Review of Noises Off

The play is smart, and this production is good fun. But you see the challenge: how does one play a character well who is himself playing a character but doing it badly? Or what’s the difference between terrible acting and acting terrible?

Review of Shakespear­e’s King Lear at Montford Park

On opening night of King Lear at Montford Park, the foolish king cursed his daughter to the sputtering drone of bark being shredded, and later as he bewailed her death, fireworks boomed and crackled patriotically in the near distance. And it all made sense in a weird kind of way: for is Lear not shredding the branches of his own family tree? And is his repentance not cause for grim and sparkly celebration?

Review of For the Glory

For the Glory is in every respect a spectacular piece of entertainment: The music and the singing are near flawless, the staging runs like a well-oiled machine, the set is stunning and the lights contribute beautifully to the whole effect.

Review of What the Butler Saw

If the recent news of ecological catastrophe in the Gulf, or (closer to home) vandalism and hate crimes in Our Fair City have got you feeling a little down, take my advice: Give N.C. Stage a buzz and reserve a ticket for What the Butler Saw, the near-perfect farce by British playwright Joe Orton currently running at the little theatre on Stage Lane.

Review of Little Shop of Horrors

If you love musical theater and your companion most certainly does not, try dragging them to this production. It contains exactly what many who do not enjoy musical theater so often miss—darkly comedic plotlines, absurdity and an over-the-top campy aesthetic that is hard to resist.