Memphis Theater Reviews

BWW Reviews: Voices of the South Offers a Riveting AWAKENING

by Joseph Baker — April 4, 2015

Poor 'Edna Pontellier' of Kate Chopin's THE AWAKENING - as 'corseted' by society as she is by the habiliments of the day.

BWW Reviews: COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN Proves Timeless

by Caroline Sposto — March 30, 2015

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.

BWW Reviews: Playhouse's VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE Would Make Chekhov Giggle

by Joseph Baker — March 23, 2015

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.

BWW Reviews: Hattiloo's KING HEDLEY II Gets the Royal Treatment

by Joseph Baker — March 20, 2015

KING HEDLEY II Provides Powerful Theatre at Hattiloo

BWW Reviews: Emerald Company Chases the Rainbow in STANDING ON CEREMONY

by Joseph Baker — March 16, 2015

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.

BWW Reviews: PLAYHOUSE Gets Serious With THE SEAGULL

by Joseph Baker — March 16, 2015

Staging a play by Henrik Ibsen or Anton Chekhov poses certain problems for theatre groups.

BWW Reviews: Theatre Memphis' THE BOY FROM OZ - Sparkles Aren't Just for July 4th

by Joseph Baker — March 13, 2015

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).

BWW Reviews: GCT's ALL MY SONS (or Waiting for Larry)

by Joseph Baker — March 8, 2015

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.

BWW Reviews: Theatre Memphis Splits Atoms in COPENHAGEN

by Joseph Baker — February 16, 2015

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.

BWW Reviews: Theatre Works Showcases O'Neill

by Joseph Baker — February 14, 2015

Nothing seems to scare the valiant little troupe Threepenny Theatre Company.

BWW Reviews: THE LION KING Tour Captivates Memphis

by Caroline Sposto — February 9, 2015

It's only fair to start with a confession: I have purposely avoided seeing 'The Lion King' on stage for seventeen years.

BWW Reviews: Playhouse Does the 'Time Warp' Again

by Joseph Baker — February 1, 2015

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,

BWW Reviews: Circuit's BAD JEWS Is Exciting Theatre

by Joseph Baker — January 26, 2015

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

BWW Reviews: Theatre Memphis Spikes the Eggnog with A CHRISTMAS CAROL

by Joseph Baker — December 12, 2014

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

BWW Reviews: Playhouse Has a Right to 'Crow' About PETER PAN

by Joseph Baker — December 8, 2014

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

BWW Reviews: A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL Redefines The Ghost of Christmas Past

by Caroline Sposto — November 28, 2014

This exuberant stage production is like a Norman Rockwell painting brought to life.

BWW Reviews: New Moon Shines With WOMAN IN BLACK

by Joseph Baker — November 10, 2014

BWW Reviews: Theatre Memphis Dusts Off TINTYPES

by Joseph Baker — November 6, 2014

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.

BWW Reviews: The Orpheum Thinks ONCE Is Not Enough

by Joseph Baker — October 29, 2014

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

BWW Reviews: Voices of the South Goes the DISTANCE

by Joseph Baker — October 27, 2014

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.

BWW Reviews: Theatre Memphis Spit-Polishes THE HEIRESS

by Joseph Baker — October 24, 2014

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

BWW Reviews: Circuit Playhouse Remembers THE FANTASTICKS

by Joseph Baker — October 13, 2014

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.

BWW Reviews: Playhouse Offers ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS - and Numerous Laughs

by Joseph Baker — October 3, 2014

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.

BWW Reviews: 'Don't Sit Under the Chandelier with Anyone Else But Me' - PHANTOM Haunts the Orpheum

by Joseph Baker — September 29, 2014

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.

BWW Reviews: MEMBER OF THE WEDDING Has Reception on Theatre Memphis' Next Stage

by Joseph Baker — September 22, 2014

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.