items tagged with Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse

Sitting down for Thursday’s performance of Frost/Nixon, the set for the Harrison Hilltop Theatre’s production heightened my concerns that I would likely be bored during the show. Even before arriving at the theatre, I anticipated struggling to concentrate, knowing I’m not much interested in history. But adding the minimalist approach to the set, with three platforms embellished by a strip of black rising up their centers, my hopes that the visuals, at least, would offer some interest dwindled. (While the look of the set is creative, I’m just not into minimalism.) It didn’t take long, though, for director Tristan Layne Tapscott’s efforts to prove my worries unwarranted, and by the end of the play, I was actually thankful for the simple set, as it didn’t at all distract from the players’ performances.

Good God, is the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse’s All Shook Up fun. The high energy on stage kicks into overdrive with the first song, “Jailhouse Rock,” and barely lets up as the cast sings, dances, and emotes its way through many of Elvis Presley’s hits. I was thrilled with the opening-night performance, and my lingering excitement has me still smiling as I write this the day after seeing the jukebox musical.

Read More About Let Yourself Go: "All Shook Up," At The Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse Through March 19...

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

The Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse’s Jack Frost Saves Christmas is the most adorable children’s play I’ve ever seen. Okay, it’s also the only children’s play I’ve seen since... well, since I was a child. Still, it brought out the kid in me as I danced and sang along – at the appropriate, invited times, of course – and I wasn’t alone; the children in attendance at Saturday’s performance, including the two I brought along with me, laughed and danced and shouted exclamations of delight at the play’s proceedings.

I’ve never seen a production of Forever Plaid, but that didn’t seem to affect my enjoyment of the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse’s production of the musical’s sequel, Plaid Tidings. Thanks to a quick recap of the events from its predecessor, it was immediately clear that this show would concern a 1950s vocal quartet that had died, but was sent back to Earth to perform a Christmas show in order to prove their Plaid-itude. Or something like that.