Author: Sebastian Cherry

Operation Mincemeat — 2nd Viewing

23 July 2025 Evening Performance

Golden Theatre

Operation Mincemeat is a musical comedy based on the real events during WWII which lead the British military to use a corpse to trick Hitler into moving the German troops out of Sicily and into Sardinia, which was an essential part of why Germany lost the war. This show is chocked full of British humour, filled with small details (an example being a prison uniform labelled “24602”), relies heavily on perfect timing, and is all done by a cast of five actors playing close to 50 or more different characters in total.

This was my second time seeing this show (Read my prior review), so I was actually quite happy to see one of the understudies stepping into the role for the performance. I love being able to compare and contrast how the different actors played the same character. In this case, Jak Malone (who usually plays the character of Hester, among others) was out for this performance and Sam Hartley filled those shoes. Anyone who has read my last review of the show knows that I found Jak’s performance to be absolutely phenomenal – layered, deep, and beautiful (and that’s just for the character of Hester; never-mind the roles of Spilsbury, Ivor Montague, Lieutenant Bill Jewell, Willie Watkins, and more).

Sam Hartley played the character of Hester differently than Jak did. Sam’s version of Hester felt more timid. Whereas Jak’s portrayal made Hester come off as more confident – even in the song “Dear Bill”, when Jak sings that song, he hits every note cleanly and clearly, as if the notes and memories just come to Hester from her lived experience and she confidently and (mostly) happily relives the memories needed to write the letter that is being planted on the corpse. When Sam sang “Dear Bill”, it didn’t feel so much as if Hester had actually healed from her past. It came off more as if she was still truly struggling with the heartache that those memories bring her. It was almost as if the memories haven’t reached the point of being happy memories yet, like she is still in the part of the grieving process where even saying the words out loud is challenging and she still is perhaps bitter at not being able to make more of those (formerly) happy memories.

Another example of how the two actors played the character differently had to do with Hester’s interactions with the character of Johnny Bevan (played by Zoe Roberts). In Jak’s portrayal, with the character of Hester having more perceived confidence, she acts very professionally when around Bevan. It feels as if Hester would not dream of acting on any potential romantic feelings towards Bevan not because she may fear being hurt, but rather because Bevan is her boss and that could definitely be seen as inappropriate due to the power dynamic of a boss/subordinate relationship and/or it simply wouldn’t be the proper lady like thing to do for a proper British woman of that time period. When the character is perceived like this, is makes the mentorship-like relationship between Hester and the character of Jean Leslie (played by Claire-Marie Hall) not just wholesome, but also perhaps gives the two characters a more meaningful connection because it implies that Hester has learnt from Jean as well.

In the same interactions between the characters of Hester and Bevan, but with Sam’s portrayal of Hester, it felt as if Hester was simply too afraid to act on any potential romantic feelings. Not because it would be inappropriate, though, but rather because the thought of loving and losing again is just too much for Hester to realistically consider. Hester still does come off as if she learned from Jean, just not to such an obvious degree — it’s still there, just more subtle.

Honestly, I think it says a lot about Sam Hartley as an actor to be able to step into the shoes of the person who originated the role and then give a performance that is not just a replication of the originator. Sam was able to bring the character of Hester to life in an equally as good way, but also a very different way. And that is always nice to see.

The main cast: David Cumming (as Charles Cholmondeley and others), Claire-Marie Hall (as Jean Leslie and others), Natasha Hodgson (as Ewen Montagu and others), Jak Malone (as Hester Leggatt and others), and Zoe Roberts (as Johnny Bevan and others) have been playing these roles together for about six years and (I believe) they are the originators of each role. Which is why I find it so impressive that Sam’s presence on stage did not change the chemistry between the characters. In fact, even with the slight changes in the character of Hester that really made the character his own, Sam was able to keep the feel of the show and chemistry between characters the same. At no point did he feel like the odd man out. Brilliantly done.

The large range of characters that the actors play really is impressively done. Throughout the show, the various actors change characters on stage, right before the audiences’ eyes and it is done flawlessly. The actors change not only their physical demeanour, but also the dialect and accent they are using, the clothing they are wearing, they literally drop one character and seamlessly go on to another before just as seamlessly going back to the first character. Just one, out of many, prime examples of this comes in the shows final scene, appropriately titled “A Glitzy Finale”. In this scene we see David Cumming portray both his main character of Charlie Cholmondeley and as an actor portraying the character of Charlie, as seen through the eyes of the character of Ewen Montagu. On top of the that, when portraying the role of the actor who is portraying the character of Charlie, we seen the actor‐character both in and out of the character of Charlie. And all this is done by stepping forwards, putting on glasses, changing his posture, and changing his voice, only to reverse the entire change just as easily to return as the original portrayal of the actor.

There did appear to be some small changes to particular lines of dialogue since I saw the show last, but nothing major was changed. What definitely did not change was the impressive vocals from Natasha Hodgson. She largely plays male characters in this show and I have been impressed each and every time as just how deep her voice can get because conversely, she can also hit a damn good high note.

David Cumming is probably the actor that plays the most physically demanding role in the show. The character of Charles is a very anxiety ridden, high energy one. On stage, David looks very tall and lanky. By the end of the song “Dead in the Water” (which comes early in the first act), I am always left thinking “this guy could really do justice to Monty Python’s ‘Ministry of Silly Walks’”, so it is always a bit of a surprise when he comes out at the stage door and is not a particularly tall man. A lot can be said for the costuming of this show, which is both simple (often coming down to a change of a hat or jacket) and effective — both in being able to be done very quickly, but also at just easily getting the feel of the character across to the audience right away.

