A Deep River police officer assigned to Troop F in Westbrook responded to a residence in Deep River around 7:10 p.m. after a caller reported that a resident, identified as 32-year-old Ryan T. Pulcini, was in possession of a stolen motor vehicle from a dealership in New Jersey, according to the Connecticut State Police.

Officers located a black 2022 Jeep Wagoneer in the driveway. Before attempting to speak with Pulcini, law enforcement officials learned that he was wanted on an active extraditable arrest warrant on felony burglary charges issued by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, state police said.

Backup units were dispatched to the scene, as dispatch confirmed the extradition status, according to state police.

Pulcini was located inside the residence, where he was taken into custody, state police said.

During the investigation, it was learned that Pulcini had “initially purchased the Jeep at a dealership in New Jersey. However, the financing fell through, and Pulcini subsequently failed to return the vehicle to the dealership as required,” state police said.

Pulcini was transported to Troop F for processing and charged with first-degree larceny and fugitive from justice, according to state police. He was being held on bonds totaling $350,000, which he was unable to post.

Pulcini was scheduled for arraignment at Middletown Superior Court on Thursday for both charges.

Songs such as “Before the Old Man Comes Home,” “When You’re a Wimp,” “Sticky Situation” and “Red Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun” musicalize the childhood adventures of little Ralphie Parker, a wide-eyed boy balancing his childhood traumas with hopes of a merry Christmas.

“A Christmas Story” grew out of several comic semi-autobiographical short stories by midwestern writer and radio personality Jean Shepherd, originally published in the 1960s and ‘70s. The movie, directed by Bob Clark and narrated by Shepherd, was co-written by Shepherd, Clark and Leigh Brown. It was turned into a Broadway musical in 2012, with a book by Joseph Robinette and music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

At the time, Pasek and Paul were best known for their 2010 musical version of “James and the Giant Peach” (which was workshopped at Goodspeed) and for several children’s musicals for TheatreWorks USA. Just a few years later, they were the toast of Broadway for “Dear Evan Hansen” and had written songs for “La La Land” and “The Great Showman.” They are among the less than 30 people who are deemed “EGOTs” for having won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.

“A Christmas Story: The Musical” has had real staying power, with a national tour continuing for years after the Broadway run and a live TV broadcast in 2017. The tours were brief, traveling only during the holiday weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Goodspeed, which has rarely done shows of such recent vintage, is giving the show one of the longest runs at any single theater outside of Broadway.

The musical has been seen in Connecticut multiple times. Hartford audiences have also seen “A Christmas Story” amusingly mocked every season in TheaterWorks’ “Christmas on the Rocks.” That holiday staple opens with a scene featuring a grown-up Ralphie who’s had his eye shot out by a BB gun and has a fetish for wearing bunny suits.

This new Goodspeed production is directed by Hunter Foster, whose previous Goodspeed projects include “The Circus in Winter” and “The Summer of ‘42” as writer and “The Drowsy Chaperone” and “A Connecticut Christmas Carol” as director. He seems an appropriate choice to helm “A Christmas Story” as his career, whether as a director or a performer, is studded with shows, mostly funny ones, set in the mid-20th century such as “Grease,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and “The Producers” on Broadway, a concert version of “Hair” and many productions of “Million Dollar Quartet.”

Jenn Gambatese, who plays “Mother” in the Goodspeed’s “A Christmas Story,” has known Foster for years but has never worked on a show with him. She has her own resume of plays and musicals set in the 1940s, ’50s or ’60s.

This is Gambatese’s fourth show for Goodspeed, and her third at the Goodspeed Opera House. The other one, “All Shook Up,” which premiered at Goodspeed’s Terris Theatre and moved to Broadway, will be getting a 20th anniversary revival at the Goodspeed Opera House next season.

