The lush melodies were sweepingly romantic as they exude richly deep emotions. The unity of music with libretto in Simon Boccanegra worked strikingly well with the baritones and bass. The two romantic duets are to be cherished. The preponderant of low male voices seemed a tad dark until the music and the glorious soprano from Krassimira Stoyanova balanced the sound in her Lyric debut.
Read More“I am haunted by humans” – Death from The Book Thief
In their Steppenwolf for Young Adults series, Heidi Stillman’s adaptation of the 2006 novel by Markys Zusak captures the essence of life during the World War II Era in Germany. The production, directed by Halle Gordon, misses several opportunities to impact audiences stronger that it actually does
Read MoreWho would think that a female actor/director could write a play about Vietnam? But Susan Felder sure did and its a terrific gritty war drama. With a swiftly paced intensity and loads of suspense, Wasteland unfolds as a riveting two-hander upon an awesome set (by Kevin Depinet) that depicts an American solder, circa 1972 captured by the VC and isolated in an underground cave
Read MoreKinky Boots comes off as a cliche-ridden story that reminds one of La Cage Aux Folles and Hairspray with hints of British sociopolitical elements, like Billy Elliot. The story revolves around Charlie Price ( the golden boy empathetic Stark Sands) who is forced to save his family’s shoe manufacturing business in Northern England following the death of his father
Read More“Iceman” and “Follies” take top honors
at the 44th Annual Jeff Awards
“The Pitmen Painters” and “Doyle & Debbie”
also win production awards
Why is Sylvia Gellburg (Jacqueline Grandt) paralyzed from the waste down when medically she seems fine? Why does Phillip Gellburg (Neal Grofman) come off as attacking, argumentative and self-loathing? What does the horrible news of Kristallnacht in Berlin in November of 1938 so upset Sylvia that she seems obsessed with fear that the attacks on Jews could come to her Brooklyn neighborhood?
Read More…Billy Pacholski has mounted a workable production of Stephen Sondheim’s strange musical. The video (by Ryan Fukuda) underscored the events presented nicely and the general tone of the work went for presented the assassins as ‘real people- just like us according to producer/director Billy Pacholski’s production notes. But since these dysfunctional folks were a mixture of insane and demented losers, any attempt to show them as ‘regular’ folks failed from the outset.
Read MoreThe combination of having all the players and musicians performing (and looking like clowns) utilizing the physical gesture and practices of European Clowning techniques together with ample use of Quezada-Perez’s invention of “la mise en clown” style of theatre makes for a special theatrical experience.
Read MoreThis show uses silly humor, parody, and loads of music to re-write history while also containing a subtext about how and why we select our leaders. The 100 minutes are fun, often exhilarating. While I’m not a fan of punk rock music, I found those numbers cute and appropriate to the material and style of the show.
Read MoreThe energy and talent of these woman was quite apparent. Echoles uses the standard BE playbook that utilizes the music of favorite entertainers, here: Aretha Gladys, Tina, Patti with a special tribute to Whitney within the framework of a contest reality show to exhibit the fresh young talent. The result is a story based musical that has us engaged in the process of helping select one winner for the “One Name Only” reality TV show framework.
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