She did it! 90 minutes of no-intermission and not a tear in her eye or a whine in her voice. No, not Athena! She clapped loudly after every scene and sat wide-eyed with excitement as the Grinch won her heart along with Cindy Lou’s.
Last night, we attended Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” at Segerstrom Center for the Arts and it showed me that children are more capable than we give them credit for. Continue reading
How could a show get away with people giving God the middle finger? Or sexually explicit baptisms? Or even more inappropriate… holy books being shoved into unmentionable parts? Then there’s female genital mutilation, dysentery, AIDS, and unspeakable acts done to babies and frogs. And in such a religious area as Charlotte nonetheless. Well, The Book of Mormon did it and did it well. The entire Belk Theater was teary-eyed from laughter during opening night in Charlotte. All of these blasphemies are set to song and dance in a performance that I will not soon forget.
Photo credit: Simon Annand
Stephanie Meyer fans watch out; there are other undead in town and these ones have klout. Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty, which made its North Carolina debut at Belk Theater, is edgy, entertaining, visually stunning, and modern with a vampire twist. It has depth, drama, and a ton of smoking hot vampires. If that isn’t enough draw, it’s the classic story of Sleeping Beauty. Known and loved by all, there is no guess work with this ballet. I was able to sit back, relax, and soak up the eye-candy in Bourne’s reinvention of the classic Tchaikovsky ballet. Continue reading
From the moment the curtain goes up until the last bow, Cirque Dreams Holidaze is too
amazing to believe even when witnessing it with your very own eyes. It’s a dreamland of tinsel and glitter and candy cane flair. Acrobats twirled. Reindeer skipped. Gingerbread men flipped. Penguins teeter-tottered atop endless cylinders. And I sat in continuous awe while constantly saying, “oh my god!”, “wow”, “oh no they can’t be about to…”, and “holy sh**”. Cirque Dreams Holidaze makes the impossible, possible. Continue reading
Congratulations, you’re about to be a part of “Till Death Do Us Part”, The Murder Mystery 
Company’s award-winning and wedding-themed murder mystery. You are cordially invited to follow Darren and I, better known as Anita Goodman for the show, to Beauregard’s located at 3030 Freedom Drive to attend the wedding of Neil Burger and Summer McDonald. Just as the happy couple pronounces their vows, a death is also pronounced. This wedding truly is a nightmare! Can the hapless detective, along with your help, solve the murder and save this wedding? Join us for an evening of murder, mystery, food, and fun. Continue reading
Los Angeles first encountered Wicked the Musical in 2005 when it broke box office 
records. It returned two years later for an extended run that lasted two years. Now, Wicked is back at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, and it is so powerful that the magical spell that is casts on everyone will never be broken. Unlike the movie, The Wizard of Oz, this musical takes us back to a time before Dorothy arrived. It is a brilliantly imaginative back story that explains how Elfaba came to be the Wicked Witch of the West, starting with the conception that led to her being born green. It follows her relationship with Glinda after they meet at school and a misunderstanding lands them as hostile roommates who eventually become lifelong friends. The mysteries of how there came to be a Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion are revealed, as well as how the flying monkeys got their wings. With elaborate sets and costumers, memorable songs in the score, just the right amount of sentimentality in the plot line, a entire cast that was mesmerizing, and a balanced mixture of singing and spoken dialogue, the hit Broadway musical created a recognizably Wicked world. Continue reading
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