Nicole Ackman

Nicole Ackman

Nicole Ackman returned to her native Raleigh, North Carolina after living in London and New York City. She studied communications and history at Elon University and earned her Master’s in Arts Administration at City University of London. Nicole has been writing for BroadwayWorld for several years in different capacities, in addition to her own blog and several film sites. She also enjoys classic literature, house museums, British chocolate, and Star Wars. 






MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

Review: THE GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at Durham Performing Arts Center
Review: THE GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at Durham Performing Arts Center
January 4, 2024

From the moment that the cast of Girl from the North Country enters through the aisles of the theater, it’s clear that this show is not your usual jukebox musical despite its usage of Bob Dylan’s catalog of songs.

Review: DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL at DPAC
Review: DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL at DPAC
December 8, 2023

It doesn’t get much more classic Christmas story than Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, whether you’re reading the book or watching one of the several film adaptations. So seeing the story brought to life onstage is the perfect night out this holiday season for the whole family.

Review: WICKED Still Holds Up After Twenty Years at DPAC
Review: WICKED Still Holds Up After Twenty Years at DPAC
August 26, 2023

What did our critic think of WICKED at DPAC?

Review: THEATRE RALEIGH'S THE PROM
Review: THEATRE RALEIGH'S THE PROM
August 7, 2023

What did our critic think of THEATRE RALEIGH’S THE PROM?

Review: MOULIN ROUGE! Is a Thrilling Spectacle
Review: MOULIN ROUGE! Is a Thrilling Spectacle
May 8, 2023

The cast of the musical Moulin Rouge! has a difficult task. The beloved 2001 movie directed by Baz Luhrmann has achieved near-cult status. Its cast included Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, and Jim Broadbent, all at the top of their game. A musical based on a film so iconic has a lot to live up to.

Review: THE COLOR PURPLE Inspires At North Carolina Theatre
Review: THE COLOR PURPLE Inspires At North Carolina Theatre
April 24, 2023

Whether you've read Alice Walker's novel or seen Spielberg's film adaptation, it's fair to assume that you might already know the main beats of this modern American classic. But seeing North Carolina Theatre's production of the musical adaptation will make you feel like you're experiencing the story for the first time.

Review: LES MISERABLES NATIONAL TOUR, at DPAC
Review: LES MISERABLES NATIONAL TOUR, at DPAC
April 12, 2023

The issues that LES MISÉRABLES touches on are unfortunately as relevant today as they were in 1862 when Victor Hugo’s novel was first published and in 1985 when the musical adaptation first opened in London.

BWW Review: JAGGED LITTLE PILL National Tour, DPAC
BWW Review: JAGGED LITTLE PILL National Tour, DPAC
March 1, 2023

The problem with jukebox musicals is that the music they use often takes away from the story that they're telling. It's not an issue with a show like MAMMA MIA, in which the plot is so light that the music complements it. However, when trying to tell a serious story, the songs can feel limiting and distracting from everything else happening.

BWW Review: ELF THE MUSICAL National Tour, DPAC
BWW Review: ELF THE MUSICAL National Tour, DPAC
December 1, 2022

Elf, which was released in 2003, has undoubtedly achieved that status with its endlessly quotable lines and endearingly funny performance by Will Ferrell as Buddy. Many of these beloved holiday films have been adapted for the stage, like White Christmas and A Christmas Story, so it’s natural that Elf has received the same treatment.

BWW Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, Theatre Raleigh
BWW Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, Theatre Raleigh
September 17, 2022

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG might just be one of the funniest concepts to grace the stage of a theater in the past fifty years. The play, by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer, depicts a theater group putting on a performance of “The Murder at Haversham Manor” that goes disastrously wrong from its first minutes.

BWW Review: CITY OF ANGELS, Theatre Raleigh
BWW Review: CITY OF ANGELS, Theatre Raleigh
August 10, 2022

You could still smell the new paint in the newly refurbished theater during the opening night of Theatre Raleigh’s CITY OF ANGELS. It’s fitting that director and choreographer Lauren Kennedy Brady was fulfilling a dream of bringing this production to life while also debuting the company’s new theater.

BWW Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD National Tour, DPAC
BWW Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD National Tour, DPAC
August 5, 2022

Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s classic 1960 novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD opened on Broadway in 2018. (Yes, that Aaron Sorkin). Directed by Bartlett Sher, the play transports the audience to Alabama in 1934, where Atticus Finch is representing a Black man falsely accused of sexual assault.

BWW Review: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR National Tour, DPAC
BWW Review: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR National Tour, DPAC
June 19, 2022

When JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR first premiered in 1972, it was banned by the BBC for being “sacrilegious.” The musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, imagines the last week in the life of Jesus Christ in the form of a sung-through rock opera. The tour currently at DPAC plays into the rock side of the musical. 

BWW Review: IN THE HEIGHTS, Raleigh Little Theatre
BWW Review: IN THE HEIGHTS, Raleigh Little Theatre
June 18, 2022

Raleigh Little Theatre’s production of IN THE HEIGHTS was initially announced in February 2020, just before the Coronavirus pandemic shut down theaters across the country. So it’s a joy to finally see it make its way to the stage in June 2022. Directed by Patrick Torres, the story of Washington Heights is brought to life by talented local Latinx community members.

BWW Review: HAMILTON National Tour, DPAC
BWW Review: HAMILTON National Tour, DPAC
May 20, 2022

Read our critic's review. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical remains every bit as engaging and innovative today as it was seven years ago. Under Thomas Kail’s direction, the show is one of the most unique to have made it big on Broadway.

BWW Interview: 2022 Triangle Rising Star Winners Symoné Spencer and Joshua Thompson
BWW Interview: 2022 Triangle Rising Star Winners Symoné Spencer and Joshua Thompson
May 13, 2022

On Wednesday night, I got to attend the Triangle Rising Star Awards at DPAC. They are part of the National High School Musical Theater Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards, which celebrate achievement in high school musical theatre. After the ceremony, I got to chat with the Best Actor and Best Actress winners Joshua Thompson and Symoné Spencer.

BWW Review: 2022 Triangle Rising Star Awards at DPAC
BWW Review: 2022 Triangle Rising Star Awards at DPAC
May 13, 2022

From the moment that the ceremony started with an upbeat rendition of “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from HAIRSPRAY by the twenty finalists, it was clear that the 2022 Triangle Rising Star Awards was going to be something special.

BWW Review: PRETTY WOMAN National Tour, DPAC
BWW Review: PRETTY WOMAN National Tour, DPAC
April 20, 2022

Read our critic's review: When the film “Pretty Woman” first came out, its narrative didn’t feel as tired. The Cinderella story of sorts follows prostitute Vivian Ward who wealthy businessman Edward Lewis hires to be his escort to business functions for a week. In 2022, with a modern audience, it’s harder to sell that romance, and the gender politics are harder to stomach.

BWW Review: OKLAHOMA! National Tour, DPAC
BWW Review: OKLAHOMA! National Tour, DPAC
March 30, 2022

This is not your grandparents’ OKLAHOMA. During intermission, I heard one woman ask another, “Is this the Oklahoma you remember?” and it’s certainly not. If you’ve ever found the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic musical boring or problematic, then this is the revival for you.

BWW Review: HADESTOWN National Tour (DPAC)
BWW Review: HADESTOWN National Tour (DPAC)
February 23, 2022

When a musical makes as much of an impact on Broadway as HADESTOWN did when it first premiered, the first national tour cast has a lot to live up to. Luckily, the tour of HADESTOWN manages to recapture all of the magic that the show had on Broadway, with a stellar cast stepping into the roles.



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