Teresa Rodrick - Page 3

knew that the play was set in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. That is all I knew aside from the title. I have not done any further research into what the play was about. What I saw was not what I was expecting.

I have always loved ANNE (with an 'e') OF GREEN GABLES since I was a little girl. I still own all 8 books and the three movies that were made starring Megan Follows. I was very excited to find out that Encore Theatre, etc was producing the play by Alice Chadwicke based on the novels by L.M. Montgomery, as I had not yet seen the play.

Mountain View High School has a large auditorium. The audience filled over half of the seats, I would guess there were over 150 people in the audience of this performance (I reviewed the last one at 7 pm).

They went through 4 short scenes, and the last of the short scenes was actually student written. (This is the main reason I think these kinds of night should happen more often around the valley) There was a 10 minute intermission, then they performed 13 WAYS TO SCREW UP YOUR COLLEGE INTERVIEW. There did not appear to be a unifying theme to the plays/scenes but there does not need to be on nights like this, although it can sometimes help the audience.

Kudos to the cast and crew. The costumes for the muses were inspired with tiaras depicting what they represented making it easier to tell them apart. There was an absolute Greek flair to all the costumes, except for the 'mortals'. And those costumes were very much from the 1980's.

Going to a production at BSU is always exciting. You never know the configuration of the show until you walk in the doors. This time, there was a soft warm light and the stage was an elongated diamond. The seating was face-to-face but with slight angling to follow the diamond shape. There was a fun brick pattern on the floor that the actors were able to play with a bit (following the path, almost like labyrinths). There were arches at either end of the diamond and under one was a 5 person/6 piece orchestra

Boise Little Theater is continuing their 66th season with BUS STOP by William Inge. BUS STOP is a story that takes place in a diner in Kansas during the late winter ('in like a lion' is mentioned a few times early in the play) in 1955. The era of bobby socks, Happy Days and Rock n' Roll. It is a story of the passengers on the bus who are stranded overnight due to a storm. There are 4 passengers, not including the bus driver, and none of them are happy to be stranded at Grace's Diner.

Sally Struthers portrays Dolly Levi in this production. In the age of YouTube there are many versions of Dolly out there to find by famous divas of the stage and each has made Dolly their own part. Sally Struthers can now be added to that list of 'Dolly divas'. Her little quirks and joyful sounds throughout the production has created a Dolly Levi that those of us in Boise who were lucky enough to see, will not forget.

The Pride Foundation has teamed up with Stage Coach Theatre to bring a beautiful mix of stories and struggles that can happen in the lives of LGBTQ community, via the musical RENT. With the 'Religious Rights' bill in the Idaho State Senate (currently on hold and also known as 'Anti-Gay Bill') this show is even more important to produce now as ever.

From the opening speech we learn that there is going to be an intermission for this play, which is a little unusual for a Boise Contemporary Theater production. But we find out that it is so what has happened has a chance to sink in and gives us, the audience, a chance to talk out what might be happening. We cannot begin to guess at what was about to happen or how it was going to affect us.

Daisy's Madhouse Theatre has done it again. They teamed up with Boise Little Theatre to raise funds for the Idaho Food Bank. Winter is a tough time for the food bank and they get hit hard. One year, in 2009, Amy Nell Smith had the feeling that community theatre is great, but theatre for community could be greater! From that thought and some research, WILL ACT 4 FOOD was born.

Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre (KED) has a great production of ACCOMPLICE by Rupert Holmes and directed by Becky Kimsey. The script was wonderful! I would have to say that the script was the best thing about this show. At intermission, you thought one or two options. By 10 minutes into the second act however, you were happy to be taken along for the ride. Since I was in the audience, that's all you'll get out of me on the plot

What do you think of when you hear Idaho? Boise, maybe? Potatoes? well, now you can add comedy to that list. Idaho now has it's very own annual Laugh Fest. Megan Bryant took it upon herself to create and do the arrangements for the First Annual IDAHO LAUGH FEST, with the help of a few local comedians. They should all be commended for putting together such a GREAT comedy filled event.

RAT's production was being performed at the College of Southern Idaho campus on Falls Avenue in Twin Falls. It is in the CSI Fine Arts Center which is a lovely venue. Anything and everything you need to put on a production.

Boise Little Theater is continuing a season of fun with the comedy LIE, CHEAT, AND GENUFLECT by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore. It was a good show with a good script.

Stage Coach Theatre has produced another show that's sure to entertain their audiences. PARLOR GAMES by James C. Wall is a wonderful farce. I saw this show during dress rehearsal. It was the only chance I had due to conflicts. Comedies, especially farces are some of the hardest shows to produce. Stage Coach Theatre with the help of director Ted Pendelton does a good job.

I am honored to be invited to review the shows in and around the Boise metro area. I will and have traveled up to 3 hours away for any size theatre/performance. I only began doing the reviews August 31st, so a majority of the shows will be from my time as a reviewer.

BWW Reviews: SHIPWRECKED! THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF LOUIS DE ROUGHMONT (AS TOLD BY HIMSELF)

This performance is a part of Boise Contemporary Theater's (BCT) Children's Reading Series. Dano Madden and Jenny Sternling adapted the story by William Dean Howells written in 1892. The house was almost full. This is in regards to how Boise feels about BCT, they love it.

They're creepy and they're kookey, mysterious and spooky, they're all together ookey -THE ADDAM'S FAMILY. *Snap*Snap*