Sharpenicity

NUMBERS NERDS IS A WINNER! AT  NEW YORK MUSICAL FESTIVAL 2017 Here’s a math problem for you: Take four fine actors:  Danielle Davila (Mary Kate), Madison Kauffman (Barbie), Maisie Rose (Melissa) and Tiffany Tatreau (Amber) as the Math team in a formerly all-girls Catholic school. Add: Jake Morrissy (Leroy) as the new guy in school to join the team and Sharon Sachs (Ms. McGery) as the adult to move it along. Multiple them with the pressures  of winning a prestigious math tournament in this   1 book/story ( Laura Stratford and Larry Little)  +  music ( by David Kornfeld and Dylan MarcAurele)  + lyrics ( Alex Higgin-Hauser)  And what do you have on the other side of the equation but   NUMBERS NERDS.   This show at the New York Musicale Festival  overflows with positive vibrations from the singing  and dancing. But what is this thing about numbers?   If you saw HIDDEN FIGURES, that success o...

THE CADAVER SYNOD: A POPE MUSICAL  AT  NEW YORK MUSICAL FESTIVAL 2017 THE CADAVER SYNOD: A POPE MUSICAL is a big story with a big team putting it together for  a rousing performance of what might well be the most live-ly  show of this year’s NY Musicale Festival. If they had headlines in the ninth century, this would have been the  trial of the century story.  But they didn’t, and all we have is some snippets recorded in Wiki (which they didn’t have then either) as to what was the real story of these events of  897 A.D.  Pope Stephen VII dug up the rotting corpse of his predecessor, Pope Formosus for a trial.   The Roman clergy along with aristocracy of the Holy Roman Empire attended and after all these years (over a thousand plus) we still don’t know why Stephen ranted and raged at the rotting body, had  it dismembered and thrown in the Tiber River, where of course it preceded to wash up and perform miracles. ...

THE FOURTH MESSENGER   AT  NEW YORK MUSICAL FESTIVAL 2017 A young woman journalist -Raina—sets out to discover whether a celebrity guru Mama Sid is a fraud or the real thing.  This is her big chance for the big story! Nancy Anderson is stellar as  Sid, the mysterious mystic. Samia Mounts as Raina is strong in her determination to uncover  the truth.  Together they unfold what is a story bigger than each of them.  The excellent cast play multiple roles of “The Human Experience” in what follows the retelling of the classic story of the celebrity teacher of all time. Kudos to all:  Alan Gillespie (Sam/Delilah/Bread), Jacob Hoffman (Derekh/Yasha), Josh Powell (Mike/Sunny), Cali Elizabeth Moore (Harmony/Water), Terry Palasz (Clara/Hag), Faith Sandberg (Myra/May), Matt Hetherington (Andy).  They keep the story —with “Sid’s Temptations”  with its mix of suspense and inspiration moving along to the inevitable punch line tha...

  AT NEW YORK MUSICAL FESTIVAL 2017 Modern day tourists in a sacred spot in Puerto Rico find themselves enthralled in the history of  the place, once the home to Conquistadors who brutalized and extinguished the native people.  Temple of the Souls is the backdrop for this retelling of the classic Romeo and Juliet  story. We know from the beginning that  the end is going to be bloody but the journey to that is filled with lush melodies of the joys of love and delight in life. Noellia Hernandez is enchanting as Amada, the daughter of a mixed blood. Lorraine Velez  as Nana, her nurse/her father’s mistress/and her real life but unrecognized mother, gives a heart stopping performance.   Danny Bolero is powerful as Don Severo who rules everyone Andres Quintero is strong as the native who wins Amada’s love.   Jacob Gutierrez as Nemesio, her cousin and intended spouse is quite dashing.   The ensemble was exuberant in song...

THE FATHER   Ted van Griethuysen is so convincing as Andre in The Studio Theatre’s The Father that for the first few moments of the play I was  sure that the other actors switching around as his daughter and her husband (a musical chairs feat of actors Kate Eastwood Norris Caroline Dubberly, Erika Rose, Manny Buckley and Daniel Harray)— were all in on a scam to commit him and take his worldly possessions.   So was this a detective mystery  or a play about the declining brain?   In a way, it turns out to be both, as we try to piece together reality from Andre’s demented viewpoint. Seeing people who are not there, seeing people as being others then who they are— and the resulting confusion as to what he hears them  say to him— is part of his slow painful process of decline.  The flashing lights between the breaks in the scenes well suit the blank moments that memory recedes in the mind.  The confusion of what the place is— no lon...

The Arabian Nights Constellation’s production of Mary Zimmerman’s The Arabian Nights is a dream come true.      As Constellation concludes its tenth anniversary season, it has its own story behind The Arabian Nights .  This was Founding Artistic Director Allison Arkell Stockman’s second production in 2007,  one which received great reviews and launched Constellation’s stellar career in Washington theater circles.   That production also launched the collaboration with Tom Teasley, a world-renowned composer, instrumentalist, and teacher who created The Arabian Nights on his CD All the World’s a Stage .   Their formula of great stories accompanied by live original music  continues. While it   might seem daunting for a small theater company with only 100 seats to attempt world classics,   Constellation shows never miss its target which is the human heart. Eleven ensemble actors portray 40 characters from the...

IN THE HEIGHTS = It’s here in Columbia Heights!   What do you say about a sold out show that gets a standing ovation?  GALAs production of In the Heights is that special.  With heart stopping singing and exuberant dancing, this production of In The Heights   explodes with endless possibilities as one “follows the path that is your life.”   There are days when everything goes wrong from fights with family to NYC ConEd blackout to the death of a dearest  lifelong friend.  And at the same time, things go right—lovers match up and  people resiliently re-build businesses.   And there are nights when everyone goes out dancing! Juan Luis Espial leads the cast, as Usnavi, in the role originally played by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  He is the narrator and owner of a small bodega in Washington Heights and in love with Vanessa,   (Veronica Alvarez).   He was raised by Abuela (means grandmother in Spanish)  Clau...