Stage Write

Hamilton is back in town! The Broadway Across America production is currently at the Old National Center. At this point most people who have been dying to see Hamilton have made it happen in Chicago, New York, or with one of the touring productions. The real question is: is this production as excellent as the others and is it worth seeing multiple times? The obvious answer is yes. Whether it’s your first time seeing the show or your fifth, it’s no less intoxicating. The musical is so layered and filled to the brim with moving parts that there will always be something new to discover. Many are familiar with the addictive soundtrack and 2020 film version with the original cast, but there’s a contagious energy that can’t be captured without a live performance. With a cast of more than 20 people, the choreography is astonishing. Every motion is smooth and perfectly timed, and the supporting cast moves as one unit. In one scene a dancer uses a single book as a prop in a gorgeous dance, in a...

If you love dancing, have I got a show for you! An American in Paris is on stage for the first time at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. Many will recognize the story from the Oscar-winning 1951 film of the same name. The familiar Gershwin score and songs are lovely and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” is a particularly beautiful moment in the show. The love story hasn't aged as well as the music. Three different men claim to be in love with the lead, Lise, but not even one of them seems to make any effort to get to know her. Each one sees her as an exquisite creature but never seems to care about what she wants. That’s a plot flaw, but not a problem with this specific production. Ron Morgan pulls double duty as both the director and the choreographer and his focus is clear. Each scene is filled to the brim with dance numbers that cover every inch of the stage. Both the plot and musical numbers take a backseat. Jill Kelly Howe and Kathy Henry’s costume design is excellent. The...

  Shakespeare's Will is a one-woman show about the Bard's wife. At a brisk 90 minutes, the show covers a lot of ground. The famous playwright leaves grief in his wake, but Anne Hathaway was a woman with her own story. Tracy Michelle Arnold brings an almost impossible balance of playfulness and grief to the role of Anne. She is not a one-dimensional spouse from a Shakespeare biography. She is complex, imperfect, angry, sensual, fearful, lonely, and so much more. As impressive as her range is in the characters she plays (Shakespeare, her father, her bitter sister-in-law, etc.), it’s Anne that is the heart of the story. How many women have stood behind their famous husbands throughout history, making the men’s success possible through their sacrifices? In the role of Anne, Arnold’s graceful, captivating performance, gives voice to those women. Brenda DeVita’s direction captures the perfect timing needed for the story. Moments of sweet remembrance intersperse with Anne’s painful pr...

  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...

A one-woman show starring two of Indy’s finest leading ladies, Wild Horses is a fascinating concept with a big payoff. Constance Macy and  Jen Johansen rotate nights for their performances in the coming-of-age story. T he one-act play flies by because it feels like chatting with an old friend who’s regaling you with stories from her past. From first crushes to alcohol concoctions only the underaged would dare to drink, the show captures the electric, reckless feel of youth. The night I attended, Johansen was in the driver's seat and she  kept up the break-neck pace for the entire 80-minute show. Solo shows rest entirely on the shoulders of the actor and  Johansen was perfect for the role. She imbued each scene with humor and heartbreak. She was full of energy and captured the emotional peaks and valleys of adolescence.   She skips easily between half a dozen impressions and voices as she tells the story of the summer when she was 13 and the world was both full of exc...

  Empathy is often in short supply when it comes to how we feel about people on the opposite side of the political divide. Heroes of the Fourth Turning, a Pulitzer-prize finalist, explores that tricky topic in an intense and memorable way. The show is perfectly in line with American Lives Theatre’s mission to provide provocative and entertaining plays to Indy. With a cast of five people, director Andrew Kramer tackles a difficult premise. Former students and friends from a Catholic college in Wyoming reunite to celebrate an old professor. Late at night the talk turns to politics and even though it’s a very conservative group, emotions run hot as the lines that divide them become evident. I loved how each new pairing offered a unique point of view. Individuals popped in and out of the house allowing for conversations to shift and new tensions to appear as they challenged each other’s beliefs. The set, designed by Daniel McCullough, is incredible. The IndyFringe’s normal layout is ...

  Clue, the classic whodunit farce, kicks off Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre's 50th anniversary season. The mystery show takes the famous board game and film and turns it into a play. Each character is given a weapon and a motive and the murders begin. Eddie Curry directs the fast-paced production and keeps the actors as close to their movie counterparts as possible.  The cast reads like a who’s who of Beef and Boards' favorites including Suzanne Stark, John Vessels, Deb Wims, David Schmittou, Jeff Stockberger, and Sally Scharbrough. Audiences might also recognize a subdued Ben Asaykwee in a very different role than many of his other productions. Scot Greenwell particularly shines as the timid Mr. Green. For each cast member, the role plays to their individual strengths. Schmittou's impressive monologue explaining each of the crimes at the end is an absolute highlight.  The set is incredibly simple, a turntable with half a dozen doors perfec...