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Running time 2:40 - one intermission
The musical re-telling of our nation’s creation
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Storyline: In a hot and humid hall in "foul, filthy, fuming Philadelphia," the delegates of the 13 colonies debate everything from opening up a window to declaring independence. Central to the cause of separation are John Adams who is "obnoxious and disliked" but devoted to the cause, Benjamin Franklin, "a sage, a bit gouty in the leg" who understands the importance of crafting coalitions, and Thomas Jefferson, who, at age 33, has "a remarkable felicity of expression." The audience knows what the outcome of the debate will be, but there is tension and drama aplenty along the way to the final vote.

The real magic of this piece is the way Stone and Edwards manage to communicate the complexity of the issues and avoid making simplistic cartoons of the majority of the characters they portray. Richard Henry Lee is treated with less respect than most, being a comic popinjay of an egotist, but the adherents to the heritage of the British nation are shown as earnest, honest men who have sincere differences of opinion. Indeed, Stone writes a marvelously moving moment at the end when the victorious John Adams pays tribute to the defeated John Dickenson, who has fought with all the energy and passion at his command in a cause he holds dear. Even the question of slavery, which was finally resolved on the side of human dignity only by bloody civil war decades later, is presented with both sides landing telling blows in the argument.

Tinder's John Adams is joined by Jim Carmalt's somewhat slumpish Ben Franklin, always seeming weighed down by a heavy wig, and Keith Miller who keeps his own peace as Thomas Jefferson until riled up late in the evening. Then he seems to come alive as he suffers the pain of listening to days of debate over his wording of the Declaration of Independence. The show is noted for solo moments for cast members who only get one chance to shine but who can take full advantage. Here it is Jon Keeling selling the music hall style comedy number "The Lees of Old Virginia," A. J. Pendola putting the struggle into stark perspective by singing movingly of the carnage of the battlefields in "Mamma Look Sharp," and Chris Gillespie thundering convincingly on the side of the proponents of slavery in "Molasses to Rum."

The play requires a representation of the hall in Philadelphia where the political magic of 1776 occurred. Myke Taister has designed one that is sufficiently functional with a curtain of green scrim which is drawn in front for scenes that take place outside the hall and which Ken and Patti Crowly light with shadows suggesting shrubbery. Christopher Tomasino's orchestra in the wings provides solid support throughout the evening and the ensemble singing is full and often thrilling as with "Sit Down John" delivered with great energy. Unfortunately, David Hale's sound design leaves dead spots within the replica of Independence Hall which miss some of the dialogue and hot spots at other places where ad libs overwhelm important lines. Director Frank D. Shutts II gives the evening a bit of a twist at the very end, with the founders of our country suddenly looking up from the posed replica of the famous historical painting to gaze off into the future as if to emphasize the fact that their actions set in motion the fates we all share today and which shape our common future.

Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards. Book by Peter Stone. Directed by Frank Shutts II. Musical direction by Christopher A. Tomasino. Choreographed by Grace Manly Machanic. Design: Myke Taister (set) Heather Franklin and Margaret Evans-Joyce (properties) David Hale (sound) Ken and Patti Crowley (lights) Peter Piraneo (photography) Cristina Idoni and Joan A.S. Lada (stage managers). Cast: Rich Amada, David Benson, Jim Carmalt, Hans Dettmar, Marcus Fisk, Christopher Gillespie, Lawrence Grey, Matt Grogan, Neil Holloway, Jon Keeling, Andrea Klores, Lars Klores, Peter Laager, B. C. May, Keith Miller, William D. Parker, A. J. Pendola, J. Robert Powers, Liz Sabin, David Rampy, John Shakelford, Jay Sigler, Marshall Smith, Mick Tinder, Christopher Guy Thorn, Cal Whitehurst.

  
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Running time 1:30 - no intermission
An energetic comedy performed with flair
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Storyline: A German civil servant is shocked and concerned due to the possibility of loosing his livelihood over the scandal that he foresees when his wife’s underwear slips to her ankles just as the King passes as she is watching a parade. His world is turned upside down but not by scandal so much as by new found wealth when men start lining up to rent their spare room, men who are smitten with the young lady they saw in such a compromising situation out on the parade route.

This is not slapstick comedy, but it isn't mild flippantry either. It is verbal wit within outlandish situations. There are a few bits of physical comedy, but the actors are free to develop the humor of their characters and highlight the string of incongruously honest asides and witty remarks with which Martin has peppered the play. The energy here comes from the ensemble work in setting and then keeping a pace that is just below the manic, so that it never seems forced, but it never pauses for a breath either.

The center of focus for the work is the young wife who dropped her drawers at such a spectacular moment. Claudia Love Petty starts the evening as a sheltered and subservient bride to James Chandler's ramrod straight martinet of a civil servant. As things get further and further out of hand, she gains confidence and strength. As the would-be renters, the Little Theatre has Marcus Dunn emoting with flair as a besotted poet and Mario Font doing a fine job as a Jewish man trying to survive in anti-Semitic Germany.

Chris Feldmann's solid set has a fire escape outside the apartment windows which Marianne Meyers uses to make her entrances as the upstairs neighbor who can hear every word spoken in the home of the scandal-fearing civil servant. Bill Brannigan is a droll presence who enters from time to time with no apparent reason except to increase the confusion. That confusion builds and builds until extreme foolishness abounds. The effect of it all is a highly entertaining short evening.

Adapted by Steve Martin from the play by Carl Sternheim. Directed by Eddie Schwartz. Design: Chris Feldmann (set) Beverly Benda (costumes) Paul Morton (makeup and hair) Bobbie Herbst (properties) Nancy Owens (lights) Anna Hawkins (sound) Peter Piraneo (photography) Jennifer Lyman and Mary Beth Smith-Toomey (stage managers). Cast: Bill Brannigan, James Chandler, Marcus Dunn, Mario Font, Marianne Meyers, Claudia Love Petty.

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Running time 2:10 - one intermission
A solid presentation of a gentle comedy
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Storyline: Bored with both her marriage and the dreary London weather, an English gentlewoman convinces three other women to pool their resources and rent a villa on the Italian Riviera for the month of April in 1922. They are soon joined by two husbands and one lover. But, since that is just two men, the complications mount.

