items tagged with Bryan Tank

At the start of the intermission to Friday night’s District Theatre performance of Company, my partner turned to me and said, “I don’t remember this show being that funny.” He was right, because director David Turley accentuates the funny parts in this musical by composer Stephen Sondheim and writer George Furth. He does so, however, with subtle nudges and winks that almost cross over into silliness but don't, and that keep the production from sinking into sappy sentimentality.

As we’ve come to annually expect, there was practically no end to the highlights from this past year in area theatre.

I had a great time at Thursday night’s performance of The Rocky Horror Show at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre. I laughed, quite hard at times, and sang along (in my head, so as not to annoy those around me), and almost jumped to my feet to do “The Time Warp.” The group of 50- and 60-year-old men and women in the crowd did dance along, as well as throw rice, toilet paper, and other items at the appropriate times, all of which upped the fun ante. Still, Harrison Hilltop’s show could use a bit more of something to take it over the top and make it more memorable. Actually, it’s more accurate to say it needs to lose something: inhibition.

Susan Perrin-Sallak is currently one of the bravest actors in the Quad Cities. Starring in New Ground Theatre’s Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins, she’s required to sing badly, and Perrin-Sallak delivers a daring vocal performance that’s intentionally off-pitch and off-key, with poor placement, intonation, and timbre. It leaves her vulnerable to audience perception that the performer really can’t sing. However, since her caterwauling is required by the role, and presented with such abandon, Perrin-Sallak’s vocally painful singing is actually awfully good.

The Harrison Hilltop Theatre's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is both outrageously hilarious and poignantly touching. I laughed harder than I've laughed in a long time during Thursday's opening-night performance, and I wasn't alone in offering up hearty guffaws, with the capacity crowd cackling with delight throughout the evening's entertainment.