La Gran Via
Thalia Theater

 For this year's excursion into the world of zarzuela, Thalia Spanish Theater's director Angel Gil Orrios turned to two works of genero chico (short variety). The first, La Gran Via (1886, with later modifications), satirized the delays and cost overruns in constructing Madrid's famous central grand boulevard in the 1880s. Eight women with icon-laden signboards extolled their architectural treasures on as many older streets and locales to a bemused Caballero (Rafael Lebron), who in reality has fathered the new street and a Passer-by (Fermin Suarez).

David Lipfert
Date Reviewed:
April 2001
Grand Hotel
Signature Theater

 Adapted for Signature Theater's intimate performing space by artistic director Eric D. Schaefer, this elegant, mostly well-cast production of Grand Hotel emphasizes relationships of the "ship of fools" docking at the darkly luxurious hotel in 1928 Berlin. Minus the exuberant dancing enlivening the 1989 Broadway adaptation, which under Tommy Tune's direction, garnered five Tony Awards, including Best Choreography, this Grand Hotel compensates with fine singing, ably accompanied by musical director Jon Kalbfleisch and his orchestra.

Barbara Gross
Date Reviewed:
September 2001
Grapes of Wrath, The
Tenth Avenue Theater

 An epic in literature becomes an epic onstage. Adapted by Frank Galati, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath retains its power on stage when directed by Claudio Raygoza for Ion Theater. It is currently playing a limited run at the Tenth Avenue Theater in downtown San Diego.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
December 2006
Grapes of Wrath, The
Don Powell Theater

 The Grapes of Wrath has quite a heritage. John Steinbeck's classic depicts the "Oakies'" struggle in Los Gatos, California from May to October, 1938. The book won a Nobel Prize in 1962. John Ford's Oscar–winning film of 1940 was followed by the play in 1988 and a teleplay in 1991. Playwright Galati's script captures the essence of Steinbeck's hard–bitten story.

Starting with the anticipation of a California nirvana to a cruel taste of despair as reality sets in, The Grapes of Wrath is a difficult play to watch, and a fantastic play to act.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
May 2007
Grease
Golden Apple Dinner Theater

 From the opening "Alma Mater," it's clear that goings-on at Rydell High in 1959 will be as much spoofed as remembered. A very subdued teacher and two "guest star" entertainers in story and reality make appearances but take a back seat to Pink (slick-jacketed) Ladies (sort of) and Burger Palace (black-leather jacketed) Boys (greasers). More souped up than their not-so-hot rod, their "Greased Lightnin'" is really their high-voltage dancing.

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
March 2002
Grease
Derby Dinner Playhouse

 All through Derby Dinner Playhouse's powerhouse production of Grease, that quintessential musical depiction of high-school days in 1950s America, I kept thinking that this show is just about as perfect in its way as Sandy Wilson's The Boy Friend, the classic pastiche of 1920s British musicals. Both capture so beautifully through song, dance, and story the innocence of those times, though with Grease the innocence goes hand in hand with a crassness and laughable lack of sophistication wholly natural to characters of that time and place.

Charles Whaley
Date Reviewed:
May 2000
Green E, The
Cafe Voltaire

 I guess growing up in Athens, Georgia, makes you susceptible to Elvis. Comedian David Payle, who just moved to the Windy City from down South, has come up with a scheme to use Elvis' popularity to help save the environment. Thus comes the birth of The Green E - The Environmental Elvis. In a flashy white jumpsuit, Payle goes through a gamut of songs -- the Elvis trademark melodies, all right, but different lyrics. They're all rewritten by Payle to be environmentally conscious.

Effie Mihopoulos
Date Reviewed:
October 1995
Gross Indecency
Diversionary Theater

 Rosina Reynolds and her excellent cast have brought playwright Moises Kaufman's work to a new level in the Diversionary production of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. David Weiner's set is elegant: heavy in reds, drapery, and gilded trim. Costumer Liam M. O'Brien provides stylish tails, brilliantly patterned vests, and authentic English barristers' garb. The image, accented by lighting designer Jennifer Setlow, speaks well of the end of the 19th century.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
January 2003
Gross Indecency
Arena Players - Mainstage

 Set in 1895, this courtroom drama uses historic letters, newspaper reports, trial transcripts and Oscar Wilde's own writings to chronicle the fall of the famous playwright from the bright lights of the London theater to conviction and imprisonment for sexual acts of "gross indecency" with young men. Wilde, played with great passion by Stephen Wangner, is quite flip about his lifestyle early on, while at the same time denying the acts with which he's been charged.

