New Jersey Theater Reviews

BWW Reviews: THE 39 STEPS at Skyline Theater

Skyline Theater in Fairlawn, NJ ends their 12th season presenting the hysterical 'The 39 Steps' - a send-up to British film noir at the George Frey Center for Arts and Recreation Center. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Hal Holbrook's MARK TWAIN TONIGHT A Treasure for the MPAC Audience

Hal Holbrook performed his well known show, 'Mark Twain Tonight,' at the Mayo Center for Performing Arts in Morristown New Jersey and the audience was captivated. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Mike Tyson Takes NJ PAC Audience Through the Rounds in UNDISPUTED TRUTH

Mike Tyson bared his soul in his one man performance 'Undisputed Truth,' Thursday night, April 25th, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. (more...)

Lauren Fox's Transcendent Mitchell/Cohen Tribute Show in a New Jersey Concert Hall Is a Total Trip

Well, it took me almost a year and a half and a long car ride deep into New Jersey to do it, but when last Saturday night (March 23) I finally got a chance to see and hear Lauren Fox's Joni Mitchell/Leonard Cohen Tribute Show ('The painter and the poet who mesmerized the world with their songs,' as Fox put it), it was well worth the wait--and the trip. Actually, the show itself was a trip, as Fox not only embodied the look, spirit, and vocal timbre of Mitchell and her songs (if not completely reaching her soaring soprano), she also managed to channel the persona of the intense and mysterious machoness of Cohen simply by donning a fedora and maximizing her deeper register voice. It's not at all a surprise that Fox not only received rave media reviews and the 2012 MAC Award for 'Best Debut' for this show, but that a 750-seat theater like the recently-renovated, Art Deco style Landis in Vineland, NJ, would want to bring this stunning, 16-song cabaret set and Fox's transcendent performance to their stage (more...)

BWW Reviews: Bristol's PIRATES OF PENZANCE - 'Tis a Glorious Thing to be a Pirate King!'

The Pirates of Penzance just might be the wackiest operetta ever written and Bristol's director Keith Baker has a magnificent command of the piece. (more...)

BWW Reviews: HAVING OUR SAY at 4th Wall Theatre

4th Wall Theatre presents the play HAVING OUR SAY for Black History Month for one weekend only. (more...)

BWW Reviews: LEND ME A TENOR at Paper Mill Playhouse

Lend Me A Tenor at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse is well-cast farce that will cause outbursts of laughter and send audiences off in a great mood. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Growing Stage's RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER

Growing Stage, a professional children's theater company in Netcong, NJ presents the beloved Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for the holidays. (more...)

BWW Reviews: The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's MAN OF LA MANCHA

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey presents Man Of La Mancha for their 50th anniversary season. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Paper Mill Playhouse's A CHORUS LINE

A Chorus Line Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante/ Music by Marvin Hamlisch/ Lyrics by Edward Kleban Conceived and Originally Directed and Choreographed by Michael Bennett; Original Direction and Choreography Restaged by Mitzi Hamilton at the Paper Mill Playhouse (more...)

BWW Reviews: The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey CHARLES DICKENS’ OLIVER TWIST

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey launches the Fall portion of its 50th Anniversary Season with the critically acclaimed stage adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist by British playwright, author, and director, Neil Bartlett. (more...)

BWW Recaps: Bernadette Peters Plays NJPAC

At a one-night-only concert in Newark with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Bernadette Peters performed selections from Broadway and the American Songbook. (more...)

BWW Reviews: PGL's ALL MY SONS - A Compelling Production

Is Miller the traitor he was accused of being in the 1950's or instead, is he a staunch patriot? See PGL's compelling production of 'All My Sons' and decide for yourself! (more...)

BWW Reviews: BCP's SPELLING BEE Takes Home the Trophy!

BCP's side-splitting production of 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' is currently playing at Oradell's Little Firehouse Theater through October 2, 2011. (more...)

BWW Reviews: 4th Wall Theatre's A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE

'Love Who You Love', the haunting melody that is sung multiple times throughout A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, truly encompasses the message of this heartfelt production currently running at the 4th Wall Theater in Bloomfield. (more...)

BWW Reviews: THE BALD SOPRANO Offers a Comical Look at Life's Absurdities

As the house lights came up on the Garage Theatre Group's production of THE BALD SOPRANO on Sunday afternoon, the delighted audience was still reflecting on what they had just seen. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Bergen County Players GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS Still Relevant in 2011

In the world of David Mamet's GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, the ABC's of the real estate business stand for ‘Always Be Closing'. In fact, a sign displaying just such a philosophy can be seen hanging from the set wall of the Bergen County Players production of this award winning play, currently on stage at Oradell's Little Firehouse Theater (more...)

