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82 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 2018 2018 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 82 Overhead view of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's campus. TOURISM, ARTS & CULTURE This summer, the theater will be developing eight plays chosen from 1,400 scripts acquired during the winter through a national blind search. "Many of our writers have gone on to great acclaim," said Ritchie. One of them is Lin Manuel Miranda, the playwright and Broadway star of the wildly popular "Hamilton" (scheduled for a three-week run at the Bushnell Dec. 11-30), who Ritchie remembers as "a 20-something carrying his piano across the field in 2005." "Seven people who were in "Hamilton" began with us," recalls Ritchie. Professional actors and directors, including Michael Douglas and Meryl Streep, got started at the O'Neill. Actress Elisabeth Moss, of the television series "The Handmaid's Tale," and Josh Radnor from new NBC series "Rise" are also alums. Theatre lives a rich life in Connecticut, with other venues including the Long Wharf Theatre, the Shubert, and Yale Repertory in New Haven, Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, the Kate (Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center) in Old Saybrook, Ivoryton Playhouse, Westport Country Playhouse and Hartford Stage. Other attractions are as varied as the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, and the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, which houses 300 animals from North and South America, including an Andean condor and a giant anteater. Kids can track prehistoric dinosaurs and mummies at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History or walk in the native footsteps of early Americans at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History at UConn in Storrs, or the Royal Mohegan Burial Ground in Norwich. Historic villages like Old Wethersfield offer a glimpse of life in past centuries, with tours of original homes like the circa-1752 Joseph Webb House where George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau, commander of all French forces in America, planned the final battle of the Revolutionary War. Landmarks like lovely Roseland Cottage in Woodstock and Gillette Castle (built for the original Sherlock Holmes actor, William Gillette) in East Haddam also serve as venues for plays, festivals and other events. Many of Connecticut's pleasures are less cerebral. For the adventuresome, thrills abound with zip lines at places like Brownstone Exploration & Discovery Park in Portland, Adventure Park at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport, and Nomads Outdoor Adventure in South Windsor. Balloon rides are offered in multiple locations throughout the state, including Adventure Balloon in Plymouth, Aer Blarney Balloons in Litchfield and Berkshire Balloons in Plainville. Quassy amusement and water park in Middlebury or Lake Compounce theme park in Bristol are also great places for active families to visit. Hikers might enjoy the Mattabesett and Mount Higby Trail near Middlefield, which is nine miles out and back, featuring beautiful wild flowers and several activities, with vistas of the Connecticut River. Quaint villages and picturesque coastal views can be found in nearly 300 miles of southern coastline for those who enjoy sandy beaches, boating and water sports. Mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium, along with Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos, are perennial favorites that draw many people to the state – but it is perhaps the summer festivals that bring together all of what's good about Connecticut. Food, music and the arts combine in events like the Hartford Rib Off by Riverfront Recapture on June 15-16, Connecticut's Historic Gardens Day at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme on June 24, the Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival June 12-29, Sailfest in New London July 13-15, the Model Yacht Regatta in Mystic Aug. 3-5, and Concert & River Fire in Putnam July 21 to Sept. 8. Connecticut's arts and tourism industry supports more than 120,000 local jobs. All of these people working together ensures that the only thing there is no excuse for in Connecticut is being bored. [Flying Fox Photography]