All stories by Alan Smason on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Rivertown’s ‘A Christmas Story, the Musical’ is superb holiday fare by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Since its release in 1982, New Orleans native Bob Clark’s “A Christmas Story” has been part of the holiday landscape, help…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:12AM
Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Something ‘Wicked’ This Way Comes…Again! by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) After celebrating its 20th anniversary this past October, the juggernaut that is Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked on Broadway seems …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:07PM
Monday, December 4, 2023

Broadway debut of ‘Harmony’ a mellifluous tale of the Comedian Harmonists by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) “Harmony: A New Musical,” the Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman work is hardly a “new” musical, having simmered off the Br…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:10AM
Sunday, November 26, 2023

Talented crew of young musicians rule at Skylight Music Theatre’s ‘School of Rock’ by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL MILWAUKEE, WI. – Don’t be late for this class: the School of Rock is astonishing audiences at Milwaukee’s Skylight Music Theatre. Based on the successful 2003 film of th…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 03:58PM
Monday, November 20, 2023

Remarkable, immersive ‘Here Lies Love’ closing this Sunday by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) The history of Here Lies Love dates back almost two decades ago when David Byrne and Fatboy Slim came up with an improbable conc…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:51PM
Sunday, November 12, 2023

Marvelous Leslie Castay channels Tallulah Bankhead in ‘Looped’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There was a time when Tallulah Bankhead was as well known a celebrity as any who dominate the social media channels of our own t…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 04:56AM
Thursday, November 9, 2023

New theatre group’s campy ‘Onepiece’ is musically pleasing by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) The history of Onepiece, billed as “A Splashy Musical Play” goes back many years to a time when Randy Bibb felt especially c…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:59AM
Monday, November 6, 2023

Bob Dylan music key to ‘Girl from the North Country’ in Key Bank series by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO David Greene, the Senior Vice President of Programming at Playhouse Square, informs theater-goers in his program notes for Girl from the North Country that “it is a non-trad…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 10:10AM
Sunday, November 5, 2023

National tour of ‘MJ’ is dazzling, daring and dynamic by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage accepted the task as book writer for MJ, the Michael Jackson musical, she probably kn…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:43AM

National tour of ‘Company’ at Cadillac Palace Theater in Chicago by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL The American musical theater has been graced with another revival of Company, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s 1970 musical about our basic human need for togetherness. I…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 03:41AM
Thursday, November 2, 2023

JPAS reanimates ‘Young Frankenstein’ at JPAC by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Following the record setting production of The Producers, Mel Brooks set his sight on bringing another of his film classics from…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 10:18AM
Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Stirring, historically important ‘The Island’ being shown at Ensemble Theatre by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO Former South Euclid resident and Brush High School graduate, Dr. Alan Wieder, is on a quest “to stem the time of forgetfulness.” An oral historian, Wieder has been on the fa…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:21AM
Friday, October 27, 2023

Rivertown scores major hit with ‘Assassins’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When most people consider the macabre work of Stephen Sondheim and his delicious sense of dark humor, they typically point to Sw…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:44PM
Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Milwaukee Rep releases ‘Run Bambi Run’ for hometown crowd by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) One of the most eagerly awaited new musicals in the country bowed recently in Milwaukee, not a typical launching place for such …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 01:36PM
Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Le Petit Theatre presents vampire love story ‘Let the Right One In’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) Following his success with both Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Le Petit Theatre …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:37AM
Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Jazzy Louis Armstrong musical ‘A Wonderful World’ heads to Chicago, Broadway by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) (NEW ORLEANS) – A Wonderful World, sub-titled “A New Musical About the life and Loves of Louis Armstrong,” made its bow in…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 06:29PM

‘Ease on Down the Road’ to the gospel/rock/finger-snapping ‘The Wiz’ at the Connor Palace by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO The reconfigured The Wiz, as one of its major song’s states, is easing down the road on its way to Broadway. Previews for that show begin on March 29, 2024, with the Big Appl…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 06:28PM
Sunday, October 8, 2023

Milwaukee Rep’s New Play Should Be Called ‘Audience Advisory’ by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL (Editor’s note: This review appeared briefly on the website of Milwaukee’s Shepherd Express, the city’s alternative newspaper. However, due to pressure from Milwaukee Re…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:23AM
Tuesday, October 3, 2023

‘Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812’ mesmerizes at GLT by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO When I saw the show in its Broadway run, I wrote in my review: “The total effect of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 is breathtaking. The traditional music, dress, …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 07:17AM
Sunday, October 1, 2023

CPH’s ‘Thurgood’ is a marvelous theatrical experience by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO Thurgood Marshall, the subject of Thurgood, on stage at Cleveland Play House’s Allen Theatre, was the grandson of slaves. He was born in segregated Baltimore and attended all-…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:42AM
Friday, September 29, 2023

JPAS presents fine staging of Robert Harling’s ‘Steel Magnolias’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) The Jefferson Performing Arts Society (JPAS) has returned to that old chestnut Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, a fellow Louis…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:44AM
Saturday, September 23, 2023

Rivertown’s ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ has talent to boot, but no rain by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When MGM was giving itself a hearty pat on the back back in 1974 with the release of  their tribute movie “That’s Entertain…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:21AM
Tuesday, September 19, 2023

TWTC’s ‘Spring Storm’ is a dark, but satisfying work by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) With seven seasons under its belt, the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans, superintended by the diligence of prod…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 03:30AM
Saturday, September 16, 2023

Stratford Festival continues impressive work by Alan Smason

By LOU HARRY A theater festival, a good one, is greater than the sum of its parts – even when its parts are very strong to begin with. Such is the case with the Stratford Festival, North A…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 07:42AM
Friday, August 18, 2023

Helen Mirren tenders unforgettably stoic, somber portrait in ‘Golda’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Director Guy Nattiv uses the symbolism of birds throughout the movie “Golda.” Birds show up at the very beginning, when the …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:13PM
Monday, August 14, 2023

Powerful ‘Fun Home’ gets compelling must-see production at Cain Park by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO Alison Bechdel is a cartoonist who came to national attention via her long-running comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For.” She combined her life story and her comic strip styl…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:22PM
Friday, August 11, 2023

Humor filled ‘Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End’ runs at Cleveland Play House by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO “Guilt, the gift that keeps giving.” “Marriage has no guarantees. If that’s what you’re looking for, go live with a car battery.” “Encourage independence in your c…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:51PM
Wednesday, August 9, 2023

TWTC’s ‘Sweet Bird of Youth’ soars at Marigny Opera House by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) With its undercurrent of racism, statutory rape and threatened castration, Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird of Youth is not a pl…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:55AM
Wednesday, August 2, 2023

‘The Rock & Roll Man’ on Broadway: Dancing in the Aisles at the New World Stages by Alan Smason

By EDWARD RUBIN OK, so they weren’t exactly dancing in the aisles at the New World Stages the night that I attended The Rock & Roll Man. Forget that I said that. What the audience was …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:56AM
Friday, July 7, 2023

Asner’s final film is breakthrough vehicle for Margot Josefsohn by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON Polish filmmaker Rafal Zielinski is finally seeing his independent film “Tiger Within” released in theaters today, Friday, July 7. The motion picture released through Mene…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 12:24PM
Saturday, July 1, 2023

‘Bad Cinderella’ On Broadway (With A Latina Cinderella, Her Crazy-Ass Stepmother, And Two Black Princes) by Alan Smason

By EDWARD RUBIN Little did Andrew Lloyd Webber know when he saddled his most recent musical with the ill-chosen name Bad Cinderella that he was handing theater critics here in New York a cud…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:15AM

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