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• 1776
• Book by Peter Stone . Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards
• Directed and Choreographed by Stephen Nachamie
• Reviewed by Tim Treanor

If 1776 was merely a musical, it would not be much of one. Its pleasant score contains not a single memorable song, and the harmonies tend toward the barber-shop variety. Similarly, Olney’s production would be unremarkable. The voices are competent, though a few - Jessica Lauren Ball and the sturdy Rob Richardson as Martha and Thomas Jefferson, for example - are wonderful.  But 1776 isn’t merely a musical. It’s our story, an American history play expressed in the prototypically American art form.  It moves us to joy and sadness (more…)

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• The Happy Time
• The Kander and Ebb musical now playing at Signature
• Conversations with
• Michael Minarik (Jacques) David Margulies (Grandpere) and George Dvorsky (Phillipe)
• Intervewed by Joel Markowitz

“No. No. This is the way I meant to write this.” It’s a humbling moment and one vividly remembered by Michael Minarik from John Kander’s visit to the rehearsal for The Happy Time. (more…)

 

 Michael Minarik: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (854)

 

 David Margulies: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (778)

 

 George Dvorsky: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (824)

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• Am I Black Enough, Yet?                    
• Written by Clinton Johnston
• Directed by George Grant
• Produced by Charter Theater with the Hamner Theatre
• Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

This creative script tackles sensitive, poignant, hilarious even bizarre issues involving race and race relations.  A cast of five lightening quick actors pop into a variety of roles, improv style, and rip roar through scenes that will induce chuckles, bursts of laughter, stunned silence, or even painful acknowledgment of the fractured life scenes depicted on stage.  Written in George C. Wolfe’s Colored Museum type of humor and style, a kind of Wolfe-lite, Am I Black Enough, Yet? has just enough bite to make a point without puncturing, posturing, or preaching.  (more…)

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• The Eccentricities of a Nightingale
• by Tennessee Williams
• Directed by Stephen Scott Mazzola
• Produced by American Century Theater
• Reviewed by guest reviewer Gary Maker 

It is 1915, and there’s a nightingale in Glorious Hill, Mississippi whose wings aren’t working right, and her name is Alma Winemiller (Vanessa Bradchulis). Alma is a woman of a certain age - fans of Tennessee Williams will know exactly what I mean by this - whose dreams are slowly becoming deflated.

Part of it is that her voice, lovely instrument though it is, is simply insufficient to support a career and she must make her way as a vocal teacher. More importantly, though, her eccentricities - she sings and talks to the birds she feeds in the town square - isolate her from her narrow-minded neighbors, (more…)

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• The Stephen Schwartz Project
• Conceived by Michael J. Bobbitt
• Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
• Musical arrangements by John L. Cornelius II
• Directed and Choreographed by Michael J. Bobbitt
• Produced by MetroStage
• Reviewed by Gary McMillan

PBS has its seemingly ubiquitous “Three Tenors.” Musical theatre fans have the three Stephens (Flaherty, Sondheim and Schwartz) who have been delighting theatre and film audiences with their music for decades. While Schwartz personally has not brought home the brass ring, the Tony Award, for his music, he’s racked up an impressive array of national and regional awards, achieved astounding commercial success, and remains a far more popular favorite among many musical theatre buffs and, undoubtedly, the general public for his pleasing, highly-memorable melodies and intelligent lyrics. (more…)

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• The Plague
• By Albert Camus . Adapted for the stage by Otho Eskin
• Directed by Robert McNamara and Ellen Wilhite
• Produced by Scena Theatre
• Reviewed by Steven McKnight

Dramatizing a novel is difficult, even more so when that novel, The Plague by Albert Camus,   serves primarily as a platform for discussing philosophical responses to the absurdity of the human condition in an arduous situation.  Yet the cast of Scena Theatre’s production makes a game effort that leavens the discourses with enough convincing drama to make The Plague an intelligent and memorable piece of theatre. (more…)

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• 33 Variations                                                  
• Written and Directed by Moisés Kaufman
• Produced by La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla, CA
• Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

The world premiere of 33 Variations at Arena Stage last year intrigued me so much that I followed it to its West Coast debut at La Jolla Playhouse to see how an original production stands on new legs with a different cast and crew, discover first hand what was different and changed, and compare the results.  (more…)

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• 
• UNSUNG HEROES - EXCEPTIONAL ENSEMBLES AND AN UNFORGETTABLE CAST OF FOUR
• By Joel Markowitz

They are the unsung heroes of many productions, They sing, they dance, and they sweat. They make actors look good. They are often forgotten by critics. They are the ensemble  - a group of talented actors, singers, dancers, comedians who work their tails off, and usually receive little attention or credit. (more…)

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Hairspray

• Book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan; Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
• Derived from a movie by John Waters (New Line Cinema)
• Directed by Matt Lenz
• Produced by NETworks Presentations, LLC at the Warner Theatre
• Reviewed by Tim Treanor

Does life hold a role for the unlovely and the despised? Are there still dreams to be had when you’re too plump to go to the prom; or when your hopes and ambitions lie like ashes amidst the heaps of laundry you’ve taken in to help pay the mortgage?

(more…)

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• Smokey Joe’s Café
• Words and Music by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
• Directed and Choreographed by Chet Walker
• Produced by Nederlander of Bethesda, LLC for the Bethesda Theatre
• Reviewed by Steven McKnight

Knowing what to expect can be key to enjoying a night at the theatre.  If you want to enjoy an agreeable oldies revue smoothly sung by a talented ensemble, then you could do worse than drop in to Smokey Joe’s Café at the Bethesda Theatre.  On the other hand, if live musical theatre is a rare treat because of a busy schedule and/or limited budget, you may find a production that rarely rises above pleasant does not fulfill your highest expectations. 

(more…)

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