The play is based on a book by an English novelist whose byline sounded strangely Germanic: Elizabeth von Arnim. Indeed, by the time she published her first novel, she was the Countess von Arnim by virtue of her marriage to the very Germanic Count Henning August von Arnim, a distant descendant of Prussia's King Friedrich Wilhelm I. That novel was a semi-autobiographical piece Elizabeth and Her German Garden. That was in 1898. Twenty-some years later, with half a dozen novels that sold well under her name, she published The Enchanted April which was subsequently filmed without the "the" in the title. This play, also without the "the," is the second one to put the story on the stage. A 1925 version by von Arnim and Kane Campbell was seen briefly in the 1920s.

With four distinctly drawn characters in the leading roles of the four "villa-mates," the play provides bright material for Jessica Stone as the ring-leader of the plot, Heather Benjamin as her first collaborator who is married to a writer who is off on book tours all too much, Poppy Pritchett as a died-in-the-wool flapper and Marian Holmes as a dowdy dowager who has little patience for modern folderol. Dayalini Pocock is the most fun to watch, however. She is the Italian-speaking maid of the villa who makes her views of her "guests" pursuits known despite any language barrier. Add a crusty James McDaniel (whose demeanor makes his deportment all the funnier when circumstances combine to reveal him sans clothing at a most inopportune time - tea time) and a smooth Ron Brooks as the writer who pursues more than sales during his book tours, and there are enough laughs in the second act to make up for the rather exposition heavy first.

The contrast between first and second acts isn't just a matter of exposition versus resolution. It is also a difference in locale, for the entire first act takes place in gloomy, rainy, foggy London town, while the second is in glorious, colorful, sunny Italy. Ken and Patti Crowley make the London scenes strikingly gloomy through the use of a lighting effect simulating falling rain, and then highlight the change in climate with bright, warm lighting representing the fabled Riviera sunshine. Strangely, they hold back some of the intensity of the Italian effect from the opening of the second act, probably because it is set early in the morning and the Mediterranean sunshine is at its most intense in the afternoon. Visible through the wisteria-covered arches of the villa's colonnade is a lovely backdrop of the Cinque Terre terrain. It was painted by the scenic painting class that director/set designer Kurtz teaches at George Mason University. They seem to have learned their lessons well.

Written by Matthew Barber based on the novel by Elizabeth von Arnim. Directed by Howard Vincent Kurtz. Design: Howard Vincent Kurtz (set) LeeAnne Buckley, Jean Schlichting and Kit Sibley (costumes) Paul Morton (hair and makeup) Betty Dolan and Wanda Perkins (properties) Ken and Patti Crowley (lights) Alan Wray (sound) Shane Canfield (photography) Margaret Evans-Joyce and Kira Simon (stage managers). Cast: Ric Andersen, Heather Benjamin, Ron Brooks, Marian Holmes, James McDaniel, Dayalini Pocock, Poppy Pritchett, Jessica Stone.

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Running time 2:25 - one intermission
A full evening of music with a convoluted story of the power of love
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Running time 2:20 - one intermission and one stretch break
A quirky family comedy with on-stage cooking
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Storyline: A three-act comedy of an Italian family gathering. Act One introduces the family members as the mother of the house begins cooking her ragout for the next day's dinner. Act Two finds the family at the table for the Sunday meal which turns disastrous when the father of the house accuses their next door neighbor of conducting an affair with his wife. The trauma is resolved in Act Three as the father apologizes and all is forgiven.

When Eduardo de Filippo wrote this comedy in the 1950s, it was filled with quirky characters from his own experiences in Naples, Italy. De Filippo was among the most successful of the Italian playwrights who actually wrote in Neapolitan before he wrote in Italian. This play was a success in Italy and again in London when none other than Sir Lawrence Olivier handled the role of the cantankerous grandfather under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli. It transferred, without Olivier, to Broadway where it promptly closed after 12 performances. Maybe the charm just can't quite make it across the Atlantic.

Tom Pentecost is a solid presence throughout, even when his character, the father of the house, makes some really outlandish mistakes. When the show is working, it is usually because it is a scene that involves him. Elissa Hudson matches his strength in the late scenes, but it takes her a while to get going. The opening sequence of the play finds her being excessively persnickety as she cooks up a pot of ragout, as if she is concentrating more on her movements than on her lines. James McDaniel is the standout among the supporting players with a dignified and quite human portrayal of the next door neighbor whose fidelity is questioned.

LTA is known, of course, for the substantial sets that grace the stage, and the one for this two-locale comedy is certainly substantial. It features a wall separating the kitchen from the dining room which pivots between acts to expand one room or the other depending on the demands of the action. It is strangely un-Neapolitan, un-Italian and un-Continental, however. It could well be a home in any American city just as most of the characters could be, even if they do adopt a wide range of faux-Italian accents.

Written by Eduardo de Filippo. Directed by Rick Hayes. Design: Diedre (De) Nicolson-Lamb (set) Kathy Dodson (costumes) Jen Durham (makeup and hair) Irene Molnar (set decoration) Ceci Albert (properties) Robert Timmerman (lights) Alan Wray (sound) Peter Piraneo (photography) Jerry Dale and Margaret Soroos (stage managers). Cast: Ron Bianchi, Bill Brannigan, Alyssa Ciccone, Elissa Hudson, Richard Isaacs, Bill Kitzerow, Suzanne Knapik, Andrew Langan, James McDaniel, Aimée Meher-Homji, Rachel Morrissey, Tom Pentacost, Laura J. Scott, James Senavitis, Jeffrey Stevenson, Steve Rosenthal.

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Storyline: The daughter of a former slave moves north to New York City and makes a career for herself as a seamstress crafting "intimate apparel" for a wealthy, mostly white, clientele. As highly trained as she is with a needle, she doesn't read or write, so when a laborer on the Panama Canal begins to write to her, she seeks the help of friends and customers to craft her responses. Unbeknownst to her, however, he too is illiterate, relying on assistance to create the gentle missives he sends. Romance blooms and he travels to the US to marry her. She's not getting exactly what she expected, however, and their tribulations teach each many lessons. 

Nottage is a Brooklyn-born, Yale School of Drama graduate who has established a solid reputation for well-constructed, emotionally truthful plays, most of which deal with the experiences of African American women over the past century. Her Crumbs from the Table of Joy premiered at CENTERSTAGE in 2003 and this play had been announced for the African Continuum Theatre Company for the spring of 2008. It may yet still be staged as part of their spring season at the Atlas, but for now, this is the Potomac Region's opportunity to sample the joys at this particular table. Intimate Apparel is so lovingly written that a merely competent performance would be a pleasant evening in the theater, but the Little Theatre's production has strengths of its own which magnify the pleasure.

