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Reviews & Repairs
Candid thoughts about current and classic musicals. What's to love? Why does it work? What's to lament? And what tweaks could heal the broken elements?
What the Critics Got Wrong on Snow White
I think I have a critic’s eye for what works and what doesn’t in a musical. I tend to be highly attuned to problematic messages that...
Rebecca Burnham
Mar 277 min read
64 views
2 comments
Could Eliza Be A Fair Lady to Both Herself and Higgins?
Henry Higgins ( Harry Hadden-Paton) and Eliza Dolittle (Laura Benanti) dance together. When Lerner and Loewe turned Shaw’s Pygmalion into...
Rebecca Burnham
Feb 139 min read
14 views
1 comment
History of a Broken Ending
My Fair Lady's famous final line I grew up on My Fair Lady . I have watched it over, and over, and over. To this day, when I feel joyous...
Rebecca Burnham
Feb 66 min read
6 views
2 comments
If I Loved You -- I Wouldn't Let You Beat Me Down
Jessie Mueller and Joshua Henry in Carousel. Photo by Julieta Cervantes. REVISED with your feedback. When I planned to write this week’s...
Rebecca Burnham
Jan 2315 min read
40 views
4 comments
A Review: Journey to Bethlehem
Fiona Paloma as Mary and Milo Manheim as Joseph in Journey to Bethlehem Joyous greetings to each of you this season, as we celebrate the...
Rebecca Burnham
Dec 24, 20246 min read
11 views
0 comments
Defying Gravity
It’s been 21 years since Wicked opened on Broadway and I’ve never had the opportunity to see it. That is, until I went to Part I at the...
Rebecca Burnham
Nov 28, 20248 min read
33 views
0 comments
Plandemic the Musical: Can We Choose Faith Over Fear in How We Disagree?
Jimmy Levy sings "United We Stand" in Plandemic: The Musical This week, I am visiting my daughter with a two-year-old and a two-week-old...
Rebecca Burnham
Oct 29, 20247 min read
13 views
0 comments
The Olympians - And the Mortals who Defy Them by Standing Together
Mortals and gods sing modern hits in ancient Greece This week, I’m reviewing The Olympians, a new musical recently highlighted by...
Rebecca Burnham
Oct 24, 20242 min read
10 views
0 comments
Tevye's Tug-of-War with Tradition
Fiddler on the Roof -- National Tour Photo I’m such a big fan of happy endings, that you might wonder why Fiddler makes my list, despite...
Rebecca Burnham
Sep 12, 20246 min read
11 views
0 comments
Jane Eyre: Brave Enough to Love
Carriage House Theatre production of Jane Eyre the Musical Last week, I watched a local production of Jane Eyre the Musical . It was a...
Rebecca Burnham
Aug 9, 20247 min read
33 views
0 comments
Evan Hansen Deserves Forgiveness
The symmetry between Evan’s desperate loneliness in the opening scenes and his peaceful loneliness later, has troubling understones.
Rebecca Burnham
Jul 18, 20247 min read
36 views
2 comments
Musings on The Music Man
The Music Man was delightful, but with a treacherous message that left me musing on the need for new musicals to build Beloved Community.
Rebecca Burnham
Jun 27, 202410 min read
51 views
2 comments
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