John Taylor

Cast Set For the World Premiere of STILETTO at London's Charing Cross Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Dec 20, 2024

The full cast has been announced for the world premiere of major new musical Stiletto. Stiletto will open at Charing Cross Theatre, London, in March. Learn more about the show here!

Vote For The 2024 BroadwayWorld South Bend Awards; YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at Twin City Players Leads Best Musical!
by BWW Awards - Dec 16, 2024

Voting continues for the 2024 BroadwayWorld South Bend Awards! Voting ends on 12/31 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

Latest Standings Announced For The 2024 BWW South Bend Awards
by BWW Awards - Dec 9, 2024

Don't miss your chance to vote for the 2024 BroadwayWorld South Bend Awards! Voting ends on 12/31 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

First Standings Announced For The 2024 BWW South Bend Awards
by BWW Awards - Dec 2, 2024

Check out the first stats for the 2024 BroadwayWorld South Bend Awards! Voting ends on 12/31 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

Micah McLaurin Releases New Pop Single 'Medusa'
by Josh Sharpe - Nov 13, 2024

Virtuoso pianist and rising pop star Micah McLaurin has released his sweeping dance pop anthem “Medusa.' Created in collaboration with A-list producer Fernando Garibay, “Medusa” is about having the ability to love taken from you. Listen to it now.

10th Annual Charlie Daniels Patriot Awards To Be Held In Nashville Next Week
by Blair Ingenthron - Sep 7, 2024

It is a significant milestone for the Charlie Daniels Patriot Awards Dinner, which will be held on September 11, 2024, at City Winery Nashville.

Cast Set For New Production of Sasha Regan's All-Male THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE
by Stephi Wild - Aug 27, 2024

Following critically acclaimed highly successful all-male productions of H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado, Sasha Regan will return to London's Wilton's Music Hall with a new production of her award-winning all-male production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance.

Micah McLaurin Releases New Single 'Call Me'
by Josh Sharpe - Jul 10, 2024

On the heels of his stunning performance at Dolce and Gabbana’s Alta Gioelleria in Sardinia, rising pop star Micah McLaurin has released his steamy new summer anthem “Call Me.' Listen to it now!

Amber Riley and Micah McLaurin Reimagine 'MacArthur Park' To Kick Off Pride Month
by Josh Sharpe - Jun 4, 2024

To kick off Pride month, actress and powerhouse vocalist Amber Riley has teamed up with virtuoso pianist and fast-rising pop artist Micah McLaurin to reimagine GRAMMY-winning songwriter Jimmy Webb’s hit single “MacArthur Park,” an enduring classic that has boasted several chart-topping and GRAMMY-winning renditions. Listen to the cover now!

Fairfield Center Stage Presents FCS ROCKS: The Beatles' Abbey Road
by A.A. Cristi - Jan 9, 2024

Following the success of previous album-in-concerts Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumours', Stevie Wonder's 'Songs in the Key of Life', Queen's 'A Night at the Opera', and Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon', musicians from local community theatre group Fairfield Center Stage will recreate The Beatles' 'Abbey Road', featuring a rotating cast of singers and a live band performing the classic album in its entirety.

Duran Duran Release Sixteenth Studio Album, 'DANSE MACABRE'
by Blair Ingenthron - Oct 29, 2023

Duran Duran releases their sixteenth studio album, 'Danse Macabre,' featuring brand new songs and covers of Billie Eilish, Talking Heads, The Rolling Stones, Siouxie and the Banshees, and more. The album also includes collaborations with former band members and producers.

Heartbeat Opera's 8th Drag Extravaganza Pits Queers Vs. Kremlin At Roulette This November
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 12, 2023

Heartbeat Opera returns with its beloved drag opera extravaganza this fall at Roulette. With a cast of returning Heartbeat favorites, The Golden Cock marks Heartbeat's most ambitious—and operatic—drag extravaganza yet.

Ministry & Gary Numan To Bring One-Night-Only Performance To The Theater At Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 2, 2023

Get ready for an unforgettable night of industrial metal music as Ministry and Gary Numan bring their 2024 North American Tour to The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Don't miss this exclusive one-night-only performance on April 4th. Tickets go on sale this Friday, October 6th at 10 a.m. PST.

Heartbeat Opera Reveals Lineup For 10th Anniversary 2023-24 Season
by Stephi Wild - Oct 2, 2023

New York's Heartbeat Opera has announced its Tenth Anniversary Season in 2023-24. Learn more about the full upcoming season here!

Review: With a Different Perspective, UNHOLY WARS Shows What's Old is New Again at Opera Philadelphia
by Richard Sasanow - Sep 28, 2023

According to creator and star tenor Karim Sulayman, UNHOLY WARS, a 70-minute opera pastiche that made its debut on Saturday at Philadelphia Opera’s O23 Festival, “stitches together a collection of baroque music centered around the Middle East and the Crusades, examining the separation of the human race based on creed and color.” The result was a creative multi-visual/musical work with dance, drawing heavily on Monteverdi’s IL COMBATTIMENTO DI TANCREDI E CLORINDA, supplemented by Baroque arias and modern electronic music.

Duran Duran Release New Single 'Black Moonlight'
by Michael Major - Sep 22, 2023

The second of three brand new songs featured on the Danse Macabre album, ‘Black Moonlight’ sees Duran Duran reunited with long-time friend and collaborator Nile Rodgers in a timeless display of dance-rock glamour. Fueled by an instantly catchy bass line and infectious guitar hook, while Nick Rhodes’ synths sound.

