Theater Review: Beef and Boards: Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story

Maybe it is because I grew up hearing the Don McLean song, American Pie, but I have always had an interest in Buddy Holly. Now, Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre, Indianapolis, is featuring Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story on stage through Aug. 18.

Although McLean's lyrics were woven throughout more than a decade of disappointments, they all started because of that fateful night when Holly, an early pioneer of the Rock 'n' Roll genre, was killed at age 22, in a plane crash. The crash included other up-and-comers Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, Jr.

Kyle Jurassic dons the iconic black-rimmed glasses portraying Holly with enthusiasm and deft ability. Drawing you in with his exuberance and pace. Jurassic matches Holly's style perfectly.

Valens is portrayed superbly by Edward LaCardo, while Chuck Caruso turns in an impressive performance as The Big Bopper.

Tarra Conner Jones and Joshue L.K. Patterson rock the audience as performers at the Apollo Theatre when Holly and The Crickets perform due to a misunderstanding that Holly and crew were African-American. D.J. Hipockets Duncan, portrayed by Indy favorite John Vessels, brings his radio listeners (and the audience) updates on Holly's life and career throughout the show.

In just under three years, Holly rocketed to the top of the charts, producing hit singles, albums and appearing in top television shows American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show. Touring was added in to reach audiences across the nation. With a frantic pace and bitterly cold winter conditions, Holly chartered a plane to take himself, Valens and Bopper to the next location. Just after takeoff, the plane plunged into the frozen ground immediately killing all upon board.

Featuring almost two dozen of Holly's hits, including Peggy Sue and Rave On, Valens' La Bamba and Bopper's Chantilly Lace, this production is easy to get lost in. It is family friendly, which means it is safe to take your grandma and older children.

Bottom Line: Beef and Boards' Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, with its powerful talented cast, is certain to become a summer hit.

Elizabeth J. Musgrave writes magazine food and wine columns: Destination Dining and White Linen & Corks,and is a travel, features, food and wine writer, travel and food photographer, and performing arts and restaurant critic. Catch her as the Travel & Leisure Adviser on FOX59 Morning News Show. She also is a radio and television guest and host. Follow her on Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Theater Review: Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre: Shear Madness

Breaking from its typical offering of a British farce to jump start the year, Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre, 9301 Michigan Rd., Indianapolis, opens its 2017 season with Shear Madness, running through January 29.

Originally adapted from Paul Portner's work Scherenschnitt, the play evolved over time to settle into its current format. A blend of an improv troupe's comedy, a whodunnit, and a roast of politicians, local events and nearby towns. No one and nothing is off limits as the butt of jokes.

Set in a stylish hair salon, in this case a Mass Ave spot, a retired concert pianist is murdered in her apartment above the unisex salon. Customers, owner and staff are all suspect, with two detectives grilling them, and the audience, for answers to the homicide.

The interactive performance derives much of its rhythm, jokes ~ and ending ~ from the audience, creating a different show nightly.

Stand out performances (besides the audience), include Suzanne Stark portraying Eleanor Shubert, the wealthy socialite from the town of Carmel. Stark's style of snootiness stops short of annoying, instead heightening the hilarity of the goings on.
Jeffrey Stockberger, as homicide detective Nick O'Brien, is best at interacting with the audience and keeps everything flowing smoothly.

Garnering most laughs, definitely, is Daniel Klingler's portrayal of shop owner Tony Whitcomb. Using every mannerism of the stereotypical gay hair stylist, Whitcomb sets the tone for the performance and never lets up.

I strongly recommend getting tickets immediately as this show was close to sold out capacity and an immediate success with the audience. Also, for more frivolity and collaboration with the on-stage antics, get seats close to the stage.

Bottom Line: Beef and Boards' Shear Madness is certain to sell out numerous shows with its cutting wit and ever-changing finale.

Elizabeth J. Musgrave writes two magazine food and wine columns: Destination Dining and White Linen & Corks,and is a travel, features, food and wine writer, travel and food photographer, and performing arts and restaurant critic. Catch her as the Travel & Leisure Adviser on FOX59 Morning News Show. She also is a speaker, consultant and trainer for hospitality, travel and luxury businesses, P.R., and tourism groups, as well as a radio and television guest and host. Follow her on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Theater Review: Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre: Run for your Wife

 Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre, Indianapolis, opens its 43rd season with the return of a previous successful production: Run for Your Wife.

