Music Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 7

BWW Album Review: ASSASSINS (The 2022 Off-Broadway Cast Recording) is Pistol-Smart and Deeply Satisfying
by David Clarke - April 12, 2022

Earlier this spring, Broadway Records released ASSASSINS (The 2022 Off-Broadway Cast Recording), giving fans of Stephen Sondheim our third English language commercially released recording of this brilliant score. Closed early because of Omicron, Broadway Records preserved this cast's wonderfully nua...

BWW Review: FRANKIE VALLI Not Quite 'In Concert' with THE FOUR SEASONS at Dr. Phillips Center
by Aaron Wallace - March 23, 2022

Frankie Valli introduced his ninth song at Dr. Phillips Center on Sunday night as one of his all-time favorites: a 1964 B-side called 'Silence Is Golden.' He might have taken the title a little too much to heart. It's a golden oldie for sure, and Valli sounded great... impossibly great for an 87-yea...

BWW Review: LaBelle Brings Les Bops to Dr. Phillips Center
by Aaron Wallace - March 21, 2022

An OG, indeed. She is voulez-vous coucher's iconic 'moi,' the phenom who gave us 'New Attitude' but is every bit as famous for her own attitude - the diva who in 2019 famously lamented all of Top 40's 'little heifers who can't sing' and here tonight in Orlando was calling her own high heels 'heifers...

BWW Review: Audra McDonald and Dr. Phillips Center Make History with Duke Ellington's BLACK, BROWN & BEIGE
by Aaron Wallace - January 27, 2022

It's not every day that Audra McDonald stands twenty feet in front of you and says, 'Tonight, we are all a part of history.' Then again, it's not every day that music history gets made in Orlando - real-deal, textbook-worthy history - so when it does happen, I reckon Audra McDonald is as eager to be...

BWW Review: Jennifer Hudson Concert Is a Big-Voice Baptism for Dr. Phillips Center's New Steinmetz Hall
by Aaron Wallace - January 24, 2022

When Jennifer Hudson sang 'I Will Always Love You' at Dr. Phillips Center on Saturday night, harkening back to her legendary performance of the same at the 54th Grammys, she braced for the 'And I' but, overwhelmed, went with a 'SIR! The way you played that HORN!' instead......

BWW Review: JENNIFER NETTLES: BROADWAY UNDER THE MISTLETOE at Capital One Hall
by Elliot Lanes - December 20, 2021

I am always happy when a recording artist thinks outside the box when it comes to planning their holiday concerts. Let’s face it, there is only so many times you can hear the same five carols that everyone seems to perform....

BWW CD Review: WHY DO THE NATIONS at Acis
by Erica Miner - October 18, 2021

Grammy-nominated baritone Stephen Powell demonstrates that this can be accomplished in the classical genre...

BWW Album Review: Jennifer Hudson's RESPECT Soundtrack Exquisitely Honors the 'Queen of Soul' and Celebrates Strength in Sisterhood
by Courtney Savoia - September 25, 2021

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but truly getting to know the heart, soul, and essence of a music legend is the ultimate honor. For Oscar-and Grammy-winning actress, Jennifer Hudson, portraying the one and only Aretha Franklin was a serious and cherished commitment. In her...

BWW Album Review: Barbra Streisand's Release Me 2 Opens Up Emotionally and Offers Clarity, Peace, and Healing for Life's Journey
by Courtney Savoia - August 06, 2021

Legendary icon, Barbra Streisand, recently announced that her new album, Release Me 2, will be available on Friday, August 6th. Streisand's first Release Me album debuted in September 2012, and contained tracks recorded between her 1967 Simply Streisand and 2011 What Matters Most albums. Featuring a...

BWW Review: A CHILD OF OUR TIME: ADELAIDE FESTIVAL 2021 at Adelaide Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
by Barry Lenny - March 17, 2021

It begins with the mezzo-soprano, the wonderful Elizabeth Campbell....

BWW Album Review: Alex Boniello's Debut EP 'Hi' is the Brave Companion So Many of Us Are Seeking
by Courtney Savoia - January 15, 2021

Broadway favorite, Alex Boniello, most recently seen on stage in the Tony Award-winning Dear Evan Hansen, just released his debut EP, titled “Hi,” written during his last few months of the musical. With COVID-19 changing the state of our world and the theater community, this catalog is extremely rel...

BWW Album Review: Leslie Odom, Jr.'s 'The Christmas Album' Infuses Love, Joy, and Merriment into the Holiday Season
by Courtney Savoia - December 09, 2020

Tony and Grammy Award winner, Leslie Odom Jr., who originated the role of Aaron Burr in Broadway’s Hamilton, recently released his new holiday album, The Christmas Album, which also features the legendary Cynthia Erivo and Nicolette Robinson, as well as The Walls Group and Michea Walls....

