A skillful acting ensemble carry the farcical intent of the Wetumpka Depot's production of Karen Schaeffer's The Bachelorette Party in a raucous laugh-out-loud evening. Director Beth Butler guides them through two acts of non-stop antics that leave audiences entertained throughout and happy at the outcome. Even with last minute casting changes, the company [Tammy Arvidson, Seth Bordlee, Brad Cooper, Sydney Burdette Humphrey, Josh Carples, Christina Knuckles, Zac Morris, Brad Sinclair, Leanna Wallace] only occasionally appear tentative in their physical and vocal commitment, so audiences go wil ..read more

With clever dialogue and engaging performances by Theatre AUM's seven ensemble actors under Neil David Seibel's able direction, Buddies: a Bro-mantic Comedy by Ben Abbott opened its Alabama debut on Thursday after its generation at the "Hollins Playwrights Lab" last Summer. In a series of episodes, David [Meadow Lokey] and Julia [Sam Crevensten] host concurrent gatherings at their home: a book-club meeting for the women which is more about gossip than literature, and an awkward men's meeting where they watch football and reveal little about themselves or their mates. Julia's sister Kelsey ..read more

It's all about the music on the closing weekend of Sheldon Epps's 1980 musical revue Blues in the Night in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's intimate Octagon Theatre. -- Directed by Ron OJ Parson, audiences are taken back to a run-down Chicago hotel c.1938, where three nameless women stay in their individual shabby rooms [scene design by Shaun Motley; costume design by Celeste Jennings] and share their experiences with the Blues through song. There is no linear story, very little dialogue, and only a smattering of interaction among them, but lots of contact with the audience. -- And ..read more

For those lucky enough to have tickets for the final weekend of Monty Python's Spamalot [2004] at the Wetumpka Depot, you're in for a treat as director Kristy Meanor's energetic ensemble acting company and collaborative design and creative team continue their raucously irreverent musical journey following the excellent double-act of King Arthur [Scott Page] and his loyal horse Patsy [David Rowland] in their quest for the Holy Grail. "Lovingly ripped off from the motion picture 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'" [1975], fans of the film gleefully anticipate the rogues-gallery of Pythonesqu ..read more

Yet again, the Pike Road Theatre Company, under James Keith Posey's astute direction, has delivered a dazzling production that entertains and inspires: Irving Berlin's White Christmas: the Musical.  In its two-year history, the PRTC's five show main season, as well as many successful ventures into Theatre for Youth, the largely sold-out runs have involved and entertained countless Pike Road residents and citizens from across the River Region. What an accomplishment! -- But this could be the last production at the Pike Road Intermediate School. Check the PRTC website for updates. This time ..read more

The Wetumpka Depot is currently showcasing a new play for children by Jean Webb, inspired by the Kenneth Grahame novel The Wind in the Willows.  Ms. Webb's Once Upon a Christmas has all the familiar characters -- Rat, Badger, Mole, Toad, Otters, Weasels -- who join forces at Christmas to help some of them in distress. It seems that Mrs. Otter is missing, Mr. Otter is injured, the three Little Otters are thrust upon four bachelors to help them through the holidays, and the suspicious Weasels are on the loose. Director Kristy Meanor has two separate casts of actors at her disposal [I saw Ca ..read more

Michael Snead's directing debut of Pat Cook's A Good Old-Fashioned Big Family Christmas got off to a good start at the Millbrook Community Theatre on Thursday night, entertaining its audience with a good-hearted, family-friendly Holiday-themed comedy. Played on a charming "living room" set enhanced by a new L.E.D. lighting system, the 1-hour and 40-minutes production is told in a series of short scenes that could flow better with fewer blackouts and the addition of music between them; and, as Mr. Snead develops his directing skills, he'll get a stronger sense of pace and staging dynamics. A 14 ..read more

In Charles Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, director Rick Dildine delivers his intentionally family-friendly, humorous, music-filled, ensemble production to inaugurate the Holiday Season in the River Region. It is a delight to the eyes and ears of audiences through evocative sets and masterful projections by Edward T. Morris, enhanced by Jeff Behm's sophisticated lighting, and Kathleen Geldard's lovely period costumes. -- An on-stage instrumental quintet invites audience participation as they play and sing numerous countryfied holiday tunes as arranged b ..read more

Impressive singing highlights the Pike Road Theatre Company's production of Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical. As directed by James Keith Posey, the 1990 Frank Wildhorn-Leslie Bricusse musical demands stamina from its acting company during the two-and-a-half-hour playing time, and has the audience cheering throughout. Part One: The Source and Legacy -- Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a Gothic "penny dreadful" novella titled Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886, in which an intelligent and well-liked Dr. Jekyll, curious about the duality of human nature, combined with his desire to destroy ..read more

"If you write a play of this, do it right, say it correct" is the charge given to Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project on their departure from Laramie, Wyoming after one-and-a-half-years of conducting interviews with the town's residents following the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. -- The end result is The Laramie Project [2000] now on stage at the Cloverdale Playhouse. And the Playhouse  "did it right"; they "said it correct". Matthew Shepard was a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, slight of build, seemingly well-liked; and he was targeted, severely beaten, pistol ..read more