Continuing with its tradition of opening the new schedule with a comedy (typically a British farce), the 2016 season is no exception. The slapstick is set in 1985 London with John Smith (Eddie Curry) a cab driver.
An unassuming, congenial man, Smith is portrayed brilliantly by Curry once again to the delight of the audience. Playing the understandably nervous driver is a dead-on role for Curry whose other roles have included a Baptist minister, the unwizardly wizard of Oz and Clarence the Angel without Wings.
As the story unveils Smith has not just one wife, but two ~ living within just a few miles of each other, Curry makes you believe he is not a bad sort at all. In fact, you find yourself feeling sorry for the poor guy.

Sarah Hund steps into the role as one wife (Mary Smith), while Erin Cohenour takes on portraying the other wife (Barbara Smith). Hund's talents are well known in Indy, and shine once again in this show.

Jeffrey Stockberger brings his own comedic talents to the role of Stanley Gardner. Curry and Stockberger have been paired in many a comedy together on the B&B stage over the years giving them a polished rhythm. Stockberger seems to enjoy this role even more giving additional energy to the part of the shocked friend.

Bottom Line: Beef and Boards opens to a packed house with Run for Your Wife ~ and for good reason. It is a family friendly winter-blues beating show.

Images: JulieCurryphotography.com

Elizabeth J. Musgrave writes two magazine food and wine columns: Destination Dining and White Linen & Corks,and is a travel, features, food and wine writer, travel and food photographer, and performing arts and restaurant critic. Catch her as the Travel & Leisure Adviser on FOX59 Morning News Show. She also is a speaker, consultant and trainer for hospitality, travel and luxury businesses, P.R., and tourism groups, as well as a radio and television guest and host. Follow her on Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Theater Review: Theatre on the Square (TOTS): Enter Love

Theatre on the Square (TOTS) opens its 2015-2016 season with "Enter Love: the Airport Musical," a musical directed and choreographed by Kenny Shepard.

Although the story is set in an international airport, it bears no other likeness to the 1963 film "The V.I.P.s." Starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the classic film had passengers interacting in an airport 's exclusive lounge amid personal crises brought about due to the plane's delay.
Enter Love is a musical, with music and lyrics by Lynn Lupold and Kenny Shepard, centering on everyday people struggling to find answers to life's romantic questions.
Josiah McCruiston brings the audience to laughter portraying Harold, Fern (Harold's wife) and Joe Bob for varying levels of humour. McCruiston surprises you when he sashays across the stage wearing a dress and wig, only to appear moments later in his husband-ish attire. The student at Marian University is quite the quick change artist as well as vocal and comedic talent.

Danny Kingston is delicious in any role he plays, and Austin, Chip and Wayne are no exceptions. Taking on three characters, the Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre regular performer transforms himself into each seamlessly. Whether a flight attendant greeting and helping you find a seat, tucked between two other rednecks, or wondering about his significant other and young son, Kingston shines.

As the various trials and tribulations are worked out to some degree, the characters share their more vulnerable side to the audience and each other. Some laughs, some tears and some reality checks brings this story into the "truth be told" category. Be prepared as this production runs long, with an intermission. 

Bottom Line: Enter Love: the Airport Musical shares life, laughter and love in personal relationships of all types.

Images provided by TOTS

Elizabeth J. Musgrave writes two magazine food and wine columns: Destination Dining and White Linen & Corks,and is a travel, features, food and wine writer, travel and food photographer, and performing arts and restaurant critic. Follow her on Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Theater Review: Beef and Boards: The Drowsy Chaperone

The Drowsy Chaperone, continuing at Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre, Indianapolis, may seem misleading at first glance. One might imagine the show jumping from the vinyl record (remember those?) onto the stage is the story. It isn't, however.

