By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) There’s no more an appropriate time to present Irving Berlin’s ‘Holiday Inn’ than during the festive season of holiday time. With songs like “White Christmas” and “Let’s Start the New Year Right,” it’s a no-brainer that people looking for holiday cheer will wrap themselves in something warm and […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Sharai Bohannon is an activist playwright who doesn’t shy away from tackling issues that some might feel uncomfortable discussing. When a group attempted to mount a production of her play Craigslisted without authorization, she fought back, even when they threatened her with legal action. For her efforts, which […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) It’s taken a minute, but the only play to ever win both an Olivier Award in London and a Tony Award on Broadway has finally arrived in The City That Care Forgot. The Play That Goes Wrong, currently on the boards at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) It would seem The NOLA Project, those upstarts who mostly came to New Orleans from New York’s Tisch School just prior to the landfall of Hurricane Katrina and, despite all obstacles, elected to stay in the Crescent City and break theatrical barriers of all kinds ever since, […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) It’s taken 16 years since it first bowed at the Public Theatre and 15 years after it became a Broadway smash, but In the Heights has finally arrived, making its regional New Orleans theatre premiere. The first Lin-Manuel Miranda musical to win a Tony Award for Best Musical, In […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic It’s not going to reshape your concept of the Founding Fathers through inventive use of choreography and hip hop music. It’s not going to give you insight into how a fictional visitor from Kansas to a strange and distant land might be reset from her antagonist’s view. Neither will […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) It wasn’t that long ago when theaters were shuttered and charges were leveled at many theatrical institutions for a perceived lack of equity, diversity and inclusivity. While much work still remains to be done in that area, Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts has taken a bold […]
By ALAN SMASON Tennessee Williams’ last play on Broadway was the terribly titled Clothes for a Summer Hotel, which lasted for 14 performances before it shut down. The play bears the explanatory subtitle “A Ghost Play” and that should have given critics and audiences alike an explanation that the historic characters being portrayed – specifically […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) One of British playwright Pam Gems’ early stage successes was Dead Fish, which has since been renamed Dusa, Fish, Stas & Vi. First seen as a part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1976, Dusa, Fish, Stas & Vi was a unique feminist play dealing with real-world issues […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Since its founding, the mission of the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company (TWTC) has been to tell the stories of New Orleans’ best known playwright in bold and expressive ways. In addition to presenting well known pieces from his repertoire, the company’s two artistic directors, Augustin J. Correro […]