Kevin Shaw

When A CHORUS LINE opened on Broadway in 1975, no one could have predicted that it would go on to earn the distinction of being the longest running Broadway show of its time. It ran for almost 15 years and played over 6,000 performances! Since then, five other musicals have gone on to pass that Broadway milestone (LES MISERABLES, CATS, WICKED, THE LION KING, CHICAGO).

What did our critic think of WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at Circuit Playhouse?

Musical theatre is known for showcasing the extraordinary. From GYPSY to MOULIN ROUGE to an ogre named SHREK, the most unusual protagonists imaginable are what are on display. Phantoms, witches, cats and even puppets (AVENUE Q) are what audiences have come to expect. Musicals are built for “transportation.”

Frank Abagnale, Jr. is a REAL character. And by real, I mean totally fake. According to his 1980 memoir and the 2002 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio (directed by Steven Spielberg), this man claims to have worked as an assistant state attorney general, a Pan Am commercial airline pilot and a hospital physician-all without any formal training.

The directing/choreographic team of Jordan Nichols and Travis Bradley are back again to deliver the highest quality show one could ever imagine-professional or not. The sheer man hours that have gone into producing this mammoth production are clear at every turn.

A couple of months ago, newly elected Memphis Mayor Paul Young, in partnership with the African American Mayors Association, announced the launch of the Black Mayor’s Coalition on Crime which is an initiative to “harness the collective power of black mayors across the nation to fight crime.”

The recent college campus protests in America seem to have surprised and bewildered a lot of people around the world. Why do privileged students who can afford a college education risk being expelled or jailed over a conflict in Gaza? Graduations are currently being cancelled, people are being arrested and police with riot gear are on standby from New York to California. It’s almost unheard of.

What’s up with all these therapists’ offices masquerading as beauty parlors? Women walk into these places as broken shells of themselves and often walk out feeling on top of the world. Sure, they get their hair and/or nails done, but they get so much more than just that. They’re renewed.

For opera lovers around the world, Maria Callas was a gigantic figure well known for her unusual and daring performances. She was a singer who ruled the classical musical world for a large part of the 20th century and left an indelible mark with her talent and her larger-than-life personality.

What did our critic think of POTUS at Circuit Playhouse? As with any comedy, and farce particularly, timing is everything and it takes about half of Act I before the cast finds their rhythm and ensures the audience is keeping up with them. It’s a lot all at once.

What did our critic think of YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN at Circuit Playhouse? On its surface, it’s difficult to articulate just how such simply drawn characters with simply framed personalities have endured for so long. Perhaps that’s the secret to Schulz’s “Peanuts Sauce”-simplicity.

What did our critic think of BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL at Theatre Memphis? According to Executive Producer Debbie Litch, Theatre Memphis is in the midst of its most successful season since being founded in 1920! Can you even fathom what that means? It means more people are lining up to see what TM has to offer than ever before.

What did our critic think of A RAISIN IN THE SUN at Theatre Memphis? The fuel for the human spirit seems to be propelled by two things: Dreams and Faith. They sound like the same thing, but there’s a distinct difference. One is about seeing, and the other is about believing. Some people have faith without any dreams and others have the dreams without any faith.

What did our critic think of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at Playhouse On The Square?

What did our critic think of THE LEHMAN TRILOGY at Circuit Playhouse?

What did our critic think of SILENT SKY at Theatre Memphis? Can anything make a person feel more insignificant than to look up to the heavens to try and count the stars? How many are up there? What makes them shine? Just how far away are they anyway? So many questions. Perhaps the only feeling more insignificant than being a man asking these “big” questions, is being a woman told she’s not allowed to even ask them. Henrietta Leavitt was a real woman living in America at the turn of the 20th century who sought to, not only ask, but answer the questions of what is truly “out there,” not only in this universe, but beyond. She is credited with discovering Cepheid variables (a type of star that pulsates radially). Her life as an astronomer at a time when women weren’t encouraged to venture far from home, let alone to the cosmos, is on display currently in SILENT SKY at Theatre Memphis. Under the direction of Ceclia Wingate, Levitt’s world of wonder spins (figuratively and literally) in a lyrical fashion that supersedes the understanding of most mortals while still pulsating amongst the stardust. In a word, it shimmers.

What did our critic think of BLITHE SPIRIT at Theatre Memphis? Perhaps it’s self-evident, but the ability to communicate with the dead would appear to be, in a word, “challenging.” Having never personally attended a séance, the ingredients necessary to summon a ghost would seem to require enormous skill, persistence, and focus.

What did our critic think of FAT HAM at Circuit Playhouse?

The word crucible is not a term often used in everyday language. In fact, it seems to only be used when referencing Arthur Miller’s classic 1953 play, THE CRUCIBLE. But, for those not familiar with the story itself, the term means “a severe test.”

What did our critic think of THE PROM at Playhouse On The Square? Trying to find a vehicle to infuse comic relief into a story about bigotry and homophobia is no small task, so the creators chose to bring in the least self-aware thespians to save the day for the most self-aware lesbian.