BWW Review: VANA at CD Release
by Barry Lenny - October 25, 2020

Ross Ainslie is one of Scotland's most beloved musicians....

BWW Review: A TRIBUTE TO LEON FLEISHER
by Barbara Trainin Blank - September 29, 2020

The word legendary can be used loosely, but as Brian Ganz demonstrates in a tribute concert to his long-time teacher and world-famous pianist Leon Fleisher, in this case not only is the description deserving but can be applied in many different spheres....

BWW Review: RUSALKA at Des Moines Metro Opera and Iowa PBS: A Journey to the Depths of the Sea and Back.
by DC Felton - July 06, 2020

Last week Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO) and Iowa Public Broadcasting Service started the 2020 Virtual Opera season with a stunning airing of 'Manon.' The decision to go virtual this season was due to the continuing COVID crisis. They continue their summer season this week with their 2018 production ...

BWW Album Review: Forget Sleepy, Wachter's TARRYTOWN Will Awaken Your Soul
by Courtney Savoia - May 18, 2020

Adam Wachter's original musical, Tarrytown, offers a contemporary twist to an iconic story, based on Washington Irving's 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and features the astonishing voices of Jeremy Jordan, Andy Mientus, and Krysta Rodriguez. This trio is pure magic and their voices make this legend a...

Violinist Philippe Quint Headlines Charlie Chaplin's Legacy: Classical Music in Film with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
by Charles Shubow - February 08, 2020

Quint mesmerizes the audience with his virtuoso performance....

BWW Review: NSO POPS: DIANA ROSS - MUSIC BOOK 2020 at Kennedy Center
by Brandon Horwin - January 10, 2020

There are certain artists whose names immediately fall in the 'legend' category and Diana Ross is one of them. Though no proof is needed, she is even a Kennedy Center Honoree, Grammy Award Winner, Tony Award Winner, and Oscar and Golden Globe Nominee. Her career spans over 50 years and dates back to...

BWW Review: ANDREA BOCELLI at Capital One Arena
by Elliot Lanes - December 16, 2019

As a reviewer you hear lots of advance hype about a particular show or performer before having your own experience. Much of the time the hype doesn't live up to the end product. Selling over 90 million recordings opera singer Andrea Bocelli was definitely one of those performers who I had heard a lo...

BWW Review: BROADWAY SHOWSTOPPERS: WEST SIDE STORY TO WICKED and More at Grand Rapids Symphony With Sisters Liz Callaway and Ann Hampton Callaway!
by Brian Hilbrand - November 11, 2019

Grand Rapids Symphony presents 'Broadway Showstoppers - WEST SIDE STORY to WICKED', the second of six shows in the 2020/2019 Pops Series presented by Fox Motors. The goal of the over all series is to 'Bring back memories and create new ones with a mix of popular entertainers and musical favorites.' ...

BWW Album Review: Christmas: A Season of Love is True to Idina
by Courtney Savoia - October 31, 2019

With the holiday season upon us, we'll soon be hearing endless amounts of carols, songs, and hymns everywhere we go – the grocery store, the mall, the dentist's office, you name it. Thankfully, one of Broadway's best, the Tony award-winning Ms. Idina Menzel, brings us an album of classic holiday tun...

BWW Review: LYNDA CARTER, THIS LIFE, MY MUSIC, MY STORY At Jazz At Lincoln Center
by Brady Schwind - October 15, 2019

Lynda Carter is a performer whose work has defined a generation....

BWW Review: NASHVILLE: STARRING MUSIC CITY HIT-MAKERS Along With Grand Rapids Symphony, Present Song Writers Playing Some of Their Greatest Country Hits!
by Brian Hilbrand - August 07, 2019

The Grand Rapids Symphony definitely was 'Blessed' last night to have 'Jesus Take The Wheel' as guest song writers from Nashville perform there chart topping hits and tell the stories along with them, turning the ski area into a larger Blue Bird Cafe for the special event. As 'Went Out Last Night', ...

BWW Review: PICNIC POPS SALUTE TO AMERICA! at Grand Rapids Symphony
by Brian Hilbrand - July 15, 2019

Twenty-five years ago in Grand Rapids, the Van Andel Arena still was on the drawing board. Meijer Gardens had opened just three months earlier, but it would be many years before an outdoor amphitheater would be built as a venue for summer concerts.   At Cannonsburg Ski Area, on a steamy evening in m...

BWW Review: Postmodern Jukebox Brings the Riffs Back to OC's Segerstrom Center
by Michael Quintos - July 09, 2019

It is no surprise that Scott Bradlee's inspired and wonderfully genre-crossing creation, Postmodern Jukebox---which recently just finished up its third wildly-received appearance at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa---still garners near sold-out concerts attended by rabid,...