All stories by Alan Smason on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Ensemble’s ‘Describe the Night’ is a lesson in Russian conspiracy theory with modern day implications by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO Describe the Night, which is now on stage at Ensemble Theatre, is Cleveland Heights native Rajiv Joseph’s 2018 Obie Award winner for Best New American Play. Joseph was named …

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 12:39PM
Monday, October 31, 2022

Disney’s ‘Lion King’ continues to wow audiences by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There is probably no more magnificent opening number in Broadway history than “Circle of Life/ Nants Ingonyama” found in Dis…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 06:41PM
Thursday, October 27, 2022

Le Petit’s ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ is Right On! by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) It’s taken a minute, but the only play to ever win both an Olivier Award in London and a Tony Award on Broadway has finally ar…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 01:28PM
Wednesday, October 26, 2022

NOLA Project and Gab Reisman spin Chekhov with ‘The Seagull, or How To Eat It’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) It would seem The NOLA Project, those upstarts who came to New Orleans from New York’s Tisch School just prior to the landfall…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 04:31PM
Monday, October 24, 2022

Modern Politics Creates Sizzling Satire in ‘The Totalitarians’ by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL MILWAUKEE, WI – With the mid-term political elections just weeks away, one of Milwaukee’s newer theater companies uses that timing to open The Totalitarians, a 2015 politi…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 05:04AM
Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Flying high, ‘The Kite Runner’ – closing soon – should not be missed by Alan Smason

By EDWARD RUBIN Sometimes, a gripping story with universal relevance sells big. Such was the case of “The Kite Runner,” Khaled Hossein’s 2003 semi-autobiographical novel which was turn…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 01:10AM
Monday, October 17, 2022

New production of beloved ‘1776’ sets decidedly feminist agenda by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Back when I was still in high school, writer Peter Stone and composer and lyricist Sherman Edwards got together to reimagine a p…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 12:50PM
Saturday, October 15, 2022

LES MIZ! still Les Okay in its tour kick-off at Key Bank State Theatre by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO When Les Misérables last came to Cleveland in November of 2018, in part I wrote: “From the very first time I saw Les Miserables, shortly after its opening in London, to the N…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 10:42AM
Thursday, October 13, 2022

Final weekend looms for regional premiere of ‘In the Heights’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) It’s taken 16 years since it first bowed at the Public Theatre and 15 years after it became a Broadway smash, but In the Heig…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 12:12PM
Sunday, October 9, 2022

Saenger opens season with ‘Pretty (Good) Woman’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There are some classic movies that easily make the transition from the big screen to the stage. Because some have first been ind…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 08:28AM
Friday, October 7, 2022

‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ is well conceived, but… by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, now on stage in the Senney Theater in the Beck Center complex, is a play by Simon Stephens which is based on British writer Ma…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 03:07AM
Sunday, October 2, 2022

Living life out and proud with the ‘Sweet Potato Queens’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic It’s not going to reshape your concept of the Founding Fathers through inventive use of choreography and hip hop music. It’s not going to give you …

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 04:57PM
Saturday, October 1, 2022

Milwaukee Production Takes a Hard Look at Why Black Men Die Young in ‘Kill Move Paradise’ by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL MILWAUKEE, WI.  – Race-based violence – especially against young Black men – is not unknown in this Midwest city, although most of the conflicts seen on the local TV ne…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 11:08AM
Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Rivertown laces up its ‘Kinky Boots’ for one weekend more by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) It wasn’t that long ago when theaters were shuttered and charges were leveled at many theatrical institutions for a perceived …

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 08:12AM
Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Bridgettte Loriaux’s ‘2 1/2 BREATHS’ finishes Off-Broadway run at Chain Theatre by Alan Smason

By EDWARD RUBIN What is it to become a word? To become or even create an emotion that doesn’t exist…at least not yet. How much power does the artist have to convince and make believe? Th…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 12:39AM
Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Terrible title, but superb staging in TWTC’s ‘Clothes for a Summer Hotel’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON Tennessee Williams’ last play on Broadway was the terribly titled Clothes for a Summer Hotel, which lasted for 14 performances before it shut down. The play bears the explan…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 07:18PM
Sunday, September 4, 2022

