Regional Roundup: Top 10 Stories This Week Around the Broadway World - 3/13; Chicago, China, Melbourne, Louisville & More

BroadwayWorld.com, the largest theatre site on the net, now reaches over five million monthly viewers, covering theatre and beyond in over 100 U.S. cities and 30 international regions.

Below, we've highlighted our top 10 stories from this week around our Broadway World. Check out the roundup below!

East Coast

1. Rhode Island: Editor Robert Barossi reviews The Gamm's THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES. He says, "Guare creates all of these larger-than-life characters but also manages to make each one of them believably human. While there are comic moments that range from silly to hilarious, there are also quiet moments of real emotion, running the gamut from love to hate, joy to utter sadness." Read his full review here.

2. New Jersey: Senior Editor, Marina Kennedy, reviews one-man show, BUYER & CELLAR at George Street Playhouse, starring John Tartaglia. She says, "He nails each and every part with just the right tenor. You will laugh out loud when Alex fusses about the doll store playing shopkeeper or when Barry shows his contempt for Streisand's discontent. But the most captivating scenes are those that occur between Alex and Streisand. Tartaglia brings so much verve to the character of the iconic actress and songstress that you will forget that there is only one actor onstage." Read the full review here.

Midwest

3. Chicago, IL: Editor Misha Davenport reviews pre-Broadway tryout, FIRST WIVES CLUB, running through March 29 at the Oriental Theatre. She reports, "At the comedic helm is Tony-award winning Faith Prince as Brenda Cushman.... her Brenda has just the right amount self-depricating humor, anger and heart. She is particularly effective in a scene where Brenda has to force an "I love you, too" out of her teenaged son." What does she think of the music? Find out in her entire review here.

4. Louisville, KY: Editor Todd Zeigler says that "Silverman's THE ROOMMATE Gives 39th Humana Festival a Stellar Start," which plays through April 12. He says, "Silverman's script does a wonderful job of capturing the modern anxiety of being surrounded by choices and never quite feeling that you've made the right ones. She gives us a pair of characters caught at a similar point in life, yet diametrically opposed in their respective crises." Read the full review here.

Southeast

5. West Virginia: Editor Johnna Leary goes DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE at The Black Box Arts Center and interviews various cast members. The show runs March 13-22. Caitlin Louden, who plays Izzy, says: "We leave you wondering if everyone is going to be okay. And we leave that decision to you. I think that is what makes this show so unique not only to Black Box Arts Center, but to this area. This show will make you think and make you cry. No one wants to lose their child this young, but this show takes that horrible incident and makes you examine a family who is going through that exact experience. It will make you wonder: what would I do?" Read more here.

6. Miami, FL: Editor Roger Martin offers his perspective on the World Premiere of UNCERTAIN TERMS at the Arts Garage. He says, "...UNCERTAIN TERMS is sometimes mystifying but always interesting. A chain smoking, wig swapping ghost and her daughters' extraordinarily weird former husband are high on the ooh look list." Check out the full review here.

West Coast:

7. Santa Barbara, CA: Editor Maggie Yates reviews satirical play THE INSECT COMEDY at the Westmont Theatre Department. She says, "This instinctiveness of our culture is well represented by the concerns of bugs, and characters in The Insect Comedyfunction with the fervent commitment of insects tending to their few, but imperative tasks. The show was well acted by the Westmont students who unilaterally embodied that sense of undaunted purpose toward their vital objectives." Read more here.

Australia

8. Melbourne: Editor Tim Carney offers a great review of DIRTY DANCING. He says, "It has a laugh at itself, doesn't take itself seriously at all and if you can accept that notion then you will be entertained, If by nothing else, then by the dancing itself, which, in this production is quite simply stunning." Read more here.

China

9. We have several great theatre happenings in China, which are covered by Editors Don Franz and Samantha Cheung, including the 100th performance of the Mandarin production of INTO THE WOODS. Check out all the latest here.

National Tour Highlight:

10. PETER AND THE STARCATCHER is playing at the North Carolina through March 15. Editor Jeffrey Karasarides calls it a "...top-notch cast of non-union actors led by Bryan Welnicki as the Boy who'd later become Peter Pan; Aisling Haplin as the highly intelligent Molly Aster; Joe Beuerlein as the scene-chewing Black Stache, who would later become the character known as Captain Hook...." Read his full review here.

This week, we would like to welcome back Ryan Bauer-Walsh as a guest blogger, Bryan-Keyth Wilson as a regular contributing writer for Houston, and Jerri Shafer who will be providing photo coverage pieces in Columbus, Ohio.

Want to join our growing team? We have positions available in several regions worldwide! Contact christina@broadwayworld.com for more information!