Arts and Culture (Theatre Reviews)

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 2/2/12

Opera AACC Resuscitates Naughty Marietta

Superb casting, sumptuous costumes, stunning sets and whimsical dance can transcend even the flimsiest plot

Remember Nelson Eddie and Jeanette MacDonald singing Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life, At Last I’ve Found You in their 1935 debut film, Naughty Marietta? No? How about Madeline Kahn in Young Frankenstein? Ah, I thought so. Now Opera AACC proves that a dated classic can overcome parody. I didn’t expect to like this contrived operetta, the overblown fluff of my mother’s classical record collection. I was...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Aries Matheos - 1/19/12

A Tangled Murder Misadventure

You’ll have to think outside the apartment to solve Bowie Community Theatre’s mystery

Bowie Community Theatre takes you through so many twists and turns in Murder by Misadventure that trying to keep up could be hazardous to your health. With only four characters and one the police inspector, the 50-50 chance of guessing the murderer could have killed the mystery before final curtain. It survives — though not all the characters do. British dramatist Edward Taylor’s 1992 thriller centers on the rising tension...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 1/12/12

Colonial Players’ Cinderella Waltz

The dysfunctional family of this fractured fairy tale is the medieval equivalent of trailer park trash in a neighborhood populated by Grimms’ all-stars.

Ladies: Did you grow up on Cinderella dreams? How did that work out for you? Gentlemen: Is the prince for real? Parents: Which frustrates you more — the Disney princess culture or books such as the best-selling Cinderella Ate My Daughter that denigrate it? No matter your stance, you’ll find much to applaud in Colonial Players’ Cinderella Waltz, Don Nigro’s 1978 farcical retelling of the classic. Bring your...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 1/5/12

Bay Theatre Company’s Becky’s New Car

A new approach to winter cheer

The writing in Becky’s New Car is very funny, the Bay Theatre actors very talented. Still, it’s all in service of making adultery funny and survivable with no damage done. Becky — wife, mother and car dealership office manager — juggles work, family, a college son still at home. She’s content except for wondering if there’s more to life. One late night at the dealership Walter enters her life. He buys nine cars on the spot, assumes Becky...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 11/24/11

2nd Star Productions’ Pippin

You’ve two more weekends to grab this corner of the sky.

Pippin, a deceptively complex and challenging musical, gets a strong interpretation by 2nd Star Productions. With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell) and lyrics by Roger O. Hinson, it recounts a fantastical tale that ultimately comes home to rooted values. Pippin considers himself extraordinary and recoils from mundane tasks. Thus the son of Charlemagne is like many young people as he sets off to seek extraordinary accomplishments. He goes to war, enjoys...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 11/17/11

Colonial Players' Little Women

Louisa May Alcott’s classic is perfect for young romantics as well as nostalgic mature ladies

Louisa May Alcott’s classic Little Women is one of those novels you either love or love to forget. It’s sweet or cloying, buoyant or overblown, fiery or flagging — and so is the musical, Colonial Players’ last offering of 2011. Jason Howland’s contemporary score, embellished with eight period songs to cover scene changes, offers some highs and humdrum, presented by some gifted performers and a supporting cast of sweet young things. Think Broadway meets Victorian...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 11/10/11

The Theatre at AACC’s Cyrano

An ode to panache*

Cyrano, an original adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 classic, is given a new staging by the Theatre at AACC. The set, costumes, incidental music and minimalist staging all covey timelessness to the well-known story. Guest director Patrick Elkins-Zeglarski adds strong moments and concepts. Cyrano is a gifted poet, musician and swordsman. His brash confidence is overshadowed only by his large nose, which causes him to lose all confidence when it comes to expressing...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 11/3/11

The Arabian Nights

Take the Naval Academy Masqueraders’ magic carpet ride to ancient Persia and meet merchants, lovers, royalty and travelers

Mary Zimmerman’s The Arabian Nights is not your same old Ali Baba, Sinbad and Aladdin story. None of them appears in this 15-story sampling of the bawdy and moralistic tales. But if you take the Naval Academy Masqueraders’ magic carpet ride to ancient Persia, you will meet the masses: merchants, lovers, royalty and travelers. The stories center on the Khalifah Shahryar (James Frevola, looking every inch an Arabian prince), a cuckolded bridegroom who seeks revenge...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Dick Wilson - 10/27/11

Dracula

Twin Beach Players’ cast and company unite for toothy fun.

Twin Beach Players brings Dracula to the light of day in North Beach. Needle-sharp teeth sink into soft flesh ... but I digress. By the way, did you know that a vampire’s fangs are retractable? They are. I’ve often wondered about that. The mood of the play is established by a lengthy, somber intro and an eerie set, evoking the interior of an old castle. Wolves howl in the background. Just across the valley sits another old castle, which...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 10/27/11

Lost in Yonkers

Plotting a course to triumph

The new Compass Rose Studio Theater in Eastport’s Bay Ridge Shopping Center has hit on a winning strategy for success, debuting with Neil Simon’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, Lost in Yonkers. That strategy: deliver family entertainment starring student-child actors alongside seasoned professionals, and watch them grow. It’s inspirational on a human and artistic level. Picture two kids in a candy store, spoiled and happy. Now turn your expectations upside...