End the year in style by celebrating all that Connecticut has to offer this week in arts

Some old favorites return to Connecticut with some new twists to end 2022.

Cirque Dreams is back but with a different show than they brought us last month. The musical “Anastasia,” which Connecticut first saw before it was even on Broadway, is visiting again. They Might Be Giants upends their set lists every time they tour, and Lisa Lampanelli, a Connecticut native, brings her new cabaret theater project to West Hartford.

Rapper 50 Cent, who once owned a mansion in Farmington, is attending a New Year’s bash at Foxwoods, and up-and-coming local rock duo Robot Monster, having just done a national tour and just about to do a cruise ship festival, is headlining a small club show in New Haven.

Here are some of the top things to do and see this week in Connecticut arts.

‘Cirque Dreams Celebration’

Mohegan Sun Arena, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville

Cirque Dreams (not to be confused with Cirque du Soleil, Cirque de la Symphonie and all the other “cirques” that cycle through Connecticut) was at the Oakdale just a few weeks ago with its “Cirque Dreams Holidaze.” Now the company’s on to the next holiday with “Cirque Dreams Celebration,” on Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena. $25. mohegansun.com.

‘Anastasia’

Foxwoods Great Cedar Showroom, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket

“Anastasia” had its world premiere in 2016 at Hartford Stage and opened on Broadway a year and a bunch of rewrites later. It ran for a couple of years, during which it opened other productions in foreign lands and began touring. Except for the COVID interruption, it’s been touring ever since then.

The latest tour turns up for six performances over four days, Dec. 29 through Jan. 1, at Foxwoods Resort Casino. Performances are Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The musical is largely based on the 1997 animated film about a purported lost Russian princess, with some elements missing (a cartoon bat and the villainous Rasputin in particular) and others brought in from an earlier Hollywood movie and various legends. $45-$75. foxwoods.com.

Adam Ezra Group

Infinity Hall, 32 Front St., Hartford

The Boston-based Adam Ezra Group has been around for a couple of decades but connected with millions of new fans by streaming community-building concerts throughout the COVID shutdown. Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. $29-$44. infinityhall.com.

‘Comedy Duos’ and ‘Director’s Cut’

Sea Tea Comedy Theater, 15 Asylum St., Hartford.

There are back-to-back improv comedy shows at Sea Tea Comedy Theater on Dec. 30. At 7 p.m. there’s a selection of “Sea Tea Comedy Duos.” Two is basically the smallest number of people you can put in an improv sketch. At 9 p.m., the attraction is “Director’s Cut: A Brand-New Movie Improvised Live on Stage.” That’s just like it sounds and happens just a week after a new Christmas musical was improvised on the same stage. $10 for each. https://seateaimprov.com/theater

Lisa Lampanelli: ‘Big Fat Failure’

Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford

The erstwhile “Queen of Mean” Lisa Lampanelli retired from insult-laden stand-up comedy a few years ago but hasn’t forsaken the stage. She’s doing her latest cabaret theater show, “Big Fat Failure,” on Dec. 30 at 6:30 and 9 p.m. as a benefit for Playhouse on Park. The show has stories and songs about failures, the kind that you can learn from and be entertained by. A talkback follows each performance. $45. playhouseonpark.org

Robot Monster

Cafe Nine, 250 State St., New Haven

Robot Monster is going places.

The fast-rising New Haven-based hard rock duo of Logan Sidle and Will Brennan just toured nationally with Drug Church and The Bronx and will be on the Shiprocked cruise ship festival with Falling in Reverse in January. Their new album was produced by Jacquire King, who’s worked with Kings of Leon and Tom Waits. Initially an online sensation, Robot Monster’s first-ever live show found them opening for — and playing a song with — Stone Temple Pilots.

You’re running out of chances to catch them in a small club, so a hometown gig at Cafe Nine Dec. 30 at 9 p.m. is something special. Two other superlative local acts are on the bill: The Problem With Kids Today and Qween Kong. $10. cafenine.com.

‘The Hip-Hop Nutcracker’

Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven and The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford

“The Hip-Hop Nutcracker” has played Connecticut many times but not during the COVID shutdown in 2020, and not last year when the show had to cancel its Connecticut shows due to health issues in the cast.

The show returns this year to the two large theaters that dealt with the last-minute cancellations last year: The Shubert Theater in New Haven on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. ($40-$76, shubert.com) and The Bushnell in Hartford, which has it on Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ($23-$92, bushnell.org).

New Year’s Eve party

The Shrine, Foxwoods, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket

The Shrine’s New Year’s Eve party is just one of many such celebrations happening on Dec. 31 at various clubs and lounges at Foxwoods Resort Casino, but it’s the only one that’s advertising the presence of rapper 50 Cent. The DJs for the evening are Aycoo and Screw. Dec. 31 at 9 p.m. $99.50. https://www.foxwoods.com/dining/bars/choose/shrine/.

Duke Deuce

Webster Theater, 31 Webster St., Hartford

Memphis-based rapper Duke Deuce made waves in 2019 with the tracks “Yeh” and “Crunk Ain’t Dead.” 9 p.m. Dec. 31. $50. webstertheater.com/.

They Might Be Giants

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

They Might Be Giants has maintained, and built upon, a fervent fan base for the past 40 years. They’ve done it with their live shows, albums like “Flood” that nobody else could have made, catchy TV theme songs for shows as diverse as “The Daily Show,” “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Mickey Mouse Playhouse,” the Dial-A-Song service they provided for much of their career (though it’s disconnected now).

They switch up their sets frequently and have 18 albums of songs to draw upon. This tour is titled “Book, Flood, Faves and Horns” for their latest album “Book,” their best-known album “Flood,” all the fun songs they’ve done in between and the horn sections they’re bringing along. The opening act is Jonathan Coulton, the Colchester-born Yale-educated humorous songwriter who wrote all those clever “Schoolhouse Rock”-type songs for TV’s “The Good Fight” as well as the quiz tunes for NPR’s “Ask Me Another.” What a way to ring out the year. Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. $45-$65. collegestreetmusichall.com.

Reach reporter Christopher Arnott at carnott@courant.com.