'Lazer Vaudeville' at the John Houseman Theater, Manhattan, NY. This

This is an opportunity to turn back the theater clock to see an actual vaudeville performance. The only things missing are the gaslights. To suggest that this is the place to bring a child to start their theater familiarization is obvious, but a more important issue is that this show will expand your own historical theatre experience. There, I just made up a new term: historical theatre. A tip of my hat goes to Director Carter Brown who put together such a complete package. The atmosphere starts right in the outer lobby where two large pictures introduce the audience to two distinct circuits in the Vaudeville theatre: Keith and Albee. The inner lobby goes a further by use of the old time posters and period newspaper reprints of vaudeville juggling acts. Now listen, I am very unusual in that I actually read all that stuff on the walls and, in this case, the audience should too. This show onstage did almost the identical acts that were on the wall. Cindy Marvell's choreography was reminiscent of routines that I had seen in movies from the 20's. Brown, Marvell and Nicholas Flair seemed to perform much the same way that I had only seen in pictures in a history book. For me the textbook came alive!