Stage Write

Fairytales are familiar fare at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, but the darker stories in Into the Woods are not. The theatre is currently producing the Stephen Sondheim musical for the first time. The show explores the lives of Cinderella, Little Red Ridinghood, Rapunzel, etc. with a much more realistic twist. What happens after the happily ever after ?  Don Farrell and Meaghan Sands play the baker and his wife. The pair is the heart of the show. Their struggle with infidelity drives them into the woods to break a curse. The two work well as a married couple, frustrated with each other and loving in equal measure. Sands is particularly good, providing a grounded center in the midst of chaos. Her vocals are beautiful. Farrell finds his voice during the number “No More”. “Agony” sung by Cinderella’s Prince (Timothy Ford), and Rapunzel’s Prince (Mickey Rafalski), is one of the highlights of the show. For me it blends the production’s tongue-in-cheek humor, excellent singi...

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,...