By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) The producers from the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans had already planned for a major opening night on March 8 at Marquette Theatre on the Loyola University campus. But what they could not have been prepared for was an afternoon tornado warning, torrential downpours and […]
By ALAN SMASON Biting satire must be carefully presented. If it doesn’t go far enough, it can come across as insincere and tepid, but if it goes too far, it can be considered as inappropriate and insensitive. George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum was first produced in 1986 as a study of the Black experience […]
By AARON KRAUSE “We don’t need you to tell us about (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). We live it,” the title character says in Christopher Demos-Brown’s riveting and vital play, The Cancellation of Lauren Fein. Indeed, you would think Fein would fully embrace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies. After all, the brilliant Biology professor is female, […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Since its release in 1982, New Orleans native Bob Clark’s “A Christmas Story” has been part of the holiday landscape, helped along by its cult status promoted in marathon showings over the TNT and TBS cable systems since the 1990s. If you’re unfamiliar with the Jean Shepard […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There was a time when Tallulah Bankhead was as well known a celebrity as any who dominate the social media channels of our own time. She was the wild child of her generation, beloved as an icon of stage and screen, who hung out at the Algonquin […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) The history of Onepiece, billed as “A Splashy Musical Play” goes back many years to a time when Randy Bibb felt especially creative. In his mind, he wanted to create an homage to the glorious musicals of the past like 42nd Street, but set it in a […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Following the record setting production of The Producers, Mel Brooks set his sight on bringing another of his film classics from the silver screen to the stage. That film was “Young Frankenstein,” co-written with Brooks and his star Gene Wilder, who first proposed the idea to Brooks. […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When most people consider the macabre work of Stephen Sondheim and his delicious sense of dark humor, they typically point to Sweeney Todd as his greatest achievement. While that may well be for most of his fans, the fact is the tale of the “demon barber of […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) Following his success with both Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Le Petit Theatre last season, Salvatore Mannino is back, helming a new production, Let the Right One In appropriately arriving just before Halloween. Based on […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) The Jefferson Performing Arts Society (JPAS) has returned to that old chestnut Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, a fellow Louisianian, who grew up in the oldest settlement in the state, Natchitoches. Those of us who live here know the name is pronounced “Nack-uh-titch,” not “Natch-uh-toh-chiss” and – […]