"And all of your ways and all your thunder got me in a haze running for cover, where we gonna go from here? Where we gonna go from here?" ~mat kearney


It's time for recent show reviews!

Merrily We Roll Along
Stephen Sondheim is a genius. The star of this show is the score, because nobody can write a score like Sondheim. Yes, the book is problematic, but I still found the story affecting and tragic. Although I had never seen this show before, I was already familiar with some of the music, and hearing "Not a Day Goes By" sung live (a beautiful rendition by Betsy Wolfe) was a definite highlight for me. Colin Donnell, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Lin-Manuel Miranda play the three leads. I've seen them all in shows before and I enjoy their work very much, and none of them disappointed in this show. Celia was definitely my favorite. Lin-Manuel nailed his book scenes even though his voice was weak, and Colin Donnell did his best playing a difficult, unlikeable character. The supporting cast (particularly Elizabeth Stanley and Betsy Wolfe) was stellar. This is a tricky, divisive, show, but I loved seeing this production of it.

Richard III
Two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey makes just as marvelous a Richard as you could imagine. This is his show. I don't know how he puts so much energy into his portrayal for every performance; he's in almost every scene, the running time is three hours and twenty minutes, and I saw the show on a two-show day. I can't imagine spending nearly seven hours a day throwing yourself wholeheartedly into that character like he does. Mr. Brantley discusses Mr. Spacey's "all-conquering audacity" in his New York Times review. It's interesting. Anyway, the time flew by, and I loved seeing an acting genius playing this classic character. Along with Mr. Spacey's performance, I particularly enjoyed seeing Haydn Gwynne as Queen Elizabeth (I loved her in Billy Elliot).

How I Learned to Drive
This is a chilling, brilliant play (it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998), and I loved this production of it. Oh my freakin' goodness, it really is wonderfully haunting. Elizabeth Reaser (Grey's Anatomy, the Twilight movies, and most recently Young Adult) plays Li'l Bit, the main character, and I was very impressed with her ability to play the character at different ages so realistically. She captures all the nuances of the complex character. Norbert Leo Butz co-stars, and he's always a treat to see on-stage. He's a two-time Tony winner and I've seen him in a bunch of stuff, and he always impresses me with his versatility. He's absolutely perfect as Uncle Peck. The New York Times review calls him "sensational" and I agree. It's a good review to read. I absolutely love, love, love this play.