All stories by Alan Smason on BroadwayStars

Friday, November 12, 2021

Improbable ‘Tootsie’ opens Saenger Theatre back on national tour circuit by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There is an obvious conversation addressed early in Tootsie, the David Yazbek musical that won Santino Fontana a Leading Actor i…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:14AM
Friday, November 5, 2021

‘The Prom’: Old fashioned musical with contemporary moral by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO In 2010 a gay Mississippi high school student was banned from coming to her senior prom by the school’s Board of Education because she wanted to bring her girlfriend as her da…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:35AM
Thursday, November 4, 2021

Too many cooks in the kitchen wreak family havoc in ‘Stew’ by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL The opening of Zora Howard’s Stew marks a return to the stage for one of Milwaukee’s longstanding companies, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. For the past 20 months, one of the …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 12:02AM
Sunday, October 31, 2021

Where Did We Sit on the Bus? is a trip centering on Latinx-American culture by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO For the last several years more and more attention has been placed on The Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, woke language, microaggressions, radical feminism, transgender…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 10:51AM
Wednesday, October 27, 2021

JPAS’ ‘The Addams Family’ is a spooky good show by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) With the opening of The Addams Family musical last week, director Leslie Castay added a new company, the Jefferson Performing Ar…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:02PM
Thursday, October 14, 2021

Bryan Batt’s ‘Dear Mr. Williams’ a funny, poignant discovery of freedom by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When Bryan Batt steps on the stage of Le Petit Theatre du Carré as the star of the one-man play Dear Mr. Williams, he is litera…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 12:29PM
Saturday, October 9, 2021

Eye-opening ‘The Exonerated contains important message at Beck, but is not compelling theatre by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO The death penalty carries the inherent risk of executing an innocent person. Since 1973, more than 186 people who had been sentenced to death have been exonerated. Research by …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:38PM
Friday, October 8, 2021

Hello, Ricky! Wish this ‘Dolly’ would never go away! by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When it was announced that Ricky Graham would be in the director’s chair for   Hello, Dolly! at Rivertown Theaters for the P…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 02:14PM
Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Choosing whether or not to worship Yasmina Reza’s ‘God of Carnage’ in Westwego by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) With its most recent production of God of Carnage, the Jefferson Performing Arts Society has taken the wraps off Yasmina Reza’…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:15AM
Monday, October 4, 2021

Updated version of ‘Scenes from a Marriage’ draws mixed reviews by Alan Smason

By JACK LYONS When it comes to original stories made into movies and TV films about the subject of love and marriage, one would be hard pressed to ignore the angst-filled dramas of the great…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 08:05AM
Thursday, September 30, 2021

Cutting Edge Theater’s ‘Cabaret’ establishes new musical star by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There are times when a single performance rises above all others within a given production. While these times are rare, when the…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:47AM
Saturday, September 18, 2021

A Tense Family Journey at Oregon Shakespeare Festival by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL (Dashland, OREGON) – Water by the Spoonful is perhaps even more relevant today than when it was staged at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2014. The play initially appeare…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:04PM
Saturday, September 11, 2021

A Gripping Tale at American Players Theatre by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL SPRING GREEN, WI. – This summer, while audiences were flocking to the large, outdoor theater to view Shakespeare under the stars, another small miracle was taking place insi…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 06:33AM
Thursday, August 12, 2021

Diversity, talent highlight Cutting Edge Theater’s ‘Sunset Boulevard’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When the notices first went out proclaiming an upcoming production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard at Slidell’s C…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 03:36AM
Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Tony Award winners enjoy comic romp in ‘Judgment Day’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Rob Ulin must be a very happy man. He obviously has been saying his prayers and living a proper and pious life. That must be the…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:50AM
Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Shakespeare undergoes South Beach transformation in ‘Comedy of Errors’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Watch out, Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs, there are two dudes named Antipholus who are being confused for one another in the Sou…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 07:24PM

