2018 Tony Award winners

BEST PLAY
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
By LOU HARRY On a four-day visit to the Stratford Festival in July, I was able to witness all but one of the simultaneously running productions, only missing Othello and a trio of plays not opening until August. None of the eight plays I attended should require even a cursory plot synopsis from anyone likely…
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When director Kelly Fouchi decided to revisit one of her first successes as an artistic director at Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts, there was little doubt Legally Blonde was at the top of her wish list. And why not? It has a great score and lyrics…
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Scott Sauber has proven to be an accomplished and impressive performer in recent years. Already a successful director and lighting director behind the scenes, he has also proven to be a true triple threat as an actor, singer and dancer on the stage. His comic portrayal of…
By LOU HARRY I laughed a lot during Iceboy, the new musical getting what producers hope is a pre-Broadway run at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. The new musical concerns a wealthy actress’ acquisition of a frozen caveman who, once thawed, becomes her surrogate child. That is, until he proves a bigger audience pleasing box-office…
By LOU HARRY From 1970 to 1973, composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and director Harold Prince masterminded a trio of landmark musicals that focused largely on marriages – their complexities, their frustrations, and their fragility. The first two – Company and Follies – are often discussed together, since they share an edgy, contemporary setting with decidedly contemporary…
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) In Shakespeare’s Richard II at the beginning of Act II, there is a famous phrase that is uttered in reference to England. On his deathbed, John of Gaunt vividly connects to the land in saying “This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle. This blessed plot, this…