Familiar to fans of Stephen Sondheim, musicals and Broadway hits; the story became even more well known with the 2007 hit film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street starringJohnny Depp.As good as the movie is, there are some stories which are best to experience via live theater ~ this is one of those shows.
Don Farrell as Sweeney Todd
Don Farrell takes on the title role of Sweeney Todd, in the black comedy with a sensationally sinister performance. Keeping the murderous role from becoming simply a serial killer on the loose, Farrell brings a vulnerable side of his character to light during, "The Barber and His Wife," allowing the audience to witness the happier youthful version of himself prior to losing his wife and daughter to the corrupt local Judge Turpin (Paul Nicely).
John Vessels as Adolfo Pirelli
Accompanying Todd in his razor-sharp removal of loathsome people is Mrs Lovett, played magnificently by Judy Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald portrays the pie-making enabler with absolute abandon, sharing her contagious delight in the creative solution of her floundering meat pie cafe and Todd's need to slit throats of unworthy folks.
John Vessels is a pure delight as Adolpho Pirelli, the self-proclaimed, "King of Barbers,"creating a larger-than-life caricature with his comedic talents. Vessels proves his vocal talent, as well, in the first victim's solo, "The Contest."
Caleb Wertz plays Tobias Ragg, abused waif and assistant to Pirelli then Lovett, with a maturity beyond his years. Craig Underwood takes sleazy to a new level with his portrayal of The Beadle.
The entire cast of this production is seamless and smooth, both in working with each other and portraying their individual characters, with all but the two leads portraying more than one character during the two-act play.
Bottom Line: Sweeney Todd is the best show I have reviewed at Actors Theatre of Indiana and is an absolute must-see for anyone in the Indy-metro area.
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.
Broadway in Indianapolis brings flying monkeys, melting witches and a scary forest to the stage at Clowes Memorial Hall, Butler University. Running through Jan. 17, Wizard of Oz opens to a packed audience.
When a live version of a film classic is attempted, it is perfectly natural to feel trepidation. Will it have the original score? What will be chopped out and what will be updated to the point of destroying that which made the show popular in the first place?
Relax. They nailed the song list, characters (minus the Lullaby League), and even have a rainbow or two.
In fact, this is in my Top 10 favorites Broadway Across America productions I have reviewed since 2007. The classic, beloved film is given the respect due it, with a couple extra bonus items inserted for updating purposes.Dorothy Gale, the little girl caught up in a tornado, is performed oh-so-believably by Sarak Lasko. From her vocal talent with the deal breaker song, "Over the Rainbow," to her sweetness with her new travel pals, you just fall for her. (Prepare to get misty-eyed when she bids farewell to those friends.) Playing the wise-cracking, adorable Scarecrow is Jay McGill. The man of straw, in this modern version, is less about trying to prove his intellect and more like Dory from Pixar's "Finding Nemo"~ adorable and ditzy.
Morgan Reynolds gets everyone's attention as the Tin Man, the minute he opens his mouth to sing his character's song of woe, "If I Only had a Heart."
A surprise insertion is after intermission when the witch is melted and the enslaved Winkies show their happiness with a killer dance sequence. A great addition to an otherwise quick scene, showing why remakes can be good.
Shani Hadjian cackles as good as Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West. She also brings out her girly side when she sings one of five new tunes, "Red Shoes Blues. Certainly this production feels as if has been given a "Wicked" once over, in regards to one-liners and asides to the audience. This only serves to enrich the show bringing to a modern end, staving off any chance at a verbatim stale remake of the MGM classic. Bottom Line: Broadway Across Indianapolis' Wizard of Oz brushes up the film classic endearing it to a whole new generation.
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.
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.
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.
Below, just might be, the funniest tale I have ever read about Mark Twain. Certainly the most amusing I have read regarding the infamous Carrie Nation.
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.
New season line ups for theaters always give me happiness like Christmas morning. Will it have the shows I want? What surprise productions will be on the lineup?
Broadway Across America's Broadway in Indianapolis' schedule covers all the bases. One I hoped for (The Phantom of the Opera), one I didn't expect (Wizard of Oz), and even one I hadn't known existed.
