Jenna Zaza, Arts and Culture Editor
• February 10, 2024
As the dimly-lit stage comes to life with the haunting melodies of brass instruments and synthesizers, an eerie fog curls around the set of 19th-century London, casting a mesmerizing spell over the audience. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” transports theatergoers to a world where the line between morality and madness blurs into a macabre dance.
Clare Gehlich, Assistant Arts and Culture Editor
• February 4, 2024
In high school hallways where teenage drama permeates and gossip circulates like fashion fads, the Plastics reign supreme once again in “Mean Girls” (2024). Though this teen musical comedy based on the 2004 film and the Broadway musical is a refreshing take on the original story, it fails to capture the magic of the original 2000s film.
On Saturday, Oct. 23, performer Alan Cumming came to SBU to debut his new show, “Alan Cumming is Not Acting His Age.” Cumming’s new cabaret show was full of witty anecdotes, emotional tell-alls and surprising revelations.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone declared a state of emergency in Suffolk County on Thursday afternoon after the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the county more than doubled in a day.
The 2020 Staller Center gala was packed on March 7 despite Gov. Cuomo’s declaration of a state emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak. The crowd laughed and the night went on with jokes and touching moments.
During winter break the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) announced a flurry of surprises for returning Stony Brook students, including discounted trips to see hit Broadway plays. With a fee of $50 students get to see shows like the critically acclaimed “Lion King” during the Spring semester.
“My Fair Lady” is an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play “Pygmalion,” a variation of the Greek myth of Pygmalion. In the original myth, Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with his statue of a woman, and after praying to the goddess Aphrodite, his fetishized statue is brought to life.
The musical had its New York City premiere in 1965 at the ANTA Washington Square Theatre in Greenwich Village before moving uptown to Broadway’s Martin Beck Theatre in 1968.
Having never seen the original film, I cannot say whether the musical is an improvement, but I can say that the show’s flaws prevented me from taking any interest in the source material. On the other hand, the people I attended the show with and most of the audience seemed to love it, so there may be something that eluded me.
I attended the John W. Engeman Theater’s revival of “In the Heights,” but left the theater incredibly confused as to how the musical could have possibly won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical.
