All stories by Bob Rendell on BroadwayStars

Monday, October 15, 2012

"Vita and Virginia" at Luna Stage by Bob Rendell

The idea of an epistolary play telling this story in Vita and Virginia's own literate and passionate words is a very enticing one, indeed.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:47AM
Friday, October 12, 2012

Jim Brochu's "Zero Hour" by Bob Rendell

His play is clear and cogent, truly hilarious, consistently compelling, totally convincing, emotionally powerful, and deeply moving.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 05:33PM
Thursday, October 11, 2012

"The Mousetrap" in New Jersey by Bob Rendell

The Hackettstown theatre has mounted a production which possesses the qualities that have made this play such a popular success.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:45PM
Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Paper Mill Playhouse "A Chorus Line" by Bob Rendell

Director-choreographer Mitzi Hamilton has now brought to the Paper Mill Playhouse a recreation of the original Michael Bennett production which captures all the freshness, enthusiasm, joy an…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:26PM
Friday, October 5, 2012

"The Neighborhood" at Dreamcatcher by Bob Rendell

Dreamcatcher has chosen to introduce itself to its new home with a brand new, home grown musical play cum sketch comedy revue called The Neighborhood.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 06:22PM
Tuesday, October 2, 2012

"The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler" in New Jersey by Bob Rendell

It is difficult to describe the anarchic, confused plotting, and wildly arbitrary inclusion of literary and historical pop culture personages who populate Jeff Whitty's The Further Adventure…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 04:51PM
Monday, October 1, 2012

"You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" in Morristown, NJ by Bob Rendell

Bickford Theatre audiences are being presented with You're Gonna Love Tomorrow, an evening of the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim thoughtfully and lovingly directed by producer and Sond…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:42AM
Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Story Theatre Style Oliver Twist For The Entire Family by Bob Rendell

Bartlett has intentionally kept his dramatization brief (it runs 2 hours and ten minutes with one intermission) while encapsulating most of the principal events, beginning with the death of …

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 02:21PM
Monday, September 24, 2012

"Topdog/Underdog" at Two River by Bob Rendell

The Two River Theatre's powerful revival of Suzan-Lori Parks' remarkable 2002 Pulitzer Prize winning play Topdog/Underdog has the distinction of being the play's first production to be direc…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 05:36PM
Friday, September 21, 2012

"Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" at McCarter by Bob Rendell

Christopher Durang's delightful new play swiftly conveys complex human behavior and emotions that reflect our own life experiences with theatricality, rich antic humor, and heart piercing tr…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:02AM
Friday, September 14, 2012

"Farragut North" at Premiere Stages in NJ by Bob Rendell

One of the things that makes Farragut North so bracing and unusual is that it is an effective revelation of the corruption of the political animal as viewed from the left side of the aisle.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 05:07PM
Tuesday, September 11, 2012

"Release Point" World Premiere at NJ Rep by Bob Rendell

Dilorio has challenged himself and his audience by placing the central focus of his play on an unregenerate pedophile rapist and the indelible harm which his reprehensible crimes against oth…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:14PM
Monday, August 13, 2012

Shakespeare Theatre of NJ "Measure for Measure" by Bob Rendell

While Measure for Measure is hardly Shakespeare's most cohesive or logically developed play, it has always been, for me, one of his most delightful and richly entertaining ones.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 05:42PM
Wednesday, August 1, 2012

"Nunsense" Entertaining Summer Theater at the Bickford by Bob Rendell

Judging by the large and happy audience at the Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum, artistic director Eric Hafen has proven to be wise in his selection of the original Nunsense to be his t…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:07PM
Wednesday, July 18, 2012

"Handicapped People in Their Formal Attire" in New Jersey by Bob Rendell

It is a summer evening in 1968. We are in the ballroom of the DuPont Hotel in Wilmington where the Delaware Association for the Handicapped is holding a black tie fundraiser to honor their q…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:24PM
Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Shakespeare Theatre of NJ: "The Comedy of Errors" by Bob Rendell

