By ALAN SMASON There are a lot of people capable of taking a beloved film soundtrack and adapting it faithfully into a theatre piece for presentation on the stage. There are also a lot of people capable of directing such a work and bringing out the actors’ very best performances that are faithful to that…
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Just before every performance of The Pianist of Willesden Lane, the one-woman play based on the book she wrote with Lee Cohen (“The Children of Willesden Lane”), Mona Golabek holds onto a Star of David that hangs from her necklace. As she grasps the golden artifact (which…
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, 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”…
By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out“) When composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman and his writing partner Scott Wittman opened Hairspray: The Broadway Musical 15 years ago, there could not have been an expectation as to how well-received and how pervasive the musical, based on the same-titled 1988 John Waters film, would become. Summer…
