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Author Archives: jcarpen

03 Feb 2025

Laughter is Contagious at Meteor Shower

March 14, 2020 | Jason Applegate A play about a cosmic force that descends upon humanity without warning was ironically a pleasant escape considering the week we have all faced. Managing Director Amy Spadafore had a very difficult decision when she determined that the show must go on, and I commend her for making it. Spadafore decided to reward the hard work of the artists involved with a public performance, and it certainly made for a night of laughter at […]

03 Feb 2025

Catch a Falling Star at Pit and Balcony’s “Meteor Shower”

March 14, 2020 | Jessica McFarland In a nice change of pace from it’s more youth-oriented programming, Pit and Balcony has staged 2016’s Meteor Shower, a more mature four-person comedy by Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin). Of course, with the current Coronavirus fears running rampant, Pit was left with a much smaller audience than usual opening night. Still, the show must go on (although next weekend’s performances are cancelled), and I can safely say I haven’t heard such a […]

03 Feb 2025

Rewards and Perils of Ambition at Pit & Balcony’s GREAT GATSBY

January 25, 2020 | Jessica McFarland Considered by many to be The Great American Novel, Fitzgerald’s jazz age classic gets a new interpretation at Saginaw’s Pit & Balcony Theatre. If any of you somehow missed your high school required reading, The Great Gatsby follows Midwestern naif Nick Carraway in the summer of 1922 as he moves to New York City and becomes embroiled in the loves and scandals of the West Egg upper class. Also populating the story are his […]

03 Feb 2025

Roar into the 20s with GATSBY!

January 25, 2020 | Jason Applegate I must precede this review by confessing that The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald has always been one of my favorite novels. I love the poetic prose of the novel that encapsulates the Jazz era. I love the flawed characters who ironically believe the lie that their lives only have value if they are deemed successful by the very people who will do everything in their power to destroy any chance of their […]

03 Feb 2025

Pit & Balcony Delivers With The Giver

December 1, 2019 | Dr. Jeff List “If everything is the same, there are no choices.” The stage adaptation of the essential young adult novel, The Giver, marks the second selection for Pit & Balcony’s current season. This story, set in a dystopian future, tells the story of Jonas who discovers the joys and pains of living when selected for a special role in society, the Receiver of Memory. The Giver shares his collected knowledge and memories of humanity long […]