Cinderella — National Tour — Academy of Music
A waltz makes the difference in the touring production of “Cinderella.” All goes along ably but without much excitement until, dressed in simple white and looking demure among other women … Continue reading
QED — Lantern Theater
Beating bongos with flawless aplomb, dancing with ingenuous abandon, donning an elaborate costume with panache, or entertaining enthusiastic Russian guests, Peter DeLaurier endows Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman with a … Continue reading
Les Miserables — Media Theatre
Voices carry Jesse Cline’s triumphant production of “Les Misérables” at Media Theatre. The singing of Elisa Matthews, Lauren Cupples, James Zannelli, Sean Thompson, and John D. Smitherman is emotive and … Continue reading
The Matter of Frank Schaefer — Curio Theatre
The challenge in documentary theater is how to tell the story accurately, with the tone and intent of every speaker intact, while finding the dramatic spark that makes testimony and … Continue reading
Lost in Yonkers — Bristol Riverside Theatre
In a true yarn that becomes a family joke, one grandson tells another his uncle’s story about how a horse fell on Grandma Kurnitz seventy years ago causing nagging lifelong pain, … Continue reading
Big Love — Villanova Theatre at Vasey
Two musical interludes that had nothing to do with the plot count as my favorite moments in the Villanova production of “Big Love” at Vasey Theatre. The first is a … Continue reading
Mary Poppins — Walnut Street Theatre
Although Lindsey Bliven, playing the title role, rouses the Walnut Street Theatre audience in burgeoning numbers such as “Anything Can Happen” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” the highlights of Wayne Bryan’s staging of … Continue reading
Rest, In Pieces — Delaware Theatre Company
Steve Bluestein must have been bitten by what I call the Harvey Spiegelgass bug. Harvey Spiegelgass does not exist. He is an amalgam of playwrights like Harvey Perr, Leonard Spiegelgass, … Continue reading
The Watson Intelligence — Azuka at Off-Broad Street Theatre
Watson is a name associated with indispensable assistants. Think of Thomas Watson, who heard the first words spoken over a telephone, “Come here, Mr. Watson; I want you,” or of … Continue reading
The Glass Menagerie — Act II Playhouse
The sad lucklessness of the Wingfield family of FDR-era St. Louis resonates deeply through James J. Christy’s production of “The Glass Menagerie” for Act II Playhouse. All of Amanda’s plans … Continue reading
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