“Goodspeed’s been a very important and special place in my life,” Gambatese said. “‘All Shook Up’ was my first job after becoming a mom.” She played Carrie in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel” at the Opera House in 2012. She has also been seen at other Connecticut theaters, in the premiere of the musical based on Shirley Jackson’s “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” directed by Anne Kauffman at Yale Rep in 2010, and in Mark Lamos’ production of Terrence McNally’s “Lips Together, Teeth Apart” at Westport Country Playhouse in 2011. Her first Broadway production was “Footloose” in 2000, and she went on to appear in key roles in the Broadway productions of “Hairspray,” “Tarzan” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

When it’s suggested that “Mother” is one of “A Christmas Story”’s trickier roles — it’s one of only two female leads in the musical — Gambatese readily agrees. “Isn’t that emblematic of mothers? She’s an unsung hero. She’s an unnamed hero, known only as Mother,” she said. “The father’s called The Old Man but he’s also got a name, Frank.”

The Old Man is played by Jim Stanek, who appeared in two of Goodspeed’s Terris Theatre shows, “Passing Through” and Pasek and Paul’s “James and the Giant Peach.” John Scherer, whose previous Goodspeed shows range from “By Jeeves” to “The Drowsy Chaperone,” has the Shepherd narrator role.

“A Christmas Story, The Musical” is full of social stereotypes of 1940 middle America. “For the kids in the show and in the audience, there’s a glimpse of a history lesson,” Gambatese said. “Like they might say ‘Why is not putting all that used Christmas wrapping paper into a garbage bag?’ but the garbage bag was not invented until 1950.”

She hasn’t played Mother before, but grew up with the movie. “I’m from Cleveland, Ohio, where it was filmed,” she said. “When I first saw the musical at Madison Square Garden, I knew the movie so well. But the musical goes to deeper, heartfelt places. It kind of wrecked me emotionally. Audiences are going to see themselves in the show. It’s about the challenges of parenting, the joys of the holidays. There are dogs in the show, too (trained by Connecticut-based animal trainer Bill Berloni).”

A two-month run, including several weeks of preview performances, is a rare gift for a show that traditionally has gotten short tours with minimal rehearsal periods.

“That’s the gift of Goodspeed in general,” Gambatese said. “It’s not like stock theater where you get two weeks to put it up. It can’t be overstated: Goodspeed is a cornerstone of American musical theater.”

“A Christmas Story, The Musical” runs Nov. 1 through Dec. 29 at the Goodspeed Opera House, 6 Main St., East Haddam. Performances are Wednesdays at 2 and 7:30 p.m., Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 and 6:30 p.m. with added Thursday matinees at 2 p.m. on Dec. 12, 19 and 26. There are no performances on Dec. 24 or 25. goodspeed.org.

“Over the last two months, Connecticut has experienced severely dry conditions and lack of rain, which has increased the threat of fire conditions and caused several fires to start throughout the state,” Lamont said in a release on Friday. “The filing of this declaration will help provide state and local emergency management officials with the necessary tools to monitor and limit the threat of potential fires, respond to active fires and respond to any additional fires that may start.

“We are strongly urging all Connecticut residents to avoid any type of outdoor burning as the current conditions pose a high risk of fire danger,” Lamont added.

According to the National Weather Service, no rain is forecasted for Connecticut for at least the next seven to 10 days.

The NWS has issued several advisories in the past week regarding the fire conditions in the state, most notably a Red Flag Warning indicating that critical fire weather conditions are occurring or expected.

Funeral arrangements set for fallen CT firefighter; Hartford PD preparing for large crowds

Lamont also announced Friday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved his request for Connecticut to receive a grant through its Fire Management Assistance Grant program to support the state and its municipalities in their emergency response to the Hawthorne Fire in Berlin.

While the response to the fire remains ongoing, initial estimates indicated that the state’s costs would exceed the grant program’s necessary $330,000 threshold. Under the grant program, Lamont’s office said FEMA would provide a 75% reimbursement of the eligible costs of its emergency response to this fire. Some of the state’s more significant costs include utilizing aircrew from the Connecticut National Guard and its UH-60 Blackhawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters to conduct water drops at the site.

“This is one of the most significant brush fires Connecticut has experienced in recent memory, which is largely due to the very dry conditions and lack of rain we have experienced in recent weeks,” Lamont said in a statement. “I thank FEMA and the Biden-Harris administration for their rapid response to my request and their continuing partnership with Connecticut to ensure that we can support the resources we need to keep this area safe.

