20 Jun 2006

Bootie Call: "The Bootleggers On Broadway," at Circa '21 June 21 Through 24

By Mike Schulz

The Bootleggers Murder. Madness. Cannibalism. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the wonderful world of Broadway musicals!

Or rather, welcome to The Bootleggers "On Broadway," the new, full-length production showcasing the talents of the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's performing wait staff. (The show runs at Circa '21 June 21 through 24.)

02 May 2006

Absolutely Fabulist: "Aesop's Dynamic Duo" at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse

By Mike Schulz
Aesop's Dynamic Duo - the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's new family musical - focuses on several of the renowned storyteller's famous characters, and one of its first songs is entitled "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Bret Churchill plays The Boy, and the actor, with his usual exuberance and vigor, begins the number with: "I'm the Boy Who Cried Wolf / I'm the one who frightened the town / I told them the story / And, boy, it was gory / I told them the wolf ate / the Smith's Bassett hound."
29 Nov 2005

Big Rewards in a "Little" Package: "Stuart Little" at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse

By Mike Schulz
Stuart Little, the family musical currently being produced at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, is a near-perfect melding of actors and material, a musical comedy so creative and ebullient that you are instructed to secure tickets even if you don't have any kids on hand to chaperone you. The show has the sweetness of spirit that E.B. White's beloved tale requires, but it's better enjoyed as an ingenious vaudeville entertainment; with little overt plotting to get in the way, Stuart Little gives audiences a bevy of delightful musical and comedy sketches, and even though some of the songs are humdrum, the presentation never is. Circa '21's production isn't just a topnotch family entertainment; it's a topnotch entertainment, period.
15 Nov 2005

Circa '21's "Christmas from the Heart" Rates a Holiday Cheer

By Mike Schulz
Christmas from the Heart, which opens the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's 29th season, is a holiday-themed musical revue, and as such, it has a built-in advantage that many stage works don't: Audiences don't make many demands of it. When presented with a piece of this sort - in which the production is essentially an excuse for linking together a diverse group of carols and holiday hits - no one really cares what the story is about or whether the characters have any depth; all we ask is that the numbers are well-sung and that the show maintains a lively pace, and if it's funny or touching or particularly well-designed, those are just added bonuses.
19 Apr 2005

"Pippi" Never Starts Making Sense: "Pippi Longstocking" at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse

By Mike Schulz

So far as I know, there are no steadfast rules regarding children's theatre, but two certain "don't"s would have to be: (1) Don't bore the kids, and (2) Don't confuse the kids.

21 Nov 2000

A "Wonderland" of Christmas through the Ages: "Winter Wonderland" at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse

By Paula Jolly
It might be the season for holiday chestnuts, but Circa's current production of Winter Wonderland, written by Brad Hauskins and arranged by Linda Brinkerhoff, gives a refreshing twist to many holiday favorites as a family searches for an old-fashioned Christmas experience.
28 Sep 2000

Song Ignites Circa '21's "Smoke on the Mountain"

By Paula Jolly
You know what they say about smoke and fire, and you'll find a blaze in Circa 21's production of Connie Ray's Smoke on the Mountain. The kindling is Pastor Mervin Oglethorpe's rather lethargic congregation. The match is the Sanders family, a traveling evangelical musical group. Put the two together and a foot-tapping, spirit-lifting evening of song erupts.

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