items tagged with Harrison Hilltop Theatre

The District Theatre’s production of Scenery boasts the most range I’ve yet seen from actor Ed Villarreal, who is obviously growing as an artist after notable performances in the (then-) Harrison Hilltop Theatre’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Jesus Christ Superstar last year, and New Ground Theatre’s Bad Habits last month. During Thursday night’s show, he incorporated an accent, plus shifts in vocal inflection and projection, to punctuate either the humor or emotion of his lines, and in so doing, successfully shaped his Richard as an aging actor resigned to his status.

The Reader's chief theatre reviewer, Thom White, saw and wrote about 52 area stage productions in 2011. I saw 39 and reviewed 12. Obviously, during our second-annual breakfast chat on the Year in Theatre, there was a bit to talk about.

While I like David Turley’s work as a director – with this year’s Chicago at the District Theatre and Gypsy with Countryside Community Theatre among his most notable efforts – I’d like to see more of him on-stage. I was wowed by his John Hinckley Jr. in 2008’s Assassins at the Green Room Theatre, tickled pink by his William Barfee in 2010’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre, and amusingly intrigued by his Vladimir in that venue’s 2010 Waiting for Godot.

The Playcrafters Barn Theatre’s Make Me a Cowboy will appeal to anyone who likes pure, wholesome, clean-humored comedy that’s light on plot and heavy on friendly cowboys and public-domain cowboy-themed songs. While that “anyone” does not include me, I at least recognize the earnestness in playwright and director Don Bailey Bryant’s effort to present a decent show, and Make Me a Cowboy certainly made for a good time for Friday’s audience, many of whom sang along to a good number of ditties and seemed pleased with the production.

I will admit that I had serious reservations prior to Wednesday night's performance of the Harrison Hilltop Theatre's The Last Five Years. As much as I enjoy Cari Downing's comedic stage work – I described how sensational she was in the Hilltop's I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change earlier this year, and it's worth repeating – I wasn’t so sure she was up to composer Jason Robert Brown’s romantic musical. And the same went for Tristan Layne Tapscott, who I think is fantastically funny in comedy roles, but hit-or-miss in his more serious efforts. Under the direction of David Turley, though, they present a unique take on this criss-crossed storyline that has its own sweetness.