Interview: Jonathan Louis of THE BAND CELL Talks About The Who, Local Music, and His Eccentric StyleJuly 18, 2022Just over the Sierra Nevada Mountain range from the Sacramento Valley lies the town of Reno, Nevada. Its proximity to Sacramento makes it a popular destination for entertainment and its casinos attract well-known talent. It was during one of these concerts that serendipity intervened, and I met the charmingly eclectic indie artist, Jonathan Louis. A drummer for a local group called The Band Cell, Louis is branching out into solo territory with new songs “The Next Big Thing,” and “Bouncy.” Broadway World spoke to Louis about the post-pandemic music scene, his quirky style, and how The Who inspired his music career.
Review: CAROUSEL Has June Bustin' Out All Over at Broadway At Music CircusJune 30, 2022The world has changed a lot since 1945, when Carousel opened on Broadway. The Tony Awards hadn’t been established yet. Interracial marriage was not yet legal. Its score speaks of a bygone era when people comported themselves with a certain modesty and societal rules were very different. One would wonder how such a show has survived through the years, but Rodgers and Hammerstein’s second musical has themes that are relevant today. Domestic violence, poor choices, hope, and redemption are all things that society still experiences.
BWW Review: KINKY BOOTS Kicks Off Summer at Broadway At Music CircusJune 15, 2022After being dark for two years, Broadway at Music Circus opened its 2022 season with Kinky Boots, the glittery hit from Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein and 80s icon Cyndi Lauper. After opening on Broadway in 2013, it surprised everyone by surpassing its competition and securing a season-high 13 Tony Award nominations and 6 wins. In addition to Best Musical, Kinky Boots won the Tony for Best Original Score, making Lauper the first woman to win alone in that category-in her first foray into Broadway composing.
BWW Review: TOOTSIE Closes the Season at Broadway SacramentoMay 18, 2022Broadway Sacramento is closing out their 2022 Broadway on Tour season with the first national tour of Tootsie. Based on the 1982 film of the same name, Tootsie features music and lyrics by David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and a Tony Award-winning book by Robert Horn. Rolling Stone called it “musical comedy heaven” and they’re not wrong. Easily the funniest show of the season, Tootsie is full of one-liners, sarcastic wit, and self-deprecating humor.
BWW Interview: Todd Schroeder's YOUNG ARTISTS' GRANT Benefit Concert Returns to Sonora High SchoolApril 17, 2022This year's graduating seniors have had anything but a normal high school experience and the past two years have taught them resilience, flexibility, and grace. Undoubtedly, they deserve a bit of celebration for their tenacity and courage. Luckily for students at Sonora High School, Todd Schroeder is back after a five-year hiatus to raise money for the Todd Schroeder Young Artists' Grant to benefit young graduates going into the arts. Todd himself is a graduate of Sonora High School who went on to a successful career as a pianist, composer, and music director. Since 1995, Todd has been giving back to the community with this grant. This year boasts an impressive lineup of celebrities, such as Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame. Broadway World spoke to Todd about his organization and what we can look forward to at this year's benefit concert that will be happening in Sonora on April 30.
BWW Review: WICKED is Decidedly 'Popular' at Broadway SacramentoApril 3, 2022It’s been almost 19 years since Wicked debuted on Broadway, but you would never know it by the reception Sacramento gave the national tour this week. Read our critic's review of the show 'Wicked has lost none of its salability and the energy was palpable in the room in anticipation of the show that surpassed Les Miserables to become Broadway’s fifth longest-running musical.'
BWW Review: August Wilson's FENCES Enchants at Sacramento Theatre CompanyMarch 3, 2022Fence (fens) n. 1. A structure that functions as a boundary or barrier, usually constructed of posts, boards, wire, or rails. Or, as in August Wilson’s Fences, it can also be an allegory to keep the things out that you fear the most while locking all that is precious within its confines. Is it ever successful? Sacramento Theatre Company (STC) welcomes you back to the Main Stage to explore that question with their production of the Tony Award winning play.
BWW Review: AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN Lifts Us Up at Broadway SacramentoNovember 4, 2021Broadway Sacramento continues its phenomenal comeback season in the newly renovated SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center with An Officer and a Gentleman. Based on the Academy Award-winning 1982 film starring Richard Gere, the musical boasts an impressive 1980’s arrangement including the hit “Up Where We Belong.” Sacramento is the third stop of the first North American tour, which visits over 50 cities through 2022.
BWW Review: GLORIA: A LIFE Kicks Off a New Season at Sacramento Theatre CompanyOctober 14, 2021After what Executive Director Michael Laun calls “the longest theatrical intermission ever on record,” Sacramento Theatre Company is back with its 77th season, which is aptly entitled WHO, WHAT & WHERE. Really, do any of us know who, what, or where we are anymore? I do know where you should be, though, and that’s at the Sacramento Theatre Company watching their regional premiere of Gloria: A Life.