Levitt is consistently intelligent in her approach to the part of the seamstress, combining a sense of style so crucial to her success and a sense of pride in her accomplishment with a touch of concern for her future and hope for the relationship with the arriving laborer from Panama. The laborer is played with a refreshing lack of stereotype by Paul Morton. Nader Tavangar is back on LTA's stage in the supporting role of the Jewish fabric dealer, and he imbues the part with a human touch that is a pleasure, while both Ann Marie Pinto and Danielle Eure do nice work as the seamstress' customer who would like to be more than a friend and the prostitute who is a friend but finds out she has more involvement in the newlywed's life than she'd like.

The production has a serious feel to it with subdued but obviously well thought out designs in all disciplines. The Crowleys' lighting draws the eye to separate segments of the stage for scenes staged on Ken Crowley's multi-level set and give a warm richness to  Suzanne Maloney's subdued browns, golds and reds in the costumes.

Written by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Frank Pasqualino. Design: Ken Crowley (set) Nancyanne Burton, Allen Stuhl and Jean Stuhl (set decoration) Kira Simon and Joanne Tompkins (properties) Suzanne Maloney (costumes) Paul Morton and Bette Williams (makeup and hair) Ken and Patti Crowley (lights) David Hale (sound) Mitch Eaton (photography) Margaret Evans-Joyce (stage manager). Cast: Robin Dorsey, Danielle Eure, Lory Levitt, Paul Morton, Anne Marie Pinto, Nader Tavangar.

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Running time 2:20 - one intermission
A touchingly human comedy
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Storyline: One of the greatest comedy teams of the Vaudeville era are approached to make one last appearance performing their classic sketch for a television special on the history of comedy. The problem is that they are no longer speaking to each other and their frustrations boil over again once they get on the set for their reunion.

Simon's comedy was a hit on Broadway in 1972 and was made into a memorable movie in 1975. That movie was supposed to star Walter Matthau and Jack Benny, but Benny's cancer intruded and his life-long friend George Burns filled in. Filled in? He made the part his own and earned an Oscar for it. (There was also a made-for-television version in 1995 with Peter Falk and Woody Allen but we won't dwell on that.) Today, actors like Jenckes and Forbes have to overcome the strength of the memory of Matthau and Burns before they can begin to construct memorable characters of their own in the roles.

Jenckes is completely successful in establishing his own slightly palsied persona for Willy Clark, delivering the curmudgeonly grumbles with a flair that remains on the right side of the line that separates him from over-acting. His body seems to know the gags as well as his mind does while he adds just a touch of frustration when the body doesn't respond with the alacrity of youth. Forbes uses the dapper demeanor of a senior dressed up for a special occasion and then adds a touch of "I'm on my best behavior, so why am I not getting the respect I deserve" in his attitude which sets up his exasperation at his former foil's excesses. The two manage to establish the familiarity of long-time partners.

Carmalt is rock-solid in both the sentiment and the frustration that everyone in the audience who has, knows of or is a demanding elderly relative will recognize. What is more, he manages to get the laughs Simon wrote for the character without turning him into competition for the comedians on the stage. His is a well tuned, well timed performance indeed.

Written by Neil Simon. Directed by Suni Chapman. Design: John Downing (set) Pat Taylor (costumes) Suni Chapman (make-up) Minnie Parsons (hair and wigs) Eleni Aldridge and Paul Andrew Morton (properties) David Correia (sound) Peter C. Piraneo (photography) Frank C. Coleman (lights and stage manager). Cast: Philip Baedecker, Jim Carmalt, Tegan D. Cohen, Marcus Dunn, Christopher Dwane, Jan Forbes, Joe Jenckes, Joseph LaBlanc, Fred C. Lash, Carlyn Lightfoot, Daniel Maxwell.

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Running time 2:30 - one intermission:
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a tuneful confection of comedy and commentary, and a biographical love story
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Storyline: The life story of humorist Will Rogers, who starred in the Ziegfeld Follies from 1916 to 1925, is presented as if it was, itself, a Follies show with Ziegfeld himself calling the shots from the booth at the back of the theater. The show, therefore, includes comedy routines, star vocalists and parades of scantily clad chorus girls.

The Tony Award Best Musical of 1991 drew from the traditions of vaudeville and Broadway just as Florenz Ziegfeld's Follies did from 1907 till 1931. Those Follies starred the biggest names in theater of the day - Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, W. C. Fields. Rogers, who had come up through the ranks as a vaudeville act twirling a rope and commenting on the days events, was a headliner in the Follies from 1916 to 1925. In telling the story of his life as if it were a Follies show, book writer Peter Stone leaves a good deal out of his sketch. For example, Rogers had considerable success in New York before joining Ziegfeld's Follies. However, the essence of the man's life is right here in a very entertaining package.

Lester brings a thoroughly appropriate ease to his singing as Rogers and seems to be having almost as much fun on stage as Rogers did. Elizabeth Yeates, as his wife, has a fine presence as well, and her voice, especially in the higher registers of the songs in this score, can fill the hall. Pert and perky Krissy Silvestro tackles the semi-mistress-of-ceremonies role called "Z's Favorite." Rogers' father is played by John Shackleford, who seems to improve as the evening progresses. His early song, "Its a Boy" is something of a tongue-twister and he takes it a bit slowly in order to get all the words across, but later he picks the pace up quite nicely. Gomez even found four cute-as-could-be children to play the Rogers kids. It is a testament to the strength of Lester and Yeates that the kids (Ben Roberts, Katja Volker, Ryan Talabot and James Woods) don't steal the scene of "The Big Time" completely.

The choreography is a bit inconsistent, but it can't be attributed to the use of two different choreographers, for the work of each is separately credited so each gets acknowledged for numbers that are top notch. Among the highlights, Weinraub is credited with the energetic "The Big Time" and Cason the nifty "Will-O-Mania." Similarly, some of the costume work is super. The gowns for "Presents for Mrs. Rogers" are really impressive, although the Follies-like swim suit number "Powder Puff Ballet" is a bit dull both in choreography and costumes. The set is bright, functional and accommodates the special effects of fog above and projections below quite nicely.