Mark Donnelly
Date Reviewed:
February 2000
Grouch, The
College of St. Elizabeth - campus amphitheater

The plot of The Grouch, about Knemon (Joseph Costa), an unsociable and cantankerous old "grouch" who won't have anything to do with his neighbors and expends a great deal of time and energy keeping all suitors away from his daughter, builds upon a series of funny encounters, confounding confrontations and just-plain-silly doings between him and the members of the mountainside community. If his comeuppance and a happy ending for the lovers are a foregone conclusion, it is getting to that point that provides the makings for the merry moral denouement.

Simon Saltzman
Date Reviewed:
July 2002
Groucho
Westport Country Playhouse

 Frank Ferrante has been impersonating Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx for well over 10 years, and not getting arrested for doing so. In fact, he's won many awards for his inspired and edgy recreation of that crusty vaudevillian, here in the U.S. and in London, and in 1995 issued a compact disk of this play, written by Groucho's son, Arthur and Robert Fisher.

Rosalind Friedman
Date Reviewed:
September 1999
Guest in the House
Lamplighters Community Theater

 Steve Corbett's elegant set, heavy in dark woods, makes for the perfect living room in an upper- class Connecticut home. Guest In The House, by Hagar Wilde and Dale Eunson, at just over two hours running time, is not quite as distinguished. The language sounds stilted by contemporary standards and the pace is often ponderous. In the predictable story, even minor complexities are easily seen.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
February 2003
Gumboots
Wilshire Theater

 History begins as tragedy, ends as farce - or, in the case of Gumboots, showbiz. The origin of Gumboots goes back to colonialist days in South Africa, when blacks were thrust down into the bowels of the earth to dig out gold for their white masters, a typically brutal bunch of capitalists who treated them like slaves, condemning them to work in darkness while shackled to each other. On top of that, the workers were forbidden to speak to each other; forcing them to communicate by rattling their chains, whacking their boots and grunting musically.

Willard Manus
Date Reviewed:
November 2000
Guys And Dolls
Kit Carson Amphitheater

 It is amazing to see a community theater take on a really big production such as Youtheater and Patio's current production of Guys and Dolls. This Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows 1950s smash hit requires a cast of about 30. Many have to be triple threats (act, sing, dance). It has a well-known score and multiple sets. Most of the characters are based on Damon Runyon characters, which begin life as caricatures.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
September 2006
Guys And Dolls
Downtown Cabaret Theater

 A number of years ago, the Downtown Cabaret in Bridgeport gave a successful, spirited production of this wonderful show, with both music and lyrics by one man, Frank Loesser. Now, Damon Runyon's delightfully down and dirty denizens of Times Square, clothed in a perfect riot of stripes and plaids (courtesy of Dodger Costume Rentals), on a free-form, color-drenched set (designed by J. Branson, heightened by Hugh Hallinan's brilliantly-intricate lighting design have once-again captured the stage of the Cabaret Theater in a joyous extravaganza that rivals the acclaimed Broadway revival.

Rosalind Friedman
Date Reviewed:
November 1999
Guys And Dolls
Derby Dinner Playhouse

 Aficionados of the golden age of Broadway musicals rank Guys and Dolls right up there with Gypsy, Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma!, Kiss Me, Kate, South Pacific, and other classics in that celebrated pantheon. Derby Dinner Playhouse, which excels at recreating those magical works, excels once again with its current presentation of composer/lyricist Frank Loesser's tune-filled adaptation from 1950 of a Damon Runyon short story (book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows) epitomizing lovable Broadway gamblers, Salvation Army do-gooders, and heart-of-gold showgirls.

Charles Whaley
Date Reviewed:
May 2004
Guys And Dolls
Paper Mill Playhouse

 Here's my marker that five will get you ten if you put your money on Guys and Dolls at the Paper Mill Playhouse. No matter how much you spend on tickets, those fabled Damon Runyon characters are sure to double your investment in pleasure. Those dusk-to-dawn denizens of Broadway have surfaced on the Jersey side of the Hudson but still look for the same all-night crap game. This time the game is not only a little different, it's a lot brighter and a great deal more fun than it possibly has a right to be.

Simon Saltzman
Date Reviewed:
June 2004
Guys And Dolls
Central Piedmont Community College Theater

 There's a period of adjustment as you walk into panoramic Pease Auditorium. The youths portraying Nathan Detroit and his lowlife cohorts are less believable playing the ponies than they would be playing video games. Nor is director Eddie Mabry's youth brigade in line with the unique Damon Runyan patois, which adds an absurd formality to the flavorful venality. Fortunately, Mabry's choreography invariably hits the target.

Perry Tannenbaum
Date Reviewed:
June 1999
Guys And Dolls
Marcus Center For The Performing Arts

 Opening just two weeks after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Guys and Dolls seems like a New York that's cloaked in a hopelessly innocent time, when the greatest dangers were associated with gambling and alcohol. Oh, for the good old days!

