Jessica Ball

Review: CHRISTMAS BY CANDLELIGHT at The Candlelight Theatre
by Rosanne DellAversano - Nov 25, 2025

It’s the same thinking every year. You tell yourself, this year the holidays will be different. But, the days fly by and before you know it – BAM! – Thanksgiving is two days away and Christmas is just around the corner. You start to get a little panicked. So much to do, so little time. It’s very easy to become a Grinch. Hang on! What you really need is to slow down and take time for yourself. Have a little fun. And it just so happens, there’s a little dinner theater in Arden, Delaware full of elves just waiting to serve up a platter full of holiday cheer just for you.

Review: CHRISTMAS BY CANDLELIGHT at Candlelight Music Theatre
by Greer Firestone - Nov 25, 2025

Aisle Say is really dating himself as he references Laurel and Hardy’s MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS. It must have been 1953 on Christmas Day when I first saw it on our black and white Mortorola. I still believed. I was mesmerized. Each Christmas Day for many years I looked forward to it. That movie made it difficult to disbelieve.

Review: RAGTIME at Candlelight Music Theatre
by Greer Firestone - Sep 28, 2025

Ragtime, like the mega-musicals of the late 1990s (Les Mis, Phantom, Miss Saigon), is epic in scope. Candlelight’s staging, running through October 26, is a monumental success — vocally, visually, and emotionally.

Review: HOLIDAY INN at Candlelight Music Theatre
by Greer Firestone - Nov 21, 2024

Aisle Say didn’t have enormous expectations for “Holiday Inn”, mostly because I have zero expectations for society in general right now. Happily, Candlelight abandoned their normal “Christmas by Candlelight” (a grab bag of seasonal ‘heartwarming’ songs). Two words you will never read in this column: ‘unique’ and ‘heartwarming’.

Review: HELLO DOLLY! at Candlelight Music Theatre
by Greer Firestone - Jan 29, 2024

Hello Dolly! Opened on Broadway in 1964 with the irrepressible, wide-eyed, charismatic Carol Channing in the title role, winning 10 Tony’s including Best Musical and Best Actress for Channing. The show was her signature and, to understate, she held it close. An understudy once remarked that she was looking forward to subbing in for her. “Don’t hold your breath, sister”. Channing played the part over 5000 times.

Review: I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE at Candlelight Music Theatre
by Greer Firestone - Apr 28, 2023

What dAisle Say was a trifle surprised at the first dialogue interchange of I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE, the current production at Candlelight. It was risqué, somewhat risk-taking from the norm, owing to the senior citizen demographics of their audience.id our critic think of I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE at Candlelight Music Theatre?

The Ritz Theatre Company Presents SHE LOVES ME, A Perfect Rom-Com Musical For The Holiday Season
by A.A. Cristi - Nov 10, 2022

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season already upon us, The Ritz Theatre Company prepares to present the enchanting Golden Age musical She Loves Me, a perfect rom-com show for 'the most wonderful time of the year.' Directed and choreographed by Roberta Curless, the production runs at The Ritz from December 2nd through December 18th.

Olney Theatre Center's SIGNAL BOOST Kicks-Off Tonight With Music Mondays
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Nov 9, 2020

Tonight, Olney Theatre Center begins a new phase of online programming with the premiere of Signal Boost a multi-pronged digital initiative that includes a series of short concerts: 'Music Mondays'; a podcast covering the history of Olney Theatre hosted by Melissa Gilbert, 'The Melissa Gilbert Learning Hour' and more.

Review: THE TRAGEDIE OF MACBETH �" An Immersive Experience Takes You Inside the Spooky Atmosphere of Shakespeare's Scottish Play
by Shari Barrett - Oct 16, 2019

As the tension mounts to its bloody end, audience members, especially the few who get invited into the scene within Macbeth's castle, are drawn into the characters' lives and motives, all the while experiencing the evocative moody atmosphere of haunted, stone-walled castles. Kudos go out to the entire design team from Runco's sets, Avery Reagan and Wesley Chew's lighting design, Joseph a?oeSloea?? Slawinski's sound design, to A. Jeffrey Schoenberg's costume design which work brilliantly together with the talented acting ensemble to transport audiences into a sensory experience none will ever forget.

