One of the earliest jukebox bio-musicals in our modern era is Alan Janes’s Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, a show that brings so many highlights of the era and titular singer with his band, The Crickets, to stage. The show really knows no version of “medley,” which expedites the running time in favor of the audience's attention span to hear the hits while not sitting through a full presentation of the artist’s life. However, director Mark Standriff has helmed a production that

Among the two times I’ve previously seen Dear Evan Hansen on stage–and that film we don’t talk about–I’ve never been able to crack why there’s such a hardcore love for and connection to Evan. To be fair, I was bawling when I first saw it on Broadway, but it was due to Michael Park’s (as Larry Murphy) hard-hearted softening in the finale of act one that got me. Platt nailed the role, but I didn’t walk away feeling more than entertained by a mostly great score. However, Shine!

The Spectral Raven Theatre Company is closing out Maria Coon’s four-act play, Balada de Muerte, a dramatization of La Llorona, an iconic figure in Mexican folklore. Written and directed by company owner and founder Maria Coon, Balada de Muerte is a script which reads and speaks with heart, horror, and haunting humanization while still finding its legs as a balanced production. Currently staged in the cozy, welcoming Dulce UpFront venue, Coon’s writing fully honors how Mexican