Reviews for touring company Performances
Review: The Book of Mormon by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on November 23, 2023
THE BOOK OF MORMON, a phenomenon of Broadway 2.0, provokes controversy and inspires thoughtful dialogue, as good art should.
The Book of Mormon, a ground-breaking musical comedy with music, lyrics, and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone, premiered on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on March 24, 2011, and it is still very much a hot ticket over two decades later. The show is the brainchild of the creators of the notoriously raunchy tv series South Park, so it is reasonable to expect it will have a similar tone—but …
Review: George Gershwin Alone by Hershey Felder, on tour at Zach Theatre, Austin
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on September 23, 2023
Hershy Felder, one of the most naturalistic actors working today, brilliantly tells Gershwin's story and attacks the piano with a visceral ferocity, channeling the man's spirit, personal ambitions, and frustrations.
Was he happy? This inspired question seemed to come out of nowhere, as if plucked from the stratosphere, in order to formulate in words, the thought the whole audience was unknowingly thinking. It was asked during the question-and-answer session that immediately followed Hershey Felder’s unquestionably brilliant performance …
Review: To Kill a Mockingbird (Sorkin) by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on May 30, 2023
Aaron Sorkin's adaptation for modern audiences is refreshing, compelling, and a sharp reminder that the controversial issues in Harper Lee's 1960 novel are relevant today.
Having reviewed quite a few new Broadway plays, I have gotten pretty used to seeing that such-and-such a production has won four, five, six, seven, or a gazillion Tony Awards. It is hard to describe my shock that the best Broadway play I have seen in years, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, won only one. I realize that the knee-jerk reaction to this statement will be along the lines that the Antoinette Perry …
Review: Disney's Aladdin by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on February 28, 2023
This touring production of ALADDIN is a runaway smash. The story is relatable and succent; all character choices make perfect sense. Most importantly it’s just really fun.
It's no surprise that the Broadway version of Disney’s Aladdin is from the producer of The Lion King. The productions also share a lyricist in Tim Rice, but other than that they're are quite different. The Lion King has been a much greater success by a variety of metrics. It won five times as many Tony Awards and has netted more than double the profit. The Lion King is the third-longest-running Broadway show of all …
Review: Pretty Woman, the musical by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on January 24, 2023
As they say in the movies, “It must be difficult to let go of something so beautiful.” And this is why people will always return to fairy tales like PRETTY WOMAN.
In its ongoing commitment to bring Broadway to the City of the Violet Crown, Texas Performing Arts and Broadway in Austin presented Pretty Woman: The Musical between January 17 and 22, 2023. Runs are necessarily limited for touring productions, but they are always worth trying to catch and tickets are on sale well in advance. Conveniently, most modern Broadway productions are familiar stories. Upcoming productions include Aladdin, Ain't Too Proud: The Story of The Temptations, …
Review #2 of 2: CHICAGO by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on November 13, 2022
The touring production doesn't attempt to redefine CHICAGO; it does an amazing job of capturing the original spirit of the show: a celebration of life while on death row. A very welcome message at this time.
All the songs are fever dreams of the incarcerated. The set is an homage to the Duke Ellington Band’s scaffolded-style stage. The spotlights dance about like police search lights. The dancing is joyous, raw, animalistic—pure visceral sensuality and unbridled passion. If “writing about music is like dancing about architecture,” then the choreography speaks in sublime sentences that form poetic paragraphs . The music slinks like Eliot’s scampering marmoset. The show elevates the timeless romanticism …