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Theater Review: THE KITE RUNNER (National Tour at The Kennedy Center in D.C.)
THE KITE RUNNER FLIES HIGH AT THE KENNEDY CENTER Because the best-selling novel The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, is so significant and well-revered, as is the 2007 movie screenplay by David Benioff, my expectations were high at last night’s opening to see the stage version, currently on a national tour at The Kennedy Center’s…
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Theater Review: COME FROM AWAY (National Tour reviewed at Rudder Auditorium at Texas A&M University in College Station)
DYNAMIC DOZEN DELIVERS Turning the backdrop of one of America’s darkest days into a lively and highly entertaining musical, the creators of Come From Away successfully navigated turning terrifying fact into entertaining fiction. Irene Sankoff and David Hein culled real world interviews and insights of those personally involved into an exceedingly engaging book, music and…
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Theater Review: TINY FATHER (Geffen Playhouse)
GOOD LESSONS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES Sometimes life throws you for a loop when fun times take a turn in unexpected ways, changing your whole life in an instant. Such is the story at the center of the 90-minute two-hander tiny father, written by Mike Lew (Tiger Style!), and directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel at…
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Theater Review: CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL (PAC/NYC)
A PUUUURFECT REVIVAL IS SERVED “Get your life!” says the pre-show announcement as the lights dim in the Perelman Performing Arts Center before last night’s opening of this much talked-about revival of Cats. The Cast of CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL That phrase might sound out-of-place in a Broadway musical’s pre-show announcement; however, when you step…
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Theater Review: SUCK MY TONGUE (Catharsis Theatre Collective at the Hollywood Fringe Festival)
A PREMISE THAT DOESN’T SUCK I have dealt with PR firms for 15 years now, both in (mostly) and out of the arts world. Some may say that public relations is a strategic communication practice that builds mutually beneficial relationships between businesses or individuals and their audience. Sounds good, but advisors, pollsters and media consultants,…
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EXPLORING THE HIGH-STAKES DRAMA OF “GUYS AND DOLLS”
Perhaps one of the best musical shows to have ever been devised with a gambling theme in mind, Guys and Dolls has been well-received across global stages and in movie theaters. It first made its debut in 1950 on New York’s Broadway, before thousands of revivals of the show were launched nationwide and internationally, making…
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Theater Review: GARUDA’S WING (Magic Theatre)
A COMPELLING ECO-DYSTOPIAN STORY The destruction of tropical ecosystems has been a worldwide concern since the 1960s. Through June 23, San Francisco’s Magic Theatre examines the crisis in a personal manner with Naomi Iizuka’s Garuda’s Wing, Directed by prolific actor/director (and university professor) Margo Hall, it’s an eco-dystopian tale spanning approximately five decades in the…
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Theater Review: FOXY LADIES LOVE BOOGIE 70s EXPLOSION! (Three Clubs Stage Room as part of Hollywood Fringe)
GET DOWN … TO THE HOTTEST REVUE IN TOWN Created and directed by Fritz Brekeller, this feminocentric musical revue of 70s hits, Foxy Ladies Love Boogie 70s Explosion!, celebrates an amazing array of songs from the smiley face decade, but does so with a tilt towards feminist empowerment. Using entire songs, themes (disco) and medleys…
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Theater Review: SOUTH PACIFIC (Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston in Waltham, MA)
IT REALLY IS AN ENCHANTED EVENING I had never seen South Pacific, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s famed and highly successful musical (winner 1950 Pulitzer and numerous Tony awards in 1950 as well as a 2008 Tony for best revival) though I was certainly familiar with the music. I was grateful therefore for the chance…
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Theater Review: MRS. DOUBTFIRE (North American Tour)
HELLOOOOOO! The 90s zeitgeist has returned in the form of drag Scottish nanny Mrs. Doubtfire, the eponymous movie of which has been turned into a Broadway musical, and is now on a national tour stopping at Hollywood Pantages through June 30. From her comically high-pitched Scottish accent to the iconic pastel cardigans, our titular drag…
