Much Ado opens Renaissance Season at Blackfriars
Watching the audience is one of my favorite parts of the experience at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton.
Review: The Producers
To paraphrase a line from The Producers, Christmas came early to Live Arts this year, and guess who they stuffed in our stocking? Adolf Hitler! This holiday season, Live Art’s production of the wryly-humored musical by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan gives the gift of gut-splitting laughter. The Producers is deftly directed by Live Arts […]
The Great Russian Nutcracker comes to the Paramount
When Moscow Ballet brings its sumptuous Great Russian Nutcracker to the States, the company comes bearing gifts of major artistic accomplishment. Each year, two companies of 40 dancers each tour over 60 cities in the United States and Canada, averaging over 100 performances in two months time, offering a unique version of the classic Christmas […]
Review: Dirty Barbie and Other Girlhood Tales
Sometimes it’s good to be reminded that the universe is functioning perfectly despite the challenges it presents us with. We need challenges to carve out who we are, and our job is to accept them, allow ourselves to feel the metaphysical love and move on. This is the lesson of Dirty Barbie and Other Girlhood […]
Review: Deathtrap
Deathtrap is a theatrical version of an M.C. Escher woodcut, a play within a play with seemingly endless twists and turns that mock the concept of theatrical plot and device. When pulled off, the audience is engaged, if not dizzied, by the wonderment of the tension between the script of the play and its on-stage […]
Review: The Santaland Diaries at Blackfriars
If you are feeling a little more naughty than nice this Christmas season, The Santaland Diaries may be the perfect stuff for your stocking. In the show, a holiday tradition at Staunton’s American Shakespeare Center, seasoned Shakespearean actor Rick Blunt relives humorist David Sedaris’ story about his days as a 30-something man employed as one […]
The King and I; The Paramount Theater; Saturday, July 30
If you’re wondering why Ash Lawn Opera chose this year to produce Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical The King and I, with its dated themes of conformity and imperialism, look no further than the 20 or so local kids in the cast. Ah, the children, each wrapped in bright silks, collectively looking like a bag […]