Mark Fairchild as Scotty and Lilli Bassett as Marilyn gang up on Linda McDonald as Abby over dinner

Carpenter Square begins the 34^th season of excellent community theatre to Oklahoma City audiences with David Lindsay-Abaire’s recent play “Ripcord” premiering in 2015. The comedy is billed as a cross between ‘Odd Couple’ and ‘Golden Girls’ and follows the somewhat shallow surface of the best television situation comedies.  Good comedy is based on tragic possibilities at the very least, and while the prominent appreciation of situation comedies on television rarely delved into the meaty aspects of tragedy, “Ripcord” certainly does.… Continue reading →

Matthew Alvin Brown as Charlotte von Mahlsdorf in “I Am My Own Wife” from Lyric Production.

One of the most outstanding shows seen by okartsceneandhurd is a Lyric Production of “I Am My Own Wife” starring the talented Matthew Alvin Brown.  The Lyric production is now a co-production by Lyric and Tulsa Project Theatre.  Directed by Michael Baron is now showing in Tulsa from September 13 through September 24, 2017.  The theatre address is 110 E. 2^nd Street in Tulsa and tickets and information is available by calling 918-770-6679 or visit www.tulsaprojecttheatre.com.  They also… Continue reading →

Gathered writers marvel at Max Prince (Sid Caesar, portrayed by Timothy Stewart)

Neil Simon’s “Laughter on the 23^rd Floor” was born in “Your Show of Shows” — 90 minutes of exceptional television history.  Some may remember sneaking out of bed to sit on the hard hall floor peeking around the door to watch the 9:00 o’clock extravaganza and falling in love with Imogene Coca.  While the love scene between Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster on the beach in From Here to Eternity is a favorite romantic movie classic it is still the face of Imogene Coca in… Continue reading →

Tad Thurston as Atticus Finch and David Patterson as Bob Ewell flank Brian C, Scott (seated) as Tom Robinson in the courtroom

Jewel Box Theatre, an Oklahoma City tradition, kicks off the 2017-2018 season with “To Kill A Mockingbird” a powerful story by Harper Lee.  Harper Lee’s book came out in 1960 and earned the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. By 1970 the book was expertly adapted to the stage by Christopher Sergel.  A film, also a classic starring Gregory Peck, was adapted for the screen by Horton Foote. The movie garnered numerous Academy Award nominations with Peck winning… Continue reading →

Renee Krapff, Greg White, David Fletcher-Hall and Claudia Fain

“Private Lives” is only one of the great Noel Coward’s masterpieces and it is full of vim and vigor.  The play from 1930 is sophisticated and elegant, a hallmark of that glorious period of witty repartee and snappy comebacks.  “Private Lives” reveals the essence of the period, when the world was transitioning from the excesses of the 1920’s to the stark survival mode brought about by the depression.  Audiences were enabled to escape privation and recall worry-free, free-wheeling times. The comedy was then, as it is now, a… Continue reading →

Cast of “In The Heights” Photo courtesy of Kirk Tuck

The music and lyrics of “In The Heights” fill the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre at the Civic Center Music Hall.  Lin Manuel-Miranda is an extremely successful talent and “In The Heights” is only one of the many exciting shows he has developed.  Miranda originally wrote “In The Heights” in 1999 and began revising the script in 2002.  In 2004 Quiara Alegria Hudes joined the team and wrote the book for the award winning musical.  Premiering on Broadway in 2008, “In The Heights” earned four Tony… Continue reading →

MaryJoanna Grisso as Maria and Austin Colby as they fall in love at the dance. Photo courtesy of KO Rinearson

Any time the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim and the music of Leonard Bernstein are together love happens and in “West Side Story” there is love, heartache, joy and song.  The book is by Arthur Laurents and the story is based on a concept by Jerome Robbins.  The idea isn’t exactly original; after all “West Side Story” is the American “Romeo and Juliet” from the 50’s and that is no secret!  Jerome Robbins originally directed and choreographed the… Continue reading →

Ashley Frisbee as Nell Gwynne (left) and
Kathryn McGill as Aphra Behn (right) in
Liz Duffy Adams “Or”

Liz Duffy Adams is a fascinating playwright, but playwright Aphra Behn has nearly been forgotten and Adams brings her to life in the comic story of a transformative night in Behn’s life.  Before becoming a playwright, Behn was a spy working for Charles II, a life she wished to leave behind.  She has a chance to have her play produced, almost a miracle in England in the 1660’s for a woman.  This is her opportunity to leave behind her… Continue reading →