This is a show that I could easily watch time and time again because I’ll notice something new each and every time. There is so much nuance that goes into this production that I know there is always something I’ve missed. And I love when shows are that brilliantly detailed. One detail that I absolutely missed the first time is a simple one: the logo on the playbill. The words “Operation Mincemeat” are not only outlined to make it look like the briefcase that is prefixed to the wrist of the corpse that was used by the British, but it also doubles as Hitler’s moustache. The scribble, is Hitler’s hair. I want to give a special shoutout to the fan that pointed this detail out to me because once you see it, you can’t unsee it and it is just such a brilliant detail. I also appreciate how very self aware this show is both in the sense of acknowledging that it itself is a show, but also socially and politically. I also happen to be a sucker for a show breaking the fourth wall, which this show does at times, and unapologetically so.

All of these actors are stars. They all give it their all in each and every performance. But perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of this show is simply how much fun the cast has performing it. I hope to see this show stick around for a very long time because it honestly is a masterpiece.

Wednesday, 23 July 2025
The Rocky Horror Show

Special One Night Engagement

19 July 2025 11PM Performance

Music Mountain Theatre, Lambertville, NJ

One of my favourite things about Music Mountain Theatre is how good this theatre is at nailing any and all things camp. The Rocky Horror Show was no exception.

The Rocky Horror Show is an unapologetic show in many ways — the use of call back lines, the audience dressing up in character, prop bags being sold with the full knowledge that the theatre will be completely trashed by the shows end… I would even go so far as to say it is the closest thing we have in America to a pantomime (at least that is widely available for audiences). And Music Mountain Theatre keeps this show unapologetic, which is done through the highly sexualised staging (I’m looking at you, giant human penis complete with ejaculation), the use of humans being props (some notable instances being an Usher running across the stage yelling, “I’m an [expletive deleted] motorcycle!” and two ushers acting as the cars windshield wipers, while constantly giving the middle finger to the audience, and of course, sweeping all of the rice that was on stage back into the audience with a push broom), and improvisation from the cast and the audience (some examples being the actor playing Brad who has an obvious tattoo on his leg remarking “it’s a birth mark” when asked “do you have any tattoos, Brad?” and Rocky and Janet making the visual gag of the CEO who was caught having an affair while at a Coldplay concert when found by Dr. Frank-n-Furter).

Being that this show is done as a special one night engagement (it is a rather special night, after all, one of the master’s affairs, so to be a one night engagement makes sense), the theatre itself is still set for the current main stage production (which happens to be The SpongeBob Musical currently). This was not an issue however and instead lead to some great improvised lines including Brad commenting on the castle seeming to be in “some weird underwater aquarium”.

As stated above, the sets were minimal, with humans taking the place of many set pieces. This only made the show funnier because the sets that they did have included a giant (hairy) penis for things like the Sonic Transducer — complete with a smaller (again hairy) penis to act as the switch itself.

Ultimately I think this production of The Rocky Horror Show does what The Rocky Horror Show does best — brings people together. Despite this being a highly sexualised show, with lewd and crude comedy, and audience participation that is as equally crass; Rocky Horror is a safe place for people of all backgrounds and even of all ages (for the record, I am not advocating for bringing young children to see this show, I am referring to a young teenagers age range).

One thing I love about seeing productions of Rocky Horror whether it’s the staged show or the movie, is the diversity of the audience it attracts. Even at this performance, I saw kids (young teenagers) who were experiencing the show for the first time sitting next to people well into their 80’s who have been seeing the show since they themselves were young teenagers. And they were learning call back lines from each other and congratulating each other when one of them yelled a particularly funny one.

Rocky Horror is a show with no real hard message or meaning behind it. At its bare bones, it’s the story of Frankenstein, but really it’s about having a good time. It’s about meeting new people and laughing. It’s about accepting everyone for who they are, regardless of age, or social status, or gender, or gender expression (in fact, it’s a really safe place for a person to explore their own gender expression without judgement), or anything really. Because for a show without any real meaning the message that the audience takes away is “that was a really fun time” and sometimes that’s all you need from a show.

Well done.

*Note: if I am able to get a cast list from the theatre, I will update this review to include more details on the performances of each of the specific actors.

Saturday, 19 July 2025
Broadway Bares 2025

22 June 2025 — Midnight Show

“Come out. Come out” indeed. What a fun way to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS! I attended the midnight showing of this production (there was a 9:30pm and a midnight performance). Once again, I was encouraged to go to this show by a dear friend of mine and I am so glad I listened!

Broadway Bares is an unapologetically gay old time in all of the best ways. It’s wonderful to see these Broadway stars raise so much money to help those in need. And let’s be honest, when you have to dance your heart out eight times per week, no one is going to be upset at seeing your (almost) naked body.

The show this year was based on The Wizard of Oz, but with some more added…fun. Plus, a nice “Happy Pride” wished upon everyone by Nicole Scherzinger was a wonderful shout out.

Good company, good friends, good show — it makes for a good time. And I am so grateful for my friend, Ray, who encouraged me to come see this show (and the other two I saw when I was in New York).

