Review: SOUTH PACIFIC at 75: Prescient, Powerful, and Entirely Enchanting
Respectful of the show’s legacy and sensitive to contemporary context, Maine State Music Theatre has mounted a stunning revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, SOUTH PACIFIC. Marshalling the company’s considerable artistic resources, this 75th anniversary production is musically glorious, visually lush, and packed with emotion and talent.
Review: Falling in Love Eight Times a Week: William Michals & Carolyn Anne Miller Preview MSMT's SOUTH PACIFIC
“SOUTH PACIFIC is a masterpiece, and the role of Emile de Becque is an important one. He is a man who hates war, has found his slice of peace, and is willing to fight for love. It is such a joy to play the part and be able to fall in love eight times a week.”
Baritone William Michals is sharing his thoughts about MSMT and Fulton Theatres’ new co-production of SOUTH PACIFIC which opens MSMT’s 65th season on June 6, 2024 (Previews June 5). His enthusiasm for the project is shared by his co-star, Carolyn Anne Miller, who plays Ensign Nellie Forbush. “I have fond memories of the show from the records my grandmother, who was an actor, used to play. I knew all the songs by heart, and it is a thrill to play the role for the first time.”
Review: SOUTH PACIFIC at Fulton Theatre
I don’t think that South Pacific or even the shows of Rogers and Hammerstein are especially dated or irrelevant. A few years back, Fulton put on The Sound of Music to great appreciation and acclaim. I wish they were able to capture some of that magic this time around.
BWW Q&A: Marc Robin on Rodger's & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC at Maine State Music Theatre
We spoke to Director/Choreographer Marc Robin about Maine Maine State Music Theatre (MSMT)'s upcoming production of the timeless classic, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific, the inaugural production for the 2024 Season. Since its premiere in 1949, South Pacific has captivated audiences worldwide, earning widespread acclaim and numerous accolades, including numerous Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Rodgers And Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC Opens This Month at the Fulton Theatre
The Fulton Theatre has announced the cast of its upcoming production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific. Since its debut in 1949, South Pacific quickly captured the hearts of theatergoers worldwide, earning critical acclaim and many prestigious awards, including seventeen Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
SOMETHING ROTTEN! Comes to the Fulton Theatre
The Fulton Theatre has announced the highly anticipated production of the uproarious musical comedy, Something Rotten! This Tony Award-nominated hit will open the Fulton’s 2023/24 Mainstage season, and is set to captivate audiences with its show-stopping musical numbers, hilarious one-liners, and energetic and colorful stage design, beginning on September 15, 2023 with previews September 13 and 14.
Review: MSMT Treats Large Crowd to Free Outdoor Concert on the Mall
The record crowd who came out to fill the Brunswick Mall and celebrate the final week of the theatre company’s 2023 season were treated to a summer’s evening of joyful song, performed by the stars of SOMETHING ROTTEN! (the current main stage production) and the MSMT Singers. The concert, presented in conjunction with the Brunswick Downtown Association and funded in part by a gift from the Maine Arts Commission, featured sixteen selections from the musical theatre repertoire and was emceed by MSMT Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark with his customary flair.
Review: Smart, Silly, Spectacular, SOMETHING ROTTEN! Proves a Dazzling MSMT Main Stage Finale
Dancing omelettes, a zany soothsayer, THE Bard of English theatre, and a ragtag troupe of Renaissance actors struggling to survive all share the Maine State Music Theatre stage in dizzying profusion in the final main stage production of the season: SOMETHING ROTTEN! - an outrageously funny, simultaneously urbane and plebeian send up and homage to classical theatre and that unique genre the MUSICAL.
The stylish and brilliant co-production with Lancaster’s Fulton Theatre, directed by Marc Robin, creates an entirely new imaginary universe, a world at the intersection of Elizabethan England and modern American musical theatre – part Renaissance Faire (on steroids), part Monty Python at their most hilarious. The evening, which is filled with endearing characters, showstopping song and dance numbers, comedy fueled by allusions, puns, slapstick, scatological jokes, and occasionally even poetry, is pure entertainment. No one will need to “brush up his Shakespeare” or be able to “name that tune” in order to come away from SOMETHING ROTTEN! thoroughly exhilarated and brimming with joy.
BWW Review: Wacky, Wickedly Funny, and Wonderful, MSMT's All-Star Cast Romps in 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL
Maine State Music Theatre’s new production of 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL with Dolly Parton’s pulsating score is a high energy, hilarious madcap misadventure that somehow also manages to ring uncannily true. Both a period piece and a contemporary one, this tale of women in the workplace is propelled by zany humor, but also fueled by the empathetic characters at its core. The trio of women embattled with their narcissistic boss are - as Parton, herself, phrased it “just a step on the boss man's ladder” - and yet they sing and dance their way into our hearts in an evening filled with laughter and warmth.
A Beautiful Melancholy: TITANIC Stars Explore the Appeal of Yeston's Work
“TITANIC is ultimately uplifting, but a large part of the show sits in a melancholy place. It is a beautiful melancholy and it gives the audience a moment of hope and joy.” Maine State Music Theatre Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark is commenting on the company’s 2023 season opener, Maury Yeston and Peter Stone’s majestic musical, TITANIC, now playing its final week at the Pickard Theater.
Clark is part of the first PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN panel discussion that includes some of TITANIC’s stars, Linda Balgord, Michael Nigro, and Carolyn Anne Miller in conversation with BWW Regional Maine Editor, Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold, who have assembled at Brunswick’s Curtis Memorial Library on June 14 to explore the appeal of Yeston’s work and to share insights about performing and producing this epic show.
Epic & Astonishingly Beautiful: MSMT's TITANIC
The legend of the Titanic is a haunting, yet uplifting tale of dreams and hubris, unfinished stories and transcendent moments. It is a story that has been told from so many perspectives for more than a century since the unsinkable ship did, tragically, go down on her maiden voyage in 1912. But perhaps no retelling of the events captures both the scale of the drama and its intimacy as perfectly as the Maury Yeston/Peter Stone musical, TITANIC, with its majestic score and tightly woven book.
Now in an epic and astonishingly beautiful new co-production created by MSMT with the Fulton Theatre, this masterpiece comes to life with a sensational cast in a dazzling visual production that focuses on the profoundly touching humanity of the saga – of the lives lived and lost, the lessons learned and remembered.