Music by Cy Coleman. Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adoph Green. Book by Peter Stone. Directed by Roland Branford Gomez. Musical direction by David Howard Boyer and Kathy Manley. Choreography by Amy Carson and Catherine Wienraub. Slide consultant Scott Obenchain. Design: De Nicholson-Lamb (set) Kathy Dodson, Chris Macey, Jean Schlichting and Kit Sibley (costumes) Chris Macey (wigs) Howard Kurtz (make up) Betty Dolan and Sharon Dove (properties) Ken and Patti Crowley (lights and special effects) Alan Wray (sound) Sheila Price and Alex Aki (stage managers). Cast: Ashley Batten, Akiyo Dunetz, Reeny Eul, Harv Lester, Kristen Magee, Andrea Mayo, Steven Minson, Michael Page, Milan Powell, Kimberly Rankin, Ben Roberts, John Shackleford, Krissy Silvestro, Heather Smith, Marshall Smith, Rose Talbot, Ryan Talbot, Karen Toth, Katja Volker, James Woods, Elizabeth Yeats, and the voice of Scott Obenchain.

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Running time 2:35 - One intermission and a pause
t Potomac Stages Pick for a classic American comedy of manners
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Storyline: Tracy Lord, the eldest daughter of one of Philadelphia's most prominent families, is about to be married -- for the second time. In order to prevent the publication of a scandalous (but accurate) article about her father, she allows a reporter from a magazine to have access to the family home over the weekend of "the society wedding of the season." At the same time, her younger sister invites the first husband back to the fold in the hopes of rekindling the romance of the marriage that failed. When Tracy drinks a bit too much on the eve of the wedding and the groom sees flaws in her he never expected from the woman he worships instead of really loving, he breaks off the engagement, opening the door for the first husband who never fell out of love with her in the first place.

Barry's comedy of a socialite about to marry the wrong man was a big hit for Katharine Hepburn on Broadway in 1939, and stimulated her emergence as a major star in Hollywood when she recreated her role in the movie with Cary Grant and James Stewart in 1940. In 1956 Hollywood tried again with a musical version titled High Society which featured Grace Kelley, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra with a score by Cole Porter. It even made a brief return to Broadway as a musical in 1998. The piece has had such longevity because it is so well constructed and highlights aspects of human nature we all can recognize. It combines rich veins of humor with an understanding view of human nature.

The Hepburn role is played here by Jennifer Crooks. She gets the society flair right and also does a credible job with the softer undertone of, if not humility, then at least vulnerability. The role offers a real challenge to an actress in the back-to-back scenes of being drunk and then being hung over. Overdoing either can cost an actress the goodwill she has built up with the audience and turn them against her. Crooks negotiates these shoals with assurance. The younger sister is a superb Emily Whitworth who takes the posture/gesture technique to delightful extremes. She's practically "on pointe" when trying to fool the reporter into thinking her family even weirder than it really is. Sarah Holt is just right as the matron of the family and Don Neal does his standard avuncular routine as the uncle from the mansion next door. Sam Nystrom plays a part that wasn't retained when they made the musical out of this play, that of the younger brother who negotiates the family's way out of scandal not once but twice. He is a refreshing touch of class himself with a sense of control that fits the piece nicely.

Seth Vaughn, Brian Razzino and Brian Dunn are the three men in the center of the storm. Vaughn has better success with the portions of his role that require some sentiment than with the early hard-nosed, left-leaning reporter stuff when he has to say lines like "What right has she to even exist?" Later, however, when he's mellowed and his sense of decency takes over, he's quite likable and effective. Razzino gets likeability right from his first entrance and stays that way to the final moment. Of course, it helps that his part isn't supposed to change or learn or grow over the course of the play. He starts out in love and ends up in love and he does it nicely indeed. The hardest role of the three falls to Dunn who makes the groom who looses such a twerp that, while you are relieved the heroine doesn't end up married to him, you also can't quite see why she agreed to marry him in the first place.

Written by Philip Barry. Directed by Steven Scott Mazzola. Fight choreography by Steve Lada. Design: Grant Kevin Lane (set and costumes) Bette Williams and Paul Andrew Morton (makeup and wigs) Eleanor Gomberg (properties) Ann Marie Castrigno (lights) Steven Scott Mazzola (sound) Peter C. Piraneo (photography) Joan Lada and Lynn Lovett (stage managers). Cast: Jennifer Crooks, Brian Dunn, Christopher Dwane, Sarah Holt, Tanera Hutz, Angelena LeBlanc, Joseph LeBlanc, Donald Neal, Sam Nystrom, Brian Razzino, Charles St. Charles, Seth Vaughn, Emily Witworth.

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Running time 1:30 - no intermission
A fantasy built on the concept of a survivor
 of the Titanic sinking
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Storyline: More than 80 years after the supposedly unsinkable ocean liner RMS Titanic sank in the icy waters of the North Atlantic in 1912, a woman is discovered on an iceberg. When asked where she came from, the only thing she can say is "Titanic." She's confined for observation in a sterile environment as an investigator and a doctor try to solve the puzzle of her appearance.

Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher says he was inspired to write this play by a tabloid headline "Titanic Survivor Found on Iceberg." Hatcher is probably best known for the stage version of Tuesday's with Morrie which he adapted with the book's author Mitch Albom. He also has had success with a stage adaptation of Henry James' novella The Turn of the Screw which is on the schedule for Everyman Theatre in Baltimore next season. For this short excursion into fantasy, he tries a bit too hard to make something more than a tabloid story out of the concept. Each layer of complication and revelation takes the piece further from the original story.

Gloria DuGann stages the one-act play with a sense of style. Two of her cast of four can match that stylishness with performances that are intrinsically intriguing. One is Karen Jadlos Shotts, who begins as a silent enigma as the mysterious woman found floating on an iceberg, and evolves into a character to care about. The other is Bonnie Jourdan as the only previously known survivor of the Titanic then still alive. She is introduced late in the play in a supporting role. Both women have the benefit of interestingly written roles and both make the most of them. Less intriguingly written roles fall to the two people of the present who are trying to figure out what the story is here. Neither Bill Fleming nor Lorraine Magee can find a way to add significantly to the sense of style in these fairly flat roles.

Grant Kevin Lane and Mike Schlabach have come up with a fine set design with a sheer white curtain on which to show vintage movie films of the Titanic and the Carpathia, the ship that sailed to the site of the sinking and rescued 705 survivors in the life boats. That curtain is drawn aside to reveal a large nearly-white room with one deck chair, two doors and four swiveling wall-mounted security cameras. The set works nicely for the metaphysical/allegorical ending. Anna Hawkins' sound design features both well conceived sound effects and well selected musical clips which enhance the atmosphere and carry the final visual effect into the darkness, leaving the audience to ponder just what the final solution to the mystery really is.