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Theater Review: GATSBY (World Premiere Musical at American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, MA)
GREAT F. SCOTT! F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby recently entered the public domain, and as we approach the centenary of this American classic published in 1925, there is a plethora of stage adaptations, including the lavish musical now on Broadway. I haven’t seen any of the others, but I’m willing to wager that Gatsby,…
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Theater Review: THE KITE RUNNER (National Tour)
A KITE THIS BIG DOESN’T ALWAYS TAKE OFF; WHEN IT DOES, THIS STAGE ADAPTATION IS WORTH SEEING Directed by Giles Croft, the touring production of The Kite Runner at CIBC Theatre is an intensely human piece of theatre perhaps better suited for a more intimate venue. Based on the best-selling book by Khaled Hosseini, the…
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ECO-FRIENDLY PRACTICES IN MODERN THEATER PRODUCTIONS
Theater has always been a powerful medium for storytelling, creativity, and community engagement. However, as with many industries, the environmental impact of theater productions has come under scrutiny in recent years. From set design to lighting, costumes to marketing materials, the traditional practices of theater production can be wasteful and resource-intensive. The good news is…
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Theater Review: DURAN DURANTONY & CLEOPATRA (Troubadour Theater Company at the Colony Theatre in Burbank)
NICE ASP! Troubadour Theater Company is a free-wheeling, no holds barred, commedia dell’arte-flavored, slapstick-driven Los Angeles based ensemble of actors, musicians, and comedians that has been performing for audiences throughout Southern California and beyond since 1995. Their fast-paced, laugh-filled, loose adaptations (some of the original lines are still there) of classic plays, literature, and film,…
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Theater Review: HEAD OVER HEELS (Berkeley Playhouse)
MY HEAD SAID “STAY” BUT MY HEELS SAID “RUN” Since 2007 the Berkeley Playhouse is one of the few theaters in the Bay Area that offers classes and camps for youths. Consequently their shows feature large ensemble casts of young actors who sing and dance with passion. Past shows include Matilda The Musical, Cinderella Enchanted…
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Theater Review: BYE BYE BIRDIE (Broadway Center Stage at the Eisenhower Theater, Kennedy Center)
THE MINDLESS SILLINESS WE DIDN’T KNOW WE NEEDED Broadway Center Stage’s production of Bye Bye Birdie, the 1960 musical comedy smash currently at The Kennedy Center, is delightfully corny, schmaltzy, and yes, hysterically funny. Broadway superstars Christian Borle as the goofy, lovable Albert Peterson (originally played by the now 98-year-old Dick Van Dyke) and Krysta…
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Theater Review: HAIRSPRAY (National Tour at the Hobby Center in Houston)
HAIRSPRAY: HIGH-STEPPIN’ AND HIGH HAIR IN HOUSTON Returning to the Broadway at the Hobby Center series for one week only, the high-stepping, toe-tapping, raucous romp good time known as Hairspray the musical. Join “The Nicest Kids in Town” for a three-hour escapade through history, teenaged angst, a powerful message against the evils of segregation and the…
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Theater Review: THE DYBBUK: BETWEEN TWO WORLDS (Arlekin Players Theatre in Boston)
YOU’LL LEAVE THIS ASTONISHING PRODUCTION POSSESSED It’s not often I would feel compelled to begin a review with mention of the creative team, but director Igor Golyak — co-adapting with Dr. Rachel Merrill Moss and co-designing sets with Sasha Kuznetsova — in tandem with composition and sound by Fedor Zhuravlev, costume and props by Sasha…
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Theater Review: GUYS AND DOLLS (Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham)
IT MAY BE DATED, BUT IT’S A POIFECT MUSICAL WITH WHICH YOUSE CAN TAKE A DATE Guys and Dolls has long been considered by many to be the perfect musical. Since its premiere in 1950, some have claimed it’s sexist, dated, simplistic, and stereotypical in its depiction of women as property (then again, virtually everything…
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Theater Review: EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE (Ray of Light Theatre in San Francisco)
EVERYBODY WILL BE TALKING ABOUT RAY OF LIGHT’S EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE Now, it’s a legend. First there was the 2011 British television documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, which became a concept album for the hit musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, which opened on the West End in 2017, toured, then recorded and screened in…
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