Regional Roundup: Top 10 Stories This Week Around the Broadway World - 6/24; Pre-Broadway THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL in Chicago, SPRING AWAKENING in Orlando and More!

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Connecticut, Chicago, Orlando and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include A CHORUS LINE in Connecticut, the pre-Broadway THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL in Chicago, and SPRING AWAKENING in Orlando, just to name a few.

East/Northeast

1. Maine: Editor Carla Maria Verdino-Sullwold reviews MSMT's A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING. She says, "The dynamically staged and imaginatively choreographed production by MSMT's Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark - with a dazzling, intricate tap number created by Raymond Marc Dumont for "Kansas City" - is brimming with class, warmth, and humor. Clark inspires the cast to bring to their music and vignettes an infectious and embracing energy, an eloquence of emotion spiced with mischievous moments." Read more here.

2. Connecticut: Editor Joseph Harrison reviews A CHORUS LINE at Playhouse On Park. He says, "First, huge kudos to directors Sean Harris and Darlene Zoller for staging what is typically done on an empty proscenium stage in their black box space. I had my doubts coming into the show how it might work, but believe me it works beautifully. Hats off to Ms. Zoller (and Assistant Choreographer Spencer Pond) as well for the brilliant choreography that feels inherently seventies, but modern at the same time. I am still amazed at how they pulled off such large and complex dance numbers in such a small space. The iconic numbers felt fresh, yet beautifully familiar and were executed well by the talented young cast." Read more here.

Midwest

3. Cleveland, OH: Editor Roy Berko reviews SISTER ACT at Porthouse. He says, "Hannah Quinn is delightful as the uninhibited Sister Mary Patrick. Terri Kent, yes, the Artistic Director of Porthouse, is amusing and has a great time as the straight-laced Sister Mary Lazarus. Bernadette Hisey is a hoot as Sister Mary Martin-of-Tours, the totally "out of it" member of the sisterhood. Rohn Tomas does a nice turn as Monsignor O'Hara." Read more here.

4. St. Louis, MO: Editor Chris Gibson reviews STAGES St. Louis' DISNEY'S ALICE IN WONDERLAND. He says, "...DISNEY'S ALICE IN WONDERLAND, a very colorful, engaging, and extremely entertaining musical that manages to pack a lot into around an hours time. It may just be the best show of this type they've ever produced, and I highly recommend it!" Read more here.

5. Chicago, IL: Editor Misha Davenport reviews the pre-Broadway show, THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL at the Oriental Theatre. He says, "As the title character, Ethan Slater more than proves himself to be more than just an ordinary sponge. He's nailed the character's boundless optimism as well as his signature laugh. Slater also has a powerful voice and a seemingly endless amount of charm. As a physical comedian, he also puts his entire body into his performance. A stunt in which he deftly weaves his body in, out and around a spider web of ladders is particularly breath-taking. It all adds up to a winning Broadway debut." Read more here.

South/Southeast

6. Orlando, FL: Editor Kimberly Moy reviews SPRING AWAKENING at Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater. She says, "Danny Kornfeld steals the show as Mortiz. One minute Kornfeld is the awkward outcast teenager plagued by sexual dreams, the next second he's the rebel rocking out in "The Bitch of Living" and "Don't Do Sadness." It is impressive to watch Kornfeld flip the switch between awkward Mortiz to broken Mortiz. He is a great actor." Read more here.

7. St. Petersburg, FL: Editor Peter Nason reviews freeFall Theatre's THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. He says, "How can my words ever hope to reflect the joy that I felt watching a beautiful production where everything goes right? People will see it as fawning, gushing. Pauline Kael, known for her slaughtering of sacred cows (she hated some of my favorite movies, like Network, A Clockwork Orange or Raiders of the Lost Ark), was often attacked for gushing far too often (read her review of Last Tango in Paris for the most gushy review ever scribed; she even dares compare it to Le Sacre du Printemps)." Read more here.

West Coast

8. Los Angeles, CA: Editor Don Grigware reviews DISGRACED at Mark Taper Forum. He says, "The acting ensemble under director Kimberly Senior's sturdy hand are terrific. Dhillon is amazing as the complex Amir, compelling and almost vicious when his true feelings about his culture start to emerge, especially regarding the treatment of Islamic women and his feelings toward defeating other races. He is unwillingly trapped in a religion that pulls him back. He tries to ignore it, but it refuses to give him peace. Dhillon's range of emotions is remarkable in a tour.de.force performance!" Read more here.

International

9. Sydney, Australia: Editor Brodie Paparella reviews DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK at Hayes Theatre. He says, "Shapeshifting into legends Marilyn Monroe, Mae West, Dolly Parton and Madonna with surprising gusto and accuracy, Dallimore's impersonations come with humorous and sincere twists of lyric and history. Mae West doing Uptown Funk, Marilyn Monroe doing Candle in the Wind, and the whole Madonna monologue were particular highlights." Read more here.

National Tour Highlight:

10. Dallas Editor Christina Hoth reviews BULLETS OVER BROADWAY at Dallas Summer Musicals. She says, "Hannah Rose Deflumeri was the first standout performance of the evening as Ellen. Equal parts bookish girlfriend to writer David and independent woman, Deflumeri's powerhouse voice rang true in "Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me" and continues to elate throughout the evening." Read more here.

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