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Theater Review: Up - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Up - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Bridget Carpenter's "Up" -- inspired by the 1982 balloon flight of truck driver "Lawn Chair Larry" Walters, and the turbulence of his later life -- shares a title, buoyant balloons and an admirable degree of emotional nuance with Pixar's current hit animated film. But the two diverge in their immediate conception, approaching the pursuit of dreams from a fundamentally different angle. In the film, the old-man protagonist lifts off to escape a stultifying retirement home and fulfill a lifelong promise made to his late wife. In Carpenter's crafty, mostly realistic play, the balloon flight itself is viewed almost entirely from the rearview mirror.

Theater Review: Restoration - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Restoration - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

While Claudia Shear's "Restoration" nominally fictionalizes the 500th birthday effort to spruce up Michelangelo's David, it's really out to demonstrate the restorative powers of great art and ordinary human contact on the wounded spirit. Delicate and talky, as long on wit and wisdom as it is short on incident, the La Jolla Playhouse world premiere should act on audiences in the manner of most museums: Those in a contemplative mood will find much to ponder and be enriched by, while others won't get what the fuss is about.

'Avenue Q' reaches end of road - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

'Avenue Q' reaches end of road - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Broadway tuner "Avenue Q" will shutter in the fall after a run of six years. Comedy, in which a cast of humans and puppets play twentysomethings struggling to find their way in New York City, was one of the first of a new generation of small-scale offerings that carved out a stable foothold on a Rialto landscape more often associated with splashier fare. Broadway production has grossed almost $120 million so far, and, according to reps for the show, returned $23.5 million to its investors. The last several months of its Main Stem run have seen sales diminish, with weekly box office sometimes dipping below the $200,000 mark. Both the production's low running costs and its berth at one of Broadway's smaller venues, the John Golden Theater, helped extend its longevity. The show became the epitome of an underdog legit success when the musical beat out big-budget competitor "Wicked" for the top tuner Tony in 2004. Also picking up trophies for score (for composer-lyricists Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx) and book (for Jeff Whitty), "Avenue Q" was notable as well for a tongue-in-cheek, unusually aggressive awards campaign seemingly modeled after the high-profile pushes of Oscar contenders. (A year later, the administrators of the Tony Awards issued regulations limiting such campaigns.)

Vertigo's M Reimagines Hitchcock's 'Dial M For Murder' 6/30

Vertigo's M Reimagines Hitchcock's 'Dial M For Murder' 6/30.

After the highly succesful UK premiere Production of Bert V Royals 'Dog Sees God; Confessions Of A Teenage Blockhead' at Taurus and later transferred to the Lowry Theatre, Vertigo Theatre Productions are hoping to repeat the success with their latest offering 'M' a modern re imagining of the stage play (and subsequent Alfred Hitchcock Film) 'Dial M For Murder' Written by Craig Hepworth and Adele Stanhope and directed by Hepworth 'M' is a story about Revenge, Blackmail, Manipulation, Greed and Murder. A tense thriller that will keep you on The Edge of your seat until its shocking end. 'M' receives its 1st outing at the companies regular venue Taurus on Manchester's Famous Canal Street from June 30th to July 4th. Many of the highly praised Dog Sees God cast return to the company for 'M' including Rick Carter, Emma Willcox, Mike Gates and Stuart Reeve as well as Hepworth and Stanhope. The cast are this time also joined by Mael Ellis and Dale Vickers making his debut. Tickets for 'M' go on sale at the end of March through Quaytickets and the Vertigo Theatre Productions website.

Theater Review: Kill Me, Deadly - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Kill Me, Deadly - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

As eternally cool as it is, film noir, with its supercharged style and general seriousness almost begs to be deflated -- and playwright Bill Robens answers the call. In a voice redolent of cigarette smoke and wailing saxophone, "Kill Me, Deadly," has great fun with the genre stereotypes, including a tough gumshoe whose secretary is a much better detective than he is. The world premiere production at Theater of Note succeeds on all levels, from its lush look to Kiff Scholl's inspired direction, and its cast, with assorted thugs and a deeply duplicitous dame, is hilarious and superb.

Jerry Lewis to Direct Nutty Professor Musical on Broadway: Theater News on TheaterMania.com - 06/29/2009

Jerry Lewis to Direct Nutty Professor Musical on Broadway: Theater News on TheaterMania.com - 06/29/2009.

Jerry Lewis will make his Broadway directorial debut when he helms the new musical, The Nutty Professor, which is aiming to open during the 2010/2011 season at a theater to be announced. Based on the 1963 film (which Lewis co-wrote and starred in), the show will feature music by Marvin Hamlisch, with book and lyrics by Rupert Holmes. The story centers on dull geek Professor Julius Kelp, who creates a potion that transforms him into a smooth talking, party animal named Buddy Love. Lewis has appeared on Broadway in Damn Yankees! and Jerry Lewis at The Palace. He has numerous film credits as performer, director, writer, producer, and sometimes as all four, including The Bell Boy, The Ladies Man, It's Only Money, The Delicate Delinquent, and The King of Comedy. Hamlisch has won the Pulitzer Prize, along with the Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Awards. He's best known for the musical A Chorus Line. Holmes won Tonys for his book and lyrics to The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and was most recently represented on Broadway by Curtains, for which he received a Drama Desk Award and Tony nominations.

Theater Review - 'Sweet Storm' - Bride and Groom Go Out on a Limb in Scott Hudson’s New Play - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'Sweet Storm' - Bride and Groom Go Out on a Limb in Scott Hudson’s New Play - NYTimes.com.

