Reviews for touring company Performances
Review: Tootsie by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on March 05, 2022
The performers in TOOTSIE thrive on the audience's energy and laughter. Like a classic joke that always cracks a smile, the touring production is enormously entertaining and doesn't need to be anything more.
The 1982 movie Tootsie was a big hit, earning the praise of audiences and critics alike, as well as ten Academy Award nominations. It has since been inducted into the Library of Congress’ United States National Film Registry because of its cultural significance. So, it may seem surprising that it did not get the musical treatment until it was adapted by David Yazbek and Robert Horn in 2018, nearly forty years later. Though it …
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Review: Hamilton by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on December 12, 2021
This touring of HAMILTON production is certainly worth the wait and its creative, near-improvisational reworkings are a treat to old and new fans alike.
"The tension was palpable. . . ." We're all familiar with the phrase, and that was certainly the case among the audience waiting for the show to begin at the Bass Concert Hall on December 8. The stage set with stairs, risers, shipping ropes, and balconies was starkly simple, its texture complexly detailed with time-worn grey bricks and weathered wood. It was later revealed to be a rotating stage which gave …
Review: Come from Away by touring company
by David Glen Robinson
Published on February 20, 2020
On 9/19 nine thousand grounded travelers more than doubled the population of the small town of Gander, about 6000 people. The potential number of stories for this show is 15,000. Superlatives fail, descriptions fail fail for the inspiration.
Come From Away, the lauded Broadway musical, is now on stage at the Bass Concert Hall on the UT campus, running until February 23rd. The touring show stops in Austin for a brief run before moving on. Its tale of people trapped in events over which they have no control is a source of inspiration with the sole message that life is full of wonder, and it is a gift to be a human being. …
Review: Hello, Dolly! by touring company
by David Glen Robinson
Published on January 22, 2020
What pipes Carolee Carmello has as Dolly! The veteran Broadway singer has a wide and expressive range and always seems joyous. And costumes and set were worth the price of admission
Broadway has remounted Hello, Dolly!, the Broadway beast of the 1960s, creating a new, upgraded show fit for touring the provinces. And we provincials receive it with enthusiasm. The show, guarantor of the career of Carol Channing, is about nothing more than feelings of the shallow romantic kind. Featuring three full-out arrangements of the title song, it certainly doesn’t forget where it came from, and I’m not talking about Yonkers. The comedic story covers …
Review: Jesus Christ Superstar by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on October 11, 2019
The 50th anniversary tour isn't the story of a man and his betrayer, it's the tale of a superstar. Jesus is who people make him. The obliquely abstract design did nothing to harm the electric energy of the production.
Before Jesus Christ Superstar was an international musical phenomeon, it was a rock opera concept album written by Emmy-, Gramm-y, Oscar- and Tony- award winners Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice Though it went on to sell over 7 million copies it was originally banned by the BBC as sacrilegious. Both the album and subsequent musical were condemned by various religious groups. It didn’t help that lyricist Rice included text that suggested …
Review: Les Miserables by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on September 13, 2019
The performances were Broadway quality with Mary Kate Moore as Fantine as a clear standout. Her vocal control was matched by her on-stage panache. When performed with all cylinders like this, Les Misérables will always be epic in scope and blistering in production.
Published in 1862, Les Misérables was Victor Hugo’s magnum opus. A historical novel that chronicled 17 years of the life of Jean Valjean while exploring the timeless topics of truth, law, redemption, and grace against the brooding background of the upcoming French Revolution. The story has found its way on to the stage and screen in many incarnations and its latest treatment does not lose sight of the grandiose vision of the original. Powerhouse …