Articles by: Jessica Graae

Originally from Capitol Hill, DC, Jessica Graae performs in opera, musical theatre and recitals in Wilmington, DE, Philadelphia and NYC. Her favorite roles include Yum-Yum (The Mikado) and Amy (Company). Most recently, she was seen as Tiny Tim in A G&S Christmas Carol. In 2011, she will sing Fiordiligi (Così fan Tutte) and is working closely with an award-winning composer on her upcoming Wilmington performance of his songs set to the poetry of W.S. Merwin. Jessica is writing a one-woman show using stories from her bizarre adventures in small office politics, divorce and life in general. She teaches private voice and guitar lessons and writes for several publications about music, art and theater.

Wayne Meadows directs Neil Simon’s delightful BAREFOOT IN THE PARK at the Wilmington Drama League. Masterfully, Simon draws us into the lives of Corie and Paul Bratter, two newlyweds who have rented a midtown Manhattan apartment sight unseen. Their fifth-floor walk-up (“if you don’t count the stoop as a flight”) [...]

The Wilmington Drama League provides a bird’s-eye view into the dark world of prostitution in its strong production of Cy Coleman and Ira Gasman’s The LIFE, cleverly directed by Tina Sheing. Set in New York City’s crime-ridden 1980’s, the musical revolves around the lives of Queen (Sharon Brown Ruegsegger) and [...]

In its ninth year, The Delaware Shakespeare Festival presents THE WINTER’S TALE at Rockwood Mansion Park. The park makes a perfect open-air theater and the mansion lends a mystique and a three-dimensional touch to the production. The set, by Avista Custom Theatrical Services, consists of a few key pieces of [...]

The Wilmington Drama League’s production of THE SECRET GARDEN, a musical based on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved children’s novel, is nicely done. Lucy Simon’s score is operatic in its difficulty and sophistication, and the cast handles it beautifully. The excellent orchestra is conducted from the keyboard by musical director Steven [...]

The Players Club of Swarthmore’s production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s SOUTH PACIFIC is lively and entertaining. The show boasts some of Broadway’s most memorable tunes-like “Bali Ha’i” and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair.”   The book, by Joshua Logan, is based on stories adapted from James Michener’s [...]

Death and marital strife have never been so funny. What starts out as an innocent séance becomes every married man’s nightmare. The Delaware Theatre Company’s production of Noël Coward’s BLITHE SPIRIT, directed by Domenick Scudera, is lively, witty and well-paced. Coward exploits every opportunity for humor: human frailty, physical comedy [...]

Ever wondered what would happen if a bunch of self-important fairy tale characters got mixed up in the same story together? In Stephen Sondheim’s musical INTO THE WOODS, with the book by James Lapine, that’s exactly what happens. And it’s woven together in a most amusing and tuneful way. The [...]

Brian Peeke’s performance in eXposed Theatre Company’s production of HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH is a tour de force. Jennifer Staffenberg directs the show, staged in the Power Plant Production’s gritty basement theater. The rock musical, with text by John Cameron Mitchell and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask, is [...]

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS is the Delaware Theatre Company newest production.  Mark Brown’s clever adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel is witty, probing and entertaining.  Greg Wood (center), as Phileas Fogg, sails through a typhoon with his fellow travelers (from left: Dan Hodge, Benjamin Lloyd and Farah Bala) on [...]

IOLANTHE is considered one of the classic Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.  The light-hearted story touches on themes of class, identity and art in society.  We never tire of these concepts, included in almost every G&S operetta: the potential for comedy is limitless. The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Chester County’s [...]

The Wilmington Drama League’s production of CHICAGO is vastly entertaining. Created by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics), it debuted on Broadway in 1975 and had a smashingly successful revival run in the 1990’s. The production is directed by Matt Casarino and choreographed by Jody Anderson, with music direction [...]

SWEENEY TODD is one of those musicals people either love or hate. There is a lot to love about the Premier Centre for the Arts’ current production of Stephen Sondheim’s dark comedy: a solid cast, strong singing and excellent staging. Set in a black box theater, the show’s creepiness is [...]

THE PAJAMA GAME, a sweet and funny musical by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, appears at West Chester University through October 30, 2010. Completed in 2006, the state-of–the-art Madeline Wing Adler Theatre seats up to 375 people. The show is like a visual candy store: oversized, colorful sets by Dirk [...]

(Reprinted from Delaware Arts Info; courtesy of Arts in Media LLC): Bootless Artworks’ season opened with the spirited 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. This farcical show, with music and lyrics by William Finn and Book by Rachel Sheinkin, worked well on the cafetorium floor of the Reach Academy for [...]