Sam Desmond

The sweeping music and frenetic choreography of a musical and the arrow-piercing drama of a straight play are rarely found together in the same production, but “Jagged Little Pill: the Musical” currently playing at the Smithtown Performing Arts Center through April 19, is a rare melding of those two, and even rare amongst unicorns of theater that can run the gamut of human emotion.

What did our critic think of THE BODYGUARD at John W. Engeman Theater?

A bucolic tale of a small community—almost like the town square that Belle from Beauty and the Beast goes through—that makes a sharp turn into human rights violations, “Fiddler on the Roof” asks quite a bit from its actors to go from whimsical country life to a terrified ousted community deemed undesirable by their own government.

Feisty felines compete for centerstage through dance and song, with nary a meow as this show features no human characters. Currently playing at the CM Performing Arts Center in Oakdale is a mammoth of the musical theater repertory, “CATS.”

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Agatha Christie’s death, theaters across Long Island have been producing great works of the beloved mystery author true to the heritage of Christie and the spirit of her creativity.

The opening night production of “Annie” on Friday, March 6 at the Merrick Theatre & Center for the Arts marked the fourth viewing of the scrappy, upstart orphan I’ve seen this winter alone (there was actually a fifth I could’ve reviewed if BroadwayWorld hired me two weeks earlier).

A devastatingly timely production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” by Cultural Arts Playhouse in Syosset brings us to the small, earnest existence of Anatevka, a Jewish town in the Russian empire during the tumultuous turn of the century.

With theatre that touches upon the religious, it can be tricky to strike a balance between artistry and accuracy that carries the audience’s imagination instead of accidentally shunning creativity.

With exuberant dramatic tension and ballroom fluidity in blocking, the South Shore Theatre Experience’s production of “And Then There Were None” was filled with tension, retribution, and an impressive number of blood packets.

A musical forged in ambition of set, stage, and stamina, director Tommy Ranieri’s vision of a world only beginning to stand up for their rights was sprawling and spectacular. Unlike other versions of “Newsies,” Rainieri’s production had a maturity that touched the cast’s characters to truly feel they deserved better than the circumstances they were backed into.

Teenaged theater kids of my generation (elder millennial) loved “Rent.” It was youth-culture, it was edgy, and introduced to many of us suburban kids the magic of New York City where gay men, lesbian women, drag queens, and matinee-idol heteros could all be friends and love each other as family.

The John E. Engeman Theater found not only one, but five such super-talented individuals for their retrospective and introspective production of “Ring of Fire,” a musical based on the life of Johnny Cash.

The world of late 1930s Brooklyn is brought to life and elucidated in Theatre Three’s triumphant run of the Neil Simon classic,”Brighton Beach Memoirs.”

The ether of war-torn Britain is all-encompassing in “Alice By Heart,” but director Tony Frangipane’s vision overcomes the Nazi raids to create a personal hell of its own that the young characters escape through a British mainstay—literature.

CAP Syosset had their opening night for this winter’s production of “Annie” on Saturday, January 3 and it was a standout version of the classic rags-to-riches musical with a strong, bonded cast.

With the magical notion of having a real ice skating rink on a dramatic stage, the Holiday Spectacular on Ice at the Gateway in Bellport creates wonder in the audience from inception and delivers well beyond expectations in person.

For some holiday cheer, “Annie” at the Smithtown Performing Arts is the Christmas production to bring families that spirit of generosity and can-do attitude for December.

In the perennially winter tale of “Anastasia,” a musical about the young Russian woman with claims to be being the lone survivor of the royal Romanov family’s massacre, The Lighthouse Repertory captured the magic and warmth of a Christmas-time story while creating great dramatic tension.

In the world of Dickens, the reader is for the long-haul of human emotions, and Theatre Three’s 41st annual production has perfected conveying that panoply of passions in the classic, “A Christmas Carol.”

A perennial, heart-warming tale of personal and societal triumph, the Argyle Theatre’s opening night of “Annie” was a celebratory reminder of why we should never give up on our dreams, even if they look a little different when they come true.