Fame or Famine

I’m afraid my internet connection punked out on me at the end of the Blog-Off, and I didn’t make all 24 posts in 24 hours. But I had a lot of help from guest bloggers, and here is one article by Dana Pellebon, an actor, writer, and producer from Madison, WI.
Writer’s groups are a dime a dozen these days and very few distinguish themselves.  Inkslingers, based out of Madison, WI, is one of the very few who do and manage to have their work produced.  I have been lucky enough to act for them on and off throughout the past …read more

Comments Off

or, : From Broadway to Virginia to Melbourne to Hometown, USA in search of a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
I had expected to write, today, about the revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, featuring Tony-award winning actors such as Phylicia Rashad, James Earl Jones, and Anika Noni Rose (all of whom are also TV and movie stars, but it does my luddite heart good to only list them as being paragons of the theatre). It’s a production that has sparked some controversy due to the cast being entirely African American. However, living in the midwest, I can’t …read more

Comments Off

I’ve been coming across mentions of this play for the past couple of weeks here and there, always with the same gist to the comments: This is something new, something different; this ain’t your Momma’s Broadway musical. Then today I read in the Gothamist: “…an irresistible, cross-genre score, warm hearted humor, inspired staging and a brilliant ensemble.”
And that did it – I needed to find out more, not that I’ll get to actually see it any time soon. But surely I can catch glimpses of it via the web?
Stalking Passing Strange
Starting at the website of the show, I’m glad to …read more

Comments Off

How to Do Something Right
Let me beam with pride at being a citizen of the fine city of Madison.
Last night there was a disturbance – worried neighbors called the police to say that they could see people with guns silhouetted through a window. The police responded as they would to any hostage situation, with multiple officers and ready to take action – until they learned that it was actually a local theatre group rehearsing a play about Irish terrorism called the “Lieutenant of Inishmore.”
The police issued no tickets, no warnings, not even a “hey, maybe you should use …read more

Comments Off

“Company”
Last night’s presentation on Great Performances was as good as promised. Anyone who has ever liked Seinfeld or Sex and the City will appreciate it – in fact, you might think the play was a rip-off of those ouvres until you realized that Sondheim wrote it in the 70’s. The music is also melodic enough that I was able to appreciate it more than the wandering tunes of Sweeney Todd, and included one of my favorites: “Not Getting Married“, a hilarious patter song sung by a nervous bride on her wedding day.
Raul Azara had an understated elegance to being the …read more

Comments Off