   7/22/2010 - Geva extends the run of Girls Night! News and Press Releases
Rochester’s biggest party of the summer will continue through the 13th of August. Due to popular demand, Geva Theatre Center announces ten additional performances of Girls Night The Musical.
7/21/2010 - Girls Night is definitely one for the ladies! Review
But the less-than-traditional audience that filled the theater was merely a reflection of the show on stage. As the name suggests, "Girls Night" is definitely one for the ladies, although there were a handful of brave men in the crowd on opening night. ("Suckers!" the welcoming voice-over playfully taunted.) On the surface "Girls Night" appears to be a glorified bachelorette party onstage, but at its core, the show is a relatively rousing two-hour celebration of girl power.
7/15/2010 - Girls Night: The Musical on stage at Geva Review
Call your girlfriends and head to Geva Theatre – It's "Girl's Night Out".
That's right. Girls Night: The Musical is now on stage and the party
starts the minute the lights come up on stage. The show will have you dancing in your seat.
7/12/2010 - Summer Gets Hotter at Geva! News and Press Releases
As we are currently experiencing a heatwave in Rochester, I thought it only apropos to talk about the heatwave happening in our Mainstage, namely Girls Night the Musical. Think of it as “Sex in the City” meets “Desperate Housewives” with a little Mamma Mia thrown in for good measure.
6/29/2010 - Girls Night: The Musical, Reviewed by Ron Gross Review
BOTTOM LINE: Our highest recommendation! I’ve never seen an audience enjoy a musical more than at this touching and hilarious romp.
6/25/2010 - 'Girl Talk' follows in the fun footsteps of 'Girls Night' News and Press Releases
"Sonya Carter abandoned a 12-year corporate career with American Express to hit the boards with "Girls Night: The Musical," a tale of friends out for a bit of fun one evening. It played in Wilmington twice, and now Carter will be back Tuesday and Wednesday in another production by the same company, the world premiere of "Girl Talk: The Musical." It's more than girls just wanting to have fun, says Carter. "Every night is a new experience. This show is so different in that it really engages the audience. "
6/25/2010 - A night of 'Girl Talk' News and Press Releases
"Tim Flaherty, the president of Entertainment Events Inc., and Louise Roche, a British playwright, have discovered a theatrical goldmine."
6/25/2010 - 'Girl Talk' makes premiere at Dupont Theater News and Press Releases
"Sonya Carter knows there’s no business like show business. “Growing up, I was that kid who always made everybody sit down and watch me dance and sing,” she said over the phone. But, Carter’s road to a career on the stage came a little later in life."
4/28/2010 - "Girls" is a Bunch of Fun Review
From The Philadelphia Inquirer, By Toby Zinman: The "girls" who came to see Girls Night were every age, shape, size, race, and color. There were even a few guys. A group of 11 high school teachers was sitting next to me. Everybody seemed to have the same good time. The show's unpretentious fun and the talented, unembarrassable women on stage had all of the audience on their feet, clapping, singing, and dancing in the aisles.
4/9/2010 - Theater Review: ‘Girls Night’ at the Temple Theater in Des Moines Review
SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER The cast of “Girls Night: The Musical” tell the story of five longtime friends, one of whom is a ghost, and belt out 14 classic songs. (Special to the Register)
2/17/2010 - 'Til Death: Late Night Catechism' gives the audience top billing Review
The line on the accompanying pop-out box says “Play review,” but “’Til Death Do Us Part: Late Nite Catechism 3” is more an event. The audience is the show.
7/27/2009 - GIRLS NIGHT: THE MUSICAL at the Downstairs Cabaret at Sofia's Review
When the whole audience joins in to chant "I Will Survive," you realize that "Girls Night: The Musical" is not just a silly bachelorette-flavored night on the town. It's a rally. It involves the audience deeply and sincerely in a way that the current Broadway production of "Hair," in its earnestness, can only envy.
9/22/2008 - Get Ready for a Fun "Girls Night" Out Review
The opening night of "Girls Night: The Musical" at Shea's Smith Theatre was an estrogen extravaganza. Under a spinning disco ball, there was raucous laughter, singing and dancing - and that was just the audience.
12/4/2007 - Wimple while you work: Sister leads "Christmas Catechism" Review
So, a nun walks into a theater. No, really. It's not a joke. Not yet.
