Jared West

The national tour of JAGGED LITTLE PILL, the musical based on Alanis Morisette’s album of the same name, is due to arrive in Schenectady on May 2. The show follows the Healy family as they deal with some heavy life issues. Making his touring debut, Dillon Klena is playing the role of Nick Healy (a role his brother Derek originated on Broadway).

The national tour of HADESTOWN is due to arrive in Schenectady shortly. This is a beautiful story that won eight Tony awards in 2019, including Best Musical! Leading this retelling of two Greek myths will be Chibueze Ihuoma in the leading role of Orpheus. Making his touring debut, Chibueze was in Cleveland when I caught up with him.

Jessica Vosk is a celebrated singer and actress and she has just kicked off her “MY GOLDEN AGE” US tour and will be visiting your area shortly! You may recognize her from Broadway roles like Elphaba in WICKED, or as the Narrator in JOSEPH... at Lincoln Center. I had the opportunity to catch up with her before the launch of this new concert tour.

Last night’s opening performance of JERSEY BOYS played to a packed house. Audience members sang along and danced in their seats, ultimately giving this cast a standing ovation. Not a bad way to wrap up the very first season for Capital Repertory Theatre (aka theREP) in their new home!

Prior to next week’s arrival of the film-inspired musical MEAN GIRLS to Proctors, I spoke with Lindsay Heather Pearce, who recently took over the role of Janis on tour. Her resume includes some notable television and theater credits, including her participation on The Glee Project/Glee and her Broadway debut as Elphaba in WICKED.

This morning, I had the opportunity to speak with Sam Primack (currently playing the alternate Evan Hansen going on twice a week) and Jessica E. Sherman (playing Heidi Hansen, Evan’s mother) in the popular musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN. The show is the story of an anxious high schooler named Evan who, in order to be liked, lies about his friendship with a fellow student. I reached them in the middle of their run in Baltimore prior to their arrival to the Capital Region area.

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, as the infamous Murphy is so often quoted. In THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, just closed at the Winspear Opera House, nothing could be truer - and you will never laugh so hard because of it.

This afternoon, I had the opportunity to speak with James Hayden Rodriguez, who is currently playing Luke/Ares in the national tour of THE LIGHTNING THIEF, based on the Rick Riordan novel of the same title. I reached him in beautiful, breezy Eugene, Oregon, where the weather was great and he was enjoying some time before his show this evening.

Love: it brings joy and fear and peace and pain. You don't always know what you're going to get. Is love worth stepping into the unknown? What would you do for love? FALSETTOS, now playing at the Winspear Opera House, addresses these questions and the risks we take in loving.

We are all connected to everything we can see and can't see. That is one of the themes of the hilarious, heart-filled, not-to-be-missed musical FLY BY NIGHT, opening this weekend at Runway Theatre.

For those in the musical theatre world, you have probably heard of BLOOD BROTHERS, even if you don't really know the music or the plot. It is the third longest-running show in the West End (after Les Miz and Phantom), and played for over 10,000 performances! Imprint Theatreworks has taken on this show as the closer to their season. However, due to weakness in the writing of both the book and the music, it is difficult to imagine this being a smash hit here in the States like it was across the pond.

Teenagers can be mean to one another. Add to that the stress and fear of war, as well as the traditions of their fathers, and it can turn downright cruel. Yet, cruelty doesn't have to be the end result: it can lead to teachable moments, understanding and love. That's the foundation for the plot of DOGFIGHT, a thought-provoking and heart-touching musical currently playing at Onstage in Bedford, directed by Lon Barrera.

Love is love. That is the overarching message to the storyline of MEMPHIS. Love who you love: male, female, black or white. In the case of this particular show, the historically societal boundary being crossed is one of race. However, the words and songs in the script could apply to many current-day issues. Sadly, the performance at Music Theatre of Denton misses the mark and the message is lost amid uneven performances and questionable direction.

As the Christmas holiday approaches, people turn to family, friends and traditions. One tradition that continues to connect generations is A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS, and you can now see it come to life onstage at Dallas Children's Theater.

Everyone can agree on the importance of proper education. But, what if you don't get into the right school? And, do you have to attend a private school to make it into an Ivy League school? There can be a lot of stress and strain around the application process. In Circle Theatre's latest production, Janelle Lutz proves she isn't solely a musical theatre genius and shows off her acting chops by transforming herself into over forty different roles, taking the audience through the roller coaster of emotions that surrounds the high stakes of kindergarten admissions in the wildly funny, often irreverent APPLICATION PENDING.

Opening night at Theatre Three's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC got off to a slow start, due to the late arrival of one of the theatre technicians. The show itself followed suit, starting off slow, but finding its stride as the evening continued, and ultimately ending in a heartwarming finale. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, this production is strong and well worth seeing.

Gutenberg. Without Johannes Gutenberg and his invention of the printing press, life would be very different in our world. We wouldn't have widely distributed books. Most of us wouldn't know how to read or write. And, tragically, we wouldn't have this wildly ridiculous, often inappropriate and hilarious show, GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL! being produced by Tarrant Actors Regional Theatre.

Everyone has those friends who have been with you through thick and thin, who know your ins and outs and for whom you'd do pretty much anything. Lon Barrera, in his Director's notes for MainStage Irving-Las Colinas' latest show CALENDAR GIRLS, calls them "framily," and this play is about the meaning of friendship and just how far you would go for those people in your circle.

What do you believe? How certain are you of those beliefs and how far are you willing to go to fight for them when they are challenged? These questions and many more are at the heart of Dallas Theater Center's new play THE CHRISTIANS, directed by Joel Ferrell and running at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Yesterday, I had a chance to speak with Felicity Jones Latta, who is currently playing Judy (the mother) in the national tour of THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME. She was in Chicago getting ready for a packed day.