All stories by Alan Smason on BroadwayStars

Friday, March 21, 2025

Jersey 'hitmen': Allegra, Buisson helm first local production of 'Jersey Boys' by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré has removed any doubt about whether it could creatively pull off  the first local production of Je…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:46AM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 16, 2025

Superb cast makes first national tour of 'Funny Girl' especially memorable by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") It's hard to believe, but until three years ago there had never been a revival of Funny Girl on Broadway. The starring vehicle in 1964…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 06:41AM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 15, 2025

Using a cloak of humor, 'Wounded' reveals deep pain of characters by Alan Smason

By SCOTTY BENNETT One of the fascinating things about humans is how easily they mask intense feelings in a cloak of smiles and good humor. Pain, both physical and emotional, can be disguised…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 01:48PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Sarah Silverman's musical comedy 'The Bedwetter' gives a surprisingly poignant look at childhood mental health by Alan Smason

By ELIZABETH SCHABINGER The Bedwetter, based on Sarah Silverman's memoir of the same name, is an intimate look at Silverman's year as a 10-year-old. In The Bedwetter,  Sarah is a fifth gr…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 12:39AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 20, 2025

Electrifying 'Parade' pays homage to the pain of prejudice by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO Parade, which is now on stage at the Palace Theatre as part of the Key Bank Broadway series, is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:40AM[SHARE]
Saturday, February 15, 2025

Saenger plays host to 'Mamma Mia' 25th anniversary national tour by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") As hard to believe as it may be, Mamma Mia!, the ABBA hit jukebox musical is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It continues …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 06:09AM[SHARE]

Theatre for a New Audience's 'Henry IV' by Alan Smason

By LOU HARRY, Special to Theatrecriticism.com Yes, "Henry IV" is the complete title.  Sans the  "part 1" and "part 2" that traditionally complete the title of William Shakespeare's his…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 12:20AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Sibling rivalry goes beserk in JPA's 'True West' by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") Sam Shepard's powerful play about the toxic relationship between two brothers " True West " is back at the Jefferson Performing Arts' …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:39AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 10, 2025

'Antiquities' examines extinct human race by Alan Smason

By LOU HARRY, Special to Theatrecriticism.com It's made clear from the first moments of "The Antiquities" that the human race is history. Jordan Harrison's play, a co-production of Playwrigh…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 06:05AM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 9, 2025

'Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story' by Alan Smason

By LOU HARRY I've only seen Liza Minnelli once live. That was at a concert with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, where her batteries seemed fully charged and she treated the audience lik…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 10:59AM[SHARE]

'Shucked' Tour Makes its Corny Debut in Madison by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL, Exclusive to Theatrecriticism.com MILWAUKEE " Okay, we're not Iowa. But when the Broadway national tour of Shucked opened this week in Madison, WI " the Wisconsin state capit…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 07:45AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Michael Paternostro scores high notes as Oscar Levant in 'Good Night, Oscar' by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") Capturing the wit and destructive lifestyle of humorist Oscar Levant is a daunting task for any actor attempting to portray the tortur…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 08:13PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 23, 2024

Cher and Cher alike: Trio of actresses star in 'The Cher Show' by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") The biggest problem Broadway has with so-called "jukebox musicals" is they always seem to get mired down by the exposition of the stor…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 10:42AM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 21, 2024

Ricky Graham's 'It's a Wonderful Life, Y'All' flips into a N'Awlins Christmas setting by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON There are a lot of people capable of taking a beloved film soundtrack and adapting it faithfully into a theatre piece for presentation on the stage. There are also a lot of pe…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 01:07PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 5, 2024

National tour of 'Elf' is a 'sparklejollytwinklejingley' gem by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON Of all the holiday-themed shows that make their way onto stages in December, Elf: The Broadway Musical may be the one most resistant to the Grinch, Scrooge and other humbugs. …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 12:50PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 2, 2024

Welcome to The Big Dipper: A crash & clash of cultures by Alan Smason

By SCOTTY BENNETT Consider, if you will, a blizzardlike night, a cozy inn on the brink of closing forever, suddenly brought back to life by the arrival of two very different groups of travel…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 03:37PM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 1, 2024

