Felder, a terrific actor, expert musician (and composer) and playwright, reverently presents favorites like “Swanee,” “Someone To Watch Over Me,” “I Got Rhythm,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” and others until our ears are ringing with Gershwin’s melodies.
From the toe-tapping overture, you know you’re in for a comic operetta and Roger L. Bingaman’s 26 member orchestra delivers Arthur Sullivan’s score in a delightful turn. The Gilbert & Sullivan 1879 operetta The Pirates of Penzance still resonates with audiences in the 21st Century
My Fair Lady is a witty, stinging social commentary on Edwardian British morality wherein the upper-class speech Professor Higgins boasts he can turn an uneducated low-class flower girl into a princess at the embassy ball. With one of the smartest books with brilliant lyrics (by Alan Jay Lerner) on one of the finest, lush musical scores by Frederick Loewe, My Fair lady is one of the gems of the Broadway stage
I must state that that I detest rap and most rock music yet I enjoyed the 2008 Tony Award winning In The Heights more that I thought I would. The infectious, manic and deftly executed dances (by choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler) and the very likable characters gave me something to care about.
While the visual metaphors, the flying, and the movements were stunning, I quickly became lost as the story melted into too many unclear segments.
This, indeed, is an ‘actors’ show’ as the above eked out all of the dark humor and pathos David Mamet intended. Mamet is known as a “language playwright” in that he has an ear for the language, the cadence, and the rhythms of common man’s speech
The Addams Family is a flat out hit show that finds a fresh way to re-introduce us to the bizarre world of our lovable finger-clicking Addams clan. Based on Charles Addams series of cartoons that ran in the New Yorker from 1938-88 and the hit TV series, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice have written a gag-filled hilarious book that aptly depicts their family values through a macabre lens.
Sara Tode is asked to play a variety of different women from various backgrounds, but she blows it by over acting the stereotypes of each woman and missed completely on the different accents.
Aunt Dan is a dark cautionary tale, a black comedy and a mordant tale about the chilling subversive nature of influence. This is a play that demands sharp listening skills as it contains several long monologues about geopolitics, the nature of societal survival, and the roots of the urge to kill to preserve order in society.
When the eight hard working kids finished Kyle Jarrow’s satire of both Scientology and religious pageants, I was quite appreciative of their work ethic as they flawlessly, at their skill level, ran through their songs and routines and dialogue.