Like the best country music, Scott Hudson’s “Sweet Storm” benefits from restraint. A gentle wisp of a love story in Florida in 1960, this two-person one-act at the Kirk Theater blends a fantastical setting with a longing for spiritual and carnal rapture, and by not straining to do too much, accomplishes more than it deserves to.

Theater Review - 'Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe' - Can I Get a Witness? A Preacher and His Fancy Talk at Clurman Theater - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe' - Can I Get a Witness? A Preacher and His Fancy Talk at Clurman Theater - NYTimes.com.

Every scene in “Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe” is so full of infectious energy that when, in the end, the plot threatens to run ragged, such a detail hardly matters. Indeed, with all the unabashed fun being had at the Clurman Theater, even a hint of disapproval seems downright prudish.

Theater Review: Farragut North - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Farragut North - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

If all politics is local, and all politics is personal, then every politician had better be particularly careful of the people closest to him. This rough syllogism is the jumping-off point for Beau Willimon's "Farragut North," a crackling good entertainment set in the snowy wilds of an Iowa Democratic presidential primary. Not incidentally, it offers a substantial role for Chris Pine, beaming down from "Star Trek" to demonstrate as much command on the Geffen Playhouse's boards as he shows on the Enterprise's bridge.

Evan Rachel Wood catches 'Spider' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Evan Rachel Wood catches 'Spider' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

It's official: Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming will star in the upcoming Broadway mega-spectacle "Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark." Deals were wrapped up late in the week for both thesps, who have been expected to confirm their stints in the show for a while now. Performance dates for the technically complicated tuner also have been pushed back. Previously skedded to open Feb. 18, the musical now won't begin previews until Feb. 25. Wood will play Spidey's paramour Mary Jane Watson, while Cumming will portray bad guy Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green Goblin. Julie Taymor ("The Lion King"), who helms the tuner and co-pens the book, has worked with both actors previously. Wood starred in Taymor's movie-musical "Across the Universe," while Cumming appeared in Taymor pics "Titus" and "The Tempest." The actor donning the tights of the wall-crawler himself remains unannounced; open auditions for the role were held earlier this year. Wood's co-star in "Across the Universe," Jim Sturgess, has also been mentioned as a possibility for the part.

'Ella' enchants regional theaters - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

'Ella' enchants regional theaters - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- It's never played New York, and has neither a celebrity star nor high-profile creators, but "Ella" has become the little show that could, racking up big numbers across the country. It's the sure thing regional theaters turn to for a guaranteed audience. In the past four years the biotuner about vocalist Ella Fitzgerald has played at 18 regional theaters across the country and counting, frequently to sold-out houses, amassing total grosses of more than $3 million for its theaters. That might seem like small potatoes for Broadway and its touring offshoots but it's substantial coin for the regional circuit. The show's journey is far from over; additional gigs are set this season at such prestigious venues as the Guthrie in Minneapolis and the Actors Theater of Louisville, Ky. Negotiations are under way for a commercial national tour, with gigs in Europe and Canada also being discussed. As recession blues and the non-profit cash crunch continue to shape subscription seasons toward material with proven crowd appeal, it's safe to assume the market for shows like "Ella" will not be tapped out any time soon. New York, however, is still the territory this show has purposely avoided. The unspoken fear appears to be that Gotham critics might not be as enraptured by the show as their colleagues in the hinterlands, and that Fitzgerald's story might lack the dramatic heft of such other singers as Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf and Dinah Washington.

Pitts. Public Theater Announces 09-10 Season, Runs Thru 6/27

Pitts. Public Theater Announces 09-10 Season, Runs Thru 6/27.

Producing Artistic Director Ted Pappas has announced the line-up for Pittsburgh Public Theater's 09/10 season. The six-play subscription series begins October 1, 2009 and runs through June 27, 2010. "Our audiences will experience a season of infinite variety," Pappas said. "Included are Shakespeare's best-loved play, a musical about the greatest jazz singer of all time, and a ferocious tour-de-force starring a great actress. Add to that a British comic masterpiece from a living genius and friend, a Pulitzer Prize-winning romantic comedy by an American treasure, and a sweet surprise as the finale. This season has it all," he said. In addition, The Public will present two special engagements. Subscriptions are available by calling 412.316.1600. Prices for the 09/10 season have not been increased and six-play packages range from $126 to $309. Pittsburgh Public Theater's home is the O'Reilly Theater in the heart of Downtown's Cultural District. Visit www.ppt.org for more. Pittsburgh Public Theater's 09/10 Season Six-Play Subscription Series OCTOBER 1 - NOVEMBER 1, 2009

Jackson tributes paid at Lyric theatre | The Official London Theatre Guide

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Jackson tributes paid at Lyric theatre | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Fans of Michael Jackson having been paying tribute to the entertainment superstar at London’s Lyric theatre, home of Thriller Live, the show inspired by the King of Pop’s music. Flowers and pictures have been placed at the theatre’s door, where fans have been congregating to honour their hero who passed away in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon. After much deliberation, Thriller Live’s producers decided earlier today that this evening’s performance would continue as planned, with Jackson’s memory honoured by the dimming of lights and a one minute silence. When he takes to the stage tonight, 14-year-old Mitchell Zhangazha will face the testing task of performing Jackson’s iconic songs so soon after the news of his death. Though the shock of the past two day’s events has affected the show’s entire cast, Zhangazha stoically commented: “I just want to do a good performance and do it respectfully. I’ll just try and do my best, really, that’s all I can do. Hopefully it will be good enough.” Fellow cast member Roger Wright added: “It’s definitely going to be a difficult challenge. We’re all very sad, but his memory will live on and it does through his music; I think he would like us to perform today and I feel that he will be with us in spirit.” The cast were speaking at a sombre press conference held earlier today in reaction to the night’s events. Ricko Baird, who appears in the show, but also worked with Jackson as a dancer on the Michael Jackson And Friends tour and co-choreographer for the You Rock My World video, described Jackson as “a great, sensitive spirit” and “an extreme perfectionist”, concluding that the cast were “just going to keep rocking like he would have wanted”.

