gigi
Die Fledermaus (The Bat)
On Golden Pond
Three Farces by Chekhov
1982-1983
Main Stage Series
Twelfth Night
Quilters
A Christmas Carol
A Streetcar Named Desire
Studio Works Series
Out of the Ruins
My Children! My Africa!
Nutmeg Summer Series
The Fantasticks
Tintypes
Same Time, Next Year
1983-1984
Main Stage Series
A Christmas Carol
Marat De Sade
The Club
Knuckle
The Elephant Man
The Boy and the Magic
The Taming of the Shrew
Nutmeg Summer Series
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
I’m Getting My Act Together & Taking It on the Road
Diabolique
1984-1985
Main Stage Series
The Shadow Box
To Embrace the Leper
A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine
The Blue Bird
Arms & The Man
Tooth of Crime
Top Girls
Waiting for Godot
Nutmeg Summer Series
I Ought to be in Pictures
Crimes of the Heart
Side by Side by Sondheim
1985-1986
Main Stage Series
The Good Woman of Setzuan
Annie
The Fifth of July
Agnes of God
Beethoven on First
Summer and Smoke
To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday
Nutmeg Summer Series
South Pacific
How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying
Seesaw
1986-1987
Main Stage Series
Amadeus
Learned Ladies
The Magic Flute
Guys and Dolls
Uncle Vanya
Rashomon
Buried Child
Nutmeg Summer Series
Anything Goes
Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat
Barefoot in the Park
1987-1988
Main Stage Series
Getting Out
School for Scandal
Equus
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Deathtrap
Sweeney Todd
Nutmeg Summer Series
Man of La Mancha
Little Shop of Horrors
How the Other Half Loves
1988-1989
Main Stage Series
The Dresser
H.M.S. Pinafore
A Moon for the Misbegotten
Jesus Christ Superstar
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Seagull
Nutmeg Summer Series
Oklahoma!
Bye Bye Birdie
The Odd Couple (female)
1989-1990
Main Stage Series
The Boys from Syracuse
As You Like It
Dark of the Moon
The Inspector General
The Gingham Dog
Wings
Nutmeg Summer Series
A Little Night Music
Oliver!
Romantic Comedy
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