"The Phantom of the Opera" opened on Broadway in 1988 and it's still running. For more than 22 years, the show has been staged on Broadway more than 9,3000 times.
Likewise, the popular national touring shows have had great success. The top-drawer musical played at the Schuster Center in 2003 and it has returned for a three-week run through June 27.
The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about the mysterious Phantom and his beloved Christine has enthralled audiences. Set in 1870 in the Paris Opera House, it has all the classic romantic elements combined with an award-winning musical score.
The disfigured Phantom is fascinated with newcomer Christine, whom adores after she replaces the very testy Carlotta in the opera's leading role. Christine, who has a boyfriend, is abducted by the Phantom, who takes her beneath the opera house into the catacombs he calls home.
From that point, "The Phantom of the Opera" revolves on the classic love triangle.
Of course, there is the climatic chandelier crashing down at the end of the first act.
Tim Martin Gleason portrays the Phantom, the one with the half mask that covers his ugly scars suffered years ago. Trista Moldovan plays Christine and Kim Stengel plays Carlotta. D.C. Anderson, who plays Monsieur Andre, said the show is "hypnotic."
"The story, the music, the setting -- it all just pulls you in. Everything just flows, very cinematically," Anderson said in a phone interview.
Based on the novel by Gaston Leroux, "The Phantom of the Opera" has been filmed three times, with varying success, as a non-musical. Lon Chaney played the Phantom in the silent version. Claude Rains, in 1944, and Herbert Lom, in 1962, played the title character in other film versions.
Gerard Butler played the Phantom in the 2003 film based on the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical version.
This Schuster tour is the final Ohio tour for "The Phantom of the Opera." The touring show's final bows are scheduled for a fall in Los Angeles.
"We're honored to be among the last cities to host this phenomenal, record-breaking tour," said Ken Neufeld, president and CEO of the Victoria Theatre Association and the Arts Center Foundation.
The show runs through Sunday, June 27, at the Schuster Center locate at the corner of Main and Second streets in downtown Dayton.
Ticket prices range from $31 to $83. For ticket information, call 228-3630.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
LaComdia musical hits comic notes
"Church Basement Ladies" may have a slight script but it was a boatload of laughs in the current show at the LaComedia Dinner Theatre in Springboro.
Based on the book "Growing Up Lutheran," the two-act musical features three women and one teen-age girl who make meals in a small church kitchen in a rural Minnesota town. The quartet of cooks prepares meals for big church events. Along the way, they gossip a bit, joke a bit and solve various personal problems. They also keep the church pastor on the right course, too.
Call they funny, call them bossy. But they sure know how to have fun.
About a dozen passable short songs and some choreography are sprinkled throughout the show. Without question, however, the real highlight on the evening is the comic acting performances.
Kudos to the entire cast of Becky Barrett Jones as Karin, Chelsea Lewis as Signe, Karin's daughter, Janet Brucken as the wacky Mavis, Denise Cox as the steadfast Vivian, and Chris Kramer as dedicated Pastor Gunderson. The ensemble is right on target, performing together as a comic unit. Moreover, each woman performs various "solo" bits -- some in the hammy mold -- in the LaComedia spotlight, prompting guffaws from the audience.
"Church Basement Ladies," directed by Minnesota resident Curt Wollan, has a nice Norwegian influence in the dialect. Most theatergoers, regardless of religious preference, can easily relate to the comic situations presented in this very funny production.
For ticket information, call (800) 677-9505.
Based on the book "Growing Up Lutheran," the two-act musical features three women and one teen-age girl who make meals in a small church kitchen in a rural Minnesota town. The quartet of cooks prepares meals for big church events. Along the way, they gossip a bit, joke a bit and solve various personal problems. They also keep the church pastor on the right course, too.
Call they funny, call them bossy. But they sure know how to have fun.
About a dozen passable short songs and some choreography are sprinkled throughout the show. Without question, however, the real highlight on the evening is the comic acting performances.
Kudos to the entire cast of Becky Barrett Jones as Karin, Chelsea Lewis as Signe, Karin's daughter, Janet Brucken as the wacky Mavis, Denise Cox as the steadfast Vivian, and Chris Kramer as dedicated Pastor Gunderson. The ensemble is right on target, performing together as a comic unit. Moreover, each woman performs various "solo" bits -- some in the hammy mold -- in the LaComedia spotlight, prompting guffaws from the audience.
