Regional Roundup: Top New Features This Week Around Our BroadwayWorld 3/2 - ALLEGIANCE, RAGTIME, GHOST, and More!

Los Angeles: Contributor Don Grigware reviews ALLEGIANCE at the JACC. He writes "As I mentioned above the entire 15 member cast do splendid work with their acting, singing and dancing. As a chorus, they sound terrific. Choreographer Rumi Oyama does nice work putting the cast through some fast and furious moves. Se Hyun Oh's scenic design is adequate, as are Halei Parker's costumes. Nice projection work from Adam Flemming, who puts his projections in several places across the stage. One very strange element is the use of box-like shapes that float down consistently. One side of each is used for projections, but why these curious shapes? Do they symbolize something in the Japanese culture? Very disconcerting!"

Philadelphia: Contributor Pati Beuhler reviews SOMETHING ROTTEN at the Kimmel Center. She writes "Did I mention that the theatrical competition at that time is none other than William Shakespeare? Broadway legend Adam Pascal plays the strutting peacock "I am the Will with the skill/ To thrill you with the quill". Pascal is obnoxiously talented in his role. But Nostradamus assures Nick that one day he will dazzle the whole world with his immortal work - a musical called "Omelet". Well, that's almost all the plot you need, because there's entirely too much insanely crazy gobbledygook in Act Two."

Madison: Contributor Scott Rawson reviews AN AMERICAN IN PARIS at the Overture Center. He writes "This combination ballet/musical has cleaned up most of the sexism and misogyny of the original film, as it should, we are, after all, living in a different age. The dancing was fabulous, if not excessive. The set and multi-media were breathtaking. The actors, for the most part, believable."

Seattle: Contributor Jay Irwin reviews Seattle Rep's HERSSEY FELDER AS Irving Berlin. He writes "Felder's talent on the piano is only matched by his talent as a storyteller. He locks you into the ride from the beginning and never lets go. You need someone with presence to be able to carry a one-man show such as this and Felder has that presence in spades but it's an unassuming presence, so you feel like you're just listening to a friend and not a performance. He draws you in with heart and humor and delightfully with a couple of sing-a-longs into which the audience gleefully joined. And adding to the storytelling is a magnificent set from Felder that looks like a living room but then doubles as a backdrop for amazing lighting and projections from Richard Norwood and Christopher Ash & Lawrence Siefert."

Los Angeles: Contributor Michael Quintos reviews THE KING AND I at the Segerstrom Center. He writes "From the moment the curtain rises to reveal the show's first "wow" moment---which finds a stunningly imposing ship Chow Phya slowly docking into Bangkok carrying widowed British school teacher Anna Leonowens (played by the spectacular Laura Michelle Kelly) and her young son Louis (Rhyees Stump)---the production will have you instantly mesmerized. Michael Yeargan's eye-popping sets and Catherine Zuber's Tony Award-winning costumes convincingly transport the audience to 19th Century Siam, where we find the country caught at the crossroads between many centuries' worth of traditional, old-world standards and a new modern, contemporary world outside their borders that is slowly spreading its forward momentum of progress."

Germany: Contributor Mark Janicello reviews GHOST at Theater Des Westens. He writes "Berlin's Molly is played by the Dutch Musical Star, Willemijn Verkaik. Ms. Verkaik may be familiar to New York audiences, having played Elphaba not only in the German and Dutch productions of Wicked but on Broadway and in the West End as well. Technically, she is an extremely accomplished singer with a steel-belted soprano and a vast vocal range. Unfortunately, her strengths, both as an actress and singer, are exactly the opposite of what the role of Molly requires. Where Demi Moore was the warm, emotional center of the film, Ms. Verkaik's stage persona is both cool and somewhat aloof. As a result, there is very little genuine chemistry between herself and Mr. Klaws. Her performance brings to mind Ute Lemper or Marlene Dietrich, not Demi Moore. As talented as she is, she is simply miscast in this role."

Minneapolis: Contributor Karen Bovard reviews INDECENT at the Guthrie. She writes "This production evinces tremendous command of a great range of narrative tools. These include what is in effect a filmic montage with changing angles of view of the final moments of GOD OF VENGEANCE as it is performed across Europe before coming to the US. Projections (Alex Basco Koch, designer) are part of Vogel's text and locate us in time and place, and help us navigate the switches from Yiddish to English. Song and dance (Yehuda Human, choreographer) lift the action. The lighting throughout (Josh Epstein, designer) is simply gorgeous."

Long Island: Contributor Melissa Giordano reviews RAGTIME at the Noel S. Ruiz Theatre. She writes "Among the large cast, Amanda-Camille wonderfully reprises the role of Sarah from a previous local production. Again, she delivers Sarah's heart tugging story so beautifully and also makes a great team with Rodney Jackson, who plays Coalhouse Walker, Jr., the father of Sarah's newborn child. In particular, an audience favorite is their performance of "Wheels Of A Dream" that brings roaring applause. Mr. Jackson's take on the role is terrific as energetic and light in the beginning turning into angst ridden and dark as the story progresses. Also a standout is Brianne Boyd who is absolutely outstanding as Mother. Ms. Boyd's voice is perfect for the soaring score singing her numbers flawlessly. I truly could go on about the whole company as they are all extraordinary."