Below is the entire lineup, including family favorites, new productions and a returning sell-out show.
Be amazed by more than 300 costumes, 20 acts and 30 artists from every corner of the globe. Witness snowmen, penguins, angels, reindeer, toy soldiers, gingerbread men, ornaments and Santa with soaring acrobatics, gravity defying feats, elaborate production numbers, imaginative costumes, illusions and more. The show celebrates the most wonderful time of the year with singers, original music and seasonal favorites all performed in a winter wonderland of amazement.
THE WIZARD OF OZ
January 12-17, 2016
*Clowes Memorial Hall
The most magical adventure of them all. This new production of The Wizard of Oz is an enchanting adaptation of the all-time classic, totally revamped for the stage. (read my review here)
Developed from the ever popular MGM screenplay, this production contains the beloved songs and surprises along the way, including new songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
ONCE
February 9-14, 2016
*Clowes Memorial Hall
Winner of eight 2012 Tony Awards including Best Musical, ONCE is a truly original
Broadway experience. Featuring an impressive ensemble of actor/musicians who play their
own instruments onstage, ONCE tells the enchanting tale of a Dublin street musician who’s
about to give up on his dream when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs. As the chemistry between them grows, his music soars to powerful new heights... but their unlikely connection turns out to be deeper and more complex than your everyday romance.
NEWSIES
March 15-20, 2016
*Clowes Memorial Hall
Winner of the 2012 TonyAwards® for Best Score and Best Choreography, NEWSIES, based on true events, tells the captivating story of a band of underdogs who become unlikely heroes when they stand up to the most powerful men in New York. It’s a rousing tale about fighting for what’s right...and staying true to who you are. NEWSIES was brought to the stage by an award-winning creative team. It features a score by Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast) and Jack Feldman (The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride) and a book by Harvey Fierstein (La Cage Aux Folles).
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA comes to Indianapolis as part of a brand new North American Tour. The production, boasts many exciting special effects including the show’s legendary chandelier. The beloved story and thrilling score - with songs like “Music of the Night,” “All I Ask Of You,” and “Masquerade” - will be performed by a cast and orchestra of 52, making this PHANTOM one of the largest productions now on tour.
THE BOOK OF MORMON
April 12-17, 2016
*Old National Centre
Hailed by The New York Times as "the best musical of this century" and the winner of
nine Tony Awards®, THE BOOK OF MORMON(Read review here) is the blockbuster Broadway smash from “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and the Oscar®-winning
composer of Disney's Frozen and Avenue Q, Bobby Lopez. This outrageous musical
comedy follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway
across the world to spread the Good Word. *Contains explicit language.
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.
One of Indianapolis' (if not THE) top foodie fundraisers annually is gearing up for its holiday event: Christmas in the Kitchen at the Hyatt Regency downtown Fri., Dec. 11. There is no fundraiser I look forward to more than this one, folks. It's a chance to dress up, have an insider's look at the chefs' world, and give to a worthy cause, all while sipping fabulous cocktails and wine, and nibbling your way through the smorgasbord of gourmet cuisine. The Indiana Children's Wish Fund receives the money raised through tickets and an extraordinary silent auction.
The event will be overseen by William Hawkins, Hyatt's executive chef. Working for a Washington D.C. congressman, a country club, and as far away as South Africa, the east coast bred chef explains why this opportunity to give to the local children means so much to him.
"As chefs and cooks, it is inherently in our nature to show a great deal
of pride in the work that we do and the food that we create, I think
that just knowing the good that this dinner does helps to push us to
produce
the absolutely best over the top function we can create. It's something
my cooks begin talking about as far as six or seven months in advance
and we look forward to every year.
Normally we work behind the scenes so
this banquet is unique in that we open the
doors of our kitchen to the public, we set up numerous stations around
our kitchen, and we encourage our guests to interact with us, to have a
look around and peek behind the curtain at what we do. There’s an
awesome feeling of connection their and were extremely
proud of using our talents to give back to the community that has done
so much for us."
