Author Archives: burdreviews

For the first time since I have been reviewing theater, there were two productions of the same show that I saw in the same season- the second of which was 11 weeks after the first. The show is “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” a spirited musical review based on the music of the legendary Fats Waller. Theatre HorizonContinue reading “Ain’t Misbehavin’ at People’s Light”

It’s the third play I’ve seen about Benjamin Franklin in a year, but what can I expect in a city where he was the most famous resident. This one, “The Sound of America,” recognizes in an off-handed manner his great achievements, but the focus of it is Franklin as a struggling musician whose music isContinue reading “The Sound of America at FringeArts”

It is 1974. Steven Spielberg is in the process of directing the film based on the novel by Peter Benchley, “Jaws.” It stars Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfus, and Roy Scheider. “The Shark is Broken” is a comedic look at what happened during the filming when the mechanical shark used for the film broke down andContinue reading “The Shark is Broken at Momtgomery Theater”

How does a trio become a duo? It happens when one of the three leaves the threesome for a variety of reasons. In the case of a family, it often occurs when the couple’s child goes off to college. If the parents only have one kid, they are suddenly confronted with what we call, theContinue reading “Two Outta Three at People’s Light”

Theatre Exile is concluding its 29th season with a most unusual play. It’s the story of a Black mother and daughter guarding the grave site on the grounds of a Philadelphia/African Church where Moses Freeman has just been buried. He was the husband and father of Missy and Charity Freeman before he died. They areContinue reading “The Great Privation at theatre exile”

Five women who meet on a community center soccer team in Scotland are now on the same soccer team and about to compete for the Homeless World Cup. Coming from widely different backgrounds, this a story of friendship- female friendship, amidst troubling times in each one’s life. That is the background behind “Same Team” byContinue reading “Same Team at Inis Nua Theatre”

If I ever saw the film “Annie Get Your Gun,” it was on TV a million years ago. I saw the tv series with Gail Davis in the ‘50’s. Still, I knew so many of the songs because I listened to the LP with Ethel Merman portraying Annie Oakley. So many songs I knew- “Doin’Continue reading “Annie Get Your Gun at Act II Playhouse”

Real Women Have Curves” by Josefina Lopez premiered in 1990. Twelve years later, Lopez co-authored the film based on her play. Last year, a musical version played on Broadway. Bristol Riverside is bringing back the original, lively, honest story of five Latina seamstresses, struggling financially, in East Los Angeles in 1987. And though it dealsContinue reading “Real Women Have Curves at Bristol Riverside Theatre”

The Wilma Theater has brought to its stage to close its 2025-26 season a most unusual play by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks. “The America Play” follows a Black impersonator of Abraham Lincoln, as he runs a very strange tourist attraction and takes us on a most surrealistic view of America. Nine years later, sheContinue reading “The America Play at The Wilma Theater”

I was contacted by a guy named Joshua Crone last month because he wanted me to see and review his play, “Waiting for Westy” at Yellow Bicycle Theater. I had never heard of this theater which is located on the second floor of a building at Arch and 15th Street. I learned that this isContinue reading “Waiting for Westy at Yellow Bicycle Theater”