SOUTH BEND THEATER REVIEWS

What did our critic think of HAIRSPRAY at Fort Wayne Summer Music Theatre? The Indiana Music Theatre Foundation is back again with a toe-tapping, fun-filled production of HAIRSPRAY, performed by the Fort Wayne Summer Music Theatre as part of this year's Three Rivers Festival. After last summer's stu...

Blue Gate Theatre’s The Christmas Tree Ship, is a new musical inspired by the true story of the famous Christmas Tree Ship, the Rouse Simmons.  The story about a ship, a storm, and a Christmas story of heroic proportions. Experience one woman's unsinkable determination to continue her husband's ...

A sweet show for the whole family, LITTLE WOMEN runs at the Round Barn Theatre in Nappanee through October 23rd....

World Premiere of WHEN CALLS THE HEART THE MUSICAL on stage at the Round Barn Theatre through July 17-- you won't want to miss this show....

Blue Gate Theatre’s The Best Of Me - A New Musical Comedy, is a show that is about a young Amish girl, who finds herself unable to do the traditional things Amish women are know for, and finds herself with her eyes set on Broadway!  The Best of Me is currently playing at the Blue Gate Music Hall ...

Crossing the line between a show and the real world, [title of show] puts sexism and sexual harassment on stage. ...

Creativity and ingenuity on behalf of director Amy Budd and producer Anna Kurtz Kuk, as well as designers and cast, elevates an evening in front of a screen into a night spent traveling alongside Orfeo’s descent into loss and love....

Blue Gate Theatrea??s A Güt Life! is a show about life on an Amish farm, and how it is full of unique challenges and rich blessings.   Presented by Amish story tellers Eliza and Simon Yoder, who give you a glimpse into their life together.  Not only does this charming show not only have jokes tha...

a?oeWater is life, and there can be no life without water.a?? This is the main concept of Clay High School's award-winning production of H2O: A Play About Water. The show consists of separate vignettes about the place of water naturally on the planet and what role it plays in man-made society. The m...

...

In reference to the traditionally male-majority casting of Peter and the Starcatcher, Director Grace Lazarz states 'To me, greater artistic opportunity for women is one small way to move in a different direction-to tell the same story but do it in a more radical way. And thus, the all-female cast of...

To add to their stellar season of plays, South Bend Civic presented The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. This play about a fifteen year-old English boy going on an investigation to discover who committed the murder of his neighbor's dog, is an extremely well-crafted and witty script tha...

Through the past few years, experimental theatre has crept its way into South Bend's Fine Arts scene. Original works, heavy audience participation, deaf theatre projects, non-traditional all-female casts: these are just a handful of the ideas South Bend's theatre companies have introduced to the reg...

To complete their summer 2019 season the 574 theatre presented Hello Dolly. This classic Golden Age musical follows Dolly Levi, a multi-talented widow who helps pair off eligible bachelors and bachelorettes in New York. The show's central plot involves her journey to getting herself engaged as well ...

To continue their tradition of producing a classic musical during the summer, the South Bend Civic Theatre presented Oliver! with a cast of more than 40 people to filled audiences. The tone of the show was instantly set with a wonderfully charming London bridge designed by Jeff Barrick. Unfortunatel...

Controversial topics in theatrical productions have an odd effect on audiences. Some people come to the theatre to escape the problems of the real world, and some come expecting to see the stereotypically bright and shiny golden age musicals. So when either of these people walk into a show like the ...

The South Bend Civic Theatre's production of On Golden Pond opened this past weekend with a surprising amount of seats sold for a show that I assumed wasn't well known. The house in the theatre's Wilson Auditorium was almost completely filled with eagerly awaiting audience members admiring yet anoth...

I find it a shame that plays aren't attended as much as musicals are. While I understand the mindset behind people who would rather gamble their money on tickets to shows that they've heard of before as opposed to ones they haven't, it leaves a great number of people to miss out on amazing storytell...

...

Take an earthquake, tidal waves, piranhas, sharks, explosions, and disco music, place them all on a floating casino that may, or may not be, up to code, and you have a recipe for Disaster. This campy send up of 1970's disaster movies is riddled with a cast of characters ranging form the scientist tr...

It's October and that means when you go to the theatre you are probably seeing a tense, nerve racking, and possibly horrifying play. That's what you're going to see at The Beckwith Theatre with their presentation of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde....

Elkhart Civic Theatre presented a show that had the most fully fleshed out characters I've seen in a long time. Combine that with stellar acting from Jenny DiDario, Cameron Ponce, Stacey Nickel, and the trio of nut jobs that peopled the stage around them and you have a show that is a shame to have m...

For the three people who are not aware of the show, Jesus Christ Superstar is a fabulous rock opera that debuted in 1971 on Broadway and that many know from its 1973 film. It tells the story of the final days of Jesus as told through the eyes of Judas. This show has amazing music and is easily one o...

Star Spangled Girl at Arena Dinner Theatre...

There are shows that I believe get rave reviews, awards, and heralded as classics because, at some point, "true theatre people" aren't allowed to not like them. If you bring up Oklahoma, Hello, Dolly, or The Sound of Music, and don't fawn over it for hours, you are expected to turn in your theatre c...