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Memphis Theater Reviews

The latest reviews and critic recommendations from Memphis.

BWW Review:  Theatre Memphis Plays 'Cats and Mouse' With WAIT UNTIL DARK

BWW Review: Theatre Memphis Plays 'Cats and Mouse' With WAIT UNTIL DARK

by Joseph Baker — October 19, 2015

The set alone is testament as to why Theatre Memphis invariably is recognized during awards season for its designers -- two dominant windows admitting shifts in light as darkness falls, steps descending into a blind woman's apartment (steps on which menacing characters will align themselves as they

BWW Review:  Playhouse Plays MATCHMAKER

BWW Review: Playhouse Plays MATCHMAKER

by Joseph Baker — October 5, 2015

Interestingly, Playhouse on the Square has opted to produce Thornton Wilder's THE MATCHMAKER rather than HELLO, DOLLY, the legendary musical that it spawned - and therein lies both the blessing and the curse: There are so many lines here that served as song cues that the specter of Jerry Herman's 'e

BWW Reviews: Playhouse's GOSPEL AT COLONUS Finds Sophocles 'Holy Rollin'

BWW Reviews: Playhouse's GOSPEL AT COLONUS Finds Sophocles 'Holy Rollin'

by Joseph Baker — June 21, 2015

While watching THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS, the African-American version of Sophocles' OEDIPUS AT COLONUS as created by Lee Breuer (with music by Bob Telson), I was reminded of the reimagining of the Old Testament by Marc Connelly in the 1930 Pulitzer Prize-winning THE GREEN PASTURES.

BWW Reviews: Hattiloo's SIMPLY SIMONE Sings and Zings

BWW Reviews: Hattiloo's SIMPLY SIMONE Sings and Zings

by Joseph Baker — June 14, 2015

Somewhere in my prodigious vinyl collection there is at least one album by the self-proclaimed 'High Priestess of Soul,' Nina Simone; and having just seen SIMPLY SIMONE: The Music of Nina Simone, at the Hattiloo Theatre, I am taking a deep breath and planning to thumb through my myriad of records in

BWW Reviews: Theatre Memphis' ANYTHING GOES - It's 'De-Lovely'!

BWW Reviews: Theatre Memphis' ANYTHING GOES - It's 'De-Lovely'!

by Joseph Baker — June 6, 2015

It's early June in Memphis, but, with the recent success of Playhouse on the Square's KISS ME, KATE and, now, Theatre Memphis' sparkling production of ANYTHING GOES, we seem to be having, as my late grandmother might say, 'another 'cole' snap' - Cole Porter, that is.

BWW Reviews: Circuit's SEMINAR Should Be Required Viewing

BWW Reviews: Circuit's SEMINAR Should Be Required Viewing

by Joseph Baker — June 1, 2015

There's something intrinsically dramatic about a formidable artist/instructor who, because of whatever circumstances, finds that he or she has to step down a rung on the ladder of fame in order not to slip from that ladder altogether.

BWW Reviews: Playhouse 'Brushes Up' KISS ME, KATE

BWW Reviews: Playhouse 'Brushes Up' KISS ME, KATE

by Joseph Baker — May 11, 2015

For its spring musical, Playhouse on the Square has reached several decades back and produced -- not an 'old warhorse of a musical' (sorry, Rodgers and Hammerstein) -- but a true thoroughbred, Cole Porter's sparkling, innovative (at the time) KISS ME, KATE.

BWW Reviews: And BEST OF BROADWAY 2 Begat BEST OF BROADWAY 3

BWW Reviews: And BEST OF BROADWAY 2 Begat BEST OF BROADWAY 3

by Joseph Baker — April 24, 2015

Once again, it's Spring; and once again, Stage Door Productions has brought professionals and nonprofessionals together to share their love of musical theatre and their talents in what is, by now, an annual event: THE BEST OF BROADWAY 3, closing this weekend at the KROC Center, is Director Brandon K

BWW Reviews:  Dia-TRIBES at Circuit

BWW Reviews: Dia-TRIBES at Circuit

by Joseph Baker — April 21, 2015

David Morgan's detailed set design for Circuit Playhouse's production of Nina Raine's TRIBES 'speaks volumes' (no pun intended) for the noisy, ego-driven family the audience is about to meet: Piano, stage left; 'intellectual' clutter scattered about; books everywhere; and - oh, yes - a liquor bottle

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Roots of the Sea and Land | Bridging Worlds: An International Black Theatre Festival in Memphis Roots of the Sea and Land | Bridging Worlds: An International Black Theatre Festival
Hattiloo Theatre (10/16-10/25)
Needtobreathe & The National Parks in Memphis Needtobreathe & The National Parks
Sailors Memorial Auditorium (3/12-3/12)
Opera Memphis' 70th Anniversary Concert in Memphis Opera Memphis' 70th Anniversary Concert
Overton Park Shell (10/10-10/10)
Rigoletto in Memphis Rigoletto
The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts (10/24-10/24)
The Pirates of Penzance in Memphis The Pirates of Penzance
Germantown Performing Arts Center (2/12-2/14)
Leanne Morgan in Memphis Leanne Morgan
McKenzie Arena (10/24-10/24)
The 10th Annual FREE Shout-Out Shakespeare Series: Love's Labor's Lost in Memphis The 10th Annual FREE Shout-Out Shakespeare Series: Love's Labor's Lost
Tennessee Shakespeare Company (9/25-10/18)
The Great Gatsby in Memphis The Great Gatsby
Tennessee Shakespeare Company (1/29-2/14)
Broadway Gala for Children's Literacy: featuring Musical Star Norm Lewis​ in Memphis Broadway Gala for Children's Literacy: featuring Musical Star Norm Lewis​
Tennessee Shakespeare Company (4/10-4/10)
A Swingin' Christmas Cabaret in Memphis A Swingin' Christmas Cabaret
Tennessee Shakespeare Company (12/04-12/20)