Chris Silk - Page 2

Mark Danni continues to tackle ambitious projects at TheatreZone. With critical and commercial hits 'Forum' and 'Grand Hotel' behind him, success augured well for edgy small-cast, sung-through musical 'Next to Normal.' The pieces just don't fall into place.

The Roundabout Theatre Club production of 'Anything Goes' sailed into the Naples Philharmonic Tuesday on a tide of tapping and trilling, carried along by one of the single greatest act one curtain numbers in musical theatre history.

Sitting in a darkened house, listening to the scrape of chairs, the clink of glasses and the rustle of napkins, you forget just how charming 'The Sound of Music' can be. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II could write songs. Not the bland, vaguely pop ditties of today's musical theatre. But tunes that audiences cherish for five decades and counting.

By the time the final notes of Aretha Franklin girl-power anthem 'Respect' die down, after Friday's opening night crowd whooped and cheered as Anne Chamberlain juggled, flipped and successfully caught an errant microphone, you're totally, completely, utterly in love with the 'Marvelous Wonderettes.'

Da da da dum (snap snap). 'The Addams Family.' You want a verdict? Not bad. Pretty good. Da da da dum (snap snap). Sitcom. Very sitcom. Which it is. (snap snap). Memorable? Not at all. (snap snap). Fun? Absolutely. But Morticia and a ghost kick line? That's entertainment. (snap snap).

The national tour of 'Billy Elliott' dances into Naples for a six-night run at the Philharmonic. The show thrills, but never quite forges the intense emotional connection it so obviously labors toward. While dazzling ballet sequences and soaring lyrics wow, they feel ever so slightly mechanical.

Gulfshore Playhouse has produced good shows, great shows and shows I wasn't quite a fan of. Now, with 'The Importance of Being Earnest,' Kristen Coury finds herself in a different place entirely. 'Earnest' is amazing. I absolutely don't care if you hate Oscar Wilde. This will be the best two and a half hours of your life. Cucumber sandwiches not included. I don't like cucumber sandwiches anyway.

'Fiddler on the Roof' is selling out on the main stage of the Broadway Palm. This review is not about that show. This review is about another show. The one about God's OTHER chosen people. Namely, Southerners. 'Dixie Swim Club' paddles over for big laughs, honest humor and Southern-fried fun.

I've long been blunt about the fact that I don't have much of a taste for improv. I don't like beer, bananas or iceberg lettuce either. It's just my preference. I can, however, recognize when it is done well. And the one-night, two-shows-only Improvised Shakespeare Company does it very, very well.

There's not really any way around this. Pulitzer Prize-winning play 'I Am My Own Wife' features one man in a dress performing 37 different roles. If you don't like that sort of thing, leave. Of course, that would be a grave mistake, because Kraig Swartz will change your life.

They came. They saw. They sang. They danced. 'Become a knight and you'll go far / in suspenders and a bra!' 'Spamalot,' the Monty Python musical, clip-clopped into BIG ARTS Herb Strauss Theater on Sanibel this weekend. And it was good. Very, very good.

'Mary Poppins' floated into Fort Myers Tuesday. Audiences get gorgeous sets, a trilling soprano and chimney sweeps on parade. The delightful show offers plenty of thrills, but a more adult storyline lacks some of the pure whimsy and charm of the Disney film. Perhaps another spoonful of sugar?

After several seasons of mediocre musicals, Mark Danni has finally found a formula that works at TheatreZone. 'Grand Hotel,' a celebration of life at Berlin's best boarding place, marks a second consecutive triumph for the group. Music, dance and creative elements combine for a brilliant night.

Is the New York Times Theater section your bible? Can you recall Tony winners at the drop of a tap shoe? Do you rate LaDucas higher than Louboutins? Do you argue over who was the best 'Phantom?' Then 'Forbidden Broadway' might just be your kind of show.

Two brothers. One sister. A fortune waiting for them. A family divided against itself. Southern gentlemen. Negro maids in smart white uniforms. Grits. Elderberry wine. Beautiful clothes. Beautiful people. Terrible deeds. Florida Rep explores all this in fascinating 'The Little Foxes.'