Perhaps the most sobering thing about Raleigh Little Theatre's production of MEASURE FOR MEASURE is the fact that the same societal afflictions making headlines today were timely 400 years ago. Even more telling perhaps is the fact that Shakespeare, an astute observer of humanity, was inspired to sp... (more...)
When Zack Fine's play BEWILDERNESS begins, it feels like a time machine has landed at PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill and philosopher and writer Henry David Thoreau has emerged. Fine, playing himself, directly addresses the audience while Thoreau, eagerly played by company member Geoffre... (more...)
Based on Sholem Aleichem's series of short stories about Tevye the Dairyman, Fiddler on the Roof centers on Tevye, a poor milkman who lives in pre-revolutionary Russia with his wife and five daughters. Among the traditions in their little village of Anatevka, the matchmaker arranges a match between ... (more...)
Four years ago, my husband and I took our kids to New York for Christmas. Like many unsuspecting fools, we just had to see the Macy's Santa. After winding our way through a gumdrop forest for what seemed to be an eternity, we made it to Santa's house, where he chatted with our fed up children for ab... (more...)
There are times I drag my reluctant husband to a show because if I didn't, I might not ever see him. And I'm pretty sure he would tell you he finds most shows uninspiring. However, as we left The Kennedy Theatre tonight following Theatre Raleigh's OH WHAT A HOLY NIGHT holiday show, he turned to me a... (more...)
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But how well do you really know Rudolph?
Sure, if you're like me, you remember watching the stop-motion animated special on television as a kid. And surely you've heard Gene Autry's version of the song time... (more...)
In the Broadway musical ELF, one of the characters says, 'Lower your expectations and you won't be disappointed.' Perhaps audiences attending the touring production of ELF playing at The Durham Performing Arts Center this week should heed that advice.
Based on the 2003 movie, ELF tells the story ... (more...)
What makes a good play? A musical can hook you with a snappy showstopper, but a play, on the other hand, is all about the language, rhythm, and story. And some of the best contemporary plays I've seen of late are more character-driven than plot-driven and an exploration into the daily life of the ev... (more...)
Seeing children at the theater makes me giddy with excitement. Seeing them dressed up in costumes and fully immersed in the experience is a bonus. I'm also a sucker for tradition. So, to say that the Raleigh Little Theatre's 35th annual holiday production of CINDERELLA checked all those boxes and ex... (more...)
Cute costumed kids filed into The Duke Energy Center Thursday night to see Lythgoe Family Panto production of ALADDIN AND HIS WINTER WISH. The show marks the first of a three-year partnership between the Lythgoe family and North Carolina Theatre and the first foray into the Christmas show market for... (more...)
Love is in the air at PlayMakers Repertory Company. That's because the musical romance SHE LOVES ME opened earlier this week at the Paul Green Theatre as a love letter to the Triangle to ring in the holiday season.
It's a familiar story, especially to fans of the rom-com film genre. Boy and girl ... (more...)
Jersey Boys is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual breakup of The Four Seasons. When I last met up with these boys, it was during their return engagement at DPAC back in 2015. Since then, the Broadway production celebrated its 10th anniversary,... (more...)
At the core of Annie Baker's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, THE FLICK is the juxtaposition between celluloid and digital film projections, art and commercialism, reality and make-believe. But it's more than that. It's a character study of the everyman navigating familial workplace relationships and di... (more...)
Based on Ron Chernow's 2004 biographical novel titled Alexander Hamilton, the musical, Hamilton, tells the true story of one of America's Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton. An immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new... (more...)
Every so often an offbeat show comes along that's nonsensical and nutty. But not all those shows have the longevity or fandom of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW. The costumed crowd filling the Town of Cary's Booth Amphitheater for the limited run of Theatre Raleigh's production the weekend before Halloween wa... (more...)
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately one in five adults, 43.8 million people, in the United States lives with a mental illness.
As a person who has lived with family members suffering from mental illness, I know how a diagnosis of anxiety, or any mood disorder for ... (more...)
They say the show must go on. Such was the case Saturday night when THE CHOIR OF MAN'S truck broke down and showed up in Durham at 7:10 p.m. for an 8:00 p.m. show. Nevertheless, the cast handled the mishap in true CHOIR OF MAN style, greeting the audience in the lobby while the set was being loaded ... (more...)
LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron explores the complex relationships women have with their shoes, purses, bras, weight, Madonna, their sisters, and their mothers.
Based on the book by Ilene Beckerman, the play opened off-Broadway at the Westside Theater in 2009 after a l... (more...)
