By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out”) Perhaps the darkest of the Disney animated films, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” was the last of the film series known as the Disney Renaissance that began with “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” in 1998. Like earlier projects by Menken and his celebrated lyricist partner Howard Ashman (“The […]
By ED RUBIN For many a theatergoer, John Lithgow, the much beloved 72-year-old actor, could read from the phone book and his legion of stalwart fans would gift him with countless oohs, ahs, and a standing ovation. In fact, given his four decades long award-winning film and TV appearances – six Tonys, six Emmys, two […]
By EDWARD RUBIN Even before Farinelli and the King opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre, I was chomping at the bit in anticipation of seeing the ever brilliant Mark Rylance unleash his incandescent magic once again. Rylance was the winner of three well-deserved Tony Awards for Boeing-Boeing (2008), Jerusalem (2011), and Twelfth Night (2014), […]
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out”) When ballet stars Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope began their roles as expatriate American artist Jerry Mulligan and native Parisian ballerina Lise Dassin, they had no way of knowing their performances would last for most of three years as they opened first in Paris in 2014, transferred to […]
By ROY BERKO When Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s name appeared on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot, there were many who thought, Sister who? Little did those not familiar with the history of the genre, know that “she was wailing on the guitar before Chuck Berry, shouting call and response before Little Richard, and […]
By ROY BERKO An unnamed woman (Anjanette Hall), in an Air Force jump suit, confidently stalks the stage telling us, with eyes flashing and intense verbalizations, the thrill she gets from being in the blue, flying missions over enemy territory, and getting together after her missions with the guys to “throw back a few.” This […]
By ANNE SIEGEL George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is among the most famous political novels of all time, and Ian Wooldridge’s adaptation is a masterful work that smartly takes the book’s themes from page to stage. In the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s intriguing production running Jan. 9 – Feb. 11, a cast of eight actors portray the […]
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out“) There is a point midway during the current production of Million Dollar Quartet at Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts when the major singing members of the cast join their voices together in the gospel favorite “Down By the Riverside” with only a simple guitar accompaniment. The melding […]
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out“) Now that Chanukah has ended and Christmas is nearly here, there’s time to reflect on the amazing happenstance that Jewish composers and lyricists have contributed mightily to the Christmas musical landscape in ways that seem somewhat at odds with their religious upbringing. No American alive or dead […]
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out“) There are many Jane Austen fans who can recite chapter and verse as to what motivated the many characters from “Pride and Prejudice” at any particular juncture. It would seem that playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon are among her diehard fans too because their recent sequel […]