"Church Basement Ladies," directed by Minnesota resident Curt Wollan, has a nice Norwegian influence in the dialect. Most theatergoers, regardless of religious preference, can easily relate to the comic situations presented in this very funny production.
For ticket information, call (800) 677-9505.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Moonlight & Magnolias at Victoria
Like its classic subject matter, the two-act play "Moonlight & Magnolias" is a hammy melodrama.
The comedy produced by the Human Race Theatre Co. at the Victoria Theatre concerns a secret one-week closed door work session among a Hollywood trio. (The name of the play, incidentally, is based on a line said by Clark Gable when Scarlett O'Hara visits him at the jail.)
The closed door mission: save the film version of the Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel "Gone with the Wind." Time is running out. The movie script for the 1,000 page book is in total disarray. More than a half dozen screenwriters -- including F. Scott Fitzgerald -- have failed to produce anything that pleases producer David O. Selznick. The famed producer is frantic.
That's why O. Selznick asks newspaper scribe Ben Hecht and journeyman director Victor Fleming to join him in a closed door session spanning five days of intense work.
"M&M," written by Ron Hutchinson in 2003, had its Dayton premier in 2007 at the Loft Theatre, an intimate 220-seat facility compared to the Victoria's 1,100-seat facility next door.
Marsha Hanna directed the 2007 version and has returned to co-direct the Victoria production along with cohort Jake Lockwood.
Happily, the current production that continues at the Victoria through Sunday, May 23, works on the big stage as well, if not better, than the Loft production three years ago.
Much of the credit goes to Hanna and Lockwood and the entire stage crew for mounting a purposeful and effective staging of this period piece that takes place in 1939. The month is February and O. Selznick wants the film version of the Civil War "melodrama" about the mercurial Scarlett O'Hara, the cultured Ashley Wilkes, the sweet Melanie Wilkes and the rogue Rhett Butler to open by December 1939 at the Loew's Theatre in downtown Atlanta.
Let's not forget Prissy, the black slave girl that "knows nothin' about birthin' babies." Prissy plays a key role in "M&M" when Scarlett's impetuously slaps the little black girl who sash shays up the stairs, saying she cannot help with the birth of Melanie's baby.
That birthing scene is played full tilt by the actors and the Prissy slapping scene is played out at least a half dozen times in "M&M." O. Selznick demands its inclusion in the film while Hecht is more than hesitant to write it. The melodramatic scene, of course, was a high point in the movie as played by Vivien Leigh as Scarlett and Butterfly McQueen as Prissy.
The four-member cast of "M&M" has, for the most part, a farcical field day. Their timing and delivery is right on target.
Richard Marlatt, who played Victor Fleming in the 2007 staging at the Loft, returns to the cast, but this time he is O. Selznick, the egomaniac and dictatorial producer who is the son-in-law of Louis B. Mayer. As a troubled soul who knows Mayer as well as others figure that "Gone With the Wind" is going to be a huge flop, Marlatt pulls out all the stops in his over-the-top performance. Tim Lile returns in his role as Ben Hecht, a writer who blithely announces he never read "Gone With the Wind." Erik Gratton joins the trio as Victor Fleming, the director who is called off "The Wizard of Oz" set in order to take over as director of the Civil War "epic." Seems O. Selznick has fired his best friend George Cukor, who took days to film one scene. The fourth role in the play is secretary Miss Poppenghul, nicely played by Cailtin Larsen. She supplies the bananas and peanuts that keep the "party" going.
According to Hanna's program notes, much of "M&M" rewrite session is true. The names were not changed, so everyone is fair game.
For ticket information, call 228-3630.
The comedy produced by the Human Race Theatre Co. at the Victoria Theatre concerns a secret one-week closed door work session among a Hollywood trio. (The name of the play, incidentally, is based on a line said by Clark Gable when Scarlett O'Hara visits him at the jail.)
