20 Jan 2014

Oh Boy: "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through March 8

By Thom White

James Fairchild, Dalen Gunn, and Collin O'Connor in Buddy: The Buddy Holly StoryFriday's performance of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse left me wanting more - specifically, more of Kiarri Andrews' and Nina Waters' Apollo singers and Collin O'Connor's Ritchie Valens. Andrews and Waters brought some much-needed energy to the first act, adding attention-worthy moxie and a whole lot of fun to their one scene. (Waters' character also sparkles, literally, with the help of costume designer Gregory Hiatt's gorgeous pink column gown with watteau train.) Meanwhile, O'Connor, with his suave demeanor and smooth pelvic gyrations, whet my appetite for a Ritchie Valens musical, if for no other reason than to see the actor enjoy more stage moments as the singer.

17 Dec 2008

The Essentials 2008: A Dozen Names to Remember

By Mike Schulz

Essentials Tyson Danner (left) and James Bleecker (standing), with Jackie Madunic and Jason Platt, in Angels in America: Perestroika For the third year in a row, I've composed a list of 12 area-theatre participants who devoted their time, energy, and skills to numerous theatrical organizations and venues during the past year. And once again - happily and inspiringly - it hasn't been necessary to repeat names from one year to the next; local theatre, to the great good fortune of local audiences, never seems to run out of talent.

16 Dec 2008

Take Five(s): Ensembles, Pairings, Debuts, Technical Achievements, Shockers, and Accidents

By Mike Schulz

Tom Walljasper, Sandra D Rivera, Tristan Layne Tapscott, and Erin Dickerson in Are We There Yet Five Extraordinary Ensembles

An actor friend of mine says he always wants to be the worst performer in everything he's in, because if the rest of the cast is doing stronger work than he is, that means the show is in really, really good shape. With that in mind, any actor worth his or her salt would be thrilled to be the worst performer among these five ensembles.

 

23 Jan 2008

Rock-it Man: "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through March 22

By Mike Schulz

Justin Droegemueller, Todd Meredith, and Tristan Layne Tapscott in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story By their very nature, biographical jukebox musicals such as Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story - currently being performed at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse - have to be a little glib. Given roughly two hours of stage time, how can book writers adequately detail a performer's personal and professional arcs without drastically simplifying the experience?

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