Beverly Robinson

The theater community mourns the passing of celebrated director Shirley Jo Finney, who passed away after battling cancer. The Fountain Theatre will host a memorial service to honor her life and achievements.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature THE HONEY TRAP in Boston, Glenn Close as the latest 'Women in Theater' profile in Connecticut, WEST SIDE STORY in Dallas and more. Check out our top features below!

In Kurtis Boetcher's set design for Marcus Gardley's world premiere A WONDER IN MY SOUL, the backdrop for the South Side beauty shop where the play is set prominently displays the photographs of black female icons ranging from Diana Ross to Beyonce-and all of course have fabulous hair in the photos. And as we learn in the play, Aberdeen "Birdie" Calumet (Greta Oglesby) and Bell Grand Lake's (Jacqueline Williams) fictional beauty shop has played host to a number of these famous black women over the years. But what Gardley's play does so beautifully is take the story of these specific, everyday characters and lend a universality to them. The play takes place primarily in 2008 but shows us flashbacks of young Birdie (Camille Robinson) and young Bell (Donica Lynn) as they make their way from Mississippi to settle in Chicago and start their business. Along the way, Gardley weaves a narrative that is warm and sometimes funny but also ultimately serious and touching. And as one would expect, Johnny Jamison's hair and wig design is just superb.