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 […]
By AARON KRAUSE NEW YORK, N.Y. — If you want to hear current members of the famed musical group The Temptations perform live this year, you’re out of luck. According to https://www.songkick.com/artists/499703-temptations, they aren’t touring. Moreover, organizers have not planned concerts for what is left of 2019. But you can travel back in time to the […]
By AARON KRAUSE NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — The wording on the Playbill at Circle in the Square Theatre does not deceive your eyes: It really does say Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! Now, the sights and sounds onstage might make you think you need an appointment with your eye and/or ear doctor. But what’s transpiring on that […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) Smartly and deftly written by Karen Zacarías, Native Gardens is a dark comedy, but one that is at its very core, extremely funny. Given the particularly volatile political climate in contemporary America, Zacarías scores by highlighting specific areas where differences in cultures and age clash most. She […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) The cautionary tale of a lie spun out of control, teenage angst, suicide and the impact of the Internet is at the heart of Dear Evan Hansen, the 2017 Tony Award winner for Best Musical. This past week, local audiences were able to witness for themselves the […]