Stage Write

Broadway Across America is thrilled to announce the 2010/11 Indianapolis season. Season tickets are now on sale. MARY POPPINS kicks off the season and the world’s most famous nanny will arrive at the Murat Theatre in September. Combining the best of the original stories by P.L. Travers and the beloved Walt Disney film, MARY POPPINS is a perfectly magical musical the entire family will enjoy. The show includes favorite songs such as “A Spoonful Of Sugar,” “Let’s Go Fly A Kite” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”. DREAMGIRLS, starring Indianapolis’ very own Moya Angela as Effie, will play the Murat Theatre in November. Direct from Harlem’s world famous Apollo Theater in New York City, this Tony® and Academy® Award-winning musical tells the rags-to-riches story of a 1960’s Motown group and features the unforgettable hits “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” “One Night Only” and “Listen”. 9 To 5 The Musical will make its Indianapolis premiere at Clowes Memorial Hall in January. ...

Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre's "Footloose" is fun with a capital F. It's filled with 1980s power ballads, big hair and teen angst. For the few people who have never seen the movie, a high school boy, Ren, and his mother move to the tiny town of Bomont, where dancing is illegal. Unfortunately, Ren just loves to dance, so this poses a problem and he's quickly labeled a "troublemaker." The best parts of the show are the big '80s dance numbers. Erin P. West shines as the wild preacher's daughter, Ariel, especially in "Holding Out For a Hero." With the help of her girls she belts out the song with such gusto you can't help but love it. The show was packed with great performance by the supporting cast. Eddie Curry's portrayal as a grieving, controlling preacher was a wonderful dramatic performance. Megan McKinney pulls double duty in her Beef & Boards' debut as both Ren's mom and a country singer. Amanda Lawson plays...

The Indianapolis Civic Theatre's current production is "Bus Stop." The play was made into a film in 1956, starring Marilyn Monroe, but it isn't one that pops up frequently on midwestern stages. It's a strange little story. A bus headed to Topeka, Kan. is stranded overnight at a diner when a snowstorm blocks the roads. As the travelers make their way off the bus we meet a nightclub singer, Cherie, a hotheaded cowboy, Bo, and his sidekick Virgil, and a strange professor with a penchant for booze and young girls. Paul Hansen plays Dr. Lyman, the Shakespeare quoting drunk. He does a wonderful job portraying the tragic character, but it's painful to watch his scenes. You can't help feeling uncomfortable as he sweet talks a naive, young waitress. He's a man filled with remorse and disgust for himself and his lack of self-control. The set was excellently done. The '50s diner provided a simple set up with good details. The waitresses costumes were particul...

The Indiana Repertory Theatre's Mainstage is currently home to one of the world's most famous love stories, just in time for Valentine's Day. Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" has been breaking audiences' hearts for centuries and this production is no exception. To give the old story a new twist, the IRT's version of "Romeo and Juliet" is set in the 1940s. The Capulets are African American and Montagues are Caucasian, but when Romeo and Juliet see each other for the first time their love rises above the racial divide. The production is the IRT debut for many in the cast. There are a few IRT regulars, but many of the leads, including the title duo, are new to the Indy scene. Though I love seeing familiar faces, it's always a treat when a local theater offers audiences a few new performers with a fresh perspective. The play hinges on the audience believing that the two teens have fallen so completely in love that they literally can't liv...

The Phoenix Theatre's first show of 2010 is "The Housewives of Mannheim." Set in Brooklyn in 1944, the play showcases a very different world than the one that we know. It's a world where women are able to spread their wings and experience a bit of freedom for the first time in their lives. With their husbands away fighting World War II, the women are left to find their footing on their own. This provides a paradox for the characters, as they experiment with their freedom they also know that the change is a temporary one. The play features four women who live in the same apartment complex. There is the prudish and meddlesome Alice, brassy Billie who has a mouth like a sailor, Sophie, a Jewish woman who is new to the building and fresh from the conflict in Europe and May, a young mother with a thirst for knowledge. Sophie's arrival changes the tenuous balance of the women's friendship. May's kitchen serves as the delicious set. From the cereal boxes to the t...

This year Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre decided to open its 2010 season with an odd comedy. It takes place in a lodge in Georgia where a British man, Charlie, is staying. The lodge's owner, Betty, and its other guests believe that Charlie can't speak any English. Hilarity ensues when they all share their secrets in front of him. The show is undeniably packed with laughs, but it breaks from the normal vein of comedies because there is a darker undercurrent that runs throughout the entire play. The plot deals with issues of racism and prejudice rooted in ignorance. Also with exploiting a mentally challenged man. At one point a furious group of Ku Klux Klan members show up at the lodge and threaten the lives of the guests. That being said, the show is also one of the funniest to hit the Beef & Board's stage. Jeff Stockberger plays the "boring" Charlie to perfection. He tones down his usual antics to play this depressed Brit and it works well. As Charlie begins...

"The Color Purple," presented by Broadway Across America, is on stage now at Clowes Memorial Hall. Based on the Pulitzer-Prize-winning book of the same name, the musical's central character is a subservient, sweet-natured girl named Celie. Celie's story is one of heartache and pain. She is beaten, raped and mistreated by all of the men in her life from a young age. The few people in her life whom she loves, her sister Nettie, her two children and a woman named Shug, are all taken from her at some point. She's lived under the oppressive thumb of her husband since she was only 14. Yet somehow, despite the unimaginable sorrows the characters face, this story exudes hope and love. "The Color Purple" is truly about Celie finding her footing in a harsh world. Celie is played by Kenita R. Miller, whose small stature disguises a vocal powerhouse. Miller is the perfect choice for the role and her solo numbers are breathtaking. The production's supporting cast...