Melissa Giordano - Page 13

Ira Levin's Deathtrap is no doubt produced often since its Broadway staging in 1978. Therefore, you need something to entice you to see this Tony nominated play and I've just the thing.

It is my pleasure to speak to Long Island playwrights Karl Hinze and Becky Goldberg. They have a wonderful new show reading at The New York Musical Theatre Festival and were kind enough to take time to speak with me today!

I'm always cautious in seeing a regional production of Jonathan Larsen's Rent as I have become a Renthead over the years. The thing to remember is art has different interpretations. SoLuna Studio Artistic Director and Owner Karen Braun fantastically directs and choreographs this slightly reimagined take on Mr. Larson's Tony and Pulitzer winning musical. Running through July 27th, some adjustments were made for SoLuna's vision including an unexpected twist the last moment of the show.

One thing is sure; Mary Poppins remains one of the most popular tales to this day. The iconic story's Tony Award winning musical adaptation is having its Long Island premier at the beautiful Patchogue Theatre running through July 19th.

When you see the play Travesties, it will probably make you feel like your brain haywired a bit. Don't worry, though, that's supposed to happen. Tom Stoppard's Tony Award winning play, running through July 20th at Sag Harbor's beautiful Bay Street Theatre, is brilliantly constructed for many 'What?!' moments.

If you want a high-energy show, Smokey Joe's Café is definitely for you. The musical revue, on Broadway from 1995-2000, highlights the music of songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The spectacle has forty of their hit songs done back to back including 'Love Potion Number 9', 'Yakity Yak', 'Stand By Me' and 'Jailhouse Rock'. Believe me when I say that you will be dancing in your seat at some point.

Terrence McNally's Tony award winning play, Master Class, is certainly an enjoyable night of theatre. This dramatic biographical story of opera diva Maria Callas tells a tale of the retired performer as she conducts a master class cultivating new operatic talent. Jeffrey Sanzel splendidly directs this delightful incarnation running through June 28th at Theatre Three of Port Jefferson, Long Island, culminating their stellar 44th season.

It is always exciting to be able to say 'I saw it first'. It is a favorite aphorism amongst New Yorkers. You, too, will have that opportunity attending the new, up-and-coming play Conviction by Carey Crim performing through June 15th at the lovely Bay Street Theatre of beautiful Sag Harbor, Long Island.

You will find it truly refreshing to attend Gateway Theatre's beautiful incarnation of the Tony winning musical 42nd Street. I know what you're thinking... 42nd Street is done frequently... and you are correct. However, the right cast and a top notch director - Broadway's Randy Skinner who had a hand in the original Broadway production as well as the 2001 Broadway revival - breathes new life into a theatre staple.

The Long Island theatre scene will unquestionably be a hopping one this Summer. One of the most exciting seasons is being offered by Northport's John W. Engeman Theatre. Their current season culminates with Plaza Suite (May 29th - July 13th). Then their 8th season starts soon after with a stellar line-up that includes Evita, Deathtrap, A Christmas Story, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, A Chorus Line, and The Producers.

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Tony award winning musical Into the Woods is produced fairly consistently since it premiered on Broadway in 1987. This certainly puts a great deal of pressure on the cast to breathe new life into this theatre staple. Fortunately, Director Brett Chizever, in a strong directorial debut, got the right cast to create a wonderful incarnation of the theatre staple.

To see an all-out fun production like Xanadu is certainly a pleasure. The musical, currently running at Hauppauge's SoLuna Studio, is entertaining and the talented cast delivers in all its campy glory. The story, a spoof of the atrocious 1980's movie, follows Kira who sets out to inspire a struggling artist in order to achieve his utmost creative desire... a roller disco!

So it seems BroadHollow has another hit on their hands with Little Shop of Horrors. Is this fun and comical production consistently produced? Sure. But that doesn't for anyone mean to miss out on a well-executed show.

Lady from Limerick is an up and coming play by playwright Claude Solnik. The story, based on actual events, is about an Irish woman who tells her husband that she's going to a conference but instead travels to New York. It is a play about beauty, passion, betrayal and the desire to be young forever.

The Tony Award winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone, the latest from BroadHollow Theatre Company, is indeed a fascinating piece. I say fascinating because at its entertaining core, it is a show within a show spoofing old musicals. The plot includes mistaken identities, dream sequences, an unexcitable English butler, a Broadway producer going crazy over his Follies production, comical gangsters, a ditzy chorine, a harried best man, and a 'Drowsy', er, alcoholic, 'Chaperone' amongst other stereotypes.

Being an enthusiast of old movies, I saw Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film version of Fredrick Knott's Dial M for Murder long before I attended the stage incarnation. I have to say that I actually grew bored with film; the 'thriller' seemed very slow to me. Thankfully, the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts' (SCPA) production, running through March 30th, put a better spin on this riveting story... and went at a better pace.

The Long Island theatre scene will unquestionably be a hopping one this Spring and Summer. One of the most exciting seasons is being offered by Northport's John W. Engeman Theatre. Their current season culminates with The Music Man (March 27th - May18th) and Plaza Suite (May 29th - July 13th). Then their 8th season starts soon after with a stellar line-up that includes Evita, Deathtrap, A Christmas Story, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, A Chorus Line, and The Producers.

Hello Dolly!, the multi Tony award winning musical, is probably one every theatre fan should see. Fortunately, the classic theatre staple is the latest offering from the BroadHollow Theatre Company playing their BayWay Theatre until March 2nd continuing to their Elmont location beginning March 8th.