Here are this week’s Scene Stealers honorees, Congrats to all of you!
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The Band Perry Singing “Pioneer’ at Wolf Trap on August 28, 2014
“My favorite moment of the night has to be when they performed “Pioneer.” As part of the intro, Kimberly tells the Audience that every night they dedicate “Pioneer” to a different cause or person, but that being so close to the heart of America, it was being dedicated to this country we all love. This is followed by Neil Perry carrying an American Flag on stage and placing it at the top of the risers set in the middle of the stage, the lights on stage dim. One spotlight is on the flag, and one is on Jason Fitz, TBP’s violinist, who begins a hauntingly beautiful violin rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner,” which leads into the opening verses of “Pioneer.” It brings chills to my spine just thinking back and recalling how beautiful that whole moment was.”-Anne Tsang.
https://youtu.be/sy-SZY_GCek
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Casey Baum (Eugene) and Mike Culhane (Stanley) in ‘The Report Card’ Scene in Brighton Beach Memoirs at Prince George’s Little Theatre
“With a production filled with exceptional acting, the one scene that moved me the most was the ‘report card’ scene between two brothers (who could not be more different) Eugene (Casey Baum) and older brother Stanley (Mike Culhane). Without giving away too much – the scene shows the exceptional range these two young actors displayed in their performances throughout the show. And from a person who has 5 brothers and went through a similar report card scene of my own with an older brother, Casey and Mike’s exceptional performances made it all so real. It was Déjà vu for me.”-Joel Markowitz
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In her review of Brighton Beach Memoirs on DCMetroTheaterArts, Ramona Harper said this about Casey and Mike’s performances:
“[Casey] Baum, the central character and narrator, is a tremendous talent who is surely destined to be dancing with the stars someday on Broadway. He holds center stage for much of this production with an easy confidence that’s easy to like. Casey is an actor who seems completely comfortable in his own young skin and he plays the role of Eugene with a lightheartedness that belies the depth of the character. He has an adorable quality about him as a young boy who teeters between being a kid and being an adult. Brighton Beach Memoirs is a great show for child actors and the three adolescent roles in this play are characterized and performed amazingly well….…Mike Culhane gives a consistently strong performance as Stanley, the admired older brother who feeds Eugene’s pubescent curiosity and sexual fantasies with tales of prostitutes and poker games.”
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Felicia Curry Singing “I’m Here” and “I Will Always Love You” in The Perfect Storm at Creative Cauldron
“After performing as Celie in Richmond’s Virginia Repertory Theatre’s production of The Color Purple, Felicia Curry delivered an impeccable and dramatic “I’m Here” from that show which brought some to tears – music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray. “I Will Always Love You” demonstrated Ms. Curry’s range and impressive ability to hold a note and keep the audience spell-bound.”-Diane Carroad
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Jill Goodrich (Blanche) and Nora Zanger (Kate) Get Things Off Their Chest in Brighton Beach Memoirs at Prince George’s Little Theatre.
“When one unemployed widowed sister and her two daughters move in to another sister’s cramped home with her two sons and exhausted husband – and there’s very little money and space – you know the inevitable ‘blow up’ is going to happen and when it does in PGLT’s production of Brighton Beach Memoirs, Jill Goodrich (Blanche) and Nora Zanger (Kate) let it all hang out. It’s a powerful and heartbreaking – and ultimately – a loving scene. And how many among us have experienced a similar scene with our siblings?-Joel Markowitz
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In her review of Brighton Beach Memoirs on DCMetroTheaterArts, Ramona Harper said this about Jill and Nora’s performances:
“Jill Goodrich gives a standout performance as Blanche as her character struggles to find her place in the world without the support of a man….Nora Zanger plays Kate with precision as the family matriarch who needles Eugene incessantly to go to the store, among other things and expresses her strong opinions on just about everything, as she provides the glue that holds the family together. Zanger has just the right amount of nervousness about her children’s problems as well as her widowed sister, Blanche (Jill Goodrich), whose husband died of the “Big C” six years earlier and has come to live with the Jeromes along with her two adolescent daughters, Laurie (Annalie Ellis), 13 a bright, mischievous manipulator, and Nora (Sophia Speciale) a beautiful, ambitious 16 year-old.”-Ramona Harper.
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Jesse N. Holmes Singing “An I’m Telling You I’m Not Going!” in “Sunset” in Hand Jobs at Page-to-Stage at The Kennedy Center
“The sunset referred to in Sunset is the one to be seen from the front porch of a house in Takoma that long-time lovers Daniel (Jesse N. Holmes, left) and Vernon (Gregory Ford, right) have shared for 20-plus years. Now Daniel needs a wheelchair and a walker, and Vernon is telling him he must get to a vital doctor’s appointment. But Daniel refuses. Terminally ill, he simply wants to stay and watch the sun go down together. The entire vignette is touching and tender beyond words. At a point Daniel breaks into song, the Jennifer Holiday showstopper from Dreamgirls (“And I am telling you, I’m not going!”). And it was as if the audience’s laughter broke through tears.”-John Stoltenberg.
LINKS
Review of Brighton Beach Memoirs on DCMetroTheaterArts by Ramona Harper.
Meet the Director and Cast of PGLT’s ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’: Part 1: Director Ken Kienas.
Meet the Director and Cast of PGLT’s ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’: Part 2: Annalie Ellis (Laurie).
Meet the Director and Cast of PGLT’s ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’: Part 3: Sophie Speciale (Nora)
Meet the Director and Cast of PGLT’s ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’: Part 4: Casey Baum (Eugene)
A Report From Page-to-Stage: ‘Hand Jobs’ by John Stoltenberg.
Review of The Band Perry and with Special Guest: Lindsay Ell at Wolf Trap by Anne Tsang.
Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 8/24/14.
Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 8/17/14.
Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 8/9/14.
Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 8/2/14.
Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 7/5/14.
Top Scene Stealers of the Week- Week Ending 6/28/14.
Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 6/21/14.
Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 6/13/14.
Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 6/06/14.
Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 5/29/14.
Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 5/22/14.
