Perry Tannenbaum has been covering the performing arts across the Carolinas since 1987. He has also acted onstage in productions by Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, innovative Theatre, and Charlotte Repertory Theatre. Among the diverse artists he has interviewed, Tony Kushner, Beth Henley, John Guare, Maya Angelou, Dave Brubeck, Gary Burton, Joseph Papp, and Judith Jamison were the most memorable. Beside his regular coverage of the Charlotte performing arts scene for Creative Loafing and CVNC.org, Perry has been covering Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston for over 25 years and makes yearly pilgrimages to New York for his annual roundups of Broadway, Off-Broadway, opera, and jazz. His reviews, interviews, and features have appeared in American Record Guide, Backstage, Classical Voice North America, Dance International, Early Music America, JazzTimes, Stage Directions and TheaterMania.com.
As relevant and compelling as it was back in 2014 in responding to Michael Brown, HANDS UP is a perfect way for Three Bone Theatre to return to the Charlotte scene, more activist and more woke.
An R&J Valentine's Day theme, an ongoing Beethoven celebration, and a CHOPIN PIANO CONCERTO that few at Charlotte Symphony had likely played before were the crisscrossing storylines at the latest classics series concert at Knight Theater.
Their third dive into August Wilson's ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle, Brand New Sheriff's FENCES may be their best yet, with an outstanding cast, led by Jonavan Adams - and an outstanding director, Corlis Hayes, who has been here before.
Director Billy Ensley has lured a bevy of seasoned Charlotte musical stars to a fine looking Matthews Playhouse production of MAMMA MIA! - and he has found a sensational newcomer to ignite the action.
The latest edition of Innovative Works, BEYOND THE MINT, sends three choreographers across the street to soak in Spirit Drift's 'Immersed in Light' installation at the Mint Museum Uptown. Chelsea Dumas and Duane Cyrus are particularly successful in their quests for inspiration.
Two American warhorses, Samuel Barber's 'Adagio' and Aaron Copland's APPALACHIAN SPRING, topped the marquee, but William Brittelle's 'Si Otsedoha' stole the show at Charlotte Symphony's all-American concert at Belk Theater.
With Andrea King as a disfigured war vet going through an excruciating rehab in Three Bone Theatre's UGLY LIES THE BONE, it's a perverse pleasure to have Scott Tynes-Miller and Peter Finnegan making asses of of themselves as they make the road to recovery that much tougher.
Bartlett Sher fiddles with the legendary perfection of MY FAIR LADY, freshly illuminating the characters of Professor Higgins, Eliza, and Freddy - while risking unexpected tech difficulties.
Sometimes orchestras program pieces to meet popular demand, and at other times, they program works to meet expectations or fulfill a sense of obligation. It's so easy to yield to inertia. This past weekend's Charlotte Symphony concerts balanced both types of choices. The DVOŘÁK'S NEW WORLD SYMPHONY is so popular in the Queen City that an extra row of seats was set up at Belk Theater behind the already-packed Grand Tier.
Free Reign Theatre Company's following is surprisingly strong for a young company, but their daring and robust production of LEAR demonstrates why: they're the real deal.
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