Go and Meet Those Dancing Feet – Ogunquit’s ’42nd Street’ is a Gem

by Mike Hoban

42nd StreetMusic by Harry Warren, Lyrics by Al Dubin, Book by Michael Stewart & Mark Bramble, Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes; Original Direction and Dances by Gower Champion; Originally produced on Broadway by David Merrick; Director/Choreographer, Randy Skinner; Associate Choreographer, Sara Brians; Music Director, Jeffrey Campos; Original Scenic Design, Douglas Schmidt; Lighting Design, Richard Latta; Costume Design, Roger Kirk; Sound Design, Ed Chapman. Presented by Ogunquit Playhouse, Rte. 1, Ogunquit, Maine through July 13.

From its wildly energetic opening number to the big finale featuring the title song, the Ogunquit production of 42nd Street is everything you’d want from a BIG summer musical. Killer dance routines with an army of glitzily costumed hoofers, one of the genre’s best known and loved scores performed with verve by a deep and talented cast, a megawatt Broadway star (Rachel York) at the top of her game, and a storyline as light as the cotton candy at a traveling carnival.

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Ogunquit’s ‘GRUMPY OLD MEN’ Delivers Love, Laughs from the Senior Set

 

by Sheila Barth

 

BOX INFO: US premiere of two-act musical comedy written by Dan Remmes, and the late Nick Meglin, with music by Neil Berg, directed by Matt Lenz. Appearing through September 1, Ogunquit Playhouse, 10 Main St., Ogunquit, Maine. Starring Broadway’s Ed Dixon and Marc Jacoby, with Sally Struthers and guest star Hal Linden. Tickets start at $52. ogunquitplayhouse.org, 207-646-5511.

 

When Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning comedic veteran Sally Struthers and Emmy and Tony Award winner Hal Linden appear at the Ogunquit Playhouse with a stellar Broadway cast, such as they do in Dan Remmes’ new two-act musical  comedy, “Grumpy Old Men,” you know you’re in for a slap-happy feast.

 

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Ogunquit’s “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” is a Spectacular Songfest

 

by Sheila Barth

 

There’s no other way to say it.

 

Ogunquit Playhouse’s opening season,90-minute, one-act, super songfest, “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” based on the music of multi-award winners Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, is sensational, spectacular, stupendous, and superlative in every way.

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Ogunquit’s Dark and Powerful ‘Ragtime’ Couldn’t Be More Well-Timed

 

by Mike Hoban

 

‘Ragtime’ – Based on a novel written by E. L. Doctorow. Book by Terrence McNally, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and Music by Stephen Flaherty. Directed by Seth Sklar-Heyn; Scenic Design by Tim Mackabee; Lighting Design by Richard Latta; Sound Design by Kevin Heard. Costumes based on original designs by Santo Loquasto and Coordinated by Molly Walz. Music Direction by Jeffrey Campos; Choreography by Jesse Robb. Presented by the Ogunquit Playhouse, 102 Main St (Rte 1), Ogunquit, ME through August 26.

 

Towards the end of the second act of “Ragtime”, now being given an artistically brilliant and emotionally unsettling staging at the Ogunquit Playhouse, Kirsten Scott (as Mother) delivers a breathtaking version of one of the Tony Award-winning musical’s standout numbers, “Back to Before”. The final line, “We can never go back to before,” refers not only to her transformation from subservient wife to self-actualized woman, but also to the larger issues that were changing (for the better) at the turn of the 20th century, such as the strengthening labor and woman suffrage movements, as well as the notion that “negroes” and immigrants might actually be people too.

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