Vintage sass
“I never left standup,” says Wanda Sykes. “Standup, that’s my day job; it’s what I love.” And with that, she’s off. Literally. Audiences across the nation will get a chance [...]
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Posted March 18, 2015in Center Stage
Posted March 11, 2015in Center Stage
Spilling blood in the courtroom
Drama can be all in the eyes. Rich Richards, the whole show in “Clarence Darrow,” can raise the tension with a hardening stare or lighten it with a sidelong glance. [...]
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Posted March 04, 2015in Center Stage
Pinball, vaudeville and murder
Midway through our conversation, Kyle Brantzel started speaking in tongues. First he used a birdlike falsetto, then a gravelly basso, switching off without a hitch. “That’s how you’ve got to [...]
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Posted February 25, 2015in Center Stage
No sex in the funhouse
Frances and Peter Hunter get a lot of visitors for newlyweds. The couple has a crazy and busy time of things in “No Sex Please, We’re British,” now enjoying an [...]
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Posted February 18, 2015in Center Stage
Festival of surprises
The walls of the Last Laugh, Persian blue, are decorated with empty picture frames, a light tan. The owner, Josh Chamberlain, quickly turned this into a joke. “You can fill [...]
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Posted February 11, 2015in Center Stage
Wounded bull, Southern belle
The playbill for “A Streetcar Named Desire” includes an unusual listing — a “dialect coach.” The “coach” is Ann Woldt, from Simpson — and the woman knows her stuff. Not [...]
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Posted February 04, 2015in Center Stage
Elephant in the room
It takes a professional to weather a blackout. The lights quit unexpectedly midway through the first act of “The Elephant Man” — perhaps this had to do with the blizzard [...]
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Posted January 28, 2015in Center Stage
Transmitting the Comedy Virus
When I lived in Chicago, the best cheap date was on a Monday. On that night you could catch the “greatest hits” of Second City, ground zero for improv comedy [...]
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Posted January 21, 2015in Center Stage
Whatever Lola wants…
“Cyndi Lauper brought it off!” exclaims Nick McCough. “She brought her rock ’n’ roll to Broadway!” What has got McCough so excited is “Kinky Boots,” the new musical, bursting with [...]
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Posted January 14, 2015in Center Stage
Swapping Genders
“It’s the kind of exciting work StageWest has always brought to town,” claims Todd Buchacker. “It proves we’re still taking chances.” Buchacker, the director for this show, might be talking [...]
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