Sunday, 22 June 2025
Gypsy

Broadway

Starring Audra McDonald

22 June 2025 – Matinee

Gypsy is a show that I have seen before and have had trouble connecting to as a whole. I couldn’t relate to the complexity of the emotions that are expressed in this show: grief, sorrow, being defeated, refusing to give up, jumping through hoops to rationalise your own behaviour because the thought of never reaching the top is soul crushing, and even ultimately, giving in to the delusion of someone else to save your relationship with them… resulting in you being trapped for life and that just being an accepted fact.

Oh how a few long years can change a person.

With this cast, most notably led by Audra McDonald as Mama Rose, every single, heartfelt emotion was radiated from the stage. And it wasn’t just Audra McDonald that deserves the credit. The entire cast were vocal powerhouses – able to go from a meek, quiet, timid character and slowly transforming into powerful, loud, confident belting in a way that not many can do.

A special shout out has to go Joy Woods as the character of Louise. That character as a whole made a full transformation from being so tiny in the background, to standing up for herself in full confidence, and then to see her know she has that confidence, that ability, and to choose to keep a toxic person around out of…what, really? Pity? Perhaps a sense of duty?

Danny Burstein as Herbie also gave an amazing performance! To watch his character go from someone who was able to be sweet talked with the promise of marrying the woman he loves and then transform into a character who still loves the woman, but knows it will never work and that he cannot accept the toxicity that comes with her love, even if it emotionally destroys him to leave….even if it means never achieving his own goal.

Audra McDonald’s performance of Mama Rose is powerful! Beyond her insane belting ability, she exudes the raw emotions that her character feels throughout her entire body. At intermission, I turned to my friend who I had joined to see this show (he wanted to see it and I cannot thank him enough for that) and pondered how physically and emotionally taxing this role just might be on any performer who has to do it eight times per week with this level of intensity.

It is not easy to change the emotion of written words, but this cast manages to do just that through simple changes in demeanour: a half smile, a sigh – through tiny, little gestures that manages to speak volumes without actually saying anything at all. This show forces the audience to feel every difficult emotion that each character has to go through. And it is powerful. It is effective. And it can be felt throughout the entire theatre.

Sunday, 22 June 2025
Hair

Music Mountain Theatre

Lambertville, NJ

30 May 2025

Opening Night

This production nailed it.

The cast was made up of almost entirely young actors; the youngest seemingly having just graduated high school. However, they are an impressive bunch and vocally, these actors are a powerhouse. Special shoutout to Trinity Anjelic (playing Dionne), Sarah Harrison (playing Jeanie), Anastasia Durand (playing Sheila Franklin), Matt Keelan (playing Woof), Alexander Minter (playing Margaret Mead), and Sol Siedell (playing a member of the Tribe) for their stand out vocal abilities. In a show where all of the actors are good singers, those listed above took it an extra notch up.

The script of Hair has gone through numerous rewrites and revisions, so it was not a huge surprise to hear a few songs that I wasn’t familiar with. Most notably these were the songs “The Stone Age”, “Oh Great God of Power”, and “Eyes Look Your Last”. Most notably missing from the score I am used to was the song “The Bed”. The addition of these songs did not take away anything from the show. In fact, it added an element that I had never seen before — they stress that the character of Claude (played by Soren Madsen) is the Aquarius bringing on the Age of Aquarius. This added religious element to the show: Claude is representative of Jesus and his story line makes him a martyr for his ideals and beliefs. I have to conclude that all of the choreography in which Claude was standing with his arms stretched out to his sides, reminiscent of Jesus on the cross, was intentional.

I very much appreciated the staging for the song “What a Piece of Work is Man”. This is the first time that I have seen this song sung quite literally overtop the actors that just seconds ago were writhing with agony while singing about being blown apart from metal explosions and shrapnel and then lying deadly still on the stage. Cue “What a Piece of Work is Man” and you can feel the utter disgust and disdain as the actors sing out Hamlet’s famous soliloquy that their characters feel at seeing such death and destruction at the hands of their fellow men.

As for the famous “naked scene”. People blow this out of proportion all the time. In this production, the actors begin to undress under dim light, and within seconds really, the actors on stage are in an almost complete blackout. I actually would have liked to have seen the actors back lit for an additional beat or two before the blackout. This is simply to make the effect of the characters appearing in a silhouette last just a bit longer. Right before the blackout, the actors all appeared as nameless, featureless, human bodies. The actors being in various stage of undress made no difference. It was seeing them all be nothing more than bodies and unfortunately I think that effect would have had a greater impact if just held for slightly longer. Let the audience really soak up the vulnerability that nakedness represents before making it clear that those soldiers aren’t going to come back.

This theatre does not use a live orchestra and instead rely on a track that the actors sing to. This is typically not a problem at all, however, it does run the risk of the audience reacting to a song or a scene for longer than is anticipated by the production team. This happened a time or two during this show where the audience continued cheer or laugh and an actor attempted to wait for the noise to die down before saying their line. However, that would cause the next actor to rush their line so that the singing cues were hit on time.

This production felt fairly seamless in its transitions between scenes. I appreciate that the entire theatre was used for this show considering how often the fourth wall is able to be broken throughout. But more importantly, I was able to feel the emotions of the various characters. Whether it be Jeanie wordlessly realising what was happening when Claude says goodbye at the “Be-In” or Claude lamenting on his common, regular existence and his dreams of greatness.

