On the Aisle With Tom Alvarez | Tom Alvarez

Hackman rebuilds a Taylor Swift concert for orchestra

June 9, 2026

Steve Hackman, one of today’s most innovative crossover musicians, walked onstage and skipped the playlist. Instead of presenting a stop-and-start run of hits, the conductor-composer led the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra through Taylor Swift: The Symphony Era, performed straight through except for a brief intermission in... read more

A Heartfelt ‘Cinderella’ with Musical Charm

June 1, 2026

Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre is presenting Rodgers & Hammerstein’s beloved musical Cinderella, with a book by Douglas Carter Beane and a score by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. I saw the production on Saturday. The plot of Cinderella is familiar: a young woman... read more

IBC’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’: Form and Passion in Harmony

May 23, 2026

In its first full-length staging of the ballet Romeo & Juliet, set to Sergei Prokofiev’s score and based on William Shakespeare’s play about two young lovers from feuding families whose secret love leads to tragedy, Indiana Ballet Conservatory took on an ambitious work and delivered... read more

‘The Chevalier’ and the Power of Remembering

May 20, 2026

How did someone as talented as Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, end up nearly forgotten? In The Chevalier, Bill Barclay brought the composer and violin virtuoso to life onstage. Presented by the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra under maestro Matthew Kraemer at the Madam Walker Theatre,... read more

KDO’s 2026 ‘Event of the Year’ Highlights Empowerment

May 7, 2026

  Among all the annual performances I cover, the Kids Dance Outreach Event of the Year remains one of my top picks. This year’s Breaking Ground continued the tradition, surpassing previous events. I attended the Friday show at The Howard Schrott Center for the Performing... read more