I assume that there are times when audiences just want to go to the theater and see a good old fashioned musical comedy since there is a constant flow of revivals opening on Broadway to satisfy that urge. There is certainly room amongst the cutting edge subject matter and new music genres that keep creeping onto the scene for a…
I have never felt like a bigger fool than when I wasted two hours and fifteen minutes enduring the new musical “Foolerie” presented as part of NYMF at the PTC Performance Space. To substantiate my point, regarding the reason to persevere, I ran across this quote by Benjamin Franklin: “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain – and most fools…
“Held Momentarily” being presented as part of NYMF at PTC is certainly on the move and getting closer, I hope, to a prolific destination. Since first viewed at the 2014 NY International Fringe Festival it has experienced welcomed modifications that are beneficial to the growth of this pleasant chamber musical. In this present incarnation the book, music and lyrics are…
Portraying himself and explicating his understanding of the creative process in “Head Voice,” Ethan Andersen has continued to re-work his new musical (originally workshopped in New Orleans in 2010) and showcase it in this year’s New York Musical Theatre Festival. The result is mostly quite pleasant and often impressive. Mr. Andersen writes sophisticated music and his score here is quite…
With a traditional Broadway structure, a delightful and often “edgy” book, and engaging lyrics and music, “Pope: An Epic Musical” chronicles a pontifical journey of epic proportions. The Pope of this musical (played with superhero charm and a winning vulnerability by Sam Bolen) navigates his way through his own adventures with danger, temptation, fidelity, and faith. There are no Sirens…
Theatregoers have had a decent dose of the epic video game Super Mario Brothers (Nintendo) in the recent past. The Fringe NYC 2014 featured “Jump Man – A Mario Musical” which garnered the Fringe Excellent Award for Best Musical. And “Claudio Quest,” currently running at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, had its first incarnation at DC’s Fringe Festival in…
Perhaps I was already numb to the plot where young people are trying to cope with the death of a friend in an automobile accident, in which a surviving friend was driving, since I had endured the same theme in a show in a different festival the night before; however, I do not think that influenced my perspective as I…
Judah (Zal Owen) is convinced that his parents’ closest friend Mrs. Jordan (Robin Skye) is harboring a deep secret. Both Judah and Elizabeth Jordan have recently suffered loss: his parents both died tragically within the year as did her Broadway director husband Matthew. Zal returns to Mrs. Jordan’s home in the Hamptons where he spent a great deal of time…
One of the most difficult tasks in musical theater is the creation of a theatrical piece that appeals to children and adults alike, and that is also based on a wonderful, well received illustrated children’s book. The new musical “The Calico Buffalo” now playing at PTC as part of NYMF, audaciously confronts this daunting task and the results are what…
“Moses Man,” currently running at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, is based on the true story of writer Deborah Haber’s parents Kalman and Lily Haber whose nine-year journey from Nazi-occupied Austria throughout Europe, Cyprus, Palestine, and Africa finally – against many odds – leads to freedom and a new home in the United States. In “Moses Man” that survivor…