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'Dreamgirls' announces cast - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

'Dreamgirls' announces cast - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

The upcoming national touring production of "Dreamgirls" has announced a cast made up largely of unknowns, in keeping with the obscurity-to-fame plotline of the 1981 tuner about a 1960s girl group. Moya Angela, who has appeared in two tours of "The Lion King," plays Effie, the role that won Jennifer Hudson an Oscar in 2007 and was originated on the Rialto by Jennifer Holliday. Syesha Mercado, a second runner-up on "American Idol," and Adrienne Warren, currently understudying Ashanti in "The Wiz," have been cast as, respectively, Deena and Lorrell, the other two members of the titular music group. Chester Gregory, probably the name most familiar to legiters from his roles in "Hairspray" and "Tarzan," will play R&B star "Thunder" Early, while Chaz Lamar Shepherd, who played a stint in "The Color Purple" on Broadway, portrays manager Curtis. Robert Longbottom, also helming the upcoming revival of "Bye Bye Birdie," directs "Dreamgirls" and co-choreographs with Shane Sparks, a frequent choreographer on "So You Think You Can Dance." Design team for the tour includes Robin Wagner (sets), William Ivey Long (costumes), Ken Billington (lights) and Acme Sound Partners (sound). John Breglio produces for Vienna Waits Prods. With music by Henry Krieger and book and lyrics by Tom Eyen, the 1981 tuner "Dreamgirls" got a major profile boost from the 2006 pic adaptation that starred Hudson, Beyonce and Eddie Murphy. New production will play Gotham's Apollo Theater Nov. 7-Dec. 6 before it heads out on the road.

Theater Review - 'Twelfth Night' - I Love You, You’re Perfect. You’re a Girl? Anne Hathaway in Central Park - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'Twelfth Night' - I Love You, You’re Perfect. You’re a Girl? Anne Hathaway in Central Park - NYTimes.com.

“Most wonderful.” The exclamation of joyous surprise that bursts from the lips of Countess Olivia at the climax of “Twelfth Night,” when she discovers that her new husband appears to have divided himself in two, seems an apt reaction to the scintillating new production of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy that opened Thursday night at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

Atlantic Theater unveils slate - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Atlantic Theater unveils slate - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

A couple of David Mamet one-acts and the latest play by Sam Shepard are among the offerings on tap for the 2009-10 season at Off Broadway's Atlantic Theater Company. The org's mainstage offerings kick off with "Two Unrelated Plays By David Mamet," a double bill of shorts "Keep Your Pantheon" and "School." "Pantheon," a comic tale about a troupe of actors in ancient Rome, preemed last year at Center Theater Group in L.A., where it was paired with the scribe's 1971 work "The Duck Variations." At the Atlantic it plays with "School," a world preem billed as a comedy about recycling and communication. Atlantic a.d. Neil Pepe ("Speed-the-Plow") directs "Two Unrelated Plays," beginning previews Sept. 9 ahead of a Sept. 30 opening. Mamet, one of the co-founders of the Atlantic, will be well represented in Gotham this season, with a new play, "Race," confirmed for a fall opening on Broadway and a revival of "Oleanna" also circling the Main Stem. Atlantic will import the production of Shepard's "Ages of the Moon" from Ireland's Abbey Theater, playing Gotham in a run that begins previews Jan. 9 ahead of a Jan. 27 opening. Jimmy Fay, who helmed the show's Dublin preem earlier this year, returns to direct. Play revolves around two old friends for whom shooting the breeze turns dangerous. No casting for the New York incarnation has been announced; Stephen Rea appeared in the two-hander in Dublin. Atlantic also announced the season's first production in its smaller space, Atlantic Stage 2. Bekah Brunstetter's "Oohrah!" follows two couples who live near a military base in a North Carolina town. Evan Cabnet will direct the production, starting previews Sept. 1 and opening Sept. 9. One more play remains to be announced for the mainstage, along with another for Stage 2.

Ephrons' 'Love' sets 12-week run - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Ephrons' 'Love' sets 12-week run - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Nora and Delia Ephron's stage adaptation of book "Love, Loss and What I Wore" will have a 12-week Off Broadway run beginning in September. Show will have three casts of five thesps each, including Tyne Daly, Rosie O'Donnell, Kristin Chenoweth and Rita Wilson. Casts will play stints of four weeks each, with exact dates and thesps to be confirmed later. Production is helmed by Karen Carpenter. "What I Wore" was first seen in Gotham earlier this year in a series of benefit readings at producer Daryl Roth's DR2 Theater. Roth also will produce the Off Broadway stint. Show is based on Ilene Beckerman's illustrated look at the outfits she wore during different phases of her life. A series of sartorial-themed anecdotes, the legit version takes its inspiration not only from the book but also from personal stories of the Ephrons' friends. Production begins previews at the Westside Theater Sept. 21 ahead of an Oct. 1 opening. Some proceeds of the run will go to charity Dress for Success, which provides professional clothes and job support for low-income women.

