Sam Hartley News

Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Carrie St. Louis and Kyle Scatliffe in "54 Sings 1776" on July 3 and July 4, 2017.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Carrie St. Louis and Kyle Scatliffe in "54 Sings 1776" on July 3 and July 4, 2017. The Fourth of July meets Broadway in the fourth annual concert staging of the beloved musical, 1776, at Feinstein's/54 Below. Showcase your patriotism with some of Broadway's brightest stars singing numbers such as "Sit Down, John," "He Plays The Violin," "Molasses To Rum," and more as we celebrate the great sacrifices our friends, family, and founding fathers have made to shape our nation.

Upon learning that part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' holiday programming this season was to finally bring a national tour production of ELF - THE MUSICAL---the 2010 Broadway stage musical adaptation of the popular Will Ferrell holiday movie---to its stage, I was pretty ecstatic. For the most part, ELF---which performs at SCFTA through January 1, 2017---delivers enjoyable laughs sprinkled here and there throughout its two acts, and even offers up a non-equity cast equipped with lovely singing voices. But while ELF - THE MUSICAL is certainly festive and has lots of smile-inducing moments, overall, I felt the presented production felt surprisingly subdued. While, sure, it had plenty of genuinely funny and heart-warming moments, many aspects of the NETworks Presentations production needed to be much more over-the-top, manic, and downright silly.

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Pittsburgh, Portland, Orlando and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include DAMN YANKEES at Pittsburgh CLO, WEST SIDE STORY in Portland, and THE BROTHERS SIZE in Orlando, just to name a few.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Enchants at the Orpheum Now Thru July 10!

The 1991 Disney film Beauty and the Beast is a spectacular work of animated musical storytelling. Belle, a type of feminist in a sense (at least within the context of Disney, especially when compared to Ariel, who taught millions of young girls just two years earlier that it is important to change who you are for a man), is an independent, intelligent, and beautiful young woman who reads and finds pleasure in the pursuit of knowledge. She has found her voice and she demands to be heard. So naturally, the whole town thinks she is crazy. A heroine of this caliber is a lot to live up to in any fairy tale and such a fanciful, witty and heartfelt presentation seems impossible to duplicate, but that's what I expect from a Broadway production. I expect seats that can cost a good $120 to rival the magic created by the brilliant animators working with Disney in the early part of that transitional decade. Unfortunately, the touring Broadway musical produced by NETworks Presentations does not live up to this expectation. In fact it falls quite short of perpetuating the wonder and depth established in the original film. I brought my twin 6-year-old daughters to the show and they loved it. Certainly it was quality enough to entertain a kindergartener, but is that really what Dallas should grow to accept as quality theatrical art. We have a booming and continuously growing art scene and so-called 'Broadway' productions such as this should not be tolerated in our community. Broadway is supposed to be a leader in the creation of quality art, not the preservation of an industry that overcharges audiences, underpays artists, undermines unions, and whose primary mission is not artistic success but financial success.

Beauty and the Beast, a "tale as old as time," has landed at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.  The beloved Disney musical adaptation, based on the studio's animated 1991 Best Picture Oscar nominee, still has the ability to enchant an audience of children.  And, apparently, plenty of parents or kids at heart, too.

Be their guest at the Hippodrome for Disney's lavish musical, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

BWW Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Goes Beyond Skin Deep

No doubt one of the greatest classic Disney films of all time, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has launched a new NETworks tour, which reunites original Broadway director, Rob Roth, choreographer, Matt West, along with the original design team, including Ann Hould-Ward (costume designer), Natasha Katz (Lighting Designer), Stanley A. Meyer (Scenic Designer), John Petrafesa Jr. (Sound Designer) and Music Supervision by Michael Kosarin.

Stephanie Harter Gilmore, who plays Madame de la Grande Bouche in NETworks Presentations' traveling production of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast,' talks about what inspires her performances and what makes this tour so special and unique.

PNC Broadway in Louisville fills the Kentucky Center this week with the current tour of the 1993 Broadway hit Beauty and the Beast, the stage version of the 1991 Disney animated movie. The opening night audience included many family groups who clearly were fans of the movie.

Belle, in her bookish ways and reserved manner, was always a stand out princess of Disney's canon. Disinterested in being one of the aptly named "Silly Girls" who spend their idle time fawning over local hunk Gaston, she is a much different kind of Disney heroine.

The magic of Disney continues this season at the Saenger Theatre with the pinnacle tale of enchantment BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. This classic fairy tale makes a return to New Orleans, closing out 2015 with the ultimate "tale as old as time."

First off, it feels superfluous for me to be reviewing this production, for the show is only running for two more days, so before you continue reading, buy your tickets to see it first.*

Still watching the incredible 360 degrees SCHOOL OF ROCK video? Continuously watching the Hamilton cast rap at the BET Hip Hop Awards? Didn't have time to check in on your favorite Broadway stars? Well don't worry BroadwayWorld has rounded up some of the biggest stories from this week from Broadway and beyond with BroadwayWorld's 'This Week in Pictures.'

Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the award-winning worldwide smash hit Broadway musical, is produced by NETworks Presentations.  Check out the all-new production shots below!

This past Saturday I continued my uncharacteristic tour of "scary" Halloween themed plays with Red Mountain Theatre Company's production of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Of course, this Mel Brooks musical is not really scary, but it is definitely fun and entertaining. I found myself laughing out loud many times. This is my kind of Halloween fun!