In a season dominated by family-friendly holiday spectacles and bombastic Broadway musicals built around pop songs from the 1970's, it's refreshing to get back to basics. In the theater, that comes down to sharp writing, good acting, and snappy...
THEATER REVIEW: "A Christmas Story"
Going into Geva's stage version of "A Christmas Story," my main thought was, "How are they going to pull off the _______ scene?" Just about everybody is familiar with the 1983 film adaptation of Jean Shepherd's short stories detailing a...
"Triple Espresso" doesn't just break the fourth wall, it tears it down completely. Even before the show begins, the line between performer and audience is blurred. During the obligatory loudspeaker spiel - turn off your cell phone, emergency...
PREVIEW: Bill Evans Dance Company
It was in an Iowa City bar in 1973 that Bill Evans first heard a bluegrass band play the ballad "Hard Times," which was part of the inspiration for his modern dance of the same name. It's a piece that today's audiences, burdened by their own...
REVIEW: "Legally Blonde: The Musical"
I'm not sure what to make of the current Hollywood to Broadway (and then sometimes back to Hollywood) trend. Certainly it's nothing new, but lately there's been a spate of popular - and even some less-than-popular - flicks getting the...
REVIEW: "Pride and Prejudice, the New Musical"
It's akin to found-object assemblage, or maybe sampling, when some imaginative soul takes a piece of literature and fashions it into a stage musical full of songs that the source material never envisioned. And it's happened numerous times;...
Multi-reed master Ken Peplowski left college early to join The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra on...
There are many reasons why people meet annually - family and class reunions, conventions,...
Contrasting with a number of recent pictures dealing with Germany during World War II,...
As a kid, if given the choice between a history lesson and eating 10 plates of Brussels sprouts,...
OUR MONSTER ISSUE! The results are in! This year THOUSANDS of Rochesterians voted in our annual...
Recent Comments
Arcane Wit said:
Frankly, I liked the version by Abrams and Brown better. At least four of the songs are stand-out, whereas this version was ballad-heavy (and as...
in REVIEW: "Pride and Prejudice, the New Musical"
marc said:
That's the set everywhere. Broadway + West End.
in THEATER REVIEW: RBTL's "Mamma Mia"
William J. Zick said:
Casey Carlsen's aritcle on the Dec. 4-7 performances of Garth Fagan Dance is linked to AfriClassical Blog, whose companion website,...
in PREVIEW: Garth Fagan Dance
Bill Hauser said:
Bill Evans is one of the most exciting and innovative dancers and dance teachers around and should be celebrated with a large audience and...
in PREVIEW: Bill Evans Dance Company
Craig Johnson said:
Whoa. I know a couple crew members in this show and I saw it opening night as well. I'm not sure I agree with the author on all of his points. I...
in REVIEW: "Hello, Dolly!"