Stage Write

  Tick, Tick...BOOM! is the incredibly personal musical from Jonathan Larson, the creator of RENT. This 90-minute musical tells the story of Jon (Patrick Dinnsen) as he approaches his 30th birthday. He’s wondering if a career in the arts is a lost cause. The show is all the more profound because of his real-life untimely death just before his 36th birthday. There are just three actors plus a live band on the stage's second level. The musicians' excellent performances sometimes overwhelm the vocals, but it gives it a great rock ‘n’ roll feel. Some of the quiet songs hit deeper because of the clarity of each carefully crafted lyric, brimming with angst and ambition. Emily Ristine Holloway‘s direction keeps things moving with a revolving door of characters played by the talented three actors. She lovingly choreographs the show so there is rollicking fun that slides easily into poignant numbers. The set, designed by Zac Hunter, is gritty and perfectly NYC in the '90s. There’s a...

One of the highlights of this year‘s Bard Fest is the rarely-produced King John. There are whispers of other Shakespeare plays echoing in the heartbreaking history All the classics are there but presented in a show that’s often overlooked. There are warring families, devious brothers, and vindictive paranoid monarchs, all grasping at power with greedy fingers.    The show is produced in a new space for the festival. The Shelton Auditorium is breathtaking in its layout. Doug Powers’ direction takes advantage of the incredible facility to stretch the action up the stairs to create the fiction of a fortified city. The battles often happen off stage which keeps the snarky banter front and center. It is a verbally dense play rich with prose. Georgeanna Smith Wade is a revelation as Duchess Constance. Like so many of the other actors, she plays multiple characters, but it’s her turn as a grieving mother that is worth the price of admission. Unfortunately, her character disappe...