Michael Dale - Page 143

Michael Dale After 20-odd years singing, dancing and acting in dinner theatres, summer stocks and the ever-popular audience participation murder mysteries (try improvising with audiences after they?ve had two hours of open bar), Michael Dale segued his theatrical ambitions into playwriting. The buildings which once housed the 5 Off-Off Broadway plays he penned have all been destroyed or turned into a Starbucks, but his name remains the answer to the trivia question, "Who wrote the official play of Babe Ruth's 100th Birthday?" He served as Artistic Director for The Play's The Thing Theatre Company, helping to bring free live theatre to underserved communities, and dabbled a bit in stage managing and in directing cabaret shows before answering the call (it was an email, actually) to become BroadwayWorld.com's first Chief Theatre Critic. While not attending shows Michael can be seen at Citi Field pleading for the Mets to stop imploding. Likes: Strong book musicals and ambitious new works. Dislikes: Unprepared celebrities making their stage acting debuts by starring on Broadway and weak bullpens.




Martini Talk: Meet Me In St. Louis & The Rockettes
November 22, 2007

The Paper Mill's joyous mounting of Meet Me In St. Louis and the 75th Anniversay production of The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular are both classic entertainment done right

Martini Talk: Rock 'n' Roll, Richard III & Ziegfeld's Oldest
November 15, 2007

The oldest living Ziegfeld Girl dances once again while Michael raves about Michael Cumpsty's 'Richard III' and tries to figure out 'Rock 'n' Roll.'

Martini Talk: Wintuk, Things We Want & Peter and Jerry
November 12, 2007

Cirque du Soliel's new show is great for kids, Ethan Hawke directs a dark comedy with some bright spots and Edward Albee revisits 'A Zoo Story'

Michael Dale's Martini Talk: Cyrano and Frankenstein
November 5, 2007

Michael checks out a famous nose, impressive pecs and Broadway's most-discussed butt

Michael Dale's Martini Talk: The Ritz & A Feminine Ending
October 18, 2007

A look at 'The Ritz', 'A Feminine Ending' and Kristin Chenoweth 's latest honor.

Mauritius: Inherit The Stamps
October 15, 2007

Theresa Rebeck's new play has a terrific set-up, but the predictable plot directions coupled with questionable directing choices makes the evening frustrating and disappointing.

Margaret Cho's The Sensuous Woman: Good Clean Sex
October 11, 2007

In her sex-centric variety show, Margaret Cho and company give us a happy and healthy dose of body positive antics that are so sweet, silly and approachable you can have a great time while completely forgetting to be aroused.

Forbidden Broadway Rude Awakening: Mama, Who Bored Me...
October 8, 2007

Gerard Alessandrini's newest edition of the long-running satirical revue may not be most vicious version of the show but it certainly ranks up there among the best.

Happy Days The Musical: Sit On It, Beckett
October 3, 2007

Garry Marshall and Paul Williams have turned the hit TV show into a good-hearted family musical that can stand on its own.

Dividing The Estate: Unstately Manners
October 1, 2007

It's taken 18 years for The great Horton Foote's terrific Reaganomics-era comedy to trickle down to New York since its 1987 premiere but director Michael Wilson's very funny and very human production at Primary Stages is well worth the wait.

The Misanthrope: I Could Have Had a V-8
September 29, 2007

Moliere's classic comedy gets buried under Ivo van Hove's high concept production

The Power Of Darkness: Crime and Punishment
September 25, 2007

The Mint provides a rare opportunity to see Leo Tolstoy's drama in an impressive and gracefully staged production

100 Saints You Should Know: Faith Healing
September 21, 2007

Having faith, losing it and trying to understand it are the key issues in this warm, funny and engrossing play, blessed with an exceptional cast in director Ethan McSweeny's moving production.

Marilyn Maye Sings Ray Charles at The Metropolitan Room
September 17, 2007

At an age when a certain amount of wear and tear on the voice is forgivable Marilyn Maye displays gleaming pipes and a rich sense of musicality and lyric interpretation.

Penny Fuller at The Metropolitan Room: Applause, Applause
September 13, 2007

Thirty years after her last Broadway musical appearance, Penny Fuller shines in her cabaret debut.

Neva Small's Not Quite An Ingénue: Something More
September 10, 2007

In Neva Small's solo show her career full of meaty roles in unsuccessful musicals is glossed over in such a pixyish, upbeat manner that you might find yourself perpetually wondering what she's leaving out.

Walmartopia: Marked Down
September 4, 2007

A promising Fringe musical protesting Wal-Mart labor practices loses its bite after being revised for Off-Broadway.

Iphigenia 2.0: Not Getting Married Today
September 2, 2007

Playwright Charles Mee and director Tina Landau adapt a play by Euripides into an abstract pageant that not-so-subtly questions current American foreign policy, amidst some good laughs, some interesting visuals and some scantily clad boys and girls.

Grease: Children's Theatre For 40-Year-Old Straight People
Grease: Children's Theatre For 40-Year-Old Straight People
August 28, 2007

Grease is by no means the best musical ever to play on Broadway, but director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall's revival suggests that it might be the most indestructible one.

A Beautiful Child: Tru Confessions
August 25, 2007

Truman Capote's remembrance of a day spent with Marilyn Monroe makes an uneasy transition to the stage.



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