Video: Duran Duran Reveal Music Video for Album Title Track 'Danse Macabre'
by Michael Major - Sep 14, 2023

With creative director Linc Gasking at the helm, this stunning new video clip showcases cutting-edge, AI-driven techniques, some of which were only launched as recently as last weekend. The culmination is a 3D animated masterpiece that, in previous times, would have demanded an entire team, over a year and a substantial budget to produce.

Duran Duran Announce Sixteenth Studio Album 'Danse Macabre'
by Michael Major - Aug 30, 2023

Fans can also look forward to Duran Duran’s Halloween covers of Billie Eilish’s ‘Bury A Friend’, Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’ (feat. Victoria De Angelis of Måneskin), The Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It Black’, the Rick James-inspired ‘Super Lonely Freak’, Siouxsie and the Banshees’ ‘Spellbound’, Cerrone’s ‘Supernature’ and The Specials’ ‘Ghost Town’.

Opera Lafayette Reveals 2023/24 Season
by Stephi Wild - Aug 22, 2023

Opera Lafayette, the only opera company presenting full seasons in both Washington, D.C. and New York City, has announced the performance lineup of its 29th season.

Review: CLUE at Syracuse Stage
by Dan and Julie Izzo - Jun 16, 2023

Syracuse Stage closes its 2022-23 season with the madcap farce, Clue. Based on the iconic 1950’s board game of the same name, Clue spoofs whodunit mysteries, film noir, 1950’s pop culture and gothic horror films. The play is adapted for stage from the 1985 film that was a critical flop but has since become a cult classic. Set during McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee hearings, a time fraught with suspicion and accusation, the mansion owned by Mr. Boddy becomes the gathering point for six invited guests. These guests we find out are all guarded about their pasts, are all being blackmailed and are referred to by aliases that correspond to the famous characters in the board game. Each guest is then gifted one of the six murder weapons. In all, there are six potential murderers, six weapons and nine rooms in the mansion, 324 possibilities for who, what and where; as Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes agree, now “the game is afoot.” The gothic mansion, the dark and stormy night, the suspenseful reality of the play merge with Parker Brothers’ (now Hasbro’s) rule book and the characters become mashups of villains and game pieces. They punctuate the endings of scenes with comic confusion, mad scrambling and a kind of frantic skipping, like game pieces moving on a board after a dice roll. Scenic designer, Czerton Lim, creates the perfect 3-D version of the original board game. Upon entering the theatre, the audience sees a classic gothic foyer, complete with crystal chandelier, mahogany woodwork, marble stairs and a tiled floor fashioned to replicate the spaces on a game board. As the play progresses, the set becomes a character in itself as it transforms into the rooms of the mansion required by both the game and the play. His design is beautiful and functional. It not only provides a setting but also helps establish the humor and tempo of the play. It always surprises and delights. Likewise, original music by Michael Holland and sound design by Todd Mack create a comically suspenseful mood and punctuate the zany exploits on stage. Along with lighting design by Jared Gooding, the cliché of a dark and stormy night permeates the atmosphere and heightens the tension and anxiety of this mock thriller. The production is at its best when the actors are highly choreographed and in tune with the music, sound and light cues. In fact, the funniest moment in the play is prompted by a single gunshot. Director Benjamin Hanna establishes a fast pace from the very beginning of the play. It is so fast and furious that neither the audience nor the actors are allowed to get their bearings. The characters in Clue are obvious stereotypes but the portrayals all share the same frenetic quality without ever establishing basic, underlying traits and motivations. Characterization, for the most part, has been sacrificed to blatant silliness and camp. (There is nothing in the script that requires the beginning to move at such a pace.) Once the first murder occurs and the stakes are raised the speed can and should pickup through the end. For example, Plum is a stereotypical Professor, haughty and cerebral but cursed with an inflated libido. Beethovan Oden has a nice general feel for the character and indicates his personality traits, but he isn’t able to develop those qualities from the onset of the play. If he had, then as the pace became more frantic the audience could have enjoyed watching him first struggle then ultimately fail to keep his composure. Clearly many of the actors are talented. John Taylor Phillips as Wadsworth has a natural presence on stage as well as crisp comic timing but never fully embodies the stereotypical reserved, unflappable and ultimately arrogant butler. Emily Berman as Miss Scarlet is also clean and precise. Miss Scarlet is a stereotypical Madame but the actress is not allowed to explore the cynism and sexuality of the character who should have a slower, more voluptuous pace than some of the others. Henry Woronicz’s Colonel Mustard vacillates appropriately between being doddering and demanding. He sketches out an interesting frame for his character but again seems to fall prey to the tempo of this runaway train. Claire Wilcher makes a strong acting choice to play Mrs. Peacock with the nervous energy of a bird. Her comedy is broad and eccentric while still grounded in reality. Even when she is in the background of the action, she is always in the moment. When given focus, she commands the stage and rate of action. As a result, her portrayal is very funny and very satisfying to watch. Her least successful moments occur when directed to do something out of character simply for a laugh. Less successfully, Eric Sharp’s Mr. Green and Emjoy Gavino’s Mrs. White just seem lost in the silliness and frenetic mayhem. As lovers of farce and broad comedy, we were disappointed that more care wasn’t taken to create an underlying believability before descending into comic chaos. A stock character when presented by an actor still needs to have specificity. Silliness can be funny, comic bits enjoyable and a fast pace exciting, but they need to be balanced and well executed. By the end of the production, it felt like all 324 murder possibilities were explored, but few realities remained. If you are looking for an evening of fast-paced silliness, screwball comedy and sight gags this production satisfies. As a farce poking fun at human frailty and foibles, Benjamin Hanna’s Clue misses the mark. Clue runs through Sunday, June 25th. Tickets can be purchased by visiting SyracuseStage.org or by calling (315) 443-3275 or by visiting the box office at 820 East Genesee Street. did our critic think of CLUE at Syracuse Stage?