Marakay Rogers - Page 16

In a day when even standard CBS procedurals feature strong female leads who save the world, THE BLACKLIST is a Gothic throwback to weak females who need to be rescued by mysterious heroes. Can Jon Bokenkamp dig it out of the mire?

Opera performers gave Rene Staub's production the sound Sondheim intended.

The 'educational outreach' version of HAMLET created by Gamut has real merit and a time limit anyone can manage.

Red Reddington, Van Gogh paintings, uranium -- they all have a price, and T. Earl King and family know how to get it at their auction. Lizzie goes undercover to bid on Red's freedom, but can she stay alive long enough to do it? And what's Tom doing in Germany with skinhead tattoos? THE BLACKLIST takes a darker turn than usual to explore those worlds.

Director Stephanie Via's interpretation of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR may be flawed, but it's imaginative, and it's well performed.

Fans and critics are complaining of a lack of answers on THE BLACKLIST. How have other shows managed to hold off on answers without angering viewers? An answer is easier than it may seem.

Paul Bernier scores with a fresh take on the five former swimmers at their vacation rental

Director Marc Robin and a talented cast bring the area premiere of Ives' play as the premiere production of the Fulton's Groff Theatre. Be prepared.

Barrymore winner James Ijames directs Rachel Bonds' tale of a boy, a girl, and their bookstore.

The joint production of Santa Fe and Opera Philadelphia, Theodore Morrison's opera of the decline and fall of Oscar Wilde has its hits and misses. It's a magnificent production of an unripe work.

Joan Derricks Kraft directed a polished version of a small-gem musical

Director Donald Alsedek and a uniformly fine cast bring Lorraine Hansberry's classic to vibrant life at Open Stage.

Uzbekistan, home of Uzbeks. And of Orthodox churches, one of which is being infiltrated during Mass by a group of armed men who surround the village priest. Once the guns are on him, he produces a satellite phone from his robes and calls his handler. In English, in an American accent. Ruslan Denisov has captured an undercover CIA agent, and he's on Raymond Reddington's BLACKLIST.

Lancaster's music scene has been greatly enriched by the stirrings of cabaret that have begun over the past few years. The end of January was notable, however, for two days of outstanding cabaret in a row on the 30th and 31st, first with Lancaster-based performer Reji Woods at the Ware Center, and then with Lancaster-bred performer Jonathan Groff giving a fundraiser at Ephrata Performing Arts Center.

Agatha Christie fans, rejoice. Everyone else rejoice, too. Marc Robin's new production of the Christie classic is absolutely worth it.

After months off screen, THE BLACKLIST needed to come back with a bang. There's shooting and explosions aplenty in 'Luther Braxton' (No. 21), as well as Ron Perlman, but it's more likely the placement after the Super Bowl than the predictable moments that will give this a ratings bump – let's see the ratings for part two of the episode on Thursday night.

When is a jukebox musical not a 'jukebox musical'? If anything, it's when the musical is by its subjects, when they're an integral part of putting the show together. If JERSEY BOYS were any less a jukebox musical, it would be the original band on stage talking about their story and giving a concert themselves. With music by band member and composer Bob Gaudio, lyrics by 'Fifth Season' Bob Crewe -- in short, with the music and lyrics by the band's songwriters, one of whom was a band member, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, JERSEY BOYS isn't as much a jukebox musical as it is a musical documentary of a hair-raising story that wasn't in the news at the time.

It's an amusing show, and it's not so female-oriented that men won't be able to get a few laughs at it as well. It's surprisingly free of male-bashing, celebrating women rather than complaining about the opposite sex, and it's relatively gentle, although if you're easily embarrassed by the subject of masturbation, don't bring family members who will be dying to tease you about it after the section on sex. If you see it for no other reason, see it for the cast themselves.

MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL is on tour, and it's as raucous as ever in New Hope on the Bucks County Playhouse stage

Director Aaron Dalton and an enormous cast of four bring the Olivier-winning comedy version of the classic Hitchcock film to the York Little Theatre stage