By AARON KRAUSE INDIANAPOLIS — Hairspray might not offer the most in-depth examination of race and racial attitudes. Nevertheless, this big-hearted, tuneful and sweet, (yet not saccharine) Broadway favorite from 2002 remains a refreshing reminder. It’s one that we need especially today. Among other things, the multi-award-winning Hairspray reaffirms how a little activism, teamwork and solidarity can effect change […]
By ROY BERKO In its off-Broadway production, Shakespeare R&J (which is now on stage at convergence continuum) ran for a year, making it the longest running version of “Romeo and Juliet” in New York history. The piece was described as “Hot-blooded … Wrenching … pulsates with an adolescent abandon and electricity of which Romeo himself […]
By ROY BERKO Kenneth Lonergan is noted for writing about decent people who are unexpectedly challenged by issues of ethics. In his Lobby Hero, now on stage at Blank Canvas, the 2016 Oscar winner for “Manchester by the Sea” specifically asks, “What happens when emotions come in conflict with principles.” The play premiered Off-Broadway in […]
By ANNE SIEGEL MILWAUKEE, WI. – A small but energetic theater company, Off the Wall Theatre, has produced a memorable production of one of Tennessee Williams’ later works, Small Craft Warnings. This rarely-produced work received lukewarm response when it opened Off-Broadway in 1972. At that time, Williams was 60 and feeling very aware that he […]
By ROY BERKO Jeanine Tesori (music) and David Lindsay-Abaire (books and lyrics) developed the creative Shrek: The Musical from DreamWorks Animation’s film and William Steig’s book of the same name. The script, which tells the tale of Shrek, who on his seventh birthday is sent out by his parents into the “Big Bright Beautiful World,” […]
By ROY BERKO Susan Hill, author of the book “The Woman in Black,” the source of the play of the same name now being staged at the Cleveland Play House (CPH), relates: “The Suffolk coast. Winter. The early Seventies. Behind the path giving onto the shingle beach and the North Sea, are marshes, mysterious places […]
By ROY BERKO God, or a facsimile thereof, in the form of Mike Polk Jr., who in his other life is a local comedian and Fox 8 personality, is appearing on the Beck Center for the Arts stage, in a mock spiritual conversation with his audience. The script, which was written by David Javerbaum, and […]
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 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 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 […]