Like many musicals, every production of, Rent is somehow a bit different, especially as more time passes since the iconic rock musical’s debut on Broadway now over 25 years ago. Rent went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (awarded posthumously to its creator, Jonathan Larson who tragically died at the age of 35,…
Starting in Georgia in 1909 and spanning 38 years, The Color Purple is based around the struggles of African-American woman Celie Harris (Fantasia Barrino). Celie and her sister Nettie (Halle Bailey), are brought up by their abusive father Alfonso (Deon Cole) since their mother died some time ago. Alfonso marries off Celie to an equally…
The movie musical of the Broadway musical of the movie of the book. That’s what we’ve got in 2024, with a film adaptation of the successful 2018 Mean Girls musical being released twenty years after the original hit movie penned by the wonderful Tina Fey. It made a household name out of Lindsay Lohan, and…
Rouge your knees and dig your seamed stockings out, Chicago is back in town for an Australian tour. This revival of the Broadway classic features iconic Fosse choreography, slick costumes and a pared-back set that gives equal stage-space to a live 15-piece jazz orchestra playing Kander & Ebb’s memorable songs. To recap: In 1920s Chicago,…
The youngest generation possibly hasn’t experienced either Gene Wilder or Johnny Depp’s Willy Wonka, dating back 52 years and 18 years respectively. So, now they have their own Wonka and the singing, dancing Timothee Chalamet makes a good fist of it in the title role. Willy Wonka is charming and effusive as the magic man…
Actor-director Bradley Cooper shows his success in A Star is Born was no fluke with Maestro. This impressionistic portrait of the conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein is technically dazzling, although its oblique approach may distance some viewers. As with A Star is Born, Cooper again pulls triple duty as director, actor (in the titular role…
As the director of Borat and Bruno, Larry Charles can hardly be accused of playing it safe. So it is again with Dicks: The Musical. This is a hard-swearing, politically incorrect comedy, which will delight those sick and tired of woke. Dicks is the cinematic adaptation of the musical stage play F…ing Identical Twins: The…
Given Blonde Redhead’s early experiments in the no wave movement and early noisy angular indie rock recordings for Steve (Sonic Youth) Shelly’s label, Smells Like, along with engagements with the cosmopolitan art scene in New York City where the band formed 30 years ago, it might be surprising that their tenth album is overflowing with…
Five Troll brothers were once part of a successful boy band, BroZone, but that came to an inglorious end. Now, all these years later, getting the group together again is the only way out for one of the guys, who has been kidnapped by imposters. That, in short, is the plot to Trolls Band Together;…
More than ever, in 2023 the theme has an ick factor. It made my skin crawl. Today, cyberbullying is unfortunately rife, with physical appearance being a common reason why. Dogfight, in the context of this musical, refers to the practice among Marines of placing bets on ugly women. This is the story of Eddie Birdlace, who is…
