items tagged with John VanDeWoestyne

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.

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.

Judas is angry. Jesus is angry. Everyone’s really angry in the Harrison Hilltop Theatre’s Jesus Christ Superstar.

Odd as it may seem now, there actually was a period in the Harrison Hilltop Theatre’s history – a run of 12 shows, to be precise – in which the company didn’t produce any musicals whatsoever. Yet after staging a dozen plays between June 2008 and May 2009, co-founders Tristan Tapscott and Chris Walljasper chose to open the theatre’s second season with a production of Jonathan Larson’s rock musical tick ... tick ... BOOM!

On Thursday night, the cast of the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's Escanaba in da Moonlight brought me to a place I’d yet to arrive at in all of the theatre I’ve seen in the area: I experienced a fit of tear-filled giggles so strong, so overwhelming, that I missed several lines of dialogue.