Costanzi harps on her life in 'Woman on a Ledge' by Alan Smason

By SCOTTY BENNETT Woman on a Ledge is an adaptation by Hershey Felder of harpist Rita Costanzi's writings about her life. Ms. Costanzi is a world-renowned harpist whose life experiences have…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 06:31PM[SHARE]

Dance form's origins imagined in 'Okuni: The Woman Who Created Kabuki' by Alan Smason

By SCOTTY BENNETT Okuni: The Woman Who Created Kabuki by Ako Dachs is a limited, fictionalized account of the woman who is thought to have created kabuki. It is generally accepted that the d…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 04:50PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 20, 2024

'Six: The Musical' Brings Needed Escapism to the Nation's Capital by Alan Smason

By ELIZABETH SCHABINGER Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived! The six wives of British King Henry VIII are back in Washington, D.C. at the National Theatre, fresh from thei…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 07:23PM[SHARE]

Uneven 'Tammy Faye' can still lift spirits till Dec. 8 by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") Thirty-seven years after the scandal-ridden story of televangelists Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker and their popular PTL Club made headline…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 12:31PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Iglehart respectfully channels Satchmo in 'A Wonderful World' by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") The dark days of the COVID shutdown brought the theatre community to its knees. Unable to perform in front of live audiences or to con…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 08:52AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 15, 2024

Nicole Scherzinger's performance in 'Sunset Blvd.' rebrands Norma Desmond in black and white by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") Jamie Lloyd has made a reputation for himself as a visionary minimalist director, winning a remarkable collection of Olivier Awards on…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:22AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 7, 2024

Rivertown hires live band to accompany 'Toxic Avenger' by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") There are a few Off-Broadway shows that rise above the fray even though they are silly in concept or lack the kind of production value…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:14AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Underwhelming 'Mean Girls' is a trip back to the worst experiences of high school by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO Bye Bye Birdie, Hair, Grease, Carrie, 13 (The Musical), Dear Evan Hansen and Mean Girls. What do all these Broadway musicals have in common? They placed the spotlight on teen…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:51PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Last weekend for JPA's truly memorable 'Jekyll & Hyde' by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") Talk about hitting it out of the ballpark. With the Fall Classic being played out in arenas in Los Angeles and in New York, it's easy …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 06:24AM[SHARE]
Saturday, October 26, 2024

'Pass Over': An expletive-riddled dialog of exasperation, hopelessness by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") Playwright Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu has said the concept of Pass Over is similar to that of Beckett's Waiting for Godot and that it was…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:41AM[SHARE]
Monday, October 21, 2024

Musicalized "Prelude to a Kiss" transcends the body switching genre by Alan Smason

By LOU HARRY Craig Lucas' play Prelude to a Kiss reached Broadway in 1988, the same year that "Big," "Vice Versa," and "18 Again" were hitting movie theaters. Yes, all were body-switching st…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 03:14PM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 17, 2024

Depression-era set 'Girl from the North Country' employs Dylan music for texture by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic ("Steppin' Out") When Girl from the North Country premiered on Broadway, there were a number of ebullient reviews trumpeting the musical for its invent…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 12:17PM[SHARE]
Sunday, October 13, 2024

Farcical message play 'Purlie Victorious' currently playing at Karamu House by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO "Neither Ruby Dee or Ossie Davis ever appeared in a Karamu House stage production but both had significant presence and impact in the organization and in the lives of Karamu art…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 01:37PM[SHARE]

'Clue' finishing its murderous run in Westwego by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critc ("Steppin' Out") Whether you loved the board game "Clue" when growing up or, perhaps, enjoyed the Paramount Pictures movie of the same title, the murder…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 01:21PM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 10, 2024

'Beetlejuice' makes a spirited debut at Marcus Center by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL Just in time for Halloween, Beetlejuice, the Musical arrives as the first offering in the Marcus Center's 2024-25 Broadway season. The musical plays though October 6 in …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 07:38AM[SHARE]

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