Author Archives: burdreviews

Two Broadway legends, Ethel Merman and Mary Martin appeared together on television in 1953 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ford Motor Corporation. Rivals for the great roles, they became friends and traveled and performed together for years. In “Together Off-Broadway:  Merman & Martin, Act II Playhouse has put together a 70 minute showContinue reading “Together Off-Broadway: Merman & Martin at Act II Playhouse”

In 1848, 23-year old Alexandre Dumas fils wrote a semi-autobiographical novel about his love affair with a courtesan who was suffering with tuberculosis, then called consumption. Four years later, he turned “Camille”  into such a successful play opening in Paris.  Giuseppe Verdi put it to music the next year. Thus was born the famed opera,Continue reading “Camille at Quintessence Theater”

This is the story of four African-American women who left the South after the failures of Reconstruction, and headed west. Three sisters and an older friend that they met in the all Black town of Nicodemus, Kansas, are trying to try to find a better life for themselves.  The American West was the hope ofContinue reading “Flyin’ West at Quintessence Theater”

“Fairview,” by Jackie Siblies Drury, currently at the Wilma Theater, is perhaps the most complex play I’ve seen on the stage in years. It begins in what seems to be a very normal African-American household, as they are about to celebrate the birthday of Grandma Suze. Family is coming in from out of town andContinue reading “Fairview at The Wilma Theater”

           Memoirs are a form of autobiography that go beyond just the story telling of what happened in a person’s life. They are filled with the writer’s reflection on the events, and they show us how the memoirist felt about his or her life. The most popular ones are usually about celebrities- show business, the politicalContinue reading “American Jade at Bucks County Playhouse”

          This musical comedy is the second longest Off-Broadway musical in history after “The Fantasticks.” “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” played for 12 years before closing in 2008. “Act II Playhouse has brought it to its intimate theater in Ambler after a delayed opening last week and I can see why the show wasContinue reading “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change at Act II Playhouse”

            The New York Times called it a a quirky comedy by an award-winning screenwriter about finding a true human connection in a digital-obsessed world in its review of the 2017 off-off Broadway production of “Today is My Birthday.”  It’s about a young woman who moves back home to Hawaii from New York where she’dContinue reading “Today is my Birthday at Theatre Exile”

            In their second production back to live theater, the Arden is presenting a play they commissioned from R. Eric Thomas that is making its world premiere, “Backing Track,” It is a comedy-drama about an unconventional adult family in the aftermath of the death of the mother. It deals with many intergenerational issues, and withContinue reading “Backing Track at Arden Theatre Company”

            Arthur Conan Doyle was a famous British writer, who wrote hundreds of novels, short stories, poems, and historical books, but is most remembered for creating probably, the most popular and widely read detective hero, Sherlock Holmes. His play, “The Speckled Band,” has just opened at the Walnut Street Theatre .Well, it’s not exactly hisContinue reading “The Adventure of the Speckled Band at Walnut Street Theatre”

           In 1834, 14 year-old Afong Moy arrived in America. She was the first recorded Chinese woman to set foot in the United States. She was brought over by merchants Francis and Nathaniel Carnes, with the hope that such an unfamiliar and unusual young woman would promote the sales of the Chinese goods they were marketing.Continue reading “The Chinese Lady at InterAct Theatre”