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 Welcome to the Critical Review blog site! We will be publishing reviews that show exemplary eye for critique. 

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‘The Phantom of the Opera’ Lands in Minneapolis, Haunting and Stunning as Ever by Peyton Webb

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Daniel Lopez as Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny and Jordan Lee Gilbert as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera North American Tour Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman Over a year after the conclusion of its record-breaking Broadway run, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is back to enchant theater-goers across the nation. The North American tour hit the Orpheum last Friday, November 21, the second stop of its highly-anticipated return. Producer Cameron Mackintosh promised “a dazzlingly fresh version of the much-loved original,” and dazzlingly fresh he delivered, indeed. This updated Phantom reopened in 2021 at His Majesty’s Royal Theatre and was applauded by London critics and everyday fans alike. Now, the production has come to haunt American stages, and it’d be a shame to miss the wondrous horrors it brings. The newer version maintains much of the late Maria Björnson’s original award-winning designs. Her magnificent sets feature the grandness and ornamentation of a...
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A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical Review - by Peyton Webb

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Two brown armchairs face each other on an otherwise empty stage. One is occupied by an empathetic counselor, eager to listen. In the other sits a bitter old man who was once a king of rock. And thus, the scene is set for A Beautiful Noise . (From left) Nick Fradiani as ‘Neil - Then,’ Robert Westenberg as ‘Neil - Now’ and Lisa Reneé Pitts as ‘Doctor’ in A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical Photo credit: Jeremy Daniel The Tony-nominated 2022 musical presents the life and times of legendary singer-songwriter Neil Diamond. The guitar-clad performer is an imposing, prolific cornerstone of American music history, boasting 37 Top 40 Hits, a Grammy, and a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A Beautiful Noise depicts a modern, retired Diamond (“Neil Now”) in therapy. He unpacks his life through a series of flashbacks beginning in the 1960s (“Neil Then”). Directed by Michael Mayer, Beautiful Noise ’s Broadway tour opened in Minneapolis on Tuesday for a nearly full house, which seeme...
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Chicago Review by Katelyn Keyes

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      From the beginning, one thing that is very clear about Chicago is that it knows how to make a statement. The stage is black, save for the performers lit by spotlights in the center that seem to tease the audience with their talent in “All That Jazz.” The song creeps along, slower than I would have thought, but sizzling with the Chicago fire that runs through the veins of this show. Velma (Claire Marshall), who leads the song, sings it softly but with such control that the power was akin to belting her heart out. What stuck out as a theme to me of this show was control, a hand on the reins, pulling back just enough to get us audience members to lean in.  Another example of this control is in the choreography, by Ann Reinking (and Bob Fosse originally) and re-created for this production by Gregory Butler. The dances accentuate the energy of the show; in “All That Jazz” it was full of small movements like shoulder shrugs, but done with such impeccable synchron...
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