Review: HAMILTON Rises Up at Murat TheatreMay 3, 2023Only a couple of shows recent have received as much interest and praise as HAMILTON. A historical drama, HAMILTON is the creation of Lin-Manuel Miranda that comes with with a dash of comedy and a history lesson presented by outstanding lyrics and exciting music that switches seamlessly from a melody to a rap and back.
Review: LES MISERABLES Returns to Clowes Memorial HallMarch 19, 2023Les Miserables returned to Indianapolis, again, in excellent fasion, propagating its underlying message that theater can suppress the multitudes. It can be ambitious and weighty, thematically sacred, and blatantly tear-jerking.
Review: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Brings A Tantalizing Whodunnit To Civic TheatreMarch 14, 2023There’s a reason that Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time: she sure knows how to write a story. Her works have been immortalized in many ways, and the stage production of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS adapted by Ken Ludwig is another great example of her storytelling prowess come to life. Audience members get to gasp, laugh, and analyze in their turn as Poirot works his mystery-solving magic.
Review: FOOTLOOSE Cuts Loose at Beef & BoardsFebruary 14, 2023FOOTLOOSE is a musical born of the beloved film from 1984 starring Kevin Bacon. It made a natural adaptation with its sensational soundtrack and heartfelt message. There is of course the titular song, FOOTLOOSE, but there are also gems like “Holding Out for a Hero” and “Let’s Hear It For the Boy.” But this musical has more to offer than exceptional music. It also explores important themes around family relationships and how to decipher between what’s protection and what’s control. Beef & Boards brings it all to life with their staging of FOOTLOOSE. You will kick up your heels, tap your toes, and go home to find your dancing shoes.
Review: THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK Captures Charm and Tragedy at Booth Tarkington Civic TheatreFebruary 14, 2023What did our critic think of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre? The story of Anne Frank has been immortalized in her own words for decades. Her writings range from the amusing to the dramatic to the tragic, but in their essence, they capture something so fleeting: a girl struggling to become a woman in unspeakable circumstances. Her firsthand account of hiding from Nazis shows us a different side of history, one that can't be summed up in a chapter in a textbook. The Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre has brought her story to life on stage in THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, a play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman, and their retelling brings out new sides to Anne's story and pushes you to see this time period from new viewpoints.
Review: A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL Brings the Holiday Spirit at Civic TheatreDecember 6, 2022A Christmas Story, the Musical reimagines the 1983 holiday movie masterpiece with boisterous songs and dance that brought new life and excellent vocals to the season. Loving fans, rest easy. Joseph Robinette’s adaption, directed by Emily Rogge Tzucker, brightens iconic scenes and characters and enhances the humor. The lamp, the flag pole, and the turkey-mad Bumpus Hounds are all there.
Review: A (Happy) Holiday: A Festive Season ReimaginedDecember 6, 2022It’s the holiday season and all reviewers are going to their required holiday shows... You know... Elf, A Christmas Story, A Christmas Carol. It's the same stuff, different year. Not this show. This is a brand new show by a unique writers' room collaboration called A (Happy) Holiday. Feeling down or out by the holidays while everyone one else around you has holiday cheer? This is the show for you. It's got everything -- singing, dancing, a unique story, and a drag queen. Who could honestly want more?
Review: IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE At Beef & Boards: A Sparkling Holiday ClassicNovember 28, 2022The holiday season brings with it many familiar sights, sounds, smells, and of course, beloved cinematic and stage treasures like IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Beef & Boards chose a true gem to get every audience member into the right spirit while always recalling what’s truly important and truly worth fighting for: each other.
Review: Have You Heard? ANASTASIA Brings Indy Audiences to Their FeetOctober 20, 2022The rumors are true: ANASTASIA has finally made its way to Indianapolis. You may be thinking it’s just another movie turned musical, but there are new twists and turns to this rendition of the beloved animated film. There’s the romance, the legend of Anastasia, the glittering costumes and crowns, but there’s also battles with personal principles and a sense of national pride that leaves people emotionally and morally torn. In short, it has it all.
Interview: Chatting with ANASTASIA On Tour Star Willem ButlerOctober 3, 2022Have you heard? There’s a rumor that ANASTASIA is about to hit the stage in Indianapolis! The anticipation is growing, and we were lucky enough to get an interview with Willem Butler who stars as Dmitry. He gave us some insight into the production and why this musical adaptation is the perfect way to kick off this season of Broadway in Indianapolis.
Review: TASTE at Theatre UnchainedSeptember 30, 2022It's hard to comprehend a more unusual and nauseating narrative than the one re-imagined in Taste, Benjamin Brand's reality-based drama about a contract between a man with cannibalistic aspirations and the willing victim he solicits on the internet. The genuine event - preserved by the perpetrator on videotape - took place in Germany back in 2001, and contained a mutual pact to begin their operation by severing and then mutually dining on the victim.
Review: Cheers to Singing Away at ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE at Beef & BoardsAugust 23, 2022Jimmy Buffet is a beloved part of the musical fabric of America, and so it makes complete sense that JIMMY BUFFET’S ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE is just as endearing and just plain fun. This musical is a great way to feel transported to the simplicity of a beach vacation and live awhile on “island time.”
Review: HONKY TONK ANGELS Charms at Beef & BoardsJuly 18, 2022The beat of the drum and the twang of the guitar are calling you to HONKY TONK ANGELS at Beef & Boards. When a band of three women are flung together by chance, the results are a series of both charming and hilarious antics strung together by some of country music’s greatest hits.
BWW Interview: Leslie Broecker on the 2022/2023 Season: “A SMORGASBORD”May 15, 2022We always have such fun with our Broadway interviews, but it is a special treat to get some backstage, behind-closed-doors insight into the inner workings of Broadway Across America. We had just such an opportunity when we spoke with Leslie Broecker, President of Broadway Across America Midwest. She offered us a fresh perspective on this season’s selections and where she sees Broadway going in a (hopefully) post-pandemic world.
BWW Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN, We Applaud You at Murat TheatreApril 28, 2022As with any massively popular production, you have to wonder if the hype matches the reality. In the case of DEAR EVAN HANSEN, the reality more than exceeds the expectations. This production is full of not only exceptional musical moments but also an enthralling story. It holds you captivated from beginning to end and leaves you with a lingering sense that you just experienced something extraordinary and important.