NAKED BOYS SINGING Returns To Provincetown 6/25

NAKED BOYS SINGING Returns To Provincetown 6/25.

aked Boys Singing, the international hit musical revue now in its 10th smash year Off-Broadway, returns to Provincetown summer 2009. Opening June 25th at the Post Office Café and Cabaret, Naked Boys Singing is a traditional musical revue, in the vein of Vaudeville and high-camp musical theater, which reminds us that clothes alone do not make the man! The show features six handsome "boys" of various body types with gorgeous voices, perfect comedic timing, and no clothing! With song titles ranging from "The Bliss of a Briss" to the culinary inspired "I Beat My Meat", Naked Boys Singing is 60 minutes of non-stop laughter! This will be Naked Boys Singing 4th engagement in Provincetown. Produced and directed by Tom D'Angora and Michael Duling this production will follow on the heals on their blockbuster 2007 production, featuring a cast of New York's finest and freshest young talent. Producer Tom D'Angora has had a long history with Naked Boys Singing starring in the highly controversial, and highly publicized, 2001 Provincetown production. In 2001 Naked Boys Singing performed within 500 feet from a church, violating an old blue law that prohibited nudity. Slapped with cease-and-desist orders at every performance the show created quite the stir! Despite the controversy the little nudie show that could DID! Naked Boys Singing managed to sell out the entire run, adding performances each week, it made national news with stories on CNN and other news networks, and eventually went before a packed town hall to win their case and get the laws rewritten!

Billy Crystal to Launch New Tour of 700 Sundays in September: Theater News on TheaterMania.com - 06/24/2009

Billy Crystal to Launch New Tour of 700 Sundays in September: Theater News on TheaterMania.com - 06/24/2009.

Billy Crystal will launch a six-city tour of his Tony Award-winning solo show 700 Sundays at Washington D.C.'s National Theatre, September 8-17. The production, which features additional content by Alan Zweibel, is directed by Des McAnuff. Crystal's show, which won the 2005 Tony Award for Special Theatrical Experience, is an autobiographical journey that deals with growing up in the world of jazz, his teenaged years, and his adult experiences. The production features scenic design by David F. Weiner, lighting design by David Lee Cuthbert, projection design by Michael Clark, and sound design by Steve Canyon Kennedy. The show will also play Philadelphia's Merriam Theatre (September 30-October 11), Dallas' Winspear Opera House (November 17-22), Palm Beach's Kravis Center (December 3-6), Miami's Arsht Opera House (December 9-13), and Atlanta's Cobb Theater (December 16-20). Ticket information will be released shortly.

Matt Lucas to 'Prick Up Your Ears' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Matt Lucas to 'Prick Up Your Ears' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Matt Lucas ("Little Britain") will co-star in the West End bow of "Prick Up Your Ears," Simon Bent's legit adaptation of John Lahr's biography of playwright Joe Orton. Lucas plays Orton's lover Kenneth Halliwell opposite Chris New as Orton in the show, which takes its inspiration from the Lahr bio and Orton's diaries rather than the 1987 pic of the same name. Daniel Kramer helms the play, produced by Sonia Friedman Prods., Kim Poster for Stanhope Prods. and Lee Menzies. "Prick" is set to play the West End's Comedy Theater Sept. 17-Dec. 6.

Olivier Winners 2009 | The Official London Theatre Guide

Olivier Winners 2009 | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Oliviers: Olivier Winners 2009

Theater Review: Shafrika, the White Girl - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Shafrika, the White Girl - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Quick, somebody -- write this woman a show, so she won't waste her gifts on another do-it-yourself project like this one. Anika Larsen, who played a hot and hilarious muse in "Xanadu," has fashioned a musical out of her own unorthodox upbringing as the child of 1960s peaceniks who adopted a United Nations of orphans and brought them up to make peace, not war, and sing folk songs. Jaradoa (Just A Roomful of Artists Doing Outreach And) Theater may be politically worthy as community theater goes, but Larsen is a natural-born musical force who belongs on Broadway.

Long Wharf Theater slashes budget - Entertainment News, Entertainment Industry & the Economy, Media - Variety

Long Wharf Theater slashes budget - Entertainment News, Entertainment Industry & the Economy, Media - Variety.

Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Conn, is slashing its 2009-10 budget by 16% in response to the economic downturn and a drop in contributed income. The theater will lay off 10% of its staff, cut production costs and reduce salaries by between 1% and 4.5%. The new budget will be cut by $1 million, going from the current season’s $6.2 million to $5.2 million. Long Wharf’s new managing director Ray Cullom points out that the current fiscal year ends June 30 and contributions are still coming in. But contributed income has fallen dramatically, especially in the areas of corporate and foundation giving. The number of individual gifts remains stable though the amounts have decreased, said artistic director Gordon Edelstein. However, he added that ticket sales are strong and subscription renewals are ahead of last season. Long Wharf is coming off a strong season at the box office, with hits runs of Paula Vogel’s “A Civil War Christmas,” Athol Fugard’s “Coming Home,” Eugene O’Neill’s “Hughie” starring Brian Dennehy, Theresa Rebeck’s “Bad Dates” and Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie.” The latter production, staged by Edelstein and starring Judith Ivey, is rumored to have sparked interest in a New York transfer.

