BWW Review: NEIL SIMON'S RUMORS at Georgetown Palace Playhouse
For over four decades Neil Simon delighted theatre audiences with intelligent and witty dialogue in Broadway shows and movies. His many stories, including THE ODD COUPLE, BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, and SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES tossed relatable characters together into ridiculous yet delicious circumstances. Virtually everyone who saw any performances of his work came away without a favorite moment, at least one particularly funny line. RUMORS, an unabashed farce written by Simon for the stage in 1988, is no exception.
Review Roundup: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS At The Drury Lane Theatre
Drury Lane presents Little Shop of Horrors, with music by Alan Menken and book by Howard Ashman and direction and choreography by Scott Calcagno with music direction by Roberta Duchak. Little Shop of Horrors runs September 6 - October 28, 2018, at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace. The press opening is Thursday, September 13 at 8:00 p.m.
BWW Review: ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID: A Hilarious Trip Down the Aisle
Always a Bridesmaid is now running at the newly renovated Palace Playhouse in Georgetown,Texas through May 14th. This play is a comical journey of four friends and their high school promise to always be in each other's weddings, no matter how many times. At first glance the play reads like a chick flick movie adapted for the stage, but it was the actors' abilities that illustrated a genuine friendship and their love for each other that made this show more than a stage adaptation. With a cast of six women, Always a Bridesmaid has a simple set and stereotypical characters, but this version gives the actors the freedom to find their bond on stage.
Jacqui Cross Is Mahalia Jackson in FOR THE LOVE OF MAHALIA from RKJB Entertainment in February 2017
FOR THE LOVE OF MAHALIA tells the story of white writer Julie Ann Mathews who traveled in 1965 from Alabama to Illinois to get a rare interview with gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. This gospel spirited musical is filled with some of Mahalia Jackson's greatest hits like 'How I Got Over', 'Precious Lord Take My Hand', 'Didn't It Rain' and many more! FOR THE LOVE OF MAHALIA received a Broadway World nomination last season for best writing of an original work in its workshop production.
Interact Center For Visual and Performing Arts Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Since 1996, Interact's mission to create art that challenges perceptions of disability has opened doors for artists with disabilities and audiences eager to experience their work, who might never have seen the arts as a life choice, but who now see the arts as essential to their humanity. With over 125 artists working in theater and/or studio arts, Interact is multi-cultural, intergenerational, and embraces the entire spectrum of disability labels.
BWW Reviews: REX'S EXES and the Sequel Syndrome
Ask anyone you meet and they're bound to tell you that, with the possible exception of The Godfather Part II, sequels aren't as good as the original. That seems to be the case with Rex's Exes, now playing at Sam Bass Theatre. For three years in a row now, Sam Bass has opened their season a slapstick, Texas-themed comedy of errors by the writing team of Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten. This year's offering is a sequel to last year's Red Velvet Cake War, and while the performers at Sam Bass give it their all, it seems that Jones, Hope, and Wooten are on auto-pilot, recycling jokes and plot points that we've now seen for three years running.
REX'S EXES Opens Tonight at Sam Bass Community Theatre
This deliriously funny Southern-fried farce finds the Verdeen cousins of Sweetgum, Texas-Gaynelle, Peaches and Jimmie Wyvette-teetering on the brink of disaster again. Gaynelle, frustrated and frazzled from working too many two-bit jobs, stubbornly refuses to face the fact she's turning the Big 5-0. I
REX'S EXES Opens 9/26 at Sam Bass Community Theatre
This deliriously funny Southern-fried farce finds the Verdeen cousins of Sweetgum, Texas-Gaynelle, Peaches and Jimmie Wyvette-teetering on the brink of disaster again. Gaynelle, frustrated and frazzled from working too many two-bit jobs, stubbornly refuses to face the fact she's turning the Big 5-0. I
BWW Reviews: Sam Bass's RED VELVET CAKE WAR is a Redneck Riot
Last October, I visited Sam Bass Theatre for the first time. They were producing The Hallelujah Girls, a Southern screwball comedy by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten, and I was instantly impressed at the company's ability to bring zany characters to life. It's now a year after my first visit to Sam Bass. Once again, they're staging a comedy by Jones, Hope, and Wooten, and once again, I'm impressed. Their current production of The Red Velvet Cake War is so delectable and delicious, it could only be improved if the audience were fed some complimentary red velvet cake.
Midwest Book Festival Announces Headline Authors Set to Appear at April Event
New York Times best-selling authors Lisa Genova, Lisa Scottoline, Michael Perry and Richard Louv are the headliners set to appear at the 2013 Fox Cities Book Festival in Wisconsin this spring. These acclaimed authors will join dozens of others presenting their works at the sixth annual celebration of writing, reading and community conversation that will run April 17-24.
BWW Reviews: Murderous Fun Comes to Austin with IT COULD BE ANY ONE OF US
Though murder mysteries are a dime a dozen, mysteries this fun are not. It Could be Any One of Us is an absolute joy and a fantastic parody that pays reverence to the mystery genre as it simultaneously rips it to shreds with its witty script and flawless performances. This much fun should be deadly.