I really appreciated the character of Claude attempting to find strength in his invisibility. Claude is a dreamer, full of hope, who wants to make change in the world. For the majority of the show, he is a nobody and he goes so far as to describe himself as “invisible” early on. So it was interesting to see him take that negative and attempt to use it as a positive.

Of course, fans of the show know how that ultimately works out for him. And then the audience is left with a long lasting gut punch and we are left to ponder “why can’t we just love”?

Friday, 30 May 2025
Grease

Media Theatre – Media, PA

This production is filled with fantastic singers – both equity actors and non. Special shout out to Tom Geiger (playing Roger and Teen Angel) whose vocal ability went above and beyond what was required for his characters.

The only big downside of this theatre is the sound system/acoustics. However, that did not appear to be much of an issue for this particular show because the singers were really able to shine without getting lost behind the music (which has happened in other productions here).

Jenna Kuetzi (playing Rizzo) delivered a heartfelt rendition of “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” where the audience could really feel how much pain the character harbours inside of herself. Kohl Pilgram and Tiara Whaley played Danny and Sandy, respectfully, and both were spectacular. It certainly felt that the two actors had chemistry between them.

The show felt genuine in its delivery of awkward teenagers attempting to figure out life and love, which is always very nice when it is a show about high schoolers. I always appreciate whenever a show that is cast largely by adults and takes place in high school manages to come off as if they are actually doing things like dancing, romancing, and just going about their daily lives for the first time. This production manages to capture the essence of being a teenager with ease.

Saturday, 3 May 2025
Dreamgirls

Walnut Street Theatre – Philadelphia, PA

This was the first time I saw “Dreamgirls” and I am honestly quite ignorant on the subject of The Dreams (and on a lot of music in general), so I went into this show expecting to know a minimal number of the songs.

By intermission, I realised that I am only familiar with one song (“(And I’m Telling You) I’m Not Going”) and I could not be more blown away with the performance of that song. Effie White (played by Aveena Saywer) was obviously a stand out singer from the start of the show, but the passion, the anger, the desperation to prove herself shined through so much more than her physical voice alone. Her ability to throw herself into and onto the table as she belted her way through that song ended with her getting a (well deserved) standing ovation despite the scene not having ended yet.

By the curtain call, I realised that was the only song I already knew in the entire show.

This show has it all: high intensity dance numbers, a fabulous musical score, a cast that can belt to their hearts content with remarkable control of their vocal abilities, and the raw emotion needed for these characters. “Dreamgirls”, it would seem, is extraordinary at showcasing each actors’ singing, dancing, and acting abilities. However, this cast took it one step further; they made it look like it was done with ease.

Well done.

Sunday, 27 April 2025
Operation Mincemeat

Everything I had heard and read about this show was “Monty Python meets Mel Brooks with a dash of Hamilton.” I, as a huge fan of Monty Python and Mel Brooks, came into this show figuring I would either love it or loath it. Personally, I hope that Monty Python and Mel Brooks would be proud to have their names linked to this musical.

I appreciate the small cast, only five actors are in this production (not including the understudies) and they work as a number of different characters as well as changing the sets throughout. A very notable moment of these seamless transitions was the ending number of the first act (“Just For Tonight”) which blended a high intensity, dance infused pub crawl with the solemn duties tasked to the crew of the submarine carrying a corpse.

The cast consists of David Cumming (playing Charles Cholmondeley and others), Claire-Marie Hall (playing Jean Leslie and others), Natasha Hodgson (playing Ewen Montagu and others), Jak Malone (playing Hester Leggatt and others), and Zoë Roberts (playing Johnny Bevan and others).

This is a show where the gender of the cast played no importance towards the gender of the characters they portrayed. Jak Malone blew me away with his singing ability and his rendition of “Dear Bill” brought me to tears. Both Malone and Natasha Hodgson played gender swapped characters for their main roles and they both nailed it. Natasha was a convincing man, even dropping her voice to an impressively low tone quite frequently. Malone, on the other hand, nailed the daintiness expected from a woman of that time with both grace and dignity.

In fact, this was Jak Malone’s Broadway debut. I can describe his performance in one word: Phenomenal. I hope to see a lot more Malone in the future.

The entire show was very well put together. The scene transitions and movements were very simple, allowing each of the actors to shine, while keeping the show flowing in both times of light hearted laughter and when dealing with the harsh realities of life. I can see why this show keeps getting extended and why it excelled in London’s West End. All in all, the show really was “Monty Python meets Mel Brooks with a dash of Hamilton” and I mean it that in the very best of ways.

Bravo! Well done. The standing ovation at the end of this show was absolutely earned.

Saturday, 26 April 2025
Ride The Cyclone: The Musical

(Performed at Music Mountain Theatre. Lambertville, NJ)

This is the very first time that I have ever seen this show. The only thing I knew about this show was that it was about teenagers dying in a roller coaster accident and had gained a cult following. Going into this show, I wondered if this was just going to essentially be Final Destination: The Musical. I was very glad to see that it was not.

The set was beautifully done; mimicking a carnival, including a series of tv screens with an accurate countdown of your “wait time” in line before you take your ride on the Cyclone begins.
In fact, the whole show keeps the carnival motif, even making the afterlife into a carnival like game of its own.

