Reviews for touring company Performances
Review: Beetlejuice by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on February 16, 2024
David Korins's set design is amazing, but Eddie Perfect's music is a maelstrom of meandering melodies muddled together.
The name Beetlejuice was derived from Betelgeuse, the second brightest star in the constellation of Orion. yet for many a fan it is the brightest star in the Tim Burton cinematic universe. The idea for the movie came to writers Michael McDowell and Laurence Senelick when they were at home trying to write a screenplay inspired by Ghostbusters and Poltergeist but were increasingly annoyed by their family members. Thus came the clever idea of ghosts …
Review: Tina - The Tina Turner Musical by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on January 20, 2024
TINA is full of exuberance, energy, and hits (it's a jukebox musical, after all). The cast does a wonderful job. The script is slanted so Tina's victories are without exception either Pyrrhic or monetary.
In 1967 Tina Turner was both the first African American and the first woman to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Her story is well known to many. Born Anna Mae Bullock, she rose to stardom early in her career after joining Ike Turner’s band the Kings of Rhythm in 1956 at the age of seventeen. Her marriage to Ike Turner was marked by sixteen years of physical and emotional abuse, from …
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 …