Any Broadway fan knows that every hit movie is turned into a musical these days so it was only a matter of time before the massive hit 1990’s Ghost got the musical treatment. In a way I think it’s a bit of a shame because I’ve seen it twice now and both times I wish it was a straight play and not a musical. Alas, we have Ghost: The Musical, and it is currently being put on at Heritage Theatre in Perry. It is not a perfect production but worth supporting a company trying to push themselves and grow beyond safe, expected material.

If you have seen the movie the plot for this adaptation is basically scene-for-scene the same with of course songs added in. It tells the story of a couple, Sam and Molly, who are separated when he is murdered in a violent attack. Being a victim of a crime, however, Sam stays on Earth to try and help his wife and to make sure the murderer is caught and punished. Helping him in this goal is a medium named Oda Mae Brown, who is memorably played by Whoopi Goldberg in the film (she won an Oscar for the role.)

At Heritage Ghost is directed by Breanne and W. Derek Hendricks, and I admire the visual effects they develop throughout the show with lighting designer Chris Ward and projections that helped create the alternate realities needed for a ghost and human interactions (strobe lights are used as well as fog and walls made out of fabric.)

I also really enjoyed the acting with Luke Merkley and Hannah Atkinson having nice chemistry together as Sam and Molly respectively with them both being able to pull off the more emotional sections. Jazmine Peterson steals the show as Oda Mae with all the personality and humor one could bring to the character. Sam Bakker is appropriately skeevy as the villainous Carl.

The downside to the production is the singing. Part of it is probably opening night jitters but the singing wasn’t as accomplished as most of the performances at Heritage are. I know they all did their best, but they can keep on working on that aspect to improve over the run. It doesn’t help that the songs themselves are bland and outside of “Unchained Melody” completely forgettable. Like I said, I wish it was a straight play instead of a musical but that’s just me.

Even with flaws I’m still glad I saw Ghost: The Musical at Heritage Theatre. It’s a theater that is everything I could ask for in a community theatrical company, and I’m glad they keep challenging themselves with less-performed works like this. With the romantic themes it would make a good date night and the tickets are very affordable. It is playing through Oct 25th and tickets can be purchased here.

Ghost: The Musical has music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard with lyrics and book by Bruce Joel Rubin. It is based on the 1990 film with a script from Rubin who won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his work. The musical premiered on Broadway in 2012

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.

Hi theatre friends! I hope you are doing well and enjoying lots of great local regional theatre wherever you might be. I am as busy as I’ve ever been with a movie or piece of live theatre to review almost every night, sometimes multiple in a day. It can be overwhelming but I’d say it’s a happy problem to have to have too much cool stuff to review.

I am still co-hosting the Onstage Blog Theatre Podcast, and we had a pretty fun episode this week. Jacks and my friend Marc joined me to give our ‘pitches’ for what we think would be good investments for shows on Broadway. Give it a listen and let me know which of our ideas you like best:

If you are new to my site I have my normal reviews which I write for theatre I am requested to critique by the company but then I also have these logs I do periodically for shows I see as a patron. Fortunately most company’s want me to review their shows these days so I may have to come up with a different system in the future but for now this works. Today I have 2 quick shows to log but please make sure to read my longer reviews of the many terrific local productions I have written about recently

The Hunchback of Notre Dame- Scera Center for the arts, Orem

Of all the Disney theatrical productions the one I have surprisingly seen the most times is The Hunchback of Notre Dame (even more than The Little Mermaid which caught me off guard.) This is perhaps even more surprising when if you know I’m not the biggest fan of the animated film which it is based on. I admire the chutzpah of it, but I don’t think it all works as a family film. Anyway, I had the chance to see a production at Scera Center for the Arts in Orem and it was another terrific staging of this classic story.

This show was directed by Michael Carrasco and his 2-story set was the biggest standout of the night. The set felt both rich in details while also allowing them to quickly transition from the cathedral scenes to the pubs and Court of Miracles. The costumes (Kelsy Seaver) and make-up (Becky Cline) particularly with the gargoyles and Saints characters that looked extremely convincing as made of stone.