Written by Jeffrey Hatcher. Directed by Gloria DuGan. Design: Ken and Patti Crowley, Michael and Stephen Kharfen, and Mike Schlabach (special effects, video and multimedia) Grant Kevin Lane and Mike Schlabach (set) Ken and Patti Crowley (lights) Anna Hawkins (sound) Donna Reynolds (properties and set decoration) Peter Piraneo (photography) Arthur Rodger and Kira Simon (stage managers). Cast: Bill Fleming, Bonnie Jourdan, Lorraine Magee, Karen Jadlos Shotts.

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Running time 2:00  - one intermission
A pleasant toe tapping evening of song and dance
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Storyline: A teenager moves with his recently divorced mother from Chicago, where he loved to dance, to a small Midwestern town, where, out of respect for four teenagers who died in a car crash after a dance, all dancing has been outlawed. He tries to convince the town to change the law but is opposed by the local minister. Will the reverend see the error of his ways in time to salvage his relationship with his wife and with his daughter, who is attracted to the dance loving newcomer?

Dean Pitchford, responsible for the original movie, was also a partner in the musical adaptation and wrote lyrics for Tom Snow’s musical score. Where the songs are the originals from the movie, the show seems to fare better than when new songs are introduced. The central young couple, Ren and Ariel (Christopher Adams and Abigail Odmark) have a nice duet with “Almost Paradise.” The new songs feel very formulaic in nature and the weakness of the casting cannot support the production during these numbers. After the Broadway run, the authors revised the second act to incorporate additional new songs and remove weaker ones, but only professional companies are required to use the new arrangement and LTA chose to go with the original score. Microphone problems that rendered some moments unintelligible and others with sound volumes that yo-yo’d up and down complicated matters even further.

The most enjoyable performances of the evening came from the supporting “friends” of the two lead roles. Michael Reid in the role of Willard Hewitt, the country good natured boy who always listens to what Ma says, received a rousing round of applause during the curtain call for his over the top performance and truly enjoyable rendition of “Mama Says.” Ariel’s three friends, played by Renee Rabben, Diana Jeffries, and Ashleigh de la Torre, also shared the stealing of the spotlight numbers like “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” and “Holding out for a Hero.”

LTA does succeed again at turning their stage into impressive settings on a restricted budget. The two main stage pieces are a pair of stairs that rotate to become everything from a church, to a gym, to a railroad trestle. The lighting effects are well planed too, with a nice disco ball effect at the final dance and several gels’ intentionally facing out into the audience to give the stage a sort of dance club feeling. While the show doesn’t quite meet LTA’s normal standard of excellence, it still entertains and as always the cast of performers really do seem to love what they do.

Music by Tom Snow. Lyrics by Dean Pitchford. Adapted from the movie by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie. Directed by Frank D. Shutts IIt. Choreographed by Roberta Rothstein. Additional Music by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, and Jim Steinman. Design: Ken Crowley (set) Elizabeth Schulz (costumes) Ken and Patti Crowley (lights) David Hale (sound) Peter Piraneo (photography) Joan A.S. Lada and Marg Soroos (stage manager). Cast: Christopher Adams, Traci Brooks, Amanda Cane, Ivan Davila, Ashleigh de la Torre, Joe Dodd, Akiyo Nishida Dunetz, Rae Edmonson, James Finley, Dana Joel Gattuso, Meg Glassco, Diana Jeffery, Jon Keeling, Jonathan Kopp, Brandon Kraft, Fred C. Lash, Jennifer Lyman, Chrissy Barnett Miller, Darnell Morris, Renee Rabben, Michael Reid, Janice Rivera, Katherine Schmauss, Karen O’Connell, Abigail Odmark, Michael Schlesinger, Christopher Guy Thorn.

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Running time 2:15 - two intermissions
A solid production of a 1950s thriller
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Storyline: The home of a 1950s family - father, mother, daughter, son - is invaded by a trio of escaped convicts who terrorize them and use them in their escape plans. The father must take action to avoid the massacre of the entire family.

After years of watching Law & Order on television and many movies like Die Hard, Dirty Harry or Firewall, where men take resolute action when faced with extraordinary threats to people or causes they value (think Harrison Ford or even Bruce Willis) it is a bit difficult to view this older piece as "taut." Instead, it is practically leisurely in its approach, but it does finally kick in. The final resolution is sufficiently clever to be satisfying. The central characters have quite a bit of time to not only establish their traits but to evolve.

Mark Lee Adams as the husband makes the most significant evolution as a character and he is a pleasure to watch once the script allows him to leave his initial milquetoast personality behind. Ken Clayton takes a much less complex character, that of the lead criminal psychotic, and develops traits that add depth and dimension to the part. Kent Jenkins is really good as the young son in the family, while Michael Reid is also impressive as the youngest of the three criminals. Margaret Bush and Winifred Harrington turn in solid performances as the threatened women in the household, and John T. Adams III makes a despicable criminal.

The solid set of the family's home with an upstairs bedroom and hall above a living room at floor level takes up the majority of the stage, leaving little space for the police department office where the detective in charge of the effort to recapture the escaped convicts, an FBI agent and two uniformed police officers crowd together trying to look natural. The cramped space leaves practically no room even for an arm gesture and it results in stifled performances in the subplot. Only Matthew Argersinger seems to be able to evidence emotion in that space, when, as the boyfriend of the daughter in the family, he is interrogated by the police.

Written by Joseph Hayes. Directed by Joanna Henry. Design: C. Evans Kirk (set) Beverly Nicholson Benda (costumes) Kendal Taylor (makeup and wigs) Betty Dolan and Sharon Dove (properties) Steve Lada (combat choreography) Chris Hardy and Arie McSherry (lights) Alan Wray (sound) Peter Piraneo (photography) Kristen Lehl and Sheila Price (stage managers). Cast: John T. Adams III, Mark Lee Adams, Matthew Argersinger, Margaret Bush, Ken Clayton, Amy Conley, Brandon DeGroat, Winifred Harrington, Kent Jenkins, Bill Kitzerow, Steve Lada, Marlon Pitts, Michael Reid, Chuck Whalen.

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Running time 2:45 - one intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a first class presentation
 of a difficult musical to stage
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Storyline: A bright first act blends the stories of Jack and the Benastalk and Cinderella with an original fairy tale of The Baker and his Wife into a mélange augmented with the witch who holds Rapunzel in a tower, Little Red Riding Hood and assorted princes - all of which ends with the traditional "happily ever after." The dark and disturbing second act looks at the after which comes after "ever after," as the characters' stories are carried beyond the fairy tales' conclusions.

