Hannah Rose News

While certainly far from a perfect show (both in staging and execution), the bus-and-truck version of BULLETS OVER BROADWAY - THE MUSICAL---the quirky and highly-amusing stage musical adaptation of the 1994 big screen comedy penned by Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath---is nonetheless a supremely fun and engaging stage iteration had me in stitches for much of its two hilarious acts, which have been enhanced by lots of silly, old-fashioned antics and an array of surprisingly top-notch musical/acting performances from a solid, mostly young cast. I can honestly say that this production---now finishing up its Los Angeles premiere performances at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood through January 24---is quite possibly the most enjoyable non-equity first national tour I've watched in a long, long time---a wonderful surprise considering such enterprises have a long, contentious history of enticing lots of industry controversy and skepticism even before the curtain goes up.

As Helen Sinclair (Emma Stratton) holds her hand over playwright David Shayne's (Michael Williams) mouth (picture above), fans of the 1994 film Bullets Over Broadway are bound to chuckle as they remember the famously unforgettable line spoken by the movie's Helen Sinclair Oscar winner Dianne Weist, 'Don't speak!' Weist, Jennifer Tilly as Olive and Chaz Palminteri as Cheech stole the brilliant film, so when I heard a couple of years ago that they were rehashing this for a Broadway musical, my reaction was 'Sacrilege! Why? Don't tamper with perfection!' Well, they didn't listen to me, obviously, as the musical went forward, and for some sketchy reasons, was a flop on Broadway. Let me tell you, as reluctant as I was to see the musical now onstage at the Pantages through January 24, I am glad I did, for it is actually quite good, with mostly sparkling performances, ingenious choreography recreated from Susan Stroman's original, fabulous costumes by William Ivey Long...and it's faithful to the film. No one dared to touch Woody Allen's uncannily sharp plot, dialogue and laugh lines. Yes, it could have an original score, but what is accomplished with the old standards aiding in moving the story forward, kind of like in Mamma Mia, works damn well. It's fun, ear and eye-filling entertainment!

127th ROSE PARADE will air live from Pasadena, California TODAY, JANUARY 1 (11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. EST, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. CST, 9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. MST, 8:00 a.m. –10:00 a.m. PST) on the ABC Television Network.

127th ROSE PARADE will air live from Pasadena, California on FRIDAY, JANUARY 1 (11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. EST, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. CST, 9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. MST, 8:00 a.m. –10:00 a.m. PST) on the ABC Television Network.

Long Beach Playhouse's family invites you and yours to a great holiday treat that everyone will enjoy: a fast paced, highly theatrical retelling of the Dickens tale directed and adapted by Phie Mura who was recently seen in BAt Boy the Musical in the Playhouse's Studio Theater, complete ghosts, vibrant costumes, one giant turkey, and plenty holiday cheer. 

The Orpheum Theatre announced today that individual tickets for the Memphis premiere of BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, written by Woody Allen and based on the screenplay by Allen and Douglas McGrath (Beautiful) for the 1994 film, will go on sale Friday, December 18 at 10:00 AM.

Long Beach Playhouse's family invites you and yours to a great holiday treat that everyone will enjoy: a fast paced, highly theatrical retelling of the Dickens tale directed and adapted by Phie Mura who was recently seen in BAt Boy the Musical in the Playhouse's Studio Theater, complete ghosts, vibrant costumes, one giant turkey, and plenty holiday cheer. 

Austin Shakespeare presents the legendary passion of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire at the Rollins Studio Theatre at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, located at 701 West Riverside Drive in Austin at 7:30 pm Thursday-Sunday, November 19 - December 6, 2015. 

Turkeys are on-sale at your local supermarket, so there's no better way to know Thanksgiving is just around the corner - yep, less than two weeks away! - which means that local theater companies will be unleashing their holiday season productions with enough productions of A Christmas Story (both the musical and the play), It's A Wonderful Life and Ebenezer Scrooge-led shows that you could shake a stick at!

Gimme a chorus line of gorgeous girls with gams up to here, a tap-dancing mob of darkly handsome wise guys, a serious lady of the theater whose teeth marks may be found all around a stage set - place them amid a whimsical and altogether unbelievable plot as thin as the best of the old-time movie musicals, complete with a score of tuneful hits from the jazz age, then throw 'em a laugh-out-loud funny script by Woody Allen - and I am in musical theater nirvana.

The national tour of the new musical comedy BULLETS OVER BROADWAY will make its Nashville premiere at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall during a limited, one-week engagement tonight, November 10-15, 2015.

Thus, we are happy to present the return of one our most popular features: The Nashville Theater Calendar, a comprehensive - maybe even exhaustive (lord knows we're exhausted from putting it together, gathering all the info from all over the interwebs!) - listing of theatrical openings for the 2015/16 season. We'll update the calendar every Monday, clearing out the shows that have closed and adding additional information on the shows still to come. Something's missing? That's an easy fix: just send us a message here, on Facebook, or by email at jeffreyellis37215@att.com.

Halloween's all done in, there are still three weeks ahead before we officially give thanks, and Christmas - and all its accompanying frenzy and frivolity - is about seven weeks away! So what's there to do for all the theatrical types jonesing for a trip to make believe? Plenty! Theater companies all over middle Tennessee are showing off their best and brightest, with a number of eagerly anticipated shows opening this weekend and/or continuing from their earlier opening nights and next Tuesday there's a sparkling new Broadway musical swinging through Music City to entertain you…

Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.

Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.

Victoria Theatre Association welcomes the show-stopping Broadway musical BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, Nov. 3-8, 2015 at the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, as part of the 2015-2016 Premier Health Broadway Series.

Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.

Highland Park Players present the laugh-out-loud Tony Award winning musical, AVENUE Q, which is part flesh, part felt and packed with heart. AVENUE Q will be performed at the Northbrook Theatre, 3323 Walters Avenue, now through October 25th. The cast of the show recently appeared on WCIU and performed 'I Wish I Could Go Back to College' - check it out below!

Highland Park Players present the laugh out loud Tony Award winning musical, AVENUE Q, which is part flesh, part felt and packed with heart. AVENUE Q will be performed at the Northbrook Theatre, 3323 Walters Avenue, now through October 25th. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The national tour of the new musical comedy BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, written by Woody Allen and based on the screenplay by Allen and Douglas McGrath (Beautiful) for the 1994 film, launched from Cleveland, OH earlier this month, and is currently playing Burlington, Vermont. Below, check out photos from the show below!