Performances
Alliance’s Brothers Beckett Is Even Better Second Time
The initial production two years ago of Brothers Beckett, an insider’s reportage on Millennial angst, was not an artist’s sketch at the Alliance Theatre Lab. But its current revival feels far more like a fully-realized, finely-detailed work as if the painter went back in to enhance its virtues.
Stage Door Hosts Tuneful Revue Of Jerry Herman Showstoppers
But legendary Broadway composer/lyricist Jerry Herman has spent his life as an unapologetic champion of leaving audiences after two hours feeling diverted. So diverting is the right word for the venerable revue of his ouvré, Jerry’s Girls, at Broward Stage Door, a procession of 38 hits and lesser-known songs from at least eight shows including Hello, Dolly! and Mame .
Funny But Baffling Body Awareness Bows At Island City/Empire Stages
This observer had trouble sussing out the cerebral depths that playwright Annie Baker intended in her quite funny meditation Body Awareness at the Island City Stage/Empire Stage production. Fortunately, witty dialogue, intriguing performances and insightful guidance from director Michael Leeds make for an entertaining evening if not a completely comprehensible or cohesive one.
Joy In The ‘Hood; Dreaming In The Heights
It’s been a long, long time since a locally-produced musical has thrust inside an audience’s collective chest to touch its heart like Actors’ Playhouse’s triumphant production of In The Heights. Several shows this season have produced near raves among critics and audiences, but this production is cause once again for recalibrating your standards.
Maltz Theatre’s Millie Is Thoroughly Frothy Fun
If it’s about as substantial as cotton candy that doesn’t stick to your ribs very long, the Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s co-production with the Papermill Playhouse of Throughly Modern Millie is a delightfully sweet confection whipped up by some very talented folks.
Flashdance’s Skill And Energy Trumps Formula And Material
With hardbodies gyrating in knife-sharp choreography to infectious music, Flashdance The Musical is a happy surprise in which undeniable skill, energy and talent trump material about as subtle as sledgehammers bashing steel plates into shape.
BRTG’s Chicago Is Entertaining But Needs More Razzle Dazzle
A muted clarinet makes beautiful music, but sometimes what’s called for is the blare of a clarion trumpet and the insolent snap of a snare drum. That’s the problem facing the almost but never quite satisfying Boca Raton Theatre Guild production of the Kander & Ebb musical Chicago.
Powerful, Fresh Reimagining Of Les Miz Is Ready For Broadway
This Broadway Across America edition of Les Miserables is not some cynical attempt to wring just one more quart of milk from the cash cow. Instead, this is a legitimate revival in the deepest sense of the word that is as vibrant, passionate and new-born as a world premiere.
AAPACT’s Amen Corner Is Flawed But Passionate Look at Faith And Organized Religion
AAPACT’S ambitious The Amen Corner is earnest and heartfelt although most of the time, the characters and their tragic spiral simply don’t feel genuine or organic. But every 20 minutes or so in this 2 ½-hour evening, the actors dig into their marrow and slingshot the play from pedestrian performances into an affecting truth that clutches the audience’s heart.
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