[T]his summer's production of the Bard's The Comedy of Errors is inventive and imaginative, lavishly staged, delightfully acted and hilarious.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 06:35PM
Monday, July 2, 2012

"American Stare" World Premiere at NJ Rep by Bob Rendell

Although he is not Voltaire, Tony Glazer's skillful intelligence, theatrical flair, and confident passion are effectively on display in American Stare.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 08:59AM
Sunday, June 10, 2012

Papermill's "Once on This Island" by Bob Rendell

We can be grateful and delighted that Paper Mill has afforded musical theatre aficionados the opportunity to again enjoy the many delights of Flaherty and Ahrens' Once on This Island.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 08:56AM
Friday, June 1, 2012

"Slippery as Sin" in Trenton by Bob Rendell

Thus begins David Lee White's accurately self-described "new comic thriller" "Slippery as Sin," as successful and satisfying a variation as one could ever hope to see of the satiric stage th…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 03:27PM
Saturday, May 26, 2012

"My Wonderful Day" at Two River in Red Bank NJ by Bob Rendell

Farcical, laugh out loud situations combine with a delicately limned portrait of a shy, quietly observant 9-year-old girl in the entertaining 2009 Alan Ayckbourn comedy "My Wonderful Day," w…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:31PM
Monday, May 21, 2012

"Are You There, McPhee?" World Premiere in Princeton by Bob Rendell

With its underlying concern anent the difficulty of learning to be a mature, well functioning adult buried under an excess of whimsical plotting, characters difficult to keep straight, and d…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:15AM
Wednesday, May 9, 2012

George Street Playhouse "The 39 Steps" by Bob Rendell

The vastly popular stage farce, adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and (scene by scene) from the 1935 British mystery-spy chase adventure movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is being…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 08:07PM

"Copenhagen" at Luna Stage by Bob Rendell

The Luna Stage company is providing a rare opportunity to see the outstanding, memorable and controversial award-winning Michael Frayn drama, Copenhagen.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 08:06PM
Friday, May 4, 2012

"West Side Story" Tour at NJPAC by Bob Rendell

The freshness, energy and accuracy of the performances, vocals and dancing are currently at a high level, and West Side Story is now in livelier, more entertaining shape than it was when see…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 04:38PM
Wednesday, May 2, 2012

"Trad" Garage Theatre in Teaneck, NJ by Bob Rendell

Trad is a delicate, whimsical one-act Irish fable. The gently high-spirited, fluid production which it is receiving at Teaneck's Garage Theatre maximizes the play's laid back charm.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 12:27PM
Monday, April 23, 2012

"I Do! I Do!" Bickford Theatre by Bob Rendell

Saving its best for last, the Bickford Theatre is concluding its 2011-2012 season at its Morris Museum home with an bright and charming revival of I Do! I Do!, the 1966 Tom Jones/Harvey Schm…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 02:32PM

"The Unfortunates" at Centenary Stage by Bob Rendell

The Centenary Stage Company is presenting the world premiere of The Unfortunates by Australian playwright Aoise Stratford.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 02:32PM
Friday, April 20, 2012

"The Last Five Years" at New Jersey's Crossroads by Bob Rendell

Easily the best production this reviewer has yet seen of The Last Five Years ... the exuberant Crossroads Theatre production is so chock full of vigor, detail, interpretive brilliance, and …

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 04:10PM
Wednesday, April 18, 2012

"Carry It On" Maureen McGovern Autobiographical Show by Bob Rendell

Sadly, Carry It On is a disappointment.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 01:25PM
Friday, March 30, 2012

McCarter "Travesties" by Bob Rendell

Even under ideal conditions, Tom Stoppard's fast-paced, verbally and intellectually playful 1974 vaudevillian lark Travesties requires most viewers to work almost as hard as its thespian int…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 08:52AM
Monday, March 26, 2012

"Twelve Angry Men" at George Street Playhouse by Bob Rendell

An outstanding cast largely comprised of many of today's finest stage actors has been assembled by director David Saint.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 05:30PM

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