The closed door mission: save the film version of the Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel "Gone with the Wind." Time is running out. The movie script for the 1,000 page book is in total disarray. More than a half dozen screenwriters -- including F. Scott Fitzgerald -- have failed to produce anything that pleases producer David O. Selznick. The famed producer is frantic.
That's why O. Selznick asks newspaper scribe Ben Hecht and journeyman director Victor Fleming to join him in a closed door session spanning five days of intense work.
"M&M," written by Ron Hutchinson in 2003, had its Dayton premier in 2007 at the Loft Theatre, an intimate 220-seat facility compared to the Victoria's 1,100-seat facility next door.
Marsha Hanna directed the 2007 version and has returned to co-direct the Victoria production along with cohort Jake Lockwood.
Happily, the current production that continues at the Victoria through Sunday, May 23, works on the big stage as well, if not better, than the Loft production three years ago.
Much of the credit goes to Hanna and Lockwood and the entire stage crew for mounting a purposeful and effective staging of this period piece that takes place in 1939. The month is February and O. Selznick wants the film version of the Civil War "melodrama" about the mercurial Scarlett O'Hara, the cultured Ashley Wilkes, the sweet Melanie Wilkes and the rogue Rhett Butler to open by December 1939 at the Loew's Theatre in downtown Atlanta.
Let's not forget Prissy, the black slave girl that "knows nothin' about birthin' babies." Prissy plays a key role in "M&M" when Scarlett's impetuously slaps the little black girl who sash shays up the stairs, saying she cannot help with the birth of Melanie's baby.
That birthing scene is played full tilt by the actors and the Prissy slapping scene is played out at least a half dozen times in "M&M." O. Selznick demands its inclusion in the film while Hecht is more than hesitant to write it. The melodramatic scene, of course, was a high point in the movie as played by Vivien Leigh as Scarlett and Butterfly McQueen as Prissy.
The four-member cast of "M&M" has, for the most part, a farcical field day. Their timing and delivery is right on target.
Richard Marlatt, who played Victor Fleming in the 2007 staging at the Loft, returns to the cast, but this time he is O. Selznick, the egomaniac and dictatorial producer who is the son-in-law of Louis B. Mayer. As a troubled soul who knows Mayer as well as others figure that "Gone With the Wind" is going to be a huge flop, Marlatt pulls out all the stops in his over-the-top performance. Tim Lile returns in his role as Ben Hecht, a writer who blithely announces he never read "Gone With the Wind." Erik Gratton joins the trio as Victor Fleming, the director who is called off "The Wizard of Oz" set in order to take over as director of the Civil War "epic." Seems O. Selznick has fired his best friend George Cukor, who took days to film one scene. The fourth role in the play is secretary Miss Poppenghul, nicely played by Cailtin Larsen. She supplies the bananas and peanuts that keep the "party" going.
According to Hanna's program notes, much of "M&M" rewrite session is true. The names were not changed, so everyone is fair game.
For ticket information, call 228-3630.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
A Chorus Line at Schuster
For those theatergoers unfamiliar with "A Chorus Line," it's far removed from the traditional large scale musical. It's 35 years old, making its Broadway debut in 1975. It has more than two dozen performers in the cast.
The twist to the show is the story behind the dancing and singing.
Auctioneers for a Broadway show are on stage trying to impress a hard-boiled director. During the tryout, they reveal their innermost thoughts and emotions in song and dance. The two dozen auditioneers are eventually whittled down to eight, the group that is cast for the unnamed show at hand.
"A Chorus Line," the current touring show playing at the Schuster Center through Sunday, May 2, periodically shows its age, especially in some of the preachy monologues. The two-hour show performed in one act sags a bit at the midway point.
But the sensational payoff in the final 20 minutes is worth an occasional lapse or two. The stage mirrors are always effective in the top-drawer "One" number. The best song in the show -- "What I Did For Love" -- is a highpoint as sung by Selina Verastigui as Diana.
Rebecca Riker is a standout in her solo dance number at the halfway point of the show. Erek Hanson is properly hard nosed as the director, who does the interrogations with a microphone from his offstage spot.
All in all, "A Chorus Line" at the Schuster is a solid mix of soul searching and precise choreography.
For ticket information, call 228-3630.