Harriet Harris and Laila Robins to Headline Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Noises Off: Theater News on TheaterMania.com - 06/22/2009

Harriet Harris and Laila Robins to Headline Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Noises Off: Theater News on TheaterMania.com - 06/22/2009.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey has announced casting for its Mainstage productions of Moliere's The School for Wives, to run July 8-26, to be directed by Brian B. Crowe, and Michael Frayn's comedy Noises Off, to run August 5-30, to be directed by Paul Mullins. The School for Wives will star Bruce Cromer as Arnolphe, Erin Partin as Agnes, Daren Kelly as Orante, Jon Barker as Horace, Kristie Dale Sanders as Georgette, Greg Jackson as Alain, Scott Whitehurst as Chrysalde, and Jim Hopkins as Enrique. Noises Off will star Tony Award winner Harriet Harris as Dotty Otley, Laila Robins as Belinda Blair, Andrew Weems as Lloyd Dallas, Scott Barrow as Garry Lejeune, Matt Bradford Sullivan as Frederick Fellows, Edmond Genest as Selsdon Mowbray, Katie Fabel as Brooke Ashton, Jessica Ires Morris as Poppy Norton Taylor, and Jack Moran as Tim Allgood. For tickets, call 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org.

Arts, Briefly - Another Rock Musical, but No Oldies This Time - NYTimes.com

Arts, Briefly - Another Rock Musical, but No Oldies This Time - NYTimes.com.

Following buzzy runs in San Diego and Seattle, the original musical “Memphis” will open on Broadway at the Shubert Theater on Oct. 19. Previews begin on Sept. 23. The show focuses on a young white D.J. who prowls the underground clubs of Memphis in the segregated 1950s and falls in love with rock ’n’ roll and a black singer. David Bryan, a founding member of Bon Jovi, wrote the score; Joe DiPietro (“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”) wrote the book. Out-of-town reviews for the musical, directed by Christopher Ashley (“Xanadu”) and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo (“Jersey Boys”), have been solid, with critics seeming especially pleased “Memphis” is built around new songs instead of well-worn period hits.

Theater Review - 'Heart of the City' - Eric Lane’s Drama Explores Urban Life at Theater at 30th Street - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'Heart of the City' - Eric Lane’s Drama Explores Urban Life at Theater at 30th Street - NYTimes.com.

The plots are not the drawing point of Eric Lane’s agreeable “Heart of the City,” now at the Theater at 30th Street, although there are many, about assorted New Yorkers. Nola (Marcia Jean Kurtz), a gruff, jaded lady on the subway, is courted by Max (Martin LaPlatney), an elderly, literate romantic; Carlos (Scott Kerns), a spry gay Spaniard, comes to Manhattan seeking love; Lynn (Eliza Foss) and Michael (Mark Setlock), an affluent couple, wrestle with their frustrations in conceiving a child; a son (Mr. Setlock) tries to reconcile with his father (Mr. LaPlatney); two siblings (Mr. Kerns and Ms. Foss) face the declining health of their mother (Ms. Kurtz).

Theater Review - 'Stunning' - In David Adjmi’s Play, a Young Syrian Jew at Odds With Her World - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'Stunning' - In David Adjmi’s Play, a Young Syrian Jew at Odds With Her World - NYTimes.com.

“Stunning,” a stinging portrait of an insular Syrian Jewish community in contemporary Brooklyn, begins as stylized satire, moves quickly into urban fairy tale and finally emerges as a melodramatic tragedy. The shifts in tone and style present a high degree of difficulty, and while its virtuosic playwright, David Adjmi, nicely evokes an arrestingly skewed subculture onstage, he never makes us believe in the people who make it up.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Review on TheaterMania.com - 06/22/2009

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Review on TheaterMania.com - 06/22/2009.

Can't you just picture the families of the 25th Century huddled on their picnic blankets as they thrill to the poetry, romance, and absurdity of William Shakespeare? They'll certainly want to if the performance they witness is anywhere near as lively as Shakespeare on the Sound's A Midsummer Night's Dream, as helmed by new artistic director Joanna Settle and aurally enhanced by the award-winning musician Stew. Staged on a winding, wooden catwalk that transects a coveside park in Rowayton, Connecticut (the show moves to Greenwich in July), Settle's highly physicalized rendition has a bit of the carnival midway about it. Players are constantly racing by, arms pumping, or slithering onstage lizardlike, or draping themselves from a convenient tree. At one point, the scorned Helena (a nicely homespun Gretchen Hall) tries to hurl herself over the park wall to elude what she perceives as her tormentors. Perhaps only Stew -- the genius behind Passing Strange -- would have guessed that the blues would be just the right genre for Bottom (a hilariously over-the-top Ty Jones) to bemoan his discomfort at finding himself suddenly rendered asinine? (Costumer Ilona Somogyi gives him goggles, floppy burlap ears, and hoofed armlets for an on-the-spot makeover.) This donkey is so adorable that the "O, how I love thee!" lullabye delivered by Titania (the lush-voiced, lithe Doan Li) seems almost reasonable. In fact, it's worth braving rush-hour traffic just to hear him call out "This-BEH!" street-style or flop about like a fish on a hook in what is surely the most belaboredly acrobatic death scene ever devised.

T.R. Knight to Star in Mark Taper Forum's Parade: Theater News on TheaterMania.com - 06/20/2009

T.R. Knight to Star in Mark Taper Forum's Parade: Theater News on TheaterMania.com - 06/20/2009.