“I’m also grateful to the many firefighters from departments throughout the region, the aircrew from the Connecticut National Guard, and other first responders who have been working tirelessly day and night on this emergency situation,” Lamont continued.

According to Lamont’s office, this is the first time Connecticut has ever been approved for a grant under FEMA’s Fire Management Assistance Grant program.

Meanwhile, crews in Connecticut continued to battle wildfires scattered across the state on Friday, as firefighters raced to contain the rapidly spreading blazes exacerbated by dry weather conditions and fallen leaves.

“Connecticut is experiencing unseasonably warm and dry conditions that have significantly increased the risk of wildfires across the state,” Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection commissioner Katie Dykes said in a statement Thursday. “The dry weather coupled with the accumulation of fallen leaves, creates the perfect conditions for fires to ignite and spread quickly. It’s critical for everyone to be aware of the heightened fire danger and to take precautions to prevent accidental fires during this vulnerable time.”

CT DEEP fire crews along with state and local firefighters were continuing to manage the Hawthorne Fire on Lamentation Mountain in Berlin for a fifth day. The Connecticut Air National Guard and Maine Forest Service provided air support, dumping water from Silver Lake on areas determined “too dangerous for firefighters.”

A no-fly zone also remained in effect to protect aerial firefighting operations.

Rugged terrain and forecasted winds have also created additional challenges in Berlin, making the use of specialized equipment, including 10 utility terrain vehicles and 30 fire engines, critical in battling the fire.

“The response to the Hawthorne Fire is a true example of teamwork with local, state, federal, and private sector partners working together to manage and respond to an emergency,” said Brenda Bergeron, deputy commissioner for the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, on Thursday. “Special shoutout to the CT towns and personnel from other states in New England providing essential mutual aid.”

On Thursday, DEEP fire crews also assisted with a blaze in Canaan estimated to be 2.8 acres in the area of Cobble Road and Route 63; a Vernon fire over nine acres in the area of 183 Reservoir Road; and monitored a fire at Weston Saugatuck Reservoir Island, which was estimated at 0.8 acres.

Fire crews in East Lyme responded to a brush fire off of Interstate 95 on Thursday night and received mutual aid from fire departments in Waterford, Old Lyme, Montville, Chesterfield and Old Saybrook, according to East Lyme Emergency Management. Crews spent nearly two hours at the scene before the fire was put out.

Fire officials returned on Friday morning and found that some ground was burning beneath the surface, Interim East Lyme Emergency Management Director Julie Wilson said. Wilson said 20 crew members from fire departments in East Lyme, Waterford, Old Saybrook, Old Lyme and Lyme responded to the scene along with crews from DEEP and worked to prevent another flareup. Firefighters from Montville provided station coverage.

The brush fire in East Lyme was under control by the early afternoon hours on Friday.

According to DEEP, most wildfires are caused by the “improper burning of debris, campfires, discarded wood ashes or equipment.”

Officials offered the following forest fire prevention tips:

• Avoid campfires or outdoor burning while fire danger remains high. Obey local laws regarding open fires, including campfires.
• Keep all flammable objects away from fires, and scrape away leaves, twigs, and grass within a 10-foot diameter circle from the fire.
• Have firefighting tools nearby and handy.
• Never leave a fire unattended.
• Drown all fires and carefully dispose of hot charcoal.
• Extinguish smoking materials carefully.

DEEP officials also said homeowners should create a “fire-safe zone” around their homes by clearing flammable vegetation and debris within 30 feet of the house. They also recommended:

• Pruning the lower limbs of evergreens, which burn quickly during dry periods.
• Removing limbs that are overhanging the roof or chimney and clearing leaves from gutters.
• Using fire-resistant roofing materials and ensuring that firefighters can access the home by clearly marking roads and maintaining driveways.

“If you spot a forest fire, dial 911 immediately and calmly provide the dispatcher with details about when and where you saw the fire. If you see any suspicious activity near the fire, report that as well,” DEEP officials said.