The cast was small, consisting of seven actors, most of whom are currently either college students or recent graduates. The first actor that I found myself drawn to was Roger Madding (playing The Amazing Karnak). I found myself watching him when the other actors were supposed to be the main focus of the show. This is because, while he did stumble over a line or two, his robot movements – or rather lack of movements – was amazing. Madding managed to stay almost perfectly still, down to barely blinking, regardless of if the spotlight was on or even
near him. Bravo, sir, that looked quite difficult.

Elizabeth Axler (playing Jane Doe) definitely stood out for her vocal ability. There was not a single note that she did not hit perfectly. Elisa Carey (playing Ocean) did a wonderful job playing
the girl that we all love to hate. After all, who has not encountered that person who thinks they are always the main character of the story and that they more important than others? Surely, every high school has had at least one person like that. This ability to be relatable to everyone makes the character a lot of fun. Sarah Harrison (playing Constance) managed to bring me to tears with her acting ability by the end of the show. Constance is a much deeper character than I expected her to be, but I am glad that she was because Harrison was able to nail it. Nicholas La Russa (playing Noel) did a phenomenal job. I saw in the Playbill that he has previously played Angel in RENT and I can definitely believe it because his dancing was absolutely top notch. Connor Riley (playing Mischa) can certainly play the bad boy well. It was
interesting to see an actor who can clearly dance and sing play a character that is almost always half-assing his way through life. It makes me wonder if it is harder to play a character that is more reserved, a deep thinker perhaps, than it is to play a character that is more “in your face”. Riley managed to make Mischa both too cool to care, but also a tortured soul. It was a beautiful
combination. And finally, Shawn Ritzheimer (playing Ricky) brought such life to a character that is initially silent. By the end of the show, the audience is happy to see the outcast character,
with an amazing imagination, come into his own.

While this show points out that not every show has a moral, this is one show that does. Enjoy life – it is not a game, but it is a ride. Appreciate what you have already because you never know when that ride will come to an end. Take the time to appreciate the beauty of the things around you and don’t feel shame for doing so.

Friday, 11 April 2025
Maybe Happy Ending (Rewatch)

Maybe Happy Ending is a show that I could see over and over again (This is my second visit read my first review here) because it gives me faith in humanity. The very basic premise of this show is following two Helper Bots (robots designed to be human helpers) as they decide what makes an ending happy. And while it is robots that this story follows, “what makes an ending happy” is something that is very human in nature and thought. It poses the question of what would you prefer: no sorrow, but no memory of the good or embracing the sorrow and hurt that comes with life, but keeping the happy memories, even if they bring you sadness?

Getting hurt, feeling pain, is very human and as this show points out “everything must end eventually”; whether that is a life or a battery or a relationship or anything, everything does end eventually. So, what’s better? No memory and a blissful existence or feeling the pain, but keeping all the good that came with it, too?

There is no easy answer to that question and, I believe, that the answer will change from person to person because both answers are correct. For some, no memory is the better option, but for others, keeping the good memories outweigh the hurt that accompanies those memories.

And hearing the audience sniffle and cry during various points in this show gives me some faith in humanity because it means we, the audience, are having empathy and feeling real emotions for a robot – a thing that literally cannot feel these emotions – and yet, we feel their pain. Empathy is a beautiful thing.

I stand by this show being near perfection. Darren Criss is not only a wonderful actor and singer, but his ability to be so…animatronic throughout the entire show is impeccable. And for Helen J. Shen, who is so petite off of the stage, feels so big with her command of the stage throughout the show.

This show blends technology and big band/crooner style music to perfectly frame the events of this show in both a literal and figurative way. The set itself moves, providing a physical frame for each scene. But also the entire show is encased within the music of Gil Brentley, a fictionalised Frank Sinatra type singer, which allows the scenes to flow flawlessly as well as frame the themes of the show.

This show has a lot of attention to detail (the technology aspect of this show really exemplifies this), but my favourite tiny piece of detail came inside the playbill. The “character” (I put character in quotes because Hwaboon is a plant ) of “Hwaboon” received its own spot and bio. I adore that the plant, who is very much treated as a character and is in almost every scene of this show, has previous acting credits. What a wonderful wink and nod to the theatre fans in the audience who actually take the time to read the playbill.

Friday, 14 March 2025
Maybe Happy Ending

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from a musical about robots. But I was thrilled with what I received. Maybe Happy Ending is a near perfect show that will leave you questioning a number of things that you thought you already knew: What qualifies as love? Can you genuinely love and be genuinely loved by something without emotions? And if so, what does that look like? When does someone become “human”?

This show tackles a lot and it does so seemingly with ease. The entire show is framed in two ways: The first being the set which moves around to literally frame what the audience is intended to be paying the most attention to. The second framing is done musically. The first robot that you meet is Oliver (played by Darren Criss), who has a penchant for the music that his owner/friend used to listen to. This music is used to frame the show (it is music that you would hear from the 1940’s and 1950’s that would be commonly sung by Frank Sinatra and the like) and it is sung superbly.

The plot is simple. Oliver is eagerly awaiting the return of his friend/owner. While he waits, he lives in a building that is for retired helper bots. He has never interacted with the other helper bots in his building. One day another helper bot, Claire (played by Helen J Shen), knocks on his door asking to borrow his charger because she desperately needs to recharge. This sparks a story of hope, love, longing, desire, friendship, loss, death, and so much more.

