Tag Archives: Katie Duerr

Area Stage’s Enveloping Beauty and the Beast Charms Again

Area Stage’s Giancarlo Rodaz’s visionary, deeply moving new production of Beauty and the Beast, a near identical production as it mounted last summer, but with two new leads, is as radical a restaging as John Doyle’s Sweeney Todd.

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Area Stage’s Inventive Rethink Of Annie Is Fresh and Engaging

Young, visionary director Giancarlo Rodaz’s winning approach in Area Stage Company’s current unorthodox, yet triumphant production of the classic musical Annie features eight adult actors playing all roles in a stripped down environment in the round.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Matilda Will Charm The Kids, But Will Resonate With Their Folks

Area Stage Company’s Matilda is not really a children’s musical, although children will have a fine time when they are not storing up nightmarish images for future midnights. Matilda’s witty lyrics, satirical jibes and a multi-level script with psychological overtones are really aimed at those parents bringing their children.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Imagination Makes Area Stage’s Wizard Of Oz For Adults & Kids

Hearing that Area Stage Company is mounting The Wizard of Oz might make childless theatergoers pass. It would be their loss. Director Giancarlo Rodaz, his inexhaustible cast and creative crew have constructed a charming, witty and entertaining riff whose sterling quality is how they resourcefully solve staging problems that otherwise would require a far bigger budget.

Posted in General, Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

D&D Heroines Vs. Demons In Area Stage’s She Kills Monsters

She Kills Monsters is a dramatic comedy given an inventive and enthusiastic production by Area Stage Company — a show proudly described as “theater for nerds,” or more accurately, for young adults raised on video games who have infused their fantasy life into every cranny not reluctantly committed to jobs, family and responsibilities in general.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Upsetting Resonances Make Cabaret Worth A Return Visit

Area Stage Company’s Cabaret underscores how this warhorse musical still serves, not as a cautionary tale, but as a flat out warning to our current socio-political climate: The production’s fresh vision forces even veteran audiences to appreciate the aforementioned themes with renewed discomfiture.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Imagination Substitutes For Big Budget In Delightful Shrek

Director Giancarlo Rodaz made a virtue out of a tiny budget by substituting imagination for cash plus a joyful embrace of theatrical artifice in his production of Shrek the Musical at Area Stage Company.

Posted in Performances, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment