On Stage Dayton Reviews

Next to Normal Review – Human Race Theatre Company/Victoria Theatre Association – The Scars of Dysfunction & Grief

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Composer Tom Kitt and lyricist/librettist Brian Yorkey’s acclaimed, marvelously melodic 2009 pop/rock musical “Next to Normal” receives a solid, touching and vocally strong local premiere at the Victoria Theatre courtesy of the Human Race Theatre Company in conjunction with the Victoria Theatre Association. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize as well as the Tony Award for Best Original Score, “Normal,” firmly and briskly staged by choreographer and co-music director Scott Stoney, paints a humorous, heartbreaking portrait of depression, dysfunction and mental illness within a modern … [Read more...]



ON STAGE DAYTON REVIEW: Mary Poppins (Victoria Theatre Association) – Mixed Magic

Mary Poppins

Eleven years ago I interviewed Sir Cameron Mackintosh, the legendary, influential British musical theater producer of “Cats,” “Les Miserables” and “The Phantom of the Opera,” during his visit to Dayton to oversee the launch of his reconceived production of “Miss Saigon” at the Victoria Theatre. At the end of our conversation, he shared his excitement about a new collaborative project with Disney he hoped would become a reality, a musical version of 1964’s beloved film “Mary Poppins” that would adhere not only to the film but the original books by P.L. Travers. In 2004, … [Read more...]



ON STAGE DAYTON REVIEW: The Retreat from Moscow (Dayton Playhouse) – The Thrill is Gone

Retreat from Moscow Cast

The Dayton Playhouse marks a refreshing return to serious drama with a beautifully commendable presentation of William Nicholson’s quietly compelling British marital study “The Retreat from Moscow.” Nominated for three 2004 Tony Awards including Best Play, “Retreat”  depicts the heartbreaking disintegration of the 33-year marriage between Edward, a history professor obsessed with Napoleon’s 1812 retreat from Moscow, and Alice, a poetry aficionado unable to cope with reality. Jamie, Edward and Alice’s only child, is predictably caught in the emotional crossfire to assess his … [Read more...]



ON STAGE DAYTON REVIEW: Godspell (Sinclair Community College) – Unified Joy

Cast of Sinclair's production of Godspell (photo by Patti Celek)

Sinclair Community College delivers a highly admirable production of composer Stephen Schwartz and librettist John-Michael Tebelak’s 1971 biblical musical “Godspell,” an upbeat, poignant look at the last days of Jesus Christ based on the Gospel of St. Matthew. Incorporating fine musical revisions from the 2011 Broadway revival of “Godspell,” directly Kimberly Borst offers a sprightly, enthusiastic staging set within an urban playground excellently designed by Terry Stump. Borst’s breezy approach serves the insightful, parable-driven material well as her energetic 17-member cast … [Read more...]



ON STAGE DAYTON REVIEW: Race (Human Race Theatre Company) – A Most Incendiary Topic

Cast of RACE (left to right) Bruce Cromer, Richard B. Watson, Alan Bomar Jones and Julia Pace Mitchell (photo by Scott J. Kimmins)

Let’s face it. In the proverbial melting pot that is the United States of America, racism is absolutely inescapable every day of every month of every year. In fact, this week’s hot-button racial controversy involves the release of country superstar Brad Paisley’s new CD featuring a collaborative tune with rapper LL Cool J entitled “Accidental Racist.” Whether race is embraced or sidestepped, it will always be a divisive magnet. So it’s not surprising the topic inspired Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet (“Glengarry Glen Ross”), the icon of dramas consumed with men … [Read more...]



ON STAGE DAYTON REVIEW: Grand Hotel: The Musical (Wright State University) – Dazzling Display

(l to r) Justin King, Mathys Herbert, Sierra Stacy, Taryn Lemmons and Riley Able in Grand Hotel

Forget London, Paris or Rome. Berlin beckons for the remainder of March, but a passport isn’t required. Just head to Fairborn where Wright State University brilliantly showcases its musical theater department to the hilt with a chorally sublime, stunningly designed production of “Grand Hotel: The Musical,” inspired by Vicki Baum’s 1929 period novel and adapted from the 1932 Academy Award-winning Best Picture of the same name. Garnering 12 1990 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical and winning five, “Grand Hotel,” set in 1928 and staged with elegant theatricality by Marya … [Read more...]



ON STAGE DAYTON REVIEW: Thoroughly Modern Millie (Dayton Playhouse) – Admirable Adventure

Thoroughly Modern Millie 2

Millie Dillmount’s endearing quest for love and opportunity in the Big Apple during the Roaring ‘20s is well secured in the Dayton Playhouse’s admirable “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” adapted by Richard Morris, Dick Scanlan and Jeanine Tesori based on the 1967 film of the same name. Under the direction of Gayle Smith, who replaced director/choreographer Richard Croskey prior to the show’s opening, Playhouse newcomer and pleasant vocalist Abby McLean fits comfortably into the colorful persona of the bubbly yet easily perturbed Millie, who craves a better life than her Kansas … [Read more...]



ON STAGE DAYTON REVIEW: American Idiot (Victoria Theatre Association) – Ode to Billie Joe

Alyssa DiPalma (Whatsername) and Alex Nee (Johnny) in AMERICAN IDIOT

Much has been said about Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s shocking meltdown at the I Heart Radio Musical Festival last fall in addition to his rehab stint for alcoholism and addiction, but his raw musical genius is of utmost importance in this context. After all, Green Day’s bold, provocative “American Idiot,” a 2010 Tony Award nominee for Best Musical expertly derived from the band’s profound 2004 Grammy-winning album of the same name, has arrived at the Victoria Theatre with astounding electricity rivaling the Broadway production. Helmed and co-adapted by Michael Mayer … [Read more...]



ON STAGE DAYTON REVIEW: The Addams Family (Victoria Theatre Association) – Ghoulishly Good

Addams Family - Cast

It’s wonderful to know top-drawer musical comedy is alive and well at the Schuster Center thanks to the outstanding local premiere of “The Addams Family,” the absolutely hilarious 2010 musical inspired by the legendary creations of cartoonist Charles Addams in “The New Yorker” and presented on the Victoria Theatre Association’s Premier Health Broadway Series. Completely retooled with new songs and tighter character development since its messy 2009 pre-Broadway Chicago tryout (which I loathed) and subsequently shaky Broadway mounting, “The Addams Family” finally gels as its … [Read more...]



ON STAGE DAYTON REVIEW: A Chorus Line (Beavercreek Community Theatre) – What They Did For Fun

Beavercreek Community Theatre - Chorus Line

Overreaching can be precarious in the topsy-turvy world of community theater, especially when an organization has to live up to iconic material. A recent case can be found at Beavercreek Community Theatre where James Kirkwood, Nicholas Dante, Marvin Hamlisch and Ed Kleban’s 1975 Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning “A Chorus Line” receives a bizarre treatment. Director Doug Lloyd, who rarely missteps when staging musical theater, startlingly assembles a jarring hodgepodge of clashing ages, skills and sizes for this classic look at aspiring hopefuls longing to join an upcoming Broadway … [Read more...]