The cast was all excellent with Benjamin Oldroyd playing Quasimodo with authenticity and relatability that can be missing from some portrayals (the character can feel tokenizing in the wrong hands.) I particularly liked how they worked in the sign language of the character into the portrayal. He was surrounded by a strong ensemble with Andrew Lambert as the villainous Archdeacon Frollo.

Unfortunately The Hunchback of Notre Dame just finished its run at Scera but if you are in Utah County Scera is a good option for musical theatre as their shows are almost always worth watching (both their outdoor shell in the summer and indoor shows the rest of the year.) You can find out more about their company here.

Satisfied- Feature Film Documentary

I normally review films over on my film site but since this documentary has a theatrical component I decided to mention it here. It’s called Satisfied and it is about Broadway singer and actress Renee Elise Goldsberry who originated the role of Angelica in Hamilton on Broadway. But the documentary goes beyond that and focuses on her struggles to balance out motherhood of her 2 small children with such a demanding job and role.

I think a lot of women will relate to what Goldsberry is going through and the documentary does a good job of making this exceptional experience of Hamilton feel grounded and easy to relate with. It’s also fun as a theatre fan to see the early start of such a musical phenomenon and how various aspects were workshopped and changed before premiering on Broadway in 2015.

I’m not sure what streaming service Satisfied will end up on but if you are a Broadway fan or just interested in stories about dynamic women/mothers Satisfied is definitely worth a watch. You can pre-order it on amazon here (ad.)

The Huncback of Notre Dame has music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwarts with a book by James Lapine and Peter Parnell. It is based on the animated film from 1996 and the novel by Victor Hugo.

Satisfied is directed by Chris Bolan and Melissa Haizlip and is a documentary with interviews of Goldsberry, Lin-Manuel Miranda and more

These logged shows I usually pay for out of pocket, and I’d love to do that as much as possible. If you have a show you’d like me to take a look at and write a full review let me know. I also have my patreon which is a great way to support what I do and get some really fun perks. Find out more here.

If someone is a movie fan long enough they will inevitably find those classic films that they don’t respond to the way they should. One such movie for me is the classic comedy Some Like it Hot. For whatever reason I didn’t find it funny or amusing although I could see why audiences on its release found its antics quite outrageous. It is with this experience I was not excited when I heard a Some Like it Hot musical was coming to Broadway and my meh attitude continued when it was announced as part of the national tours at Eccles in Salt Lake. Perhaps it was helped by these low expectations but you can imagine my surprise when I saw the show Tuesday night and was completely delighted with it. What an energetic, exciting homage to old school musicals in the style of Cole Porter and the Gershwins. I loved it and highly recommend all of my readers go and see this hugely entertaining show.

Like I said, Cole Porter is the composer I kept thinking about most as I watched the show play out (especially in the Act 2.) I would love to ask the creators but I imagine they were as influenced by Anything Goes as they were by the film Some Like it Hot. Even the stories are quite similar with both being about people hiding out from organized crime with lots of tap-dancing good times to be had!

If you haven’t seen the film, Some Like it Hot is about 2 brothers, Joe and Jerry (Matt Loehr and Tavis Kordell respectively,) who witness a mafia massacre and hide in drag with an all-female jazz band led by a woman named Sugar (Leandra Ellis-Gaston.) The band is run by the soulful Sweet Sue (Tarra Conner Jones.) To be honest, the plot is really just an excuse for a lot of song and dance numbers (as is the case with Anything Goes) but I didn’t care. When the singing and dancing is this good I’m on board for all of it!

They did try and modernize the script so that Jerry/Daphne’s transition to womanhood is more empowering and less of a joke, which is nice, but it always feels authentic and endearing- not preachy or overbearing. The real surprise in the cast is Edward Juvier as Osgood Fielding III. He is a delight both as a singer and dancer in all of his songs but “Poor Little Millionaire” and “Fly, Mariposa, Fly” really took down the house (the latter reminded me a lot of “Blow Gabriel Blow” from Anything Goes (sorry to keep mentioning that comparison but it’s true!)

All the production elements for Some Like it Hot are first rate with costumes by Gregg Barnes that sparkle and shine while making the men beautiful whether they are men or women. It’s no big surprise to me that director Casey Nicholaw is also the choreographer because they get the most of the large ensemble in every big group scene. It is a long show (2 hr 45 min) but especially with Act 2 picking things up I didn’t mind the pacing. There are some wonderful sets by designer Scott Pask. I especially loved the starry sky ballroom created for “Dance the World Away” where I felt transformed to an Astaire/Rogers movie scene.

