CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA THEATER REVIEWS

Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, has inspired numerous TV, film, and stage adaptations. Frankenstein, as it's commonly known, explores a number of intriguing questions....

The Zoo Story is the first of Edward Albee's plays to be produced. It premiered in Berlin in 1959 and, in 1960, The Zoo Story was performed at Provincetown Playhouse in New York. ...

Performing arts are starting to make a comeback in Central Pennsylvania! Million Dollar Quartet opened at Dutch Apple Dinner Theater on September 17, and it serves as a solid choice to reacquaint local audiences with the unique magic of live theater. I was tempted to joke that it was the best show...

'Chekhov Comedy: Love Hurts!', featuring The Marriage Proposal and The Boor, is the first live show for Gamut Theatre since the pandemic temporarily shut down theatres and other entertainment venues across the region in March....

An Isolated Incident is a delightful who-done-it. And Then There Were None for the Zoom era, An Isolated Incident is written and directed by Paige Hoke for Theatre Arts for Everyone (TAFE) based in York, PA. ...

Life under the threat of COVID-19 is not easy. It's a time of heightened anxiety, fear, uncertainty, and, for many, isolation. Yet, in the midst of the tension and negativity, there are still opportunities to engage and experience through creativity and technology....

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In honor of Women's History Month, TAFE (Theatre Arts for Everyone) of York recently presented a program called Women and One Acts which was just that: 4 short plays about women, 2 monologues and 2 plays with multiple cast members. It was the first in the Adult Perspectives series that aims to 'stim...

The vision of the show is extremely cohesive.  I have seen this show on Broadway.  Theater Harrisburg's version is different, but not inferior. The magic of theater is when different a?oecooksa?? can use the same basic ingredients and come up with two very different, but equally tasty a?oedishesa?...

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'Actors - they lie for a living! That's their profession,' announces the priggish Reverend Duncan Wooley in Ken Ludwig's Pennsylvania-based comedy farce Leading Ladies. The actors in Keystone Theatrics at the Allenberry Resort clearly enjoyed playing that joke to the hilt in the play's two-week run,...

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Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace has long been a staple of high school and community theaters ever since playing on Broadway for four straight years from 1941-1944. But for director Michelle Denise Norton of Upstart Arts in York, Arsenic and Old Lace is what passes for a 'new' play. That's b...

One of the Act 1 numbers in Grumpy Old Men the Musical is titled, 'I Like The Way Things Are'. The lyrics deal with a dislike for change and a strong appreciation for 'the good old days'. This message could also extend to the musical itself. The show is based on the very funny and very popular 1993 ...

Surprise! Surprise! Any production based on the life of Martin Luther King is bound to be deep, thought provoking, and moving. The Mountaintop by Katori Hall was no exception. Adding to the drama and emotion, however, was the unexpected humor in Hall's dialogue. This production had the audience burs...

OMG! IMO Legally Blonde the Musical at Belmont Theatre is high energy, positively pink, and totally LOL. With their stage production ability rivaling any professional theatre, the Belmont in York has put together another high-quality event....

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Sometimes even the best of work could use a little revising, even God's. That's the premise behind Fulton's latest comedy on the fourth floor, An Act of God. God played by the hilarious, Erin Maguire, has decided to update the Ten Commandment and provides some fresh insight and commentary along the ...

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The classic novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn was first published in 1850. The musical is the creative collaboration of The Scarlet Letter Company - Stacey Mancine Koloski, Dan Koloski, Simon Gray, Michael Bahar and Eric Braverman. The Scarlet Letter musical was first fully produced for...

I would be remiss if I neglected to recognize the real stars of this show...the sets! Set design by William James Mohney was top notch.  Each train setting was elaborate and very detailed...

Towards Zero is based on the 1944 Agatha Christie novel by the same name. The play by Agatha Christie and Gerald Verner was first published in 1956 and premiered in the West End at the St. James's Theatre. In typical Christie fashion, Towards Zero employs humor, red herrings, and many twists and tur...

Three Tall Women first appeared on stage in Vienna in 1991. Considered a revitalization of playwright Edward Albee's work, Three Tall Women won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1994. Three Tall Women was inspired by Albee's experiences with his own adoptive mother. In Stretching My Mind, Albee states...