Anne Siegel
Date Reviewed:
September 2001
Guys On Ice
Milwaukee Rep - Stiemke Theater

 Oh, if only Wisconsin winters were as quick and enjoyable as Guys on Ice, a send-up of ice fishing currently playing at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. A favorite of the past two seasons, Guys on Ice returns with the same endearing cornpone humor that audiences have grown to love. There's Marvin (Doug Mancheski) and Lloyd (Scott Wakefield), losers in life (perhaps represented by the fact they never seem to get a nibble during the entire show). But they are kings of their fish shanty domain, telling tales, sharing secrets and dreams.

Anne Siegel
Date Reviewed:
November 2000
Guys, The
Broadway Theater Center - Studio Theater

 The Milwaukee Chamber Theater is to be congratulated for running a play like The Guys during the December holiday season. The two-character play is certainly NOT your typical feel-good holiday entertainment. Instead, it's a grim reminder of how some families will get through the holidays - those families who lost loved ones in the tragic events of 9/11.

Anne Siegel
Date Reviewed:
December 2003
Gypsy
Welk Resort Theater

 Gypsy, a story suggested by Gypsy Rose Lee's memoirs, deals mostly with her early years and her ultimate stage mother, Rose. Stephen Sondheim's lyrics and Arthur Laurents' words sparkle under the able direction of Lewis Winkenfeld. John Charron's choreography is charmingly traditional.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
September 2005
Gypsy
Golden Apple Dinner Theater

 When Roberta MacDonald takes "Rose's Turn" all through the theater, it's ironic. Why? Because the whole show has been her turn. Sure, Wendee Bresee blossoms out nicely as Gypsy Rose Lee, after her stalwart childhood as the untalented Louise, nicely understated by Brianna Houck. And after Taylor Vaughan passes for talented Baby June, Sarah Jackson brings spirit to grown up June Havoc's revolt against her mother. You couldn't wish for a nicer agent for them or piner after Rose than Larry Barrett's Herbie. But whenever MacDonald is on stage, it's no one else's.

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
March 2000
Joy Luck Club, The
Academy of Performing Arts

Amy Tan's novel, "The Joy Luck Club," has seen several iterations besides the film. Four years after the novel hit bookshelves, the Shanghai People's Art Theater in collaboration with The Long Wharf Theater, performed a production in a Mandarin translation. The year was 1993. The production moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong. In 1999 the Pan Asian Repertory Theater produced it. A revival in New York took place last December.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
August 2008
Doubt
Caldwell Theater Company - Count de Hoernle Theater

John Patrick Shanley packs a lot into this one-act play, and Caldwell Theater Company does well by Doubt, a Parable.

Julie Calsi
Date Reviewed:
August 2008
Embedded
Shimberg Playhouse

Between October 2002 and June 2003, a group of rather cynical journalists are trained and put to duty in "Gomorrah" (code for Iraq), embedded with troops. Their progress evolves with that of several typical troopers from the time they patriotically leave spouses or parents. Embedded traces changes of experience and attitudes of all involved just before and during the war.

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
August 2008
Hair
St. Cecilia's Playhouse

 A happening is happening at the Lyceum Space Theatre in Horton Plaza. 37 years have been rolled back, and it is 1968 with the show that rocked and shocked the nation. It is here and now and just as relevant, so welcome to the rock musical Hair.

While Hair was not the first rock opera, it is the one that captured the nation and brought this new music form to the public. It was protest from a theater stage with its inflammatory dialogue, profane gestures and blatant nudity. And Hair has lasted for 37 years, first on stage, then in film.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
September 2005
Hair
Actors Theater of Louisville

 Seeing Hair again after all these years made me think of the Time Warp song and dance from another cult musical of the young and disaffected , Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show. Especially that line from the song about being spaced out on sensation like you're under sedation. Those wild Sixties days of youth in rebellion against the Vietnam War and bankrupt Establishment values as they got high on drugs, rock music and all varieties of sex were indelibly captured in the ground-breaking, and still incredibly powerful, score by Gerome [sic] Ragni, James R

Charles Whaley
Date Reviewed:
February 2000
Halloween Offering
Fault Line Theater

 Vampyre Rebellion II and Vampyre Extinction by Ted Falagan open and close this year's Halloween collection from The Fault Line Players. Vampyre Rebellion II finds Hollis (Ted Falagan), an ongoing character, in his continuing search to destroy evil. Falagan, the playwright, balances humor and drama cohesively, as usual including a double-double cross, as well as fun and fisticuffs. Vampyre Extinction pits Hollis (yes, back again) against the evil Christophe (John Byrom) and Porsche (Bari Goldman).

