Stage Write

  It’s that time of year again! Christmas shows are popping up all over town and whether you’re a fan of traditional or playful, there’s something for everyone. The Phoenix Theatre’s annual Xmas show is a mix of song, dance, parody, and poems. My favorite part about it is that it’s different every year. The content is fresh and ever-changing, so while you might not love every skit, at least it’s something new! The 11th annual show focused on celebrating the holidays internationally. A narrator shared bits about unique traditions around the globe between the scenes. The set utilized multimedia screens that showed song lyrics and photos throughout the show.   During a dance sequence I felt myself appreciating that the Phoenix never constrains itself with meeting every social norm. The dancers were not a uniform body type and it was beautiful. The theatre consistently tries to represents people from many walks of life, instead of just one traditional Midwestern one. ...

The Fox on the Fairway, a fun farcical romp, is on stage now at the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre. The play is about a heated golfing competition between two rival country clubs. The stakes are raised when side bets are made and everything depends on the outcome. I think farces often work a bit better as period pieces. There is more room for misunderstandings and scandalous situations when there are more taboos. Setting one in present day leaves little room for any true shocks. That doesn’t take away from the humor; it just feels a bit more like a TV sitcom with over-the-top humor and confusion that’s all ironed out by the end of the episode. Jean Childers-Arnold plays Pamela, a jilted ex-wife and a board member at the country club. Her comedic timing was one of the highlights of the show. She slipped in quick-witted barbs at all the right moments. Dickie Bell (Paul Ellis) and Louise (Melissa Mellinger) battle it out for the role of the loudest one on the stage. I think B...