By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out”) Perhaps the darkest of the Disney animated films, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” was the last of the film series known as the Disney Renaissance that began with “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” in 1998. Like earlier projects by Menken and his celebrated lyricist partner Howard Ashman (“The […]
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out“) There is a point midway during the current production of Million Dollar Quartet at Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts when the major singing members of the cast join their voices together in the gospel favorite “Down By the Riverside” with only a simple guitar accompaniment. The melding […]
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out“) There are many Jane Austen fans who can recite chapter and verse as to what motivated the many characters from “Pride and Prejudice” at any particular juncture. It would seem that playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon are among her diehard fans too because their recent sequel […]
By AARON KRAUSE WEST PALM BEACH — Characters down alcohol with an equilibrium-upsetting frequency in Billy and Me, a new, engrossing, thought-provoking memory play receiving its world premiere production at Palm Beach Dramaworks through the end of the year. One of the principle characters is, surprise, surprise, Tennessee Williams. The late, great playwright was known as […]
By AARON KRAUSE WILTON MANORS, Fla. — The curtain opens, revealing a cheery, brightly-colored home sporting Christmas decorations. Soon, a woman of 55, but who could pass for 20 years younger, enters. She betrays an equally cheery, almost child-like disposition. She is full of energy. The woman’s husband is clad in clown make-up. If you […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown has won multiple Tony Awards for his brilliant compositions and, most especially, for his tender ballads. First noted for his 1995 production of Songs for a New World, Brown later received critical acclaim for Parade, which told the story of convicted […]
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out“) There is no doubt that Neil Simon is one of the great comedic geniuses in American theatre. With an innate understanding of what is funny, steeped in his early days as a writer when he penned classic skits for people like Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca on […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There is an adage to which many critics adhere that there is only one “i” in review; ergo, critical analysis which employs the first person should be similarly limited. But the current production of Caroline, or Change, co-produced by Loyola University and the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, […]
By AARON KRAUSE MIAMI BEACH — Birth isn’t one of the major life cycles at the center of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic Our Town. Of course, someone is born during the play — and the result is the heartbreaking ending that has flooded audience seating areas with tears since the classic play premiered in 1938. […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Bill Johnson has made a career out of portraying the late, great Bob Hope in several stage productions in his hometown of Las Vegas, on the international stage and in recent years at a recurring production – “Thanks for the Memories: Bob Hope and His All-Star Tour” […]