By ANNE SIEGEL (Ashland, OREGON) – Water by the Spoonful is perhaps even more relevant today than when it was staged at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2014. The play initially appeared at the complex’s intimate Thomas Theatre, under the smart direction of Shishir Kurup. It was filmed in front of a live audience. Written […]
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By AARON KRAUSE A story that is ripe with rich, raw, and real emotion is often a tale worth musicalizing. Certainly, Frank McCourt’s award-winning memoir, “Angela’s Ashes,” is a work that fits into that category. Fortunately, composer/lyricist Adam Howell, and librettist Paul Hurt saw the musical possibilities in McCourt’s self-described “epic of woe,” a best-seller […]
By AARON KRAUSE “Hello Broadway. Gee, you’re good to see. You look good to me,” theatrical legend George M. Cohan sings. Well, George, you sure do look and sound spry yourself, considering that you’ve been dead almost 80 years. And it’s great to see you, too…especially now, as we anticipate a return to live, in-person […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Rob Ulin must be a very happy man. He obviously has been saying his prayers and living a proper and pious life. That must be the case because his play Judgment Day recently enjoyed a filmed reading as a benefit for the Barrington Stage Company recently and three […]
By JACK LYONS It’s amazing what the human mind can understand and accomplish when it comes to the world of theatre and its sister art form the motion picture. Both are potent art forms that appeal to audiences worldwide. Creative arts practitioners of today however, are still traditionally bonded to the western culture of the Greek […]
By AARON KRAUSE All Denitra Morgan wants is for her daughter, Noelle, to remain at the high school that she feels will provide the best possible education. But to the Black, working class, single mother, her goal must seem as far-fetched as school integration before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown vs Board of Education […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When the shutdown of Broadway occurred in March of 2020, there were few devotees who expected it to drag on for more than 16 months. Even fewer experts could have predicted the insatiable desire for the public to see live theatre again. With no venues open, a […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Tovah Feldshuh has made a career of originating memorable roles of strong female characters on both the small and large screens, but the milieu where she has been especially captivating and probably feels most at home has been on the stage. It’s why her roles as Golda […]
By JACK LYONS North Coast Repertory Theatre (NCRT) of Solana Beach, CA., brings gifted, multiple award-winning actor Tovah Feldshuh to their stage to star in playwright Mark St. Germain’s breezy and delightful one-woman stage play Becoming Dr. Ruth in the platform streaming movie format. Ruth Westheimer, Ph.D., the diminutive (4’ 7”) munchkin-like, giggling, “grandma” image and […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) At the start of this pandemic-impacted season, New Jersey’s George Street Playhouse unveiled bold plans to present four productions. The first two were one-person shows (Bad Dates and Fully Committed) filmed at a safe home provided by executive producer Sharon Karmazin. This made sense during what was […]