Author: Tom Williams

MUST SEEREVIEWSREVIEWS BYTheatre ReviewsTom Williams

My Fair Lady at Paramount Theatre Aurora

The lavish sets, gorgeous score, witty lyrics, fine period costumes and the spirited performances makes Paramount Theatre’s inaugural Broadway musical a high standard affair that instantly gives Paramount credibility. We need a western suburban theatre such as the 1800 seat large proscenium stage Paramount Theatre to succeed so that large-scale classic musical can be offered outside of downtown Chicago with our home-grown talents

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REVIEWSREVIEWS BYTheatre ReviewsTom Williams

Yellowman

We meet through a series of counterpoint monologues, Alma (Deanna K. Reed) – a large-sized dark-skinned Africian-American women thought to be ugly mainly due to dark skin by the Gullah community and her counter-point – Eugene (J. Isreal Greene) a “high-yellow” (light-skinned) Africian-American man who is perceived as higher and more beautiful due to his light skin tone in the Gullah culture.

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Beverly FriendREVIEWSREVIEWS BYTheatre Reviews

Farragut North

Why the title “Farragut North”? The words are only mentioned once – and yet they are haunting. Farragut North is a “nowheresville”— a mere metro stop in Washington DC — the end of the road where failures whose reach far exceeds their grimy grasp ultimately must depart the train. This tale of winners and losers leaves the audience to decide who actually is which.

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REVIEWSREVIEWS BYTheatre ReviewsTom Williams

Be a Good Little Widow

This 90 minute one-act blends humor, realism and pathos into a moving portrait of love, loss and temptation as we see Melody move from a flake into a strong women. She deals with the hostile demanding Hope (herself dealing with the loss of her husband and now her son) and she conquers advances form Craig’s young assistant Brad (Christian Blackburn). This work is an honest attempt to depict two women as they deal with a tragic situation

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REVIEWSREVIEWS BYTheatre ReviewsTom Williams

The Kid Thing

Act Two presents a debate as to the problems raising a child in a two female home – especially when Nate/Margot and Leigh (with a commitment from Jacob) decide to “co-parent” between the two couples with visits from Jacob. Darcy uses those obvious problems to sabotage the desired pregnancy of Leigh with Jacob. But she is unaware of changed circumstances that further complicate things. The plot lines here are plausible and probable.

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REVIEWSREVIEWS BYTheatre ReviewsTom Williams

Waiting For Lefty

Clifford Odets’ 1935 revolutionary work first produced by the Group Theatre using “agit-prop” theatre techniques. The play was theatre as propaganda at its emotional zenith. This work utilizes actor plants in the audience to arouse responses and to break the ‘fourth walk.’ While a tad dated, Waiting For Lefty is still a classic warning to big corporations not to continue to oppress the American working class.

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