Torrential rains fell outside Phoenix Theatre during last Thursday’s final preview of the world premiere musical “Unbeatable.” But the stage inside was sizzling with this new triumph. The theme, breast cancer, isn’t the usual musical plot. But “Unbeatable” turns Tracy’s journey into a struggle between tragedy and discoveries about life’s real joys.

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You have to enjoy country-western tunes to like the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre‘s “Honky Tonk Angels.” The well staged show is effervescent and performed mightily by a trio of veteran singers from past Broadway Palm shows.

They wrap their wonderful vocal chords around a succession of standards in this “jukebox” musical. This one’s contrived plot is just an excuse to string these songs together. Ted Swindley’s bland storyline uses over two dozen tunes.

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Those stubborn River City Iowans grapple with conman Harold Hill and his music “think” system in a feisty “The Music Man” at the Hale Centre.

Staged in the tiny Gilbert theater’s in-the-square configuration, the colorful, well-staged, and finely cast production of Meredith Willson’s vibrant musical captures the small town feel of this Midwest town at the turn-of-the-last-century. These townspeople are cautious but accepting of Hill’s idea of a boy’s band.

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It was an unusual opening night at ASU Gammage. There were lots of young kids and teenagers. Many of the little ones were dressed in character for “High School Musical,” the show they were there to see. Most had probably seen the show before but when the house lights dimmed, the audience exploded with shouts, claps, and cheers. This show’s cult following was present.

“High School Musical” is not my kind of show but it’s hard not to get caught up in the infectious joy this show brings out in its youthful audience. And for those of us musical theater fans, it’s hard not to thank the Disney organization for bringing new audiences to the theater and paying such expert attention to the show on stage.

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Chris Curcio’s review of “The Full Monty.,”
appears in the Mar. 2, 2008 issue of the Arizona Republic.

Click here to access the review on line

Chris Curcio’s review of “Tom, Dick and Harry,”
appears in the Mar. 30, 2008 issue of the Arizona Republic.

Click here to access the review on line

Chris Curcio’s review of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,”
appears in the Apr. 20, 2008 issue of the Arizona Republic.

Click here to access the review on line

Chris Curcio’s review of “Cinderella”
appears in the Jun. 15, 2008 issue of the Arizona Republic.

Click here to access the review on line

“My Fair Lady” is a gem from the golden age of American musicals. The 1956 show remains brilliant today because book writer Alan Jay Lerner knew just how to adapt George Bernard Shaw’s poignant and funny “Pygmalion” into a dynamic musical. Lerner’s dialogue fit seamlessly with Shaw’s witty chatter and composer Frederick Loewe wrote melodically beautiful songs that complimented the story. Minor characters were fleshed out and the bizarre relationship between starchy phonetics professor Henry Higgins and flower girl Eliza Doolittle was transformed into a romance.

After seeing countless “My Fair Lady” revivals that pay homage to Moss Hart’s original staging, it’s refreshing to see director Trevor Nunn’s rethinking of “My Fair Lady” that turns it into a grand new musical.

Nunn’s dynamically paced and cinematically fluid staging coupled with Matthew Bourne’s rollicking new dances keeps the show more vibrantly alive than it has ever been. This “My Fair Lady” sharpens the distinctions between Eliza’s common upbringing and the aristocracy she graduates to under Higgins’ expert guidance. This “My Fair Lady” becomes a new canvas on which Nunn paints afresh the struggles and tensions between Eliza and Higgins.

But Nunn’s sharp concept wouldn’t work without the artful cast that brings this version to ASU Gammage where it plays through Sunday, June 22.

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Little Oliver Twist’s rags to riches story is vibrantly presented in Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre’s remarkably sharp “Oliver!” staging.

The show’s look is the best in the theater’s history and is attributable to new scenic designer Tom Tutino’s fine looking sets. Couple the scenery with hauntingly moody lighting and appropriately tattered but colorful costumes and “Oliver’s” look is perfection. The sets make effective use of the theater’s limited technical facilities so the many scene shifts are artfully choreographed with an effortless efficiency that aides M. Seth Reines’ well paced staging. The breezy staging makes the usually draggy show fly by. Dottie Lester-White’s spiffy dances are expertly performed by a wonderful ensemble.

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