By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) The biggest problem Broadway has with so-called “jukebox musicals” is they always seem to get mired down by the exposition of the story regarding the person or persons whose music is oftentimes represented. In the case of bookwriter Rick Elice, he drafted what is widely considered as […]
By ALAN SMASON There are a lot of people capable of taking a beloved film soundtrack and adapting it faithfully into a theatre piece for presentation on the stage. There are also a lot of people capable of directing such a work and bringing out the actors’ very best performances that are faithful to that […]
By ALAN SMASON Of all the holiday-themed shows that make their way onto stages in December, Elf: The Broadway Musical may be the one most resistant to the Grinch, Scrooge and other humbugs. Based on “Elf,” the 2003 holiday classic that starred Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf with the late James Caan and Bob […]
By SCOTTY BENNETT Consider, if you will, a blizzardlike night, a cozy inn on the brink of closing forever, suddenly brought back to life by the arrival of two very different groups of travelers who crashed into one another. One was a group of men dressed as women, flamboyant in their actions and dress, and […]
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By SCOTTY BENNETT Woman on a Ledge is an adaptation by Hershey Felder of harpist Rita Costanzi’s writings about her life. Ms. Costanzi is a world-renowned harpist whose life experiences have been woven into a fascinating and highly engaging theater piece. As directed by Lissa Moira, this one-woman production beautifully integrates Ms. Costanzi’s superlative playing […]
By SCOTTY BENNETT Okuni: The Woman Who Created Kabuki by Ako Dachs is a limited, fictionalized account of the woman who is thought to have created kabuki. It is generally accepted that the dance and theater form called kabuki developed in late 17th Century Japan, but its exact details lack solid evidence. This production is […]