Review: HEAD OVER HEELS at Albuquerque Little TheatreJune 12, 2024Head Over Heels is a jukebox musical with music and lyrics from the catalog of 1980s girl band The Go-Go’s. With a book by Jeff Whitty, adapted by James Magruder, the plot is derived from the 16th century play The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney. Head Over Heels opened on Broadway in 2018 and ran for six months. It is currently running through June 16 at Albuquerque Little Theatre in Albuquerque, NM.
Review: TWO ARTISTS IN PRISON at Teatro Paraguas Second StageMay 29, 2024“Most theater companies choose their plays. Grottesco’s reveal themselves.”
Thus begins the director’s notes for Theater Grottesco’s Two Artists in Prison, now playing at Teatro Paraguas’ Second Stage space. The play, co-directed by Grottesco Founder John Flax and Apollo Garcia Orellana, takes place in a dystopian future where artists are locked away at the hands of an authoritarian regime. The prisoners are forced to tell their captors stories on a daily basis; if they are entertaining, they get to remain, if not, the consequences are dire.
Two Artists in Prison runs through June 9th.
Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at Santa Fe PlayhouseMay 17, 2024Santa Fe Playhouse in coming into its own as the theater company most likely to succeed in Santa Fe. The past two seasons have showcased new talent, new and provocative works and productions that have both wide appeal and thought-provoking messages. Their latest offering, What the Constitution Means to Me, is no exception. Directed with precision by Lynn Godwin, the Playhouse production adds one more hit to their incredible run of the past few years.
Review: BORN WITH TEETH at Santa Fe PlayhouseMarch 28, 2024Ever wonder what happened when two rivals, in this case, rising star of the theatrical world William Shakespeare and biggest playwright of the age thus far Christopher Marlowe, collaborated on the writing of Henry VI? Marlowe was officially credited as co-author of the three-play cycle in 2016. Born With Teeth, now playing at Santa Playhouse, creates the scenario of the two authors meeting in secret to pen the trilogy. Along the way, flirtation, fights and much wordplay ensues.
Review: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at Tri-M Productions At New Mexico Actors LabMarch 11, 2024Sondheim is everywhere. Since the start of 2024, I have seen two on Broadway (Merrily We Roll Along; Sweeney Todd), one Off-Broadway (Here We Are, the play he was working on when he passed away in 2021) one just last week in Albuquerque (Into the Woods) and last night in Santa Fe, A Little Night Music.
Review: OR, BY LIZ DUFFY ADAMS at Santa Fe PlayhouseMarch 11, 2024It’s amazing that the current production of Or, a play directed by Zoe Burke at Santa Fe Playhouse, was a second choice to the playwright’s Born With Teeth, playing in repertory right now (review to follow in a few weeks). I have yet to see Born With Teeth, but was thrilled to see Or, this week.
Review: INTO THE WOODS at Musical Theatre SouthwestMarch 6, 2024When I heard that MTS was doing Into the Woods, my first thought was “Wow – that’s ……ambitious.” Sondheim is always ambitious, but MTS was able to hit Sweeney Todd out of the park last year, so why did Into the Woods feel like such a giant leap forward for this creative and stalwart community theater?
Review: RENT at Musical Theatre SouthwestDecember 7, 2023Just in time for the holidays, my favorite Christmas musical debuts in Albuquerque. Now, technically it’s not a “Christmas” show, but there’s enough references to holidays, family, cheer and community to make it a holiday show. Musical Theatre Southwest takes on the beloved and iconic show this month; if you miss it, you will most certainly have regrets.
Review: ON CLOVER ROAD at Santa Fe PlayhouseOctober 20, 2023Grab your tickets now for a 90-minute nonstop thriller. How do you review a play like On Clover Road without giving the play away? That is the conundrum faced here. Playwright Steven Dietz, best known for his much-produced version of Dracula, has created a play that is gripping, spine-tingling, scary, emotional and full of so many plot twists that it’s hard to believe it only has a running time of 90 minutes start to finish.
Review: SEASCAPE at NM Actors LabSeptember 11, 2023, Albee’s plays seem to be perfectly normal, until they aren’t, and here’s the twist in Seascape. Nancy and Charlie are so wrapped up in their “you always…..you never” conversation that they don’t realize they are no longer alone on the beach. Without giving away too much of the plot, they are joined by another couple that is decidedly different from them in every way. Leslie (Hania Stocker) and Sarah (Emily Rankin) have ventured to this beach for the first time and are fascinated by Nancy and Charlie. They are naïve to the ways of the world and are eager to learn. Both Nancy and Charlie have to figure out the best way to communicate and explain things to this couple, a task that is a challenge for both of them, given their years of waiting to talk instead of listening to each other. It’s also farcical to see how readily this seemingly normal couple stuck in a rut accept the newcomers on the beach.
Review: SWEENEY TODD at Musical Theatre SouthwestJune 13, 2023Musical Theatre Southwest delivers a knockout performance of SWEENEY TODD. Most of us are familiar with one version or another of Stephen Sondheim’s dark masterpiece, Sweeney Todd. Full disclosure: in my youth I used to watch the Angela Lansbury/George Hearn proshot on loop and I will go to just about any stage production out there but I do approach community productions with a bit of trepidation.