Louisville Theater Reviews

Review: JERSEY BOYS at Derby Dinner Playhouse
by Taylor Clemons - August 23, 2024

What did our critic think of JERSEY BOYS at Derby Dinner Playhouse? The biography jukebox musical is quite the unique brand of theatre experience. So many come to mind in recent years (Beautiful, The Cher Show, MJ, Tina, etc.), but you could easily argue that Jersey Boys was the first of its kind in...

Review: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM: A QUEER TALE at Drag Daddy Productions
by Taylor Clemons - July 12, 2024

Summertime and Shakespeare are a tried and true match. Every year across the country, theaters undoubtedly program Shakespeare into their schedules. This year Louisville’s own Drag Daddy Productions is getting in on the fun with a new and modern take on one of the Bard’s most well-known classics, A ...

Review: BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL Presented by Broadway Across America at Kentucky Performing Arts
by Taylor Clemons - May 16, 2024

In the past few years in film, television, and onstage, it’s been proven that nostalgia sells…and it sells well. So it only seems natural (or should I say supernatural) that a spooky season favorite film Beetlejuice would make its way to the stage in a big flashy Broadway musical. ...

Review: SIX THE MUSICAL Presented by Broadway Across America at Kentucky Performing Arts
by Taylor Clemons - April 10, 2024

What did our critic think of SIX at Kentucky Performing Arts?...

Review: CLUE: A NEW COMEDY Arrives at Kentucky Performing Arts
by Taylor Clemons - March 06, 2024

What did our critic think of CLUE at Whitney Hall? Clue first and foremost is a classic Parker Brothers board game that has been a family favorite since its publication in 1949....

Review: SWEENEY TODD at Derby Dinner Playhouse
by Taylor Clemons - March 04, 2024

What did our critic think of SWEENET TODD at Derby Dinner Playhouse? Depending on who you ask about the late Stephen Sondheim’s body of work, I’d venture that most would say his masterpiece is the melodramatic revenge quasi-gothic horror opera Sweeney Todd....

Broadway Beyond Louisville Review: Broadway in Indianapolis presents MAMMA MIA! at Clowes Memorial Hall
by Taylor Clemons - February 29, 2024

What did our critic think of MAMMA MIA! at Clowes Memorial Hall?...

Review: FROZEN Presented by Broadway Across America at Kentucky Performing Arts
by Taylor Clemons - January 28, 2024

What did our critic think of FROZEN at Kentucky Performing Arts?...

Broadway Beyond Louisville Review: Broadway in Cincinnati presents BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL at The Aronoff Center
by Taylor Clemons - January 19, 2024

In the past few years in film, television, and onstage, it’s been proven that nostalgia sells…and it sells well. So it only seems natural (or should I say supernatural) that a spooky season favorite film “Beetlejuice” would make its way to the stage in a big flashy Broadway musical....

Broadway Beyond Louisville Review: CHICAGO THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT presented by Cincinnati Pops at Cincinnati Music Hall
by Taylor Clemons - January 16, 2024

What did our critic think of CHICAGO THE MUSICAL IN CONCERT at Music Hall?...

Review: Broadway in Cincinnati presents MRS. DOUBTFIRE at the Aronoff Center
by Taylor Clemons - December 07, 2023

What did our critic think of MRS. DOUBTFIRE at Aronoff Center?...

Review: TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL Presented By Broadway Across America at Kentucky Performing Arts
by Taylor Clemons - November 30, 2023

What did our critic think of TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL at Whitney Hall?...

Broadway Beyond Louisville Review: Broadway in Cincinnati presents GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at the Aronoff Center
by Taylor Clemons - October 23, 2023

What did our critic think of GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at Aronoff Center? Admittedly, I’m not a huge Bob Dylan fan. Not for any reasons like dislike, but generationally I was never really exposed to his music. So when I heard there was a new musical using his catalog, my expectations were tampered...