A 'Forbes' headline from last week read: "Ford Prepares for Mass Layoffs After Losing $1 Billion to Trump's Trade Tariffs, Report Says." In fact, Ford is planning to restructure its company to the tune of $25.5 billion, which could cost as many as 24,000 people their jobs.
Seemingly ripped from t... (more...)
In the Heights is an original musical that is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Hispanic-American neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City. Originally conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda during his sophomore year at Wesleyan University, the musical had its... (more...)
On April 11, 2003, just two days after the fall of Saddam Hussein, then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, along with General Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed the media. When asked about the looting and the lack of law and order following the 'liberation' of Iraq... (more...)
A storm is brewing over Theatre in the Park (TIP), a storm of such magnitude that it brings three strangers together in a honky-tonk bar in the middle of nowhere.
The barkeep in this gin joint is Hank. He doesn't see too much traffic (except in September), which makes this random Tuesday unusual.... (more...)
At the Carolina Theatre in Durham Sunday night, Randy Rainbow got a standing ovation before he even sang one note. In fact, one woman in the audience stood up and called him a national treasure, a beacon of frivolity amidst precarious times.
Rainbow's show was interlaced with clips of his viral v... (more...)
Last weekend, Lauren Gunderson's THE REVOLUTIONISTS opened at Raleigh Little Theatre, proving once again that women and feminists can be very funny.
THE REVOLUTIONISTS tells the story of four women during the French Revolution: Marie Antoinette, an 'occasionally, unexpectedly profound queen who n... (more...)
BWW Review: Raleigh Little Theatre's Contemporary Spin on Shakespeare's MEASURE FOR MEASURE is Relevant, Timely, and Surprisingly Symbolic
BWW Review: Smart, Funny PlayMakers' Premiere of 'Bewilderness' is a Mind Trip into the Psyche of Henry David Thoreau (and Zack Fine)
BWW Review: FIDDLER ON THE ROOF National Tour at Durham Performing Arts Center
BWW Review: Ready to Throttle Your Elf on the Shelf? Well,
Theatre in the Park's SANTALAND DIARIES May Be Just the Ticket
BWW Review: Theatre Raleigh's OH WHAT A HOLY NIGHT Concert Showcases Local Talent
BWW Review: Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts' Production of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER Pays Homage to TV Classic and Delivers Timely Universal Message
BWW Review: Stage Adaptation of ELF Lacks the Magic Mojo of the Movie
BWW Review: THE WEIR at Burning Coal Theatre Stirs Up Haunting Tale of Woe
BWW Review: Steeped in Tradition, Raleigh Little Theatre's CINDERELLA Brims with Enchantment
BWW Review: North Carolina Theatre's ALADDIN AND HIS WINTER WISH Pays Homage to Panto Tradition and Roasts Raleigh in a Fun, Knockabout Kind of Way
BWW Review: Dear Friend, SHE LOVES ME is an Old-Fashioned, Feel-Good, Sweet, Holiday Treat
BWW Review: JERSEY BOYS National Tour at North Carolina Theatre
BWW Review: The Barlett Theater's Site-Specific Production of THE FLICK Capitalizes on Every Multileveled Morsel of Annie Baker's Pulitzer Prize-Winning Play
BWW Review: HAMILTON National Tour at Durham Performing Arts Center
BWW Review: Theatre Raleigh's ROCKY HORROR Spotlights Triangle Talent and Pays Homage to Cult Classic
BWW Review: NRACT'S NEXT TO NORMAL Tackles Difficult Subject Matter with Dignity
BWW Review: Wildly Entertaining CHOIR OF MAN Brings Joyous Romp to Durham Performing Arts Center
BWW Review: The Judson Theatre Company's LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE Celebrates Sisterhood and Unity
BWW Review: Sentimentality and Show-Stopping Performances Make Temple Theatre's GHOST Worth the Trip
BWW Review: Playmakers' SKELETON CREW Gives Contemplative Commentary on the Decline of American Industry and Fleeting American Dream
BWW Review: North Carolina Theatre's IN THE HEIGHTS
BWW Review: Burning Coal's Well-Timed Historical Drama STUFF HAPPENS is the Right Play for Right Now
BWW Review: Theatre in the Park's IT IS DONE Serves Up Spooky Tale Along With Fine Performances
BWW Review: No-Holds-Barred, RANDY RAINBOW Takes Down Trump and Friends One Parody at a Time in Durham
BWW Review: Raleigh Little Theatre's Timely REVOLUTIONISTS Feels Like the Right Story for Right Now
