By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When it comes to an old chestnut like “Fiddler on the Roof,” the biggest challenge may be in keeping the Joseph Stein book fresh and the music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick vibrant and relevant. This Bartlett Sher-directed production, based on the successful 2016 […]
By ROY BERKO When Hadestown, opened on Broadway on April 17, 2019, it was met with critical acclaim. Reviews contained such terms as “inventive,” “gorgeous, “hypnotic,” “high energy,” “utterly fabulous” and “immersive.” The critics went gaga over the quality of the singing, the scenery, the special effects, the choreography and the fine acting. The Big […]
By ROY BERKO As the run of the awe-inspiring Hamilton draws to a close at the Playhouse Square’s State Theatre, Beetlejuice, the cult-followed farcical ghostly show appears next door at the Connor Palace. The opening is ironic since the curtain-up Cleveland production of the Eddie Perfect (music and lyrics)/Scott Brown and Anthony King (book) parallels […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Taking their regal cues from the likes of pop music royalty Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Avril Lavigne and Jennifer Lopez, the “Six” queens of Henry VIII took up residence at the Saenger Theater on Tuesday night, beginning their reigns for a busy six days […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There is probably no more magnificent opening number in Broadway history than “Circle of Life/ Nants Ingonyama” found in Disney’s The Lion King. This Julle Taymor-inspired depiction recreates the opening of the 1994 Walt Disney animated classic showing the creatures of the African savannah journeying to witness […]
By ROY BERKO When Les Misérables last came to Cleveland in November of 2018, in part I wrote: “From the very first time I saw Les Miserables, shortly after its opening in London, to the New York production, and through the various touring shows, I have been a fan of the show. Not just a […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There are some classic movies that easily make the transition from the big screen to the stage. Because some have first been independent, smaller films like “Once,” “Billy Elliott” or “Kinky Boots,” the task of adapting them into a staged musical production has met with little resistance […]
By ROY BERKO As I exited the opening night of Frozen, part of the Broadway Series now on stage at the Key Bank State Theatre, I was surrounded by hundreds of little girls in their “princess” dresses and tiaras, happily dragging their parents, grandparents and reluctant brothers toward the counters selling the show’s memorabilia. Listening to […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) SCROLL DOWN SCROLL DOWN MORE KEEP SCROLLING This is what theatre criticism looks like when theatre critics are […]
By ROY BERKO What do Rogers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Frank Loesser and Cole Porter all have in common? Yes, they are all composers of American musicals, but they are also just some of those who attempted, and failed, to make George Bernard Shaw’s classical Pygamlion into a musical. At one point, Shaw had given permission […]