In Riley Thomas’s “Convicted,” currently playing at the Broadway Bound Theatre Festival at the 14th Street Y Theatre, a dedicated group of convicted – some damaged – individuals gather to equitably resolve a situation that has spun out of control. The situation was precipitated by a phone call from Toper (played with an innocence marred by deep pain by Dylan…
Hearing the undisclosed “confessions” of nine peculiar residents from a small southern town, one may presume that the whole is the sum of its parts, and these offbeat characters provide a good representation of the core of the abstract community at hand in Anitola Parish. It is anchored on one end by gossip monger, quasi tour guide, JoBeth Maybelline, who…
One of many offerings at the inaugural Broadway Bound Festival is a slice of life drama about a couple engaged to be married who are physically injured in a violent anti-gay attack and broken by the emotional torment that contaminates their relationship. It is refreshing to see an LGBTQ play that is not sugar coated, melodramatic, or steeped in sorrow….
There have been several media depicting the life of the famed piano virtuoso Liberace; including, novels, documentaries, film, television, interviews and now, following the attempted effort of the stage musical “All That Glitters,” comes “Ben, Virginia and Me: The Liberace Musical” currently running as part of the NYMF Festival. This endeavor concentrates mainly on the relationship between the celebrated showman,…
“MotherFreakingHood! (Maternal Discretion Advised),” currently finishing its run at the New York Musical Festival at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, celebrates “the mother you never thought you should be.” Apparently a riff on the sacred status of motherhood, the musical joins the ranks of movies that try to extol the virtues of the role by suggesting what it ought not…
“I Am, I Will, I Do” is a new musical being presented as part of NYMF by Dan Manjovi Music. It is classified as a Beta musical which means it is further along than a staged reading but not yet ready for a full production. In other words, it is a platform for the creative team to work out the…
Tony winning casts, revolution, a Spanish language performance, an honest look at mental health, and an After-Hours Fringe: BBTF proves itself to be fresh, diverse and relevant to the modern audience. Broadway Bound Theatre Festival is quickly crowding our calendars this summer, creating an artistic oasis in Fringe’s absence. Between July 30 and August 20, 2017, twenty curated new works…
“These parting words, she left behind/These parting words she left behind/And I put them in your hands now/These parting words she left behind.” – The Nun Lee (Brian Charles Rooney) is the twenty-something female impersonator who graces the small stage at the Golden Lantern, an old bar – a joint – in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The small…
“Errol and Fidel,” part of the New York Musical Festival 2017, retells the story of Errol Flynn’s (played with just the right Hollywood bravado by Jonathan Stewart) visit to Havana in 1958 during the shooting of his self-produced B film “Cuban Rebel Girls” where he met Fidel Castro (played with rich revolutionary ruggedness and charm by George Psomas). Flynn is…
After a successful run at the 2016 Midtown International Theater Festival, “The Crusade of Connor Stephens” moves to the Off-Broadway stage at the Jerry Orbach Theater. There have been changes in this revival – not all of them necessary – but the heart of the play remains intact. Big Jim’s (James Kiberd) Baptist Mega-Church is expanding. More space is need…