“A Wall Apart” at the New York Musical Festival at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row is a stunning and powerful new rock musical about the three Ostermann brothers living in the German Democratic Republic during the Cold War and their struggles to overcome “the wall” that separates them from those whom they love, their paths to freedom, and their…
The new musical “Play Like a Winner” is based on the stage play “It’s All About the Kids” by Caytha Jentis which comically explores the dark side of competitive soccer moms vying for social status in upscale suburbia. The opening musical number “Sacrifice” is sung by the company surrounding the body of the coach lying dead, center stage impaled with…
“Peace, Love, and Cupcakes: The Musical,” currently running at the New York Musical Festival at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row, is a sweet bubble gum musical that, on the surface, addresses the issue of bullying at school and its deleterious effects. Based on the book by the same name (the first in the Cupcake Club series by Sheryl Berk),…
In Tanya Shaffer’s and Vienna Teng’s “The Fourth Messenger,” currently playing at the New York Musical Festival at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row, the journey of protagonist Sid Arthur (Nancy Anderson) counterpoints the journey of Siddhārtha Gautama the Buddha of the current age. “Mama Sid” – as the world-renowned spiritual leader is addressed by her devotees – is holding forth…
Perhaps “Temple of the Souls,” the new musical being presented as part of NYMF, would be more powerful as an operetta, which would validate the melodrama afforded in this current production. It is yet another version of the ever-familiar love-struck youth from to different cultures, torn apart by their family and resulting in a tragic finale. Inspired by some truthful…
“And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side/Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,/In her sepulchre there by the sea—/In her tomb by the sounding sea.” – “Annabel Lee,” Edgar Allan Poe Based on the 1963 B Movie of the same name, “Night Tide, currently running at the New York Musical Festival at the Peter Jay…
One of the welcomed distinctions about the new musical “Number Nerds” is that its creation was prompted in response to the need for more female roles available for the high school, college, and community theater circuit. In that respect, it successfully targets that audience with lighthearted comedy, energetic music and a book that promotes good moral values. It is a…
Is it serious or a joke, a love story, a punk rock pseudo opera or possibly a retro piece paying homage to the irreverent, sensational pop musicals of the seventies, which were usually found playing in the then edgy East Village? The fact is it could be all the above, but the problem is, it executes none of them with…
“The Body Politic,” currently running at the New York Musical Festival at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater chronicles the journey of Iphis (Samy El-Noury) a transgender young man from Kabul who emigrates to Chapel Hill, North Carolina at the height of the Afghan War. This new life is offered by Chris, an American Aid Worker, and Iphis leaves his mother…
“These parting words, she left behind/These parting words she left behind/And I put them in your hands now/These parting words she left behind.” – The Nun Lee (Brian Charles Rooney) is the twenty-something female impersonator who graces the small stage at the Golden Lantern, an old bar – a joint – in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The small…