Andy Ankrom News

What did our critic think of FLANNEL: A 90S MUSICAL at Shadowbox Live!?

What did our critic think of MILLENNIUM at Shadowbox Live!?

When it is at its best, ROCK THIS WAY is not just a cruise ship karaoke offering of the two rock bands; it’s a history lesson.

To understand Shadowbox Live’s latest offering, HOT STUFF, you need to go back to Thanksgiving or, more precisely, the day after Thanksgiving. On Nov. 24 this year, families offered up the traditional fare of turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, and Aunt Clara’s green bean casserole. The day after Thanksgiving, though, you get to pick through the best parts of the meal, feast on your favorites, and leave the green bean casserole in the fridge.

Growing up, Katy Psenicka admits she didn’t listen to the radio the way her peers did. While her friends were jamming to country and western, pop music, or rock classics, the chief choreographer for Shadowbox Live! heard the notes but saw movement.

While not all the sketches are home runs, most offer a solid chuckle to nearly everyone. It may not be an event you can feel comfortable taking your grandparents to, but maybe you could bring a drunk Aunt Martha and Uncle Bill this time around.

Under the direction of Julie Klein, the theater troupe weaves together the divergent catalogue of the two icons with a variety of singers and styles, multimedia presentations, and the storytelling of Michelle Daniels.

The Shadowbox motto is to do to sketch comedy what Second City does for improv. To do that, it uses a simple formula: crisp writing and solid acting produce big laughs.

Shadowbox Live reached deep into their skill sets to celebrate the 11 leaders’ achievements through art, words, dance and song while educating the audience on their significance.  

Produced and directed by Julie Klein, PILLOW TALK provides a collection of Shadowbox Live’s best skits of the past year, hits the right notes for a variety of patrons. the two-act mixture of rock and roll and comedy opened Jan. 5 and runs through April 13 at the troupe’s stage at 503 S. Front Street in downtown Columbus.

The latest wave of standings have been announced as of Monday, November 20th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Columbus Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

When Ashley Pearce interviewed to become a part of the Shadowbox Live theatre troupe, one of the questions she was asked was what her favorite rock group?

The hardest working theater troupe in Central Ohio is currently delivering its Stev Guyer-ized version of "Monty Python's Spamalot." The 2005 musical by Eric Idle and John Du Prez was "lovingly ripped off" from the motion picture 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail," and while audience members will appreciate some uniquely Shadowbox additions and a bit of Central Ohio humor (notably, among others, Gym Ganahl as "Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Show"), Python fans will find this version to be of the goofy, flamboyant, and totally inane flavor expected.

Shadowbox Live presented the completely campy REEFER MADNESS again last night, and in Julie Klein's warped little director's brain, it was pure "mockumentary" delight. REEFER MADNESS is a wacky musical adaptation of the 1936 exploitive propaganda film by the same name that became a cult classic.

Shadowbox Live presents the musical Reefer Madness, opening April 22nd at The Shadowbox Live Building.