Archives

Ugly Duckling makes a Cute Musical    A sweet musical, now on stage at St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, takes Hans Christian Andersen’s fable of the Ugly Duckling and turns it into a song and dance story, complete with an anti-bullying message. Like the fairy tale plot, a big egg appears in Mrs. Duck’s nest.  A […]

The Sights and Sounds of Christmas Past    A miserable, miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is on stage at London’s Grand Theatre for the Christmas season.  Benedict Campbell’s portrayal of Scrooge is perfection, right from his first cantankerous moment, through to his redemption, and then his joy in finding the spirit of Christmas. By his own admission,

A Christmas Panto About Christmas!      Note: extended to January 5, 2018 Ross Petty has created a 21 year tradition with his annual Christmas panto.  His productions typically take a well-known fairy tale and turn it into a panto with the villain being loudly booed, and children participating on stage.  But this year for the

Grease hasn’t aged well    If you are of a certain age, you probably loved Grease when the movie came out in 1978.  Better yet, maybe you had a chance to see the stage version after it opened on Broadway in 1972.  I was lucky enough to see both the movie and the Broadway tour

The Tragic Death of a Salesman Brilliantly Performed At intermission, the comments from audience members around me were “This isn’t what I expected.”  But by the conclusion of Death of a Salesman, the comments had changed to quietly whispered words like “oh” or “wow”. Brilliant playwright Arthur Miller’s tragedy, Death of a Salesman, is now

A Sad Love Story Sweetened with Song The show, Once, is not a musical: it’s actually a play that includes music. But the music is woven throughout this heartwarming story, making this show such a wonderful experience.  Now on stage at London’s Grand Theatre, Once involves the audience, and then gives them a look into

Eighties Rock ‘n’ Roll Anthems are not Hymns    Artistic Director Alex Mustakas is worried about Drayton Entertainment’s production of Rock of Ages, on stage now at the Dunfield Theatre in Cambridge.  He is concerned it will offend subscribers:  they may not be the right demographic.  So there are warnings attached:  the website says “Caution:

From Christopher’s Point of View    The novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was originally published in 2003 to critical acclaim and became a best seller. The book is fascinating because it is written from the point of view of a 15 year old boy who apparently has a mild form

Caught Between Guilt and Grief It’s a fear of mine.  You are saying “See you later” to someone, and it’s not a proper goodbye.  Then as they depart, you think, what if I don’t see them again, and I didn’t give them a hug? This fear is just one small part of the intricate story

Hitchcock Movie Tries to Make the Switch to Stage     The 39 Steps, a 1930s Alfred Hitchcock thriller movie, has been very successfully revised for stage and turned into a hilarious comedy.  Now, Hitchcock’s 1960s movie, North by Northwest, has also been adapted for stage, but I’m not sure if it remains a thriller or