Stage Write

Peter Pan was one of the very first shows I saw performed live. I had grown up watching the 1960 TV version starring Mary Martin, but it wasn’t until I saw it at Beef & Boards that it truly came alive for me. Peter Pan is back on stage at the Indianapolis dinner theatre and seeing the Beef & Boards’ production was a sweet reminder of the songs and story I loved so much when I was young.   The adventure-packed show is a wonderful introduction to theatre for young kids. With pirates, Indians, fairies, and flying there’s so much magic happening on stage the youngsters in the audience couldn’t help their occasional exclamations of excitement.   Phebe Taylor, who served as the spirit Ariel in HART ’s “Tempest” last summer, is a Beef & Boards newcomer. She’s perfect as the eternally youthful Peter Pan. Her energetic performance was backed by incredible vocals on numbers like “Neverland” and “Distant Melody”. The villains are over-the-top and cartoonish,...

In a society that thrills at the mention of an Ebola outbreak or questions of vaccinations, few subjects could feel timelier than the story of Typhoid Mary. The infamous Irish cook became famous at the turn of the century for unknowingly spreading Typhoid fever in the homes where she worked as a cook. The Phoenix Theatre’s Playwright-in-Residence Tom Horan’s own “Typhoid Mary” is currently hosting its world premiere at the theatre.   The cast is made up of only three individuals, but each one packs a punch. Lauren Briggeman plays the title character, Mary Mallon. She wowed audiences in last year’s Acting Up Production of Hamlet as the female lead. Though this role is very different, she brings the same feisty passion to the stage. Jolene Mentink Moffatt brought levity to the production with her friendly demeanor, but there was an icy sarcastic edge beneath the surface that I loved. As a female doctor during that time she conveys the difficulty of her position in the male...