Larisa has been a Broadway fan since before she can remember. When she's not teaching kindergarten, she's seeing every show possible! Her three favorite shows are Hair, Spring Awakening, and In the Heights.
 BWW Interviews: JERSEY BOYS' Writer Rick Elice Discusses the Show's Beginnings
October 30, 2012
The national tour of the Tony Award-winning best musical Jersey Boys is starting an engagement at the Durham Performing Arts Center on October 30th. To commemorate the occasion, it was my honor to interview the show's book writer Rick Elice to find out more about this show which has become an international phenomenon.
 BWW Reviews: Raleigh Little Theatre's THE 39 STEPS is a Comedic Take on a Hitchcock Classic
October 16, 2012
Calling all Hitchcock fans - the comedic stage adaptation of The 39 Steps is the current production at the Raleigh Little Theatre. For everyone from those who know every Hitchcock movie inside and out to casual fans, there's something to enjoy.
 BWW Reviews: NC Theatre's LEGALLY BLONDE Charms Raleigh
October 12, 2012
Part of the latest group of movies-turned-Broadway-musicals is Legally Blonde, which is now at the North Carolina Theatre, in the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium of the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts.
 A Sneak Peek at LEGALLY BLONDE, Playing NC Theatre This Week
October 9, 2012
North Carolina Theatre's Legally Blonde opens this week at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium of the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh. Over the weekend, I had the chance to peek behind the scenes and into dress rehearsal to give you a taste of what's to come.
 BWW Reviews: SOUVENIR Brings Big Heart and Bigger Laughs to Theatre Raleigh
October 6, 2012
Souvenir is, in some ways, unassuming and small, but in the ways that count, it is big.
 BWW Reviews: WAR HORSE Delights as it Gallops into Durham
October 3, 2012
The 2011 Tony Award Winning Best Play War Horse is now touring the nation, and is in Durham this week. The play, based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, follows a young man named Albert as he enlists in the British army during World War I to find his beloved horse Joey, who was sold to the army by his father.
 BWW Reviews: RED is a Brushstroke of Genius at PlayMakers Repertory Company
September 26, 2012
There's something magical happening on stage at PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill. Their production of John Logan's Red is one which you will not want to miss! The play, which won the Tony Award for best play in 2010, tells the story of painter Mark Rothko and his assistant, Ken. Over the course of two years, the two work together to create art, and to discuss the very nature of life, art, and creation.
 BWW Reviews: NEXT TO NORMAL Shows Promise at Theatre in the Park
September 11, 2012
Despite some instances of singing upstage and offstage, the direction was good, and the cast members certainly tackled the intense vocal demands of the show.
 BWW Reviews: BRIGADOON is Enchanting at Raleigh's Burning Coal Theatre
September 9, 2012
Right in the heart of downtown Raleigh, there is a magical town popping up, thanks to Burning Coal Theatre Company's current production of Brigadoon. Their small space comes to life as the enchanted Scottish village in this classic 1947 Lerner and Loewe musical.
 BWW Reviews: ROCKY HORROR Gets Audiences Dancing and Shouting at Raleigh Little Theatre
August 26, 2012
Rocky Horror is so much more than just a musical. It's an experience.
 BWW Reviews: Hot Summer Nights | Theatre Raleigh's AVENUE Q is a Hilarious Hit
August 17, 2012
Did you ever wonder what would have happened if Sesame Street grew up with us and continued teaching us important life lessons even as adults? Wonder no more -Avenue Q has made its way to downtown Raleigh with Hot Summer Nights | Theatre Raleigh.
 BWW Interviews: Talking AVENUE Q with Hot Summer Nights | Theatre Raleigh's Director and Cast
August 15, 2012
This week, Hot Summer Nights | Theatre Raleigh brings us the Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q, which tells the story of several puppets and humans on a quest for meaning and purpose while trying to make ends meet in New York City. I had the pleasure of sitting down with the director, Richard Roland, and also the women in the cast. I asked them about the process of putting together the show, handling puppets and humans at the same time, and why Avenue Q resonates with audiences, even a decade after its premiere on Broadway.
