Stage Write

 The Beef & Boards annual family show is the perfect way to kick off the summer. There are a few big moments in the production with the wow factor, including an aerial ribbon dancer and a mermaid soaring through the sea. Beef & Boards nails both and it’s a treat to watch jaws drop on tiny faces in the audience. MSTS Costumes took it to the next level with this show. Sea creatures of every variety are on full display with shimmering scales and flowing skirts. Those new to the show will recognize numbers from the original Disney movie, but there are also added songs created just for the musical, and some work better than others. “If Only” is a lovely addition, while Positoovity” is completely unnecessary. Scuttle is just a tough character to translate to the stage. Sarah Daniels plays Ariel, and infuses a big personality into the role. Prince Eric’s role is limited, but Josh Alvarez does as much as he can with it. He is earnest and enthusiastic. Michael Ray Fisher’s Sebasti...

Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre is thrilled to announce its 2019 season. They’re Playing Our Song (Jan. 4 – Feb. 3., 2019) The season opens Jan. 4, 2019 with Neil Simon and Marvin Hamlisch’s They’re Playing Our Song, a funny, romantic show about an established composer and his relationship with a quirky aspiring female lyricist. Profesionally, their relationship is in harmony, but personally their relationship is out of sync! Grease ( Feb. 7 – March 31, 2019) Grease is the word starting Feb. 7, as the popular movie-turned-musical cruises onto the Beef & Boards stage. It’s 1959 and Sandy’s the new girl at Rydell High School who happened to have a summer romance with the school’s coolest greaser, Danny. But the school’s social waters are tougher to navigate. The hit score includes “Greased Lightnin’,” “You’re The One That I Want,” and “Summer Nights.” 42nd Street (April 4 – May 19, 2019) Starting April 4, dance on over to spectacular 42nd Street, the Tony Award...

Like so many others, I grew up watching Disney’s The Little Mermaid. The lyrics of those songs are ingrained on my brain to this day. So seeing Broadway Across America’s current production of the story is bittersweet. It was fun to revisit the characters, but it was impossible not to compare the musical with the movie as I watched. The show contains quite a few new numbers, but not a single one is a stand out. Instead they feel like efforts to kill time in between the recognizable songs from the movie. “Daddy’s Little Angel” is particularly cringe-worthy. “Positoovity” is another example; Scuttle the seagull didn’t need his own number. Even when the audience is treated to “Under the Sea” and “Part of your World” they fall a bit flat. It’s not the singing that’s off, but the production as a whole. Though the lead, Diana Huey, can belt out her parts beautifully, it’s hard to concentrate on her singing as she shimmies her way around the stage “swimming” through the set. The ...

Broadway Across America is thrilled to announce the 2015/16 Indianapolis season. Season tickets are now on sale.     Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella November 15-20, 2016       Clowes Memorial Hall The Sound of Music January 10-15, 2017 Old National Centre Disney’s The Little Mermaid February 7-12, 2017 Old National Centre Motown the Musical March 28-April 2, 2017 Old National Centre Kinky Boots May 16-21, 2017  Clowes Memorial Hall Jersey Boys February 28-March 5, 2017  Clowes Memorial Hall Season tickets are on sale with THREE ways to purchase: 1. Select your seats in person at the Broadway in Indianapolis Box Office in the Old National Centre at 502 N New Jersey Street , Monday – Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm 2. Order online 7 days a week/24 hours a day at www.BroadwayinIndianapolis.com 3. Call the Broadway Across America toll-free Indianapolis Season Ticket Hotline at 800-793-7469 . ...