REVIEW: “Nuncrackers” at the Cohoes Music Hall

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, December 2008 The last time I saw Nuncrackers, in May (yeah, in May, go figure) 2005 at the Mac-Haydn, I called it “one big Christmas turkey*.” Now I really like roast turkey, but at that time I did not use the word in a complimentary manner.…

REVIEW: The Panto-Loons Present “Jack and the Beanstalk” at the Ghent Playhouse

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, November 2008 Fabulosity, thy name is Panto! Everyone I took with me to see the 9th annual British-American Panto at the Ghent Playhouse – this year’s incarnation is nominally Jack and the Beanstalk with a smattering of Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill and Simple Simon Met a Pieman,…

REVIEW: “Of Mice and Men” at the New York State Theatre Institute

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, November 2008 The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ menGang aft agley,An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,For promis’d joy! – Robert Burns When Of Mice and Men was first published in 1937, it was termed a “novella” – a little novel – and it was,…

REVIEW: “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”

by Gail M. Burns, October 2008 You know that saying: “Old age is not for sissies”? Well that applies to theatre companies as well as people. Late in its ninth decade of existence, the Town Players of Pittsfield, the second oldest community theatre group in the nation, has appeared to…

REVIEW: “To Kill a Mockingbird” at Barrington Stage Company

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, October 2008 Harper Lee (1926- ) published only one novel, but in her case one is enough. To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) is a truly deserving Pulitzer Prize winner, weaving together elements of faith and hope, comedy and tragedy, seen through the fresh eyes of youth –…

REVIEW: “Clue: The Musical” at the Ghent Playhouse

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, October 2008 It’s a board game! It’s a musical! Its Clue: The Musical! Which should be titled Eight Actors in Search of a Script…and a Score. Let’s just make that Eight Actors in Search of a Show! There’s lots of talent on stage at the Ghent…

Comments on Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo at MASS MoCA

Comments by Gail M. Burns, October 2008 “We’re men, MANLY men, we’re men in tights. Yeah!We roam around the forest looking for fights.We’re men, we’re men in tights.We rob from the rich and give to the poor, that’s right!We may look like pansies, but don’t get us wrong or else…