Stage and television star T.R. Knight will play Leo Frank in the Mark Taper Forum's upcoming production of the Jason Robert Brown-Alfred Uhry-Harold Prince musical Parade, to run September 25-November 15, according to a report in The Los Angeles Times. The show will be directed and choreographed by Tony winner Rob Ashford. No official casting has been announced. On Friday, ABC and Knight officially confirmed that the actor will not return to Grey's Anatomy, the series he has starred in since 2005. His character, George O'Malley, was severely wounded in the final episode of the 2008-2009 season. Knight's New York stage credits include Broadway revivals of Noises Off and Tartuffe and the Off-Broadway show Scattergood, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination.

Arts - Westchester - Shakespeare at Boscobel via Town and Country - NYTimes.com

Arts - Westchester - Shakespeare at Boscobel via Town and Country - NYTimes.com.

“PERICLES, Prince of Tyre” is about love, jealousy, incest, a virgin prostitute, a woman buried alive and the requisite long-lost relatives. And if Terrence O’Brien — Terry to his friends and colleagues — has anything to do with it, about grown men finding the silliest possible ways to ride imaginary horses.

Team Behind ‘The Wiz’ Eases on Down the Encores! Road - NYTimes.com

Team Behind ‘The Wiz’ Eases on Down the Encores! Road - NYTimes.com.

THE commercial theater is famous for “creative differences” — also known as vicious rivalries, titanic egos, abrupt firings, explosive fights and nasty backbiting. But apparently no one has told Thomas Kail, Andy Blankenbuehler and Alex Lacamoire, who collaborated on the Tony-winning musical “In the Heights” and are together again for the summer Encores! production of the “The Wiz,” which opened on Thursday.

Theater - The Three Sisters of ‘Twelfth Night’ at the Delacorte Theater - NYTimes.com

Theater - The Three Sisters of ‘Twelfth Night’ at the Delacorte Theater - NYTimes.com.

AT the first preview performance of “Twelfth Night” this month two newcomers to Shakespeare in the Park — the actresses Anne Hathaway and Audra McDonald — were greeted by the sort of old friend oft seen at the Delacorte Theater: a raccoon, waddling across the stage during the first scene between Viola (Ms. Hathaway) and Olivia (Ms. McDonald). Audience members giggled, but the two women did not break focus.

Theater Review: Stunning - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Stunning - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Unless you happen to live in an insular Syrian-Jewish community, the culture shock of "Stunning" could be quite ... well, stunning. Even allowing for its overelevated emotional pitch and melodramatic ending, David Adjmi's eye-opening drama about a despotic rag merchant, his tyrannized child bride and the black maid who challenges the medieval customs of their domestic life has a chilling impact. Riveting perfs and super-stylish staging polish the play's satirical weapons of high dudgeon, while adding to the luster of LCT3, the developmental wing of Lincoln Center currently making a splash in its inaugural season at the Duke.

Theater Review: Sweet Storm - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Sweet Storm - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

There's not much else in New York that looks and talks like "Sweet Storm." Debuting playwright Scott Hudson's tiny, tight two-hander feels like nothing so much as a staged Flannery O'Connor short story, with the play's deeply religious newlyweds trying to iron out marriage's inconveniences in a treehouse somewhere in central Florida. The script is remarkably controlled without feeling slick, and Jamie Dunn and Eric T. Miller give refreshing, uncynical perfs as a young couple troubled as much by love as by suffering. Padraic Lillis directs the subdued action to a T.

Music - Broadway Musicals Are Singing a Different Tune - Review - NYTimes.com

Music - Broadway Musicals Are Singing a Different Tune - Review - NYTimes.com.

A comparison of the original cast albums from this season’s two most Tony-decorated new Broadway shows, “Billy Elliot: The Musical” and “Next to Normal,” with those of the most acclaimed revivals, “West Side Story” and “Hair,” reveals a glaring distinction between now and then.

Theater Review - 'The Wiz' - Not in Kansas Anymore - Ashanti Lands on Broadway as Dorothy - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'The Wiz' - Not in Kansas Anymore - Ashanti Lands on Broadway as Dorothy - NYTimes.com.

Does that big ol’ stimulus package contain any provisions for urgent repairs to yellow brick roads? If so, some funds should be set aside to subsidize careful work on the bumpy new revival of the 1975 Broadway musical “The Wiz,” the latest, most lavish and least in the Summers Stars series from City Center Encores!

Theater Review: FUBAR - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: FUBAR - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

A flawed script with an enviable surfeit of good ideas, Karl Gajdusek's San Francisco hipster dramedy "FUBAR" is less a play than a series of theatrical character studies, some very successful. A writer for Showtime's "Dead Like Me," Gajdusek has a TV scripter's flair for snappy dialogue, but he also has a much rarer talent for deep characterization and empathy, even when dealing with his most contemptible characters. Larissa Kokernot's direction hasn't quite pulled together a cast of actors with wildly different gifts, but when "FUBAR" works, it really works.

Theater Review: Mercury Fur - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Mercury Fur - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

uring civilization's final descent into barbarism, says Philip Ridley's 2005 U.K. hit "Mercury Fur," the powerful will indulge their most insane fantasies, while the rest of us try to maintain a little dignity as we cater to them. The young Needtheater company's stunning, superb production at the Imagined Life Theater drags us into a circle of hell while affirming the indomitability of humanity's best instincts, even when apocalypse is now.

Gay Trailblazers of ‘The Temperamentals’ - NYTimes.com

Gay Trailblazers of ‘The Temperamentals’ - NYTimes.com.

