By HERBERT SIMPSON I wondered how the old love-rock musical would play these days for an audience of younger folk unfamiliar with Hippie rebellion, flower children, 60s rock music, and a more feminine long-hair style and slovenly tie-dyed clothes-styles. For that matter, I wasn’t so sure how the now-rather-old folks, mostly more establishment, would regard […]
By AARON KRAUSE LAUDERHILL, FL. — “…So hold this moment fast…and make this moment last.” Surely, these lyrics from La Cage Aux Folles are apropos for Stage Door Theatre’s great production of the beloved Harvey Fierstein-Jerry Herman musical, based on a French play. Unquestionably, we want to hold each moment fast and make each moment […]
By JACK LYONS Ambition supposedly killed Caesar, according to Brutus. However, it also became a two-edged sword that cut both ways. Literature is bursting with characters who are infected with the “ambition” virus, who sometimes beat the odds, but usually die in the effort. Themes of love and death are intrinsically linked in literature. Thank […]
By ROY BERKO Kenneth Jones, the author of Alabama Story, now on stage at Ensemble Theatre in its Ohio premiere, stated in an interview, “In May 2000, while reading the New York Times, I came across the story of Emily Wheelock Reed, the former State Librarian of Alabama who had been challenged by a segregationist […]
By AARON KRAUSE EAST HADDAM, Conn. — Goodspeed Musicals’ impressive production of Lionel Bart’s Oliver! isn’t shrouded in darkness and dismay. But, make no mistake: This mounting is unlike the buoyant, multi-award-winning 1968 film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist. Rather, Goodspeed’s version, like David Lean’s 1948 noirish, severe, non-musical film version, more vividly communicates the […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There is a point in the resolution of Garson Kanin’s Born Yesterday when the character of Paul Verrall blurts out “I know you. I’ve seen your kind down here for years. What the hell do you guys want, anyway? You’ve got all the oil and all the lumber […]
By AARON KRAUSE MIAMI LAKES — Five Women Wearing the Same Dress may not be the most original play in the feminist/female power/sisterhood genre. But if you’re a woman who feels limited due to society’s expectations of females, this Alan Ball piece will embolden you and make you laugh frequently. One might think of Ball’s character-driven, ensemble […]
By AARON KRAUSE SPRING GREEN, Wisconsin — It’s tucked away amid 110 acres of hilly woods and meadows near this town of about 1,600 in southwest Wisconsin. Indeed, you could easily miss it if you’re not on the lookout for the sign. It points a patron in the direction of the renowned destination. But there’s no […]
By EDWARD RUBIN Edgar Rice Burroughs’ fictional character Tarzan was a cultural sensation when it first appeared on the scene more than a century ago in 1912. Published first in serial form, the popular character leaped from magazines into “Tarzan of the Apes,” the first of many popular novels. A big hit with the public, […]
By ANNE SIEGEL American Players Theatre, located in rural Spring Green, Wisconsin, has added Ionesco’s rarely-performed 1962 absurdist comedy, Exit the King, to its current line-up. Playing alongside a half-dozen other shows (that focus on Restoration humor and follies, Shakespeare’s timeless themes and a hilarious rendition of Garson Kanin’s Born Yesterday), Exit the King may […]