Joseph Robinette's adaptation of Jean Shepherd's beloved Yuletide story doesn't make all the right moves, but A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL will still warm your holiday spirit if you're patient with it.... (more...)
Two wives grapple with the prospect of meeting their common old flame in Noel Coward's FALLEN ANGELS, a situation that played out very differently in 1925 than it does today.... (more...)
THE DAFFODIL GIRLS, Jeff Swearingen's makeover of 'Glengarry Glen Ross,' transformed David Mamet's real estate shark tank into a Girl Scout Cookie drive. Now in a further mutation, Three Bone Theatre successfully produces this children's theatre hit with an all-adult cast.... (more...)
Charlotte Symphony's celebration of Italy with music by Berio, Berlioz, Paganini, and Mendelssohn's ITALIAN SYMPHONY actually peaked with Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1, thanks to the spectacular virtuosity of Sergej Krylov.... (more...)
After we're rid of the obligatory 'Memory,'CP's fond farewall to Pease Auditorium, THE MUSIC OF THE NIGHT, is a lot of fun - but not a lot of music,... (more...)
A less-than-imperial Tracy Lord picks up strength, energy, and enlightenment as THE PHILADELPHIA STORY chugs along at Theatre Charlotte, cresting in time for an affecting epiphany.... (more...)
While nobody onstage reminded us exactly what we were celebrating, Charlotte Symphony's MUSIC FOR A ROYAL CELEBRATION, commemorating the Queen City's 250th anniversary, was a concert fit for a king.... (more...)
With a company that mostly outclassed the replacement cast I saw on Broadway, the HAMILTON tour not only set off a ticketbuying frenzy across Charlotte, it fulfilled theatergoers' wildest expectations.... (more...)
With three sailors on shore leave, a carnival of fantastics seeking to console a disconsolate janitor, and the oddest choreography for Bellini's 'Casta Diva' you'll ever see, FALL WORKS launched Charlotte Ballet's 2018-19 season with wit and style.... (more...)
At times BECKET looms before us like a vast Shakespearean tapestry and at others like a bloated two-hander, but this CPCC Theatre production plays well at Halton Theater, which is really good news as Pease Auditorium bites the dust.... (more...)
MATILDA may be losing some of its appeal as a children's story, especially when Children's Theatre of Charlotte makes it more realistic than the national tour that came to town just two years ago.... (more...)
Symphony's OPENING NIGHT GALA, spotlighting violinist Joshua Bell, boded well for the 2018-19 season to come and the orchestra's celebration of Charlotte's 250th anniversary.... (more...)
Your knees won't buckle when you enter Belk Theater to see LOVE NEVER DIES, Anthony Lloyd Webber's long-awaited sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. There's no gleaming chandelier looming ominously over ticketholders in the front rows, nor will you see any nooks or gargoyles spanning the stage prosce... (more...)
Theatre Charlotte's PETER AND THE STARCATCHER was more enjoyable to me than either the Broadway or the touring versions - partly because I've finally discarded the expectation that the Peter Pan prequel would deliver on Neverland's enchantment.... (more...)
Brand New Sheriff's production of ECLIPSED reaffirms that Danai Gurira is a force to be reckoned with as a playwright as well as a Marvel Universe action hero.... (more...)
As Disney's megahit reaches its 21st Broadway birthday, we're not asking each other anymore if you've seen THE LION KING. Instead we're apt to ask how many times you've seen this unparalleled spectacle or, more nostalgically, 'Do you remember your first time?'... (more...)
Laura Eason isn't misleading or overpromising with her title, SEX WITH STRANGERS, but it's a pleasant surprise to encounter as much brains as body heat... (more...)
Cirque du Soleil has been on a bumpy road in recent years with such dubious spectacles as Delirium and Paramour, but they've regained their zany, surreal, and mesmerizing swagger - and how! - with CORTEO, a smashing epic triumph.... (more...)
Some of the jests of THE BOOK OF MORMON are starting to show some wear, but the buffoonery, vulgarity, and bold tastelessness still satisfy, and the dance ensemble on this third Charlotte go-round - along with Casey Nicholaw's choreography seem more brilliant than ever.... (more...)
Choreography isn't as eye-popping in CPCC Summer Theatre's NEWSIES as the Broadway version was, but the hero's role and all the colorful elders are performed on the same lofty level as the impressive set design.... (more...)
Who is or isn't prejudiced or racist is part of the cargo in Branden Jacob-Jenkins' APPROPRIATE, but the playwright also dissects what makes families tick and malfunction.... (more...)
It takes decades for tragic losses and separations to turn around to bliss in Steve Martin's BRIGHT STAR, but there's plenty of sparkling bluegrass music along that rocky mountain road.... (more...)
Trotting out its third different opening scene, GREASE still doesn't have its artistic act together, but it still delivers mindless, guilty, and politically incorrect pleasures in abundance - with double scoops of sock hop nostalgia.... (more...)
Hamstrung by a libretto that sidesteps Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' and 'Mountaintop' speeches, Douglas Tappin's I DREAM sustains audience enthusiasm with a powerhouse Opera Carolina cast.... (more...)
Charlotte's Off-Broadway takes a homespun approach to Matt Lyle's BARBECUE APOCALYPSE that makes it seem more real than it did in 2015. So does the absence of a rational adult in the White House.... (more...)
BWW Review: A Catchphrase Becomes a Musical Mantra in A CHRISTMAS STORY
BWW Review: Actor's Gym Unearths a Gem in FALLEN ANGELS
BWW Review: THE DAFFODIL GIRLS Vie Viciously for Survival – and a Pony
BWW Review: Mendelssohn's ITALIAN SYMPHONY Upstaged by Epic Paganini Concerto
BWW Review: Like Panoramic Pease, MUSIC OF THE NIGHT Was Fun While It Lasted
BWW Review: THE PHILADELPHIA STORY Bides Its Time Before Detonating
BWW Review: Charlotte Symphony's ROYAL CELEBRATION Delivers Brassy, Breathtaking Music
BWW Review: HAMILTON Sparks a Feeding Frenzy – and Justifies It
BWW Review: FALL WORKS Fetes Bernstein and Robbins in Witty Style
BWW Review: CP's BECKET Struggles With Loyalty, Faith, and Caring
BWW Review: MATILDA Is Less Sweet and More Abrasive at ImaginOn
BWW Review: Symphony's OPENING NIGHT GALA Celebrates With Primal Beauty and Fire
BWW Review: New Horror and Grotesquerie as Phantom Moves to Coney for LOVE NEVER DIES
BWW Review: Fleet Buffoonery Conquers Enchantment in PETER AND THE STARCATCHER
BWW Review: Panther Star Shows Us a Grittier Africa in ECLIPSE
BWW Review: Pride Rock Remains Strong in 'Rafiki Tour' of THE LION KING
BWW Review: SEX WITH STRANGERS Is a Steamy, Brainy Brew
BWW Review: CORTEO Wows, Charms, and Sweetly Dazzles in Arena Remount
BWW Review: BOOK OF MORMON Remains Spectacularly Hilarious
BWW Review: Earthbound NEWSIES Charms With Punk Hero and Youthful Fervor
BWW Review: APPROPRIATE Sports Multiple Meanings and Graveyards
BWW Review: Long Sufferings Redeemed by Pure Longings – and Bluegrass Music – in BRIGHT STAR
BWW Review: Break Out the Mindless Nostalgia With CP's Re-Engineered GREASE
BWW Review: Tappin Music Carries the Night – at the Knight – in Opera Carolina's I DREAM
BWW Review: Homespun BARBECUE APOCALYPSE Improves With Age
