I keep wanting to insert a comma into the title of this show, turning it into "Baby, It's You." I don't know why, or which version of it would be the grammatically correct one. The show is advertised as the story of Florence Greenberg, a housewife from Passaic, New Jersey who "discovers" the Shirelles and turns them into one of the biggest girl groups of all-time and becomes the first woman to head a record company. But at the end of the show, I didn't really feel that I'd learned all that much about any of the characters. Part of the problem is that the story is told to us, not shown to us. The book of the musical seems only to serve to introduce the (familiar) music. In addition, a large portion of the show ... read more

During the first intermission at The Importance of Being Earnest yesterday, gentleman behind us turned to his companion and asked "Do you remember how this ends?" My sister muttered, "Please, don't tell us." Fortunately, either the gentleman heard my sister, or his companion said they did know, so we didn't have the ending spoiled for us. And I'm not going to spoil it for you, except to say that it does end happily for those who deserve it. Although we did wonder a bit about the ultimate legality of one of the relationships..... This three act play (with incredible sets by Desmond Heeley), revolves around 2 young men who fall in love with women who will only marry men named Earnest and who think that the 2 men are actually named that. Why do the women ... read more

Looking at the title I just typed, I have added one more question to the list I have regarding this play. What exactly does this title mean? Who was born yesterday? Or who wasn't born yesterday? And most importantly, why should I care? I spent a lot of time during this play wondering why I should care about these people and their lives. Jim Belushi plays Harry Brock, a New Jersey junk dealer who comes to Washington DC to make a deal with a senator. He brings along his dumb blonde girlfriend (Broadway newcomer Nina Arianda), and decides that in order to keep her from embarrassing him, she needs to be smarter. To accomplish that he hires the reporter who lives down the lane, Robert Sean Leonard as Paul Verrall. Add to this mix Frank Wood ... read more

When Steph announced she was going to be spending some time in NY, my mind of course turned to THEATER! So, after a bit of debating, we decided to get tickets for the Wednesday matinee of Wicked, and invited my sister to join us. Now, this was Steph's first time seeing it, Nancy's second or third, and my 8th (that counts one time in Melbourne, Australia). Seeing a show multiple times has its benefits and its drawbacks. The benefit is, you know the story, you know when intermission is (helps getting to the ladies' room quickly), and you know what you like about it. The drawback? A new cast can sometimes be a bit of a disappointment when you compare them to the original. And that was my problem with this cast of Wicked. As mentioned, ... read more

This year is a big one for movie to musical adaptations (Priscilla, Sister Act and Catch Me if You Can). Priscilla and Sister Act were music heavy movies while Catch Me if You Can was a non-musical drama. Priscilla has reused most of the songs used in the film (with some changes for American versus Australian audiences), but Sister Act has apparently gone with an entirely new score. Catch Me if You Can has gone in a completely different direction, framing the story of forger/con man Frank Abagnale, Jr. as a 1960's style variety show. This fortunate fall-outs of this device are a whole host of spectacular productions numbers, incredible light effects of the on-stage orchestra stand and gorgeous costumes. However, it had the detrimental effect of distancing me from the story. All the pretty costumes ... read more