Arts and Times

Enjoying/getting the most out of Archduke (at least the first act) is largely dependent on knowing the real history of who the characters are, and what they did, ahead of time. I'm sure the creators would debate that. I imagine development on this piece was full of conversations about "how much of this story do you need to know right off the bat, and how much are these characters just interesting on their own?" The characters are  interesting on their own, but, honestly, if you don't know where this is going they quickly become a bit obnoxious and tedious. The truth is, everyone in this play is a bit dumb (some more so than others) and that makes for an interesting character study if, again, you know where this train is headed. If you don't, it starts to feel a bit like a Three Stooges film where all the Stooges do is talk.  The marketing campaign also isn't doing this show any favors. I saw one youtube add where star Patrick Page quickly ran through the logl...

Photo by Jeremy Daniel Reunions  is comprised of two short musicals that together form a one act evening (an hour and a half with no intermission.) Each musical is based on a short story. As the press kit says: "Reunions  is a new musical adaptation of two famous one-act plays with a common theme: lovers met by chance after many years apart.  Photo by Jeremy Daniel The Twelve Pound Look  is based on the play by   J.M. Barrie , the creator of  Peter Pan . The play takes place in Downton Abbey-era London.  Harry Sims is about to be knighted when the past catches up with him in this ripped-from-the-headlines look at issues of social class, a woman's "place," and the high price of success.                                                                   ...