Both Darren and Helen are wonderful in their performances. Darren’s robotic movements really shine, especially in the beginning, when you view Oliver as just a robot. Through their performances, the audience learns to love and care about these robots, often getting to the point that you forget altogether that these characters aren’t human. Which leaves you to wonder: what makes someone human anyway?

This show made me laugh. This show made me cry. This show was absolutely beautiful in every aspect.

Saturday, 8 February 2025
Cabaret (I had to return)

This was my second time visiting the Kit Kat Club. Read my earlier review here. This is a show that I wish were required viewing for everyone in America, if not the world.

Cabaret is a show that takes place in Berlin, Germany, as the Nazi’s rise to power. Before the Nazi’s, Germany (especially the city of Berlin) was a hotspot for the LGBTQ+ community. It was where people were able to be themselves. And this is shown by the Kit Kat Club itself. Inside the club, everyone and everything is care free. Everyone and everything is beautiful. Life is beautiful. The show itself goes back and forth between the room rented by the American protagonist, Clifford, and the club, hosted by the Emcee.

This show, on the surface is about Nazi’s coming to power and how the people react. It then delves deeper: The show is about compliance. The show is about not knowing what to do. The show is about not believing that it could happen. The show is about not believing it can happen to you. The show is about not believing it can be that bad. The show is about fleeing. The show is about standing your ground. This show is about rationalising the horrors that are around you in order to deny that they are occurring. This show is about being so certain that you are right that you either ignore what’s happening around you or you do not even realise that it is getting as bad as it is.

I love this production. I love how immersive it is. I was seated on the opposite side as I was the first time that I saw this show. This allowed me to be closer to the actors during the main show. This allowed me to see more detail. This allowed me to appreciate the small movements of the dancers that I had not noticed before. This includes Herman covering his eyes as he dances to avoid looking at the overly sexual men and women and the fist placement of the gorilla (played by Karl Syler Urban, for this performance). Even being able to see the small glances that the actors gave each other while on stage put even more depth into a show that’s already very deep.

In this show, we see how Nazi Germany slowly creeps its way into every aspect of the characters lives, even inside of the Kit Kat Club itself. And we watch as everyone’s lives are changed.

This was the second time that I’ve seen the show with Adam Lambert as the Emcee. And he is phenomenal. The first time that I saw this show was before the election. It was before, when we still had hope for the next four years. But now it is after the election. The side of progress and freedom lost and executive orders have been signed. We are in a country where we can clearly see the fascists regime coming in and actively deciding who is or is not American enough. We have people, both legal immigrants and undocumented immigrants, being rounded up and sent away. ICE is infiltrating schools and places of employment. There is a push to deny the existence of transgender, non binary, and intersex individuals. Guantanamo Bay is being set up to be an interment camp (a labour camp). There is already talk of taking away the legal protections granted by marriage to those who are already married, but happen to be in a same sex marriage. And all of this information may be taking its toll on Adam as his performance was more strained this time around. In fact, he cried at a few different points in the show. He even changed some of his line delivery. For example: the first time that I saw this show, he almost spat out “she wouldn’t look Jewish anymore” while this time, the line was spoken softly and it came off as being more like genuine love. I am glad to report that there was no laughter, not even nervous/uncomfortable laughter after this line (there has been many reports of Adam stopping the show, in character, to explain that that line is not a belly laugh line). This time around, you could have heard a pin drop. I heard no laughter, but I did hear audible gasps of shock.

Both times that I have gone, I have seen the Sally Bowles understudy (Gabi Campo) and she has been phenomenal. I have never seen Auli’l perform the role, but if Gabi is the understudy and she is this good, I have to imagine Auli’l is amazing as well.

Another impressive thing to note is the pre-show. I noticed many new faces for the dancers and musicians. And with new faces, came new dances. Very impressive to see them changing up the pre-show and therefore having to learn and memorise even more dances.

Saturday, 8 February 2025
Swept Away Original Broadway Cast (2022 Musical)

Swept Away tells the tale of a shipwreck and the majority of the show is simply four characters in a life boat drifting through the open ocean. The four main characters are: Mate (John
Gallagher, Jr.), Big Brother (Stark Sands), Little Brother (Adrian Blake Enscoe), and Captain (Wayne Duvall). In addition to these four, there are 12 more actors in the ensemble

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this show. I went in without knowing much about the plot beyond that it involved a shipwreck. The acting in this show blew me away. Four actors in a life
boat, even in a single act show, seems like a difficult concept to sell, but these four definitely sold it. At no point did any of the cast come off as being dishonest, which made the strife the characters go through seem absolutely believable. Add to this the amazing singing talents of our main four (special shout out to Adrian Blake Enscoe for his singing ability) which brought this
tale to life.