With Iowa, Maine and New Hampshire legalizing gay marriage this spring, and with the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots coming later this month, the notion that two grown gay men would be uncomfortable, tentative, even scared to hold hands, seems antiquated.

Arsenic and Old Lace

Arsenic and Old Lace.

Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace—staple of the community theatre/high school theatre circuit for 50 years now—is perhaps the last thing you'd expect a group like Dysfunctional Theatre Company to take a crack at. I mean, this is the troupe that gave us Hoover: A Love Story with a cross-dressing FBI chieftain and his beloved Clyde Tolson making merry onstage, and before that titles like Sodom and I Am Star Trek. But the Dysfunctionals are bringing this charmer of a chestnut to the indie theater stage right now, and they're doing it with love and respect and—I think this is exactly the right word—glee. They actually helped me see the play anew, and they gave me a fun evening out in the process. What more can one ask for?

Sheryl Lee Ralph tops 'Wives' Club' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

Sheryl Lee Ralph tops 'Wives' Club' - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Sheryl Lee Ralph has stepped into a lead role in the Broadway-aimed tuner adaptation of “The First Wives’ Club,” which recently began rehearsals for its out-of-town tryout at San Diego’s Old Globe Theater. Ralph (“Dreamgirls,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie”) replaces Adriane Lenox, who bowed out due to health concerns, according to the Old Globe. Actress joins Barbara Walsh and Karen Ziemba as a trio of women who are all dumped by their husbands for younger women. Francesca Zambello (“The Little Mermaid”) directs the musical, with score by Motown songwriters Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland and book by Rupert Holmes (“Curtains”). “First Wives” plays at the Old Globe July 17-Aug. 23. Specifics for the Broadway run, produced by Paul Lambert and Jonas Neilson, remain to be confirmed.

Dallimore leads Too Close cast | The Official London Theatre Guide

Dallimore leads Too Close cast | The Official London Theatre Guide.

Helen Dallimore, who last appeared in the West End playing Glinda in Wicked, returns to the London stage next month in new musical Too Close To The Sun. She is joined in the production, which tells the imagined story of the final days of author Ernest Hemmingway, by James Graeme, Jay Benedict and Tammy Joelle. Antipodean actress Dallimore returns to the UK following her recent run in Boeing Boeing in Australia. Graeme is a West End veteran whose credits include The Phantom Of The Opera, Whistle Down The Wind and Jesus Christ Superstar, while Benedict is best known for playing John Kieffer in wartime drama Foyle’s War and Joelle is a West End newcomer. The company of four is to be directed by Pat Garrett, whose London stage work includes productions at the King’s Head theatre, New End theatre and Courtyard theatre. Arguably better known as a choreographer and movement director, Garrett has previously worked with the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, and on films including Santa Claus The Movie, King Ralph and Muppet Christmas Carol. Too Close To The Sun, which runs at the Comedy theatre from 16 July, follows Nobel Prize-winner Hemmingway as he battles old age, taking solace in the young secretary that his wife knows has her eyes on his money. But it is not just the secretary who can see the dollar signs, and an old school friend arrives with more than friendship on his mind. The new show features music by John Robinson, who has also had Behind The Iron Mask staged in London.

Theater Review: Phedre - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Phedre - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Nobody shouts. It's (almost) that simple. Racine's high drama of incestuous love, pain and the whole damn thing is usually an excuse for the worst kind of sound and fury, with actors snapping the tension by sailing over the top. But although passions run high in Nicholas Hytner's magnificently controlled production, self-indulgent emoting has been banished. With a crack cast led by a spellbinding Helen Mirren in the title role, this is a night to relish.

Theater Review - 'Dov and Ali' - A Jew and a Muslim, Firing Anna Ziegler’s Words at the Cherry Lane Studio Theater - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'Dov and Ali' - A Jew and a Muslim, Firing Anna Ziegler’s Words at the Cherry Lane Studio Theater - NYTimes.com.

In some ways “Dov and Ali” could be called a flawless play: the characters speak in precise sentences, their arguments are soundly constructed, their entrances and exits are impeccably timed. Indeed, the work, by Anna Ziegler, is so well assembled that you soon long for it to get messy, to have a character be more than just a figure who spouts partisan viewpoints or who doesn’t always have the perfect line right at hand.

Theater Review - 'The Amish Project' - At Rattlestick, Jessica Dickey’s Play Explores a School Shooting - NYTimes.com

Theater Review - 'The Amish Project' - At Rattlestick, Jessica Dickey’s Play Explores a School Shooting - NYTimes.com.

Jessica Dickey is giving such an extraordinary performance in “The Amish Project” at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater that she makes it easy to overlook something else: the play is also a remarkable piece of writing. Ms. Dickey the actress has herself to thank for the compelling material; she is also the playwright. The success of the piece is all the more impressive because any description of it sends up a “cheesy exploitation” red flag. The play is inspired by the killing of five girls in a hostage-taking at an Amish school in Lancaster County, Pa., in October 2006, yet beyond a few facts drawn from the incident, it is fictional; the characters are imagined by Ms. Dickey. It’s as if someone offered a drama called “Personal Stories of 9/11 That I Just Made Up.” But any trepidation is dispelled almost as soon as the lights come up on Ms. Dickey, wearing traditional Amish dress nicely complemented by Lauren Helpern’s sparse set. Ms. Dickey, under Sarah Cameron Sunde’s direction, is completely convincing as she switches among the play’s seven characters. That is no easy feat, since those characters include both the gunman and two of his young victims.

