The latest reviews and critic recommendations from Memphis.
Ed Graczyk's 1976 drama 'Come back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean' has a simple premise: It's September 30, 1975, and a small town dime store in West Texas is hosting the reunion of a James Dean Fan Club to mark the 20-year anniversary of Giant, which was filmed nearby.
I wonder if Jackie Nichols is providing on-site psychiatric help for those involved in the repertory presentations of Anton Chekhov's THE SEAGULL and Christopher Durang's VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE at Playhouse on the Square.
KING HEDLEY II Provides Powerful Theatre at Hattiloo
The Emerald Theatre Company at Theatre Works is currently showcasing not one, not two, not three - but nine pieces in its latest production, STANDING ON CEREMONY: THE GAY MARRIAGE PLAYS.
Staging a play by Henrik Ibsen or Anton Chekhov poses certain problems for theatre groups.
There was a time when it seemed as if any talent contender in a beauty pageant would lay into 'Don't Cry Out Loud' (later, Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' seemed to supplant it).
The intimate venue at Germantown Community Theatre provides a perfect setting for a drama like Arthur Miller's ALL MY SONS, an early-but-still timely demonstration of Miller's gifts as a playwright - and, as with all of Miller's major works, a veritable feast for actors.
Theatre Memphis' Next Stage has girded its loins and taken on the challenge of staging Michael Frayn's dense and difficult COPENHAGEN, and it must have known from the outset that such an esoteric piece will offer rewards to a select audience.
Nothing seems to scare the valiant little troupe Threepenny Theatre Company.
It's only fair to start with a confession: I have purposely avoided seeing 'The Lion King' on stage for seventeen years.
It's an interesting and unintentional coincidence: PETER PAN, which wrapped up Playhouse on the Square's Holiday Season, offered the younger set its first taste of transvestism, with musically gifted actresses alternating in the role of 'Peter' (talk about the incipience of gender confusion); now,
While watching Circuit Playhouse's wickedly funny, stimulating production of Joshua Harmon's BAD JEWS, I was briefly reminded of an almost forgotten episode of SEINFELD, in which 'Elaine' clashes with her mutton-loving cousin 'Holly' over Grandma Mima's missing napkins (actually used by 'Jerry' to h
As my hand was turning to mincemeat while writing personal notes in Christmas card after Christmas card, I persevered, knowing that at the end of my travails there would be a reward: A much anticipated performance of Theatre Memphis' annual 'gift' to Memphis, Charles Dickens' venerable A CHRISTMAS C
Having witnessed the stultifying, bloated NBC production of PETER PAN LIVE (what were the 'powers that be' thinking would hold a child's attention span for three hours, however padded with yet more Peter Pan plugs from Walmart?), I was reluctant to attend Playhouse on the Square's annual production
This exuberant stage production is like a Norman Rockwell painting brought to life.
Not too many seasons back, at Theatre Works I saw a charming review of turn-of-the-century musical numbers (by the likes of Irving Berlin and others) entitled SIMPLE MELODIES.
Despite the fact that I am a great lover of cinema, the film version of ONCE (2006) somehow eluded me; now, the musical stage adaptation, with music by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova and a book by Enda Walsh, is affording Memphians an 'off season' 'pub crawl' at the historic Orpheum Theatre - and
If anyone ever told me that, on a Saturday night, I would be watching a play about an elderly woman suffering from the horrors of Alzheimer's Disease, I would question that person's sanity.
THE HEIRESS, Ruth and Augustus Goetz's 1947 adaptation of Henry James' WASHINGTON SQUARE and currently occupying the Lohrey Stage at Theatre Memphis, has had a long and steady run on stages throughout the world - and why not? Tightly corseted, polite to a fault, and observing proprieties, this intel
Just a few weeks ago I was dodging a falling chandelier at the Orpheum's staging of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA; at the 'Phantom Event' held prior to the play, I was reminded of all the physical (as well as fiscal) requirements for properly staging this production.
With its emphasis on improvisation, stock characters, and a genial carnival atmosphere, the Commedia dell' arte (dating back as early as the 16th century) has never had much appeal to me; I generally find the productions thumb-twiddling after a while.
When Gaston Leroux published THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA back in 1911, little did he realize the numerous chandeliers that would come crashing down through the decades, and I've witnessed a good number of them.
Following the recent triumph of the musical THE ADDAMS FAMILY, and nestled quietly in the more intimate setting of Theatre Memphis' Next Stage, Carson McCullers' touching THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING offers yet another 'Addams Family.
There's Nothing Dead About Theatre Memphis' Ghoulishly Delightful Production of THE ADDAMS FAMILY
|
Mean Girls Playhouse in the Square (8/21-9/13) |
|
Speak, Salvation, Speak Hattiloo Theatre (8/13-9/06) |
|
A Revolution of Her Own!™ Deborah Sampson Poems Park (9/19-9/19) |
|
Rigoletto The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts (10/24-10/24) |
|
Clown Bar Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Memphis (9/24-9/26) |
|
Leanne Morgan McKenzie Arena (10/24-10/24) |
|
Rent Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Memphis (10/29-11/01) |
|
Clue The Orpheum Theatre Memphis (9/15-9/20) |
|
The Pirates of Penzance Germantown Performing Arts Center (2/12-2/14) |
|
Titanic Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Memphis (4/22-4/25) |