 BWW Interviews: Talking Marriage and Mamet with Alan Campbell and Lauren Kennedy
August 3, 2012
It was recently my great pleasure to sit down and talk with Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell, of Hot Summer Nights | Theatre Raleigh, about their current production of Race, and their unique creative relationship for the production. The two are married, and this was the first time that Alan has acted in a play which Lauren directed. The two discussed how they met, how they keep their talent crushes alive, and how they worked together to create this emotionally-charged piece of theater.
 BWW Reviews: RACE Gets Audiences Talking at Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy
August 2, 2012
Marking the first time that actor/director Lauren Kennedy has directed her Tony-nominated husband Alan Campbell in a play, Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy in downtown Raleigh is currently featuring Race, a play by contemporary American playwright David Mamet. Race is the third show of the season, and is one which certainly does not shy away from controversial topics.
 BWW Reviews: Bianca Marroquin and Cast Razzle Dazzle Durham Audiences in CHICAGO
August 1, 2012
Tuesday night at DPAC was a good news/bad news situation. The bad news: the much-publicized Christie Brinkley was not able to perform her role of Roxie Hart in Chicago, due to illness. The good news: Bianca Marroquin was flown in from NYC, right from the Broadway production of Chicago to fill in for Brinkley. The best news: Marroquin is brilliant! She absolutely oozes star quality from every pore of her body, and the audience forgot, within seconds of Marroquin's entrance, that they were not seeing the person they thought they would see in the role.
 BWW Reviews: OLIVER! Lights Up NC Theatre
July 20, 2012
NC Theatre is keeping kids busy this summer by putting the best and the brightest young performers, from the Triangle area and beyond, center stage in their current production of Oliver! The show, based on the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, follows young orphan Oliver on a journey from the workhouse to a life of luxury.
 BWW Reviews: Tap the Night Away with DAMES AT SEA at Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy
July 8, 2012
Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy, right in downtown Raleigh, is making the most of their small space by taking on the ambitious project of staging Dames at Sea, the musical which is most known for launching the career of Bernadette Peters in the late 1960s. Though the space is intimate, the show is big.
 BWW Reviews: Hilarity Flies into Raleigh with BOEING BOEING by Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy
June 19, 2012
I have a theory when it comes to the theater. That theory states that the number of doors on a set is directly correlated to the hilarity which will ensue onstage. There are 6 doors on stage at Boeing Boeing at Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy - 7 if you count the big double-doors as two separate doors. That's a lot of doors, and a lot of laughter.
 BWW Reviews: Theatre in the Park's CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF Brings Deep South to Raleigh
June 13, 2012
Kick off your summer down south in the Mississippi delta with Theatre in the Park's current production of the seminal American play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
 BWW Reviews: WEST SIDE STORY Heats Up Durham
June 7, 2012
Everybody knows West Side Story. Even if you have never seen the show before, even if you haven't seen the movie, you know West Side Story. The iconic show is so enmeshed in American culture that it is inescapable. For good reason, I might add. West Side Story is landmark theater, marking the genesis of the modern musical. And it's at the Durham Performing Arts Center now.
 Summer Stages: BWW's Top Summer Theatre Picks - Raleigh/Durham!
June 7, 2012
Check out these summer offerings in the Raleigh/Durham area soon!
 BWW Interviews: WEST SIDE STORY Comes to DPAC - The Creative Process with Joey McKneely
June 5, 2012
One of the most well-known shows of all time, West Side Story, is coming to the Durham Performing Arts Center this June. In anticipation of its arrival, I spoke with Joey McKneely, the show's choreographer, to gain insight into the unique elements of this production. He offered a glimpse into the creative minds of the late Jerome Robbins and Arthur Laurents. He explains why every generation needs to experience the power of West Side Story, and why this imagining of the production brings to light the relevance of the themes.
 BWW Reviews: Manbites Dog Theater Does a Lot With a Little in IN ON IT
June 1, 2012
Two actors, two chairs, one jacket. Physically, that's what is on stage right now at Manbites Dog Theater in Durham. Their current production of Daniel MacIvor's play In on It almost redefines minimalism, in a sense. It almost seems like those elements of the show (set, props, etc.) are stepping aside to let the work itself shine. And shine it most certainly does.
