By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out”) When Heather Massie arrived on the stage of BB’s Stage Door Canteen after 14 months of postponed performances from COVID safety protocols, she did so in silhouette against a brilliant bright white background. With her back to the audience, one could only perceive a shadowy figure speaking […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) If there were any indication that the worst of the pandemic is now behind us and that a return to what we formerly considered “normal” is around the corner, then look no further than the filled seats, boisterous laughter and deafening applause emanating from the Rivertown Theaters […]
By AARON KRAUSE When it comes to musicals, A Bronx Tale is not one of the great ones. Still, it’s a crowd-pleasing, familiar tale populated by characters we care about. Surely, you don’t have to be Italian or African-American to feel a kinship with folks such as Calogero, Sonny, Lorenzo, Jane, and a host of other colorful […]
By ALAN SMASON Look out! The Little Sisters of Hoboken are back, but you need not reach for your rosary beads or prepare to make an act of contrition. All you need do is head over to Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts for what may be the most up-to-date and fully realized version of […]
By AARON KRAUSE “What are you doing to promote equality?” a black college student demands of her white professor in Eleanor Burgess’s taut, intense, timely drama The Niceties. The professional, non-profit Island City Stage (ICS) is giving the piece a mostly commendable production now through April 25. Those who wish to see the play live and […]
By AARON KRAUSE If you search Emily Dickinson on Google, one of the photos you’ll find is that of an austere-looking woman dressed in black. The famous poet from Amherst, Massachusetts (1830-1886) appears to be a no-nonsense, severe woman, rigid in her thinking. But the Emily Dickinson one encounters in William Luce’s one-woman, 1976 Broadway […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) For three and a half years, Joseph Kesselring was the toast of Broadway with his dark comedy Arsenic & Old Lace. The play, which opened at the Fulton Theatre in January of 1941, transferred to the Hudson Theatre in the fall of 1943 and closed in July […]
By ALAN SMASON, Special to Theatrecriticism.com For the past two decades, Stogie Kenyatta has researched, performed and perfected his one-man show The World Is My Home – The Life of Paul Robeson on stages across the globe. With a running time of nearly three hours including a 15-minute intermission, the two-act vehicle permits Kenyatta to perform […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) It might be easy to dismiss Estella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol with a Twist as another in a continuing procession of holiday fare we’ve gotten used to seeing each December. With dozens of new movies and specials streaming or broadcasting on various platforms, discerning viewers might be […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions limiting crowd sizes at public gatherings, local theatre companies have found themselves in a quandary. Unable to offer more than a few comedy and cabaret offerings, a fully-produced show has been out of the question due to the viability of paying […]