AIP Presents its 17th Annual Cabaret Festival
by Stephi Wild - May 5, 2019

Artists in Partnership (AIP), a non-profit cultural arts organization, will host its 17th Annual Cabaret Festival May 14-19 at the Long Beach Public Library, 111 West Park Avenue, Long Beach, NY. The festival will be a celebration of the cabaret genre honoring the Great American Songbook with performances by award-winning artists (MAC, Bistro, Broadway World, Nightlife awards, among others) and participants in the Adela and Larry Elow American Songbook High School Competition (who are noted by *). All performances are FREE to the public.

BWW Blog: On The Verge 2016 - Live Fast, Die Awesome
by Maggie Yates - Sep 23, 2016

Santa Barbara supports a sizeable, like-minded artistic community that has, for the past two years, collided their stories and aesthetic styles into building blocks of communal inspiration. The constructed product is the annual On The Verge Summer Repertory Theater. This festival presents a vision of reality interpreted by the young, upcoming generation of theater artists.

Washington National Opera to Open 2016 with Apartheid-Era Opera LOST IN THE STARS
by BWW News Desk - Feb 12, 2016

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 60th anniversary season with the company premiere of Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson's LOST IN THE STARS, February 12-20 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.

Washington National Opera to Open 2016 with Apartheid-Era Opera LOST IN THE STARS
by BWW News Desk - Jan 12, 2016

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 60th anniversary season with the company premiere of Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson's LOST IN THE STARS, February 12-20 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.

Signature Theatre to Host 2015 Open House Next Month
by Tyler Peterson - Jul 17, 2015

Virginia's Signature Theatre opens its doors for its annual Open House on Sunday, August 2, for an all-day extravaganza full of live performances and arts events across five different stages. Free and open to the public, this special summer event runs from noon until 8:30pm, with numerous performances throughout the Signature complex starting every fifteen minutes, as well as a one-day-only discounted ticket sale at the Box Office for select performances of mainstage shows in Signature's 2015/16 season.

USA Network Welcomes Transgender Teen Nicole Maines for ROYAL PAINS Episode Tonight
by TV News Desk - Jun 23, 2015

Transgender teen Nicole Maines makes her acting debut as a guest star in ROYAL PAINS episode 704, 'The Prince of Nucleotides,' airing tonight, June 23.

USA Network Casts Transgender Teen Nicole Maines for Special ROYAL PAINS Episode
by Caryn Robbins - Jun 17, 2015

Transgender teen Nicole Maines makes her acting debut as a guest star in ROYAL PAINS episode 704, 'The Prince of Nucleotides,' which will air on Tuesday, June 23

NBCUniversal Options Timothy Hallinan's JUNIOR BENDER Crime Novels for Eddie Izzard
by Caryn Robbins - Oct 7, 2014

Universal Television has optioned the critically acclaimed "Junior Bender" series of comic crime novels by Timothy Hallinan for an NBC network series produced by Eddie Izzard.

Tony Award Winner Donna Murphy to Guest on USA's ROYAL PAINS
by Caryn Robbins - Apr 10, 2014

Multi award-winning actress and singer Donna Murphy ("Made in Jersey," "Trust Me") will guest in the sixth season of ROYAL PAINS which returns this summer with 13 all new episodes.

BWW EXCLUSIVE! Donna Murphy Set For ROYAL PAINS Guest Starring Role
by Pat Cerasaro - Apr 9, 2014

Two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway superstar Donna Murphy has just landed a recurring guest starring role on hit USA series ROYAL PAINS, BroadwayWorld can exclusively confirm.

Diane Farr to Guest on USA Network's ROYAL PAINS
by Caryn Robbins - Apr 1, 2014

Actress/producer/writer Diane Farr (“Rescue Me,” “Numb8rs”) will guest in the sixth season of ROYAL PAINS which returns this summer with 13 all new episodes.