Regional Roundup: Top 10 Stories This Week Around the Broadway World - 7/3; HEATHERS in Austin, KINKY BOOTS in Canada and More!

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Austin, Milwaukee, Toronto, and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include HEATHERS in Austin, THE ISLAND in Milwaukee, and the Canadian premiere of KINKY BOOTS, just to name a few.

East/Northeast

1. Washington, DC: Editor Pamela Roberts reviews IMPOSSIBLE! A HAPPENSTANCE CIRCUS at Roundhouse Theatre. She says, "Music is a lively and constant presence in the vignettes and bridging from one scene to another. Karen Hansen, as performer, musical director and composer, moves from glockenspiel to trombone to bass drum to ukulele with ease. Even a metronome comes into play, adding great drama to a magic scene. Drawing on classic tunes like "Sidewalks of New York" and "Oh Dear! What Can The Matter Be?" the variety of music sets the mood and provides great contrast to the physical pieces. All the performers get in on the music, too - at one time each donning a ukulele to sing of potatoes, another time combining their voices to become a marvelous human calliope." Read more here.

Midwest

2. Chicago, IL: New Editor Patrick O'Brien reviews nd Annual Chicago Musical Theatre Festival. He says, "How to Run for Mayor is a fine opening note for a homespun Chicago festival, very much grounded in the city's knack for improvisational humor. And though it may be second-rate Second City, it goes down well enough and there are laughs to be had. The trim little plot certainly invites them: Kim (Grace Palmer), a twentysomething NEET, decides to challenge incumbent Rahm Emanuel for the titular office because...well, just 'cause, what more do you need? (Her campaign bid, uploaded to YouTube as a joke, promises zombie apocalypses, for one.) When the video goes viral and Kim actually finds herself a viable candidate, she couldn't be more jarred out of her flippancy; Charlie (Ryan Semmelmayer), her campaign manager - who literally walks into her life with a campaign at the ready - couldn't be more alive; and Mayor Emanuel (Trent Eisfeller) couldn't be more peeved." Read more here.

3. Wichita, KS: Editor Alison Bridget Chambers reviews MY SON PINOCCHIO at Music Theatre Wichita. She says, "The sets, designed by J Branson, had a folksy village charm to them. The ensemble was particularly fun, especially the children. The choreography, by Amy Baker Schwiethale, was visually stunning as well as helped further the plot and develop character. Especially magical was the Pleasure Island Ringleader, Avery Smith, and his Roustabouts, Kyle McClellan and Kevin Nietzel." Read more here.

4. Milwaukee, WI: Editor Peggy Sue Dunigan says American Players Theatre's THE ISLAND is "sensational." She goes on, "This powerful, provacative play, presented in a no-intermission format, touches every sense in the intimate Touchstone---from the visceral sounds of the prisoners heavy breathing and lifting sand bags at the beginning of the play, to the sweat seen on the Khaki shirts, and Antiogone's performance, Johnson, on stage when she is sentenced to death by Creon, Banks, and says: "I share my love instead of my hate." Read her full review here.

South/Southeast

5. Houston, TX: Editor Bryan Keyth Wilson reviews TRAV'LIN at The Ensemble. He says, "With a book by Gary Holmes and Allan Shapiro, TRAV'LIN had me hooked from the beginning. Wonderfully composed music by J.C. Johnson & Friends had me tappin' my toes and singin' the "Empty Bed Blues" by intermission. " Read more here.

6. Austin, TX: Editor Michelle Hache says that HEATHERS "will blow you away." She goes on, "Since I moved to Austin in 2009, I haven't been quite this blown-away with the realization of the astounding talent we have right here in our very own city. Doctuh Mistuh's production of HEATHERS the Musical features a veritable who's who of young local talent, some truly memorable music,a fantastic band, and of course, all of those one-liners and scenes that HEATHERS film fans are expecting." Read her full review here.

7. New Orleans, Louisiana: Editor Heidi Schueuermann reviews MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at Le Petit Theatre. She says, "While the cast as a whole did a great job, by far the stand out performance for me was Kevin T. Murphy as Charley Kringas. Mr. Murphy received quite a roaring applause after singing "Franklin Shepard, Inc.," and rightly so. This was the most natural scene in the whole show. " Read more here.

West

8. Los Angeles, CA: Editor Shari Barrett reviews MACBETH at the Art of Acting Studio. She says, "The brilliantly creative mind of Michael Keith Allen has worked wonders with a new re-telling of Shakespeare's MACBETH at the Art of Acting Studio by setting the tragedy in a postmodern Scotland where street thugs battle for leadership as well as territory, while cutting the run time to 90 minutes and allowing the actors to speak without heavy accents, making it easy to understand the dialogue and follow the plot and character development. It is definitely the best rendition of the classic I have ever seen." Read more here.

International

9. Toronto, Canada: Senior Editor Alan Henry reviews the Canadian premiere of KINKY BOOTS. He says, "The show has an incredible and memorable score written by Cyndi Lauper (music and lyrics). Lauper's tunes are infectious, and you'll leave the theatre not knowing which song to hum first. She manages to weave in everything for pop and rock to country with a splash of polka - and it all works brilliantly." Read his full reivew here, and check out our complete review roundup here.

National Tour Highlight:

10. Maine Editor Carla Maria Verdino-Sullwold interviews Trista Dollison in SISTER ACT. She says, ""It's a great role, hands down!" she enthuses in the last days of rehearsal before the June 25th opening. "I had seen the show on Broadway twice and auditioned more than twice, so I am delighted to be here doing it now. It is one of those shows that rides on your back. She has such great songs and is in every scene. She is such a fierce and fabulous character! I love the fact that she starts off in a selfish world and evolves into being the hope for these sisters, and the sisters become the hope for her. The journey within the show is so beautiful: she realizes she is helping the nuns, and they realize they are helping her. She awakens something that is lost in the convent - a passion and joy." Read the full interview here.

This week, we'd like to welcome April Hayden as our newest contributing editor in Orlando!

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