Neil Novelli
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Encore Presentations' 'Church Basement Ladies' offers comfortable, good-natured laughter
Posted on Entertainment on May 12, 2012, 1:23AM
It's relaxed, broad comedy, comfortable as an old shoe. Full story »
CNY Shakespeare's powerful, 55-minute 'Three Sisters' touches the core of Chekhov's play
Posted on Entertainment on May 04, 2012, 12:01AM
'It's a compact, vibrant jewel of a show' Full story »
Skilled Syracuse University cast does excellent work with Shakespeare's 'As You Like It'
Posted on Entertainment on April 28, 2012, 2:17AM
Style does tend to put a cap on the play's energies. Full story »
Red House presents LOCO7's 'In Retrospect,' centering on the way human memories are built
Posted on Entertainment on April 21, 2012, 12:14AM
"In Retrospect," performed at the Red House Arts Center by the LOCO7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company, centers on the ways that we build our personal memories and make them a part of ourselves. It does this not with a clinical lecture -- far from it -- but with music and dance plus colorful puppets, masks and visual effects. All... Full story »
'Love vs. Time,' a new work at Syracuse Shakespeare Festival, draws on many talents and gathers momentum as it goes along
Posted on Entertainment on April 14, 2012, 2:44PM
"Love vs. Time," a new play conceived and directed by Ronnie Bell, with book by Jamie Bruno, is based on one of those unanswerable questions: Which is more important in human life, Love or Time? Seen at its premiere production by Syracuse Shakespeare Festival on Friday [April 13], "Love vs. Time" is one-of-a-kind, very much its own thing. It... Full story »
Not Another Theater Company's 'Lombardi' fits nicely into sports bar venue
Posted on Entertainment on March 31, 2012, 1:23AM
Roy van Norstrand gets the game ball for his towering portrayal of the coach who turned the Green Bay Packers from losers into champions Full story »
Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' gets an attractive, rollicking production at the Red House
Posted on Entertainment on March 29, 2012, 1:23PM
Katharine Gibson does superb work in the pivotal role of Viola. Full story »
Appleseed Productions' 'The Moonlight Room' Creates Absorbing, Realistic Drama
Posted on Entertainment on March 10, 2012, 1:29PM
"The Moonlight Room" sounds as if it could be a glum play, but glum is the last thing it is, at least in the current presentation at Appleseed Productions. The situation is simple. A teenaged boy named Lightfield (whom we never see) has accidentally overdosed on drugs, or rather one drug, Special K (Ketamine). Lightfield is in intensive care... Full story »
'Beautiful Child' at Rarely Done Mixes Great Cast, Botched Play
Posted on Entertainment on March 03, 2012, 1:56PM
Nicky Silver's "Beautiful Child," presented by Rarely Done Productions, is a mixed bag. The cast is wonderfully talented, and they give terrific performances under Roy vanNorstrand's direction. To give the play its due, the first 15 minutes or so are brilliant, spirit-lifting comedy, and -- happily -- that comic spirit breaks out occasionally during the rest of the show.... Full story »
Syracuse University's "The Lower Depths" brings out the zest and drive of Maxim Gorky's classic
Posted on Entertainment on February 25, 2012, 11:09AM
Gerardine Clark and her young cast fill the show with all the vibrant energy and comic absurdity that Gorky put into his characters. Full story »
Syracuse Shakespeare Festival's 'Othello' features a powerful performance by Tony Brown in the title role
Posted on Entertainment on February 12, 2012, 11:41AM
Shakespeare's tragedy, directed by Dan Stevens, is updated to the late 1960s/early 1970s Full story »
SU Opera Theatre does lively work with Gilbert & Sullivan's 'The Gondoliers'
Posted on Entertainment on January 28, 2012, 2:09PM
Syracuse University Opera Theatre, Gilbert & Sulllivan, 'The Gondoliers',Neil Novelli Full story »
Critic Neil Novelli's list of the best Central New York theater for 2011
Posted on Entertainment on January 01, 2012, 2:00AM
'Lovers,' 'The Turn of the Screw,' 'Urinetown' are all on the list. Full story »
Encore Presentations: Laugh-filled "Nuncrackers -- The Nunsense Christmas Musical"
Posted on Entertainment on December 01, 2011, 10:11AM
Encore Presentations welcomes the Christmas season with "Nuncrackers -- The Nunsense Christmas Musical," performed in dinner theater at the Glen Loch Restaurant in Jamesville. The show is one of the sequels that Dan Goggin wrote following the huge success of his original "Nunsense." This time the members of the Mount St. Helen's Convent are preparing to tape their big... Full story »
Not Another Theater Company's "A Tuna Christmas" is a real mood-brightener
Posted on Entertainment on November 10, 2011, 2:26PM
"A Tuna Christmas" performs at the Locker Room Fire & Ice Banquet Facilities in Syracuse through Nov. 19. Full story »
