Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, May, 2006 Did you know that Forever Plaid, a show with nary a dirty joke let alone a pretty girl or a sequin, has been running more or less continuously for the past decade in Las Vegas? When I was there in 2000 the Plaids had…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, August 2005 I have a soft spot in my heart for Brigadoon for two reasons. First, I am married to Robert Burns and therefore required to enjoy all things Scottish, and secondly it was the first musical I ever saw on Broadway. I had just turned six…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, July 2005 A while back there was a cartoon in the New Yorker entitled “The Gay Agenda” that depicted a page in a daily planner with a “to do” list that read something like this: “Walk the dog. Pick up dry cleaning. Pick Susie up…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, July 2005 The Mac-Haydn has already distributed a press release entitled “Liberace Wins Audience Raves”. I was in that audience and I can tell you right now that everyone there had a fabulous time, including your curmudgeonly critic. I realize that this admission may cost me…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, July 2005 If you are a tap dance junkie looking for your next fix now that Savion Glover has departed from Jacob’s Pillow, you will want to book tickets NOW for 42nd Street at the Mac-Haydn. I went to the theatre with high hopes and fond memories…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, June 2005 In 1999, Time Magazine looked back over the entire 20th century, a century that saw the American musical take shape, and named Rodgers and Hammerstein’s second collaboration Carousel the Best Musical of the Century! High praise indeed. Rodgers and Hammerstein themselves liked Carousel the best of all…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, June 2005 Every year, usually early in the season, the Mac-Haydn treats local audiences to a gem from the canon of English operetta. These are memorable because, with the exception of a couple of the Savoy operas, operetta is seldom heard these days. In its…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, May 2005 Let’s get things straight at the outset:1. Nuncrackers is a Nunsense show.2. Theatre critics hate Nunsense shows and I am a theatre critic.3. Nunsense shows are completely “critic-proof.” Critics hate ‘em and audiences love ‘em. Some might argue that item three above proves that critics are woefully out of touch with…
