items tagged with Sara King

I fall for Adam Overberg’s onstage charm with every new performance. He has a demeanor, a presence, that captivates me, and he proves his diversity as an actor over and over again. With the Harrison Hilltop Theatre’s I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, though, he adds singing to the long list of talents he possesses, and while his voice may lack polish, Overberg’s vocals remain enthralling through his interpretations and comedic delivery.

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.

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.

Playwright Bert V. Royal's Dog Sees God, which is basically Peanuts set in high school, is tough to swallow; it's not easy to hear comic-strip characters - cherished for their innocence - cussing and talking about sex. Yet while it's offensive, the script is also deeply sad, something the Harrison Hilltop Theatre's current production doesn't quite grasp until the play gets really, really sad.
Read More About You're A Good Play, Pseudo-"Charlie Brown": "Dog Sees God," At The Harrison Hilltop Theatre Through July 31...

Every good writer needs an editor. Composer/accompanist Derek Childs certainly needs one for his rock musical Tired American Dream, which debuted at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre last week. The opening-night performance, which lasted two hours with an intermission, had a few talented singers to boost Dream's simple plot, Childs' script has potential, and some of the songs have peppy melodies with sweet and memorable (if word-heavy) lyrics. But as a complete production, Dream felt too much like an early draft in need of revisions.