Cabaret – surprisingly timely What could possibly be timely about a 50-year-old musical set in Berlin during Hitler’s rise to power? What, indeed. Had I seen Cabaret a year ago, I would have enjoyed it, but seeing it during the 2016 election cycle as we argue over transgender bathroom rights, immigration and religious freedom made this musical even more powerful, and rather unsettling! (In retrospect, I shouldn’t be surprised. John Kander and Fred Ebb, the same songwriting duo responsible for Chicago, another musical set in a different time period that also has uncanny modern day parallels, wrote the songs in Cabaret.) Set during the Weimar…
Tag: musical theater
Opening night ovation in Dallas, Texas Opening night of IF/THEN at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas ended with a cheering crowd and a standing ovation. This new musical by the Pulitzer Prize Winning duo, Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, is a 2 and a 1/2 hour riff on the decisions we make in life and the consequences (both expected and unforeseen) these choices create. IF/THEN vs Sliding Doors At first blush, the plot of IF/THEN sounds similar to “Sliding Doors,” a 1998 movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow. “Sliding Doors” shows the myriad ways a simple event – in this case, either catching or…
Crowd Pleasing Motown Hits in Dallas, Texas There was no second guessing needed to tell if the Dallas, Texas audience enjoyed Motown the Musical. From the moment the curtain lifted, people were clapping, whooping, and dancing in their seats. Based on a 1994 autobiography by Motown founder, Berry Gordy, this jukebox musical is chock full of toe-tapping nostalgia. With everything from “Baby Love” and “My Girl,” to “Brick House” and “Super Freak,” Motown the Musical packs in well over 50 major hits from the past 50 years. The show includes all the songs you remember, plus a few you may…
Anything Goes: A Tony Award Winning Musical Revival Anything Goes is not just a classic musical, it’s what every musical strives to be. Whether you’ve seen it before or not, if you grew up in the USA, you’ve certainly heard all (or very nearly all) of the songs in this show before. The first act alone contains such classics as: “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “You’re the Top,” “De-Lovely,” and, “Anything Goes.” See what I mean? After seeing the show in Dallas at the Winspear Opera House, it’s easy to see why this revival by New York City’s…
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…
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…