Tom Williams

MUST SEEOperaTom Williams

Tosca – January 2010 cast

Tosca is so romantic, so melodic and so emotional that I was completely enchanted from the early romantic duet arias. I was impressed by the rich vocals from Violeta Urmana and the smooth fluid tenor chops from Marco Berti as Tosca’s lover, Mario Cavaradossi. Lucio Gallao is the deliciously cunning villain, Baron Scarpia.

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Theatre ReviewsTom Williams

Funny Girl

Funny Girl, the seldom mounted 1964 classic Broadway musical about the life of Fanny Brice, is so associated with Barbra Streisand that most playhouses shy away from the piece. Not the talented artists at Drury Lane Oakbrook who, under the collective talents of Gary Griffin, William Ostetek and David New, have found a most talented actress to play Fanny Brice–Sara Shepard.

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Theatre ReviewsTom Williams

The Last of the Dragons

Lifeline Theatre has a strong reputation for mounting an effective assortment of kids theatre. My first encounter with their children’s fare was The Last of the Dragons adapted by David Bareford from Edith Nesbit’s fantasy story. This 55 minute cute little musical is charming with a worthy moral and it sure plays well with children 5 years and up.

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Theatre ReviewsTom Williams

Minna

Barker tries for complex, ambiguous and unstable responses by mixing comedy with tragedy and by blending time periods–here 18th Century melodrama with 1950’s intensity–as he blends satire of war and violence with sexual perversion from estranged lovers.

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Theatre ReviewsTom Williams

My Fair Lady

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

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Theatre ReviewsTom Williams

In The Heights

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.

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