Stage Write

The Indiana Repertory Theatre typically shies away from musicals, depending instead of dramatic plays for the majority of its productions. But when the theater decides to do one it holds nothing back! Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music is on the IRT’s Main Stage through the middle of February and the sheer scale of the undertaking is impressive. There’s a large cast, decadent costumes, incredible voices, and a live orchestra performing the score beneath the stage. The cast even includes Sylvia McNair, a Grammy-award-winning performer. The stage is set with lines of thin birch trees, giving an added depth to the stage. The elaborate period costumes include piles of tiaras and beautiful jewelry to compliment the men’s tuxes and ladies’ evening gowns. The show itself is a reflection on love and the odd pairings it sometimes creates. It’s a bit like a French farce blended with an operetta, quick witty dialogue and humor balancing the characters’ heartbreak and loneliness. ...

Joey Stoshack has the unique ability to travel back in time using old baseball cards. Jackie and Me, based on the novel by Dan Gutman and adapted for the stage by the talented Steven Dietz (Dracula, Becky's New Car), follows Joey back to 1947 where he meets the great Jackie Robinson. The show is now playing on the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s Upperstage and it's a wonderful way to bring history alive for any age group. The casts rotates through the present day segments and those in 1947 with almost every person taking on multiple roles. Rob Johansen’s turn as the card collecting Flip was particularly fun. Robert Neal was perfect as the brash Branch Rickey who went out on a limb and signed Jackie Robinson as the very first African-American to play in the Major Leagues. Beethovan Oden, Lanise Antoine Shelley, Ryan Artzberger, Jennifer Johansen all do wonderful work as Jackie and Rachel Robinson and Joey’s concerned parents along with a myriad of other characters. ...

Jersey Boys, the musical smash based on the band Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, is back in Indianapolis this month. The Broadway Across America show tells the story of the group that wrote and sang dozens of hits, like "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and "Ragdoll." From humble beginnings the four Jersey boys rocket up the charts with hit after hit, but the road to success is never easy. Girls, drinking and gambling, the pitfalls are many and hard to avoid. It's hard to resist the bright lights of success and reaching the top can be bittersweet. The first half of the show builds slowly as the group evolves, finding its name and sound. The second half feels more like an energetic concert as the cast bursts forth with one recognizable hit after another. It’s like having the opportunity to travel back in time and see the band live. The musical is even better the second time around. It gives you the chance to appreciate some of the supportin...

Beef and Board Dinner Theatre kicks its 40th Anniversary Season off in style with the classic screwball comedy Arsenic and Old Lace. Mortimer, a young theatre critic,  learns his two aunts are murders and his long-lost brother returns all in the same night. Chaos ensues as Mortimer tries to keep anyone else from getting killed.  David Schmittou is excellent as the straight man Mortimer trapped in the farcical situation. His bewilderment and consternation at his family's madness is hilarious. He says more with one incredulous face than a dozen lines of dialogue could convey.  One of my favorite bits in the show are the playful jibes at theatre critics. Mortimer hates the theatre and spends hours lambasting new plays and saving time by "writing the review on the way to the show." You can't help but think that was a bit of revenge from a frustrated playwright.  Eddie Curry plays Dr. Einstein perfectly, channeling the long-dead Peter Lorre who playe...

Buck Creek Players is proud to announce their 40th Anniversary Season in 2013-2014! Rumors: September 27-October 6, 2013 Celebrating forty years of quality community theater, the award-winning all-volunteer group will open their season with Rumors by Neil Simon. In this hilarious comedy, several affluent couples gather in the posh suburban residence of a couple for a dinner party celebrating their tenth anniversary. When they arrive, they discover there are no servants, the hostess is missing, and the host - the deputy mayor of New York City - has shot himself through the earlobe. Comic complications arise when, given everyone's upper class status, they decide they need to do everything possible to conceal the evening's events from the local police and the media.   The Little Town of Christmas: December 6-22, 2013 Visit The Little Town of Christmas in December as Buck Creek Players presents Pat Cook's comedy package of twelve yuletide sk...

This year has held some incredible performances and productions throughout the Midwest. Here are my top ten choices for 2012. Keep your eyes on these theatres in the future for more great shows. 1) Les Misérables at Clowes Hall performed by Broadway Across America 2) The House That Jack Built at the Indiana Repertory Theatre 3) August: Osage County at the Phoenix Theatre 4) The Woman in Black at the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre 5) The Book Thief at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago 6) Othello at the White River State Park performed by the Heartland Actors Repertory Theatre 7) Twelfth Night at the American Players Theatre in Wisconsin 8) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at the Indiana Repertory Theatre 9) Freud's Last Session at the Phoenix Theatre 10) The Wizard of Oz at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre Photos courtesy of the Phoenix, Beef & Boards, Broadway Across America and the IRT

“But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” That line from Scrooge’s nephew perfectly explains why A Christmas Carol is such a powerful play year after year. It is a reminder of all of the wonderful things the Christmas season holds. It's a reminder to value the people that are truly important in your life and to hold them close to you throughout the year. The Indiana Repertory Theatre's annual tradition is back again this year with a wonderful production of the Christmas classic.     The play has the same script each year, narrating the story of Scrooge's change of heart with a revolving cast of characters. The la...