By Jay Menard

If one could focus exclusively on the dance and tune everything else out, Rebellion would be an excellent dance show. The performers, from The Dance Movement, execute the choreography beautifully. They are strong dancers as an ensemble, performing flawless synchronization when called for, and standing out as individuals when given the chance.

Unfortunately, direction and production decisions makes it impossible to tune the others out. And the dancers are obscured by directorial decisions that are implemented with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The performance suffers as a result and the dancers are the victims of the decisions. Continue reading →

By Jay Menard

Mike Delamont is a veteran of the Fringe circuit and has graced the London Fringe stages for years — often as God, the Scottish Drag Queen, and last year as himself in a deeply personal production about his mother. But this year, Delamont has released his wild side and gives the Devil his due in Hell Yeah! An Evening with the Devil.

Delamont is a true professional. He’s built up enough cachet to be able to phone it in once in awhile, but he consistently delivers hilarious writing, structured content, and an incredibly immersive performance. He eschews the Scottish brogue and frumpy dress for a drawl reminiscent of a southern preacher, hikes up his slacks, slicks down his hair, and buffs his Ned Flanders-esque “Dr. Fuzzenstein.” Continue reading →

By Jay Menard

So Tevye may not need another daughter, but it clearly can use some refinement, edits, focus, and better pacing. There is a rudimentary foundation of a story in this play, but a lack of subtlety in delivery and challenges with its pacing causes that promising potential to be lost.

The production is Monda Halpern’s So Tevye, Could You Use Another Daughter. And there’s a certain chutzpah involved with name dropping Tevye in a production. Due to the iconic status of the character (known from Fiddler on the Roof and the Tevye series of novels from whence the film and play were inspired), you’re setting expectations extremely high about the quality of the content, at very least. When those expectations are elevated, it’s beholden on all involved to live up to them. Continue reading →