Andrea Stephenson - Page 15

'For time is the longest distance between places' but in the case of an iconic play like The Glass Menagerie, time seems to melt away. Tennessee Williams based the play on his 1943 short story 'Portrait of a Girl in Glass.' The Glass Menagerie premiered in 1944 in Chicago where it caught the attention of critics Ashton Stevens and Claudia Cassidy. With their help, the producers were able to move the play to Broadway, where it opened at the Playhouse Theatre in 1945. In The Glass Menagerie, the character Tom serves as both narrator and character in a play that is memory and yet somehow very real and present. The Glass Menagerie runs April 4-April 14 at Hershey Area Playhouse.

In 1970, John-Michael Tebelak's master's thesis, Godspell, was first performed at Carnegie Mellon. Then in 1971, after a run at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Stephen Schwartz was hired to re-score the show before being produced off-Broadway. Godspell, which is primarily based on parables from the Gospel of Matthew (with a few from the Gospel of Luke and one from John), has had several revivals and numerous tours. Audiences can enjoy a unique interpretation of Godspell at Prima opening April 5th. To find out more about this upcoming production, I spoke with director J. Scott Lapp and Tayler Harris, the actor portraying Jesus.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the first publicly performed collaboration between Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, first appeared on Broadway in 1982. The musical actually began its life as a short pop cantata in London, and it was modified and expanded a number of times before it appeared on Broadway. The musical is based on the story of Joseph from the Book of Genesis. In the musical, the story about Joseph is told by the Narrator, a character who exists outside the time and place in which the story takes place. It's the Narrator's job to engage the audience and draw them into the story of Joseph. Broadway World recently spoke to Erica Clare, who portrays the Narrator in the upcoming production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre.

British author Roald Dahl is well known for his dark humor, quirky characters, and unexpected twists and turns. Among his most popular works are Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and Fantastic Mr. Fox. In 1961 he wrote James and the Giant Peach. James and the Giant Peach was adapted for television, film, and the stage. Among the stage versions is the dramatization by Richard R. George, which can be enjoyed at DreamWrights Center for Community Arts.

The 2007 play Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!) by Michael Carleton, John K. Alvarez, and James FitzGerald takes the audience on a high energy romp through a variety of Christmas traditions, beloved holiday classics (BHCs as they're referred to in the show), and holiday songs. In the midst of this Christmas chaos, one character tries desperately to get the rest of the cast on board to perform A Christmas Carol (which they've been rehearsing for weeks) because everyone always does A Christmas Carol at Christmas. Not only is Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!) a fun reminder of some holiday traditions, but it's also an exploration of tradition in general and how traditions come to be repeated year after year and generation after generation.

If you love humor and the holidays, Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some) just may be the perfect show for you. This show by Michael Carleton, James Fitzgerald, and John K. Alvarez features three actors-one of whom is set on performing A Christmas Carol, while the other two try to derail all efforts to do A Christmas Carol. The result is a fun romp through numerous Christmas tales, carols, and songs from the past and the present with various references to pop culture and holiday traditions.

The 1843 Charles Dickens novel A Christmas Carol is a familiar tale. Each holiday season A Christmas Carol can be found in one of its over 130 adaptations on the screen or on the stage. As the stress of the holiday season grows, it is not unusual to hear someone utter the words made famous by Ebenezer Scrooge-Bah! Humbug! No matter what version of the classic tale we see, however, the story reminds us that the true spirit of the holiday season is one of compassion, kindness, forgiveness, charity, love, and hope. A Christmas Carol opened for the 19th year at Open Stage of Harrisburg on December 1st.

It's an unique experience to be a reviewer. We're tasked with having an understanding of theatre and performance and to be able to express what we experience at a variety of different shows to an audience of readers who may have seen the show or may be deciding whether or not to see the show. As a reviewer for many community theatres in the area, I see my role as many-faceted. On one hand, I'm a reviewer, and a review, to be a true review, necessarily includes some level of critique. I feel a responsibility to my readers to give them an idea of what they might expect if they see the show. On the other hand, as a supporter of the arts and a frequent director and performer myself, my personal goal is to promote the arts, to promote the theatres in our area, to lift up the many volunteers who do such amazing work. So, I try to frame my writing from these various points of view.