The great virtue of Bang the Drum Slowly is that it presents a story of an athlete’s fatal illness in a way that does not turn into a four-hanky sports weepy.
Dominion Stage’s Urinetown hits enough of the show’s high points to make for an enjoyable evening.
The mercifully brief one-act, adapted from the Dickens story by Donna Ferrugut, seeks only to entertain, a task at which it intermittently succeeds.
The production’s strong cast gives the play a powerful emotional impact.
Productions as good as this one belong on any stage, any time.
This is very American chamber music, more Ives than Mozart, and, while posing unanswered questions, each piece has its own completeness.
The Olney production is more than good enough to entice new audience members to come back for more and to grow to know and love these jewels of American creativity.
Hearing and seeing fine performances of the glories of the score, as in this RMT production, never grows old.
So subtle, intricate, and well designed and performed are every detail and nuance of 36 Views that this is one of those rare productions that would reward more than a single viewing. Fascinating, from start to finish. Really.
In addition to sounding a cautionary note about contemporary demagoguery, the value of Parade in KAT’s production is that it takes what could simply be a history lesson and incarnates it in vivid, believable characters whose motivations and become clear to and can move an audience.