Even more impressive, perhaps, was the set. The show opens with a dying Mate in a tuberculosis ward and he lies there as the audience fills the theatre. The show itself is then told through flashback, as three of our main characters (beginning the show as ghosts) urge Mate to “tell their story” before he passes away. We, the audience, are then quite literally swept away onto a whaling ship where we meet the entire cast of characters. The whaling ship is huge. And the ship wreck was amazing and definitely believable. Ropes are thrown down, dropping the
sails of the ship, as one by one the members of the ensemble are thrown overboard. Finally, the entire ship rises until the audience is left looking at the underside of the boat (covered with
mirrors), and revealing our main cast left in a life boat, looking absolutely disheveled. It is here that the vast majority of the show takes place. The life boat itself is on a turn table, and it didn’t
just rotate, but rather it would sometimes rotate, and sometimes bounce between which direction it span. It moved slowly and delicately, and even allowed the life boat to have a slight
rocking to it, which did a great job in making the audience believe that they are watching people randomly drifting in the open ocean. It is here that we really see the actors shine. We learn of
the strife, the struggle, the heartache, the emotional toll that losing his crew creates for Captain, who has to come to terms with the fact that members of his crew went down with the
ship, but he did not. We learn of Little Brother’s love interest and the life that he wants to live. We also learn that Little Brother was hit by the mast of the ship as the boat sank, injuring him
gravely. We see the desperation from Big Brother as he works diligently for weeks to keep Little Brother alive. And we see Mate, who is the most realistic of all the characters – he understands
from the start that they will all likely die and that horrible things may need to be done in order for any of them to survive.

And it all felt so real… until the last fifteen or twenty minutes of the show.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

After being lost at sea for at least 10 days, it gets to the point where the audience is informed that Little Brother will likely not even live until the next day due to the injuries that he sustained
when the ship sank. Honestly, Adrian Blake Enscoe really did a great job at physically appearing weak and frail, making Little Brother appear like he was barely surviving. This provokes Mate to
ask Captain for his approval to kill Little Brother with the intention of eating him so that the other three can survive. Captain, at this point emotionally destroyed, refuses to make a decision and leaves it up to Mate. Meanwhile, Big Brother overhears and begins resisting this idea. Little Brother tells Big Brother that it is fine and that he is willing to sacrifice himself because it will save the others and he is dying anyway. But he wants to see one more sunrise, which everyone agrees to. Come the sunrise, Big Brother insists on being the one to actually kill Little Brother, however, in a shocking turn of events, Big Brother cuts his own throat…

And from that point on, the entire show felt like an afterthought. Immediately, the show shifts back to the tuberculosis ward and we see Mate surrounded by the ghosts of Little Brother, Big
Brother, and Captain. The audience is then informed, not shown, of each character’s fate and the eventual rescue of the three remaining characters. And this is the only part of the show that
felt so fake, so jarringly out of place with the rest of the show that I wanted to scream, “Show! Don’t tell!” The audience is not shown the rescue, but we are told about it. Captain nicely informs everyone of how he was treated when he was rescued, when he got home, and when and how he eventually died. Little Brother does the same thing, but it doesn’t make any sense for the character of Little Brother to survive. The script makes it very clear that Mate, Captain, and Little Brother survive this ordeal by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Big Brother. This destroyed my suspension of disbelief, leaving me only in disbelief. So, I am left with a few conclusions: either Little Brother was not actually hit by the ships mast, however, nothing in this show indicated that Mate is an unreliable narrator or Big Brother (who, as a character, is very religious) is literally Jesus Christ, which feels very blasphemous for the very religious character to actually be Jesus. The show went from being incredibly realistic to not being realistic at all in what felt like a blink of the eye.

This show did not last long on Broadway and I have a few ideas as to why. The first being the sheer size of the cast. While having 16 actors on stage for the big muscle numbers that take place before the shipwreck was certainly impressive, it was also unnecessary and could probably have been done with just four or five ensemble members. I have to wonder if paying for 12 ensemble members was a factor in this show not making enough to stay open. That’s a lot of actors to pay to be there when they are only on stage for maybe half an hour. Combine that with an ending that feels so unfinished and I understand why people may not be so interested in spending the money to see this musical. I would have loved to have seen what this show could have been if it was expanded into two full acts, showing the audience the rescue, and more. Flesh it out and remember to show, not tell.

Monday, 9 December 2024
Teeth (2024 Musical)

Okay: Teeth the Musical… my only complaint, there could have been so much blood utilised. Funny, fast paced, clever. Just not much of a splash zone.

Sunday, 8 December 2024
Cabaret

Holy crap! Could there be a more poignant time for this show? I saw the Sally Bowles understudy (Gabi Campo) and holy crap can that lady belt! Amazing vocals. Adam Lambert nailed it. I hope to see him in more Broadway shows because that man, as we all already know, is a star! And he has the vocals.

More than that though, the immersive experience of this show is beyond belief. It really did feel like stepping into a new world where “everything is beautiful!” starting right with the pre show. “Look, don’t touch” is right as these performers use dance and mime to entrance you. By the time the curtain rises, the audience is ready for a good time. And then the seriousness of the show slowly hits. And the desperation of trying to keep it “normal” becomes apparent. I pity anyone who cannot see the parallels to modern day America.

Thursday, 21 November 2024
Romeo + Juliet (2024)

I loved the use of the entire theatre, the simplistic, yet intricate set and staging. The actors were able to really bring the story to a modern day light, without it being silly (they used knives and no one was shot with a gun literally labeled “longsword”), which was very much appreciated.

Kit Conner and Rachel Ziegler were both wonderful and convincing and made the performance come alive in both seriousness, but also the youthful vibe. Seeing Romeo’s transition to loving Juliet was very adorable and the perfect showing of kids “falling in love”. In fact, the whole cast did wonderful and I was glad to see such a diverse cast play a wide range of characters.

