Courtney Symes - Page 9

The Tony Award-winning Falsettos is on the move after its phenomenally successful Broadway revival. After winning two Tonys in its original run, it was nominated for five more in 2017, including Best Revival of a Musical. Leading the talented pack is Max von Essen as Marvin, the married dad turned gay man who learns to navigate his new roles and relationships. Von Essen is, perhaps, best known for his Tony-nominated role as Henri Baurel in An American in Paris. He is also a successful film actor and solo recording artist. Fresh off of a run on Broadway as Greb Vaganov in Anastasia, he agreed to speak with BroadwayWorld Sacramento about his upcoming album release, past roles, and what we can expect from Falsettos.

A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, brings to us a night of frivolity and fun peppered with love. A favorite subject of the Bard, this work explores the staying power of true love and the measures that we will take to ensure that it happens. Although it is believed to have been written as entertainment for an upper-class wedding around the year 1600, the themes withstand the test of time and cross the boundaries of social status.

Boom! Swish. Crash! The percussive phenomenon that is Stomp has arrived in Sacramento, fittingly, in the arms of a storm. The explosive energy has been riveting audiences since its inception in 1991. Stomp currently has four productions running concurrently: the ongoing show at the Orpheum Theatre in New York, a permanent London company, and tours in North America and Europe.

Global music sensation and contemporary flamenco guitarist Ottmar Liebert is returning to Sacramento for one night only with his band, Luna Negra. Liebert has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and boasts multiple gold and platinum records. His debut album, Nouveau Flamenco, is the best-selling instrumental acoustic guitar album of all time.

Mix Vaudeville, Agatha Christie, and the board game Clue, and you come up with the hilariously clever Murder For Two. Written by award-winning duo Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, this show highlights just two actors who play ALL of the parts-10, to be exact. 90 minutes of zany comedy come to the shocking finale where we find out if Mrs. Whitney did it in the entryway with a knife or if the psychiatrist did it on the porch with a gun...or was it someone else entirely?

Waitress has finally made its way to Sacramento, bringing with it all the ingredients a pie should have-sugar, spice, fluff and substance-blended perfectly in a feel-good, empowering show. Nominated for 4 Tony Awards, Waitress is groundbreaking for boasting an all-female creative team: music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles (6-time Grammy nominee), book by screenwriter Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam), choreography by Lorin Latarro (Waiting for Godot), and direction by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (Hair, Pippin, Finding Neverland). Based off of the 2007 indie film of the same name written by Adrienne Shelly, the themes in Waitress take on an even deeper meaning because of Shelly's death by violence.

The holiday season is a time when we all reflect upon the past year. The good, the bad, and everything in between comes up for dissection as we are influenced to improve in the new year. No tale conveys this idea more clearly than Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. Sacramento Theatre Company presents an adaptation by Richard Hellesen and David DeBerry that is more enjoyable each subsequent year you see it.

We hear a lot about women tearing each other down-working mom vs. stay-at-home mom, breastfeeding vs. bottle-feeding, the way other women dress or style their hair. Steel Magnolias is a lesson in the opposite-the power of positive female relationships. A celebration of strong women and set in a beauty parlor in 1980's Louisiana, the story centers around six women who share laughter, conflict, and unimaginable grief.

In a time of national uncertainty and division, it is refreshing to witness a story of what America means to me-unlimited possibilities for everyone, regardless of race, gender, or creed. It used to be known as a land of refuge and hope, and the rags-to-riches story of Cuban immigrants Gloria and Emilio Estefan gives me hope that we will return to a place that welcomes the tired and poor huddled masses while, at the same time, celebrating our diversity in a melting pot of the free and the brave. Because really, what is braver than leaving a country that you know to set upon an unknown shore with only a promise of opportunity?

