Lynden Lewis

What did our critic think of MARY POPPINS at Theatre Memphis? MARY POPPINS didn’t open this past weekend at Theatre Memphis. In fact, DISNEY’S MARY POPPINS didn’t open this past weekend. Nope. What opened to cheers and much hoopla was DISNEY AND CAMERON MACKINTOSH’S MARY POPPINS. Yep.

What did our critic think of SOMETHING ROTTEN! at Playhouse On The Square? Do you love Shakespeare? Do you love musicals? Do you love both? Well, if you've answered 'yes' to any of these questions, SOMETHING ROTTEN! at Playhouse on the Square now through September 18, 2022, might be just for you. Opening on Broadway back in 2015, this musical romp was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and ran for close to two years. Cleverly, not only does it embrace the lovers of Shakespeare and musicals, but it also validates those who hate either genre (or both) as it bemoans the difficulty of the Shakespearean language and/or the ridiculousness of performers randomly breaking out into song or dance at a moment's notice. SOMETHING ROTTEN! is a love poem/song/dance to theatre lovers (haters) everywhere. The story, set in 1595, involves the Bottom Brothers (Nick and Nigel) trying to compete with the 'Rock Star' playwright of the time (William Shakespeare) by creating something fresh and new. They summon a soothsayer (Nostradamus) to tell them what the next big thing in theatre will be-he foresees something called a 'musical' and away they go. The premise that musicals were invented to compete with Shakespeare is a fun idea, but it's a concept that wears thin the longer it plays out. Under the lofty direction and choreography of Whitney Branan, Playhouse on the Square's production is appropriately silly and entertaining, but due to some miscasting and technical choices, still falls short of being all that it could be.

When Nick and Nigel Bottom decide their theatre troupe rivals that of William Shakespeare the best way to beat him is to hire a soothsayer and write a musical about Eggs… right? This Tony Award-winning romp is a love story to all things theatre!

Ladies & Legends, Songs of Stage & Screen, a fun and original cabaret performance as part of a Summer Showcase, opens at Theatre Memphis in the Next Stage July 13 and runs through July 29, 2018. A bevy of talented divas have who have performed numerous roles on the TM stages will entertain you with their strong vocal solos and harmonies as they come together in our Next Stage cabaret setting. With a mix of favorites from Broadway, movies and popular song lists, musical director Gary Beard has conceived an evening that will resound with the best and brightest voices to bring you the perfect summer offering.

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's INTO THE WOODS runs now through April 3, 2016, on the Lohrey Stage at Theatre Memphis. This storybook fantasy is a musical journey with an original story based on several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. A childless baker and his wife set out on a mission to begin a family but must break a Witch's curse. Their travels bring them to interact with characters from Little Red Riding Hood, Jack & the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Cinderella and more. The show is a delightful romp with a dose of reality thrown in the mix that makes one question happily ever after. BroadwayWorld has a fresh set of production photos below!

Stephen Sondheim himself is kind of a 'GIANT,' if you think about it. Over the last decades he has been responsible for raising the (musical) bar in musical theater with lyrics and music that can take an audience far beyond Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'bright golden haze on the meadow.' SWEENEY TODD, FOLLIES, PACIFIC OVERTURES, COMPANY -- all of these entertain and even challenge an audience; and even though ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, the composer/lyricist isn't just satisfied with that. His INTO THE WOODS (one of my two or three favorite musicals of all time) is evidence of that. Had he only conceived that first act (with that amazing Book by James Lapine), INTO THE WOODS would have had a show complete unto itself: Familiar characters from children's literature -- Cinderella, the Baker and his Wife, Jack (sans his Beanstalk), Rapunzel, and Red Riding- hood -- come alive, and the story of each overlaps with another, all held together by a cohesive Narrator (performed here by the indispensable Joseph Lackie, himself a former 'Sweeney Todd'). If you walked out during intermission, you would have done so with an entirely pleasant level of satisfaction; however, it's that second act that catapults the musical onto an altogether higher plane. By the time the gorgeous 'No One Is Alone' closes the performance, audience members are moved to be reminded that 'sometimes people leave us / Half way through the woods.'

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's INTO THE WOODS will open March 11 and run until April 3, 2016, on the Lohrey Stage at Theatre Memphis. This storybook fantasy is a musical journey with an original story based on several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. A childless baker and his wife set out on a mission to begin a family but must break a Witch's curse. Their travels bring them to interact with characters from Little Red Riding Hood, Jack & the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Cinderella and more. The show is a delightful romp with a dose of reality thrown in the mix that makes one question happily ever after. Scroll down for a first look at the cast onstage!

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's INTO THE WOODS will open March 11 and run until April 3, 2016, on the Lohrey Stage at Theatre Memphis. This storybook fantasy is a musical journey with an original story based on several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. A childless baker and his wife set out on a mission to begin a family but must break a Witch's curse. Their travels bring them to interact with characters from Little Red Riding Hood, Jack & the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Cinderella and more. The show is a delightful romp with a dose of reality thrown in the mix that makes one question happily ever after. Scroll down for a first look at the cast onstage!

Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods will open March 11 and run until April 3, 2016, on the Lohrey Stage at Theatre Memphis. This storybook fantasy is a musical journey with an original story based on several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. A childless baker and his wife set out on a mission to begin a family but must break a Witch's curse. Their travels bring them to interact with characters from Little Red Riding Hood, Jack & the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Cinderella and more. The show is a delightful romp with a dose of reality thrown in the mix that makes one question happily ever after.

During the Holiday Season, theatregoers looking to dodge 'fairy dust' and seek for something beyond the shadow of the Ghost of Christmas Future might as well have a Christmas stocking with a hole in it. Occasionally, the 'grownups' might find something like the dark and challenging THE SEAFARER, which played to meager audiences a few years back at Circuit; despite an exceptional cast (Tony Isbell, Jim Palmer, et al) and a fine production, this beautiful little play failed to bring in the audiences (it was one of my favorite theatrical experiences). The result is that PETER PAN, A TUNA CHRISTMAS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and all their Yuletide ilk pretty much dominate the stages -- and why not? They are delightful experiences, eliciting all the joy and sentimentality one craves as the 25th approaches. However, for those who gag on eggnog, Playhouse on the Square has squeezed out a few performances of I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE, the 'slice of life' musical with Book and Lyrics by Joe DiPietro and Music by Jimmy Roberts. Ironically, it's Playhouse's 'gift' to those who prefer to leave their Christmas spirit at home.

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is on stage this holiday season at Playhouse on the Square! Told through a series of vignettes, this fast paced musical celebrates the ups and downs behind contemporary relationships.

Tennessee Shakespeare Company, in partnership with the University of Memphis' Department of Theatre & Dance, presents its second developing musical reading on the U of M mainstage with Midsummer Night by Valerie Vigoda and Brendan Milburn on June 27 at 7:00 pm.

The lessons of MARY POPPINS are made more palatable by those spoonfuls of sugar.

August 7, 2010, The Orpheum Theatre will hold its Eighth Annual Orpheum Star Search, showcasing young musical talent from across the Tri-State area. More than 200 contestants auditioned this summer, and twelve finalists between the ages of 15 and 21 were chosen.

August 7, 2010, The Orpheum Theatre will hold its Eighth Annual Orpheum Star Search, showcasing young musical talent from across the Tri-State area. More than 200 contestants auditioned this summer, and twelve finalists between the ages of 15 and 21 were chosen.