REVIEW: The Tap’s the Thing in Irving Berlin’s Music Box Revue 1921 (Theatre of the Ridiculous and Absurd) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 13, 2017October 13, 2017 A 1921 advertisement for the original Music Box Revue. There's a saying in show business that every show must have a pressing reason to exist. Irving Berlin’s Music Box Revue 1921's reason is clearly to be a love note to one of America's most beloved songwriters. The origins of Irving Berlin's Music Box Revue
REVIEW: Brilliant Music, Inconsistent Tone in Don Pasquale (Minnesota Opera) Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - October 12, 2017June 24, 2018 Craig Colclough as the titular Pasquale in Minnesota Opera’s Don Pasquale. Photo by Dan Norman. Minnesota Opera's production of Don Pasquale, currently playing at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, is suffused with all the lovely music that you've come to know and expect, well-performed and a joy to hear. The updated
REVIEW: Simon and Garfunkel Tribute, You’re Breaking My Heart Daily (Ordway) Arts Music by Bev Wolfe - October 11, 2017December 6, 2017 The tribute show The Simon & Garfunkel Story, which played at the Ordway Center last night, is a mixed bag of entertainment. The first half of the show is often flawed, but following intermission the performers showed a more grounded interpretation of the famous duo’s material that did it justice
REVIEW: The Prices of War in The Crossing (Brooklyn Academy of Music) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - October 8, 2017October 18, 2017 The cast of The Crossing. Photo by Richard Termine. For all its promise, Matthew Aucoin's opera The Crossing is not more than the sum of its parts. This opera is largely derived from and based on the Civil War poetry and letters of Walt Whitman; it premiered at the American Repertory Theatre in
REVIEW: Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey Still Rocking (Pantages Theatre) Arts Music by Bev Wolfe - October 8, 2017November 8, 2017 Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey in concert. Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey, best known as “Peter and Paul” of the famous folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary (PP&M), lit up the stage at Pantages Theatre on October 7. As a lifelong fan of the trio, this is the first
INTERVIEW: Brian Stuart on Taking the Boston Early Music Festival On Tour Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 3, 2017October 3, 2017 The Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble in concert. The summer portion of the Boston Early Music Festival has long-since wrapped up along with the warm and dry weather, but for some BEMF musicians things are still running strong. The BEMF Chamber Ensemble has been criss-crossing North America on a 10-day,
PREVIEW: Life Could Be a Dream is a Doo Wop Fantasia (Old Log Theatre) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - October 2, 2017June 24, 2018 The cast of the Old Log Theatre's upcoming production of Life Could Be a Dream. From left to right: Austin Stole, Lucas Wells, Grace Lowe, Eric Sargent, Brian Winter. There's something about the music of the 1950s that forms a quintessential part of American nostalgia and culture. This comes in part
FEATURE: 8 Illustrations Showing Intermedia Arts’ Plight Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - October 1, 2017October 1, 2017 A bar chart illustrating the deficit cycle faced by Intermedia Arts, its board, and its staff since 2000. The organization's financial reserves were severely eroded even before the Great Recession hit; post-Recession, soaring expenses quickly eroded Intermedia's financial gains. Thursday evening, Intermedia Arts sent out a short, succinct to its media
REVIEW: Oh, To Hear Goblin Market (Theatre Elision) Arts Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - September 30, 2017October 2, 2017 Krin McMillen (Lizzie) and Christine Wade (Laura) in Theatre Elision's Goblin Market. There are some theatre companies that you innately root for. Theatre Elision is an exciting new company in town with a strong focus, an interesting and important mission, and a lot of energy. After debuting in May with the musical
INTERVIEW: Actor-Playwright John Cariani on The Band’s Visit, the Final Frontier, and More Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - September 30, 2017October 18, 2017 An Egyptian band unexpectedly arrives on the doorstep in a small, rural Israeli town in The Band's Visit, which opens on Broadway on November 9. Photo by Ahron R. Foster. John Cariani is a busy man who always has a few irons in the theatrical fires. As a playwright, he develops