VAN FLEET THEATER AT COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

by Paul Batterson - June 16, 2024

While at times THE LION KING seems like a note for note repetition of the movie, what pushes the musical into new territory is the costume design, a stellar group of actors, and of course, an empowering soundtrack....

by Paul Batterson - June 13, 2024

Two questions almost immediately sprang up when people were told that the Temptations and the Four Tops were performing June 11 at the Jeanne B. McCoy Center for the Arts in New Albany. People asked, Those two groups are still around? and How many of the original members are left?...

by Paul Batterson - May 27, 2024

What did our critic think of JOE JACKSON at At Davidson Theatre?...

by Paul Batterson - May 21, 2024

What did our critic think of A WALK IN THE WOODS at The Abbey Theater? Bishara’s non-nonsense Honeywell verbally spars with Holliday’s frivolous Botvinnik. The Soviet diplomat believes the only way the treaty can work is if the two develop an attitude of friendship and trust. Honeywell believes the ...

by Paul Batterson - May 13, 2024

HAIR is not your typical linear, point A to point B musical. It roughly ambles through vignettes of the members of a “tribe” of hippies in New York City. And yet, HAIR is as important as it is subversive. Without it, shows such as RENT, ANGELS IN AMERICA, and HAMILTON probably wouldn’t stand a chanc...

by Christina Mancuso - May 09, 2024

TINA: The Tina Turner Musical came blazing in like a bolt of lightning with thunderous applause on opening night at the Ohio Theatre, just as most of our state was under severe tornado warnings.  TINA tells the remarkable story of the musical legend, and shares it all – the good, the bad, and the ug...

by Paul Batterson - May 08, 2024

This musical would flounder without a dynamic leading woman. In this case, TINA has two – Zurin Villanueva (who performed in the May 7 show) and Ari Groover because of the energy and vocal demands of the role....

by Paul Batterson - May 05, 2024

The first night Batiste went from performing solo, to playing with a jazz trio to playing with a 41-piece orchestra in a two-hour span. The following night The former musical director of LATE NIGHT WITH STEPHEN COLBERT unveiled a previously unheard piano concerto commissioned by ProMusica. Either ni...

by Paul Batterson - April 29, 2024

Brilliant acting mixed in with a powder keg of singing, dancing, and orchestration stuns its audience....

by Paul Batterson - April 23, 2024

RIDE THE CYCLONE is more like an eccentric Tim Burton film than a John Hughes hug fest. However, the moments of genuine humanity and sentiment keeps the show from going off the rails....