By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) The horror of war is made tragic on a small scale in Miss Saigon, as an interracial couple caught up in the maelstrom of the Vietnam War reach out to comfort one another with tragic consequences. If the work seems familiar it’s because it is based on […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) With its current production of Something Rotten!, Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré has set the bar so incredibly high that even they may never be able to duplicate what they have now achieved. With the blessing of artistic director Maxwell Williams, Michael McKelvey is at the […]
By AARON KRAUSE FT. LAUDERDALE — The musical Aladdin might transport us to a “whole new world,” but the show also presents a familiar one to modern-day audiences. Certainly, MeToo advocates applaud loudly when Princess Jasmine proclaims, “I am not a prize to be won! I will not be auctioned off to some self-centered show-off.” And in […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) With a cast of 68 performers – 38 of them children – the current production of Lionel Bart’s Oliver! at Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts is not only their biggest, but certainly their most elaborate show. It’s an opportunity for youngsters to carry much of the […]
By EDWARD RUBIN First things first. Before I delve into the Irish Repertory Theater’s marvelous production of London Assurance by Dublin-born playwright Dion Boucicault (1820-1890) – extended now through Sunday, February 9 – I must say that the award-winning Irish Rep is a gift from heaven. Their choices of what to produce coupled with the […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There are apparently some people who have never seen the 1983 MGM Christmas classic “A Christmas Story” on TV. Regularly shown since the late 1980s on a 24-hour bender by Ted Turner, there are 12 opportunities every year from Christmas Eve night to Christmas night to see […]
By AARON KRAUSE BOCA RATON — There isn’t necessarily an art to dealing with difficult life situations. Rather, different people have their own way of coping with, for instance, a void in their existence. Some individuals might pretend everything is just fine. Admitting that something valuable or someone dear to them is missing might prove too […]
By AARON KRAUSE BOCA RATON — Before Lin-Manuel Miranda there was Meredith Willson. Sure, Miranda’s bold use of non-traditional musical genres in Hamilton may have changed the way writers create musicals. But in the late 1950’s, theater audiences and professionals probably thought that the late, multi-talented Willson’s creative use of song in The Music Man was just as revolutionary. […]
By BILL HIRSCHMAN For even those who only knew Herbert Simpson in passing, likely what they remember was his voice – usually deep and sonorous, a bit scratchy, but brimming with passion. They remember his voice because Simpson, the critic and educator who died Sunday, November 24, never passed on a chance to hold forth […]
By AARON KRAUSE NEW YORK, N.Y. — Dorothy Michaels is unstoppable. We learned that much in the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical adaptation of Tootsie. It is based on the popular Academy Award-nominated 1982 movie with the same title. So it comes as no surprise that, even though the musical will close on Jan. 5 after 293 performances […]