This is Sondheim's punniest score. His A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum may have been funnier, but none of his scores has been filled with so many genuinely funny puns, nor have any been so openly clever. After all, the master of matching lyrics to character almost always has to write in the manner of the character singing the song. Here many of the secondary characters are really children's book caricatures, so he is free to let his own personality come through. His delight at that freedom is palpable. Where else could you find an entire song, humorous and delightful and story-advancing as it is, setting up a single punch line pun "The end justifies the beans"? The score is not all flippantry, however. The witch sings movingly of the pains of parenthood ("Children Will Listen") and there are layers upon layers of meaning to Jack's discovery that there are "Giants in the Sky." 

The highlight of this night full of highlights is the pair of duets by Jake Odmark and Keith J. Miller as Cinderella's and Rapunzel's princes. There's also Katie McManus' "Moments in the Woods," Sarah Hirschman's "On the Steps of the Palace," Jesse Swenson's "Giants in the Sky" and Bligh Voth's "I Know Things Now" that stand out. Karen Jadlos sings the Witch's numbers extremely well, especially "Children Will Listen."

A special nod to David Correia who handled sound design. With such a complex show there was much that could go wrong and didn't. (Perhaps that is attributable as well to the fact that the program lists one assistant sound designer and no fewer than three well known sound designers among those with "assisted by" credit.)

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by James Lapine. Directed by Joanna Henry. Musical direction by Christopher A. Tomasino. Choreography by Stefan Sittig. Combat choreography by Steve Lada. Design: MYKE (set) Jean Schlichting and Kit Sibley (costumes) Wanda Perkins and Arthur Snow (properties) Kendel Taylor (wigs and makeup) Ken and Patti Crowley (lights and special effects) David Correia (sound) Peter C. Piraneo (photography) Cristina Idoni and Joan Lada (stage managers). Cast: Helen Bard-Sobola, Katie Barge, Crissy Field, Ron Field, Heather Franklin or Caroline Schreiber, Dana Joel Gattuso, Sarah Hirschman, Karen Jadlos, Harv Lester, John Patrick Loughney, Cristina Matula, Katie McManus, Keith J. Miller, Jake Odmark, Phillip Reid,  Krissy Silvestro, Jesse Swenson, Bligh Voth, Linda Wells.

Running time 2:40 - one intermission
Noel Coward's wit both stirred and shaken
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Storyline: A successful novelist and his second wife invite a neighboring mystic to conduct a séance in their home because the plot of the husband’s next book is to include mysticism. She conjures up the spirit of the novelist’s late first wife who refuses to leave and plots to regain her position as his companion.

By reputation Coward’s plays are full of fluff. In actuality that fluff – bright and funny as it can be – covers a rock solid structure of a tightly plotted comedy about fully developed characters in intriguing situations. Yes, his dialogue is full of eminently quotable retorts, and, yes, he makes it looks so polished and perfect that he makes the upper class life seem a thing of elegance, charm, intelligence and style and not necessarily a thing of wealth, birth or social position. But it all works because he worked so hard and so well at its foundation and only then added a posh patina. This, one of his most successful plays, is a sterling example of both the solid story and the polished storytelling.

Pentecost, Raffaele and Russell approach the piece as the sophisticated drawing room comedy it is, and they exchange arched-eyebrow glances at each other's bons mot with stylish urbanity, especially in the early stages of their post- séance reunion. They allow the increasing complications which pile one atop the other to provide the momentum that amplifies the comedy. Pentecost's performance is particularly well paced as his reserved gentleman, who wouldn't think of letting his emotions show, tries with decreasing success to keep his reactions to his unexpected state of astral-bigamy under wraps. Not all the zingers land with the sharp wit intended, but, in the aggregate, they achieve the required cumulative effect.

Contrasted with all this coolness is the flash and pizzazz of Enoch from her first entrance to her final departure. Coward wrote the part as an over-the-top piece of peculiarity - the spiritualist who bicycles over for her séance wearing a leather cap with goggles, and whose first question of her contact in the spirit world isn't "is there someone there?" but "how's your cold?" cannot be played coolly, and Enoch makes no effort to do so. She's the contrast that makes the entire picture interesting. The enthusiasm with which she throws herself into a trance and her delight at having an actual "ectoplasmic realization" to report to the spiritualist society to which she belongs is engaging.

Written by Noel Coward. Directed by Joe Schubert. Design: Robert Gray (set) Grant Kevin Lane (costumes) Frank Shutts II (make up and hair)  Betty Dolan (properties) Ken and Patti Crowley (lights) Keith Bell (sound) Peter C. Piraneo (photography) Margaret Evans-Joyce and Heather Franklin (stage managers). Cast: Frieda Enoch, Peter Laager, Jessica Lada, Tom Pentecost, Barbara Raffaele, Laura Russell, Carol Strachan.

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Reviewed April 22
Running time 1:55 - one intermission
A two hour sitcom delivered with enthusiasm
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Storyline: Two twenty-something roommates have a problem. To take advantage of tax laws that favor married couples (no one ever heard of the "marriage penalty"?) they've been filing their tax returns as man and wife filing jointly although they are, in fact both of the same gender. What is more, the fiancée of one of them has begun to fancy the other one. When the IRS comes to audit, various cross-dressing complications mount up.

The new young faces here are Alex Avila as the young man who has to dress as a woman to fool the IRS, Nathan Tatro as his roommate who dreamed up the scheme in the first place, and Nora Petito as the fiancée of the later who is first seen in the arms of the former. Avila recently played Romeo in Shakespeare's romantic tragedy at Tapestry Theater where we commented on his virile energy and youthful vigor. He displays the same qualities here although virility isn't exactly the defining feature of his scenes in drag - humor is. Tatro makes a fine foil with a touch of macho and Petito brings a chipper sensibility to her role.

Christopher's high-energy performance is as the IRS agent who comes to investigate a disparity between the 1040s filed by the "married couple" in the past few years and the previous years' forms when both roommates filed individually checking "m" for sex. His high officiousness turns to camaraderie as the subjects of his audit ply him with liquor in an effort to distract him. It is a part that offers many opportunities for physical comedy and Christopher misses nary a one.

Some nice work is also provided by supporting performers, most notably Paula Vickers who makes her LTA debut as the mother of Tatro who stumbles into the charade and Bill Brannigan as the de-rigueur foil of the nosy superintendent of the apartment complex. As a sitcom type of play, of course there is a nosy super! His concern about the provision in the lease about not allowing unmarried couples to stay the night would seem to date the 1980 play just a bit.