10/31/2007 - Paramount musical celebrates female friendships News and Press Releases
There's nothing quite so entertaining as watching girls who just want to have fun. They can be catty and cynical, silly or serious, weepy or wistful. And they've evene been known to get a bit raunchy every now and then - usually after midnight and only with the most innocent of intentions.
10/25/2007 - Sister rules, with sharp humor and nostalgia Review
"Late Nite Catechism" at the Olney Theatre Center for the Arts through Nov. 11, takes a hilarious and nostalgic look at parochial school education 40-some years ago, and incorporates many of the changes in the church since then, but it is never unkind or cynical about either the old or the new ways.
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THEATER REVIEW: "Girls Night: The Musical"I did an actual double-take when I walked into Geva Theatre for the opening night of its new summer show, "Girls Night: The Musical." Instead of the usually polite crowd of theatergoers decked out in business casual, the lobby was packed with women clad in pink feather boas and light-up tiaras, chatting away at the bar or waiting in line for karaoke. Yes, karaoke. Surely I had stumbled into a massive bachelorette party by mistake. But the less-than-traditional audience that filled the theater was merely a reflection of the show on stage. As the name suggests, "Girls Night" is definitely one for the ladies, although there were a handful of brave men in the crowd on opening night. ("Suckers!" the welcoming voice-over playfully taunted.) On the surface "Girls Night" appears to be a glorified bachelorette party onstage, but at its core, the show is a relatively rousing two-hour celebration of girl power. The thin plot suffices, and provides the opportunity for amusing, occasionally hilarious conversations. Narrator Sharon (a feisty Leslie McQueen) enters in bedazzled white jeans and fluffy angel wings. She's dead, you see, after falling off a moped when she was just 16, leaving behind a daughter who grew up and has just gotten engaged. Sharon hovers over the prenuptial party being held by her four best friends, each with problems of their own. Sassy, sharp-tongued Liza (an over-the-top Jenna Paige Gagliardo) is afraid to be vulnerable with her hubby. Aging party girl Carol (Carly Sakolove) can't come to grips with her past. Neurotic Anita (Lauren Kairalla) splits her time between rapid-fire manic episodes and being the group's voice of reason. And Carol's little sister, Kate (Whitney Kathleen Vigil), reveals a secret that could upset the delicate group dynamics. Because of the play's karaoke-bar setting (realized through a simple, but vibrantly colored set design), the song list is full of predictable pop-rock favorites. The ladies take turns at the mic, each belting out all those girly anthems with empowering ease. Both Sakolove's Carol and Kairalla's Anita croon "Don't Cry Out Loud" and "The Love of My Man" respectively with perfect depth and honesty. All five women attack the bouncy tunes with vigor and create surprisingly nice harmonies on all the familiar songs, but Kairalla is the real standout. Between her wiry frame and convincingly jittery behavior, I was floored by the power and soul in her voice. Though the material isn't groundbreaking - it's mostly potty humor for gals - many moments are at least chuckle-worthy. The cast delivers each punchline about sex, marriage, and the more womanly parts of life with reasonable honesty and solid comic timing. The overall mood in the show is consistently upbeat, even during the slightly deeper moments when we get glimpses into each of the women's back stories. Don't expect anything prophetic, though; the show sticks to pretty surface-level stuff. The issues are never fully fleshed out nor resolved, but it almost doesn't matter. The women on stage are clearly having a blast, and that energy carries into the audience. The cast of songbirds has no trouble belting out "It's Raining Men," "Lady Marmalade," and "We Are Family" on their own, but with a little prodding, the audience on opening night was happy to help out. There's something particularly irresistible about the show's rendition of "I Will Survive," which had the entire audience (even the guys) singing along until the final bow. Unfortunately, the show's other numbers aren't nearly as electrifying, and seem to pop up randomly every five minutes or so, which poses a problem for the show's overall pacing. The barely-there storyline creates very little rise and fall (I didn't realize it was time for intermission until the house lights came up), although the show doesn't drag too much. "Girls Night" isn't your typical musical, but it doesn't have to be. The bottom line is that theater is meant to entertain, and at least on that level, "Girls Night" should fit the bill for most groups of gal pals ready for a night out. |
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