Author Archive for David Lampe-Wilson
After 30 years as a theater critic and arts editor for a Connecticut daily newspaper, David Lampe-Wilson transplanted to Vermont with his wife and two cats.
Joyous, tragic, exuberance of WPTC’s ‘Indecent’
By David Lampe-Wilson 2019 © Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse finishes its season with Paula Vogel’s Indecent and it is safe to say that they have saved the best for last. Indecent is a gem of a play that encompasses a host of ideas as it challenges its audience to keep up with diverse themes. […]
Weston’s ‘Virginia Woolf’ challenges actors, audience
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse closes its mainstage summer season with Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning black comedy/drama Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. This is a marathon evening; opening night ran three-plus hours. It is an endurance test that challenges four actors to create larger-than-life characters out of reams of Albee’s caustic […]
‘Always … Patsy Cline’ fine musical entertainment Seibert as Cline delivers amazing and effortless singing
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse at Walker Farm goes Country with Always … Patsy Cline, not so much a play as a two-volume tribute album of greatest hits. While the music is great and the vocals are stellar, Ted Swindley’s book for this jukebox jamboree is as emotionally empty as the […]
New ‘Oklahoma!’ saved from quaint old self
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first musical together was Oklahoma!, a celebration of America as seen through the transformation of the Oklahoma Territory into our 46th state. As staged at Weston Playhouse, Oklahoma!, is less an historic marker than a call for inclusion in our current socially fractured times. This […]
Fresh creativity flows through ‘The Fantasticks’
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse has kicked off its 83rd season with a reimagined production of The Fantasticks. This classic and charming musical fable has been given a fresh, breezy take by director Susanna Gellert, who also serves as the theater’s new executive artistic director. A new creativity flows through this […]
A fun ride through ‘Phantom Tollbooth’ Talented cast, direction, choreography keep trip exciting
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse kicks off its 2019 season with a production of The Phantom Tollbooth, performed by members of the Weston Playhouse Young Company at the new Walker Farm venue, and the performers of this summer-long program give it their all in this musical version of Norton Juster’s classic […]
Vibrant cast of ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ worth it Talented Weston performers put on 'toe-tapping music fest'
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Early rock ‘n ‘ roll rears its pompadoured head in the high-octane jukebox musical Million Dollar Quartet at Weston Playhouse. Over two intermission-less hours we are treated to a music catalog of early rock, R&B and gospel music performed by a talented and vibrant cast that handles two […]
‘A Doll’s House Part 2’ another theater gem 'Hilarious and bold,' sequel stands perfectly on its own
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse at Walker Farm offers up another gem of a production with A Doll’s House, Part 2, a follow-up to Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 controversial masterwork . In playwright Lucas Hnath’s sequel, it is 15 years after Nora Helmer rejected her domestic life and now returns to the […]
Weston’s ‘West Side Story’ infused with energy Stunning ensemble work, choreography in a timely musical
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC W ho would believe that a Broadway musical with social underpinnings would be as relevant today as it was 60 years ago, but that’s how it is with the American classic West Side Story, which is being given a dynamic revival at Weston Playhouse. West Side Story is, […]
‘Fun Home’ is a must-see theater experience A witty, endearing musical of serious themes
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse continues its inaugural year at the new Second Stage at Walker Farm with the Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home. And it is everything a theatergoer hopes for — it entertains, it enlightens, it engages. The production never puts a foot wrong and we are rewarded with gem […]
Opening night of ‘Our Town’ a mixed bag
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Thornton Wilder’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town begins the new summer season at Weston Playhouse and the production is a mixed bag at best. In 1938, it was a challenging stage experiment, and it has come down through the years to become an American classic — an […]
Despite a few bumps, this finely acted ‘Journey’ is worth the trip
By David Lampe-Wilson 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC For its final play of the season and its current entry in its American Masters series, Weston Playhouse has opted for Eugene O’Neill’s masterpiece Long Day’s Journey Into Night. The play, considered by many as the finest piece of American theater of the 20th century, contains some of […]
A funny boy shines in Streisand-inspired theater comedy
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC The cult of celebrity rears its comedic head in Buyer and Cellar, a one-man show that closes out not only Weston Playhouse’s summer run at the OtherStages at Weston Rod and Gun Club, it closes out its use of the facility completely, with the fall christening of the […]
Weston’s ‘Music Man’ cast hits all the right notes
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse continues its summer run with the all-American family musical The Music Man, Meredith Willson’s tuneful fable about a mythical middle America just after the turn of the 19th century. The plot is simple: A fast-talking flimflam man going by the name of “Professor” Harold Hill arrives […]
‘Tenderly’ a sterling showcase for Haefner, Lloyd
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse brings the life of singer Rosemary Clooney to its Other Stage with Tenderly, and while you might expect them to be rolling out a barrel of nostalgia, Tenderly is a drama with music that explores the highs and lows of the singer who, over several decades, […]
Weston’s ‘Once:’ Superb ensemble in this celebration of music, love
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse opens its 81st summer season with a joyous production of Once, a musical based on the 2007 Oscar-winning film of the same name. Once celebrates a passion for music and the rediscovery of love, and this production has brought together singer/actor/musicians to create one of the […]
Northern Stage’s ‘Christmas Carol’ a children’s holiday delight
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2016-Telegraph Publishing LLC It’s that season again when ballet companies polish up their “Nutcrackers” and regional theaters reheat that old chestnut “A Christmas Carol.” White River Junction’s Northern Stage offers up its biennial production of Scrooge’s story in a production that looks very good for the most part but gets hobbled by […]
Re-imagined ‘Macbeth’ in modern mode a winning production
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Ghosts walk Northern Stage’s production of Macbeth, playing through Oct. 23. Set in the present and performed in modern dress, this re-imagining may not be appreciated by Shakespeare traditionalists. Swords are replaced with automatic weapons, armor becomes Kevlar vests and some basic themes are twisted to suit the creative […]
Nuanced performances make powerful ‘All My Sons’ a must-see
By David Lampe-Wilson 2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse completes its 80th season on a dramatic high note as a secret destroys an American Dream in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, playing through Sunday, Sept. 4 at the Weston Playhouse. The play is part of the Playhouse’s American Masters Series – and it is dark, […]
Multi-talented cast carries multi-character ‘Murder for Two’
By David Lampe-Wilson ©2016 Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse continues its summer season at its Other Stage with “Murder for Two,” a frivolous musical that sends up murder mysteries and their attendant tropes. While its premise is clever — two actors play all parts including detective, victim and suspects — your enjoyment will depend on […]
