Audrey Liebross - Page 11

The national tour of ANYTHING GOES, Cole Porter's classic musical, will appear at Riverside's Fox Performing Arts Center for two performances, on Tuesday, November 25th and Wednesday, November 26th, at 7:30 p.m. each night. Dennis Setteducati, who plays Moonface Martin, spoke to Broadway World.

The Desert Rose Playhouse, in Rancho Mirage California, is presenting a hilariously funny sendup of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, SCROOGE IN ROUGE. The plot's premise is that a small music hall on London's outskirts plans to present A CHRISTMAS CAROL. When all but three actors in the twenty-member cast develop food poisoning, the three decide to go forward with each of them taking on multiple roles. The puns and other corny jokes fly in this brilliant production. If you see only one version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL this year, it should be this one.

ELF: THE MUSICAL will appear at Riverside's Fox Performing Arts Center on Friday and Saturday, December 6 & 7, 2014, the 2014 tour's only Southern California stop. ELF closely follows the story line of its nonmusical parent, the 2003 hit movie starring Will Ferrell. Actor Jesse Sharp, who plays Walter, who spoke to Broadway World by telephone and discussed the show, his character, special effects on stage, and touring.

The Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre, in Rancho Mirage, California, has mounted a brilliant production of THE CHOSEN as part of its 'American Melting Pot' series. THE CHOSEN examines the lives of two Orthodox Jewish high school friends in Brooklyn during and immediately after World War II. One boy lives in the modern world and one is cocooned in the Hasidic community, but both must deal with their own family concerns, the horror of the Holocaust, and their fathers' estrangement over differing views on Zionism.

PINKALICIOUS, at the Adventure Theatre - Musical Theater Center, in Glen Echo Park, directed by Carl Menninger, based on Victoria and Elizabeth Kann's children's novel, and adapted by the authors, with music and lyrics by John Gregor, is a winner. Although it is aimed at young children, it has plenty to delight parents and older kids as well.

Imagination Stage, in Bethesda, has scored yet another home run with its production of THE BFG, adapted by David Wood, OBE, from Roald Dahl's children's novel, and directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer and Eric J. Van Wyck. Parents will find themselves laughing along with their kids at Dahl's and Wood's irreverent humor, including an extended riff on the biologically impolite results of reversing the direction of the bubbles in soda pop. The more mature members of the audience will chuckle at the modern cultural references. This production is a must-see.

A musical that celebrates hot flashes? Why not? To paraphrase one of the characters in MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL, she sweats so much,she can create her own pool. MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL, which opened at the Warner Theatre for three performances through Saturday, June 14th, is a 90-minute party and a celebration of song, dance, and life, as well as a rip-roaring laugh-fest for both sexes and young to old adults.

MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL, produced by GFour Productions, an ensemble show with a cast of four, all women, will appear at the Warner Theatre for three performances on Friday, June 13th and Saturday, June 14th.

The national tour of NETWorks's presentation of DISNEY'S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is coming to Wolf Trap's Filene Center for five performances Friday night, June 6th through Sunday night, June 8th. In anticipation of this event, BroadwayWorld.com spoke to Montgomery County native Tim Rogan.

KWAIDAN (Japanese for 'ghost stories'), Spooky Action Theater's current production, is a must-see, although it is impossible to describe this mood piece. The performance plays mind-games with the attendees, making them feel like they are surrounded by spirits.

The touring production of DISNEY'S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will play at Wolf Trap's Filene Center for five performances between Friday, June 6th and Sunday, June 8th. The family-friendly, live-action musical includes all the songs from the Broadway production and spectacular sets and costumes.

Actor Josh Sticklin turns in a superb performance in Rosemary Jenkinson's world premiere of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S RIOT, at the Keegan Theatre in Washington, DC. The play sensitively and humorously explores the plight of the residents of the Protestant Cluan neighborhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

THE MAGIC FLUTE (Die Zauberflote), Mozart's last great work, is sometimes viewed as the precursor to musical theater. Mozart's friend, actor-producer Emanuel Schikaneder, wrote the original libretto in the German vernacular (as opposed to the more upper crust Italian) as a 'singspiel,' a play with music. In fact, THE MAGIC FLUTE has significantly more spoken dialogue than The Phantom of the Opera and certainly far more than Les Miserables.

The Quotidian Theater's production of Brian Friel's FAITH HEALER, features excellent acting and direction, a top-notch set, and costumes that are perfectly suited to the personality of each character and the time period. However, the play is unrelentingly sad.

MetroStage's UNDERNEATH THE LINTEL is brilliantly written and acted, and goes from a minor mystery -- return of a library book a century late -- to questions of major importance to the world.

THE JUNGLE BOOK, as adapted by Tracey Power and directed by Shirley Serotsky, is neither a live-action version of the Disney cartoon nor of Kipling's dark stories. One song especially, 'Wood and Water,' about the 'Red flower,' which is what the jungle inhabitants call fire, would be at home in a sophisticated adult production. The set is a visual delight, as are the brilliantly designed costumes and props. The dancing -- especially by the monkeys, the serpent, and the buffalo -- is as memorable as the decorative artistry.

THE ELIXIR OF LOVE, appearing in Italian at the Kennedy Center Opera House, is a feast for the ears and eyes. Donizetti's comic tale will appeal to both opera buffs and lovers of Broadway musicals hoping to expand into opera.

HAIR, at Washington, DC's Keegan Theatre, features an exuberant cast, clever staging and direction, rollicking music, and nostalgia, but some of the directors' choices are questionable.

The version of RUMPELSTILTSKIN currently being presented at Imagination Stage, in Bethesda, Maryland, is a grim Grimm fairy tale. The production is brilliantly executed, but the script is so dark that it may not be appropriate for younger children.

YELLOW FACE, appearing at Theater J, is a serio-comedy by David Henry Hwang, based on his involvement in the casting controversy in 1990 regarding Cameron Mackintosh's insistence on having a white actor play a non-white role. The excellent production is well worth seeing.