August 2, 2018
A highlight of the local performing arts calendar for me each year is the Great American Songbook Foundation’s Songbook Academy summer intensive finals concert which I attended Saturday. It’s always one of the best shows in town. This year’s edition was no exception, as... read more
July 28, 2018
Revisiting shows over and over again can be an occupational hazard for reviewers. In the case of the classic musical “Guys and Dolls,” I have seen many professional, community and educational productions of the piece throughout my writing career, but I decided to endure it... read more
July 26, 2018
When it comes to Summer Stock Stage productions, I have noted previously that I always feel like I am seeing the musical theatre stars of tomorrow when I review their productions. The fact is, there are SSS alums who have gone on to perform on... read more
July 6, 2018
Following the May opening of the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, another auspicious event on the performing arts scene occurred Thursday through the historic reopening of the newly renovated The District Theatre (formerly TOTS) with “Forbidden Broadway.” In some ways, it is was a dream collaboration... read more
June 25, 2018
Having been on the ground floor as a founding board member of several nonprofit performing arts organizations and a co-founder of another, I can speak from personal experience about the risks and rewards of involvement in a startup. That is why the news that Summit... read more
June 13, 2018
The rock musical “Rent,” which premiered Off-Broadway in 1996, was the “Hamilton” of its day. It was so popular that it gathered followers who were so obsessed with the show that they were known as RENT-heads. Ironically,”Hamilton” creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda credits “Rent” as being his... read more
June 11, 2018
It was August of 2015 when I last laid eyes on actor Lisa Ermel, a former Indy resident. We met at the Starbucks on Mass Ave, where I conducted an “exit interview” with her the day before she left for Los Angeles to enter the... read more
June 5, 2018
In all the years that I have been covering the performing arts in Indianapolis, there have only been a handful of times when the anticipation and excitement level was as high as that exhibited by the sizable audience present Friday at Indiana Repertory Theatre for... read more
