Theater Review – January 29, 2020

WHILE A GOOD PRODUCTION, “FIDDLER ON THE ROOF” NEEDS A REST

“FIDDLER ON THE ROOF”
Broadway Across America, ASU Gammage
Tempe, AZ

The one big question about the endless returns of “Fiddler on the Roof” to ASU Gammage is why this over produced musical is back again.  It doesn’t matter if the production is good, bad, or indifferent; the show has played ASU Gammage a myriad of times and it has played just about every other theater in town.

The latest production is decent if not spectacular but it boasts a strong Tevye, the likeable dairyman with his shrewish wife … Continue Reading

Theater Review – January 24, 2020

BROADWAY’S LAURA OSNES DAZZLES LOCAL AUDIENCE WITH CLASSIC MUSICAL THEATER SONGS

LAURA OSNES WITH SETH RUDETSKY
Virginia G. Piper Theater, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Scottsdale, AZ

Broadway musical theater aficionado, Seth Rudetsky, brings New York stage stars to Scottsdale in his superb Concert Series that introduces major artists to local audiences they might not otherwise get to see.  He combines classic musical theater songs with enlightening informal chat between tunes that lets audiences learn about the singer, including their background and training.

His latest program introduced the gifted Laura Osnes who has based her career on Broadway and … Continue Reading

Theater Review – January 12, 2020

“CABARET” IS A HARSH INDICTMENT OF CONTROL BY A BIGOTED ANARCHIST

“CABARET”
Arizona Theatre Company, Center Stage, Herberger Theater Center
Phoenix, AZ

The 1966 musical “Cabaret” is a harsh indictment of 1930s pre-Nazi Germany.  The historic period brought major societal changes to the “anything goes” freedom that disappeared as rigid and highly discriminatory political control by a bigoted anarchist took hold.

The show brought new depth to the American musical theater as its rough theme had always been avoided by glitzy Broadway fare.  The story, still a reminder of what can happen when a biased ruler dominates a country, deals … Continue Reading

Theater Review – January 8, 2020

“SUMMER” DOESN’T DO JUSTICE TO AN ICONIC SINGER

“SUMMER: THE DONNA SUMMER MUSICAL”
Broadway Across America, ASU Gammage
Tempe, AZ

Donna Summer was an iconic pop/rock singer but you would never know it from the terrible jukebox musical “tribute” “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.”  The show presents a confusing and unclear picture even though two dozen OF Summer’s hits are sung.  Some of these pop tunes are well sung but they are surrounded by a plethora of lame jokes and too many of the songs have been badly rearranged.

Three performers play Summer at various points in her career but … Continue Reading