Christine Swerczek - Page 13

CLUE is one of the most confusing, crazy, wacky shows I've seen yet. Midland University Performing Arts delivered an evening of laughs with Jonathan Lynn's murder mystery based on the 1985 film of the same name. The film was based on the classic board game Clue, which originated in 1949 under the name 'Cluedo' by Englishman Anthony E. Pratt. CLUE was also adapted as a musical Off Broadway in 1996 by Peter DePietro. You just can't kill this thing.

ROCK OF AGES is back! And it's better than ever. One more night to catch this blast from the past at the Orpheum Theater is Almost Paradise.

Sometimes a story leaves you disappointed. Or disillusioned. So you take a second look. You read the novella. You watch the film. You return to the Omaha Community Playhouse for another performance of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. And you see it with fresh eyes and a new perspective.

Jonathan Larson's Tony Award-winning groundbreaking musical, RENT, rocks stages across America in its 20th Anniversary touring production. It is currently playing at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska. Forget regret. This is a show you must see.

For those of you who have never been to a production by The Florentine Players, you are in for a treat. It's small town dinner theater. The stage is located at the front of a large space filled with long tables in the Florence City Hall off State Street. At the back of the room is a canteen where you can buy popcorn, cookies, or nachos and a variety of other things. There is a beverage bar in the hallway. It's cozy. It's neighborly. And that's what makes this production of MAKING GOD LAUGH so great.

The Florentine Players have come up with a gem. MAKING GOD LAUGH by Sean Grennan plays FEB 22 and FEB 23 at 7:00 pm, and again on Sunday, FEB 24 at 2:00 pm. Thirty years of a family's life covered in three acts with all their flaws and imperfection will make you laugh until the tears take over. Tickets are available by calling 531-600-8634 or sending email to info@florencetheater.org.

Omaha Community Playhouse is trying something that hasn't been done in awhile. They have cast two sets of leads in the upcoming Jason Robert Brown musical, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. This production is not only unique in its double casting, it's based in our neighboring state, Iowa. Here is a story that's near and dear to our hearts. But how will the Playhouse manage two Francescas and two Roberts? I spoke with the director, Kimberly Faith Hickman, and the leads, Angela Jenson Frey and Thomas Gjere, and Mackenzie Dehmer and James Verderamo to get their take on the process.

Claudia Yanez, who plays Rebecca and understudies for the lead role of Gloria, will be on her feet as Gloria at the Orpheum from February 26 to March 3.

There are some stories you never forget. You cannot forget because they are seared into your memory like a brand. One of those is John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Omaha Community Playhouse has brought that story of loneliness, love, and hope to life with a brilliance you won't want to miss.

Migrant ranch workers in California during the Great Depression, George-an intelligent but uneducated man-and Lennie-a large man with the mind of a child-dream of making enough money to buy their own land. When a crime is accidentally committed, the two men are faced with a moral predicament in one of the most powerful and devastating stories of the 20th century.

If you want to spend 90 minutes with good music, bad rollerskating, and silly fun, this is for you.

A wizard, a hobbit, elves, trolls, dwarves, goblins and a dragon swarm the darkened Circle Theatre to tell the tale of THE HOBBIT, Patricia Gray's adaptation of the 1937 classic fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Reviews unanimously resound with high praise for this world premiere of a play with Omaha roots. I have to say...I agree with all of it.

THE KING AND I is a grand musical with classically sung music which appeals to a large segment of the theater population. The central themes of abuse of power, slavery, and women's position in society may have improved since the 1950s, but the struggle continues.

Having eagerly awaited seeing the Omaha Community Playhouse production of the Tony Award winning play, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, I was disappointed to find that I was not moved. The story, the setting, the action all combined to create a chilly feeling that I couldn't shake.

Dominic Torres who plays Christopher in the show says: 'I think people should come and see the show. It's truly, truly very inspiring. The moral of the story is that the diagnosis does not describe you. Even if you are on the autism spectrum, or whatever other spectrums there are, you are still a person. You can do what you want to do if you put your mind to it.'

Laura Osnes (Cinderella-Cinderella), Susan Egan (Belle-Beauty and the Beast, and the voice of Meg-Hercules), and Courtney Reed (Jasmine-Aladdin) brought their considerable princess powers to the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska along with their 'Fairy God Fairy' Benjamin Rauhala.

ALADDIN is completely satisfying as a theater experience because it has it all: great music, extravagant sets and lighting, gorgeous costumes, enchanting choreography, solid actors, and humor.

The Omaha Community Playhouse's newest show, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, is something new. Something different. Something special. Fortunately, you will have from January 18 through February 10 to satisfy your curiosity!