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
October 2001
Halpern and Johnson
North Coast Repertory Theater

 Halpern has just laid his wife of over 50 years, Flo, to rest. As he looks down at the grave, saying a few last words, Johnson enters, a bouquet of flowers in his arms for his long-time friend, Florence. Halpern is in funereal black wearing his yarmulke; Johnson is in his conservative gray three-piece suit -- two men mourning the loss of one woman. Thus begins their stories and the opening of North Coast Repertory Theater's West-Coast premiere of Lionel Goldstein's Halpern and Johnson.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
January 2006
Hamlet
F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theater

 Jared Harris, who is making his New Jersey Shakespeare Festival debut as Hamlet, has a distinct advantage over other actors who have played the coveted role. When he sees the ghost hovering over Elsinore Castle (through the magic of digital wizardry) he recognizes him not only as the father of Hamlet but as his own real life father, the renowned Irish actor Richard Harris.

Simon Saltzman
Date Reviewed:
August 2001
Hamlet
American Players Theater

 Shakespeare gives us so much latitude in interpreting Hamlet that an audience is never sure what it is going to get. The current version playing at the American Players Theater in Spring Green is a curious hybrid. This Hamlet, played by veteran actor James DeVita, is neither particularly young nor particularly mad. Instead, he comes across in a cold, calculating, almost detached way. At times, DeVita seems unable to connect with this enigmatic character. He seems older and wiser than "Hamlet" often appears to be. He is cynical, conniving and ruthless.

Anne Siegel
Date Reviewed:
July 2003
Hamlet
Off-Broadway Theater

 Perhaps in order to stand out among Milwaukee's numerous theater companies, relative newcomer Nevermore Theater attempts to make a splash with Shakespeare's most popular play, Hamlet. Thankfully, it succeeds.

The drama is acted out on a bare stage, with as few props as possible. Costumes, too, are suggestive but not linked to a particular historic period. Rather than hinder the audience's imagination, these choices set the audience's imagination free.

Anne Siegel
Date Reviewed:
January 2007
Happy Endings Are Extra
Diversionary Theater

 South-African playwright Ashraf Johaardien's Happy Endings are Extra opens Diversionary Theater's new "Queer Theater – Taking Center Stage" program. The play, under the deft direction of Rosina Reynolds, is much more about relationships than the gay lifestyle.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
January 2007
Harold And Maude
Theatricum Botanicum

 Colin Higgins' screenplay for "Harold And Maude" became a 1972 feature film project for director Hal Ashby, with Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort starring in the May-December story of the love affair between an 80-year-old woman and a teenaged boy. The film flopped, but Higgins turned the script into a play, which was directed by Jean-Louis Barrault in Paris and ran seven years. The film version then resurfaced as a cult hit and has spawned a slew of "Harold And Maude" websites.

Willard Manus
Date Reviewed:
July 2000
Harry Chapin And Friends
FST Cabaret Club

 Simplicity makes this revue soar. No mindless, cutesy chatter mars Rhonda Coullet's delineation of the purposes and place of Harry Chapin's folk music. The opening set foreshadows the singing instrumentalists' musical journey, starting with an incremental "All My Life's a Circle" by Chapin.

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
February 2001
Harvey
Poway Performing Arts Company

 PowPAC's current production, under the direction of Bob Christensen, is Mary Chase's Harvey. In 1950, Jimmy Stewart defined the character of Elwood P. Dowd in the film version of the play. The play hit television in 1972 and again in 1998. It is also a perennial favorite in community theaters.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
January 2006
Hasty Heart, The
Lamplighters Community Theater

 Playwright John Patrick mixes a southern American with a Brit, an Aussie, a Kiwi, a Scot and a non-English-speaking African in The Hasty Heart, which takes place in the convalescent ward of a temporary British hospital in Southeast Asia. The effect is a seriocomic, sometimes deep look at culture and class. Scot Lachie, played effectively by Richard Baird, has been shot in the kidney and has nothing but borrowed time on the remaining kidney. Lachie carries a chip on his shoulder the size of Scotland and an uncompromising disposition that does not allow for easy friendships.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
February 2001
Haunting Of Hill House, The
Rudyard Kipling

 There's nothing more theatrically appropriate for the Halloween season than an old-fashioned, scary mystery. Alas, The Haunting of Hill House does not meet the test. Shirley Jackson's novel of the same name is considered a masterpiece of psychological horror. But as adapted for the stage by F. Andrew Leslie, there's little sense of mounting terror or sinister foreboding.

Charles Whaley
Date Reviewed:
October 1999
Havel
Olney Theater

 The Potomac Theater Project offers one of its strongest, most blistering evenings in its 12 years in Washington with, "Havel: The Passion of Thought," a "compilation" by artistic director Richard Romagnoli. Inaugurating Olney Theater's Mulitz-Gudelsky Theater Lab, the show -- first produced in 1991 at Middlebury College where Romagnoli is a professor - profits from the clean austerity of the high-ceilinged, wood-paneled black box space.

Barbara Gross
Date Reviewed:
August 1999

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