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Bella Coppola

Midnight

October 15, 2026

The verdict: "Midnight" is memorable for its thoughtful theme, unusually powerful vocal ensemble, its engaging (if repetitious) score, imaginative staging, and visual delights. However, its length is excessive, its lyrics unmemorable, its historicity unreliable, its characters pasteboard, and its situations implausible. If it moves, it will definitely need tightening and maybe some additional help from creatives not named Todrick Hall. [more]

Smash

April 26, 2025

At times the show directed by Stroman seems to be a satire or a parody, while the choreography by Bergasse mostly looks like ersatz Bob Fosse which seems inappropriate for the Marilyn Monroe story. As star Ivy Lynn playing Marilyn, Hurder seems to be doing a Megan Hilty impersonation from the TV series, rather than bringing anything new to the role. (Of course, Hilty is appearing around the corner in Death Becomes Her.) Bowman’s Karen is fine as far as she is allowed to go but the role seems underwritten. Nielsen ass The Actors Studio coach, (compared to Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West) is so unpleasant that you wonder why her character isn’t fired long before it happens in the story line. [more]