Written by Jane Milmore and Billy Van Zandt. Directed by Frank Pasqualino. Design: John Downing (set) Sallyanne Bianchetta (costumes) Wanda Perkins and Margaret Snow (properties) Leighann Behrens and Justin Lang (lights) Dave Corriea (sound) Peter C. Piraneo (photography) Lauren Miller and Sherry Singer (stage managers). Cast: Alex Avila, Bill Brannigan, Greg Christopher, Ashley Edmiston, Larry Grey, Nora Petito, Nathan Tatro, Paula Vickers.

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Reviewed March 1
Running time 2:30 - one intermission
An English music hall style musical
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Storyline: In 1892, an English music hall presents the "world premiere" of the mystery story of just what happened to a young man by the name of Drood, and, if he has been murdered, just who did the deed? The story was what Charles Dickens was writing when he died. When the company gets to the point in the story where Mr. Dickens left off, they ask the audience to vote on which possible ending they should perform.

Director Adriana A. Hardy gets a very energetic performance out of her entire cast with many touches of the melodramatic presentation you'd expect of a music hall show that has to compete with a talkative audience enjoying their pints - Holmes perfectly described that ambiance in a song he wrote for the show but which was cut before it opened on Broadway: "where else can you trade insults with the band, with a pint in your hand and a lady's on your lap (and) where I can talk to friends if I don't like what's on the stage?" The over-the-top performance style and the high-energy dances well choreographed by Grace Manly Mechanic capture that style, but the complicating factor of unintelligibility of too many of the words in both the dialogue and the songs works to defeat the fun.

Kim-Scott Miller is the most understandable of the main characters. He's "the Chairman" - an English music hall's unique version of a master of ceremonies who interjects a joke or cajoles members of the audience to pay attention whenever it seems affairs are getting out of hand. Katie Gentic adopts a too-thick accent in the other lead role, the "trouser role" of a male impersonator playing both the young man Edwin Drood and the detective investigating "his" disappearance. Each of the major characters has a song of his or her own. Some of the accents are overdone, others are masked by the volume of the very solid sounding on-stage band.

It isn't clear just why Hardy and her set designer elected to present the play on a plain stage with movable steps and a platform in front of a plain rear wall that changes colors with the lighting. After all, the colorful costumes all attempt to create the image of a "gay nineties" music hall and the lighting has the super-bright settings for big dance numbers and other touches that emulate the effects you might have found in such a hall of the time. Yet the cast cavorts on what might be a scaffold with no Victorian frippery. The contrast is confusing and confusion is not what this show needs.

Music, lyrics and book by Rupert Holmes, adapted from the story by Charles Dickens. Directed by Adriana A. Hardy. Choreography by Grace Manly Mechanic. Musical direction by Christopher A. Tomasino. Dialect coaching by Carol Strachan. Design: Howard Vincent Kurtz (set) Farrell Ann M. Hartigan (costumes) Karin Craven (makeup and wigs) Kara Simon, Joanne Tompkins (properties) Patricia Bradford, Chris Hardy (lights) Alan Wray (sound) Peter C. Piraneo (photography) Joan A. S. Lada, Mel Reardon (stage managers). Cast: Christine Gahagan, Katie Gentic, Sharon Grant, Steven Haber, Heather Haehle, Rick Latterell, Kristen Lehl, Ryan Manning, Kim-Scott Miller, Donald Neal, Sam Nystrom, Shawn Perry, Elizabeth Sabin, Krissy Silvestro, Caroline Smith, Jolene Vettese.

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Reviewed January 18
Running time 1:30 - no intermission
A comedy of ideas by Steve Martin
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Storyline: In the Paris of 1904, in a small neighborhood bar called the Lapin Agile which actually exists in Montmontre, the local patrons include an as-yet undiscovered artist named Pablo Picasso and an as-yet unpublished physicist named Albert Einstein. Over glasses of wine they explain to the other patrons their views of what the new century holds, a century they each believe will be defined by their gifts. However, they are joined by two others who may be icons of the new century.

Martin wrote this diverting piece in 1993 and it has had a remarkably steady series of productions in small professional and community theaters ever since it premiered as the inaugural production of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company. It was greeted as full of optimism, wit and insight, dealing with sometimes weighty issues without being weighed down by any pomposity, and without taking itself too seriously. The play continues to offer just those delights.

LTA mounts it with their traditional substantial set and nicely detailed costumes, but with a cast of more varied skill level than usual. Michael Andrews makes a fine Einstein with an air of intelligence and a delight in the world that is just right for the part, but Mathew Hartman misses the air of passion and faith in the superiority of art that Martin wrote into the part of Pablo Picasso. Robert R. Heinly is quite good as the bartender and Rusty O'Connor adds a nice earthiness to the part of his girlfriend/waitress, but Joseph LeBlanc is awkward and requires amplification as the older bar patron who constantly has to exit toward the restroom. For each standout performance there is another disappointing one. Diane Mislevy is a delight as the young woman who comes to the bar looking for Picasso, but Bill Byrnes overdoes the officiousness of the art dealer. Scott Strasbaugh makes a fine candidate for icon of the century.

Director Michael A. Toscano (no relation to the Washington Post Extras theater critic with the same first and last name) adopts a slightly plodding pace for what should be a bright exchange of sharp dialogue. It is worth noting that, while the published script is touted as a "very engaging 75 minute" play, this performance takes a full fifteen minutes longer than that. The result is that gags that should fly by tend to land with a thud while the cast awaits a laugh. This is especially damaging in the spirited exchanges between Einstein and Picasso over the meaning of their work. (Picasso: "... yours is letters." Einstein: "Yours is lines." Picasso: "My lines mean something." Einstein: "So do mine." Picasso: "Mine touches the heart." Einstein: "Mine touches the head." Picasso: "Mine will change the future." Einstein: "Oh, and mine won't?")

Written by Steve Martin. Directed by Michael A. Toscano. Design: MYKE (set) Eileen Farrell (costumes) Karin Craven (hair and make-up) Jamie Blake and Margaret Snow (properties) Ken and Patti Crowley (lights and special effects) David Hale (sound) Peter Piraneo (photography) Kira Simon and Marg Soroos (stage managers). Cast: Michael Andrews, Bill Byrnes, Matthew Hartman, Robert R. Heinly, Jessica Lada, Joseph LeBlanc, Diane Mislevy, Rusty O'Connor, Scott Strasbaugh, Graham Taglang.  

