Bringing Musical Theater Center Stage
“Hamilton,” the wildly popular musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, will likely win several Tony Awards this weekend for changing the form of musical theater from what most of us perceive it to be. He uses rap lyrics that challenge what we think we know about the founding of our nation. A lot of us were first […]
Director re-envisions forgotten Newley-Bricusse musical for today’s audiences
by Andrew Beck view article on Examiner.com It’s odd for a musical written by a celebrated composer-lyricist from England to have flopped out of town before reaching London, only to be discovered by producer David Merrick and remounted to significant success on Broadway. Yet, that’s the trajectory of “The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell […]
Goodspeed Takes On Cult Musical ‘Roar Of The Greasepaint…’
by Christopher Arnott view article on Courant.com “The Roar of the Greasepaint — The Smell of the Crowd.” The very title of this 1964 cult musical by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse would seem to disparage theater audiences. But director Don Stephenson, who’s pushed through a rare revival of the show, has the utmost respect […]
NJ Rep Announces Cast of STRUCK
view article on BroadwayWorld.com New Jersey Repertory Company, 179 Broadway in Long Branch, is proud to announce the cast of the World Premiere, STRUCK by Sandy Rustin.After being struck by a bike while crossing an East Village intersection, Vera Resnick feels an eerie, outer-body connection to the college-aged student responsible for the collision. Is this […]
Tony Sheldon Will Roar at Goodspeed
view article on Playbill.com Tony Sheldon, who earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance as the drag goddess Bernadette in the 2011 musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert, will play the role of the patrician Sir in Goodspeed Musicals’ revival of the 1965 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint—The Smell of the Crowd. The […]
Review: ‘Guys and Dolls’ in East Haddam Revives the World and Patois of Damon Runyon’s New York
by Sylviane Gold view review on NYTimes.com What’s playing at the Goodspeed? I’ll tell you what’s playing at the Goodspeed. Story of a high-rolling gambler who wins way more than he bargained for when a mission doll upsets his game. Yes, Sky Masterson and Sarah Brown are back, along with their pals Nathan Detroit, Miss […]
Broadway’s golden age: Goodspeed’s ‘Guys and Dolls’
by Brooks Appelbaum view review on ShorelineTimes.com Most of us envision (or remember, if we’re lucky) a perfect production of Guys and Dolls, the exuberant musical based on Damon Runyan’s tales of 1930s New York and New York characters (as in “What a character”). With a book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling, and music […]
Goodspeed Stays True To Beloved ‘Guys And Dolls’
by Frank Rizzo view article on Courant.com Don Stephenson knows “Guys and Dolls” inside and out. After all, his father-in-law — Frank Loesser — wrote the score. But he hasn’t performed in the musical based on Damon Runyon’s stories of colorful saints and sinners of long-ago Times Square since he played Angie the Ox when […]
Fondly Squabbling Harmony. Enter a Movie Star. A Review of ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ in Millburn.
by Michael Sommers view review on NYTimes.com It is not essential to know the Russian plays of Anton Chekhov to like the all-American charms of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” Christopher Durang’s amiable comedy about a wacky weekend spent in Bucks County with three middle-aged siblings and a boy toy. Such knowledge lends […]
‘The Band Wagon’: Theater Review
by David Rooney view article on HollywoodReporter.com Brian Stokes Mitchell and Laura Osnes lead this stage remake of the 1953 MGM classic, with Tracey Ullman and Michael McKean channeling Betty Comden and Adolph Green On the busy assembly line of screen-to-stage remakes, few properties might seem like more natural fits than the great MGM movie […]