‘The Winter’s Tale’ brings sizzling summer fun to Wisconsin parks by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL Under a towering grove of old growth trees, on an exceptionally balmy evening, the Summit Players were hurriedly making preparations for their production of free Shakespeare i…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 04:42AM
Sunday, July 25, 2021

Cutting Edge Theater finishes run of ‘Sweet Potato Queens: The Musical” by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Jill Conner Browne has transformed herself into the head of a giant cottage industry of self-aware and loudly proud plus-sized a…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:23PM

North Coast Rep Theatre presents its final 2021 streaming drama: ‘Dr. Glas’ by Alan Smason

By JACK LYONS It’s amazing what the human mind can understand and accomplish when it comes to the world of theatre and its sister art form the motion picture.  Both are potent art forms …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:14AM
Saturday, July 24, 2021

Summer Lyric Theatre’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar: There’ll be some changes made by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) The second and final weekend of Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane’s Jesus Christ Superstar brings with it the final shows of the …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:09AM
Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Fruma-Sarah (Waiting in the Wings): A big presence on a tiny stage by Alan Smason

By EDWIN RUBIN The very mention of the New York City’s own wildly popular actress and comedian Jackie Hoffman – she of 1000 facial expressions, bodily quirks, a score of well-placed ad l…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:52AM
Saturday, July 3, 2021

Ed Dixon’s lovable tribute to George Rose blooms in online stream by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When the shutdown of Broadway occurred in March of 2020, there were few devotees who expected it to drag on for more than 16 mon…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:43AM
Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Flawless direction guides SLT’s ‘A Grand Night for Singing’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) It’s taken two years for the darkened stage of Tulane University’s Dixon Hall to be witness to the frenetic work of dozens o…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 08:11AM

North Coast Rep revels with Tovah Feldshuh’s ‘Becoming Dr. Ruth’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Tovah Feldshuh has made a career of originating memorable roles of strong female characters on both the small and large screens,…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 07:48AM
Saturday, June 26, 2021

‘Tennessee Rising’: The Dawn of Jacob Storms by Alan Smason

By Edward Rubin The night I attended a live production of Jacob Storms’ one man show, Tennessee Rising: The Dawn of Tennessee Williams, held at the Cell Theater in New City, it was raining…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 02:02PM
Monday, June 21, 2021

Broadway, film star Tovah Feldshuh morphs into ‘Becoming Dr. Ruth’ now streaming by Alan Smason

By JACK LYONS North Coast Repertory Theatre (NCRT) of Solana Beach, CA., brings gifted, multiple award-winning actor Tovah Feldshuh to their stage to star in playwright Mark St. Germain’s …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 04:15PM
Sunday, June 20, 2021

George Street Playhouse’s ‘It’s Only a Play’ finishes virtual season by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) At the start of this pandemic-impacted season, New Jersey’s George Street Playhouse unveiled bold plans to present four productio…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:50AM
Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Summer Lyric Theatre’s imaginative ‘Songs for a New World’ now streaming by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) It’s been a year of firsts for Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane’s (SLT) artistic director Michael McKelvey. After a year of sh…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 02:19PM
Thursday, June 10, 2021

HBO scores with riveting film version of Broadway drama ‘Oslo’ by Alan Smason

By JACK LYONS If this COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, then it’s forced the American viewing public to think outside the traditional creative arts box when it comes to entertainme…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:51AM
Friday, June 4, 2021

Laiona Mitchell brings ‘Dear Sugar’ to life in ‘Tiny Beautiful Things by Alan Smason

By EDWARD RUBIN Tiny Beautiful Things, George Street Playhouse’s filmed play, based on Cheryl Strayed’s book, “Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar,” a  2…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:06PM
Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Heather Massie’s one-woman vehicle showcases Hedy Lamarr’s dual lives of screen icon, scientist by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, Theatre Critic, WYES-TV (“Steppin’ Out”) When Heather Massie arrived on the stage of BB’s Stage Door Canteen after 14 months of postponed performances from COVID safe…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 07:00PM