BWW Review: HAMILTON Brings Theatre Back to Broadway SacramentoSeptember 19, 2021After a year and a half hiatus, Broadway Sacramento is back in a big way! Their 2021 season opened on Wednesday in the newly renovated SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center with the most revered piece of theatre in recent memory-Hamilton. Patrons were treated to a beautifully redesigned venue that includes updated sound and seating. Broadway World was able to experience the much-anticipated opening and it was just as magical as a post-pandemic return should be!
BWW Interview: Sierra Rep's Jerry Lee Says They are Back and Better Than EverAugust 23, 2021In the Sierra foothills are a cluster of quaint towns full of Gold Rush history. Two of these, East Sonora and Columbia, house the venues that make up Sierra Repertory Theatre (Sierra Rep). Main stage shows, cabarets, and youth workshops can be seen in the original East Sonora Theatre and in the Historic Fallon House Theatre in Columbia State Historic Park. Lucky for us, they are back to making history beginning in September with their new, in-person season! Broadway World spoke with Jerry Lee, Associate Artistic Director (and Shrek himself!), about what we can look forward to at Sierra Rep.
BWW Review: GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN Streaming from the Ooley TheatreMarch 27, 2021When I started writing for BroadwayWorld, never did I think that I would be an audience of one. Then 2020 happened and here I am, the lone spectator, reviewing a one-act play-the first live performance I've seen in over a year. Maybe fittingly, it is a play about death. More specifically, it's about coming to terms with the feelings that arise from unresolved issues we have with those about to transition. I'm sure most of us have thought about death a great deal over the past year. Have we, though, thought about exploring our relationships in order to reach a place where we are at peace should the unthinkable happen?
BWW Feature: JUNIOR THEATER FESTIVAL'S Online Extravaganza Unites Young ArtistsJanuary 25, 2021Around this time last year, thousands of students flocked to the round at Music Circus for a weekend of singing, dancing, encouragement, and camaraderie. The Junior Theater Festival West (JTF) drew in groups from places as far away as the U.K. and South Korea. This year, during the weekend of January 15-17, the venue was much different but the sentiment was the same. Theatre groups from all over the globe participated in a virtual JTF that highlighted all of the magic that makes JTF such an unforgettable experience.
BWW Interview: The Jungle Talks About the Labors of Love, the Seattle Music Scene, and His New EP, INFERNOApril 17, 2020Back in Sacramento and ready to enter the California music scene is Troy Jagan, better known as The Jungle. His sound is an appealing mix of jazz, funk, r&b, and pop music complemented by a falsetto that brings to mind a young Michael Jackson. BroadwayWorld Sacramento spoke to The Jungle about his return home and the upcoming release of his new EP, Inferno, on April 17.
BWW Review: The First National Tour of A BRONX TALE Comes to Broadway SacramentoMarch 4, 2020Growing up unscathed in the Bronx in the 1960s was not easy. Young men had to deal with racial tensions as well as violent crime. Academy Award-nominated actor Chazz Palminteri somehow made it out successfully and, in 1989, wrote a one-man play chronicling his experiences. It did so well that Robert DeNiro bought the rights and made his directorial debut with the 1993 film that also starred Palminteri. After a ten-year development process, Palminteri's story, A Bronx Tale, was made into a musical and opened on Broadway in 2016. A dream team of creatives created a show that boasts music by Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast), lyrics by Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid, Sister Act), co-direction by Jerry Zaks (Guys and Dolls, Sister Act), and choreography by Sergio Trujillo (The Addams Family, Jersey Boys, Ain't Too Proud).
BWW Review: Nothing is Rotten in Sacramento Theatre Company's HAMLETMarch 2, 2020It is said that Shakespeare's Hamlet is being performed every minute somewhere in the world. Now, you can see it at the Sacramento Theatre Company (STC). BroadwayWorld Award-winning director Casey McClellan teams up with Greg Foro to create a modern-day version of the play that focuses on the intricacies of the family unit and revenge.
BWW Interview: Jeff Brooks of A BRONX TALE Talks About His Mafia Roles, Racial Tensions, and Why Everyone Loves GastonMarch 1, 2020America's obsession with the Mafia began long ago, after the Great Depression plunged many into poverty and the world saw how the a?oefamilya?? took care of its own. Popular movies like a?oeThe Godfathera?? and a?oeScarfacea?? further solidified our collective fascination with all things mob-related. In 1989, a little-known actor named Chazz Palminteri introduced his one-man play about his own experience with a Mafia boss in the Bronx. Many years later, that play blossomed into a movie and then a musical on Broadway and, now, a national tour that stops in Sacramento beginning March 3. A Bronx Tale tells the story of young Calogero and his gangster mentor, Sonny. Jeff Brooks, who plays the role of Sonny on the tour, recently spoke with Broadway World Sacramento about racial tensions, his Mafia roles, and the beauty of an open bar.