The true story is the gentleman sitting to the left of the "show" playing out on stage. "Man in the Chair" as he is billed, is portrayed flawlessly by David Schmittou. His wistful, almost pleading, connection with the audience touches the heart. Completely ignoring the fourth wall, Schmittou opens his most prized possession with us: his favorite musical.
As he explains the meaning behind the show, his tenderness and affection for the memories it stirs will stir your own memories of favorite songs, musicals, plays, films and books. The ones which shape your character and which you are so desperate to share with others so that they, too, may be forever uplifted, touched, and changed by it.

Without leaving his chair, well not often, Man in the Chair introduces us to "his" show and its cast. Set in the Jazz Age, a starlet (Laura Douciere) and tycoon (Timothy Ford) are to be wed, if only the stage star can decide whether to return to the life which beckons her or break from the thrill of stardom forever and say, "I do."

A fun romp through a memorable time with pastry chefs who are actually gangsters (Craig Underwood, Sam McKanney) and the up and coming starlet Kitty (Deb Wims). Self-loving Italian playboy Adolpho (Alan M-L Wager) meets his match with the title character, portrayed deliciously by Victoria Weinberg.

Keep your eye on the narrating man in the well worn chair throughout, however, if you are able, as he is the true story and a rather wonderful one at that.

Bottom Line: Check out Beef and Boards' The Drowsy Chaperone for the fun side and remember it for the sentimental side.


Elizabeth J. Musgrave writes two magazine food and wine columns: Destination Dining and White Linen & Corks,and is a travel, features, food and wine writer, travel and food photographer, and performing arts and restaurant critic. Catch her as the Travel & Leisure Adviser on FOX59 Morning News Show. She also is a speaker, consultant and trainer for hospitality, travel and luxury businesses, P.R., and tourism groups, as well as a radio and television guest and host. Follow her on Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Phoenix Theatre 2014 - 2015 Season Includes Gable, Streisand and Typhoid Mary

Phoenix Theatre, located in the Arts District of Mass Ave, Indianapolis, is a year 'round theater. Starting its 2014 - 2015 season lineup with a dark comedy, the schedule continues with twisted holiday offerings and shows to make you think.

Check back here for reviews.

For tickets and complete details, visit PhoenixTheatre.org.

Phoenix Theatre

2014 - 2015 Season

Clark Gable Slept Here

September 18 - October 19

As one of the silver screen's brightest stars charms his way through the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, his staff tries to figure out what to do with the dead male prostitute in his hotel room at the famed Chateau Marmont. This glamorously dark satire explores the make-believe world of Hollywood, where nothing is ever what it seems and closets are used for so much more than hanging up your tuxedo.

Old Jews Telling Jokes

October 23 - November 23

This Off-Broadway hit comedy pays tribute to and reinvents classic jokes of the past and present. Think you’ve heard them all before? Not this way. If you’ve ever had a mother, visited a doctor or walked into a bar with a priest, a rabbi, and a frog, Old Jews Telling Jokes will sit in the dark, give you a second opinion and ask you where you got that. You'll laugh 'til you plotz.

A Very Phoenix Xmas 9: Flashing Through The Snow

November 28 - December 21

Share your holiday with us! We’re back with another round of all-new sketches, songs and dances! We’ve got everything on your list: traditional holiday music, madcap comedy skits, and some very talented people to help you celebrate this most joyful—and stressful—time of year. We turn the holidays on their head with local and national playwrights putting a new spin on all things traditional. An Indy favorite!

River City

January 8 - February 1

Shaken by her father's death, Mary sets off to uncover three generations' worth of family secrets buried in the West End of Louisville, Kentucky. Mary's journey spans four decades and investigates race, memory, and the ghosts that haunt one American city. River City is a fascinating and funny story about how you find your “people” when you check more than one box to define your cultural heritage.

The Cripple of Inishmaan

February 5 - March 1

When a Hollywood director visits a remote Irish island to cast his latest film, the locals clamor for their once-in-a-lifetime chance at movie stardom. But it's Billy, a frail young man with the odds stacked against him, who has the biggest Hollywood dream of them all. Direct from a smash-hit run on Broadway, this dark comedy features a cross-eyed look at Irishness and what it means to follow your heart, twisted as it may be.

