Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, August, 2002 A young woman is living alone with her aunt on a farm in the Oklahoma territory just before it achieved statehood in 1907. She is being sexually harassed and threatened by their farm hand, and the guilt and shame she feels because of…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, August, 2002 Mame Dennis must be up there in the Bawdy Broads Afterlife laughing with delight at the lengthy run her nephew’s tales of her have had. Patrick Dennis became an overnight sensation when his memoir Auntie Mame was first published in 1955. Considered risqué at the…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, July, 2002 The last time I saw an (almost) one woman show about Sophie Tucker, I wrote the following: “Whenever [the star] opens her mouth to sing, the show gets exciting. But then the book inevitably comes tromping back in. Just let this woman sing!…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, July, 2002 I am about to launch in to a scintillating dissertation of the creative history of Crazy For You, so if you want to cut to the chase and find out whether or not the production currently running at the Mac-Haydn is any good, let…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, July, 2002 The Spirit of ’76 is alive and well at the Mac-Haydn this week in this lively, well-staged production of the Tony award-winning musical play 1776 brimming with talent and excitement. Towards the end of the second act I actually found myself biting my nails and…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, June, 2002 This is one of the best shows I have ever seen at the Mac-Haydn. It looks great, it sounds great, and it is just plain fun. There were moments of color and light and song and dance that just made my heart soar.…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, June, 2002 Mack and Mabel is a legendary flop. It opened on Broadway in the fall of 1974 with the legendary Robert Preston and Bernadette Peters in the title roles. It has a score by the legendary Jerry Herman (composer of Hello, Dolly! and Mame), was directed and choreographed…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, May, 2002 Nuns wearing wimplesAnd captains with whistlesBrave young MariaAnd Nazis who bristleEdelweiss, goatherds,And children who singThese are a few of my favorite things— with apologies to Oscar Hammerstein II Although I entered the Mac-Haydn the other night with my curmudgeonly “I Hate Rodgers &…
