LATEST REVIEWS

by Deitra Oliver While a visit to The Demon Barber of Fleet Street may not be on your list of places to get a haircut, you will certainly want to put this show on your to-do list to kick off ‘spooky season.’ Directed by Drew Molotsky, with Abby Drexler as assistant director, Haddonfield Plays and Players brings Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 musical to glorious, murderous life. I was fortunate to attend the sold-out opening night, and the richness of the performances and the strong

by Shannon Reed Please note this show is not suitable for younger audiences. This review makes note of songs and storylines that are not for young readers. Figuring out your purpose in life is a quintessential part of young adulthood, or at least that’s what the world tells us all. The truth, however, is that most of us don’t have it figured out, maybe ever. This question, however, is one of the guiding lights of Avenue Q, currently on stage at Masquerade Theatre. Direc

by Ellorah Maeve Growing up and going to high school during the 2020's can be overwhelming. You have to worry about grades, social life and self-discovery over the span of 12 years before, eventually, being launched into adulthood to figure out everything else. Whether you go to public school or catholic school, a lot of struggles are the same. In the musical Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, the audience learns about the nuances of catholic education through

by Piper Byrne Some nights at the theatre are just meant to be. Friday, September 25 (that’s 9/25) was Dolly Parton Day, the first since we lost her last month. I spent it in Somers Point watching Gateway Playhouse’s 9 to 5: The Musical, and there was truly no better way to celebrate. In his Director’s Note, Philip Palitto shares that the company chose this show a year ago, never imagining they’d be staging it so soon after Dolly’s passing. Somewhere along the way, he write

by CJ Higgins Younger audiences may be familiar with Disney’s 1996 film adaptation of the novel by Victor Hugo, but perhaps not with the extremely mixed reviews upon its initial release. The main issue was the tone; Hugo’s novel is large enough that it could have reasonably served as one of the bricks of the famous cathedral, each page darker in its subject matter than the last, but Disney films are primarily known for being cheerful family musicals that can keep kids seated

by Shirley Erwin As a fan of retellings, I vaguely remember hearing about a musical based on Alice in Wonderland. Wonderland, with music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Jack Murphy, and book by Gregory Boyd and Jack Murphy, did indeed have a brief stint on Broadway in 2011. It closed due to negative reviews, but was recently given a second chance with a revised book by Jennifer Paulson-Lee and Gabriel Barre. Although Wonderland is a topsy-turvy journey riddled with puzzles and

by Robert Banskter If you’re anything like me, you love the tea. Drinking the tea, Spilling the tea, and Living your Tea. If you don’t know what I mean by “Tea” it is queer lingo for the truth. But when the Tea is steeped in malice and conceit, it goes by the name Gossip. “The Women” by Claire Boothe Luce is a satirical commentary on New York Social Life in the 1930s. It is such an enamoring story and has lessons and comments that are still so prevalent in today’s world.

by Shannon Reed Robert Frost is credited with saying “Good Fences Make Good Neighbors.” What Frost didn’t say, however, is what to do when the fence itself ignites a feud. Luckily, Native Gardens by Karen Zacarias helps us find some solutions. On stage at the South Camden Theatre Company, Native Gardens is being directed by Natalie Payán during the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Under Payán’s direction, the cast masterfully navigated the topics of class, race an

by Meg Bryan In all of its forms, art has become a sanctuary for many of us creatives, an escape from the often rough reality we face day to day. Spotlight Theatre’s Alice By Heart is a textbook example of the kind of art you can escape into, and I was honored to have been able to join this stellar team as they invited us to seek refuge with them in the whimsy of Wonderland for a while. The production as a whole overflowed with so much magic, I could swear every person on th