by Nicholas Pontolillo Closing out its 48th season, CMPAC does manage to put on a dazzling production of Hello Dolly, albeit a few hiccups, which I will attribute to opening night jitters.   Based on Thornton Wilder‘s play, The Matchmaker,…

By Sam Desmond Coinciding with the Met Gala’s Gilded Age theme, another late 19th-century homage to the era of robber barons and dollar princesses was CM Performing Arts Center’s opening night of “Hello, Dolly!” The…

by Shelley Dean The Noel S. Ruiz Theatre at CM Performing Arts Center (CMPAC) has officially opened their much-anticipated production of the hit rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. The Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice production tells the widely known story…

by Sam Desmond Drawing inspiration from the John Legend version of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the CM Performing Arts Center put on a genuflection and celebration of one of the world’s oldest stories. Unique to this…

By Melissa Giordano The Tony Award winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone, the current offering from The Noel S. Ruiz Theatre at CM Performing Arts Center (CMPAC), is indeed a fascinating piece. I say fascinating because at…

By Sam Desmond Breaking the fourth wall brought razor-sharp wit and probing commentary to “The Drowsy Chaperone,” performed at the Noel S. Ruiz theater in Oakdale for opening night on Saturday, Feb. 26. “The Drowsy…

By Sam Desmond – Suffolk County News The 1997 Cast of Man of La Mancha With windmill chases and epic romance, “Man of La Mancha” is the ultimate in escapist high literature. For a special…

by Sam Desmond, Suffolk County News & Islip Bulletin A staple of childhood for those (grudgingly) known as geriatric millennials, Disney’s 1992 animated film “Beauty and the Beast” set a bar for romance and splendor,…

REVIEW BY SAM DESMOND, SUFFOLK COUNTY NEWS If you’re looking for an uproarious interlude into the fall performance season, then CM Performing Arts Center’s “We Will Rock You” is the perfect entre into theater after…