Review: SANTA STORY 2 at Downtown Cabaret Theatre
On Saturday, November 30th, I had the pleasure of seeing yet another wonderful performance at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport, CT. The theatre for young audiences, that features adult performers, always manages to provide entertainment for the entire family so that parents can be entertained, themselves, as they experience the joy of watching their smiling children being entertained. SANTA STORY 2 is yet another brilliantly written and performed story that is guaranteed to add to the Christmas cheer of all who see it! Carly Jurman excels as the writer, director, and choreographer, showing her myriad of first-rate talents, including her acting performance as Mrs. Kringle. She is joined by other highly talented cast members including Ashley DePascale, Andrea Pane, Emily Pisarra, JoJo Devellis, and Karen Hanley. This stellar cast gels together excellently, with tight stage chemistry, all of them playing extras beyond their main characters, bringing positive energy to every role they play.
Review: WE WILL ROCK YOU at Downtown Cabaret Theatre
On Friday, May 31st, I had the pleasure of seeing the phenomenal musical WE WILL ROCK YOU at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport, CT. This is neither a tribute concert to Queen nor a biography of their lives. Rather, the concept is similar to Mamma Mia! in that the show is a fictional story built around the music of one specific music group, in this case, Queen. Playwright Ben Elton, however, has written a storyline that digs much deeper. Director Andrea Pane, with Assistant Director Carly Jurman, Musical Director Mark Ceppetelli, and Choreographer Olivia Rivera bring out the best in this first-rate cast!
Review: 9 TO 5 at Downtown Cabaret Theatre
On Friday, June 16, I had the pleasure of seeing a phenomenal performance of 9 TO 5, the musical, at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport, CT. I joined the opening night packed house in tremendously enjoying this production! With book by Patricia Resnick and music and lyrics by Dolly Parton, this show, based on the movie, while comedic, also addresses the important issues of sexism and sexual harassment in the workplace, how both can take on various forms, and both can be devastating and infuriating to those who are subject to them. This entire cast is spectacular in the way they perform their roles, under the direction of Andrea Pane, choreography of Christina Ronquillo, and musical direction of Zachary Kampler.
Review: WIZARD OF OZ at Downtown Cabaret Theatre
On Saturday, April 22, 2023, at 2:30, I had the pleasure of seeing what is arguably the absolute best younger audiences production I have ever seen at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport, CT, WIZARD OF OZ! Phill Hill has created a phenomenal masterpiece in his adaptation of the classic story by L. Frank Baum in a brilliant and entertaining manner, loaded with great music from the 1980s!
Review: THE UGLY DUCKLING at Downtown Cabaret Theatre
This comedic musical stage adaptation of a classic children’s story has been brilliantly written and directed by Andrea Pane, who also performs in it, showing that in addition to his already well established versatile first-rate acting, he is also phenomenally gifted as a playwright and as a director.
Photos: Inside 54 SINGS FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Broadway’s best banded together for one night only to raise spirits and funds for Planned Parenthood in a special evening of music that aims to empower, inspire, and uplift. Featuring chart-topping hits by women for women, audiences heard a star-studded Broadway cast cover the music of Ragtime, Jekyll and Hyde, Lesley Gore, Janis Joplin, ABBA, Stephen Sondheim, Ben Platt, Brandi Carlile, and much, much more. Check out photos below!