“Sucking your thumb without a blanket is like eating a cone without the ice cream.” This is just one of many lines young audience members will be able to relate to in this lively production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. [Read more...]
Strega Nona
May 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment
“Be careful what you wish for,” is the lesson in this entertaining musical adaptation of Tomie dePaola’s picture book about Strega Nona, or “Grandma Witch.” [Read more...]
Holes
February 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Holesby Louis Sachar, adapted for the stage from his novel of the same name
Directed by Rachel Grossman
Produced by Adventure Theatre
Reviewed by Tim Treanor
The novel Holes is designed to make older children excited about reading. Adventure Theatre’s fine, faithful production of the Louis Sachar novel will make them excited about theater. If that’s your objective, this is the right place.
Holes first introduced itself to me when we were hosting a young friend of ours from Chicago for the summer. Alex was doing an internship with his Congressman, and he was full of ambition. [Read more...]
Zomo the Rabbit
January 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Zomo the Rabbit-A Hip-Hop Creation MythWritten and Directed by Psalmayene 24
Produced by Imagination Stage
Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson
With some artists, you can purchase a ticket on trust, knowing that they will deliver quality goods. Psalmayene 24 is quickly becoming such an artist. Renown in the metro area for his uniquely personal and creative flair, poetry slams, and hip-hop infused productions, Psalmayene 24 is now bringing a bippity bop beat to children’s theater [Read more...]
Starting the year with some great performances
January 17, 2009 By 4 Comments
WHAT A WAY TO WELCOME IN 2009!
Serendipity 4, Natalie Joy Johnson, The Wizard of Oz and Alice Ripley at Millennium Stage
New Year’s Eve with ‘Serendipity 4′
What’s a better way to welcome in the New Year, than by attending a haymishe (very comfortable and “homey”) Yiddish, Hebrew, Greek, Bosnian, Romanian, Russian Gypsy Bulgarian, French, Sephardic – song filled – before-the-ball- dropped – concert at Theater J. I have never heard ‘Serendipity 4′ perform before, although I loved, the musical wizardry of members pianist Tamara Brooks and accordionist Merima Kljuco, as they accompanied fellow-member Theodore Bikel during his wonderful performance in Sholom Aleichem – Laughter Through Tears . [Read more...]
Three Who Shone in Beauty and the Beast
December 19, 2008 By 1 Comment
Interviews with actors Josh Simon and Mike Mainwaring and lighting designer Scott Selman
I had heard that Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, MD had a terrific drama department, and a huge Broadway size stage, so when Scott Selman – whose work I knew from Act Two – invited me to see a show, I gladly accepted, and have been a big fan ever since.
On December 6th I saw their spectacularly enchanting production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and, though I rarely see the same show twice, I returned with a friend on December 12th. Why? I wanted to see the terrific performances of Josh Simon, who played Lumiere and Mike Mainwaring, who played Lefou, and to see the eye-popping lighting design of Scott Selman. [Read more...]
Frosty the Snowman
December 7, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Frosty the SnowmanBook by William Francis
Music and lyrics by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins
Produced by Adventure Theatre
Directed by Karl M. Kippola
Choreography by Michael J. Bobbitt
Reviewed by Tim Treanor
Let’s get to the bottom line first: Frosty the Snowman is BubbaTM-approved and BubbaTM-certified. Go see it and take your kids. [Read more...]
Alice
December 3, 2008 By 1 Comment
AliceAdapted by Mary Hall Surface from a story by Charles Dodgson, who wrote as Lewis Carroll
Directed by Mary Hall Surface
Produced by Round House Theatre
Reviewed by Tim Treanor
What churl could not love a stage adaptation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? What sort of cretin would not melt like a caramel nougat left in the sun to see this clever and plucky child, struggling with a pack of cards come to life, and with a feline who is all grin and no cat, and with a crazy hatter, and with a croquet mallet made of flamingo, and with a dozen other things no child in her right mind would have ever conceived? [Read more...]
Miss Nelson Is Missing
November 24, 2008 By 2 Comments
Miss Nelson Is Missing!Based on the book by Harry Allard
Book, music, & lyrics by Joan Cushing
Directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer
Produced by Imagination Stage
Reviewed by Steven McKnight
Miss Nelson Is Missing!, a hit children’s musical that made its world premiere at Imagination Stage in 2001, has returned to delight a new generation of children. This enchanting and entertaining production offers a wonderful family theatre opportunity for the holiday season. [Read more...]
Playing from the Heart
November 9, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Playing from the HeartBy Charles Way
Directed by Janet Stanford
Produced by Imagination Stage
Reviewed by Leslie Weisman
What do you get when you take an almost bare-bones set, a heroine who can’t hear but who won’t hear of not making music, an orchestra of ideophones evoked by sticks, boards, panes and chimes and an indefatigable determination to do what those who love you, those who laugh at you, those who doubt you and those who deny you, say just can’t be done?
If it’s Charles Way’s innovative and inspirational Playing from the Heart, you get an absorbing and evocative biographical drama about a young woman both from and of the sticks who proved them all wrong to become the premier percussion artist of her generation. [Read more...]