The world in 1692 and the world today are, unfortunately, not entirely different. Some things have improved, certainly (modern plumbing, anyone?), but as Arthur Miller illustrated in his timeless piece, The Crucible, a witch hunt can happen anytime and anywhere. Miller cleverly used the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 as an allegory for McCarthyism and the Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s. Both preyed upon the collective fears of a community and led to the accusation and ruin of many innocent people. Mass hysteria overtook seemingly rational people as religious zealotry of the 17th century made way for political oppression 250 years later.

The Davis Shakespeare Festival is wrapping up its 9th season with the comedy As You Like It. It is one of Shakespeare's audience-pleasers and, interestingly, has the most songs in it of any Shakespeare play. The entire show is infused with pastoral music that has been modernized to a folk rock style by Timothy Nutter, who plays the guitar throughout. It serves as a bridge from the Shakespearean dialogue to the modern costumes and set pieces while successfully supporting the bohemian energy of the show.

What do a sadistic dentist, a floral shop owner, a meek plant-lover, and a girl with low self-esteem all have in common? Find out when you see the Music Circus premiere of Little Shop of Horrors at Broadway at Music Circus! Based on the 1966 cult-classic film of the same name, the musical features a score by Alan Menken (of Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, and Little Mermaid fame) in the style of 1960s doo-wop, Motown and rock, and book and lyrics by Howard Ashman (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast).

A glorious two hours to lose yourself and revert to your carefree younger years-that is what Mamma Mia delivers with gusto. It's a sublime soundtrack of the 70's, complete with platform heels and free love. Comprised entirely of songs from the Swedish pop group, ABBA, Mamma Mia transports you from smoky California directly to the clear, cerulean seas of a fictional Greek island.

How far would you go to ensure your child's success? That's the question at the center of this classic 1959 show, which was nominated for 8 Tony Awards. It is based on the 1957 memoir of American burlesque star, Gypsy Rose Lee. The musical focuses on Gypsy's overbearing mother, Mama Rose, and the journey she takes to get her daughters the stardom that she felt that she deserved.

You would never guess it, but Newsies was originally a flop when it came out as a Disney movie in 1992. It gained credibility and a cult following after being released to home video. The stage musical came several years later and opened on Broadway in 2012, where it was nominated for eight Tony Awards. Newsies ended up winning two, Best Choreography and Best Original Score. You will understand why when you hear the exhilarating numbers by Alan Menken, who also created the music for Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Sister Act.

Like its locomotive namesake, On the 20th Century reaches out to transport you to a different destination. Although, instead of Chicago or New York, you'll be going to a place of laughter, awe and all-consuming fun. This operetta opened on Broadway in 1978, winning 5 Tony Awards, and was revived in 2015 with Kristin Chenoweth as the glamorous Lily Garland. Now it makes its way to the 9th season of the Davis Shakespeare Festival for those lucky enough to get on board.

The Davis Shakespeare Festival opens up their 2018 season with Peter Oswald's modern adaptation of Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart. Set in England in 1586, it explores the relationship between Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I of England. This battle of the Queens sets the stage for an intricate pas de deux of Protestant vs. Catholic, Scotland vs. England, and conscience vs. power. It is also a testimony on how much the world has not changed in the political arena-subterfuge, ambiguity, and blind ambition are as prevalent now as they were in 16th century England.

Sometimes it's risky to bring older musicals back to life-the language, attitudes, and music can be dated and dull to today's audiences; however, the old seems new again with Broadway at Music Circus' take on the classic musical, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. This fresh staging secures Broadway at Music Circus as THE place to be this summer in Sacramento.

Oh, I am happy again after absorbing the season debut at the newly renamed Broadway at Music Circus! Singin' in the Rain is based off of the 1952 movie starring Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds that is often regarded as the best movie musical ever made. The stage version opened on Broadway in 1985 and continues to be popular in regional theatre today.

In its signature way, Intrepid Theatre Lab has again brought the new and bold to Sacramento. This time they have done it with Baltimore, a work by Boston playwright Kirsten Greenidge. Titled such after the poem, 'Incident', by Countee Cullen, it was commissioned in 2014 by the Big Ten Theatre Consortium with the goal of narrowing the gap in representation of women in theatre.