Along with specialty cocktails, wines and after dinner drinks, the menu will include a wide array of gourmet meats, desserts, appetizers and seafood. Just a few items include: babaganoush, blue point oysters on the half shell, ceviche shooters, stout and citrus braised beef short ribs, smoked pork cheek, cornmeal dusted walleye, rosemary and horseradish crusted prime rib, smoked maple and Siracha brined heritage pork loin, charred herb-crusted lamb chops, mint and sorrel chimichurri, egg nog crème brulee, mint cheesecake, coconut cake, candy cane fudge and cranberry bread pudding.
Festive live holiday music by Blair Clark will be provided throughout the evening.
Individual
tickets are $150 (admittance into the event with seating) or $100 per
person (admittance into the event without seating). They are almost sold
out, so get them quickly.
Indiana Children’s Wish Fund,
established in 1984, grants wishes to Indiana children, ages 3-18, who
suffer from a life-threatening illness. To date, the organization has granted more than 3,200 wishes to
Indiana children.
Reservations are limited. To purchase tickets, contact Indiana Children’s Wish Fund at (317) 913-WISH or visit IndyWish.org.
Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated fine-living, travel columnist, freelance writer and photographer, and performing arts and restaurant critic for Gotta Go.
Read Infused, her spirits, wine & beer lifestyle column, at
www.GottaGo.us and www.FoodDigital.com and catch her as Indy’s Personal
Lifestyle Adviser on Indy Style, WISH8 (CBS). Gotta Go is published on
www.Gottago.us, www.BroadwayWorld.com, and in print. Follow her on
Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.
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.
The Addams Family, opened this past weekend at Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre, Indianapolis. Centering around daughter Wednesday (Samantha Russell) becoming secretly engaged to Lucas Beineke (Blake Spellacy), the Beineke family are to have dinner with television's favorite creepy family.
It is no surprise seats were full for the show's opening weekend, not only for the show's popularity but also for the cast, which includes numerous Indy favorite actors. John Vessels and Sarah Hund keep the hilarity high as Mal and Alice
Beineke the uptight and disconnected parents of Lucas. Hund and Vessels
play off each other with barbed comments and connect with believable
sweetness.
Eddie Curry completely rocks the role of Gomez Addams, a man willing to do anything for the love of his life, Morticia (Erin Cohenour). Curry's (Gomez') passion bubbles to the top, creating an energy on stage the audience can feel.
Although Cohenour's Morticia is technically correct with mannerisms, she lacks the inner sensuality necessary for the matriarch's position. Curry brings out her best, however, and creates a sizzling pace.
Amanda Butterbaugh is priceless as Grandma; her antics keep the audience laughing hysterically. Uncle Fester is portrayed gloriously by Shaun Rice, a veteran to this role, creating a flawless performance without making it stale (through repetition).
Bottom Line: This is easily in the Top 10 Beef and Boards' productions of all time ~ do not miss it. 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 on the Square's 2015 - 2016 season brings a fresh look to the tiny theater, as well as the lineup. Recent fundraising efforts have made it possible to revamp the lobby into a cozy area welcoming theatergoers. In case you are not familiar with the Indianapolis staple, its location is 627 Mass Ave., in the heart of theaters, shopping and restaurants.
Enter Love September 12 – 27
A musical about the ever-changing nature of romantic relationships in the first decade of the 21st century. It is set in an international airport, located in a large city somewhere in the Midwest. The production consists of a series of encounters—with dialogue and music—that take place between an assortment of couples and individuals at various locations—arrival and departure concourses, waiting lounges, baggage check, observation deck, and the central location, a bar—in the airport.
Murder, insanity and comedy come together as Q Artistry and Theatre on the Square join forces for the 7th appearance in Indianapolis of this deadly original musical. (Read my review of Cabaret Poe here)
MISS GULCH RETURNS
October 23 – November 8
Stage Two
Brent Marty revives his one-man/one-woman musical comedy written and originally performed by Fred Barton. It is a loose parody of the character of Almira Gulch from the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz as portrayed by Margaret Hamilton. Blurring the line between fiction and reality, the show builds on the premise that Gulch was an actress - rather than a character portrayed by an actress - who appeared in the film (as herself). Songs include: Born On A Bike, Pour Me A Man, and I Can Be An Icon, Too.
