Matt Ban News

As one of the nation's leading regional theaters and producing partners for Broadway, Paper Mill Playhouse has a well-earned reputation for launching both performers and shows for Broadway. Since their inception in 1996, the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre have ignited the careers of many notable performers, all of whom attended high school in New Jersey.

Award-winning author Martin Roy Hill's latest mystery thriller, EMPTY PLACES, is now available in both print and Kindle ebook from Amazon.com. Hill's latest entry into the thriller genre takes the reader back to the mid-1980s as the United States clawed its way out of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, scandal after scandal plagued the national political scene, and the White House waged two illegal and unpopular wars in Central America. News service reporter Peter Brandt returns from covering those wars to the wealthy California desert playground of Palm Springs to bury his ex-wife, TV journalist Robin Anderson, with whom he is still in love. When Peter learns Robin was brutally murdered and the local police are doing nothing to uncover her killer, he sets out with his friend, retired cop Matt Banyon, to discover her killer. Peter and Matt's investigation uncovers a cabal of corrupt politicians, anti-communist Nicaraguan Contra supporters, and drug smugglers. Before it's over, Peter will face his own death in a dark and empty place. Hill's first book, DUTY: Suspense and Mystery Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, was named the 2013 Best Short Story Collection/Anthology by the San Diego Book Awards Association. His first novel, the military mystery thriller, THE KILLING DEPTHS, was a finalist for the SDBAA's 2013 Sisters In Crime Best Mystery Novel award and is a top rated seller on Amazon. Both are available from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Hill is a former national award-winning investigative reporter with more than 20 years of experience in newspapers and magazines. He now works as a military analyst in expeditionary medical capabilities. Hill's freelance articles have been seen in such publications as Reader's Digest, LIFE, Newsweek, Omni, American History, Mother Jones, the Los Angeles Times Sunday Opinion Section, and many more. Much of his freelance work involves historical topics, especially military history. He was a lead contributor to the 1995 WWII anthology, "From Pearl Harbor to Nagasaki: America at War," published by the Retired Officer Association. He was also a contributor to the recent 2013 Civil War anthology, 'Gettysburg: Three Days that Saved the United States' published by I-5 Publishing. Hill's short stories have appeared in such publications as Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, San Diego Magazine, San Diego Writer's Monthly, and the Plan B Mystery Anthology and webzine.

The Marcus Center for Performing Arts was rocking Tuesday night for the opening of the Broadway Across America touring company of "Rock of Ages". The atmosphere at the theater was more like a rock concert, than a Broadway musical. And, for this particular brand of show, it worked spectacularly.

Headbanging music and a story derived from a Journey song circa 1981, Rock of Ages is not your typical Broadway musical, yet it's full of energy. If you lived through the 80's era while spending hours playing top hits from groups like Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison and Europa, this is the show for you.

If you're feeling nostalgic for some classic 80s rock and your Van Halen albums just aren't cutting it, then throw on your favorite concert tee, put your lighter in your pocket, and get your butt to The Long Center. To borrow from Brett Michaels and Poison, ROCK OF AGES ain't nothin' but a good time.

Salt Lake City feels the "noize" of a jet-fueled ROCK OF AGES. The Broadway Across America cast is more Broadway-ready than nonEquity tour.

A certain generation (namely, my own) is going to really get a kick out of ROCK OF AGES. Those younger than me will still be amused by its wildly over the top antics, but those that are older may be a bit befuddled by the constant barrage of cultural references from the late 1980's, and probably have no familiarity at all with most of the music that's from that era. I think ROCK OF AGES is a gloriously hilarious and completely ridiculous homage to the big hair, hard rock anthem bands that ruled MTV and the radio at that time. This was cruising music when I was in my late teens and early twenties, so I instantly identified with the attitudes presented, and the music that accompanies each melodramatic moment.

The musical that has been dubbed 'an arena -rock love story set to mind blowing, face melting rock hits of the 80's' is a pretty fair description of what took place at the Merriam Theater on Opening Night, October 18th.

Monty Python's Spamalot, the outrageous musical comedy lovingly 'ripped-off' from the beloved motion picture, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, comes to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Prudential Hall for eight performances from March 29th to April 3rd.

As an avowed Monty Python fan, it was with much anticipation that I looked forward to finally getting the opportunity to see SPAMALOT. Unfortunately, this hodgepodge of scenes cobbled from the cult film (although admittedly, it is a very large cult) Monty Python and the Holy Grail, failed to fully engage me. In fact, it's the additional elements that book writer and Python member Eric Idle includes, along with a couple of fresh songs he's written with frequent collaborator John Du Prez, that really standout in this dubious homage. But, a game cast put on a fine display nonetheless at the Fox Theatre this past weekend (January 7-9, 2011).

Shocking, funny, and very catchy, neatly summarizes the charm of this simultaneously light and dark musical with tongue firmly planted in cheek, 'Little Shop Of Horrors' never fails to entertain.