Review: WICKED presented by Broadway Across America at Kentucky Performing Arts
by Taylor Clemons - September 26, 2023

What did our critic think of WICKED at Whitney Hall? Wicked is an institution. Wicked is a brand. Wicked is the gateway drug of musical theatre, well it was 13 years ago for me at least. It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 8 years since Elphaba flew through Louisville, but at long last Oz has...

Review: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Presented by Drag Daddy Productions and The Chicken Coop
by Taylor Clemons - August 07, 2023

What did our critic think of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Drag Daddy Productions And The Chicken Coop? Every once in awhile, a show comes around that manages to wedge its self in the center of a triple vin-diagram, overlapping in critical acclaim, commercial success, and the hardest to crack, overwhelm...

Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD presented by Broadway Across America at Kentucky Performing Arts
by Taylor Clemons - June 22, 2023

To Kill a Mockingbird first hit bookstore shelves in 1960, where it has since become a staple in American literature. An academy award winning film adaptation was released two years later in 1962, and is equally synonymous with the title. The story focuses on a trial in which Tom Robinson, a black m...

Broadway Beyond Louisville Review: INTO THE WOODS at Tennessee Performing Arts Center
by Taylor Clemons - May 25, 2023

What did our critic think of INTO THE WOODS at Tennessee Performing Arts Center? The star-studded cast is led by Tony Award winner Stephanie J. Block and Sebastian Arcelus as The Baker’s Wife and the Baker respectively. They’re a real-life couple, so their chemistry is justly wonderful, but I cannot...

Broadway Beyond Louisville Review: Broadway in Cincinnati presents MOULIN ROUGE! at the Aronoff Center
by Taylor Clemons - May 23, 2023

In 2001, Baz Luhrumann's film welcomed the world to the Moulin Rouge. The film is credited as part of the resurgence of movie musicals in the early 2000s, and continues to be an audience favorite. After whispers of a stage adaptation for years and years, the dream became a reality in 2018 with an ou...

Broadway Beyond Louisville Review: RAGTIME IN CONCERT Presented by Cincinnati Pops at Cincinnati Music Hall
by Taylor Clemons - April 29, 2023

What did our critic think of RAGTIME IN CONCERT at Cincinnati Pops At Cincinnati Music Hall?...

Review: ALICE IN DERBYLAND at Drag Daddy Productions
by Taylor Clemons - April 19, 2023

What did our critic think of ALICE IN DERBYLAND at Drag Daddy Productions? In years past, Thunder Over Louisville would signify the start of the Derby festivities, but now in its third year, Drag Daddy Productions' Alice in Derbyland is becoming a bonafide tradition to kick off springtime and Kentuc...

Review: AIN'T TOO PROUD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS presented by Broadway Across America at Kentucky Performing Arts
by Taylor Clemons - April 13, 2023

What did our critic think of AIN'T TOO PROUD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS at Kentucky Performing Arts?...

Review: ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE at Derby Dinner Playhouse
by Taylor Clemons - April 03, 2023

What did our critic think of ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE at Derby Dinner Playhouse?...

Broadway Beyond Louisville Review: JAGGED LITTLE PILL at The Aronoff Center
by Taylor Clemons - March 29, 2023

What did our critic think of JAGGED LITTLE PILL at Aronoff Center?...

Broadway Beyond Louisville Review: TOOTSIE at The Aronoff Center
by Taylor Clemons - March 14, 2023

What did our critic think of TOOTSIE at The Aronoff Center? As theatre innovates and reinvents, the days of the old-time musical comedies are all but behind us. But the broadway musical adaption of Tootsie (based on the 1982 film), is a welcome and refreshing musical comedy. The story is simple: an ...

Review: Broadway Across America presents ANNIE at Kentucky Performing Arts
by Taylor Clemons - February 16, 2023

What did our critic think of ANNIE at Kentucky Performing Arts? When most people think of Annie, I'm sure the first thing that comes to mind is the 80s film, starring the iconic likes of Carol Burnett, Ann Reinking, Tim Curry, and Bernadette Peters. However, before that now-classic film, Annie start...