Stage Write

Radio Golf is the tenth and final play in August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle. The Indiana Repertory Theatre has produced plays from this series in the past (The Piano Lesson and Gem of the Ocean), each of which has had its own unique feel. Each of the 10 different plays are set in one decade of the 20th Century and look at issues the African American community have had to deal with during that time. This newest production, set in 1997, is on stage now. An ambitious man, Harmond Wilks, returns to the rundown neighborhood he grew up in to spearhead his campaign for Mayor and a redevelopment project in the area. One house is set to be torn down to make way for a Whole Foods. The man who grew up in the home claims he still owns it. The house happens to be the setting of Gem of the Ocean, the first play in the cycle, which makes it a nice bookend for the series. At the IRT there's always something to love, but a few of the elements in this production fall short. At two hours and 45 minute

This Broadway season is packed with promising new shows. Check out this article for more details and to see a few of my predictions. Photos of Once and Newsies from Broadway.com

The Dixie Swim Club introduces audiences to five friends and former swim team members who meet in a North Carolina cottage each year to reconnect. No husbands, no kids, no work; everything else is fair game. Part Steel Magnolias and part Same Time, Next Year, this estrogen-fueled story of friendship provides a sweet opener for the Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre’s new season. The cast features a mix of B&B regulars and newcomers. Angela Plank plays the organized Sheree. The actress has made her mark at the Phoenix Theatre over the past few years, but this is her first show at Beef & Boards. She does an excellent job playing the group’s mother hen. Sarah Hund is a delight, as always, as the accident-prone Vernadette. I think she could truly make any character loveable. Rita Thomas takes on my favorite character, Dinah, a workaholic with a wicked sense of humor who knows her way around a martini shaker. As the other women find the groove Thomas nails her character from the sta