Today was Wednesday, matinee day on Broadway. My shows today underlined the range of what is available now on Broadway – a first-rate revival of Tony Kushner's epic Angels in America and a so-so new musical adaptation of Tina Fey's high school anti-bullying comedy movie, Mean Girls. Subtitled "A Gay Fantasia on National Themes," Angels in America first arrived on Broadway in … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway, No. 3: “Frozen”
Since the early '80s, when the Disney organization made its first assault on Broadway with Beauty and the Beast, it has regularly raided its animation vaults for musical subjects. Some have been inspired adaptations (The Lion King), some rote copies (Mary Poppins) and some painful (Tarzan). This season's Disney entry, Frozen -- the most successful animated film of all time … [Read more...]
Zoetic Stage’s ‘Fun Home’ a powerful journey
Alison Bechdel is deeply conflicted about her relationship with her father. As she puts it early in the remarkable musical Fun Home, “My dad and I were exactly alike. My dad and I were nothing alike.” That seeming contradiction defines the crux of the show, Alison’s struggle with her sexual identity and anguish over coming out as a lesbian to her parents. … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway, No. 2: ‘My Fair Lady’
I am more of a Sweeney Todd and Fiddler on the Roof fan, but if you insisted that My Fair Lady is the great American musical, I wouldn't argue with you, particular after seeing the extraordinary Lincoln Center revival Sunday. Bartlett Sher, the Center's resident directing marvel (South Pacific, Light in the Piazza, etc.) has created a knockout production, with eye-popping … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway, No. 1: ‘Travesties’ and ‘Harry Potter’
Saturday was sunny, but chilly in New York, but fortunately I was spending almost six hours in a theater watching Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the hot ticket of the season. My trip began with a revival of Tom Stoppard's Travesties, another import from London. Both were in final previews, so I can't get too specific with my opinions yet, but both are challenging works, … [Read more...]
‘Merry Wives,’ done reality TV-style, delights at FAU
By Dale King Among the dusty, shopworn show biz mottos kicking around the darkened back rooms of theatrical venues is the phrase, “Always leave them laughing.” That’s undoubtedly how we’ll remember this year’s class of fine arts students from Florida Atlantic University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, who conclude their 2017-2018 season this weekend with a raucously … [Read more...]
Anton happy to be one of ‘Jerry’s Girls’ at The Wick
The shows of Broadway composer-lyricist – Hello, Dolly!, Mame, La Cage aux Folles – have been some of the most popular productions at The Wick Theatre. So it was not surprising that the Boca Raton playhouse chose to end its season with the musical revue Jerry’s Girls – a celebration of Herman’s prolific output – and to import Lee Roy Reams to direct it. Reams, who … [Read more...]
‘Waitress’ proves a tasty entertainment at Broward Center
Diner waitress Jenna Hunterson is an artist. Her medium happens to be pies. Each day, in addition to the standard flavors, she bakes a specialty, like Deep Dish Blueberry Bacon Pie. And the joy her art brings to the customers almost lets her forget the miserable life she has with her abusive, redneck husband, Earl. Can her pies be the route to her freedom? … [Read more...]
Except for Cox’s singing, ‘Bodyguard’ flops as a musical
Turning the 1992 Whitney Houston-Kevin Costner flick The Bodyguard into a theatrical musical wasn’t a bad idea, but boy, it has been adapted to the stage very badly. Its success in London’s West End and then on tour in this country is surely due to the residual affection for that film, as well as for the Houston song trunk which forms the basis for this jukebox musical. … [Read more...]
With quirky ‘Be Here Now,’ FAU Theatre Lab has a major play
What causes some of us to see joy in the world and others to see pure gloom? And if the difference between the two perspectives were caused by a brain tumor, would you accept a potentially fatal condition for a temporarily rosy outlook? That is the dilemma facing Bari, a former professor of nihilism and avowed cynic, in Deborah Zoe Laufer’s quirky and ultimately … [Read more...]