Mean Girls

Mean Girls
Book by Tina Fey
Music by Jeff Richmond
Lyrics by Neil Benjamin
Directed and Choreographed by Case Nicholaw
August Wilson Theatre
June 14, 2018
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

Mean Girls was a very loud show.Β  That is my professional opinion.Β  Done.Β  IΒ  mean seriously folksΒ  how loud do you have to mic a belt? This is going way beyond trying to balance the singer with the orchestra.Β  This is bringing the concert experience into the very small, intimate world of the theatre.Β  I thought it might be my age showing, but even the teenagers I was with claimed it was getting a bit painful. Continue reading Mean Girls

Carousel

Carousel
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Choreographed by Justin Peck
Directed by Jack O’Brien
Imperial Theatre
June 13, 2018
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

Carousel is such a wonderful, Β full meal of a musical.Β  What is wonderful about this production is that it both works to explore and embrace the darker side of this bad-boy-learning-his-lesson musical.Β  The director, Jack O’Brien is not afraid to go down a bit of a dangerous road with this musical.Β  Choreographer, Justin Peck fresh from the New York City Ballet, is truly remarkable – he creates a a blending of classical ballet and harsh, sharp masculine dancing. Continue reading Carousel

Skintight

Skintight
Written by Joshua Harmon
Directed by Daniel Aukin
Roundabout: Laura Pels Theatre
June 12, 2018
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

What could ever draw Idina Menzel to the stages of NYC without giving her single song to sing?Β  Skintight was the show that did it!Β  I worried that the show was going to somehow ride off of her notoriety with Rent, Wicket or even Frozen, but blessedly I was wrong.Β  This show was rough, crude and certainly a puzzle.Β  Idina’s character has a father who is massively successful in the fashion industry and has recently taken in a 20 year old man as his partner – as she calls him his β€œboy toy”.Β  This is even more disturbing in that she has a son the same age.Β  And to make it even more, more disturbing she is recently divorced from a husband who decided himself to marry a woman in her twenties.Β  Everyone in the show wants someone in their twenties!Β  Everyone wants someone hot! Continue reading Skintight

Travesties

Travesties
Written by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Patrick Marber
Roundabout: American Airlines Theatre
June 13, 2018
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

You are going to get an awful lot when you attend an Wednesday evening seeing Travesties (especially when you see it as your second show of the day).Β  You are going to see a history lesson, farce, educational seminar, musical mixed with some highbrow intellectualism and some lowbrow silly fun and games.Β  It really does become a bit overwhelming.Β  l wished there was a remote on this show, and that I could pause and rewind many moments to figure out exactly what is happening and how exactly I am to feel about it – but forget that!Β  It is more like a roller coaster that, once out of the gate, stops for no one. Continue reading Travesties

Once on This Island

Once on This Island
Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Choreographed by Camille A. Brown
Directed by Michael Arden
Circle in the Square
June 11, 2018
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

Romeo and Juliet lands on a tropical island complete with sand and water, roosters and trucks, trees and a diapered goat.Β  It was a lush and sensual evening in the theatreΒ  – one has almost gotten their ticket’s worth of entertainment before the show starts – – its like being invited to a living set that breathes and trickles, bubbles and lives!Β  Continue reading Once on This Island