Skip to main content
THE GREEN ROOM



How will four Generation Z friends make it from a small college theatre department’s  "green room” to the Off-Broadway stage? 
The Green Room spans three years of college life, in which four actors explore all the complications from looking for love to last-minute cramming for final exams.
They are young, vibrant, aspiring—still green— like the room.  
Director Jessica Jennings  guides them through this complicated journey to success as  Rod Damer and C. Stephen Foster’s book comes to life on stage.  
The magic ingredient is music. Charles Pelletier’s rocking pop score and lyrics, with David Fletcher’s skilled musical direction, give the cast much to sing about.
Ariana Valdes is Divonne, “the Diva.”  In one of the show’s most unforgettable moments, her rendition of “It’s All About Me” sums up great diva moments from musicals and movies. The song won a Songwriter’s Guild of America award. 
Corbin Williams as John (the Jock) and Sami Staitman as Anna (the Princess) are a couple.  Their duets transform the room and transport the audience back to their own college romance.  At the start of the show, John flexes his bourgeoning adult masculinity, seeking to overpower Anna, who shows her doubt in “What Do I Think of Me.” At the end of the show, Anna discovers her adulthood and experiences her freedom in “I Wanna Go To Extremes.”   
Eli LaCroix plays Anna’s brother, Cliff (the Nerd). His razor-sharp delivery and dynamic vocals bring a touching counterpoint to Divonne’s powerful sensuality. 
One song had special relevance when all four, approaching graduation day, have to make decisions of what next. “In The End” directly hits the mark of the choice these four must make:  to follow their dreams of the big stage — or to go in to the business world their parents wish them to.  
Of all the fun and frolics, one young audience member zeroed in on this one, as relating  exactly to her situation in wanting to pursue a career in the arts, while her parents aspire for her to take a traditional professional path. 
This is the joy of live theater  - to experience a moment which is both shared and personal.
The Green Room — a show to enjoy — with music and a message to take with you.


The American Theatre of Actors - Sargent Theatre  - New York, NY, 314 W. 54th Street (Sept. 25 to Oct. 27, 2019)

Popular posts from this blog

  Once is here again!   The Brooklyn Gallery Players reach into the treasure chest of great musicals to bring Once alive and on stage in Brooklyn (until to December 17, 2023). Director Mark Gallagher , and Music Directors David Fletcher and Brendon McCray have crafted a vibrant production, seamlessly integrating the 15 member cast in roles  as both actors and musicians. Set in Dublin, the  formula for the poignant love triangle  is simple. Patrick Newhart  plays Guy, an Irish musician who has given up  on love as he sings the award winning classic  Falling.  Newhart mastered the bombastic busking guitar style and performed each of his songs with intensity and passion Sophie Smith-Brody  is Girl,  a Czech woman  who will inspire him to try again both in  love and with music. Smith-Brody performed each of her disparate songs with aplomb,  from the opening classical piece to her plaintive solos – If You Want Me and The Hill.  The performance starts  with an “ impromptu”  p
Read more
               TINA - THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL  at The National Theatre              In the 1970s, I  had spent weeks climbing around ruins in Peru.  I heard music of the Andes all over.  I  was  finally at  Machu Picchu to spend the night so I could get up early  and climb to see the sunrise from the top of the ruins.   As I got to steps by the gatekeepe,  I could hear his boom box blaring across the Andes “I Wanna Take You Higher”  by Tina Turner.   You don’t have to go climbing the Andes to hear her songs — Tina-The Tina Turner Musical  isright here  at the National Theatre, Washington DC,  until  Oct. 23, 2022.    The show has broken all records with the awards it has received since in premiered in April 2018 in London.  No one questions that Tina is a musical legend but  for this show  accolades to  the stars Naomi Rodgers and Zurin Villanueva who alternate in the  spectacular role.   At every performance there will be people  who remember seeing Tina “back when” and
Read more
  Sarah Ruhl’s Orlando — sparkling wit and ageless wisdom —   at   Constellation Theatre — gone but not forgotten In Virginia Woolf’s Orlando A Biography ,  the eponymous hero undergoes many changes over the centuries— from roles in society and relationships to sex change.  Since the time travel gender bending work was published in 1928, this his/her story has continued to undergone adaptions to its original form, from analytical scholarly critiques to crowd pleasing  movies and stage plays.  Constellation Theatre Company continued  the tradition with its amazing presentation of Sarah Ruhl’s narrative play Orlando .    Five actors  take on dozens of roles as characters or in the  chorus to keep the story at its rapid pace,  condensing events spanning almost five centuries into 100 minutes.   Orlando (Mary Myers) is  ever the aristocrat whether as a page in the court of  Queen Elizabeth I (Alan Naylor)  or involved with a mysterious Russian princess (Edmee - Marie Faal) or pursued
Read more