Regional Roundup: Top New Features This Week Around Our BroadwayWorld 10/27 - BRIGHT STAR, RAGTIME, FUN HOME, and More!

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature BRIGHT STAR, RAGTIME, FUN HOME, and More!

Check out our top features from around the BroadwayWorld below! Want more great global content? Check out our new "Around The World" section!

Sarasota: Contributor Carolan Trbovich reviews ON YOUR FEET at the Straz Centre. She writes "There are tender scenes that draw you in and lovingly pay tribute to family members. Gloria's grandmother Consuelo (Alma Cuervo), her main source of inspiration and promotion, stole the show. It's hard to watch the abrasive treatment Gloria receives from her mother Gloria Fajardo that showcased a sterling performance by Nancy Ticotin. You learn later in the show about that dynamic and why she seemed to try and stand in the way of her daughter's career. The death of her father, who Gloria lovingly cared for, was so touching."

Louisville: Contributor Taylor Clemons reviews FINDING NEVERLAND at Kentucky Center For The Arts. He writes "The performances were all around top notch. Billy Harrigan Tighe leads the company with a great warmth and a voice of gold. His moments of vulnerability with the family are especially touching. The opening of the Louisville stop of the tour just so happened to be Lael Van Keuren return to the company, this time playing Sylvia full time (she opened the tour over a year ago in the ensemble). Lael was loominus. Her presence on stage was always comforting as she personified the very meaning of motherly love. Her voice is a shining highlight, and the aforementioned "All That Matters" showcases it brilliantly. Even though it was her debut, she turned in a polished and spectacular performance. Also re-joining the show at this stop was Rory Donovan as Charles Frohman. While Donovan reads a bit too young for the role in comparison to his predecessors, he manages to turn in a wonderful performance with many great comedic moments throughout."

Boston: Contributor Jan Nargi reviews FUN HOMe at Broadway in Boston. She writes "The storytelling and inventiveness of FUN HOME are at once specific and universal. While the musical beautifully translates to the stage Alison Bechdel's very personal memoir of how her own open lesbianism intersected incontrovertibly with her father's tragic secrecy, there are elements that ring true for any family. Ultimately, it is a story of holding on and letting go. Cherish what lifts us up and jettison what clouds the view."

Pittsburgh: Contributor Dylan Shaffer reviews XANADU at the Pittsburgh CLO. He writes "The show is undoubtedly over the top, ridiculously silly, and exceptionally hysterical. It's tagline "Hilarity on Wheels" fits the bill and continues from the start of the show to the end. Cast member Tim Brady, for example, showcases his professional business demeanor in one scene and is a cross-dressing, harmonizing muse in another. He balances his roles perfectly, and shows off a dance move or two in the process."

Denver: Contributor Chris Arneson reviews SOMETHING ROTTEN at the Denver Centre. He writes "The entire cast is vibrant, featuring standout performances from ever actor down to the smallest ensemble member. This cast works hard, and it shows. The scenic design by Scott Pask is elaborate and fun. Gregg Barnes costume design is perfectly decorative for the renaissance era and the choreography by Director Nicholaw is unstoppable."

Los Angeles: Contributor Don Grigware reviews BRIGHT STAR at the Ahmanson. He writes "The entire ensemble make the piece worth watching, but Cusack is literally amazing to watch as both singer and actress, exuding plenty of Alice's raw emotion as well as offbeat sense of humor. Right along with her, Shively is a find and makes Billy Cane a treasured unforgettable character."

Kansas City: Contributor Alan Portner reviews FENCES at Kansas City Rep. He writes "Kansas City Repertory Theater productions have earned a reputation for technical excellence, but Jack Magaw's exceptional setting here outdoes itself for quality and three-dimensionality. The three building stage set conjures the exact feel of big city back yards in emerging areas. I am very much put in mind of the many buildings one passes on the elevated trains of Chicago and other big cities. "Fences" is an excellent evening of theater. That Director Parson, actors Smith and Wilson, and KC Rep all had personal connections to the playwright makes it even more special."

Seattle: Contributor Jay Irwin reviews 5th Avenue Theatre's RAGTIME. He writes "But for many, it's the roles of Coalhouse and Sarah that define the show and Lyons and Fulton bring so much power and pathos, not to mention incredible voices, to the roles without ever becoming melodramatic or cloying Lyons' love and devotion to Sarah and their child are only matched by his conviction to justice making for a superb performance. And Fulton played a lot of Sarah close to the vest making it all the more powerful when she let loose and she, above anyone else in the show, was responsible for all the sobbing emanating from Row R."

Regional Editor Spotlight:

Jay Irwin
Seattle Contributing Editor

Born and raised in Seattle, WA, Jay has been a theater geek for years. He attends as many shows as he can around the country and loves taking in new exciting works.

Instituting a new three letter rating system for my reviews for 2014. They'll range from best to worst as WOW (A can't miss), YAY (Too damn good), MEH+ (Good, with some great things going for it), MEH (Just OK), NAH (You can miss this one) and WTF (I think you can figure out my complex code there).

Jay is also an actor in the local Seattle scene. Follow him on Twitter @SeattleBdwyGeek.

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