BWW REVIEW: MOULIN ROUGE Spins Wildly At Boston's Restored Emerson Colonial
The opulent, newly restored Emerson Colonial, the historic crown jewel among Boston's glittering theatrical houses, is the perfect setting for the equally opulent but imperfect stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann's anachronistic 2001 movie musical MOULIN ROUGE. Originally opened in 1900, the ornately adorned gilt and red velvet theater is now celebrating its grand re-opening with a glitzy, gaudy pre-Broadway tryout of a mash-up of 1900 Bohemian Paris and a contemporary jukebox of pop rock, techno, disco and punk music. The result is a whirling dervish of sights and sounds designed more for effect than affect. The audience, obviously familiar with and adoring of the original movie, rapturously cheers on cue. But for those seeking a more nostalgic emotional connection to the material, this MOULIN ROUGE may seem more rock concert than musical theater.
BWW Review: ROCK OF AGES at Casa Manana
When ROCK OF AGES (the stage musical…not the dreadful movie) debuted on Broadway in 2014, they were 'Living on a Prayer' that they'd find enough middle-aged former frat guys and metal heads willing to rock out on The Great White Way, but after 2,328 New York performances of people saying 'I Wanna Rock' at the box office, it was clear that they'd gotten 'High Enough' to be a bonafide Broadway hit. [If this is too many 80's puns for you, then ROCK OF AGES probably isn't up your alley, dude.] Now appearing in regional theaters across the country, the musical is nice break from safer titles like JOSEPH, GUYS AND DOLLS or THE MUSIC MAN, which have overly peppered each season at [fill in the blank theatre company]. And although those more familiar shows might find greater success in the Fort Worth dome, this exceptional approach by Casa Manana is a great effort that should be applauded and rewarded by people wanting to see something other than SOUND OF MUSIC.
BWW Reviews: Over the Top Production of ROCK OF AGES at the Fox Theatre
A certain generation (namely, my own) is going to really get a kick out of ROCK OF AGES. Those younger than me will still be amused by its wildly over the top antics, but those that are older may be a bit befuddled by the constant barrage of cultural references from the late 1980's, and probably have no familiarity at all with most of the music that's from that era. I think ROCK OF AGES is a gloriously hilarious and completely ridiculous homage to the big hair, hard rock anthem bands that ruled MTV and the radio at that time. This was cruising music when I was in my late teens and early twenties, so I instantly identified with the attitudes presented, and the music that accompanies each melodramatic moment.
Photo Flash: NYMF's THE HAPPY EMBALMER Rehearsals
THE HAPPY EMBALMER -- a World-Premiere new musical with book, music and lyrics by Mark Noonan and Nick Oddy, directed and choreographed by Kelly Devine -- is presented by The New York Musical Theatre Festival, starting October 6, 2009 at Theatre Row's Acorn Theatre (410 West 42nd Street, btw 9th and 10th Avenues) in New York City.