Melissa Hall

A world premiere, a Hoosier playwright, and a little piece of fascinating but overlooked history. Borrowed Babies has all the makings of a great play. American Lives Theatre’s (ALT) current production is on stage at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre right now. ALT produced playwright Jennifer Blackmer’s Predictor in 2023. That show demonstrated Blackmer could highlight a piece of history while breathing life into it and developing rich characters.

It’s not often you get a peek behind the curtain as an audience member in the theater. I was able to glimpse behind the scenes of the Indiana Repertory Theater’s latest production The 39 Steps. It’s impossible not to have a greater appreciation for a production when you see the actual hammering and sewing that it takes to make it happen.

Waitress is one of the rare non-musical movies that transitions to the stage with ease. The show is currently on stage at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre and features a score by Sara Bareilles, filled with heart. It tells the story of a woman, trapped by her circumstances, who longs for another life.

The Beef & Boards annual family show is the perfect way to kick off the summer. There are a few big moments in the production with the wow factor, including an aerial ribbon dancer and a mermaid soaring through the sea.

What did our critic think of THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG at Indiana Repertory Theatre?Sometimes you don’t realize how badly you needed to laugh until your sides are aching, and your face hurts. The Indiana Repertory Theatre is certainly ending its season with a bang, in the form of a collapsing set and an abundance of laughs. The Play That Goes Wrong is known for inducing fits of hilarity in the audience. The plot follows a local community group putting on a murder mystery, but nothing seems to go as planned.

The success of this production rests on the voices of the actresses and what a success it is! Without incredible singers, the rest falls flat. Each of the four give beautiful performances, but it was the voices of Akili Ni Mali as Nina Simone and Jamecia Bennett as Sarah that brought the house down.

The show’s farcical first half works because the second sticks the landing. Agatha Christie was the master of the big reveal, and this is one of her best. It all comes together beautifully in the final moments.

There are a few Indy performers whose name alone is enough to get me to their show. Ben Asaykwee and Claire Wilcher are two of those actors. They’ve come together for “White City Murder”, an original musical Asaykwee created about the serial killer H.H. Holmes, who made his mark at the Chicago’s World Fair in 1893.

A trip on the yellow brick road is not a rare occurrence in local theater, but some productions just hit it out of the park. The current one at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre managed to find the perfect cast, include a wonderfully fresh and diverse group, including Bessie D. Smith as the delightfully devious Wicked Witch of the West.

Thirty years ago I saw my very first professional musical. I was just a kid, and I was in awe of the performance at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. That very same show, The King and I, is on stage now and the magic is still there. It may be tinged with nostalgia for me, but the talent on stage is undeniable.

The stodgy claustrophobic feel of the first half of the show is intentional and director Christ Saunders handles it beautifully. We are meant to be just as frustrated as Mr. Peel at the red tape and wheel spinning of the committee.

You can go to the show to see Thomas play Atticus, or Mary Badham (who played the original Scout in the film) as Mrs. Dubose, but the real reason you should go is to see a powerful night of theatre. It’s one of the best Broadway Across America productions I’ve seen in recent years.

Matilda is an entertaining show, but the message at its heart is the transformative power of finding love and connection. And that's just about perfect for the holiday season.  

A Christmas Carol is back at the Indiana Repertory Theatre. This holiday tradition is an audience favorite for a reason. New this year, Priscilla Lindsay directs and brings so much humor into the show with playful moments between the cast members. 

The mega-hit musical Frozen is on stage now at the Old National Centre. I can’t think of many shows that would be a better fit for a child’s first Broadway experience. These characters are so beloved and watching the show was like leaning into one of Olaf’s warm hugs.

Do you think you know the story of Frankenstein? Do you picture a green-skinned creature with bolts in his neck? The true story is less about the monster than it is about its creator and this adaptation looks closely at the writer behind the story. It's a tale of man's hubris and catastrophic guilt and how very human those things are.

Bard Fest, Indy's only annual Shakespeare Festival, is producing the epic two-play cycle of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer-prize-winning Angels in America. They will present Part One - Millennium Approaches and Part Two - Perestroika in rotation throughout the month. In anticipation of its landmark June premier, some of the cast of Angels in America (AIA) answered some questions about the show.

If you want to be reminded of the magic of theater, take a young child to see their first show. It’s nothing short of exhilarating to see their face light up when a story comes alive in front of them. Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre’s current production of Beauty and the Beast pulls out all the stops. This show is the perfect example of the theater doing what it does best and it’s one of the finest shows I’ve seen there in years.