ensemble members in Les MisérablesI'm on record stating that I was "Les Mis-ed out" after seeing three local productions of Les Misérables, and facing a fourth, over a year-and-a-half span. Yet after attending the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's version on Friday, my love for the material is renewed, as director Jerry Jay Cranford's staging adds intimacy while still possessing the grandeur of composers Alain Boublil's and Claude-Michel Schönberg's musical masterpiece.

'Daniel Rairdin-Hale, Allison Nook, and Emily Baker in 'Twas the Night Before ChristmasTwas the Night Before Christmas, at Circa's playhouse,

Is a play that`s about a large, loud, stirring mouse.

Bradley Hauskins plays Brierly - it's he who tells

Of a rodent, our star (that role`s Dan Rairdin-Hale`s).

(clockwise from left) Tamarin K. Ythier, James Fairchild, Erin Clark, Tristan Layne Tapscott, Brad Hauskins, Janet Ellen Brucken, and Marc Ciemiewicz in Love, Lies, and the LotteryMaybe you'll need to have seen a lot of stage farces, or feel like you've seen every stage farce, to appreciate what writer/director Jim Hessleman is doing in the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's world-premiere presentation Love, Lies, & the Lottery. Because this isn't just, as its title implies, a traditional, door-slamming slapstick, despite the numerous doors to be slammed. (Or rather, here, gently closed.) This energetic, sometimes hilarious, incredibly busy production is more accurately a comedic greatest-hits package, and one boasting a larger number of familiar genre conceits than you would've thought squeezable into two hours of stage time. You could teach a semester on Intro to Modern Farce using Hesselman's play as your textbook and still not cover everything in time for the final.

Doug Kutzli and Linda Ruebling in A Christmas CarolI had high expectations for the District Theatre's musical version of A Christmas Carol, given my knowledge of Tristan Layne Tapscott's and Danny White's talents. But Tapscott's book and White's music and lyrics actually exceeded my expectations during Friday's world-premiere performance, as the two have conceived a musical that I can see being produced by theatres across the country without requiring workshops and major rewrites. While their piece could still use some minor refinement, their version of the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge is remarkable for Tapscott's handling of the narrative, and White's cleverly crafted lyrics and gorgeous instrumentation.

Deidra Grace, Sara King, C.J. Williams, Kiarri D. Andrews, Nina Schreckengost, Joseph J. Baez, Joanthan Scott Roth, Patricia Gibson, and Denzel Edmondson in Smokey Joe's CafePrior to the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's opening-night performance of Smokey Joe's Café, and immediately following the Bootleggers' "birth of rock 'n' roll"-themed pre-show, my partner's daughter, Hannah, tried to argue that the doo-wop style of music heard in the wait staff's entertainment was not rock n' roll because ... well, because she's 13 and knows everything, the history of the genre be damned. Yet despite also proclaiming that she hated this sort of "it's not really rock 'n' roll" music that I warned her would populate the entire evening's entertainment, Hannah was all smiles at intermission, excitedly talking about how much she loved the songs, and even citing a few favorites by name. I hope Hannah's changes of opinion and attitude are testaments to the quality of Circa '21's endeavor. It's truly fantastic.

Rodney Swain, Brad Hauskins, Jennifer Diab, Andrea Moore, Sara Nicks, Bret Churchill, Jan Schmall, Marc Ciemiewicz, and Laura Hammes in The World Goes 'RoundThe fleet, funny noir opening to the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's Bootlegger revue The World Goes 'Round is actually quite misleading, as it bears almost no resemblance to the show that follows. Yet rarely have I been so happy to be misled, because the show that follows is a real beauty - thoughtful and nuanced and serious, and oftentimes boasting a gravity and sadness that, coming from the Circa '21 stage, feels legitimately shocking.

Carrie SaLoutos, Rachelle Walljasper, Serena Vesper, Autumn O'Ryan, and Lora Adams in The Dixie Swim ClubGiven its "sorority" sort of feel, the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's The Dixie Swim Club - which concerns the annual, beach-cabin gatherings of five former members of a college swim team - will likely appeal to the women in the audience. However, not being a woman myself, I can also say that I quite enjoyed Friday's performance of the show for the chemistry between the actors, the stunning set, and the humor that playwrights Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten put into their comedy.

 

Sara King and Samantha Pauly in Legally Blonde: The MusicalSpeaking with producer Dennis Hitchcock prior to Friday's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse performance, my partner thanked him for staging Legally Blonde: The Musical. And while I understand that many of Circa '21's patrons love their Church Basement Ladies, I share my partner's gratitude for the opportunity to see a bona-fide Broadway hit gracing Circa's stage. Having seen the production, I also appreciate how well director Jim Hesselman handled the material, playing up the bubbly, colorful fun of this stage version of the Reese Witherspoon movie.

Jason Platt, Dexter Brigham, and Matt Mercer in The PillowmanOn Thursday, the District Theatre debuted a most admirable, impressive production of Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman, a play boasting numerous surprises both major and minor. Yet if the reactions of a few of the evening's audience members are to be trusted, it might be necessary to spoil a few right off the bat.

Rachelle Walljasper, Brad Hauskins, Chad Willow, Tristan Layne Tapscott, Andrew Crowe, and Steve Lasiter in Southern CrossroadsA sign in front of the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse includes a description of the theatre's current show, Southern Crossroads, as "an inspiring and hilarious story about one musical group's struggle against impossible odds, as they find new hope through music." That line fits Circa '21's production to a T, as the tone of director Curt Wollan's offering is clearly joyful, despite the sense of desperation in its setting. With the appropriate exceptions of those playing villains, Wollan's cast does not play up any silliness written into their comedic lines. Instead, they choose to play them straight, and in doing so, add to the musical's air of Great Depression uncertainty.

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