Like I said, the show is long and some may find the story too flimsy, but I didn’t mind it. The sound mix could be better, not allowing the orchestra to overwhelm the talent. The singers could also enunciate better as it is often hard to understand what they are singing about especially Jones as Sweet Sue (also the bad sound dynamics at Eccles doesn’t help with that problem.) Other than that, I was thoroughly entertained by Some Like it Hot, and I’d see it again if I had time. That’s how much I enjoyed it. It is playing through October 5th and tickets can be purchased here.

Some Like it Hot has music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman with a book by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin based on the classic film by Billy Wilder. It premiered on Broadway in 2022 and played for a year before going on tour.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.

When I first saw Sister Act was on the Hale Center Theatre schedule this year I let out a little groan. It’s not that I hate the show it’s just performed a lot and it seemed like a real bland pick. Well, it just goes to show one should always keep an open mind because I saw their production on Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a sweet, entertaining and well performed piece of musical theatre.

If you don’t know Sister Act is based on the classic 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith. That movie was set in 1992 in Las Vegas but for the musical they move it back to 1978 and to Philadelphia. This is a smart move by the creators because it allows the productions to embrace the disco sparkle of the late 70s and they certainly do at Hale especially the sparkly costumes by Joy Zhu. It also helps keep things grounded so we don’t have to worry about the nuns and their singing hitting big on tiktok or anything like that.

I saw the TThS cast and it is excellent across the board. Deloris Van Cartier is played by Mack and Mother Superior is my old voice teacher Amanda Crabb (one of the best roles I’ve seen her in. She’s basically a co-lead.) This musical, however, is all about the sisterhood (pun intended) and they are all very lovely and have nice chemistry together. It’s always a little surprising how dark things get with the villain Curtis but they are trying to hide Deloris from criminals so some sense of danger is appropriate. Aioleoge Lesa is sniveling and fun as Deloris’ mob-boss boyfriend Curtis. He has a deep booming voice that is very memorable.

For the most part the songs are just ok in this musical with pleasant Alan Menken music and reliably bland lyrics from Glenn Slater. The two highlights are in Act II with Mother Superior singing “I Haven’t Got a Prayer” which Crabb sings powerfully and “The Life I Never Led” sung by Sister Mary Roberts played by Makenna Ashby. The latter might be Slater’s most touching lyrics he’s ever written or maybe I just connect with it as someone who always stayed pretty close to what was expected of me by my faith and loved ones. I also really enjoyed Christian Patrick Wawro as Eddie and his song “I Could be that Guy.” He and Mack have nice chemistry together and their romance is a fun side story to the main plot.

This production of Sister Act at Hale uses their main stage in just the right ways so it adds spectacle without getting distracting. Director Dave Tinney has gotten the most out of his cast and everything moves and flows from scene to scene with ease. I also liked the projections and stained glass by Madeline Ashton and scenic design by Danna Barney and Ryan Simmons (they have a very cool old TV prop visual effect that is a nostalgic throwback to the 70s.

Even though it does have some dark moments and themes Sister Act at Hale is still something that most families can enjoy together. Certainly if you’ve seen the movie you’ll be fine with this musical (although it has completely different songs than the movie) version. I bet it will make you want to praise the Lord you’re enjoying it so much. It is playing through October 25th and tickets can be purchased here.

Sister Act has music by Alan Menken with lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner. It is based on the 1992 film with a screenplay by Joseph Howard. It premiered in the West End in 2009 and on Broadway in 2011

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.

One of the best hidden gems I have discovered since I started supporting local theatre after the pandemic is the good folks over at PG Players in Pleasant Grove. It’s actually at a tiny theater in the Pleasant Grove Library and I have loved almost everything I’ve seen there. This last weekend I saw their production of the play The Foreigner and it’s had me thinking about it ever since.

On the surface the elements of The Foreigner are quite simple. It’s a farce about an Englishman who while visiting a lodge in small-town Georgia tells the people he doesn’t speak any English. Given it was written in 1983 it’s more believable that the people would be less experienced with visitors from other nations and would take the man and his story on face value (it’s basically like early catfishing without a romantic component.)