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Reviewed November 4
Running time 1:40 - one intermission
A two-character tender comedy with an outstanding performance by Margaret Bush
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Storyline: Two residents of a welfare home for the elderly, a once-successful businessman and a genteel lady, meet and get to know each other over games of gin during a two week period. As each reveals more and more of their history, each perceives more and more of the true nature of their card partner. The frustrations of old age - anguish over financial and emotional security, pride in lives fully lived, sorrow over opportunities missed - are revealed slowly and with gentle humor.

The evening belongs to Margaret Bush who becomes the proud, proper lady approaching the end of a life lived precisely as she believed a woman's life should be lived. As the play progresses, more and more of her history is revealed, but it isn't the events of her past that are important, it is her strength of character that shines through. Bush is aged for the part with wig, makeup and costume that work well, but it is the acting that is so impressive here, not the impersonating. She simply brings this character to life.

Director Roland Branford Gomez emphasizes the humor rather than the pathos in this tender play which is full of both. The laughs from the repeated "beginners luck" of Bush's character over her new friend, the supposedly more experienced gin player, are enjoyable but tend to hide some of the more tender emotions of their evolving friendship. Part of this comes from Danaceau's over-reactions. His irascibility comes on so quickly that it is difficult to see why the deeper revelations about his own history aren't apparent earlier.

Living up to the Little Theatre of Alexandria tradition of impressive set designs, John Downing and Bill Glikbarg produce the courtyard of the home for the elderly as an almost too lovely vision with a charming gazebo, an arching bridge to the woods and a porch-lined building of warm tones emphasized by the matching lighting of Ken and Patti Crowley. The attractiveness of the set is at odds with the reality the play is trying to present, however, and the lightning of the approaching storm in Act II fails to generate the dread of the future that is at the heart of the matter.

Written by D. L. Coburn. Directed by Roland Branford Gomez. Design: John Downing and Bill Glikbarg (set) Chris Macey and Kathy Dodson (costumes) Judy Kee (properties) Ken and Patti Crowley (lights)  Alan Wray (sound) Peter Piraneo (photography) Margaret Evans-Joyce, Rance Willis and Carlyn Lightfoot (stage managers). Cast: Margaret Bush, Paul Danaceau.

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Reviewed September 18
Running time 2:40 - one intermission
A solid presentation of a touching comic play
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Storyline: Now in their early twenties, the brothers in the Jerome household in Long Island's Brighton Beach hope to break into the new medium of television as comedy writers so that they can make their fame and fortune and afford to move out of their parent's home. Their parent's marriage is breaking up as well and their grandfather lives with them rather than move to Florida with his wife.  Things come to a climax when the sons get their big break.

Gaskins has the principal role and she gives it a touching and very human portrayal, avoiding most of the traps of seeming too saccharine in the lighter moments or too morose in those scenes dealing with her reaction to her husband's infidelity. Fisk, making a Little Theatre of Alexandria debut, is restrained while clearly showing the pressures building inside as his character goes through his own crisis of identity. Also very good in a debut at this theater is Dick Hollands, as the grandfather, who spouts leftist views while clinging to some sense of dignity as the ravages of age and the problems of his family shake his confidence.

Director Howard Vincent Kurtz keeps the pace domestic, avoiding either excessively theatrical gimmicks in the humor of the piece or overly melodramatic pauses in the more touching moments. He gets a delightful scene out of the Act II session, where Argersinger's Eugene draws from Gaskin's otherwise terse stint as the mother, a flood of her memories of her youth. In this one scene, the warmth and humanity of Simon's youthful memories fill the theater with good feelings.

The quality of those central performances is not matched, however, in a few secondary roles. Brian Razzino never makes Eugene's older brother seem a real, live character and Eleni Aldridge is artificial in her few scenes as Eugene's aunt, who married into wealth, and visits from time to time driven over to Long Island by her chauffer from her Park Avenue home. Still, the overall impact of the show leaves the audience with a warm glow, having spent time with characters written by a talented writer who obviously loves them all.

Written by Neil Simon. Directed by Howard Vincent Kurtz. Design: John Downing (set) Karin Craven (costumes, hair and makeup) Betty Dolan (properties) Dick Schwab (lights) David B. Hale (sound) Peter C. Piraneo (photography) Bill Rinehuls (stage manager). Cast: Eleni Aldridge, Matthew Argersinger, Marcus Fisk, Jan Gaskins, Dick Hollands, Brian Razzino.

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Reviewed July 23
Running time 2:00 - one intermission
 A solidly satisfying production at every level
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Storyline: Using all the material from the two-record album (released back when albums were on phonograph records), the stage version tells the story of a boy put into a trauma-induced stupor by witnessing the cruelty of adults and then brought out of that mental isolation by the stimulation of the bells, lights, flashes and whistles of a pinball game and the reassuring security of maternal love.

The Who released their rock opera recording in 1969. Its combination of driving rhythms, distinctive guitar work, a few plaintive lyrics and a simple but touching story with the simplistic message that the important thing about being a human being is to be human, captured the attention of a generation of young people. A quarter of a century later these fans were thought to be ready for a Broadway mounting of the piece. Partially on the strength of the original work and even more importantly on the strength of the direction of Des McAnuff, who worked with The Who's Pete Townshend to expand the story to an evening's length, the show was a hit. It ran for over two years and spawned a number of tours and local productions. The hit "See Me, Feel Me" was the thread holding together the story and "Pinball Wizard" proved a satisfying conclusion for Act I, while "Listening to You (I Get the Music)" becomes an anthem for the finale of Act II.

With Ryan Talbot, Rafi Hernandez-Routlet and Steve Block in the all-white costume of Tommy at age 4, age 10 and young adulthood, the production benefits from a strong stage presence at each phase of the story. Block is the only one of the three who has a great deal of singing to do, and he pulls it off with clarity and vigor. Supporting them are Wade Corder and Janice Rivera as Tommy's parents who cause his near-catatonia in the first place, when he sees his real father kill the man he thought was his father. Their demand that he never tell a word of what he saw triggers his withdrawal into the condition sung about with the term "deaf, dumb and blind kid."  While there are solid performances by most of the supporting characters, it is the strength of the entire ensemble on the open-throated anthems that are the most impressive. 

Jared Davis designed a set consisting of a bridge with multiple spaces below and four rear-projections screens above which allows the action to proceed with hardly a moment's hesitation as scenes change from Tommy's home to a hospital to an arcade and back ag