I'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.
The Playcrafters Barn Theatre's Barely Heirs is a bit of an enigma, because even though it's problematic in plot and presentation, this farce delivers some big laughs. Despite taking issue with several elements of Friday's performance, I must also admit that I, along with the rest of the audience, not only laughed but guffawed, repeatedly, throughout the comedy. This play is deeply flawed, but also exceedingly funny.
There are some delightful moments in Quad City Music Guild's holiday production A 1940s Radio Christmas Carol, including composer David Wohl's fantastic arrangements of classic carols, and inspired performances by some of the cast members portraying radio actors. When neither of these elements are present, there's also scenic designer Harold Truitt's layered, multi-level set with a plethora of pleasing décor, as well as costume designer Heidi Pedersen's impeccably-tailored period ensembles. It also boasts the fun of watching several local acting dynamos share the stage together.
Twas the Night Before Christmas, at Circa's playhouse,
With its emotional language and poetic imagery, Tony Kushner's Angels in America - the playwright's "gay fantasia on national themes" composed of two parts subtitled Millennium Approaches and Perestroika - is among my favorite scripts. And there are times at which the District Theatre's production of Millennium Approaches nails the nuances of Kushner's writing, allowing the beauty of his intent to be on full display.
The kids cast in the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus are the best parts of the production, with Lena Slininger's Virginia and the rest of the children lending the proceedings a bright innocence - even when some youths are bullying Virginia about her worn-out shoes - that provides a welcome warmth to the holiday tale. Unfortunately, the kids aren't of central importance in this play that includes one of their names in the title.
New Ground Theatre's Clybourne Park, written by Bruce Norris as a sequel, of sorts, to Lorraine Hansberry's classic play A Raisin in the Sun, takes quite a bit of time to get rolling. But once it does, this exploration of racial tensions at different points in American history is wickedly hilarious. Director Chris Jansen effectively employs a slow, nearly dull pacing to build to a significant payoff, particularly in the second act, when the purposefully bland tone fits the play's scene of a neighborhood-association meeting. Following Friday's performance, I was amused at how, during the presentation, I went from being almost bored to laughing heartily.
Cheaper by the Dozen seems a perfect fit for a company such as the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre. It's a wholesome family tale - one featuring a large group of children - that suits the theatre's charm, and given playwright Christopher Sergel's endearing script, should easily please patrons.
Annoyed by local radio stations that switch to 24 hours of holiday music on November 5, as well as stores that set up holiday displays before Halloween, I wasn't all that keen on seeing a Christmas musical in early November. However, Irving Berlin's White Christmas is my kind of holiday production: It's light on its emphasis on Christmas cheer, and plays out as a musical that just happens to take place ahead of the holidays.
It was with eager anticipation that I sat down to watch Friday's performance of the QC Theatre Workshop's Bat Boy: The Musical, especially knowing that Calvin Vo would be portraying the title role.Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts
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