Review: Matt Logan Directs 'Stunning, Powerful, Deeply Moving' THE HIDING PLACE in Nashville Premiere
Stunning. Powerful. Deeply moving. The words come rather easily in an attempt to adequately describe the awe-inspiring performances to be found in director Matt Logan’s beautifully crafted production of A.S. Peterson’s The Hiding Place. Now onstage in its Nashville premiere at the Soli Deo Center (which, to be frank, is equally notable and worthy of excessive praise) at Christ Presbyterian Academy through July 23, the play – which had its premiere in September 2019 at A.D. Players in Houston, Texas – proves to be both accessible, engaging and, we daresay, hopeful even as it tells a story from one of the darkest eras in human history.
BWW Exclusive: A History of ANNIE on Broadway and Beyond
Tonight, NBC will air its sixth live musical production. Following in the footsteps of The Sound of Music, Peter Pan, The Wiz, Hairspray, and Jesus Christ Superstar, the peacock network will be presenting Annie. Based on Harold Gray's comic strip titled Little Orphan Annie, this musical tells the story of a little orphan with equal measures of pluck and positivity who charms everyone's hearts, despite a next-to-nothing start in New York City in the year 1933.
BWW Review: WHITE CHRISTMAS National Tour
It seems that the best things really do happen while you're dancing, or at least they do in the touring production of WHITE CHRISTMAS that's currently at DPAC. The musical is at its very best during its high-energy dance numbers. The show is based on the 1954 holiday classic film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. With music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, the show is a fun Christmas-themed romp with plenty of 1950s nostalgia, beautiful costumes, and great tap dancing.Â
BWW Review: IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS at Des Moines Performing Arts: A Christmas Card Comes To Life On Stage
While Thanksgiving may be late this year, we are a little over a month away from the Christmas holiday. Des Moines Performing Arts is jumping into the holiday season. Tuesday evening, they opened the return engagement of 'Irving Berlin's White Christmas,' which runs through Sunday, November 24. Watching this production was like opening a Christmas Card, and I found myself smiling from beginning to end. I am excited to share what made this production fun to watch.
Throwing Out My CDs by Ben Rimalower: ANNIE
I thought throwing out my Annie CDs would be easy--I thought I only had one! Obviously that would be the indispensable Original Broadway Cast Recording with Dorothy Loudon and Andrea McArdle. How wrong I was! I knew that, as a kid, I had the tape of the 1982 movie soundtrack with Carol Burnett and Aileen Quinn (and an all-star supporting cast!), but I didn't remember buying it on CD. And when the hell did I get the CD of the 1999 TV version (with Kathy Bates and an all-star cast)? And, oh yeah... I forgot about this studio album from the 90s with studio cast queen Kim Criswell--I think I bought back in the day somehow convincing myself Ruthie Henshall was playing Annie. (Spoiler alert: She plays Grace.) Oh, and I do remember this '30thAnniversary' deluxe production with Chicago area diva (and original star of the sequel, Annie Warbucks) Alene Robertson as Miss Hannigan plus a lot of bonus material. To add insult to injury, I also have a Blu-Ray of the recent Hollywood remake with Cameron Diaz. I don't even have a Blu-Ray player! This thing is definitely going into the trash along with all the audio, but I will listen to a few tracks online for my edification.
BWW Review: WHITE CHRISTMAS Is an Alright Christmas at Dr. Phillips Center
Certainly, if you're looking for a festive night on the town with your family this holiday week, WHITE CHRISTMAS at Dr. Phillips Center is your ticket. There's something quaint about heading downtown for some simple entertainment to ring in the holiday. And to this production's credit, the set design is (for the most part) vivid, detailed, and impressive. Ditto the costuming, a distinctly 2000s interpretation of the 1940s and '50s. The grand finale is stunning in both respects...
BWW Review: WHITE CHRISTMAS at Denver Center for the Performing Arts
One of my earliest Christmas memories is watching the movie version of White Christmas with my family. To this day, it is still a valued family tradition to sit back and tune in to a film that defined part of my childhood, as I'm sure it did for many. With the stage version on the road, it is the perfect opportunity to dive headfirst into the holiday spirit.
BWW Review: IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS Brings Musical Theater Joy to the Holiday Season
If there is a musical theater moment more joyous that what occurs at the top of Act Two in Irving Berlin's White Christmas, then we must respectfully demand it be performed in front of us as quickly as possible. Certainly, we recognize there is much joy to be found in musical theater, but sitting in the audience at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall - six years to the day we last found ourselves awash in the nostalgia and sentimentality so abundant in this particular holiday favorite - we simply couldn't recall anything more engaging or more entertaining than watching Jeremy Benton and Kelly Sheehan, backed by a cadre of 12 other fleet-footed dancers, tapping their hearts out to "I Love a Piano.'
Nashville's Very Own Song-and-Dance Man Jeremy Benton Kicks Off the Holidays in IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS
This week finds Jeremy Benton - Broadway's favorite tap-dancing man - in Paducah, Kentucky, with the rest of the cast and crew of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, preparing for tonight's opening performance of the quintessential holiday season musical. He's spent so many holiday seasons performing in White Christmas, in fact (he joined the show back in 2005 and has been a part of the company off and on ever since) that it's become second nature to him now.
Nashville's Very Own Song-and-Dance Man Jeremy Benton Kicks Off the Holidays in IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS
This week finds Jeremy Benton - Broadway's favorite tap-dancing man - in Paducah, Kentucky, with the rest of the cast and crew of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, preparing for tonight's opening performance of the quintessential holiday season musical. He's spent so many holiday seasons performing in White Christmas, in fact (he joined the show back in 2005 and has been a part of the company off and on ever since) that it's become second nature to him now.
BWW Review: ANNIE, the First Broadway Musical We Never Forget
Based on the popular comic strip by Harold Gray, Annie has become a worldwide phenomenon and was the winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The beloved book and score by Tony Award winners, Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, features some of the greatest musical theatre hits ever written, including 'Tomorrow.'
Exclusive Podcast: Go 'Behind the Curtain' with Long-time Daddy Warbucks, Stage and Screen Star Conrad John Schuck
The sun won't come out tomorrow because it is here now and its name is Conrad John Schuck. One of the entertainment industry's most recognizable character actors, whose on-screen credits include MASH, McMillan & Wife, Star Trek, and The Golden Girls (Gil Kessler for Mayor), Conrad first got started on stage as a resident player at ACT which was then followed by countless theatre credits, most notably as Daddy Warbucks in Annie, for which he currently holds the record as the actor who has played that role the most!