The cast at PG Players is all excellent with Cam Bronson doing a great job with the physical comedy in the role- he barely speaks in the entire first act. In many ways it has the spirit of a silent movie with the big and bold expressions needed to carry the emotion since he cant talk. I particularly like how we can see him dying to speak out when the racist characters are spouting nonsense.

Speaking of the racists it is this facet that has gotten me thinking since I saw the play. There is a plot element where several characters are members of the Ku Klux Klan and they end up attacking the other characters in their robes and all. I should state they are never presented as anything but complete villains and they are defeated in the end but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find their inclusion troubling. Just seeing a place like PG Players with those horrible robes and people is upsetting.

Then I thought about it and wondered why it bothered me when I had seen actors in Nazi uniforms at The Sound of Music multiple times this year? I don’t even know that I have a good answer. It just did. I know some other local productions of The Foreigner do not have the KKK robes and just have them as run-of-the-mill racists, and I can see why a company might make that choice. However, on the other hand pretending evil doesn’t exist isn’t the right answer either.

Maybe part of it is The Foreigner is a comedy where The Sound of Music is not but what about a comedy like The Producers? I honestly don’t know what the answer is, and I’d love some insight from readers.

Anyway, back to PG Players… most of the comedy of The Foreigner is quite lovely with Debra Fink’s innocent Betty Meeks making a nice foil for Bronson’s physical comedy. Maxwell Warren’s Ellard Simms is also very sweet and endearing.

The production is directed by Howard and Kathryn Little who I have interviewed in the past and they have a gift of bringing the most out of their actors and making the best use of the small space at the library theater. Particularly in the second act I was impressed how they created lightning and a realistic thunderstorm on such a limited stage. With the costumes and props it seemed to say this is taking place in the 1980s but then Froggy (Wesley Clark) seemed like a character from the 40s. The timeframe could have been more clear. Also in Act 1 a fair amount of white noise came off the speaker which can be distracting.

Because I found the Klan element to be so shocking I’m underselling how funny most of The Foreigner is. It really is quite an enjoyable experience for most of the play. I know it has been performed all over the valley at different companies so I’d love to hear what any of my readers think of it and if you see it at PG Players let me know. It is playing through October 13th and tickets can be purchased here.

The Foreigner is a play by Larry Shue and was first performed in 1984 where it played Off-Broadway for 686 performances.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.

I admit when I saw they were putting on The Full Monty at The Grand I rolled my eyes and was pretty skeptical of it being the real deal musical I had heard about. Usually with permission from MTI we end up getting the ‘Utahfied’ version of edgy shows that are cleaned up to make them more PG-13, family friendly (see recent versions of Jersey Boys for examples.) I know The Grand has done edgier shows in the past but I just didn’t think they would actually do The Full Monty in its full version (pun intended,) but I’m delighted to be proven wrong. Not only is this a very funny show but it’s actually quite sweet with a nice message at its heart.

Anyway, if you don’t know The Full Monty tells the story of a group of laid off steel workers in Buffalo, New York (the movie is in Yorkshire, England) who decide to learn to be exotic dancers to try and make ends-meet. There aren’t many shows that deal with male insecurities both with their bodies and relationships, and I found the dialogue in this musical to be quite sweet and endearing. I’m also a sucker for a friendship story so I enjoyed that element as well with the men of different ages and personality types coming together to support one another.

Aaron Naylor leads the cast as Jerry Lukowski who is trying to get money for custody battles with his son (the one content element I don’t love is when they have son Nathan swearing but that’s just me.) Friend Dave Bukatinsky (Trevor Blair) is the most insecure of the men about his body being the most overweight although his relationship is probably the strongest out of the men (although that has its challenges.) The group is rounded out with Darrin Burnett (who is a favorite local actor of mine), Skylar Hawker, Kiirt Banks and Ian Fernandez Andersen. Like I said, the men all have a nice chemistry and their friendship dynamic together really works. It’s also a meaningful show about marriage and how different couples communicate effectively together. In addition, Brandwynn Michelle is very funny as the chain-smoking accompanist for the boys.

