Regional Roundup: Top 10 Stories This Week Around the Broadway World - 6/12; 'Phenomenal' JC SUPERSTAR in KC, RED in St. Petersburg and More!

By: Jun. 12, 2015
Get Access To Every Broadway Story

Unlock access to every one of the hundreds of articles published daily on BroadwayWorld by logging in with one click.




Existing user? Just click login.

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Washington DC, St. Petersburg, Adelaide, and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include an "astonding" SCIENCE AND SOULMATES in DC, a "phenomenal" JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR in Kansas City, and full coverage of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, just to name a few.

East/Northeast

THE WELL OF HORNINESS

1. Baltimore, MD: Editor Cybele Pomeroy reviews THE WELL OF HORNINESS at Theatre Project. She says, "The characters are colorful and hastily drawn, and their 2-dimensionality is a stylistic choice rather than sloppy writing. Hughes has given them all vivid, clever dialogue, director Julianne Franz orchestrates snappy sitcom physicality and comic sex scenes, and every actor effectively manages dense dialogue and high-speed stage traffic, sometimes simultaneously." Read more here.

2. Rhode Island: New Editor Katelyn Corp reviews ROUNDING THIRD at Ocean State Theatre Company. She says, "Successfully telling a story, no matter how humble, with only two characters is no easy feat. Thankfully, commendable performances by both Joel Kipper (Michael) and Fred Sullivan, Jr. (Don) keep audiences engaged. It never once feels as if someone is missing on stage, especially because of their brilliant physicality. The excitement and hilarity of both Kipper and Sullivan running across the stage as they yell into the imagined Little League field, bang on the fence of the dugout, and dance the Macarena is undeniably enjoyable to watch." Read more here.

3. Washington, DC: Editor Benjamin Tomchik reviews SCIENCE AND SOULMATES at The Source. He says, "Osborn and Keith are astounding together and achieve an incredible level of depth portraying this anguished couple in an all too brief 10 minutes. Duncan has Osborn and Keith circle each other, building the tension as each dissection reveals a facet of their relationship. Spotswood's concept is engrossing and Dissection seems worthy of a full-length expansion." Read his full review here.

Midwest

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

4. Kansas City, MO: Editor Steve Wilson says that JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is "phenomenal at Musical Theater Heritage." He goes on, "Christin Byrdsong makes his Musical Theater Heritage and Kansas City debut as Jesus. Kansas City is filled with tremendous talent and we just added a thoroughbred to the stable. The grand power of his voice sent chills up my arms more than once. As a tear runs down his cheek sniffles could be heard coming from throughout the audience.... Patrick Lewallen makes his second appearance at Musical Theater Heritage and is superb as the traitor Judas. What a tremendous voice and range he brings to the stage." Read his full review here.

5. Minneapolis, MN: Editor Jill Shafer says that the "challenging new play H2O is funny, painful, and engaging" at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage. She goes on, "The character of Deborah is at times infuriating, at other times exhausting, with her strict and unforgiving relgious belief and her insistence that Jesus speaks to her. But I also found her to be smart, funny, modern, and likeable, struggling to marry her beliefs with the messy real world." Read more here.

South/Southeast

6. Birmingham, AL: Editor Marietta Lunceford reviews TRIBES at the Birmingham Festival Theatre. She says, "I cannot remember leaving a theatre with such emotion still filling me up. Every emotion I can think of occurred to me during the two hours I was in BFT. I laughed at some very funny lines, I was swept away by the romance of one of the most heartwarming scenes I have ever seen, I raged at a betrayal, and was later reminded of some discussions in my very own family." Read her full review here.

RED

7. St. Petersburg, FL: Editor Peter Nason reviews John Logan's RED at American Stage. He says, "This is one of the tightest, smartest, yet accessible scripts of the past decade, but yes, there's a huge anachronism smack dab in the middle of it. Even though the show is set in 1958-1959, Rothko rails against Pop Art and Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup cans in the same year when The Four Seasons opens in New York (1959). The problem is, those soup cans would not be created and would not set the art world on fire until years later (1962). But artistic license sometimes must be paid, and it works here, even though my Trivial Anachronism Radar buzzed off the charts." Read more here.

West

8. Seattle, WA: Editor John James DeWitt reviews a "compelling" NEVER THE SINNER at TPS. He says, "As studiously intelligent Nathan Leopold, Joshua Valencia is prim and erudite, exuding privilege and sophistication in his portrayal...he is convincing as the son of a wealthy Chicago family. As Richard Loeb, the object of Leopold's misguided affections, Alan E. Garcia is charismatic and charming, and disguises the monster within so that when it finally reveals itself, the audience is both fascinated and repulsed." Read more here.

International

THE GOODBYE GIRL

9. Adelaide, Australia: The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is in full force and Editor Barry Lenny is providing complete coverage. One highlight is THE GOODBYE GIRL. Barry reports, "The casting of Lindsay Prodea, as Elliott, Fiona DeLaine, as Paula, and Henny Walters, as Lucy, is inspired. This is the finest performance that I have seen from Prodea so far which, considering his record of fine performances, is saying something. He brings a high level of authenticity to the role and convincingly conveys Elliott's changes of attitude to Paula." Read more here.

National Tour Highlight:

10. The National Tour of ONCE is playing at the Palace Theatre in Columbus, Ohio through June 14. Editor Amanda Etchinson says, "By simply sitting, listening and watching, the audience becomes inexplicably linked to the strangers on stage, especially as they begin to further delve into the unique aspects of characters' personalities.... At times unexpectedly funny and quick-witted and at others--most notably, the final musical number--heart-wrenchingly bittersweet, "Once" succeeds in taking audiences on a journey full of music and romance that captures the hearts and minds of all those who view it." Read her full review here.

This week, we'd like to welcome Perry Tannebaum as our newest editor in North Carolina and Barry Busby who is joining the BWW Food & Wine team.

Want to join our growing team? We have positions available in several U.S. regions and International countries! Contact christina@broadwayworld.com for more information!



Videos