When Mark Hollmann’s (music and lyrics) and Greg Kotis’ (book and lyrics) Urinetown the Musicalpremiered in 2001, critics and audiences alike immediately could list a plethora of targets for its biting, yet hilarious satire: corporate greed, political bribery, liberal naivite, mismanaged bureaucracies of all types. Experiencing in 2019 the highly entertaining, laugh-out-loud, … [Read more...] about Urinetown the Musical
Musical
Monty Python’s Spamalot
One of the joys of any Monty Python’s Spamalot production for all of us musical lovers are the obvious (sometimes painfully so) parodies that Eric Idle and John Du Prez continually insert on other musicals such as Les Miserables, Fiddler on the Roof, A Chorus Line, West Side Story, and anything by Andrew Lloyd Webber. In addition, the show’s over-the-top stunts, eye-popping … [Read more...] about Monty Python’s Spamalot
The Rocky Horror Show
Hot men and women in sensuous, black corsets of torn lace and slicked leather who are raised on high by heeled boots, all singing and dancing in rock numbers that are precursors of later musicals like Grease or Hairspray can mean only one thing: The Rocky Horror Show is yet once again in revival. Generations of costumed, crazed audiences around the world have sustained … [Read more...] about The Rocky Horror Show
Nine the Musical
Guido Contini is turning fifty. His last three films were flops. His producer expects a new film script in four days that he has not started. His leading star and oft-lover is refusing to do another film with him. His wife is telling him she wants a divorce, and his young mistress is threatening to divorce her husband so she and Guido can marry – something he definitely … [Read more...] about Nine the Musical
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
If there is anyone who is curious why President Trump has a picture of Andrew Jackson watching over him in the Oval Office, that person need only sit through a production of Alex Timbers’ (book) and Michael Friedman’s (music and lyrics) Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, now playing at Custom Made Theatre Company. Lyrics like the following make that pretty clear, as Jackson at one … [Read more...] about Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Mark Twain’s River of Song
Part a nineteenth-century cabaret show, part a travelogue of the past, and part a famed writer’s recollections of his life on and around the river, Mark Twain’s River of Song is a journey so worth taking in this TheatreWorks Silicon Valley celebration of the human spirit and its quest for freedom, individuality, and harmony with one of nature’s most beautiful of gifts – the … [Read more...] about Mark Twain’s River of Song
“Bright Star”
Bright StarSteve Martin (Music, Book, Story) & Edie Brickell (Music, Lyrics, Story)Palo Alto PlayersElizabeth SantanaWhen Alice rotates from the rear to step away from a stage full of townspeople to face us, she opens the show singing, “If you knew my story, you’d have a hard time believing me. ” Immediately we know that Elizabeth Santana is going to make this an evening to … [Read more...] about “Bright Star”
“Caroline, Or Change”
Caroline, Or ChangeJeanine Tesori (Music); Tony Kushner (Book & Lyrics)Ray of Light TheatreElizabeth Jones, Cadarious Mayberry, Majesty Scott, Jasmyne Brice, Antone Jackson & Leslie IvyIt is November 1963; and after a relatively stable 1950s, change is in the air everywhere – some good, some scary, some revolutionary, and in one case, an event tragic for a nation and … [Read more...] about “Caroline, Or Change”
“Anastasia”
AnastasiaTerrence McNally (Book); Stephen Flaherty (Music); Lynn Ahrens (Lyrics)SHNLila Coogan & Stephen BrowerSoon after a group of Bolsheviks brutally murdered Tsar Nicolas II and his entire family on July 17, 1918, rumors spread faster than the Revolutionary Guard could extinguish them that Grand Duchess Anastasia had somehow escaped and was living in hiding. … [Read more...] about “Anastasia”
“As You Like It: A New Musical”
As You Like It: A New MusicalWilliam Shakespeare (Book & Lyrics); The Kilbanes [Kate Kilbane & Dan Moses] & Phil Wong (Music & Lyrics); Rebecca J. Ennals (Adapter)San Francisco Shakespeare FestivalRegina Morones & Michael Barrett AustinAs part of what many consider his most joyous and romantic comedy, William Shakespeare includes several songs, making the … [Read more...] about “As You Like It: A New Musical”
Anything Goes
Anything GoesCole Porter (Music & Lyrics)P.G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay & Russell Crouse (Original Book)Timothy Crouse & John Weidman (New Book)Hillbarn TheatreNathaniel Rothrock & Caitlin McGinty Beginning with the ship’s captain and sailors raising full-voice and rousing harmonies in “There Is No Cure Like Travel” and the full cast blending … [Read more...] about Anything Goes
“Cabaret”
CabaretJoe Masteroff (Book); John Kander (Music); Fred Ebb (Lyrics)San Francisco PlayhouseJohn Paul Gonzalez & the Kit Kat DancersSince its 1966 Broadway debut and its initial eight Tonys, Cabaret has continued to evolve through several major, award-winning revivals in both New York and London, becoming ever darker, starker, and rawer with each new production during its … [Read more...] about “Cabaret”
“Hairspray — The Broadway Musical”: Day 8, Play 8, Theatre Eddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Hairspray – The Broadway MusicalMark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan (Book); Marc Shaiman (Music); Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman (Lyrics)Oregon Shakespeare TheatreKaty Geraghty, Daniel T. Parker & CastIt is only fair to open this review of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Hairspray – The Broadway Musical with a warning: From the opening “Good Morning Baltimore” to the … [Read more...] about “Hairspray — The Broadway Musical”: Day 8, Play 8, Theatre Eddys Goes to the 2019 Oregon Shakespeare Festival
“Passion”
PassionStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); James Lapine (Book)Custom Made Theatre CompanyJuliana Lustenader & John MelisTwo voices intertwine as their beautifully sung notes erotically embrace in an opening song that mirrors the locked eyes, the probing hands, and the lip-to-lip brushes of two lovers singing “Happiness” in duet:“I’ve never known what love was ...But now, … [Read more...] about “Passion”
“Once”
OnceEnda Walsh (Book); Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglov (Music & Lyrics)(Based on the Movie by John Carney)42nd Street Moon The Ensemble of OnceEven if the pre-show were the show, how could one not rush to pocket a ticket for 42nd Street Moon’s regional premiere of Once? Thirteen hand-clapping, body-swaying, and foot-stomping singers – all also musicians – fill the … [Read more...] about “Once”