BWW Interviews: WEST SIDE STORY Comes to DPAC in June - The Creative Process with Joey McKneely
May 20, 2012
One of the most well-known shows of all time, West Side Story, is coming to the Durham Performing Arts Center this June. In anticipation of its arrival, I spoke with Joey McKneely, the show's choreographer, to gain insight into the unique elements of this production. He offered a glimpse into the creative minds of the late Jerome Robbins and Arthur Laurents. He explains why every generation needs to experience the power of West Side Story, and why this imagining of the production brings to light the relevance of the themes.
 BWW Interviews: The JERSEY BOYS Talk Durham Engagement this Fall
May 15, 2012
Get ready for the 2012-2013 season at the Durham Performing Arts Center! One of the major events this fall will be the arrival of the national tour of the 20th-longest running Broadway musical, Jersey Boys. At a recent event, I had the chance to chat with Matt Bailey (Tommy DeVito), Alayna Gallo (Lorraine and others), and Kevin Crewell (Bob Crewe and others) from the national touring company of Jersey Boys about the show, their experiences, and their acting beginnings. They had a lot to say, including some particularly nice things about the Durham Performing Arts Center as a venue.
 BWW Reviews: WICKED Flies Back into Durham
May 5, 2012
Wicked has clearly established itself as a runaway success, so I don't think what people need now is my personal "review" of the show. Ever since being nominated for the Tony Award for best musical, people have known that the show is good. But I do want to put in my two cents about seeing the touring company at the Durham Performing Arts Center.
 BWW Reviews: Looking Back or Looking Forward - HENCEFORWARD... at Deep Dish Theater
April 30, 2012
There's a first time for everything. This past weekend marked the first time I saw a play in which one of the main characters is a robot. You're going to have to trust me that it's not quite as strange as it sounds - it's Deep Dish Theater Company's production of Alan Ayckbourn's Henceforward. So, R2-D2 doesn't take the stage, but two of the actresses share the role of a NAN300F, a robot originally designed to care for children.
 BWW Reviews: Bringing Hardy to Life: JUDE THE OBSCURE at Burning Coal Theatre Company
April 22, 2012
New work is exciting - it is the lifeblood of the arts community. I am honored by every opportunity I get to see new work opening itself up to the world for the very first time. I was particularly honored to see Burning Coal Theatre Company's world premiere of Jude the Obscure because it is based on my very favorite book.
 BWW Reviews: NOISES OFF, Funny On at PlayMakers Repertory Company
April 16, 2012
This sounds like an exaggeration, but I promise that it's not: Noises Off at PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill is, honest-to-goodness, the funniest thing I have seen in quite some time. It reminded me that live theater is magical - I cannot think of a single movie which is as funny as this live-action comedy. Michael Frayn's writing is brilliant - how any human is able to write something so tight and fast-paced is beyond me. It's not a popular piece for nothing. Under the skillful direction of Michael Michetti, the cast is able to capture the blissful comedy of the piece, beat by beat.
 What to See in the Triangle 2011-2012 Season
April 12, 2012
There's so much already going on this season in Triangle theater! I'm so thrilled by what I've seen so far, and I cannot wait to dive into so many more amazing productions. I can't tell you exactly what to see, but I'll let you know what I am definitely going to be seeing this year.
 Edward Albee Meets Twitter at Playmakers Rep this December
December 16, 2011
Playmakers Repertory Company recently approached me with an unconventional request - to use my phone during a play. Phone usage, while generally frowned upon, can potentially serve a legitimate function for a theater production. PRC was hosting a pilot-run "Tweet Seats" event, in which a group of people (seated respectfully in the back row) live-tweeted during a Tuesday night performance of Edward Albee's 1962 play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Live-tweeting has been a presence in the media lately - major newspapers have written about it, and theater companies across the country are trying it in various forms. It is a unique medium in which folks at home can interact with people who are actually watching the show. It has been successful in other venues - Jeff Probst tweets during every episode of Survivor - does it have a place in live theater? We'll see.
What to See in the Triangle 2011-2012 Season
October 27, 2011
There's so much already going on this season in Triangle theater! I'm so thrilled by what I've seen so far, and I cannot wait to dive into so many more amazing productions. I can't tell you exactly what to see, but I'll let you know what I am definitely going to be seeing this year.
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