Buyer and Cellar

March 5 - April 5

Alex More has a story to tell. A struggling actor in L.A., Alex takes a job working in the Malibu basement of a beloved megastar, Barbra Streisand. One day, the Lady Herself comes downstairs to play. It feels like real bonding in the basement, but will their relationship ever make it upstairs? This hugely successful Off-Broadway hit is an outrageous one-man comedy about celebrity, the oddest of odd jobs and the pursuit of utopia.

Dontrell Who Kissed The Sea

April 9 - April 26

18-year-old Dontrell Jones III decides that it is his duty and destiny to venture into the Atlantic Ocean in search of an ancestor lost during the Middle Passage. But his family is not at all ready to abandon its prized son to the waters of a mysterious and haunting past. Blending poetry, humor, wordplay and ritual, Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea is a present-day hero’s quest exploring the lengths and depths we must go to redeem history’s wrongs.

Typhoid Mary

April 30 - May 24

You’ve probably heard of “Typhoid Mary,” but most of us are unfamiliar with Mary Mallon, the cook behind the name. This quirky, anachronistic telling of the discovery of Mary’s peculiar disease, as well as her forced quarantine, unfolds in front of a backdrop of changing notions of medicine, morality and cleanliness – Did she willfully infect others? Was she a victim of a misguided medical authority? Or is the truth even stranger?

Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play

July 9 - August 9

What will endure when the cataclysm arrives—when the grid fails, society crumbles and we’re faced with the task of rebuilding? This imaginative dark comedy propels us forward nearly a century, when what begins as a simple reminiscing of foundation a past episode of The Simpsons eventually leads to the development of the of a new civilization. Mr. Burns is a vibrant exploration of how the pop culture of one era might evolve into the mythology of another.

Images provided

Elizabeth J. Musgrave writes two magazine food and wine columns: Destination Dining and White Linen & Corks,and is a travel, features, food and wine writer, travel and food photographer, and performing arts and restaurant critic. Catch her as the Travel & Leisure Adviser on FOX59 Morning News Show. She also is a speaker, consultant and trainer for hospitality, travel and luxury businesses, P.R., and tourism groups, as well as a radio and television guest and host. Follow her on Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Theatre Review: Karen Irwin: A Piece of Her Heart, A Tribute to Janis Joplin

Karen Irwin tore up the stage at The Cabaret at The Columbia Club July 25 and 26. The Indianapolis native is well known for her bluesy rasp vocals and excellent coverage of Janis Joplin tunes. So popular is Irwin, the entire weekend was sold out for both performances, matching her prior visit to this stage.

Paying tribute to her inspiration, Irwin hit all the right notes and the right songs including, “Mercedes Benz,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Turtle Blues,” "Bye, Bye Baby," "Piece of My Heart," and "Cry Baby."

There is no doubt the soul of Pearl might be found reincarnated within Irwin. The audience relived memories, finding in the local talent a true Joplin fan. Although the show could easily have become a cheesy sound alike, the wailer brought her own childhood into the mix sharing her personal connection to the sounds of Joplin. Reflections of feeling out of place due to her "not pretty" voice and height at an awkward age.

Sharing the stage were band members: Sean Baker (piano), Bryan Van Vlyman (bass), Erich Anderson (guitar), and Alex Van Bergeijk (drums).

~ The Cabaret Autumn 2014 Schedule of Upcoming Shows ~

Bottom Line: The Cabaret at The Columbia Club scores a perfect 10 with Karen Irwin ~ I predict we will see her on next year's calendar.

Elizabeth J. Musgrave writes food and wine magazine columns ~ Destination Dining and White Linen & Corks, is a magazine and newspaper journalist and photographer covering travel, food, wine & spirits, luxury, hotels, spas, et al, as well as a restaurant and performing arts critic. Catch her as Fox 59 Morning News Show's Travel & Leisure expert. Find her also at GottaGo.us, BroadwayWorld.com and FoodDigital.com. Follow her on Twitter @GottaGo,  LinkedIn and Facebook.

Concert Review: Glee Live

Love it, hate or never seen it, Glee, as in the television show, has become a household name. Glee Live! made a stop June 2 in Indianapolis, Conseco Fieldhouse, to the satisfaction of several thousand screaming teens and adults. What's in store for anyone in future cities for Gleeks (Glee fans)? Cheerleaders (aka Cheerios) handing out "barf" bags, video time with Coach Sue Sylvester, and a nonstop, positive energy show with the message that whoever you are is exactly who you should be. Total acceptance.

