Sonja Niles - Page 2

The touring company BUDDY - THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY is flush with musical talent. Every performer is an actor and a musician. We are introduced to a 19 year old Buddy Holly and his bandmates/friends as they start to introduce their 'own kind of music' which happens to be rock and roll, on a country radio station program in Lubbock, Texas. Therein lies the first big conflict of the Buddy Holly Story to overcome.

Sioux Falls audiences have a rare opportunity to experience the sheer magnitude of the 'WOW Factor' this weekend with a touring production of THE BOOK OF MORMON at the Washington Pavilion. Every detail from a beautiful and super-efficient functioning set design, to some magical lighting designs and special effects of this production are some of the best this reviewer has seen in any Broadway touring company production.

It was a pleasure to hear the pure excitement and energy in Sam McLellan's voice as I spoke with him by phone today. The cast and crew are just rolling into Sioux Falls to bring THE BOOK OF MORMON to the audiences at the Washington Pavilion, and Sam took a few minutes to visit with me. Sam is a graduate of University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point and does have a little experience with the missionary life, in that he spent 15 years of his life in Mexico with his missionary parents ( they're not Mormon though). I wondered how that experience might inform his performance as Elder Price in this production, but he indicated that it really informs his performance only in that it informs his own person and character in real life. He indicated having an awareness and respect for the work of missionaries in their attempts to educate and inform people who may be somewhat resistant to the message of the mission. So, that sounds like a job in 'sales' to me, and I know from whence I speak.

THE BOOK OF MORMON is back in Sioux Falls by popular demand. After playing an 8 show run in 2017, on October 21-23 they will play another limited engagement at the Washington Pavilion.

The Premiere Playhouse production of Mel Brook's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN has a talented cast of actors that bring together a mostly delightful evening of theatre. The set design is well executed and shifts from the various locales of the story with ease. The colors and textures of the scenery were nicely painted and crafted to create the creepy castle atmosphere and laboratory.

ANNIE JR. at The Premiere Playhouse is a production in conjunction with The Penguin Project, an initiative that started in Peoria, Illinois as a way to empower children with special needs through theatre. The artists involved with Annie Jr. in Friday evening's production were partnered with a mentor performer and the results of their efforts were glorious.

Most of the fun in seeing a new Broadway musical is in anticipating the experience with no preconceived notions of how it will be produced. ANASTASIA at the Washington Pavilion certainly gave Sioux Falls audiences an opportunity to be surprised and delighted.

The most valuable membership to a concert series in Sioux Falls, South Dakota is LIVE ON STAGE. The quality and variety of performers is markedly superior. Experiencing a concert at Mary W. Sommervold Hall in the Washington Pavilion is pure pleasure for the audience. Upon arrival in downtown Sioux Falls concert-goers can find convenient parking for the event, handicap accessible entry to the hall, the most lovely concert hall in the entire region. All of these elements make the experience of a concert in the series 'first rate.' As a member you can choose your seats for the entire season at the time of reserving your membership.

The Premiere Playhouse production of CABARET is a mixed bag of incongruities. This is not just a story of debauchery in 1929 Berlin nightlife. It is also a political commentary of the early days of Nazi extremism that begin to wear away at the fiber of the country and the people of Germany. It is in the opening moments of this show, that the audience is put on a sort of visual warning that there will be scant few limits on the lengths this show will go to 'shock' the patrons.

University of Sioux Falls' production of THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME is an adaptation by Simon Stephens of the 2003 Mark Haddon mystery novel of the same name. It is party mystery, and part visual glimpse inside the mind of the protagonist Christopher Boone.

This show will make you laugh, cry and recognize the value of human connection. Don’t miss it.

THE GIVER a play adapted by Eric Coble from the 1994 Newberry Award Winning novel by Lois Lowry.

Augustana University Theatre patrons are in for a delightful treat this weekend with Little Women The Musical at Edith Mortenson Center Theatre. Everything about this show is a pleasure. Infused with love and the energy, this production pulls you into the world of Jo March and her family with fond remembrance of your first reading of this classic by Louisa May Alcott.

One of the best productions of the theatre season is playing at Warren M. Lee Center for the Fine Arts in Vermillion, SD!

Dakota Wesleyan University Theatre mounted a visually exciting production of ROCK OF AGES for Mitchell area theater audiences. Opening moments of the production were colorful and stimulating, with the use of some sophisticated strobe and lighting effects. The audience was prepped for a time warp of hair band highlights and the energy on stage with this cast was electric.

The national non-equity touring company of HAIRSPRAY was a hit at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with an audience full of fans of this musical classic. From the opening moments to the finale, the electricity of a youthful and enthusiastic cast is contagious. I found myself wondering how they could maintain that pace and level of energy for the whole show, but they did it.

Four young men who met at Boston University, and in their words, were reunited serendipitously, create the most compelling sound in music I have experienced in years.

The touring production of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and The Chocolate Factory seems an unlikely place to find  inspiration in reconciling the events of the world’s political stage, but when viewed in the context of the current sociopolitical climate, it seems possible. The lyrics of the song “Pure Imagination” appear to map out the catalyst for social change. “If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it. Want to change the world? There’s nothing to it.”   The simplicity of that philosophy in song was written over the course of  a phone conversation between the composers Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley over 50 years ago. 

Make arrangements TODAY to get tickets to this MUST SEE offering from Premiere Playhouse!

Women Of 4G playing at the Fishback Studio at the Performing Arts Center at SDSU in Brookings, is a play that was written by Amy Tofte, a native of Brookings, SD. That fact alone, was impetus for me to travel on a frigid Wednesday night to see an opening night performance of this production.