The twist to the show is the story behind the dancing and singing.
Auctioneers for a Broadway show are on stage trying to impress a hard-boiled director. During the tryout, they reveal their innermost thoughts and emotions in song and dance. The two dozen auditioneers are eventually whittled down to eight, the group that is cast for the unnamed show at hand.
"A Chorus Line," the current touring show playing at the Schuster Center through Sunday, May 2, periodically shows its age, especially in some of the preachy monologues. The two-hour show performed in one act sags a bit at the midway point.
But the sensational payoff in the final 20 minutes is worth an occasional lapse or two. The stage mirrors are always effective in the top-drawer "One" number. The best song in the show -- "What I Did For Love" -- is a highpoint as sung by Selina Verastigui as Diana.
Rebecca Riker is a standout in her solo dance number at the halfway point of the show. Erek Hanson is properly hard nosed as the director, who does the interrogations with a microphone from his offstage spot.
All in all, "A Chorus Line" at the Schuster is a solid mix of soul searching and precise choreography.
For ticket information, call 228-3630.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
"Phantom" at LaComedia
It's been 10 years since the LaComedia Dinner Theatre stage "Phantom" at their 650-seat facility in Springboro.
A huge hit for the Adkins (Joe and David) in the spring of 2000, "Phantom" has returned for a run through May 2. This "Phantom" is a musical based on the classic 1910 novel by Gaston LeRoux, but it not "The Phantom of the Opera"written by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The two-act LaComedia version, written by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit, includes more than 20 songs in nearly two dozen scenes.
In the show, the disfigured Phantom (portrayed by Patrick Ryan) lives in the catacombs below the Paris Opera. Once he hears the singing voice of Christine (Megan Buzzard), the Phantom becomes infatuated. The emotional back story to the show focuses on the Phantom's need for love after a tortured childhood. The role of the adolescent Phantom is rotated by Tucker Dandenault and Brendan Plate.
Carlotta, the Opera manager, is characterized by Rachel Black. Other characters include Carriere played by Chris Beiser, Inspector Ledoux played by Bob Penny and Count Phillippe played by Samuel Perwin. The show is directed and choreographed by Kevin P. Hill.
Of course, he eventually becomes obsessed with Christine, thereby setting the love story in motion.
The story of the Phantom has been filmed three times, starting with the silent Lon Chaney version from 1925. Claude Rains played the title role in 1945 and Herbert Lom did likewise in the 1962 version. The story was also produced as an NBC film in 1991 with Charles Dance as the Phantom and Burt Lancaster as the Phantom's father.
Those theatergoers familiar with any version of the Phantom should find much to like about the LaComedia version. Theater critics often refer to "Phantom" as the "smarter version" of any stage production.
For ticket information, call 1-800-677-9505.
A huge hit for the Adkins (Joe and David) in the spring of 2000, "Phantom" has returned for a run through May 2. This "Phantom" is a musical based on the classic 1910 novel by Gaston LeRoux, but it not "The Phantom of the Opera"written by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The two-act LaComedia version, written by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit, includes more than 20 songs in nearly two dozen scenes.
In the show, the disfigured Phantom (portrayed by Patrick Ryan) lives in the catacombs below the Paris Opera. Once he hears the singing voice of Christine (Megan Buzzard), the Phantom becomes infatuated. The emotional back story to the show focuses on the Phantom's need for love after a tortured childhood. The role of the adolescent Phantom is rotated by Tucker Dandenault and Brendan Plate.
Carlotta, the Opera manager, is characterized by Rachel Black. Other characters include Carriere played by Chris Beiser, Inspector Ledoux played by Bob Penny and Count Phillippe played by Samuel Perwin. The show is directed and choreographed by Kevin P. Hill.
Of course, he eventually becomes obsessed with Christine, thereby setting the love story in motion.
The story of the Phantom has been filmed three times, starting with the silent Lon Chaney version from 1925. Claude Rains played the title role in 1945 and Herbert Lom did likewise in the 1962 version. The story was also produced as an NBC film in 1991 with Charles Dance as the Phantom and Burt Lancaster as the Phantom's father.
