[NEohioPAL] Review of "Starmites" at Porthouse Theatre

[Bob Abelman via NEohioPAL]

Two-dimensional 'Starmites' gets five-star treatment at Porthouse

 

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the Cleveland Jewish News on 7/11/14

 

 

The two-dimensional world of comic book heroes - with their simply-drawn personas, single-panel problems and catch-phrase morality - does not fare well when converted from the printed page to the live stage. Particularly when given a musical make-over.  

 

Case in point is the 1966 Broadway production of "It's a Bird.It's a Plane.It's Superman," where excessive exposition, insipid storytelling and inane lyrics were the kryptonite that kept audiences and Tony awards from its doors.   More recently, in 2011, "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" got caught up in its own torturous web of excessive special effects in lieu of an interesting script.  It took itself so seriously that critics could not.

 

So it is little wonder that "Starmites," another musical inspired by comic books, was met with little fanfare and even less fan base before it closed after only two months on Broadway in 1989.  It has rarely surfaced since.  And yet, here it is on the Porthouse Theatre stage. 



For more of this review, go to: 


http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/features/article_941490ba-0585-11e4-80e8-0019bb2963f4.html

 
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