[TITLE OF SHOW]
November 12-22
Stage Two
Jeff and Hunter, two struggling writers, hear about a new musical theatre festival. However, the deadline for submissions is a mere three weeks away. With nothing to lose, the pair decides to try to create something original. Helped by friends Susan and Heidi, Jeff and Hunter write a show about writing a show. [Title of Show] - taken from the space on the festival’s application form which asks for the [title of show]. The musical received a Tony Award® nomination for Best Book of a Musical in 2009.
A CHRISTMAS STORY
November 27 – December 20
Humorist Jean Shepherd’s memoir of growing up in the Midwest during the 1940s follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker in his quest to get a genuine Red Ryder BB gun under the tree for Christmas. All the elements from the beloved motion picture are here, including the family’s temperamental exploding furnace; the boys’ experiment with a wet tongue on a cold lamppost; the Little Orphan Annie decoder pin and Ralphie’s father winning a lamp shaped like a woman’s leg in a net stocking.
8 REINDEER MONOLOGUES
November 27-December 20
Stage Two
Eight reindeer dishing about the real Santa Claus. All those rumors you’ve heard about him and the elves? About Rudolph’s little secret? About Vixen’s story that was leaked to the press? All true. Yes, the reindeer finally speak up and – believe us – they do not hold back.
SKYLIGHT
January 22 - February 13, 2016
Kyra is a young woman surprised to see the son of her former lover at her apartment in a London slum. He hopes she will reconcile with his distraught, now widowed, father. Tom, a restless, self-made restaurant and hotel tycoon, arrives later that evening, unaware of his son’s visit. Kyra, who was his invaluable business associate and a close family friend until his wife discovered their affair, has since found a vocation teaching underprivileged children. Is the gap between them unbridgeable, or can they resurrect their relationship?
KILLER JOE
February 19-March 5, 2016
Stage Two
Hired by the dissolute Smith family to murder the matriarch for insurance money, Killer Joe takes the daughter to bed as a retainer against his final payoff which sets in motion a bloody aftermath as the “hit man” meets his match. The first play by the author of August: Osage County, which premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf before going on to acclaimed productions in London and New York.
PASSION
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
March 11 – 26, 2016
Set in 19th century Italy, this dramatic musical concerns a young soldier and the changes in him brought about by the obsessive love of Fosca, his Colonel’s homely, ailing cousin.
PORNO STARS AT HOME
April 1- 23, 2016
Stage Two
All those people who live fantasy lives up there on the not so silver porno screen ~ what might they be like at home, away from the tacky lighting and cheap interiors of their workaday world? What might they fantasize about? One wants to be discovered as a serious actress; one, a star of gay porno, is actually heterosexual and wants to be recognized as such; another wants a child. At Georgia Lloyd Bernhart’s birthday party which wish, if any, will come true?
BATBOY: The Musical
April 29 - May 28, 2016
Inspired by a series of tabloid headlines published in 1992 by The Weekly World News, a group of spelunking West Virginian teenagers discover a creature and the sheriff brings it to the local veterinarian’s home. He begins to assimilate to human life and become a part of the Parker family while trying to keep his penchant for sucking human blood under control. When Edgar tries to ingratiate himself with the townsfolk of Hope Falls, he is quickly rejected, and he and Dr. Parker’s daughter (who fall in love) run away together. After a single night of joyous freedom, tragedy strikes when Meredith finds them and reveals the dark secret of Bat Boy’s origin.
TIME STANDS STILL
June 17 - July 9, 2016
Sarah and James, a photojournalist and a foreign correspondent, are trying to find happiness in a world that seems to have gone crazy. Theirs is a partnership based on telling the toughest stories and, together, making a difference. But when their own story takes a sudden turn, the adventurous couple confronts the prospect of a more conventional life.
RENT
July 15 - August 13, 2016
20th anniversary of RENT on Broadway! Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent has become a pop cultural phenomenon with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages. Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme.
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 media trainer for businesses, P.R. and tourism groups. Follow her on Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.
