Stage Write

  Hamilton’s “You’ll Be Back” might as well have been written about me and Les Misérables. There will never be a time I’m not drawn to this show. I think we often forget that musicals and plays that have become commonplace to us are still new to the next generation. Bringing my nine-year-old daughter to see the show for the first time was a beautiful experience. I remember seeing it in London for the first time at 21 and being blown away. The depth of the story, the beauty of the songs, the range of the vocals, it was a revelation. Seeing the same response from her made this production particularly special for me. Broadway Across America included this show in its season two years ago, and many of the lead actors, including Javert (Preston Truman Boyd), Valjean (Nick Cartell), the Bishop of Digne (Randy Jeter), and others, all remain the same. Their powerful performances could carry the show alone, but the large supporting cast is full of standouts. Alexa Lopez does a beautiful job ...

  The greatest musicals, the ones with a lasting impact, combine two important things. The first is a powerful story and the second is a great score. Few musicals do that as brilliantly as Les Misérables. It’s a story of mercy, grief, redemption, and the ripple effect that love has on everyone it touches. Every time I see the show, something new stands out to me. In this Broadway Across America’s production, I was struck by Javert’s story. This is the first time I’ve seen the show since the wild polarization of our nation built to its current fervor. Javert’s worldview is painfully legalistic, leaving no room for mercy or the acceptance of growth in others. That story hit differently this time as I recognized how common it has become to refuse to see your “enemy” as a real person. Empathy is in short supply and the cautionary tale of Javert’s obsession with justice is more harrowing than ever. Preston Truman Boyd did a beautiful job with the character and is a towering presence o...

Les Misérables is in town at the Old National Centre this week. The Broadway Across America production features a huge cast and sets that are startlingly beautiful. The classic score contains so many familiar songs and it never disappoints. It tells the story of a prisoner who breaks his parole and spends years being hunted by a policeman obsessed with justice. It’s a tale of redemption, grace, second chances and falling in love. There’s a reason this show has had no problem finding audiences for more than 30 years. Every time I see it a different song shines for me. This time it was “Bring Him Home”, the barricade ballad in the second act. Nick Cartell as Jean Valjean hits his stride and shows his range in the number and the result gives you chills. The beautiful number provides a moment of stillness in the midst of chaos. Through the decades, each new Les Mis cast has brought a slightly different interpretation to their characters. This current iteration features a younger...

In May the Phoenix theater will hold its grand opening at its new location. That exciting fact makes this Xmas show particularly special. This year is the very last time audiences can see the holiday hit in the old church the Phoenix has called home for decades. There are years of new memories to be made on the new stage, but for those of us who have made A Very Phoenix Xmas part of our annual holiday tradition, there was something special about seeing this final show. The Phoenix decided to bring back some crowd favorites from the previous 11 iterations of the show. They let people vote and the winners included "Tacobel Canon" and "Don't Eat the Baby". My personal favorite, "Les Miserabelves", was just as fantastic the second time around. The mash up of the Rudolph Christmas special and Les Miserables is beyond hilarious. Paul Hansen’s rendition of "Hallelujah" backed by a chorus of hymn singing cast members was incredibly movin...

Broadway Across America is thrilled to announce the 2017/18 Indianapolis season. Season tickets are now on sale. Finding Neverland         October 17-22, 2017 - Clowes Memorial Hall The winner of Broadway.com’s Audience Choice Award for Best Musical, this breathtaking smash “captures the kid-at-heart,” says TIME Magazine. Vogue cheers, “It’s a must-see you’ll remember for years to come!” Directed by visionary Tony®-winner Diane Paulus and based on the critically-acclaimed Academy Award® winning film, Finding Neverland tells the incredible story behind one of the world’s most beloved characters: Peter Pan. A Christmas Story, The Musical                                                    ...

Les Misérables has seen a resurgence in the past couple years. The popular musical, which tells the story of a convict who finds redemption, has been everywhere from Broadway to the Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre and is now on stage at the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre. Yet despite being around for decades, there are still audience members at each performance seeing the show for the first time. It is with those individuals in mind that I recommend this production. Anyone who has seen the show many times will inevitably compare it, which makes it easy to pick out the flaws, but those seeing it for the first time will be swept away by the huge cast and the sheer scope of the story. The production’s minimalist set makes use of lighting over set pieces. The lighting design, by Ryan Koharchik, balances some tricky moments when one cast member is performing at the front of the stage and the set is being shuffled for the next scene in the back. The result is relatively smooth transit...

Each years there are countless of great shows produced and there's no way to make it to all of them. Here are my top ten choices of shows I saw in 2013. Keep your eyes on these theatres in 2014 for more great shows!   1) Yellow Wallpaper at NoExit Performances 2) Next to Normal at the Phoenix Theatre 3) Hamlet at the American Players Theatre in Wisconsin 4) An Iliad at the Indiana Repertory Theatre 5) The Importance of Being Earnest performed by the EclecticPond Theatre Company   6) Les Misérables at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre 7) Wicked at the Old National Center performed by Broadway Across America 8) Love, Loss, and What I Wore at the Phoenix Theatre 9) Underneath the Lintel performed by Patrick O'Brien at iNDYFRINGE 10) The Crucible at the Indiana Repertory Theatre   Photos courtesy of the Phoenix, the American Players Theatre, Broadway Across America and the IRT