October 7th, 2008
Dear Music Hall THE COLOR PURPLE patrons, Fair-goers, and Footballers: We expect record heavy traffic for the TX-OU football game this Saturday. Please consider arriving early than you may have planned to avoid traffic (at least 2-3 hours early). The State Fair is opening their gates at 7 AM. Football fans will probably take up… Read more »
October 3rd, 2008
THE FACE-OFF OF THE CENTURY, LIVE ON STAGE Direct from Broadway “A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.” Nixon’s secret of overcoming adversity – written in a private note to Ted Kennedy after the Chappaquiddick incident in 1969. “If an individual wants to be a… Read more »
October 3rd, 2008
In ‘Purple’, story is the star By PUNCH SHAW Special to the Star-Telegram permalink to the post on Star-Telegram website DALLAS — In the end, it is the story that prevails. The Color Purple, a musical retelling of Alice Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that opened at the Music Hall at Fair Park on… Read more »
October 1st, 2008
By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning News ltaitte@dallasnews.com view this article on the original website Epic novels often have a rough transition to the stage: Events fly by so fast they feel like a historical pageant rather than a play. Oprah Winfrey presents The Color Purple, the stage musical adaptation of Alice… Read more »
July 26th, 2008
12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, July 26, 2008 By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning News ltaitte@dallasnews.com View this article on their website here Talk about a buildup: We are two-thirds of the way through the first act of Jersey Boys before the Four Seasons come together for their first big hit. When “Sherry”… Read more »
July 3rd, 2008
7/3/2008 12:00AM CST The Dallas Morning News ‘High School Musical’ the class favorite at Fair Park Music Hall By JOY TIPPING jtipping@dallasnews.com View article on their website here Whatever its artistic merits, Disney’s High School Musical has accomplished something special at the Music Hall at Fair Park: throngs of children and teens lined… Read more »
June 25th, 2008
6/25/2008 12:00AM CST The Dallas Morning News ‘Hairspray’ keeps its bounce at Fair Park Music Hall by Lawson Taitte mailto:Taitteltaitte@dallasnews.com View article on their website here Nearly six years after it debuted on Broadway, Hairspray is turning out to be the most influential musical of the decade. To figure out why, check out the… Read more »
June 12th, 2008
6/2007 WRR 101.1 FM Radio THE DROWSY CHAPERONE interview with Michael A. Jenkins Interviewed by Christopher Hackett Audio recording of President and Managing Director Michael Jenkins interview about THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, running June 3 – 15, 2008 at the Music Hall at Fair Park. http://www.dallassummermusicals.org/2007/media/mj_interviews/080603_drowsychaperone.mp3
June 5th, 2008
06/05/2008 CST The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram ‘Chaperone’ brings bygone stage musicals back to life by Mark Lowry mlowry@star-telegram.com View article on their website here DALLAS — On its champagne-fizzy surface, The Drowsy Chaperone is a homage to the kind of musicals they just don’t make anymore. But if you’re a true musical theater… Read more »
June 4th, 2008
6/4/2008 1:10PM CST The Column The Drowsy Chaperone by John Garcia *THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (National Tour)Music & Lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg MorrisonBook by Bob Martin and Don McKellar Dallas Summer MusicalsDirected and Choreographed by Casey NicholawCostume Design by Gregg BarnesScenic Design by David GalloLighting Design by Ken Billington and Brian Monahan *REVIEWED… Read more »
June 4th, 2008
6/4/2008 3:51PM CST overthetopblog.dallasnews.com Superiority of the Drowsy Chaperone tour by Lawson Taitte mailto:Taitteltaitte@dallasnews.com I get kidded sometimes for maintaining that something we see here in Dallas — either a tour or a local production — is often superior to the original Broadway show. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a marked difference,… Read more »
June 4th, 2008
6/4/2008 12:00AM CST The Dallas Morning News National tour of ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ outdoes Broadway version for charm, poignancy by Lawson Taitte ltaitte@dallasnews.com If you fret that they don’t make comedies like they used to, The Drowsy Chaperone will ease your pain. And give you a laugh or two. This musical about a fictitious old… Read more »
May 30th, 2008
5/2007 WRR 101.1 FM Radio CATS interview with Michael A. Jenkins Interviewed by Christopher Hackett Audio recording of President and Managing Director Michael Jenkins interview about the Andrew Lloyd Webber show CATS, which opens Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at the Music Hall at Fair Park. http://www.dallassummermusicals.org/2007/media/mj_interviews/01%20CATS.mp3
February 22nd, 2008
2/22/2008 12:00AM CST Edge Dallas Love, Janis by Alexandra Bonifield EDGE Contributor The main problem with a biopic is that everyone already knows how the story ends. There’s no suspense or dramatic conflict to resolve. Case in point is the national Columbia Artists Theatricals’ touring show Love, Janis playing through February 24 at the… Read more »
February 20th, 2008
2/20/2008 12:00AM CST The Dallas Morning News Janis times two is one terrific theater experience by Lawson Taitte ltaitte@dallasnews.com Love, Janis gives you two Janis Joplins for the price of one. Both terrific. Randal Myler (Hank Williams: Lost Highway) conceived, adapted and directed the show, which the Dallas Summer Musicals’ Broadway Contemporary Series brought to… Read more »
February 20th, 2008
2/20/2008 12:00AM CST D Magazine OnlineCalendar Listing We are legitimately excited about this production. There’s nothing like the portrait of an artist’s struggle with alcohol and drugs to warm the cockles of our jaded heart. Told through Joplin’s interviews and letters to her family, Love, Janis, tells the story of the iconic singer’s rise to… Read more »
January 16th, 2008
1/16/2008 12:00AM CST The Dallas Morning News Stage revival promises to be even better than the movie by Lawson Taitte ltaitte@dallasnews.com Sweeney Todd: You’ve seen the movie. Now see the real thing. Actually, Tim Burton’s screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s bloody musical masterpiece was faithful to the 1979 stage original, in its fashion. But it… Read more »
January 16th, 2008
1/16/2008 12:00AM CST The Dallas Morning News Leading lady’s performance delicious to the last bite in ‘Sweeney Todd’ by Lawson Taitte ltaitte@dallasnews.com THEATER REVIEW: Kaye cooks up humor, passion in ‘Sweeney Todd’ Judy Kaye is a wonder as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. She’s all the reason you need to run downtown to the… Read more »