Indy Theatre Habit

 
I had a wonderful, wonderful first day of shows at the 2010 Indianapolis Fringe Theatre Festival yesterday.  I met some lovely new people (including Australian comedian Lou Sanz – see the little informal video we made after her first show, above) and reconnected with some dear friends.
And…I saw four satisfying shows!

 
(Note:  The above little video is one that I made outside the Phoenix Theatre with Minnesota-based storyteller Loren Niemi on my trusty iPhone during the main Indy Fringe Festival last summer but for one reason or another never posted.   I should have stood closer to Loren while I was filming so that the volume would [...]

The answer is “yes.”  Yes, I saw the new Prine show at the Phoenix before it closed.  A lot of people have asked me that in the past week.
And yes, I loved it, too.  It was unlike any other show I had ever seen.
I am not going to write a regular review of it because [...]

Last Sunday I drove to Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre on the northwest side of Indianapolis to hear a tribute to one of my favorite singers.  I was surprised and delighted to learn that ”Always…Patsy Cline” is not “just” Christine Mild as Patsy singing song after song – although I am sure I would have enjoyed that, too, [...]

Last Friday night I stayed late at the Indy Fringe building in downtown Indianapolis to see another of the five winning plays in the first annual, juried “DivaFest” – a celebration of local women playwrights, sponsored by the Indy Fringe Festival.
This one was called “Madwomen’s Late Nite Cabaret.”  It was written and directed by Julie [...]

A week ago Friday night I drove through stormy weather to the Indy Fringe building in downtown Indianapolis to see the premiere of “Dash Thirty Dash,” written by Amy Wimmer Schwarb and directed by Matthew Roland.
This was one of the five winning plays in the first annual juried “DivaFest” – an event developed by the [...]

Last Friday I drove to downtown Indianapolis to the Indiana Repertory Theatre to see the opening night performance of “Around the World in 80 Days,” adapted from Jules Verne by Mark Brown, and directed by William Brown.
It is a DELIGHTFUL show.

(Note: Information about “Legally Blonde,” which opens at Clowes Memorial Hall on Tuesday, is at the bottom of this post.)
On Tuesday, April 20, 2010, I drove to the Butler University campus in Indianapolis to see the Broadway Across America touring production of “A Chorus Line” at Clowes Memorial Hall.
I had been waiting to see this show [...]

On Friday, April 16, 2010, I drove to the Old Northside neighborhood of Indianapolis to see “Murder and Mystery in the Mansion.”  It was presented by Victorian Theatre by Candlelight as a President’s Theatre Production at the President Benjamin Harrison Home.
The show is a unique and very enjoyable evening of theatre: three short mystery plays [...]

On Sunday, April 11, 2010, I drove west from Indianapolis to Danville in Hendricks County to see “Grace & Glorie” at the Longstreet Playhouse, new home of the all-volunteer Hendricks Civic Theatre.  This play was written by Tom Ziegler, directed by Joan Kimbley, and produced by Jan Van Paris.
It is an intense and inspirational two-hander [...]