By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, the two brothers who conceived Something Rotten! and more recently wrote the music and lyrics for the musical Mrs. Doubtfire (Karey also wrote that book), probably have a tinge of pride that Something Rotten! – a sendup of Broadway musicals improbably set in…
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) It’s been said that the third time’s the charm. Previously, two earlier iterations of Hairspray have graced local theaters. Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré produced the regional premiere in September 2010 and Jefferson Performing Arts followed with their production two years later in 2012. Both of…
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) With its current production of Cabaret finally on the boards, the Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts has achieved some major firsts for this perennial crowd pleaser by John Kander and Fred Ebb. It is their first production of 2022, albeit a delayed holdover from a hurricane-plagued…
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When it was announced that Ricky Graham would be in the director’s chair for Hello, Dolly! at Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts several months ago, there was anticipation this could have been one of the best versions of the Jerry Herman classic to ever grace a…
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 For 52 years, Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane has presented quality productions that can equal or excel what one would expect to find in a Broadway or national touring show. The amazing thing is that they manage to put on three quality presentations every summer at whirlwind speed each with a full…
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) No one can ever claim that Michael McKelvey is an underachiever. Following his triumph at the Jefferson Performing Arts Society’s massive production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the artistic director at Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane returns to JPAS with a fresh and lively holiday production…
