Andrew Lippa

ON THE TOWN WITH CHIP DEFFAA… WITH MATTHEW BRODERICK, HARVEY MILK, AND HARRY HOUDINI….

June 28, 2023

As a lover of the performing arts, I’ll remember this month as when I witnesseed Matthew Broderick give one of the finest, subtlest performances of his career. I’ll remember, too, the uplifting idealism of Andrew Lippa’s I Am Harvey Milk. But I’ll also remember this as the month that some major cultural institutions were forced to make significant cutbacks because audiences have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. And that is worrisome. [more]

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown

June 1, 2016

This production combines the simplicity of the 1967 Off Broadway original version with the additions from the 1999 Broadway revival, using two of Mr. Lippa’s songs and much of Mr. Mayer’s additions. Most notable is replacing the character of Patty with Charlie Brown’s sister Sally. For this role, Kristin Chenoweth won that year’s Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. [more]

The Wild Party

July 18, 2015

Sutton Foster is electrifying as Queenie the sexually insatiable nightclub performer who incites men to violence in this revival of the 2000 Off-Broadway musical The Wild Party. Lean and fierce and slinking around in a taut white sequined flapper dress and wearing a curly blonde wig, Ms. Foster’s star quality and performing talents are on dazzling display in this problematic Jazz Age ode to decadence. She continues to grow in her versatile stage career that has included such light shows as "Thoroughly Modern Millie," "The Drowsy Chaperone," "Shrek," "Young Frankenstein," and the more recent serious "Violet." [more]

John & Jen

March 23, 2015

"John & Jen" has very little dialog and almost no action that isn't described in the lyrics, so it's only fair to point out that it probably delivers as much on recording or in concert as it does here. That said, this production directed by Jonathan Silverstein with musical staging by Christine O’Grady is unfussy and effective. Scenic designer Steven C. Kemp provides a few static pieces which function as bed, hillside, or fence as needed, and it's a credit to all that their changing roles are never unclear. Given the small playing area, the nicely varied lighting by Josh Bradford helped much in avoiding monotony. [more]