Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG is Rightfully Funny at La Mirada
by Michael Quintos - Jan 30, 2025
Overall, the show is an expertly-crafted piece of unapologetically silly live comedic theatre that demonstrates the power of precision in the guise of 'random' chaos. By blending slapstick humor, meta-theatrical elements, and sheer physical comedy-laced energy, this theatrical enterpris creates an unforgettable theatrical experience that will have you laughing non-stop. While its primary goal is to be an entertaining, crowd-pleasing spectacle, it also spotlights the resilience of theatre performers and the thrilling unpredictability of live theatre—proving that, sometimes, abject failure can be the greatest source of laughter.
Review: CHICAGO at The Orpheum Theatre Memphis
by AniKatrina Fageol - Apr 5, 2023
What did our critic think of CHICAGO at The Orpheum Theatre Memphis? Chicago is celebrating 25 dazzling years and it has returned to Memphis! It is certainly a fan favorite, with exhilirating dancing and an iconic story that is known around the world. The 1975 musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse, is the 2nd longest running Broadway musical (thanks to the 1996 revival), behind fan favorite Phantom of the Opera.
Review: THE DESERT SONG at Winter Opera
by Steve Callahan - Mar 7, 2023
A stellar cast brightens a Romberg favorite. Operetta, as a genre, arose in the 1850's and swelled into a widely beloved form of entertainment. In America its chief luminaries were Sigmund Romberg, Victor Herbert, and Rudolf Friml. From the 1920's to the '40's the modern musical gradually drove operettas from the stage (except for the happily undying works of Gilbert & Sullivan). And I miss them! So I greatly approve of Winter Opera's offering us this old piece.
BWW Preview: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at 30 By Ninety Theatre - Sigh No More!
by Angelle Albright - Aug 15, 2018
'Hey Nonny Nonny!' 'Sigh No More!' Shakespeare's classic, playful comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, is this year's rip-roaring Season 5 opener for the vibrant, 30 by Ninety Theatre in Mandeville, Louisiana. This suburban playhouse, positioned just across the lake from New Orleans, is named for its' common latitude and longitude, but doesn't hold back on big city ambitions to invigorate, entertain, and challenge local audiences to grow from shared experiences through the stage. It is an idea not lost on Shakespeare himself nearly five millennials ago.
CRITIC'S CHOICE: Get Ahead of the Holiday Rush
by Jeffrey Ellis - Nov 13, 2015
Turkeys are on-sale at your local supermarket, so there's no better way to know Thanksgiving is just around the corner - yep, less than two weeks away! - which means that local theater companies will be unleashing their holiday season productions with enough productions of A Christmas Story (both the musical and the play), It's A Wonderful Life and Ebenezer Scrooge-led shows that you could shake a stick at!
Review - I'm A Stranger Here Myself & The Testament of Mary
by Michael Dale - May 9, 2013
Mark Nadler is one of those cabaret performers who serves up his entertaining antics with healthy portions of art education and history lessons. In I'm A Stranger Here Myself, now transplanted from its nightclub roots to the York Theatre stage, Nadler gives a frequently fascinating overview of the pre-Hitler period known as the Weimar Republic; Germany's first democracy and a haven for individualists and eroticists who gleefully indulged in a period of artistic freedom.
InDepth InterView: Jessica Fellowes Details THE CHRONICLES OF DOWNTON ABBEY, Season 3, THE GUILDED AGE & More
by Pat Cerasaro - Jan 5, 2013
Today we are talking to a talented writer and journalist who has penned the definitive book on the hottest UK crossover TV series of the new millennium, the early 20th century-set family period drama DOWNTON ABBEY, with her estimable new tome now available, THE CHRONICLES OF DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA - Jessica Fellowes. Discussing many of the most alluring aspects of the hit Brit series, especially insofar as an international audience is concerned, as well as adding even more historical, political and social insight into the proceedings on the show over the course of its run so far, Fellowes and I assess many of the most arresting aspects of the three seasons of the series as well as the comprehensive behind-the-scenes look that she provides (along with Matthew Sturgis) in THE CHRONICLES OF DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA. All of that, discussion of the third season of the series which premieres in the US on PBS January 6, first news on Jessica's uncle Julian's new historical series for NBC, THE GUILDED AGE and much, much more!
InDepth InterView: Patricia Kelly Discusses GENE KELLY @ 100, Lincoln Center Shows, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN HD & More
by Pat Cerasaro - Jul 20, 2012
Today we are talking to Patricia Kelly, the widow of one of the most iconic and influential performers in entertainment history, Gene Kelly, all about her husband's incomparable career on Broadway and in Hollywood, in honor of his centennial. Tracing Gene Kelly's journey from his theatre roots starring in Cole Porter's LEAVE IT TO ME!, Rodgers & Hart's PAL JOEY and William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE on Broadway to his unforgettable screen appearances in many of the greatest movie musicals ever made - COVER GIRL, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, THE PIRATE, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and many more included - Mrs. Kelly gives us a look into the life of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. In addition to behind-the-scenes stories involving Kelly's frequent collaborators - such as esteemed director Vincente Minnelli, songwriter and producer Arthur Freed, arranger Saul Chaplin and others - Mrs. Kelly also shares candid anecdotes involving her husband's involvement with directing Rodgers & Hammerstein's FLOWER DRUM SONG on Broadway, helming the feature film adaptation of HELLO, DOLLY! starring Barbra Streisand, as well as his appearing in two idiosyncratic movie musicals later in his life, LES DEMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT (THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT) for Jacques Demy, as well as his au revoir to movie musicals in form of the Olivia Newton-John roller disco starrer XANADU. Additionally, Mrs. Kelly fills us in on all the details about this weekend's two-night Gene Kelly retrospective celebration, which she leads and narrates, as part of GENE KELLY @ 100 and her future plans for the multimedia presentation - each evening titled AN EVENING OF GENE KELLY and CHANGING THE LOOK OF DANCE ON FILM, respective - as she begins to tour the show across the country. Plus, reflections on SINGIN' IN THE RAIN's 60th anniversary and the recent Fathom HD premiere presentation in theaters, the impact of Kelly's work behind the camera, his choreographic legacy, what a legend is like at home, memories of attending the opening night of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (starring HELLO, DOLLY! lead Michael Crawford), what the master would say about GLEE, SMASH, BUNHEADS and today's movie musical renaissance, as well as much, much more!