Chess is Cold War meets hot rock. It’s a tour de force of intelligence, emotional intensity and intrigue (political and personal), sporting a jaw-dropping score with music by ABBA’s Benny & Bjorn (Mama Mia!) and lyrics by Tim Rice (Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar among his impressive catalog of hits). [Read more...]

Now in its world-premiere run at Arlington’s Signature Theatre, Ricky Ian Gordon’s new musical Sycamore Trees is funny, sad, ephemeral, serious, witty, and pensive. It’s the composer’s poetic and moving take on his own boisterous family saga. And happily, it’s flawlessly executed by a first-rate, veteran cast and a top-notch stage band—an incomparable advantage for any new production. [Read more...]

Backstage shows, such as A Chorus Line,  Noises Off! and Kiss Me, Kate are catnip for theater lovers and [title of show] will definitely induce looped swoons in diehard Broadway geeks.

You thought you got all the jokes in MetroStage’s Musical of Musical: The Musical? [title of show], a fetching musical-within-a-musical at Signature Theatre, kicks it up a notch into Final Jeopardy territory [Read more...]

Top Pick – The principal gift which Signature’s wonderful production of Sweeney Todd brings its audience is honesty. From the first moment that London’s filthy underbelly materializes like the damned rising from the river Styx to sing the opening refrain, we know that we are in a musical about a serial killer [Read more...]