X-AwardsNow in its third season of presenting childhood favorites through theater, ACA will employ puppetry by co-founder Abby Felder and the talent of professional actors to reveal the big bad wolf’s alibi in this “hilarious rock musical.”
Theater Review: “Death And The Maiden” at HART
The sparse staging of Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden, performed in the Haywood Arts Region Theatre‘s new Feichter Studio, puts the focus on a trio of actors. They are confronted by harrowing pasts and deadly choices in the present that may bend the future of a recently democratized nation. The use of an old […]
Theater Review: Seminar by Rarely Theatre
Rarely Theatre’s cast for its second outing is a who’s who assembled from a variety of other companies. Theatergoers will recognize the names behind the scintillating production of Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar — an evening of theater that is both thought-provoking and wildly entertaining in a voyeuristic and slightly sadistic way. Director Scott Keel’s talented group […]
Theater review: A Chorus Line
The musical A Chorus Line ran on Broadway from 1975 to 1990 and won practically every award that existed for theater during its run. Asheville Community Theatre’s production is presented by Aloft, and runs through Sunday, March 1. It’s directed by Chanda Calentine with musical direction by Gary Mitchell and choreography by Tina Pisano-Foor. Mother-daughter […]
Theater review: Annapurna at NC Stage
From the side-splittingly funny, fanny-exposing opening to the tear-jerking conclusion, NC Stage Company‘s production of Sharr White’s Annapurna is a tour de force on every level. Charlie Flyn-McIver’s direction is spot on, and the play is set within the tiny, messy slum of a single-wide trailer. That set, by scenic designer Julie K. Ross and […]
Local puppeteers plan homecoming production following international recognition
Toy Box Theatre’s Keith Shubert created the concept for this kid-friendly puppet show in 2011. With help from Madison J. Cripps (Cripps Puppets) and Tiny Wonder puppeteer Valerie Meiss, Shubert took his mischievous marionette on the road, amassing an increasing fanbase since.
Smart bets: A Chorus Line
“A Chorus Line is a brilliantly complex fusion of dance, song and compellingly authentic drama,” reads a press release for the forthcoming Asheville Community Theatre production. Directed by Chanda Calentine and originally created by Michael Bennett, this Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical affords audiences “a behind-the-scenes look at an audition process as well as […]
50 Shades! The Musical Parody skewers the pop culture juggernaut
Ever since its 2011 printing, E.L. James’ erotic romance novel 50 Shades of Grey has been an inescapable presence in pop culture. While as literature — 500 pages of dominance, submission, bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism stitched together with little character development — James’ “mommy porn” leaves much to be desired, there’s no doubting the […]
Theater review: Asheville Fringe Arts Festival — The Mothlight and beyond
The Asheville Fringe Arts Festival’s shows at The Mothlight featured an empowering female double bill that also fully embraced its international heritage with a pair of talented performers from the United Kingdom.
Theater review: Asheville Fringe Arts Festival (Thursday)
The eclectic double-bill embraced the raw and slightly rough-around-the-edges aspects that make Fringe such a visceral delight to watch.
One-man show Wanderlust thinks globally, acts personally
When Martin Dockery touched down in Dakar, Senegal, on his way to Timbuktu, Mali, his luggage was gone. The traveler from New York City had nothing but his passport, his Lonely Planet guidebook and a copy of Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi. He didn’t speak any local languages, he didn’t have a change of […]
Asheville Fringe Arts Festival attracts homegrown and international talent
For its past two appearances at the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival, local avant-garde theater company Anam Cara presented original pieces created by an ensemble. For 2015, its players are trying something slightly more traditional while still keeping with the Jan. 22-25 event’s focus on cross-genre collaboration and innovative performances. “The goal of Fringe is to […]
Theater review: Food and How to Eat It
If you want an evening of heaps with laughter, this is the show for you. Magnetic takes a few dashes of comedy spice and ladles on the special sauce that is this talented ensemble.
MountainTrue presents two upcoming live shows celebrating John Muir
MountainTrue is presenting two upcoming live shows that celebrate the life and adventures of John Muir, an early advocate of wilderness preservation in the U.S.
John & Jen offers musical theater from a different perspective
If you start thinking about musical theater, images of chorus lines, detailed dance numbers or elaborate Broadway sets probably come to mind. But then there are musicals like John & Jen, a two-person show projected against the backdrop of heavy topics like abuse and the Vietnam War that demand a gentle touch.
Smart bets: Magnetic Theatre’s Food and How to Eat It!
The makers of Sex and How to Have It will add one more chapter to their how-to sketch comedy series before transplanting The Magnetic Theatre to its new River Arts District home in early 2015. Food and How to Eat It!, produced and directed by Steven Samuels, stars Magnetic veterans Katie Langwell, Valerie Meiss, Glenn […]
The best of 2014 in local theater
There’s an old saying that goes, “Theater has been failing for thousands of years.” The mid-2000s saw some lean times for the arts, and many theater organizations have struggled to maintain, reinvent and grow new audiences. But 2014 felt like a page had turned for the better on most counts. The arts in general (and […]
Xpress readers weigh in on the best performances of 2014
“There’s nothing to do” is a complaint rarely heard around Western North Carolina. There are rivers to raft, trails to hike, breweries to visit, galleries to browse, shops to consider, historical sites to take in, restaurants to sample and neighborhoods to stroll. And then — as if all of that isn’t enough fun — there’s […]
Theater review: Hendersonville Little Theatre’s “Little Women”
In a holiday season filled with the expected shows around the local theater scene, Little Women might seem like a strange choice. However, it was the popular audience choice for Hendersonville Little Theatre‘s Christmastime show. Plus, act 1 begins just days before Christmas, and act 3 closes the show a year later, so there are […]
Small Bites: Downton Abbey in downtown Asheville
The new year will bring a fresh dinner theater experience to Asheville — one that will be of particular interest to fans of the British television series “Downton Abbey.” On Sunday evenings starting Jan. 4, downtown restaurant Lex 18 will offer live viewings of the popular BBC program while re-creating an aristocratic 1920s meal in […]
Theater review: Flat Rock Downtown’s “A Motown Christmas”
Flat Rock Playhouse‘s new production, A Motown Christmas, is a tight two-hour show. It covers a number of predictable holiday classics — “Jingle Bells,” “Frosty The Snowman,” “Santa Clause is Coming To Town” and religious standards like “Go Tell It On The Mountain,” “Silent Night” and “Joy To The World.” The show features the vocal […]