I could have definitely lived without the blaring techno music for the entire time that the theatre doors are open until the show actually begins. It doesn’t just vibrate your chair or the walls, but also your literal eardrums. I also felt the full out singing numbers felt out of place. Most of the time it could be excused by it being at a party (portrayed pretty much as a rave), but at least once, that was not applicable and it stood out.

Thursday, 21 November 2024
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Second Viewing, Same Production, Different Cast)

I made my return to Fleet Street mostly due to the addition of one cast member who was set to make their Broadway Debut. That cast member being Joe Locke making his debut as Tobias. As
someone who has watched Heartstopper, I was curious to see what the young talent could bring to the stage.

What I found was basically a whole new style of production with both pros and cons when compared to this same production with its previous lead roles going to Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. In this casting, Aaron Tveit took over the role of Sweeney and played opposite Sutton Foster’s Mrs. Lovett. Tveit played Sweeney in a much more deeply brooding way. You could physically see the weight that his torment has brought him over the years as Sweeney moved about the stage. This version of Sweeney felt much more introspective. At no point did the entire theatre feel like it with filled to the brim with emotion, instead it felt like it was closely guarded and eating him alive from the inside out.

Similarly, Sutton Foster never felt like she would bring down the house with the emotion shown in her voice. She did bring the house down with her superb comedic timing, though. This Mrs.
Lovett leaned into the campiness of the role, at times going overboard with her affection towards Sweeney. This led to some hilarious scenes in which you, as the audience, got a chance
to see just how much fun Foster and Tveit were able to have as they struggled to keep straight faces. Luckily, Mrs. Lovett can absolutely be played in this style and still fit the character, but the
contrast was drastic when compared to that of Annaleigh Ashford’s portrayal.

This brings me to Joe Locke, the main reason I wanted to see this cast. This show Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is not a show that I would consider easy by any means. It is fast paced, off-kilter, and relies heavily on the choreography to keep the audience feeling uneasy. All that to say, it must be a difficult show to do as a debut. I was struck at Locke’s singing ability. I was not sure what to expect from him vocally, having only seen him in one Netflix series that is not a musical, but I was very pleasantly surprised. His voice was quite angelic and kept Tobias feeling innocent. I did not feel that in Locke’s portrayal the same sense of Tobias being broken at the end. Locke’s portrayal felt more as if Tobias was legitimately in the wrong place at the wrong time… he understood what the people saw when they found him in front of the ovens. This was a strong contrast to Daniel Marconi’s portrayal in which it felt as if Tobias had completely lost his mind and therefore was not fully aware of the implications of the end
situation of which he is found.

Wednesday, 3 April 2024
The Play That Goes Wrong

The logistics. Holy crap, the logistics. The amount of things that have to go right for things to go wrong! And the ability to keep the audience at the perfect amount of participation needed for the awkward moments, arguing with the audience, and many many other off the wall moments. Very well done. As someone who enjoys camp, things going awkwardly wrong, and the meta-ness of having the tech guy pull pranks on the actors – this was well done. For those who haven’t seen it, think Clue meets Noises Off (and throw in a clever play within a play playbill) and this is show is the love child. Luckily, I love both Clue and Noises Off.

Wednesday, 3 April 2024
Hamlet

Suzie’s performance was wonderful. It did get a bit confusing towards the end of the show, especially in the final scene, to keep the many, many characters being performed on stage completely straight. Plot lines were changed (Shakespeare is in the public domain), so Hamlet was sent away to England later on that expected, but it worked. The most notable change perhaps being the “What a Piece of Work is Man” soliloquy performed in the first act of the show (the show was done in two acts), in the graveyard, but without Hamlet having found the skull of Poor Yorick yet. In the second act, Hamlet returns to the graveyard where he discovers Poor Yorick’s skull and he discusses his memories of Yorick. The change in the timing some of the plot points may have contributed to some of my confusion. Obviously, I don’t expect anyone to be putting on all five acts of any of Shakespeare’s work, and truthfully the changes didn’t really impact much. I’d love to see Suzie do Romeo and Juliet. I think she would have a lot of fun with it. She is an impeccable actor and person.

Saturday, 3 February 2024
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (First Viewing):

This production did something that I was not sure was possible – through the choreography, this show was able to keep the audience not only slightly tensed and uneasy, but it went so far as to make you feel as if you are undulating with the waves as the boat Sweeney arrives on comes into port. Combine that with the impressively booming vocals of a deep, brooding, emotional
Sweeney (played by Josh Groban) and the funny, quick-witted, and vocal mad house of Mrs. Lovett (played by Annaleigh Ashford) and there is no question as to why this show is such a hit.

In fact, it felt as if the entire theatre was brimming to the top with the emotion as each singer in this show rose to the occasion and matched the intensity brought forth by its stars. Speaking of
intensity, a special shoutout must be given to Daniel Marconi and his portrayal of my personal favourite character, Tobias. I have never seen Toby so broken as I did by the end of this production.

Beautifully acted, powerfully sung, choreographed so, so well. Bravo!

I’m curious to see what the next cast of this production will bring.

Tuesday, 16 January 2024
Great Expectations

I always have great expectations when I see Suzie Eddie Izzard perform. My great expectations were not only reached, but very much surpassed by her one woman show of Great Expectations.

Wednesday, 8 February 2023