Review: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Is Monstrously Funny at Elmwood Playhouse
by Bruce Apar - September 17, 2024
The Elmwood cast, directed with the requisite command of comic timing and savvy stagecraft by Director and Choreographer Jason Sommers, is comprised of an impressive array of skilled performers who seem to be enjoying their over-the-top antics as much as the audience does. ...
Review: THE STEEL MAN Forges Forth at Penguin Rep Theatre.
by Bruce Apar - September 15, 2024
At the center of the orbit of mashed-up relationships is the consummate performance of Sam Guncler. He prowls the stage as a feral Leo with gritty gravitas. He is the “steel man” not just because he lives in Pittsburgh, but also because he has defied death several times, including twice surviving fi...
Review: THE PROM Pulses with Heart at Ridgefield Theater Barn
by Bruce Apar - September 10, 2024
It is on the wings of wit and pleasantly wacky characterizations that the operative message of tolerance is delivered, in one case with the revival meeting fervor of “Love Thy Neighbor,” led by the fun and funny antics of Michael Valinoti as genially goofy Trent Oliver. ...
Review: DEAR JACK, DEAR LOUISE at Penguin Rep Theatre
by Bruce Apar - August 04, 2024
With 'Dear Jack, Dear Louise,' Mr. Ludwig willingly dates himself, to give us a poignant glimpse into what it was like, 80-plus years ago, to woo someone without benefit of physical connection and with a world war raging....
Review: CENTENNIAL CASTING at Penguin Rep Theatre
by Bruce Apar - July 02, 2024
Mike Labbadia creates a larger-than-life Vincent whose slow burns, emotional outbursts, and comically hapless attempts at romance reminded me of Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden in seminal sitcom The Honeymooners. I mentioned the Gleason comparison to Mr. Labbadia after his performance. What I didn’t...
Review: DESPERATE MEASURES at Armonk Players
by Bruce Apar - June 12, 2024
One of the several surprises I encountered as Desperate Measures got underway with a bang at North Castle Library’s Whippoorwill Theater in Armonk, N.Y. is that the dialogue is all rhyming couplets. If that brings to mind the prolific punslinger Wild Will Shakespeare, it should, because the premise ...