Rarely Done Productions' 'The Exonerated' tells the stories of six people wrongly sentenced to death
Posted on Entertainment on October 22, 2011, 3:50PM
Under Linda Lance's direction, and with a skilled cast of 10 doing brilliant ensemble work, the play happens in a fast-paced 95 minutes. Full story »
Salt City Center for the Performing Arts centers on core qualities in 'Man of La Mancha'
Posted on Entertainment on October 17, 2011, 10:51AM
Theater review: "Man of La Mancha" is a staple of musical theater, and the current production by Salt City Center for the Performing Arts brings out the basic qualities that make the show much loved. Full story »
Encore Presentations' 'The Bad Seed' captures the tone of the 1950s in a tale about a murderous 8-year old
Posted on Entertainment on October 15, 2011, 2:02PM
The story makes a pass at the issue of whether extreme human evil is hereditary or environmental Full story »
Syracuse University students give a powerful performance of Blitzstein's 'The Cradle Will Rock'
Posted on Entertainment on October 01, 2011, 1:12PM
Actors' skills and Rodney Hudson's direction make strong dramatic moments of the show's solo turns Full story »
Not Another Theater Company gives Aaron Sorkin's 'A Few Good Men' a strong production
Posted on Entertainment on September 26, 2011, 12:51AM
Aaron Sorkin's "A Few Good Men" is one of America's best-written plays. Its dialogue crackles, its characters are interesting, and its theme -- broadly, Does the end justify the means? -- is absorbing. Besides, it is basically a courtroom drama, one that reaches an explosive climax. With Katie Lemos-Brown directing, Not Another Theater Company's production of "A Few Good... Full story »
Syracuse Stage's 'The Turn of the Screw' is a well-done stage version of a ghost story by Henry James
Posted on Entertainment on September 24, 2011, 1:42PM
Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation makes it obvious that the governess entertains huge fantasies Full story »
Merry-Go-Round Playhouse ends its season with a high-spirited, tune-filled 'Marvelous Wonderettes'
Posted on Entertainment on September 16, 2011, 1:20AM
t's a delight to hear the four singers go to town with vintage songs like "It's My Party" and "Heatwave" Full story »
'Shadowlands' at Appleseed Productions faces tough themes of pain and suffering
Posted on Entertainment on September 12, 2011, 12:05AM
Tom Minion turns in a powerful performance as English author C. S. Lewis. Full story »
'Lion King' draws Syracuse audience into an imaginative, vibrantly performed musical
Posted on Entertainment on September 10, 2011, 6:25PM
Popular music of all kinds is interspersed with African tribal chants, giving "Lion King" a huge emotional reach. Full story »
Cortland Repertory Theatre gives Michelle Lowe's 'Smell of the Kill' an engaging production
Posted on Entertainment on August 19, 2011, 2:00AM
The over-extended script calls for some contrived actions, but the actresses invest them with real emotions. Full story »
Syracuse Shakespeare Festival gallops pleasantly through 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' set in the Old West
Posted on Entertainment on August 12, 2011, 1:24PM
Like our images of the Old West, Syracuse Shakespeare Festival's production of the comedy "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is a big, sprawling show filled with rambunctious energies. Full story »
Cortland Repertory Theatre presents an unusual Miss Marple in "A Murder Is Announced"
Posted on Entertainment on August 04, 2011, 11:53AM
Cortland Repertory Theatre's production of "A Murder Is Announced" gives a good idea of why Agatha Christie is such a popular story-teller. Full story »
Hangar Theatre Gives August Wilson's 'Gem of the Ocean' a Stirring Production
Posted on Entertainment on July 30, 2011, 1:36PM
August Wilson's "Gem of the Ocean," in sweep and style, is one of the greatest of American plays. Local audiences will remember Syracuse Stage's outstanding production of "Gem" in 2007. Now Hangar Theatre, with a strong cast, presents Wilson's play in an emotionally powerful production that brought the opening night audience at Hangar to its feet. In the 10... Full story »
Talent Company's 'Curtains' Offers Lots of Laughs in Kander and Ebb Backstage Comedy
Posted on Entertainment on July 23, 2011, 1:43PM
The comedy musical "Curtains," which the Talent Company opened on Friday [July 22], has John Kander as composer and Freb Ebb as lyricist, but it is a far cry from other Kander and Ebb shows like "Cabaret" and "Chicago." Kander and Ebb's musicals usually deal with thorny matters. But "Curtains" obviously aims solely and shamelessly at providing audiences with... Full story »
Cortland Rep's 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' offers fun for young and old
Posted on Entertainment on July 14, 2011, 11:31AM
Most appealing, perhaps, is the way the production captures the qualities of innocence and freshness in 'Joseph.' Full story »