Those theatergoers familiar with any version of the Phantom should find much to like about the LaComedia version. Theater critics often refer to "Phantom" as the "smarter version" of any stage production.
For ticket information, call 1-800-677-9505.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
LaComedia and "Bubba's Revenge"
The musical sketch comedy "Bubba's Revenge" is the current production at the LaComedia Dinner Theatre in Springboro. It's a followup to a previous LaComedia production titled "The Honky Tonk Angels," a show that featured three women country music singers.
"Bubba's Revenge" has the zesty flavor or the earlier show, but this time three guys add a little spice to the show. Granted, the thin script is somewhat corny, but the show is all about the singing and the cast delivers.
On the distaff side, Jackie Snyder, Leslie Jo Bissett and Tina Shatto are the gal singers who warble their best Dolly Parton, Pasty Cline and Tammy Wynette impersonations. The guys deliver their share of tunes as well and are played by Harold Skaggs, Dustin Harris and Chris Beiser, who delivers an outrageous performance as a goofball with adrenalin to spare.
Included among the dozen or so country songs are "Rhinestone Cowboy," "On the Road Again," "Islands in the Stream" and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." The second act centers primarily on gospel tunes like "His Eye on the Sparrow."
This LaComedia show offers a light, humorous look at folks making a living in the country music business.
"Bubba's Revenge" continues through Feb. 28. For ticket information, call 1-800-677-9505.
"Bubba's Revenge" has the zesty flavor or the earlier show, but this time three guys add a little spice to the show. Granted, the thin script is somewhat corny, but the show is all about the singing and the cast delivers.
On the distaff side, Jackie Snyder, Leslie Jo Bissett and Tina Shatto are the gal singers who warble their best Dolly Parton, Pasty Cline and Tammy Wynette impersonations. The guys deliver their share of tunes as well and are played by Harold Skaggs, Dustin Harris and Chris Beiser, who delivers an outrageous performance as a goofball with adrenalin to spare.
Included among the dozen or so country songs are "Rhinestone Cowboy," "On the Road Again," "Islands in the Stream" and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." The second act centers primarily on gospel tunes like "His Eye on the Sparrow."
This LaComedia show offers a light, humorous look at folks making a living in the country music business.
"Bubba's Revenge" continues through Feb. 28. For ticket information, call 1-800-677-9505.
LaComedia and Budd's Revenge
The musical sketch comedy "Bubba's Revenge" is the current production at the LaComedia Dinner Theatre in Springboro. It's a followup to "The Honky Tonk Angels," a previous production at LaComedia, that focused on three female county singers.
"Bubba's Revenge," a two-act show, adds three male performers who add a dash or two of humor to the proceedings. Granted, the script is somewhat corny, but the show's really about the singing and the half dozen cast members perform, for the greater part, very enthusiastically.
The cast includes Jackie Snyder, Leslie Jo Bissett and Tina Shatto as the gal singers. The guys are played by Harold Skaggs, Dustin Harris and Chris Beiser, who delivers an outrageous performance as a goofball with adrenalin to spare.
Included among the dozen or so country songs are "Rhinestone Cowboy," "On the Road Again," "Islands in the Stream" and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." The second act centers on gospel songs like "His Eye is On the Sparrow."
The LaComedia show offers a light, humorous look at another side of folks in the country music business.
"Bubba's Revenge" continues through Feb. 28. For ticket information, call 1-800-677-9505.
"Bubba's Revenge," a two-act show, adds three male performers who add a dash or two of humor to the proceedings. Granted, the script is somewhat corny, but the show's really about the singing and the half dozen cast members perform, for the greater part, very enthusiastically.
The cast includes Jackie Snyder, Leslie Jo Bissett and Tina Shatto as the gal singers. The guys are played by Harold Skaggs, Dustin Harris and Chris Beiser, who delivers an outrageous performance as a goofball with adrenalin to spare.
Included among the dozen or so country songs are "Rhinestone Cowboy," "On the Road Again," "Islands in the Stream" and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." The second act centers on gospel songs like "His Eye is On the Sparrow."
The LaComedia show offers a light, humorous look at another side of folks in the country music business.
"Bubba's Revenge" continues through Feb. 28. For ticket information, call 1-800-677-9505.
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