Billy Crystal and company make ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ look marvelous by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) From the first few lines in the opening number (“We’re Live”) of “Mr. Saturday Night,” it is apparent this is a throwb…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 04:37PM
Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Only slight alterations needed for ‘Devil Wears Prada’ musical by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL CHICAGO – It’s no secret that the recent opening of The Devil Wears Prada is a mere precursor to its 2023 Broadway run. Although no dates, theater or cast has been announc…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 08:54PM
Friday, August 12, 2022

Kent State, Céspedes join forces for exceptional ‘West Side Story’ at Porthouse by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO In the fall of 1957, I had a mind-blowing experience. I saw the newly opened Broadway production of West Side Story. At the time, all I knew about the show was that it was bas…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 09:38PM
Thursday, August 11, 2022

Pam Gems is still relatable in Lucy Faust and Fat Squirrel’s ‘Dusa, Fish, Stas & Vi’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) One of British playwright Pam Gems’ early stage successes was Dead Fish, which has since been renamed Dusa, Fish, Stas & …

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 10:47AM
Wednesday, August 10, 2022

TWTC’s ‘Summer and Smoke’ has smoke, lacks fire by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Since its founding, the mission of the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company (TWTC) has been to tell the stories of New Orleans’ …

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 03:06PM
Saturday, August 6, 2022

Rob McClure’s addition to ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ makes stellar cast go nova by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When the musical Mrs. Doubtfire was preparing to open in 2020, the show became a victim of the forced lockdown of all theaters …

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 10:54AM
Saturday, July 23, 2022

A Holographic Circus: Baryshnikov Art Center’s ‘The Cherry Orchard’ by Alan Smason

By EDWARD RUBIN I seem to remember reading, in all of the hoopla surrounding the Baryshnikov Art Center’s Production of Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard, somebody saying “Unlike anything th…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 06:34AM
Monday, July 18, 2022

Choreography is highlight of delightful ‘Something Rotten!’ at Beck Center by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO Theater history books refer to The Black Crook, which opened in 1866 in New York, as the first musical.  However, according to Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, the conceivers of …

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 02:31PM
Saturday, July 9, 2022

World premiere of Broadway-bound ‘Trading Places’ is a polished gem, ready for display by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) One of the funniest comedies of the big screen of 1983 was “Trading Places,” Eddie Murphy’s sophomore vehicle in which he …

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 10:40AM
Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Hamilton’s national tour in New Orleans by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“)               SCROLL DOWN             SCROLL DOWN MORE             KEEP SCROLLING                   …

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 04:59AM
Thursday, June 16, 2022

Intriguing film documentary travels the Jewish film festival global circuit; world premiere Sun. by Alan Smason

By JACK LYONS, Special to Theatrecriticism.com With a film title like “The Jewish Jail Lady and the Holy Thief,” how could one not be intrigued? This film documentary digs deep into the …

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 11:05AM
Saturday, June 11, 2022

Exquisite touring ‘My Fair Lady’ captivates at Connor Palace by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO What do Rogers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Frank Loesser and Cole Porter all have in common?  Yes, they are all composers of American musicals, but they are also just some…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 10:37AM
Monday, June 6, 2022

‘Belfast Girls’: 3 Months on a Slow Boat to Australia by Alan Smason

Between the years 1848 and 1851 over four thousand Irish females took passage on ships from Ireland to Australia under the Orphan Emigration Scheme, established by Earl Grey. This action had…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 12:45PM
Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Beck Center’s ‘Legend of Georgia McBride’ is more drag than drag show by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO Mathew Lopez, the author of The Legend of Georgia McBride – now on stage in the Studio Theatre at Beck Center – also wrote The Inheritance, which, in 2018 was the most hon…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 10:31AM
Monday, May 23, 2022

Teen angst, revenge entertains in ‘Mean Girls’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Tina Fey’s success as a screenwriter for the film “Mean Girls” was supported by her husband Jeff Richmond’s music. So, w…

SOURCE: TheatreCriticsm.com at 04:42PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards