The Marriage Matinee - Page 3

It’s time for breaking barriers and discovering a modern fairy tale in PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL coming to Indianapolis the 15th through the 20th. Before this fabulous show hits the stage, we had a moment to talk to Jessica Crouch, who is playing Kit De Luca. She gave us some special peeks behind the magic and into the process that brought this beloved story to Broadway.

The 1970's rock opera JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR celebrated its 50th anniversary this year and the anniversary tour is currently at Clowes Memorial Hall in Indianapolis. This iconic musical has always been one of our favorites, and we've have lost count of how many times we've seen it. This touring production exceeded every one of our very high expectations. While it remained true to the original version, some contemporary tweaks brought it to a new level of greatness.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is coming soon to Indianapolis, and we had the good fortune to talk to Jenna Rubaii, who plays Mary Magdalene in the latest Broadway touring production. She offered us keen insights into what makes this production different and gave us a glimpse behind the curtain to learn more about how the magic we see is created by the cast.

Comedy, crime, and quick wits describe every minute of SHEAR MADNESS. This piece is the longest running play in American theater for a reason. It combines a little of all your theatrical favorites with some location-specific additions and even audience participation.

It’s officially December, and the holiday season is upon us! Twinkle lights and vibrant colors are starting to fill up windows form stores to homes. Luckily, this holiday frenzy has spread to Beef & Boards. A BEEF & BOARDS CHRISTMAS is a winning tribute to the sounds, sights, and smells of this festive season.

Nothing compares to the joy and freedom of pure imagination, and that is what CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY brings to the stage. It is an unbridled celebration of the enduring power of the creative mind to make the world ever more expansive and astounding. And the greatest source of that power often is found in an unexpected place, like the mind of a child. You can never underestimate the value of a child’s ability to make things new.

Broadway Across America is coming back to life, and it’s ready to hit Indy with the fun and fantastical CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. This musical brings to life the much-beloved classic children's book by Roald Dahl, also adapted for film twice. In anticipation of opening night, we were lucky enough to get to interview Audrey Belle Adams, who stars as Mrs. Gloop in the upcoming tour. Hear her reflections on what it means to be back and what makes this such a great show to launch the season.

If you’re a fan of musical theatre, then you have had some exposure to the deeply dark and moving tale of the Phantom who lived in the bowels of the Paris Opera House. However, you’re most likely thinking of the version by Andrew Lloyd Weber. While that musical is iconic in its own ways, there is another PHANTOM you can encounter in musical theatre. This version has music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and book by Arthur Kopit. This adaptation has been brought to life in Indianapolis by Beef & Boards, and it is a haunting yet exhilarating experience.

We were lucky enough recently to sit down and (virtually) chat with Leslie Broecker, President of Broadway Across America Midwest. She is a delightful and charismatic woman who brings an obvious enthusiasm to her role. As we spoke with her, we heard some poignant reminders about what makes live theater so special and also some tidbits about what’s next for Broadway’s return to stages across the U.S.

It’s official: Broadway soon to be back in Indianapolis. The 41 celebrated theaters from Midtown to Lincoln Center have been boarded up since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic as well as across the entire nation.

Now's the time to seize some tickets for Beef & Board's showing of NEWSIES. This fun and high-energy show provokes a nice balance of laughter and thought, as the newsies of New York take on 'the big guys.'

After a long time away from live theater, “Smart People” was the perfect show to return to. As an artwork, it has a supreme blend of moments to make you laugh, cringe, and question. As a performance, it has the actors with the chops to make this daring piece come to life in riveting ways.

The premise is simple: a theatrical group who comes together in the hopes of producing their first a?oeprofessionala?? performance, a dramatic murder mystery. The action of it is far from simple as everyone's best intentions turns into everyone's worst nightmares. THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG is burgeoning with classic physical humor and over-the-top personalities that will consume your attention from start to finish.

We were lucky enough to get to speak with Chris French who plays Jonathan Harris in THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG opening at Clowes Memorial Hall February 25th. He had plenty to say about what makes this show something special and why it's a fun departure from the musicals most patrons are used to from Broadway Across America.

DUTCHMAN by Amiri Baraka has an essence all its own that is complicated, lyrical, and timeless. This production by Monument Theatre Company pushes at the edges of comfort and makes you as an audience member not only pay attention but also become a part of what is happening on the stage.

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER summons mental images in an instant. Bell-bottoms, elongated lapels, disco balls, big hair, crazy colors, intense patterns, everything shiny imaginable. What's not to love? That is the visual feast being served up by Beef & Boards, and what a feast it is.

There is a day that is crystallized in the American consciousness as a day you will never forget, a day you can recall in perfect detail: September 11, 2001. On that day, so much of the bedrock of humanity felt like it was eroding into chaos as we all watched those planes strike the World Trade Center and reduce it to rubble, again and again. But COME FROM AWAY calls on us to remember something different about that day. It hearkens to the heart of what unites humanity rather than divides it. It is a look at the beauty of kindness being lived out in a small community on an island in Canada and how that kindness can overcome even the worst of days.

STEEL MAGNOLIAS is a much beloved play and film full of the charms of the South and the wit and resilience of the women who inhabit it. It has so many timeless themes, like the bonds of womanhood, the trials of courtship, the anxieties of motherhood and aging. What makes it such an enduring presence on the stage is the way these themes interweave to create peaks of humor and valleys of tragedy that ultimately show a beauty salon is more than a place to beautify. It is a place to forge friendships that are there to catch you when you fall.

Few musicals in recent years have received as much attention and acclaim as HAMILTON. It is essentially a historical drama with a dash of comedy delivered in the form of exceptional lyrics and tantalizing beats that switch seamlessly from a melody to a rap and back. The brainchild of Lin-Manuel Miranda has caused a ripple of excitement across the musical world, and that ripple has made its way to Indianapolis this winter.

Childhood is tied up with memories of favorite fairy tales and the dreams they inspired, which is part of what makes this musical so beloved. Everyone enjoys a chance to be pulled into a fantasy where magic is real and wishes are granted. This production has dashes of whimsy and romance that are sure to enchant children and adults alike into the fairy tale world of RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA.