Publisher: Elizabeth Hurd

2018

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XMAS: Consider Yourself DESTROYED… with LOVE

The Rokademy Experiment ready to destroy XMAS. Photo courtesy Matthew Alvin Brown.

Christmas is the most wonderful, sparkly, expensive, stressful, exhausting time of year. It’s steeped in tradition and oftentimes, redundancy. Thank goodness for small favors, like turning off the 24/7 radio repetition of the same fifteen songs. And for the Thelma Gaylord Academy’s Rokademy Experiment, which sets out to destroy that traditional Christmas bore… with love, of course. This group of teens is led by Matthew Alvin Brown, and they’re a rockin’ band of musical masterminds. The one night only special Christmas concert features music by The Ramones, The… Continue reading

Ridiculous Holiday Fun with The Boom’s Scrooge in Rouge

 

The absurdity that is Scrooge in Rouge. Photo courtesy The Boom.

Scrooge in Rouge is a raucous parody of the beloved Charles Dickens tale “A Christmas Carol”. All seriousness aside, no really, don’t expect a single moment of genuinely serious dialogue, it pokes fun of the most famous Christmas story ever told in the best way possible. Already a disaster before it’s begun, the cast enters the stage with bad news. Everyone in the show, the cast that would exist if it were actually “A Christmas Carol”, has gotten food poisoning. The remaining players promise to pull off the… Continue reading

“Whirling Winter Wonderlands” UCO’S Wondrous Variety Tribute to Christmas

Hope Chancey singing “Last Christmas’ Photo Courtesy of Steven Akins UCO

Merry Christmas!  It is a whirling wonderland outside; we even had a little snow the other day! And, with Oklahoma wind, things are certainly whirling!  Especially at the University of Central Oklahoma which is presenting “Whirling Winter Wonderlands” through December 15.    The program takes place in the Jazz Lab, off the UCO main campus.  “Whirling Winter Wonderlands” is an exciting variety show filled with old favorites we remember with joy. 

Reminiscent of the heyday of television Christmas Specials some decades ago, “Whirling… Continue reading

“Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” Enthralls Austen Fans

Callie Dewees as Miss Mary Bennet in “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” at OCU. Photo courtesy of Bryan Cardinale-Powell

Jane Austen is one of the most popular novelists of her period, writing about the social constructs of the late 18th century.  ‘Sense and Sensibility’ and ‘Pride and Prejudice’ are favorites and have also been adapted into popular plays.  Continuing that delightful aura is Lauren Gunderson with “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.”  This play is a sequel to ‘Pride and Prejudice’ two years after the novel ends.  Elizabeth and her love, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy as well… Continue reading

The Rokademy Experiment Destroys XMAS: with LOVE

The Rokademy Experiment Destroys XMAS: with LOVE. Photo courtesy Matthew Alvin Brown.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s so wonderful, sometimes you just can’t stand it. By mid-December, even the jolliest of holiday elves needs a little break. You may even be tempted to turn off the Christmas shopping radio commercials, roll up the windows to block out the wintry Oklahoma wind, and blast some not-so holy night rock ‘n roll power tunes. But, there’s an even better option for the steering wheel singer in us all! Just in time for a temporary reprieve from caroling and… Continue reading

OU University Theatre and Helmerich School of Drama present A Christmas Carol

OU University Theatre’s A Christmas Carol.

The quintessential Christmas story about second chances, ghostly visits, and the things we can and cannot change returns to OU University Theatre. A new adaptation by director Tom Huston Orr is staged this year, and it’s rich in the history of A Christmas Carol. With poetic dialogue and moving moments for the would-be hero Ebenezer Scrooge, the audience is led into the colorful world of Victorian London and the most wonderful Christmas tale ever told.

Micah Weese is exceptional as Scrooge. Weese is at first booming and commanding, then becoming softer and… Continue reading

Bon Appétit! at Carpenter Square’s “An Empty Plate at the Café du Grand Boeuf”

Holly McNatt and Glen Hallstrom as Mimi and Victor,

Michael Hollinger’s “An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf” is a story that’s really about people with more on their plates than they can handle!  Victor certainly seems unable to deal with the interesting dishes life has set before him.  He’s a devoted Hemingway enthusiast, and began his career as a young journalist for his father’s newspaper.  Along with writing, he was expected to do anything his father required, including babysit.  At his father’s death, he found himself quite wealthy, and 47 million dollars is… Continue reading

Lyric’s “A Christmas Carol” Inspires Audiences with the Charming Novella by Charles Dickens.

Lexi Windsor and Jennifer Lynn Teel (foreground) with Scrooge in background. Photo Courtesy of KO Rinearson

Lyric Theatre is presenting the favorite classic by Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” to Oklahoma audiences through December 24, 2018.  This Christmas extravaganza is an Oklahoma City favorite.  Michael Baron directs with flair and he also adapted the production from the novella, taking advantage of the novel attributes within the Lyric facilities to facilitate a very polished production with the special Baron touch.  He uses fragments of Walt Disney combined with a bit of Blake Edwards and a snippet of John… Continue reading

Pollard Delivers a Wonder with “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play”

 

Joshua McGowen, Kara Chapman, and Jared Blount (Foley artist) “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” Photo courtesy of The Pollard Theatre

In “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” playwright Joe Landry paid great homage to Frank Capra’s classic movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” from 1946.  Joshua McGowen continues that by paying homage to Jimmy Stewart’s captivating performance in the beloved movie.  Under director W. Jerome Stevenson’s thoughtful guidance, McGowen adopts Stewart’s distinctive speech pattern and mannerism, while making the character his own.  The radio play takes us back to a typical broadcast… Continue reading

Nostalgia and Holiday Memories Blend Beautifully in It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play

 

The cast of The Pollard’s It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

Historic Guthrie at Christmas is one of the most magical experiences in Oklahoma. The Pollard Theatre is a pivotal part of the traditional Christmas celebrations, and this year they’re offering a different story from the one they’ve become famous for. After the deaths of two important artists who helped create The Territorial Christmas Story, beloved Scrooge James Ong and playwright Stephen P. Scott, the company has decided to give themselves a year-long deep breath to recoup, and redesign, their traditional Christmas staple. This temporary… Continue reading

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