Skip to content

Category: My Reviews

Sometimes I review things!

Review: The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess in Dallas, Texas

The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess: A Tony Award Winning Musical After winning several prestigious awards (including the 2012 Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Musical) The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess is now playing at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Texas as part of the AT&T Performing Arts Broadway Lexus Series. Even if you have never seen Porgy and Bess, chances are you know its songs, since so many of them have been covered over the past 78 years. George Gershwin’s famous American opera intentionally weaves classical music with spirituals, blues and jazz, so it’s easy for artists in…

Review: US National Tour of Traces in Dallas, TX

Traces at AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Winspear Opera House The AT&T Performing Arts Center’s 2012-2013 Lexus Broadway Series ends on a high note with the US National Tour of Traces now playing at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Texas. Opening night for this limited run was spectacular and well-attended. It was also peppered with applause throughout and received a spontaneous standing ovation at the end. What a show! Traces: Jackie Chan meets Stomp You know how Jackie Chan performs crazy gymnastic stunts in real-life settings, and how Stomp performs intricate percussion pieces with ordinary objects, like buckets and brooms?…

Review: Fela! (a musical) in Dallas, Texas

Dancing in our Seats Opening night of the Tony Award winning musical Fela! had its Dallas audience dancing in their seats – and the show hadn’t even started yet. Instead of waiting for the curtain to rise, musicians were already jamming with the set on full display as viewers found their seats. In this clever way the show made us feel that, instead of coming to see a musical at Winspear Opera House, we were at a nightclub to hear the legendary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and his band perform. Who is Fela Anikulapo-Kuti? Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is the father of Afrobeat music,…

Review: Blue Man Group Theatrical Tour in Dallas, Texas

Blue Man Group in Dallas, Texas The quirky performance art trio known as Blue Man Group has returned to Dallas for a quick visit. The show kicked off last night at the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Winspear Opera House and plays through December 30th. From Street Theater to a Theatrical Tour Longtime friends, Matt Goldman, Chris Wink, and Phil Stanton created Blue Man Group in the 1980′s, and the concept has been evolving ever since. What started as guerilla street theater in New York City has grown into a major enterprise. Blue Man Group now has full-time talent scouts scouring theater…

Review: War Horse in Dallas – The Poetry of Puppetry

Like me, you probably associate puppet shows with children’s entertainment, not sophisticated Broadway productions. So when I heard that a theatrical version of War Horse featuring horse puppets was coming to the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas on its first national tour, I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, come on, horse puppets?!? On my way in I was intrigued to overhear a man say, “I’ve seen this show four times, and I still forget those horses aren’t real.” After seeing the show, I know exactly what he means. From the opening scenes, in which we are introduced…

Review: Chicago (the musical) in Dallas, Texas – Still Relevant in the 21st Century

To see Chicago or not to see Chicago, that is the question The AT&T Performing Arts Center kicks off its Lexus Broadway Series with the classic musical, Chicago. Opening night at the Winspear Opera House was a rousing success, with an audience that spontaneously clapped and cheered throughout, then unhesitatingly leapt to a standing ovation at the finale. There are several reasons Chicago has endured, becoming the longest running American musical in Broadway history. For one thing, like Shakespeare’s classic play, Hamlet, even if you’ve seen it before, you want to see it again. Why is that? Because with the…