Christine Swerczek - Page 12

Who has NOT grown up with Wizard of Oz? It was a very special annual event in my childhood home, and I am willing to bet most of you can say the same. I was excited to speak with Aaron Fried, who plays the Cowardly Lion in the national tour of WIZARD OF OZ, which opens at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha on Tuesday, December 8?.

Having never seen the five-time Tony Award winning PETER AND THE STARCATCHER prior to the preview at Omaha's Rose Theater last night, I did not know what to expect. I suppose I was thinking it would be similar to the classic Disney movie or the more recent Broadway hit FINDING NEVERLAND, but it was neither. And it was both.

I know everyone will expect this review to begin with, "I've Had the Time of My Life," but I will skip that well-known song that serves as the finale to DIRTY DANCING and go back to the opening number which defines it so well as "This Magic Moment."

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE exploded on stage on October 30th at Creighton University's Lied Center for the Performing Arts as a glorious celebration of light, color and sound.

Get ready to kick up your heels! Wildly popular KINKY BOOTS, winner of six 2013 Tony Awards, opens October 20th at Omaha's Orpheum Theater. To get a little insider insight, I spoke with Steven Booth who plays shoe factory owner Charlie Price:

IVY AND BEAN, THE MUSICAL is another winner for The Rose Theater in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Omaha Community Playhouse opens its 2015-2016 season with MAN OF LA MANCHA, the multiple-Tony Award winning musical based on the novel Don Quixote. Written by Dale Wasserman with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, the story tells of Miguel de Cervantes and his imprisonment during the Spanish Inquisition. Cervantes enlists his fellow prisoners into the telling of Don Quixote, knight errant, and his escapades as he fights for valor. I caught the preview last night and I have to warn you-it would be a mistake to miss this one.

I'll admit I had my reservations walking into the latest Omaha Community Playhouse production. How could a two hour, one woman show possible be interesting enough to hold the audience's attention? Not only that...the subject was Catholic schools. I am not even Catholic and I was afraid that I was going to be offput by a script filled with religious (and not so religious) jokes. I was pleasantly surprised!

If you've recently watched "Saving Mr. Banks," you may be twice as curious about Mary Poppins and the Banks family. What's true? Who's real? Well, it's hard to tell, because MARY POPPINS is brimming with more than brimstone and treacle. It's filled with magic and wise sayings and heart.

These are my top picks for summer theater in the Omaha area. So much to choose from!

Monty Python's SPAMALOT opened at the Omaha Community Playhouse to thunderous applause, guffaws, and cheers.

ONCE is not enough. You must see it as many times as possible, because it is unique.  It is indefinable.  It is a bittersweet love story of longing, and it will leave you wanting more.

Cassidy Stirtz will return to her Nebraska roots and perform the role of Ex-Girlfriend as ONCE the musical takes the stage at Omaha's Orpheum Theater May 12-17.

The minute you walk into the Omaha Community Playhouse and look at the stage, you know you are in for an unusual experience. I HATE HAMLET, opening April 17, is a wonderful playground somewhere between the Hollywood days of the legendary John Barrymore and today. Directed by Ablan Roblin and Assistant Director Noah Diaz, seasoned actors intertwine the serious with the farcical, the real with the surreal. It's a delicious bit of theater that even those who really do hate Hamlet have to love.

GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL! is ridiculous! Cathy Hirsch (the Candy Project) assembled a whole cast of zany characters within two award-winning actors- Dan Chevalier (Bud Davenport +others) and Steve Krambeck (Doug Simon +others). These two guys wear a multitude of hats (literally and figuratively) in this two act musical by Anthony King and Scott Brown. The story centers on Bud's and Doug's scant research of Johannes Gutenberg and his invention of the printing press. Fast paced, satiric, and just plain stupid fun, this production is a sure hit, particularly combined with good beer and great pizza at Pizza Shoppe Collective in Omaha.

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL recently opened at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha, taking the packed house captive for 2 hours and 45 minutes with nonstop songs covering 25 years of emerging superstars.

When I was asked to interview a cast member of "MOTOWN THE MUSICAL" currently on tour, I chose Galen J. Williams. I had two reasons. The first is that I had previously seen him performing in a Broadway Dreams Foundation show in Los Angeles and found him to be a captivating performer. The second is that I am intrigued by the demands of a swing. So I called Galen and spoke with him about MOTOWN and swings and Broadway dreaming.

Omaha Community Playhouse resurrected the 1971 Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice rock opera 'Jesus Christ Superstar' last night. The musical, based on the last week in the life of Jesus, is told from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus. The original Broadway production created a buzz with a nod to contemporary issues from the hippie subculture of the 60's and 70's.

Pippin brings the circus to Omaha in a kaleidoscope of color.

You might wonder how a musical about ten Texans competing to win a Nissan truck by being the last person standing with hands on it could be interesting. There can be little action since everyone is stuck to the truck by white cotton gloves. Yet, this musical is not about outward action so much as it is about inward struggle. These are varied characters with diverse personalities. The truck is the vehicle that ties them together. These white-gloved hands are what hang onto hope. I promise you that it is interesting!