Patricia Birch Archives - TheaterScene.net

Patricia Birch

Episcopal Actors’ Guild’s 2025 Annual Memorial Evensong Service

November 10, 2025

This year’s service, held Sunday, November 9, 2025, was led by Father John David van Dooren, Rector of the Little Church and Warden of the Guild. His opening words recalled the centuries-old connection between art and faith: “Our work as performers is to make the invisible visible—to show that light, even when flickering, is never lost.” Then came the reading of names: a litany of the departed, some famous, some known only to the theater community, all united by their devotion to the performing arts. [more]

Sweetee

June 10, 2017

"Sweetee" is an admirable attempt to depict determination in the face of prejudice in the Deep South 80 years ago. While the cast appears to be older than their characters, they make a valiant attempt to make more out of the material than the show has going for it. Unfortunately, "Sweetee" seems rather thin considering the possibilities inherent in the story line. The score is pleasant but innocuous and unmemorable, always a deal breaker in a musical. Ironically, the most effective musical numbers are the actual interpolated hymns: "Amazing Grace," "This Little Light of Mine," and "Joyful, Joyful." [more]

Candide (New York City Opera)

January 10, 2017

Linda Lavin, padded and badly bewigged, comes across more like a Jewish yenta than the victim of the vagaries of Eastern European warfare. She has only one song, “Easily Assimilated,” a silly attempt at seduction, which is a shame. This character had several numbers in the original, including one that actually referred to why she is “missing the half of my backside.” Lavin is a star, but is ill-used here. [more]