musical

'The Lion King' comes to life in Syracuse
By Danielle Hinckley
September 10, 2011 - 2:32pm
Review: The hit Broadway musical stages a four-week run at the Crouse Hinds Theater in Syracuse.

Since its Broadway debut in 1997, “The Lion King” has been entrancing audiences around the world. Now, Syracuse is joining the roar of approval.

Opening night elephants, gazelles, birds, giraffes and lions processed to the impressive Pride Rock on the stage of the Crouse Hinds Theater, as the African chants recognizable as the beginning of “Circle of Life” fill the auditorium.

Review: "Spelling Bee" a G-O-O-D time
By Heather N. Duggan
April 15, 2011 - 1:49pm
First-year students shine in the Tony-award winning musical, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."

There was hardly an open seat on the floor of the Goldstein Auditorium as the First Year Players opened their rendition of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” The actors' vibrant performances were the strong point of the single act, two-hour play.


“The Spelling Bee” is about pre-teens, complete with stereotypical personalities, trying to win their county's top spelling competition. It's a musical sprinkled with humor and has been preformed on Broadway, as well as by theater groups all over the world.

Daniel Radcliffe set for Broadway
By Sarah Hurwitz
February 23, 2011 - 10:15pm
'Harry Potter' star cast in remake of 1961 musical.

Daniel Radcliffe is assuming the musical role of the classic business man J. Pierrepont Finch in the Broadway revival of the 1961 classic How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. 
As Finch, he begins in the mailroom of Manhattan's World Wide Wicket and works his way up the corporate ladder. 

A mixed 'Chorus Line'
By Diep Tran
October 13, 2010 - 12:50am
Review: Uneven performances keep 'A Chorus Line' from great heights at the Crouse Hinds Theater.

Difficulties in the Tuesday performance of A Chorus Line, presented by the Famous Artist Broadway Theater Series and playing at the Oncenter, proved that a chorus line is only as strong as the performers within it.

'A Chorus Line' of SU alums
By Diep Tran
October 9, 2010 - 11:36pm
Three Syracuse University alumni perform in the national tour of "A Chorus Line," coming to the Crouse Hinds Theater.

Syracuse alumnus Nick Nerio got a special Christmas present when he was 10 years old: the original Broadway cast recording of A Chorus Line.

“I wore out the CD listening to it,” Nerio said. “I just love the opening number as the director calling out, ‘step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch’ and you can hear the dancers doing the steps. I just fell in love with it.”

[title of review]
By Jessica Showers
October 3, 2010 - 8:23pm
Review: Rarely Done Productions puts on [title of show], a musical about writing a musical, at Syracuse's Jazz Central.

In the third song of [title of show], Hunter, dressed as a sandwich board advertisement that reads “An Original Musical,” gives Jeff a satirical crash course in how to put on a Broadway-worthy production. He promotes an over-the-top set, a huge cast and a full symphony orchestra. And when Jeff says he wants to use just four chairs, four cast members and a keyboard, Hunter replies that Jeff needs at least “a turntable or a freakin’ electric blimp or something.” 

FringeNYC's uneven experience
By Diep Tran
August 30, 2010 - 5:29pm
Reviews: Choosing shows at the New York International Fringe Festival is an artistic risk, as two fringe shows indicate.

The New York International Fringe Festival can only be described by one word: random.

Random in shows, random in jokes, and random in quality.

This means that when choosing shows, there’s always the chance that it will either be a questionable decision or it may be the best show that you’ve seen this season.

For me, the two shows I saw during the festival embodied this random occurrence concept.

Zombies, dark comedies and Facebook theater among options at FringeNYC
By Diep Tran
August 25, 2010 - 8:52pm
It can be tough to choose from among 200 comedies, musicals and dramas at the budget-friendly festival.

What happens when you have 200 plays, five days in New York City to see them, and a student budget?

The answer: Choose whichever one seems promising and pray that it’s worth the inexpensive $15 ticket. And this was the conundrum I found myself in during the second week of the New York International Fringe Festival.

Fringe Theater is theater that is non-mainstream, the type that is off-Broadway and not meant for mass appeal. In other words, no Wicked or Jersey Boys.

Witnessing "Wicked" From a New Point of View
By Jessica Novak
February 2, 2010 - 2:08pm
I had the opportunity to see the musical "Wicked" from the pit orchestra and learned about more than the music, but also how hard life on the road can be.

Seeing Wicked from the skewed view of the pit orchestra was like losing one of my five senses. While some senses were hindered, others were enhanced, making the experience one of heightened awareness and appreciation.