REVIEW: “Gigi” at The Mac-Haydn

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, August, 2006 When you say the name Gigi people usually have rapturous responses linked directly to their memories of the 1958 musical film starring Leslie Caron, Hermione Gingold, and Maurice Chevalier. The music is so lovely, the Parisian scenery is so beautiful, Leslie Caron is so charming,…

REVIEW: “Guys and Dolls” at The Mac-Haydn

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, August, 2006 This production is all about the Shook sisters – Karla and Kelly – who play Miss Sarah Brown and Miss Adelaide respectively. They are in the prime of their lives and are a joy to watch, alone and together, on the stage. The…

REVIEW: “Cats” at The Mac-Haydn

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, July, 2006 My little brown cat Mary is the epitome of style over substance. I believe she is constituted thusly:5% Purrs and Meows5% Owl-y Eyes and Pointy Ears15% Structural Necessities (i.e. bones, blood, vital organs, etc.)75% Fluff Andrew Lloyd Webber has constructed his Cats along the same…

REVIEW: “Funny Girl” at The Mac-Haydn

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, July, 2006 Somehow, I had managed to live 49.5 years without paying much attention to Funny Girl. I had never seen the show or the film. I discovered that I wasn’t even that familiar with the score, which was a surprise. So the first question I…

REVIEW: “Fiddler on the Roof” at The Mac-Haydn

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, June, 2006 I was once turned down for a desk job because I was “not ethnic enough.” Anyone with two brain cells can tell that that is a patently ridiculous statement. We are all “ethnic” and ethnicity is not something that can be quantified. In…

REVIEW: “Brigadoon” at The Mac-Haydn Theatre

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…

REVIEW: “La Cage Aux Folles” at The Mac-Haydn Theatre

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…

REVIEW: “Barnum” at The Mac-Haydn

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, August 2004 Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) was 60 years old when Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Circus made its debut. At the time, it was the largest circus venture in American history. Shortly thereafter Barnum coined the phrase “The greatest show on earth,”…