by Roseann Cane Transcendent. If you prefer a big, splashy musical with acrobatic choreography and catchy, hummable tunes, The Band’s Visit may not meet your expectations. It far exceeded mine. I’d been curious to see this multiple Tony-Award-winning show because of the praise it’s garnered. I’d imagined a sweet,…
by Roseann Cane Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, it may surprise you to learn, did not do well at the box office when it was released in 1946. Arguably one of the most cherished American movies ever made, it has since become an international favorite, traditionally watched during the…
by Roseann Cane As you enter the Trojan Hotel, the bar and ballroom of which date from 1830, the immersion begins. The hotel, abandoned for decades, has been restored by members of the Troy Foundry Theatre and the cast and crew of Yellow, a world premiere devised work, a commission with…
by Roseann Cane The first musical written by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Oklahoma! opened on Broadway on March 31,1943. An box-office smash from the get-go, it ran for more than 2,000 performances. During the nearly 76 years since, it’s a fair bet that this deservedly…
by Roseann Cane I lived in Manhattan for many years, and, particularly downtown and in other neighborhoods heavily populated with tourists, fast-talking young men enticing naive people to bet on a game of three-card monte were a familiar sight. Standing behind makeshift tables made of a few crates and…
by Roseann Cane Information about the HAM4HAM Lottery Yes: it’s every bit as good as you’ve heard. There are many reasons why Hamilton has exceeded the ticket sales, awards, and critical acclaim of every previous Broadway show. It is unlike any musical that preceded it, combining a glorious…
by Roseann Cane A small gem of a play, now in its world premiere at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Adam Bock’s Before the Meeting presents a look at the human struggle to heal, a precious thing to witness during these troubling times. Every morning, a small group of regulars…
by Roseann Cane Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), often referred to as the father of realism in modern theater, created a body of work that unflinchingly examined social mores (including marital roles), hypocrisy, religion, and ethics. In his day, theatergoers found themselves shocked and scandalized by the subject matter he explored as…