BWW Review: Broadway's Linda Eder at the Scottish Rite Theater

About 14 years have passed since this tall beauty graced the stage of the Plymouth Theater in NYC and exploded in songs that rattled the roof and had the audience whispering 'wait till you hear her sing'. (more...)

Review - The Full Monty: Who The Hell Is Margie Hart?

One of the unique and cherished aspects of the musical theatre is how the preceding plot and character development can allow a musical moment to achieve ethereal heights that establish a triumvirate of joyful feeling between audience, performer and character. Take, for example, Amalia Balash's dizzying high note at the end of 'Vanilla Ice Cream,' which is not just a showy moment for the actress playing the role, but a release of amazed emotions caused by a simple act of kindness. Or the wacky exuberance of the impromptu tango that follows Eliza Doolittle's mastery of the proper pronunciation of an Iberian precipitation phenomenon. (more...)

Review - 1776: SPOILER: They vote in favor of independence

As is frequently noted by lovers of strong book musicals, part of the brilliance of Sherman Edwards (score) and Peter Stone's (book) 1776, their 1969 Broadway tuner about the efforts of John Adams to convince the continental congress to vote for independency from Great Britain, is that the audience walks into the theatre knowing full well how it's going to end, and yet the authors (and history) keep you on The Edge of your seat wondering how the devil it's going to happen. With a unanimous vote necessary ('So that no colony be torn from its mother country without its own consent.') and Pennsylvania's John Dickinson leading the arguments for property-owners whose personal economy is protected by loyalty to the crown and South Carolina's Edward Rutledge keeping the deep south unified in favor of individual states rights that protect their practice of slavery, June of '76 concludes with half the congress against independence. (more...)

Review - Master Class: The Lioness in Winter

Barbara Walsh may not be a world famous performing artist but she's damn convincing at playing one in Paper Mill's sparkling new production of Terrance McNally's Master Class. With only four weeks of preparation after scheduling conflicts forced announced star Kate Mulgrew to withdraw, Walsh's well-balanced mixture of poise, regality, insecurity, wit, intelligence and compassion bring a captivating portrayal to this intriguing and comical character study of an acclaimed artist no longer is possession of the tool through which her artistry earned its acclaim. (more...)

Review - Guess Paper Mill's Next Season & Julie Wilson Sings Billie Holiday

Though The Paper Mill Playhouse has just opened Master Class and still has productions of 1776 and The Full Monty geared up for their current season, plans are zipping along for the four musicals and one straight play that will make up their 2009-10 campaign. The official announcement comes this Friday afternoon, but they've released these five pictorial clues as hints. See if you can guess what the gang at Millburn has in store next season. (more...)

Review - The Importance of Being Earnest: That Was No Lady, That Was Oscar Wilde

Count me among the many who consider Wilde's 1895 manners masterpiece to be the funniest play ever penned in the English language. Unfortunately, I've seen too many productions that seemed so focused on petty annoyances like character development and acting choices that they've missed the obvious fact that Earnest is a vehicle for some of Wilde's most t-shirt and coffee mug worthy witticisms: (more...)

Review - High School Musical & Speed-the-Plow

Though last Sunday night was my first exposure to anything associated with the Disney triptych of made for television movies carrying the banner, High School Musical, it's my guess, judging from the enthusiastic reception the production received from an opening night audience loaded with young theatergoers, that fans of the series will not be disappointed. Paper Mill does their usual highly professional job, with a talented, energetic cast delivering Mark S. Hoebee's buoyant, quick-paced direction with gusto and singing attractively under music director Bruce W. Coyle. Denis Jones' choreography nicely fits the athletic and cheery requirements of the show's atmosphere and the design elements are sharply delivered via Kenneth Foy's kinetic set, Wade Laboissonniere's colorful, clique defining costumes and Tom Sturge's celebratory lights. (more...)

Review - Oklahoma! at Paper Mill: Big and Boisterous Again

How exactly does Curly know the height of an elephant's eye? I don't mean to doubt the intelligence or inquisitiveness of the guy, but if I asked a pre-statehood Oklahoma cowboy how high the corn has grown, the first response I'd expect wouldn't be a comparison to the height of a proboscidea native to Africa and Asia. Perhaps he found a picture book in some public library, or maybe that famous Thomas Edison film of the electrocution of Topsy, the Coney Island elephant, had made its way to a local picture house. (more...)