Theater Review: August: Osage County - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: August: Osage County - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

In her Broadway roles in recent years, Phylicia Rashad has cornered the market in formidable matriarchs: the strong-willed traditionalist suspicious of change in "A Raisin in the Sun"; the 287-year-old spiritual guide in "Gem of the Ocean"; the scheming ice queen in "Cymbeline"; the self-deluding Big Mama, in deep denial about her marriage and impending widowhood, in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." But no role has taken her further from warm, sensible, no-nonsense Clair Huxtable than Violet Weston, the pill-popping Oklahoma terminator who serves as the motor for a family's disintegration in Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner "August: Osage County."

What is the fate of 'Sister Act'? - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety

What is the fate of 'Sister Act'? - Entertainment News, Legit News, Media - Variety.

Is the musical adaptation of 1992 Buena Vista hit “Sister Act” one step closer to Broadway heaven or still lingering in commercial purgatory? Retooled since its premiere engagements at the Pasadena Playhouse and Atlanta’s Alliance Theater in the 2006-07 season, the screen-to-stage tuner opened at the London Palladium on June 2, with the star of the film, Whoopi Goldberg, taking the reins as co-producer. Directed by former Disney Animation chief Peter Schneider, the new “Sister Act” scored mixed reviews from Blighty critics, but lead Patina Miller, stepping into Goldberg’s shoes as Deloris Van Cartier, garnered praise across the board. Here’s what the London critics said: * Variety’s David Benedict was underwhelmed by the show’s book and sets but said with its high spirits “and nonstop dynamo discovery Patina Miller in the Whoopi Goldberg role, the cumulative effect is shamelessly and irresistibly entertaining.” * Calling the tuner “habit-forming,” the London Evening Standard’s Fiona Mountford echoed praise for the star: “There can be no disputing the evening’s main draw: 24-year-old Miller, who fills this huge stage with so many bundles of star quality that another dressing room will surely have to be found for them all.” * Michael Coveney in the Independent called Miller “a genuine new star, oozing confidence and sex appeal like it was going out of fashion.” * The Telegraph’s Charles Spencer was a major cheerleader who felt the show worked better on stage than screen: “Frankly, what’s not to like, especially when you’ve got a chorus line of jiving nuns singing their hearts out ecstatically?” * Ditto the Observer’s Euan Ferguson, who predicted the musical will be “this summer’s feel-good night out in London.” Other key reviewers were less laudatory. * “What was originally a fairy tale fantasy makes little sense in its new, vulgarized incarnation,” wrote Michael Billington in the Guardian, calling the show “noisily aggressive.” * “A rather sweet, sentimental film has been hyped up and coarsened,” opined Benedict Nightingale in the Times. Benedict perhaps best summed up the generally mixed feelings toward the convent caper: “Is ‘Sister Act’ great theatrical art? No. Is it hit entertainment. Oh, yes.”

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA Premieres In John Hopkins Univ's Swirnow Theater 6/12

Theatre Hopkins will open its final production of the season, the area premiere of the Tony award winning musical, The Light in the Piazza, on Friday, June 12, at the Swirnow Theater in the Mattin Center on The Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus, 3400 N. Charles St. in Baltimore. With a Tony-winning score and lyrics by Adam Guettel and book by Craig Lucas, the production is directed by Todd Pearthree. Based on a novella by ElizaBeth Spencer, the story is set in luscious Italy in the summer of 1953 where two American tourists, mother and daughter, dream of romance but their elegant luggage also contains family secrets. With musical direction by R. Christopher Rose, the company is led by Helen Hayes Best Actress nominee, Nancy Asendorf as Margaret Johnson, Amy Pierson as her daughter, Clara, and Robert Tucker as Fabrizio. The cast also features Kerry Brady, Tom Burns, Joey Hellman, Tamarin Lawler, Molly Massa, Michael Salconi, Josh Seims, and Alyson Shirk. The production will run four weekends through Sunday, July 5. Curtain time for Friday and Saturday performances is 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees. Student rush tickets for $5 are available at curtain time for all performances, if space allows. For reservations or information, contact Theatre Hopkins at (410) 516-7159, or by e-mail to thehop@jhu.edu.

Theater Review: The Amish Project - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: The Amish Project - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

Seems like you can't throw a tomato near "The Amish Project" without hitting somebody's good intentions. There's playwright-thesp Jessica Dickey, who wants to explore the nature of forgiveness; the show's impressive legion of funders, including playwright Christopher Shinn and other notables; even the theater itself seems sort of saintly by association. Dickey does a terrific acting job under helmer Sarah Cameron Sunde, but the treatment of the Amish as quasi-magical beings ultimately sinks the ship. Dickey has picked a fascinating story, but she's neglected the humanity of its most interesting characters.

Theater Review: Kursk - Theater and Musical Production Reviews

Theater Review: Kursk - Theater and Musical Production Reviews.

This affecting production by London company Sound and Fury innovatively combines installation art, devised theater and playwriting to simulate the experience of being inside a fictional British submarine that becomes involved in the fate of the real-life Russian sub Kursk, which sank in 2000. There's no seating; auds can stand on platforms overlooking the action or -- even better -- wander at performance level around slightly raised platforms representing the main control room, galley and captain's quarters. The sophisticated combination of a wrap-around sonic environment, intense and believable acting and sensitive writing by Bryony Lavery ("Frozen") create a highly immersive experience. Pun intended.