As the name would suggest, the stage is large at The Grand but the set by Halee Rasmussen uses the space effectively and makes the transitions quick as the setpieces fit together like puzzle pieces. It makes it easy to go from a club, to a bedroom, to a bathroom. They also have a full band led by Ginger Bess Simmons and that always adds a polish to a production I appreciate. This show is directed by Michelle Lynn Huftalin and Briana Lindsay Fisher, and it is the best thing I’ve seen at The Grand this year. It’s a charming and very funny night of community theatre.

The only downside to the show is the pacing dragged at times. I don’t know there is anything The Grand could have done about that (like I said the set made transitions really quick) but like most Broadway musicals these days it could easily have 2 or 3 songs cut and be the better for it. Still, I’d recommend The Full Monty for anyone looking for a sweet and edgy musical for adults to enjoy. It honestly would make for a great date night choice and tickets can be as low as $30. It plays through Oct 4th and tickets can be purchased here.

The Full Monty has music and lyrics by David Yazbek with a book by Terrence McNally based on the film with script by Simon Beaufoy. It was first performed on Broadway in 2000

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.

As much as I try and see a variety of plays and musicals there are always going to be those shows I have as blind spots. Often they are great shows but just not performed often where I live in Utah. One of these shows was Big River, and I’m happy I have now been able to check it off of my musical theatre bucket list. While the new production at Ideal Playhouse is the youth edition, it’s a nice introduction to this landmark piece of musical theatre.

Of course, Big River is based on the classic novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. It’s a challenging novel to make into a musical because not that much actually happens in the story. There is a lot of tension especially for Jim but it’s mostly a dialogue-heavy story with them encountering various people as they travel down the Mississippi river. The musical even eliminates some elements such as the time spent with the feuding families that’s a larger chunk of the novel.

This minimalism is enhanced at Ideal Playhouse by them doing the Theatre for Young Audiences version, which is even shorter than the full Broadway version. I’ve never seen either so can’t speak to the differences but it definitely felt like the shortest version possible of this story.

Anyway, there is much to like in this community theatre production. Most notably the strong cast they have assembled. You couldn’t ask for better leads than we have with Yabosh Bonner as Jim and Stockton Palmer as Huck. I was also very impressed with Rosemary Jolicoeur-Webster as Alice (most of the days.) It’s a real treat to get to hear such talented actors sing “River in the Rain, “Waitin’ for the Light to Shine,” and “Free at Last.”

The show at Ideal is directed by Steve Anderson with tech director Dave Bates. They make the most out of their immersive stage elements with projections that stretch out into the audience space and give us thunder, lightning and rain as Jim and Huck make their journey on the river. They had some microphone issues on opening night and not everything went according to plan but I still enjoyed it.

According to Concord Theatricals there is only one other version of Big River currently happening in the US (youth or regular.) It’s just not a show performed very often for whatever reason. Now is your chance to see it at Ideal, and even though it is the shortened version it is worthy of your time and effort to get out to Heber. It wasn’t perfect but I’m glad I made the drive. It is playing through October 11th and tickets can be purchased here.

Big River has music and lyrics by Roger Miller with a book by William Hauptman based on Adventures of Huckleberry Finn novel by Mark Twain.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.

Hi friends! I hope you are having a great September and enjoying regional theatre wherever you might be. I have 2 shows to give my quick logs for. As a reminder the logs are for shows I attend as a patron not a critic and I pay for them out of pocket rather than the comped shows I do full detailed reviews of. Let me know if you’ve seen these shows and what you’ve been watching on the stage lately.

Silent Sky- Parker Theatre, Salt Lake

I must admit I have mixed feelings about the play Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson. While it is wonderful the play shines a light on real-life astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, it is frustrating Gunderson felt her story needs an invented romance and male character in associate Peter Shaw. It goes against the entire message of the play- a message that Henrietta’s story matters and is worth telling. Evidently it didn’t matter enough to actually tell it without a man…

Anyway, putting all that aside the production of Silent Sky at Parker is excellent and worthy of your time. The direction of Joanne Parker creates a combination of intimacy and spectacle that works beautifully on stage. I love how she basically turns the Parker into a mini-planetarium with the constellations and other lighting effects (lighting design by James B Parker.) The costumes by Paige Wilson are also excellent as are the period accurate hair and makeup by Hillary McChesney.)