There are productions that catch my eye and are put in a mental "need to review" list. Unfortunately, time and scheduling does not allow attending every performance in the Indianapolis-metro area.
For the past several years (seven, to be exact), one show has piqued my interest and, yet, been that one I could never catch due to being out of town or otherwise committed ~ kind of my own Eleanor.
That production isCabaret Poe. As a life-long fan of the works of Edgar Allan Poe the title of the show alone caught my attention. I have mulled over it, building it up in my mind as to how great it would be, which is not a good thing to do, but I am human. Finally, I was able to watch it this past weekend at TOTS,627 Massachusetts Ave., to decide if it was all I had imagined it could be.
And it was. Even more so, if possible.
From the beginning to the finale, the show's performers were polished, talented and oozing with the correct amount of Gothic charm so necessary in a production of this type.
Ben Asaykwee, the creative genius behind the production, portrays Zoilus the leader of the Poe popgoth group. Julie LynBarber and Lauren Briggeman round out the ebony-attired trio as Berenice and Morella. (The roles of Berenice and Morella are alternately played by Jaddy Ciucci and Renae Stone, depending on the performance date.) Asaykwee and Rebekah Taylor (Shadow) perform on all dates.
Based on works by Poe with music written by Asaykwee, the musical's performers act and sing the author's most famous works and lesser known ones as well. People are hung, trapped behind walls and mourned over (or laughed at).
Tweaking the norm,The Raven is performed by a female, and the fourth wall is broken with numerous direct-to-the-audience comments, which keeps the show from being morose and bogged down.
The fast-paced Gothic-Pop musical will delight fans of Poe, musicals, Burton-esque shows and Rocky Horror Picture Show equally. It definitely lends itself to a cult-like growing fan base, which may result in a midnight showing with all attending dressed in death garb and tossing bird seed someday. Until then, you can catch it at TOTS through October 31.
Bottom Line: Beg, borrow ~ steal from your kid's Christmas account if necessary ~ but do what you must to get the money and go see Cabaret Poe.
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.
Every year, Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) opens its season in a big way and 2015-2016 season is no exception. What better way to welcome its 44th season in Indianapolis than with the glamour and glitz of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby? Attendees were encouraged to don era-appropriate fashion and join in on the festivities, including the Champagne toast afterward. Arriving in 1920's-inspired attire, flapper-styled ladies and bow-tied dapper-clothed men mingled in the historic lobby creating an energy unlike any this critic has seen before at the theater's season opening night. In fact, I am uncertain how this gala will be topped next year, but will be eager to watch the attempt. The story of people's lives spinning out of control in a world of excess, money and glitz centers on the theory that everyone cheats at something in their lives. Moral compass Midwesterner (and distant cousin to Daisy) Nick Caraway is portrayed by Zach Kenney. Kenney brings a quiet energy to the role, filled with anticipated excitement at living among the wealthy and ready to be one of them. Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker are brought to life marvelously by Hillary Clemens and Teagan Rose respectively. These lifelong best friends are full of mischief, secrets, desires and love for each other's happiness. Whether lounging on a chaise sipping illegal liquor, looking for passion in their lives or giggling over an inside joke, Clemens and Rose shine as wealthy women of the post World War I era.
Tom Buchanan, husband of Daisy, is portrayed by David Folsom with slick, polished manners toward everyone except his ill-fated mistress Myrtle Wilson (Angela Ingersoll). Folsom creates a Tom with a thin pleasant veneer which he keeps in check except when his hot temper slips out for all to see. The actor's ability to portray a successful businessman ~ physically abusive bully ~ manipulator is a thrill to witness. The mysterious Jay Gatsby's lies, a desire to break through the wall around the "beautiful people" and a desperate need to finally capture the heart of small town beauty Daisy Buchanan, are seamlessly portrayed by Matt Schwader. His lies become delusions, his need for the "perfect" love of Daisy an obsession and his drive to become rich a lifelong attempt to rewrite history. Bottom Line: Everyone should catch IRT's The Great Gatsby twice. Once for the glitz and glamour and the second time for the moral of the story and wonderful performance. I predict this show will be on more than one Top 10 List for 2015.
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.
