Greer Firestone - Page 7

Delaware's 2018 theatrical season begins on January 20 with openings at Candlelight Theatre, Delaware Theatre Co and UD REP Ensemble. An exultant time for Aisle Say. I will be reviewing REP on Thursday 19 Jan, DTC on Jan 20 and Candlelight on 21 Jan.

The UD Rep Ensemble, renown for its treatment of theatre classics, is in their sweet spot with these 3 offerings to end the '17-'18 season. Get to your seat a bit early. Peruse the bios of the Creative Crew. Aisle Say does not know how PAD (Producing Artistic Director) Sandy Robbins does it, but his magic ensnares Tony Award winners in many categories.

Madcap. Zany. Sophisticated Marx Brothers. Come one, come all to a Shakespearean jihad at DE Theatre Company with THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WM. SHAKESPEARE (abridged and revised). Cliff Notes on speed (even though the opening scene introduced Bob Cratchit. Wrong playwright, fellows. HA.)

In the late 1800's George Seurat developed pointillism, a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image.

At age 10, how many of us know what we were born to do? The two most celebrated graduates of 50-year old Brandywine High School are 'one bourbon, one scotch, one beer' George Thorogood and Tony Award-winning actor Johnny Gallagher.

A family Christmas tradition continues this year with First State Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker. The second part of this release mentions The Illusionists coming to The Playhouse. FSBT serves illusion as well.

Candlelight Music Theatre- already the best theatrical value in the state - pulled out all the stops for this captivating production of DISNEY BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

The yellow brick road landed at The Playhouse last evening and its fellow travelers, Dorothy, Lion, Scarecrow and Tinman (plus an indubitably compliant Toto) will be here through November 19.

From 1957's WEST SIDE STORY Stephen Sondheim's genius changed Broadway. FORUM, LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (all songs done in waltz time), COMPANY, ASSASSINS, the list is towering and it is treasured.

At the height of the Jim Crow era, Jack Johnson became heavyweight champ in 1908. But Johnson was no Uncle Tom, in fact he was the antithesis, railing and raging against racist whites who would dare challenge both his fame and his manhood.

From playing Dorothy at The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati one month to a national tour the next, Kalie Kaimann found her yellow brick road. You never know, you never know.

First State Ballet Theatre - the only professional ballet company in the state announces its '17-'18 season. I have had the privilege of seeing the majority of their performances over these 17 years.

Florence Foster Jenkins' life was a once in a lifetime phenomenon. Meryl played the part in the movie with Simon Helberg (better known as Howard in THE BIG BANG THEORY) portraying her accompanist Cosme McMoon.

UD Rep Ensemble by and large stages classics: Shakespeare, Moliere, Bernard Shaw, Tennessee Williams, etc. Plays become classics due to their timeless quality and universal truths; truths that lived, for example, in Shakespeare's time as they do today. The immediacy of live theatre brings these principals to life before our eyes.

Luray Productions and Club Phred, a perfect match for New Year's Eve 2017. Lois Parker, founder and producer of successful Golden Oldie events, teams with Club Phred, a self-proclaimed Rock n Roll Event to tear down the house at their 5th annual New Year's Eve celebration.

Aisle Say has seen hundreds of shows. Never have I experienced such an overwhelming amalgam of sound and light, FX and empathy, soaring and captivating voices singing gorgeous melodies, as in this performance of SOMETHING WICKED COMES THIS WAY.

FUNNY GIRL established Barbra Streisand's career and People became her signature song. It is performed rarely so Candlelight's current production is an excellent chance to add to your musical theatre bucket list.

Roman playwright Plautius (251-183 BC) wrote farces entitled Pseudolus and Miles Gloriosus; coincidentally, two of the characters in the show. This ancient's inspiration became a gold mine for in 1962 for Composer/Lyricist Stephen Sondheim and authors Burt Shrevelove and Larry Gelbart of M A S H fame. The title derives from a line often used by vaudevillian comedians to begin a bit: a funny thing happened on the way to the theatre .

Aisle Say would never be so trite as to suggest the goth-rock musical LIZZIE, now playing 'live' at City-Theatre is a 'killer' or 'cutting edge' or 'slays the audience'. Of course not. I am much too circumspect and erudite to cave to formulaic nonsense.

Aisle Say - your bottomless cistern of institutional theatrical memory in Delaware - cannot recall if FUNNY GIRL has ever been performed here