by Colin Thomas | Jun 28, 2024 | Review
If you’re looking for a musical revue with no story or ideas, you’re in luck. This Arts Club production of Ring of Fire is well staged, well designed, it contains some strong performances and, of course, it features a bunch of great songs by Johnny Cash and others,...
by Colin Thomas | May 25, 2024 | Review
Madeleine Suddaby’s performance as Adelaide is worth the price of admission. Literally. Lay down that dough! Guys and Dolls premiered in 1950, but it’s based on work by Damon Runyon set two and three decades earlier. In the underworld of gamblers, strippers, and...
by Colin Thomas | Apr 1, 2024 | Review
Playwright Lolita Chakrabarti’s Red Velvet is primarily concerned with two things: anti-Black racism and acting styles in the nineteenth century, when the play is set. These things overlap. Ira Aldridge, the hero of Chakrabarti’s story, is a historical figure, a Black...
by Colin Thomas | Sep 16, 2023 | Review
This is my fifth draft of this review. Previous drafts have started with “Free the bimbo!” and “This production could accurately be renamed Little Shop of Crippling Good Intentions.” Overall, I don’t think the production succeeds. But I’m out of snappy ledes, so let’s...
by Colin Thomas | Jun 30, 2023 | Review
Director Bobby Garcia’s production of Million Dollar Quartet is so slick. His direction is tight, the design is fantastic, and the cast has talent pouring out of them. But I also felt like I was being marketed to and that significantly cut into my enjoyment. It might...