Emma Widtfeldt is strong yet vulnerable as Henrietta with McChesney giving a convincing Irish accent as Williamina Fleming. If you can go in knowing everything with the Peter character is fake than I’d say Silent Sky is worth seeing at the Parker. It is playing through October 11th and tickets can be purchased here.

Little Shop of Horrors- Centerpoint Legacy, Centerville

With Halloween coming up it’s fun to see some of the horror-influenced shows popping up in Utah. One of the first is Little Shop of Horrors at Centerpoint Legacy. This is an incredible production of this classic musical and one I recommend to anyone looking for quality entertainment.

The biggest standout of the show is the professional sets that would be at home in any Broadway house. Director Ryan Bruckman and set designer Truxton Moulton have outdone themselves creating skid row and a massive stage (usually Little Shop is performed on a smaller stage) that easily transitions from one set pieces to another with moving walls that make it easy to go from the flower shop to the dentist office and other places quickly. The way Audrey grows both as a puppet but also as greenery that covers the set is also impressive with it even coming up over the walls and out the windows by the end. If you showed this set to an industry professional without telling them they wouldn’t believe it is for a community theatre in Centerville Utah.

The cast is also terrific with Janae Klumpp-Gibb crushing it as Audrey and Jake Heywood as Seymour Krelborn. Brock Dalgleish is a more redneck version of dentist Orin than I usually see but what he does with his voice in “Now it’s the Gas” is a feat to watch him pull off. I don’t know how anyone could ask anything more of a community production of Little Shop of Horrors. The sound mix was sometimes off with the backtrack being too loud but other than that it’s a great night of theatre. I highly recommend. It is playing through October 14th and tickets can be purchased here.

So there you have it! Let me know if you see either of these shows and what you think of them.

Silent Sky is a play written by Lauren Gunderson about astronomer Henrietta Leavitt. Little Shop of Horrors has music by Alan Menken with lyrics and book by Howard Ashman based on the book by Charles B Griffith and the 1960 film.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.

For anyone who has followed my reviews over the years they know I am rarely a style over substance critic. It’s pretty hard to wow me on a visual level if the story, characters, and dialogue aren’t impressing me as well. However, there is an exception to every rule and the latest at Hale Center Theatre is such an experience. Their production of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 is a visual triumph even if the play itself didn’t do much for me.

When you watch the above trailer for the show one might think there is a black and white filter being applied to the imagery. Amazingly enough that is not the case. Through lighting, costumes, makeup and other trickery they have managed to make a black and white experience for the actors and audience. It truly is a jaw-dropping spectacle to see what they have pulled off. Director Ryan Simmons, scenic designer Jenn Taylor, costume designer Joy Zhu and lighting designer Marianne Ohran have worked together to make something astonishing to watch.

This was my first time seeing The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 and the play is set up with a writer who is writing an old-school murder mystery which comes alive around him as he writes in his office. This setup reminds me a little bit of The Drowsy Chaperone but it becomes more visually interesting because The Author (Jacob Glenn Chapman) is the only one in color while everything around him is various shades of gray. The funniest joke of the night actually happens at the beginning as The Author goes through several time periods he could set the story in with the 80s being particularly funny.

My main problem with the play is I just didn’t find it to be very funny. I recently saw the similar A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody at Covey and that is a much funnier spoof on a murder mystery. Even A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, which isn’t my favorite, is still funnier than this play. Clue, both musical and non-musical, are also another fun entries in the genre. This barely got a chuckle out of me and the audience surrounding me seemed equally underwhelmed by the laughs.

The acting is all professional quality with Claire Kenny as Elsa and David Marsden as Michael leading the company. They are all doing their best to bring as much camp and over-the-top antics to the goings-on. I just wish the material gave them more to work with.

If you are someone that gets a lot of enjoyment out of visual spectacle on stage than I would recommend seeing The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 at Hale. As I said, it’s worth seeing on a visual level for what they have accomplished but prepare for a plot and story that’s just ok. It’s no The 39 Steps which is a comedy that actually delivers on the murder mystery laughs.

The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 is written by John Bishop and first premiered in 1987.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.