Caroline Sposto - Page 2

Everybody's favorite beagle, Snoopy, has gathered his friends, packed his supper dish and his typewriter and he's bringing his dog house to the Harvell Civic Center in Millington. All ages from toddlers to grown-ups will enjoy presentations pulled directly from the comic strip: Joe Cool, the Easter Beagle, the Psychiatric Booth - - - still only 5 cents, Linus in the Pumpkin Patch, Woodstock falling in love with a worm who runs off with the Early Bird, Charlie Brown trying to deal with his independent beagle, and so much more.

SWEDISH GUN FACTORY is captivating audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Explaining that this duo tap dances and plays musical instruments, is like describing Cirque du Soleil as an acrobatic troupe. True by definition, but the performance is beyond words.

The 2015 musical, inspired by the Oscar-winning film of the same title, features a score by George and Ira Gershwin and a book by Craig Lucas opened at the Memphis Orpheum this week. Because the story centers on Ballet, which I'm not qualified to critique, I brought along Dmitri Roudnev, former Bolshoi soloist and current Ballet Master.

From the dictator in his palace to the lone wolf shooter, distorted thinking has become a constant thread running through our news. Sometimes we can better confront dark realities through art. In April of 2012, Ilia Volok debuted his one-man show, DIARY OF A MADMAN in Los Angeles. The production received both public popularity and critical acclaim. He has since brought it back several times in the L.A. area.This month, the production will open at the American Theatre of Actors Beckmann Theatre in New York.

Emerald Theatre Company had so much fun producing last year's fest, they decided to do it again! Theme: 'That's so gay.'The words, 'That's so gay.' Must be spoken by a character in the context of the author's choice.

It's the time of year to reflect on the past and enjoy familiar stories that warm our hearts. In otherwords, 'tis the season for ANNIE. That spunky waif has been part of our American culture for more than 130 years. She was first penned into existence by poet James Whitcomb Riley in 1885. His poem, 'Little Orphant Annie',was inspired by Mary Alice 'Allie' Smith, an orphaned child who came to live in the Riley home.

JERSEY BOYS is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. This award-winning show has been running on Broadway for more than ten years. Its wild popularity spawned touring companies that have been breaking box office records in venues around the world. It was adapted into a film, produced and directed by Clint Eastwood in 2014. The current national tour opened at the Memphis Orpheum on October 25 and it will play through October 30th.

KING CHARLES III closed on Broadway earlier this year. And though it won an Olivier Award, I suspect this regional premiere will be a rare opportunity to see this show -- or at least a quality production of it. Done right, as it is by Playhouse on the Square, it's an absorbing and memorable evening of theatre. Anything less could spell disaster because bringing this plausible alternate world to life is quite a feat.

I live in Memphis by choice. One of the reasons is that the arts community is not only vibrant, but also concerned, aware and purposeful. About 20 percent of our adult population in this area is functionally illiterate. This doesn't just hurt them in the job market. It affects their ability to life up to realize their potential and live full lives. Literacy Mid-South is committed to changing that.

In 1849, a twenty-eight year-old former slave named Harriet Tubman risked her life to lead a group of other slaves to freedom. Over the course of ten years, she made an additional nineteen trips. She didn't lose any of her three hundred 'passengers' on The Underground Railroad. They called her 'Moses.'

After 20 bold years, The Emerald Theatre Company in Memphis is breaking new ground by holding its first annual 10-minute play festival. In keeping with its mission to produce quality, cutting edge works dealing with controversial issues that would not ordinarily be produced by conventional theaters in the Memphis area, the theme for this fest is: 'Out of the Closet.'

The lights come up, jazz age gangsters rush the stage and fire at the backdrop with their machine guns, and the words BULLETS OVER BROADWAY appears in lights--a perfect intro for a madcap caper. Let the fun begin!

Bucolic setting are wonderful . . . until it rains and everyone is wall-to-wall unpacking their baggage, airing their dirty laundry, calling each other on the carpet, and climbing the walls. At least that's what happens in THE COUNTRY HOUSE by Donald Marguiles. It's an explicit homage to Chekhov -- sort of an UNCLE VANYA and THE SEAGULL mashup. I wasn't knocked out by the script. The setup is simple, the plot predictable, the conflicts obvious. The actors have to bring a lot to this show to make is worth watching. Fortunately, Director, David Landis, had an exceptional cast.wisecracks into heated discussions simply to hear them sizzle.

Next week the Memphis Orpheum will teem with gun-toting lugs in pinstripes and leggy Jazz Age chorines as BULLETS OVER BROADWAY takes the stage. This roaring twenties crime comedy, based on Woody Allen's 1994 film by the same title was transformed for the stage with Susan Stroman's guidance. In Allen's film, the lead character, David Shayne, was played by John Cusack. In this stage version, a young actor named Michael Williams inhabits the role.

Majoring in Theatre is a bold decision. Committing four formative years and thousands of dollars ought to pay off. College costs have increased exponentially, and (STEM) science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors seem to be the only sought after grads these days. This is why, according to The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, only 8% of today's college students are majoring in humanities.

Typically the press night buzz at the Memphis Orpheum starts in the lobby . . . or at least inside the foyer. Last night, however, it radiated for two square blocks in all directions as Mormon missionaries turned out in force to meet and greet theater goers. These clean-cut, youth, armed with literature and disarming smiles had driven all the way from Little Rock. They weren't protesting the show, just using the opportunity to tell their side the world Trey Parker and Matt Stone (Creators of South Park) and Robert Lopez, composer of 'Avenue Q' so famously lampooned.

There is magic in midtown. Memphis is stagestruck -- moreso than ever, and with a surplus of talent! (Investors call the new vitality and nightlife 'gentrification,' I call it a renaissance because the arts are thriving all around us.) In one square mile, there are more shows each weekend than an avid theatre goer has time to enjoy. This month, yet another tantalizing choice appeared on the calendar. Cloud9 Theatre Company just closed its inaugural show at the Evergreen Theatre. (I was sorry I couldn't get there opening night.) Based on what I saw, we have another local gem. What fun to live and work in the midst of so much creative energy!

Black History Month is drawing to a close, and again, I wonder why this integral component of American history isn't a more substantial part of the discussion year-round. Imagine for a moment a world without the African American influence on music, sports, dance, entertainment, and fashion. Though it may be arguable that Black contributions to popular culture are readily apparent, thousands of other important facts have been left out of the educational curricula for years. For example, most people know that Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb, but how many people know that a black man, Lewis Latimer, invented the filament for the lightbulb?

The wildly popular musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder will be at The Memphis Orpheum February 9 - 14th. This daring, dark comedy hails from Roy Horniman's 1907 novel, Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal, told through the eyes of a man who bumps off the aristocrats standing in the way of his title. In 1949, the book was loosely adapted into the movie, 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' which starred Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson, and Alec Guinness. In 2014, Robert Freedman and Steven Lutvak set the story to music. It has been nabbing awards and slaying audiences ever since.

Gene Roddenberry had a bold vision when he pitched his inspiration to NBC as a 'Wagon Train to the Stars' in 1964. The first episode of Star Trek aired on Sept. 8, 1966. It was a show with unknown actors, and limited special effects, but what it lacked in flash, it made up for in sensibility. America was entangled in the Vietnam War, the Cold War was at its height, the Civil Rights Movement was battling the status quo, and pre-regulation smog was covering major cities with toxic gray clouds.