by Barbara Waldinger The local go-to venue for big, splashy summer musicals is usually Chatham’s Mac-Haydn Theatre. The tiny stage is characteristically populated with dozens of talented young singers/dancers/actors, energetic and beautifully costumed.  However, the latest production, Mamma Mia!, despite showcasing all the usual ingredients, is largely a disappointment. Part…
by Roseann Cane A small number of American musicals seem inseparable from the actors who originated the lead roles. For devotees of musical theater, Yul Brynner is The King and I; Robert Preston, The Music Man; and of course, Barbra Streisand is Funny Girl. Contemporary actors cast in these roles…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, July 2008 THE PROLOGUE I feel like Emily Litella. You remember, that character Gilda Radner used to do on the Weekend Update segments on Saturday Night Live back in the day. Emily was a sweet little old lady in a cardigan who never heard anything right and…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, August, 2007 Only recently has there been a trend to convert movie musicals into theatrical vehicles, usually with the view of reproducing, live on stage, the moments we all treasure on celluloid. Frankly, this rarely works well. This summer the Mac-Haydn has presented three movie-to-stage…