Photo credit: Great Exposures

The show features the popular TV characters, Kurt, Santana, Brittney and the rest of the club dancing, singing and joking their way in to the hearts of loyal fans, (portrayed by Chris Colfer, Naya Rivera and Heather Morris, respectively). Interspersed with audience interaction, the singers demonstrated their talents most in Mercedes' (Amber Riley) rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way," The Warbler's version of Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs," and the Kurt-led, lip-synched Beyonce hit, "Single Ladies," which proved a crowd favorite.

Photo credit: Great Exposures

The phenomenon known as Glee can be compared to a mini-Beatlemania (or whichever fan-crazy star you wish to insert). It seems that the mania craze IS the craze. No one is stopping the 'tweens, teens and twenty-somethings from going ga-ga over their favorite group. The joy in delving into their artist of choice is pure and marvelous to witness.

The non "Beautiful People" crowd is enjoying a high like never before. Celebrities, artists and television shows are embracing their un-Barbieness and raking in the fans (and money). Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, Pink, Glee and Ugly Betty are just a few examples of "out" being the new "in." And Glee is right there at the top.
Every gender-, social-, and ethnic-, issue is addressed by the Glee Club, a group so diverse Josephine Baker would be satisfied. For those of you who are too young, or are just unaware of the ugly duckling/swan story of Ms. Baker, it's good reading...and viewing. You can find more information on Youtube.com.

Bottom Line: Gleeks everywhere will be gleefully satisfied with the Glee Live touring concert...and barf bags won't be necessary.

Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated columnist, travel writer, music, restaurant and performing arts critic. Catch her as Indy’s Arts & Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC, on aroundindy.com, and follow her on Twitter @ejmusgrave1 and Facebook.
Gotta Go is published in the following newspapers: South Sider Voice, Indiana Weekender, New Palestine Reporter, Pendleton Times Reporter and Fortville-McCordsville Reporter.

Concert Review: Bob Seger

Rock god to the working man, Bob Seger, tore up the stage at Conseco Fieldhouse creating a 2 hour and 20 minute Rock and Roll memory for 13,000 fans. Noticeable was the vast age difference among attendees from teenagers to retiree age, including Seger himself.

Just celebrating his 66th birthday, and appreciative of the birthday banners waving in the crowd, the legend of rock music ripped into his classic hits beginning with Roll Me Away, Come to Poppa, Old Time Rock & Roll, The Fire Down Below and, playing acoustic guitar, Main Street. After a brief intermission, Seger and The Silver Bullet Band slid into songs which receive less radio time such as Beautiful Loser, Nutbush City Limits and Her Strut. With vocals as strong as ever, he finished with two separate encores wrapping up the night with Against the Wind, Hollywood Nights, Rock and Roll Never Forgets and Nights Moves.

The Detroit native drew from his vast collection of albums, including Face the Promise ('06), Against the Wind ('80), Nine Tonight ('81), Live Bullet ('76) Night Moves ('76) and Stranger in Town ('78). Don Brewer (Grand Funk Railroad) hammered away at the drums while Alto Reed brought in the sweetness of his saxophone.

Seger's genius lies in his innate ability to reach down into his soul and share through lyrics raw emotions, life's ironies and inner struggles in a gritty, tough guy style. Touching the core of the everyday man and woman is signature Seger. Continuing the successful relationship with his fans since the '60s cements his status as an American rock legend.

Bottom Line: Bob Seger's high energy and strong vocals demonstrate he, and his songs, have stood the test of time with a packed house of fans celebrating life proving the man has been right all these years: Rock and Roll Never Forgets.


Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated columnist, travel writer, music, restaurant and performing arts critic. Catch her as Indy’s Arts & Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC and follow her on Twitter @ejmusgrave1 and Facebook or email her at elizabeth@gottago.us.
Gotta Go is published in the following newspapers: South Sider Voice, Indiana Weekender, New Palestine Reporter, Pendleton Times Reporter and Fortville-McCordsville Reporter.