• Stage scene from Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre

Review by Rikki Lee Travolta – ‘Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story’ Brings Iconic Music to Life at Metropolis

The 1978 film The Buddy Holly Story featuring a career defining performance by Gary Busey brought the music and the artist’s story of his meteoric rise to fame into the limelight for a new generation of fans. The Alan Janes script for Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, now on stage through August 31 at the beautiful Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, lacks the same charm as the movie predecessor, but the uber talented cast and nuanced direction by Joe Keefe creates a plethora of magical moments.

2020-08-20T12:25:02-05:00Aug 3, 2019|In the News|
  • Stage scene from Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre

Daily Herald Review – Music makes Metropolis’ revival of ‘Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story’

There are several reasons to recommend "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," the jukebox bio-musical and tribute concert running through Barbara Vitello Aug. 31 at Arlington Heights' Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. Most of those reasons have to do with the score, which consists mostly of Holly's songs plus a few tunes by other rock 'n' roll innovators. Few of those reasons have to do with Alan Janes' by-the-numbers book that trades in music biz tropes offering little insight into a seminal artist.

2020-08-20T12:25:02-05:00Aug 2, 2019|In the News|
  • Stage scene from Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre

CMT Review – An electric ensemble propels Metropolis’ ‘Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story’

When telling a story with a well-known ending, both to the performers and likely to the audience, it’s easy for a production to lose its sense of urgency and give into a sense of dread. These high energy performers, however, remain expectant and engaged, leaving the audience with no choice but to wait and see what might happen next.

2020-08-20T12:25:02-05:00Jul 28, 2019|In the News|
  • Stage scene from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre

Daily Herald Review: Metropolis excavates laughs from ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’

Farces are arguably the toughest shows to get right. Daffy dialogue and slapstick situations can fail to land if vocal inflections or physical timing are even slightly off. This becomes clear with Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," which strikes the right chords vocally but misses a few comic beats.

2020-08-20T12:25:02-05:00May 30, 2019|In the News|
  • Stage scene from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre

NW Herald Review: ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’

If a joyous evening of an entertaining, albeit dated, classic musical is in your theater sights, then "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" is your ticket. Director Lauren Rawitz keeps this Forum’s pace moving with an extremely talented and energetic ensemble of twenty and an unseen eight piece orchestra led by Kailey Rockwell. Forum is part vaudeville, part comedic Shakespeare with chases, mistaken identities, satire, double entendres, plot twists, and a lot of hanky-panky.

2020-08-20T12:25:02-05:00May 30, 2019|In the News|
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